FAIRY TALES (text) - 82. THE KING AND THE FARMER WHO BECAME A DOCTORE PERFORCE

THE KING AND THE FARMER WHO BECAME A DOCTORE PERFORCE

There was once a king who had a married maid. The maid did not love her husband and tried to find a way to make him suffer.

When the queen was pregnant, the king called all the best doctors and said them to find out what would the baby be, a boy or a girl. Although the king forced them to find it they couldn’t, and the king put them all in jail. Then the maid which was waiting for this moment said to the king:

My husband knows a lot about these things but he doesn’t like to be noticed. Call him and ask about that because only he can tell what the queen will give birth to.

The poor husband knew nothing about that, he didn’t get it. He knew only to work the field and was a kindhearted man who could not hurt anyone.

He understood very well that that was trap his wife had made but there was little he could do, so he got up and went to the palace.

The king brought the queen so that he looked at her, but because of the fear that the king would kill the child he did not know what to do. After a little while, he said to the king:

– Your Majesty, in my opinion, when I saw the queen coming, it was a boy, now that I see her going it is a girl. I think that she will give birth to two children.

God really helps the right man. Ten days after, the queen gave birth to two children, a boy and a girl. The king was very glad that the man had found the truth, called him and said:

– What would you want as a reward? Ask me anything you want.

The farmer replied to the king:

– I do not want anything for myself, I’d ask only for the doctors to be released from prison.

King stood for a little time thinking and said: 

– This is something that cannot be done, but ask me the money you want and I’ll give it.

But the farmer did not accept the money and said to the king:

– Think it through again with the queen and I will wait here.

Even the queen agreed with the request of the farmer and forced her husband to satisfy his desire. So, the king did not bore his wife and all the doctors were released from prison. Maid saw that her husband found what queen would give birth to and she burst full of rage, because he wanted to harm her husband but she did the opposite.

Shortly later, the king’s married was full with sick people and they didn’t find solutions for healing. The maid, as a cunning witch she was, she went and told the king: 

– Your Majesty, the only man that can heal all those sick is my husband. If you want to resolve this situation I’d advise you to go and get him.

King believed the woman because the man was the only one who found about the children. So, the king took the farmer and the two of them entered the hospital.

The poor man begged god all the way: I hope god pays my wife for all the things she is doing to me now!

When they entered the hospital, and went to the sick people, the king asked the farmer:

– Tell me, what should I do to recover all these patients?

The man who was well dressed to look like a doctor, said to the king:

– To heal all these some people should be killed, those who are the sickest people, and give their flesh to the others to heal.

Then the king said to the farmer: – Very good, you are the one that will decide who are the sickest people and they that will be slaughtered.

Then the farmer began to look all around and said:

– You are terribly bad, so you need to get killed to save the others.

And the patient stood up of fear and said:

– No, I am not ill, I am very well. –and fled at home.

And so the farmer did the same thing to everyone. All of them wore the clothes of fear and fled home. Until the end ten people stayed and they that worse they had no chance to live. The king was so pleased by this man that he got him into the palace and kept him like a prince. After he became rich and king’s right arm, the farmer kept his wife as a slave and made her pay for all the evil things she had done.