merve/folk-mythology-tales · Datasets at Hugging Face

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evening the master said to the shepherds: 'Now come, all of you, eat,
drink, and make merry. I will watch the flocks myself to-night in your
stead.' Then he went out to spend the night with the flocks.

When midnight struck the wolves howled and the dogs barked, and the
wolves spoke in their own tongue, saying:

'Shall we come in and work havoc, and you too shall eat flesh?' And
the dogs answered in their tongue: 'Come in, and for once we shall have
enough to eat.'

Now amongst the dogs there was one so old that he had only two teeth
left in his head, and he spoke to the wolves, saying: 'So long as I have
my two teeth still in my head, I will let no harm be done to my master.'

All this the master heard and understood, and as soon as morning dawned
he ordered all the dogs to be killed excepting the old dog. The farm
servants wondered at this order, and exclaimed: 'But surely, sir, that
would be a pity?'

The master answered: 'Do as I bid you'; and made ready to return home
with his wife, and they mounted their horses, her steed being a mare.
As they went on their way, it happened that the husband rode on ahead,
while the wife was a little way behind. The husband's horse, seeing
this, neighed, and said to the mare: 'Come along, make haste; why are
you so slow?' And the mare answered: 'It is very easy for you, you carry
only your master, who is a thin man, but I carry my mistress, who is so
fat that she weights as much as three.' When the husband heard that he
looked back and laughed, which the wife perceiving, she urged on the
mare till she caught up with her husband, and asked him why he laughed.
'For nothing at all,' he answered; 'just because it came into my head.'
She would not be satisfied with this answer, and urged him more and more
to tell her why he had laughed. But he controlled himself and said: 'Let
me be, wife; what ails you? I do not know myself why I laughed.' But the
more he put her off, the more she tormented him to tell her the cause of
his laughter. At length he said to her: 'Know, then, that if I tell it
you I shall immediately and surely die.' But even this did not quiet
her; she only besought him the more to tell her.

Meanwhile they had reached home, and before getting down from his horse
the man called for a coffin to be brought; and when it was there he
placed it in front of the house, and said to his wife:

'See, I will lay myself down in this coffin, and will then tell you why
I laughed, for as soon as I have told you I shall surely die.' So he lay
down in the coffin, and while he took a last look around him, his old
dog came out from the farm and sat down by him, and whined. When the
master saw this, he called to his wife: 'Bring a piece of bread to give
to the dog.' The wife brought some bread and threw it to the dog, but he
would not look at it. Then the farm cock came and pecked at the bread;
but the dog said to it: 'Wretched glutton, you can eat like that when
you see that your master is dying?' The cock answered: 'Let him die, if
he is so stupid. I have a hundred wives, which I call together when I
find a grain of corn, and as soon as they are there I swallow it myself;
should one of them dare to be angry, I would give her a lesson with my
beak. He has only one wife, and he cannot keep her in order.'

As soon as the man understood this, he got up out of the coffin, seized
a stick, and called his wife into the room, saying: 'Come, and I will
tell you what you so much want to know'; and then he began to beat her
with the stick, saying with each blow: 'It is that, wife, it is that!'
And in this way he taught her never again to ask why he had laughed.




The Boy Who Could Keep A Secret

Once upon a time there lived a poor widow who had one little boy. At
first sight you would not have thought that he was different from a
thousand other little boys; but then you noticed that by his side hung
the scabbard of a sword, and as the boy grew bigger the scabbard grew
bigger too. The sword which belonged to the scabbard was found by the
little boy sticking out of the ground in the garden, and every day he
pulled it up to see if it would go into the scabbard. But though it
was plainly becoming longer and longer, it was some time before the two
would fit.

However, there came a day at last when it slipped in quite easily. The
child was so delighted that he could hardly believe his eyes, so he
tried it seven times, and each time it slipped in more easily than
before. But pleased though the boy was, he determined not to tell anyone
about it, particularly not his mother, who never could keep anything
from her neighbours.

Still, in spite of his resolutions, he could not hide altogether that
something had happened, and when he went in to breakfast his mother
asked him what was the matter.

'Oh, mother, I had such a nice dream last night,' said he; 'but I can't
tell it to anybody.'

'You can tell it to me,' she answered. 'It must have been a nice dream,
or you wouldn't look so happy.'

'No, mother; I can't tell it to anybody,' returned the boy, 'till it
comes true.'

