A Picture-book of Merry Tales Page 3

  The countrymen laughed boisterously at this sally of the Jew's, butOwlglass, appearing to take it seriously, answered:--

  "My horse is, indeed, a splendid animal; but as I intend to rest myselfhere for some days I shall not need it, and am therefore willing todeal with you, my good Friend. I have sworn, however, not to part withit for any sum of money, however great, and I cannot break my oath; butyou can have the horse for your friend, if you agree to my terms. Theseare, that, after I shall have given you six stripes on your bare back,the animal is yours."

  Miserable as the creature was the Jew was ready enough to have itwithout paying any money, so agreed to the proposal.

  _The Jew's Bargain._]

  Whilst the Jew was stripping his shoulders Owlglass said, "These twogentlemen are witnesses that the horse is not to be yours till I havegiven you six stripes." The countrymen, anxious for the fun, said theywould be witnesses; and the Jew having bared his back, Owlglass tiedhis hands to a staple in the door-post, and clutching his whip firmlygave him such a cut that the poor Jew danced again. At the secondstroke he fairly howled; and after giving him a third Owlglass said,"I see, my Friend, that you are not able to complete the bargain now,so I will keep my horse till some future time, when I shall have paidyou the remaining three stripes." The countrymen were convulsed withlaughter, and the Jew had the worst of the bargain.

  [Decoration]

  XI.

  _How Owlglass sells an Old Hat for more than its Weight in Gold._

  Owlglass having determined to give himself a few days' rest, put upat an inn where he had noticed that the landlady was a very livelyintelligent woman, for he thought that if an opportunity for a goodpiece of mischief occurred, she would be quite ready to second him. Heremarked that amongst the daily visiters there were two particularlystupid who just on that account thought themselves superior to therest, and gave themselves considerable airs.

  Owlglass could not resist the temptation to play these a trick; and,having taken the landlady into his confidence, he invited them to supwith him. He told them many curious stories and adventures; and afterhe had prepared their minds to take in anything, however wonderful,he took down his hat, which was hanging against the wall, and whichhappened to be a very old one, saying, "You will scarcely believe thatthis hat is worth fifty times its weight in gold; but the fact is,it has the extraordinary power of making any one to whom I owe moneybelieve I have paid them, when I hold it in a particular manner."

  Fools as his guests were, this was more than they could believe; butOwlglass engaged to give them proof of it that very moment, and thatthey should see the landlady would say she was paid. He rang the bell,and when the landlady appeared, he asked her how much he owed herfor the supper, and she said five shillings. Whereupon he continued,holding his old hat in a peculiar manner, on the tips of his fingers,"Have I not paid you for the supper?" To which she answered, "Yes;"adding that she was very much obliged to him.

  At this they marvelled; and when he said he was willing to sell it forfifty pounds, there was a dispute between them which should buy it,when it was at length agreed they should buy it between them. WhenOwlglass received the money he made his accomplice a handsome presentand went on his way, leaving the purchasers to try the virtue of thehat.

  _Owlglass paying the Landlady._]

  XII.

  _How Owlglass, by means of a false Confession, cheated the Priest of Riesenburgh out of his Horse; and how he steals another Priest's Snuff-box._

  After this adventure, Owlglass went to Riesenburgh, where he lodgedwith the Priest, whom he knew, having been there several times before.This priest had a very pretty maid-servant and a beautiful littlehorse, which horse the Duke of Brunswick much wished to have, andoffered a considerable sum of money for its possession; but thoughthe offer was often repeated the Priest as often refused, for he wasscarcely less fond of his horse than of his maid. Owlglass havingheard this, and soon after hearing that the Duke was in the town, wentto him, and said, "What will your Highness give me if I get you thePriest's horse?" "If you can do that," the Duke answered, "I will giveyou the coat I now have on." Now this coat was of scarlet velvet,ornamented with pearls.

