The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-07
MARISKo.
A Hungarian Legend.

Translation in the Literary Digest from the
German of A. F. Dorfier, Berlin.
The Magyar-G OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES was built
with the stones of a great castle that
formerly stood upon the adjoining hill.
The lord of the castle was rich, but
very severe man, who would never marry,
because he had some fault to find with
every woman ne saw. One was too short,
another too tall one beautiful but stupid
another sensible but ugly. He had in his
service O wondrously beautiful maid
named Marisko. She was beautiful as
the SON Of heaSpring, but stupid as a cow.
Her master often said to the people: 'sYou
ask me why keep the stupid Marisko by
me. Now, | will tell you. l keep her,
that, beholding her beauty, 1 may not
ridicule those who marry; but observing
her stupidity, l, myself, lose all desire to
marry"
The noble was very severe master,
and cursed like Tartar the whole day
long if Marisko did anything stupid.
The poor girl was an orphan, and with
out friend in the world and, being so
stupid, nobody wanted her, there was CON
sequently, nothing for her but to live
with the terrible old noble.
Now, 1t happened one day that she
went weeping into the woods to gather
strawberries for her master, but, in her
stupidity, she gathered poisonous berries.
Suddenly the wild old man (vad oreg)
stood before her, and said: Thou art
very beautiful, Marisko, but fearfully
stupid. Thou hast gathered tollkirschen
instead of strawberries. Come, / will fill
thy pot with strawberries. In an instant
the old man had the pot filed to the brim
with Strawberries. Then he said: II
win lend thee so much understanding
that thou will be the cleverest woman in
the world provided thou wilt be my wife
at the expiration of year What dost
thou say, Mariskol" The maiden, in her
stupidity, thought very little about 1t,
but agreed to the old wildman's proposal
Immediately. The old man then spat
three times on the maiden's head and
vanished. Marisko returned with the
Strawberries to her master, and from that
moment she was quite another creature
Her master, thenceforth, was as
much astonished at her extraor-
binary cleverness as he had for
merly been at her stupidity. But the
change was equally apparent to every
one else, and all the marriageable young
fellows for miles around sought her in
marriage. But she was clever enough to
see that her old master was in love with
her, and when he proposed she accepted
him, relying on her wits to cheat the old
wild man in some way. She became her
masters wife, and spent her days joy
ously. But, by-andby, the day approached
on which she was to have been the old
wild man wife, and, in spite of her super
natural cleverness, she had not yet been
able to think of any plan by which she
might escape redeeming her promise. The
nearer the day approached the more stu
pid became Marisko, and on the day itself
she had such a return of her old stupidity
that she set the castle on fire. The old
wild man had not only deprived her of
her understanding, but he further re-
venged himself by splitting on her head,
thereby turning her into stone. Her
statue is still to be seen near the church
door.