'I want to know what it was, and know it I will,' cried she, 'and I will
beat you till you tell me.'

evening the master said to the shepherds: 'Now come, all of you, eat,

drink, and make merry. I will watch the flocks myself to-night in your

stead.' Then he went out to spend the night with the flocks.

When midnight struck the wolves howled and the dogs barked, and the

wolves spoke in their own tongue, saying:

'Shall we come in and work havoc, and you too shall eat flesh?' And

the dogs answered in their tongue: 'Come in, and for once we shall have

enough to eat.'

Now amongst the dogs there was one so old that he had only two teeth

left in his head, and he spoke to the wolves, saying: 'So long as I have

my two teeth still in my head, I will let no harm be done to my master.'

All this the master heard and understood, and as soon as morning dawned

he ordered all the dogs to be killed excepting the old dog. The farm

servants wondered at this order, and exclaimed: 'But surely, sir, that

would be a pity?'

The master answered: 'Do as I bid you'; and made ready to return home

with his wife, and they mounted their horses, her steed being a mare.

As they went on their way, it happened that the husband rode on ahead,

while the wife was a little way behind. The husband's horse, seeing

this, neighed, and said to the mare: 'Come along, make haste; why are

you so slow?' And the mare answered: 'It is very easy for you, you carry

only your master, who is a thin man, but I carry my mistress, who is so

fat that she weights as much as three.' When the husband heard that he

looked back and laughed, which the wife perceiving, she urged on the

mare till she caught up with her husband, and asked him why he laughed.

'For nothing at all,' he answered; 'just because it came into my head.'

She would not be satisfied with this answer, and urged him more and more

to tell her why he had laughed. But he controlled himself and said: 'Let

me be, wife; what ails you? I do not know myself why I laughed.' But the

more he put her off, the more she tormented him to tell her the cause of

his laughter. At length he said to her: 'Know, then, that if I tell it

you I shall immediately and surely die.' But even this did not quiet

her; she only besought him the more to tell her.

Meanwhile they had reached home, and before getting down from his horse

the man called for a coffin to be brought; and when it was there he

placed it in front of the house, and said to his wife:

'See, I will lay myself down in this coffin, and will then tell you why

I laughed, for as soon as I have told you I shall surely die.' So he lay

down in the coffin, and while he took a last look around him, his old

dog came out from the farm and sat down by him, and whined. When the

master saw this, he called to his wife: 'Bring a piece of bread to give

to the dog.' The wife brought some bread and threw it to the dog, but he

would not look at it. Then the farm cock came and pecked at the bread;

but the dog said to it: 'Wretched glutton, you can eat like that when

you see that your master is dying?' The cock answered: 'Let him die, if

he is so stupid. I have a hundred wives, which I call together when I

find a grain of corn, and as soon as they are there I swallow it myself;

should one of them dare to be angry, I would give her a lesson with my

beak. He has only one wife, and he cannot keep her in order.'

As soon as the man understood this, he got up out of the coffin, seized

a stick, and called his wife into the room, saying: 'Come, and I will

tell you what you so much want to know'; and then he began to beat her

with the stick, saying with each blow: 'It is that, wife, it is that!'

And in this way he taught her never again to ask why he had laughed.

The Boy Who Could Keep A Secret

Once upon a time there lived a poor widow who had one little boy. At

first sight you would not have thought that he was different from a

thousand other little boys; but then you noticed that by his side hung

the scabbard of a sword, and as the boy grew bigger the scabbard grew

bigger too. The sword which belonged to the scabbard was found by the

little boy sticking out of the ground in the garden, and every day he

pulled it up to see if it would go into the scabbard. But though it

was plainly becoming longer and longer, it was some time before the two

would fit.

However, there came a day at last when it slipped in quite easily. The

child was so delighted that he could hardly believe his eyes, so he

tried it seven times, and each time it slipped in more easily than

before. But pleased though the boy was, he determined not to tell anyone

about it, particularly not his mother, who never could keep anything

from her neighbours.

Still, in spite of his resolutions, he could not hide altogether that

something had happened, and when he went in to breakfast his mother

asked him what was the matter.

'Oh, mother, I had such a nice dream last night,' said he; 'but I can't

tell it to anybody.'

'You can tell it to me,' she answered. 'It must have been a nice dream,

or you wouldn't look so happy.'

'No, mother; I can't tell it to anybody,' returned the boy, 'till it

comes true.'

'I want to know what it was, and know it I will,' cried she, 'and I will

beat you till you tell me.'