  After this Owlglass pretended to be ill; and taking to his bed, moanedand sighed so piteously that both the Priest and his maid were muchgrieved, and knew not what to do. As he daily seemed to grow worse,the Priest admonished him to confess, as he had many sins to answerfor. Owlglass answered, that he was anxious to confess himself, forthough he did not feel guilty of any grievous sin, yet there was onewhich weighed heavily on his mind, but that he could not confess tohim, and therefore earnestly begged he would fetch him another priest.When the Priest heard this, there seemed something strange in it, andhis curiosity being strongly excited, he said, "Dear Owlglass, I shouldhave to go a long way for another confessor, and if in the meantime youshould die unabsolved we should both have much to answer for, thereforespeak, my Son, and your sin shall be forgiven you." "Be it so then,"Owlglass said, "but my sin is not so great, as that I fear offendingyou, for it concerns you." This excited the Priest's curiosity stillmore, and he said, "Speak without hesitation, for I forgive youbeforehand; besides, my anger need not matter, for I dare not divulgeyour confession." "Oh, my dear, good Friend," Owlglass answered, "Iknow I shall much anger and offend you; but since I feel that my end isnear I will no longer delay. I grieve to say that I have kissed yourmaid more than once." The Priest inquired how often that had happened;and being told five times, he hastily absolved his penitent, and goingout called his servant to him. He accused her of having allowed herselfto be kissed by Owlglass; and though she denied it, he took a stick andbeat her till she was black and blue. Owlglass laughed when he heardthe maid cry, and thought to himself, now the business is settled; soafter remaining in bed one more day and night he got up, declaringhimself to be quite well. After settling with his host for his boardand lodging, he said, "I am now going to Halberstadt to the Bishop,to denounce you for having divulged the secrets of the confessional."The poor Priest, who a moment before had felt quite happy at theprospect of getting rid of so dangerous a visiter, was now taken quiteaback, when he saw ruin staring him in the face, and he begged mostearnestly that he would not betray him, for it was in anger. He addedthat he would give him twenty pounds to purchase his secrecy, butOwlglass declared that he would not take fifty. Thereupon the Priestbegged his maid to intercede, and ascertain what Owlglass would accept;and he, after making much difficulty, said he would not take anythingbut the Priest's horse. Now the Priest would rather have parted withanything than his horse; but there was no help for it, so he gave himthe animal. Owlglass mounted the horse and rode off to Wolfenbuttel,where he found the Duke standing on the bridge. As he came near, theDuke took off his coat, saying, "You see, Owlglass, that as you haveperformed your part of the agreement I am ready to perform mine. There,take the coat I promised you." Owlglass then had to relate by whatmeans he obtained the horse from the Priest; at which the Duke laughedheartily, and besides the coat gave him another horse.

  _Owlglass's Confession._]

  This was not the only priest whom Owlglass tricked, as you shall hear.

  * * * * *

  Whilst staying in the house where the adventure just told you occurred,he had become acquainted with a priest who came there several times,and there were two things he did not fail to note. Firstly, thisPriest was very heavy with sleep every day after dinner, so that itseemed impossible to him to keep his eyes open; and secondly, he hada handsome silver snuff-box, which it was his habit to lay down byhis side after taking a pinch from it. He lived in a town at no greatdistance from Riesenburgh; and thither Owlglass went to stay a day ortwo, the very first opportunity he had.

  Choosing the time when he knew the Priest had dined, he went to theconfessional, and by means of a rambling story soon sent his friendasleep, his snuff-box lying by his side as usual. Owlglass then put thebox in his own pocket, and having waked the Pries
t, said, "There isone thing weighs very heavily on my mind, for I have committed the meancrime of theft, and I must beg of you to accept the stolen article."

  This the Priest refused to do, advising him to restore it to its realowner; but Owlglass said, "He refuses to accept it."

  "Under those circumstances keep it, my Son, and I give you fullabsolution for having committed the great sin of stealing."

  Owlglass then took the box out of his pocket, saying, "This is the box,and it was from you I stole it; when urged by remorse I wished to makerestoration, but you refused to accept it, giving me full absolution."

  After this he left the confessional, and shortly after the town.

  _Owlglass takes the Priest's Snuff-box._]

  XIII.

