The Old Man and the Old Woman Who Made a Change of Work
There once was an old man and an old woman. The old man was working in
the forest, cutting wood and collecting branches, while the woman stayed at home and spun, cooked and took care of the house. So it was, one day after the other. But the old man complained that he to go toiling all day to support the family, while the old woman was sitting at home and just cooked porridge and ate and had a good day. The old woman stated that there was enough to do at home as well, and that the old man would have a shortage of food and clothing, if she did not look after the house. But the old man did not want to hear about it. He got the whole burden alone, he thought. One day, when they had quarreled longer than usual, the woman said: - Now that's it! Tomorrow we make a change of jobs. I go to the forest and chop wood and gather branches, and you stay at home and take care of my chores. The old man had nothing against it. - Easily should I care for the house, he said, but how you will get out into the woods, I would like to see. Early in the morning the woman said: - Now you need to bake bread, churn butter, let the cow out to feed and cook the kale for dinner . Yes, it was pure trivia for the old man, and thus they parted. The old woman took the ax and went out into the woods, while the old man started a fire in the oven and made the dough. When he found that the dough was ready, he began to bake. But what would become of bread, you might wonder, for he had forgotten the yeast and put the loaves in the oven without sweeping away the ashes. The old man thought he had handled the baking well. The thought of fresh bread gave him an appetite. - Fresh bread is good, he thought, but if you get the pork too, it tastes even better. Thought and done! He went out into the shed for the only piece of pork they owned. But the pork was salty, and therefore he wanted to have a little drink. He put the piece of meat on the basement stairs and stepped down into the basement. Just as he got the tap to the barrel in hand, a dog came and took the pork piece. The old man didn’t want to lose it and therefore he set off after the dog. As he ran, he noticed that he had the tap in his hand. Now he gave up the pork, to at least save the drink. But it was too late. The barrel was empty and all the good drink had run out. It was sad, but he consoled himself with the thought that the old woman certainly did not look after the forest better. And if he could do without pork and drinking, he had, after all, the good fresh bread left. He who has bread suffers no distress, says the proverb. The consolation was not prolonged. When he came into the house, he saw that all the bread was black and burnt. He didn’t get to taste one bit of the entire baking. Surely that was annoying. - This goes badly, he complained. I wish I had let the woman stay at home! Is it this bad for me, how will it then be for her in the forest? She could have cut both arms and legs off. But there was no time to think about it. The sun was high in the sky and he was supposed to cook kale for dinner. For kale, one must have a little green, and when he could not find any other green than the old woman's sweater, he hacked it to pieces and put them in the pot. He could not cook kale without water, he realized, but the the well was so far away. And he should of course churn the butter too! How on Earth would he keep up with all this? - If I take the core on the back and shake it firmly while going to the well and back, it will be enough butter when I get back, he thought. So he did. But at the rate he forgot to put the lid on, and when he leaned down to pull up the bucket of water, the cream ran all down over his shoulders and down the well. Distressed, he turned back with the soup water. He could not be both inside and outside at the same time. How would he handle this delicate matter? The cottage roof shone green in the sunlight. Up there there was lush green grass. He tied a long rope around the neck of the cow, dragged her onto the roof and threw down the other end of the rope through the chimney. A little happier, he stepped into the house and tied the rope that hung down from the chimney, around the waist, so the cow could not walk away from him. Then he began to blow on the fire under the pot. But as he blew, the cow fell down from the ceiling and pulled him up the chimney. At the same moment the old woman came home with a large bunch of branches on her back. When she saw the cow hanging by the cottage wall, she hurried forward as fast as she could, and cut the rope. Then she Went into the cottage. There was the old man on the floor, smoked, burned and half smothered. - God help me! She said. How have you handled yourself at home? The poor old man could not utter a word. He just whined and whined. But how he had behaved, the old woman soon noticed. The pork was gone, the drink spilled, charred bread. The cream was in the well and the sweater was chopped into the pot. The cow was hung and the old man himself badly shocked and burned. What happened then, is not difficult to understand. The old woman had to manage the household again, and the old man went to the forest. Never again he was heard complaining about his lot. |
Tankus and the Red Gold
Tankus was a gnome who lived in the woods with his friends. Tankus was a journalist and wrote in the gnome paper. He looked very special, as he wore red-glassed glasses. It wasn’t always easy to find something interesting to write about and the other gnomes thought he should help out with other chores.
One day, when Tankus was out for a walk in the woods, he gasped with surprise. Gold! Red gold! The ground was filled with red gold. He jumped up and down with joy. A worm came up from a hole in the ground, wondering what was going on. Tankus asked him about the gold, and he said there were plenty more to find down below. Now Tankus had his story. He hurried back to his office and started writing his story. The next day the other gnomes saw a big headline: “Gold found in the forest!” They all came running to Tankus, with spades in their hands, asking him to show them where the gold was to be found. He promised to take them there. In the rush to get there, someone pushed Tankus so that his glasses fell off and were crushed to pieces on the ground. Shortly thereafter they came to the spot where Tankus had seen the gold, but there were none to be seen. The gnomes started to dig. Deeper and deeper they dug into the ground. Soon there was an enormous hole in the ground, but no gold was found. The gnomes started to yell at Tankus, saying he had made fools of them. That it was all a lie. Angrily they thrust their spades into the hole and went back home. Tankus remained where he was wondering what had happened. He was sure he had seen the gold there yesterday. Just then the worm appeared again. Tankus asked him what had happened to the gold. The worm saw his disappointment and explained that there was no gold. He asked what had happened to Tankus’ glasses. ”You see”, he said, ”it was the red glass that made you see all that red gold. There are only grey stones here.” ”What shall I do?” wondered Tankus. ”The others think I’m a fool.” The worm thought for a while. Then he had an idea; ”Go to the wise owl and ask him to make a lot of red-glassed glasses. Bring the gnomes here again and hand them the glasses, and that way they will also see the gold. Tankus went to the owl and got the glasses. Then he asked the others to come back, as he had solved the riddle. When they were gathered around the hole, Tankus explained that it was a very special gold. They needed to wear special glasses to see it. Then he handed out the glasses and the gnomes looked in awe at all the red gold they now could see. And so they lived happily ever after, feeling rich with their houses filled with the red gold. Tankus continued to write his articles, and was never again asked to do other chores. |