FAIRY TALES (text) - 81. THE BALD MEN AND THE FARMER

THE BALD MEN AND THE FARMER

There were three brothers who did nothing but mocked the people who walked across the road.

One day a farmer sent his wife to the market to sell an ox. His wife took the ox and arrived at a bridge where she met the big brother. The bald man asked her where she was leading and she said she was going to sell the ox. The bald man said:

– The ox seems so strong but if you cut its tail you will get more money form the selling.

The woman cut the tail and continued on her way. In the second bridge she met the second brother who said:

– The ox is very good and you’ve done a good thing that you’ve cut the tail, but if you break the ribs you’ll earn even more.

The woman broke its ribs and went on. Then she met the little brother who said:

– You’ve done the right thing that you cut the tail and broke the ribs but you would better cut the ears.

The woman cut the ears too and went to the market.

There she sit all day long until it got dark but everyone laughed at her and nobody came to buy the ox. When she turned home and the husband asked her if she had sold the ox, she started crying and told him what had happened.

The next day, the farmer got five golden coins and put them inside the donkey’s rear and set off. On his way he met the oldest bald brother and after they greeted each-other, they sat together to talk. After spending a little time, the donkey began to heehaw and made dungs. The farmer went to the dungs and touched it with his hands till he found the golden coins and put them in his pocket. When the bald man saw what happened he wanted to buy the donkey and the farmer said he sold it only if he would get five hundred coins of gold. They didn’t agree and the farmer rode the donkey and left. But the big brother told the middle brother to offer him more money. When the farmer got to the second brother, the donkey made dungs again and he took again the gold out of it. The bald man said that he would buy the donkey with three hundred and fifty coins of gold. But they didn’t agree about the price and the farmer continued on his way. Later he met with the young brother and after he saw with his own eyes what the donkey did, he said he wanted to buy the donkey with five hundred gold coins. The young bald brother asked him about what to do so that the donkey would give away more golden coins and farmer said:

– Take the donkey and go home. Take it to a warehouse full of barley and leave it three days and three nights inside it, do not look at it because it will tremble and won’t make gold coins.

And so he took the donkey and together with his brothers went home and left it at the warehouse. On the second day the young brother saw from a hole that the donkey that had raised high legs and he guessed that they were gold coins. Went told what had previously brothers and they were frantic for the time to pass.

When three days were completed, the three brothers went running to the warehouse and when they saw that the donkey was dead, they understood that the farmer had made fun of them and went to kill him.

When they went there, they found him working in the field. At first they thought to kill him immediately but then they changed their minds and decided to drown him in the sea. So they caught him and put him inside a bag, tied it and were looking to find any place where to throw the sack. After they left, the farmer began to call out loud: – I do not want Beauty for me because I am old, and I can’t keep her.

At that moment was passing a shepherd with sheep and he heard the farmer saying those words, so he became curious and approached the sack and asked him who he was, and the farmer said:

– The king ordered me to marry the Beauty, but I can’t. And since I did not want to marry her, they forced me to get inside the sack to take me to the palace of the Beauty.

After hearing all of the words of the farmer, the shepherd asked him to switch places and he said:

– Untie as soon as you can the bag so that when they come to catch me, it’ll be you who marries the Beauty.

The shepherd unbound the sack, took the farmer out and went inside the sack, and the farmer tied the sack. He took the sheep and hid behind a hill.

Soon the bald brothers turned back, than he sack in their arms and threw him into the sea. So instead of the farmer it was the poor shepherd who drowned.

The bald men took the way to turn back home, but farmer appeared in front of them with the flock of sheep. The bald men were astonished when they saw him and said:

– How did you come up here, we threw you inside the sea?!

The farmer turned to them laughing:

 – As it is, if you went and threw me aside. If you had thrown me a little deeper I’d take out more sheep than those that you see.

The bald brothers were confused, and told the farmer:

– Can we find more sheep there?

That’s all the farmer wanted to hear and so he said:

– Sure there are, just try to dive deeper because there are the best ones.

– Come with us and show us the place where to dive – said the bald brothers.

So the farmer led them to the highest place and said:

– Now rush and jump as far as you can.

The first who jumped was the big brother and a few seconds after he showed his head out of water. The two others saw him moving his hands and feet and said to the farmer:

– What is he saying, we’re not understanding?

And farmer told them:

He is telling you to jump because he can’t keep all the sheep by himself.

So they jumped in the water one after another and they were drowned. Then the farmer gathered the sheep and returned home.

So the three bald brothers lost their lives for the ears, ribs and tail of the bull.