  _How a Bootmaker of Brunswick larded Owlglass's Boots; and how he was paid for doing so._

  The weather having turned wet, Owlglass thought it well to have hisboots greased, that his feet might be kept dry during his frequentwanderings; so, going to a bootmaker of the name of Christopher, inthe marketplace of Brunswick, he gave him the boots, and said, "Letthese be well larded, and have them ready by to-morrow morning." Whenhe had left the shop, the bootmaker's foreman said, "Master, that isOwlglass, who plays every one some ugly trick or another, so be verycareful what you do, or your turn will have come." The Master asked,"What did he tell us to do?" "He told you to lard his boots, meaning togrease them," the Foreman answered; "and if I were you I would act upto the letter of what he said; I should not grease them, but lard themas one lards meat." "Well, we will do as he bids us," the Master said;and cutting up a piece of bacon into small strips, he larded the bootsas if they were a joint of meat. Owlglass called the following morningto ask whether the boots were ready; and the bootmaker, pointing tothem as they hung against the wall, answered, "Yes, there they are."Owlglass, seeing his boots thus larded, burst out laughing, and said,"Now you are the sort of tradesman I like, for you have conscientiouslydone as I ordered; how much do I owe you?" "A shilling," was theanswer. As he paid the money, Owlglass said, "You are much too moderatein your charges, but I shall not consider that with one miserableshilling I have paid you. Rest assured, my good Friend, that I willnot forget you." Then taking his boots he departed, the Master and hisForeman, looking after him, said, "He is the last man to whom such athing should have happened." And as they talked it over they chuckledthat the trickster, in his turn, had been tricked. Their merriment,however, was of but short duration, for suddenly Owlglass's head andshoulders appeared through the shop window, the glass flying in alldirections about the place. "Pray, my Friend," he said, "have thegoodness to tell me whether my boots are larded with sow's or boar'sbacon." When the bootmaker had recovered a little from his surprise, heexclaimed, "Get out of that, you scoundrel, or you will have my last atyour head." "Do not be angry, my good Sir," Owlglass said, "for I onlywish to know what bacon that is with which you have larded my boots;whether it is from a boar or a sow?"

  The bootmaker's rage increased, and he abused him in the vilest termsfor breaking his window; but Owlglass said coolly, "If you will nottell me what bacon it is, I must go and ask some one else;" and drawingback his head and shoulders, contriving at the same time to break thewindows still further, he disappeared. Then the bootmaker was in a ragewith his man, and said, "You gave me advice before; now advise me whatI am to do to make my window whole again. Pack yourself off at once,and the wages due to you I shall apply to repairing the mischief yourwisdom has caused."

  _Owlglass returns with the Boots._]

  XIV.

  _How Owlglass hires himself to a Tailor; and how well he executes his Master's Orders._

  When Owlglass found his pockets empty, he hired himself to a Tailor,who said to him, "Sew neatly, so that no one can see it, as a goodworkman should do." So Owlglass took a needle and some pieces of cloth,and having crept under the cutting board, with his face turned to thewall, he laid the work across his knees and began to sew in the dark.When the Master beheld this proceeding, he said, "What are you doingthere, my man? That is a most extraordinary way of working." Owlglassanswered, "Master, you told me to work so that no one could see it, andas you yourself cannot see what I am doing, so can no one else see mywork, and therefore I am strictly executing your orders." The Tailor,who was a quiet, easy man, then said, "That was not what I meant; comeout there, and sew in such a manner that every one may see how fineyour work is." Thus they went on for a matter of three days, when,one evening, the Tailor, feeling sleepy, threw a half-finished roughpeasant's coat over to Owlglass, and said, "There, make up that wolffor me, and then you can go to bed, as I am now going to do." You mustknow, that that particular sort of coat was called a wolf. As soon asthe Tailor had left the workshop, Owlglass cut up the coat, and withthe pieces first made the head, and then the body and legs of a wolf.He stood it up by means of sticks, and then went to bed. When, on thefollowing morning, the Master went into the shop, he started back ina fright, but Owlglass just then coming in, he saw how it was, andsaid, "What have you been doing here?" Owlglass answered, "I have madea wolf, as you bid me." And the Tailor saying that he did not mean awolf of that sort, but the peasant's rough coat, he continued, "My dearMaster, I wish I had understood your meaning, for I would rather havemade a coat than a wolf." With this the Master was satisfied, and theywent on comfortably together for three or four days more, when oneevening he again felt sleepy; but thinking it too early for his man togo to bed, he gave him a coat which was finished all but putting inthe sleeves, and said, "Whip the sleeves to this coat, and then youcan go to rest." Owlglass hung the coat up on a hook, and having laidthe sleeves near it, he lighted two candles, and, with a whip he thenmade, whipped the sleeves all through the night. When the Tailor camein, in the morning, he exclaimed, "What tomfoolery is this?" "It is notomfoolery," Owlglass answered, "I have done as you told me; but thoughI have stood here all night whipping the sleeves, I could not get themto stick to the coat. It would have been better you had let me go tobed than make me waste my time in this way." "It is not my fault," theTailor said, "how could I know you understood it this way, when I meantyou to sew the sleeves into the coat?" Owlglass answered, "I wish youwould not say one thing when you mean another; but now you may do thework, for I must go to bed." This the Tailor would no way agree to, sothey quarrelled; and Owlglass leaving him, went his way.

