Northern Fairy Tales
The Gift From the Old Man of the Hill
A tailor and a goldsmith always travelled together.
One evening when the sun had sunk behind the mountains, they heard the sound
of distant music, which became more and more distinct. It sounded strange, but
so pleasant that they forgot all their weariness and stepped quickly onwards.
The moon had already arisen when they reached a hill
on which they saw a crowd of stately men and women, who had taken each other's
hands, and were whirling round in the dance with the greatest pleasure and delight.
They sang to it most charmingly, and that was the music which the travelers
had heard.
In the midst of the dancers sat an old man who was rather older than the rest.
He wore a parti-colored coat, and his hoary beard hung down over his breast.
The two travellers remained standing full of astonishment, and watched the dance.
The old man made a sign that they should enter, and the stately folks willingly
opened their circle.
The goldsmith, who had a hump, and like all hunch-backs
was daring enough, stepped in. The tailor felt a little afraid at first, and
held back, but when he saw how merrily all was going, he plucked up his courage,
and followed.
The circle closed again directly, and the fair folk
went on singing and dancing with the wildest leaps. The old man, however, took
a large knife which hung to his girdle, whetted it, and when it was sufficiently
sharpened, he looked round at the strangers.
They were terrified, but they had not much time for
reflection, for the old man seized the goldsmith and with the greatest speed,
shaved the hair of his head clean off, and then the same thing happened to the
tailor.
Their fear left them when, after he had finished his work, the old man clapped
them both on the shoulder in a friendly manner, as much as to say, they had
behaved well to let all that be done to them willingly, and without any struggle.
He pointed with his finger to a heap of coals which
lay at one side, and signified to the travelers by his gestures that they were
to fill their pockets with them. Both of them obeyed, although they did not
know of what use the coals would be to them, and then they went on their way
to seek a shelter for the night.
When they reached the valley, the song suddenly ceased.
In a moment all had vanished, and the hill lay in solitude in the moonlight.
The two travelers found an inn, and covered themselves
up on their straw-beds with their coats, but in their weariness forgot to take
the coals out of them before doing so. A heavy weight on their limbs awakened
them earlier than usual.
They felt in the pockets, and could not believe their
eyes when they saw that they were not filled with coals, but with pure gold.
Happily, too, the hair of their heads and beards was
there again as thick as ever. They had now become rich folks, but the goldsmith,
who, in accordance with his greedy disposition, had filled his pockets better,
was twice as rich as the tailor.
A greedy man, even if he has much, still wishes to
have more, so the goldsmith proposed to the tailor that they should wait another
day, and go out again in the evening in order to bring back still greater treasures
from the old man on the hill.
The tailor refused, saying:
"I have enough and am content. Now I shall be
a master, and marry my dear sweetheart - and I am a happy man.
In the end the goldsmith coaxed him and coaxed him
that he stayed another day to please him. In the evening the goldsmith hung
a couple of bags over his shoulders that he might be able to stow away a great
deal, and took the road to the hill.
He found, as on the night before, the lordly folk
at their singing and dancing, and the old man again shaved him clean, and made
signs to him to take some coal.
He was not slow about stuffing as much into his bags
as would go, went back quite delighted, and covered himself over with his coat.
"Even if the gold does weigh heavily," said
he, "I will gladly bear that."
At last he fell asleep with the sweet anticipation
of waking in the morning an enormously rich man.
When he opened his eyes, he got up in haste to examine
his pockets, but how amazed he was when he drew nothing out of them but black
coals, and that howsoever often he put his hands in them.
"The gold I got the night before is still there
for me," thought he, and went and brought it out, but how shocked he was
when he saw that it likewise had again turned into coal.
He smote his forehead with his dusty black hand, and
then he felt that his whole head was bald and smooth, as was also the place
where his beard should have been. His misfortunes were not yet over.
He now remarked for the first time that in addition
to the hump on his back, a second, just as large, had grown in front on his
breast. Then he recognized the punishment of his greediness, and began to weep
aloud.
The good tailor, who was awakened by this, comforted
the unhappy fellow as well as he could, saying:
"You have been my comrade in my traveling time.
You shall stay with me and share in my wealth."
He kept his word, but the poor goldsmith was obliged
to carry the two humps as long as he lived, and to cover his bald head with
a cap.
Based on The Little Folks' Presents
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