  XV.

  _How Owlglass caused Three Tailors to fall from their Work-board, and persuaded the People that the Wind had blown them down._

  Owlglass took a lodging at Bamberg, near to the market-place, where heremained about a fortnight, and next door to him there lived a tailorwho had three workmen. These men sat on a board, supported by fourposts, outside the window, and they laughed at Owlglass, and threwpieces of rag or cloth at him whenever he passed. Owlglass bore all insilence, biding his time to pay them back with interest; and this hedetermined should be on a fair day, when the market-place would be fullof people. The night before the day of the fair he had sawed the postsnearly through which supported the board on which the three tailorssat, and in the morning they placed the board on them as usual, seatedthemselves on it and began their sewing. Now, when the swineherdblew his horn all the people let out their pigs, and the tailor'spigs also came out of his house, and went, as Owlglass well knew theywould, under the board, rubbing themselves against the posts, which,giving way, the three journeymen tailors were thrown into the gutter.Owlglass, who had been on the watch, now cried out, "See how lightthree tailors are, for a gust of wind has blown them all at once intothe street, as if they were but three feathers! How easily a tailor canfly!" And this he cried so loud that he could be heard all over themarketplace. All the people came running to the spot to see the fun,and mocked and laughed at the poor tailors, who knew not what to do forvery shame. They could not tell how it was their board fell; but theyfound out at last, and guessed that it was Owlglass who had played themthat trick. They put up fresh posts, but did not again venture to makegame
of Owlglass.

  _Downfall of the Tailors._]

  XVI.

  _How Owlglass tells a Truth to a Smith, to his Wife, his Assistant, and his Maidservant, for which he gets his Horse shod._

  Owlglass now being in funds, he rode about the country like agentleman, and one day came to a small town, where he saw a very neatwoman, with her servant maid, standing at the door of a smithy, andjudged her to be the smith's wife. He put up at an inn just opposite,and during the night pulled the four shoes off his horse. On thefollowing morning he led his horse to the smithy; and as soon as itwas known that it was Owlglass, the wife and maidservant came out tosee what had brought him there. Owlglass asked the Smith whether hewould shoe his horse; to which he at once agreed, for he was glad ofan opportunity to have some talk with a man of whom he had heard somuch. After much talk on both sides, the Smith said, "If you willtell me a truth that is really true, I will put one shoe on your horsewithout any charge." To this Owlglass answered, "If you have iron andcoals, and there is plenty of wind in the bellows, the fault will beyours if the forge does not go on well." "That is undoubtedly true,"said the Smith; and he gave him the promised horseshoe. The assistant,as he was putting on the shoe, said that if he would tell him a truththat applied to him, he would put another shoe on his horse. In answer,Owlglass said, "A smith's assistant must work hard and not sparehimself if he expects to please his master." "That is true enough,"was the answer, and the horse had a second shoe. Then the wife and theservant wanted a truth told them, for which each promised his horse ashoe. Owlglass whispered his answer in the ear of each of these. To themistress he said, "When a servant apes her mistress's dress, she wouldbe mistress not only in dress alone." The Mistress marked his glancesas well as his words, and said, "That is true enough;" so there was athird shoe for the horse. And to the maid he said, "When a servant isbetter looking than her mistress, she will find it difficult to pleaseher in anything." The Maid said, "That I know to be true." So the horsegot its fourth shoe, and Owlglass rode further on his way.