The Gnome and the Little Tortoise

Thunderbolt, the gnome, was the best messenger in the land. He could carry messages, letters of packages from one place to another so quickly that he earned many rewards. But still he was not content, because he had no son to inherit his position.

One day, another gnome gave him a box to a witch, but as soon as he set off, Thunderbolt heard a voice from the box, begging him to open the lid. Inside was tiny prince, made small by an evil spell. Thunderbolt would have really liked to help the prince, but he did not know the magic words which would open the box, so he had no choice but to deliver the box to the witch. Then he picked up the receipt, and took it back to the gnome who was really very angry, because he knew that Thunderbolt with a pigeon's egg, from which he said, a child would be born. Thunderbolt was delighted, and persuaded a a pigeon to sit on the egg. Then he waited, but when the egg finally hatched, out came, not a child as promised, but a a tortoise. Nevertheless, Thunderbolt decided to keep the little creature, and he loved it like a son.

Contrary to appearance, little Tortoise was very fast, so much so that he could travel long distances, in order to pass on a manager, and be back in a few minutes. People would come from all over the world to marvel at him. Then, one day, along came a richly dressed man who, to the amazement of Thunderbolt, suddenly struck little Tortoise with a hammer blow so hard that it broke the shell. Out came a handsome young gnome.

Then it was revealed that the rich man was none other than the tiny prince in the box. He had been released from the evil spell, and had come back to reward Thunderbolt by granting him his dearest wish, for a son. SO everyone lived happily ever after.

The Geese Who Kept Guard

I ancient Rome, at one time the people were so complacent that they sent their army to fight far away, and left the city itself without defences. Then an invading army of barbarians, called Gauls, attacked the city and captured it. Only a few young men retreated to the rock of the Capitol, where the treasures of the city had been taken, and there they prepared to defend it, until the return of the Roman army.

Many times, the Gauls tried to climb the steep sides of the rock, but they were always driven back and they had to content themselves with laying siege to the Capitol. But, in the end, they found a secret path up the side of the hill, and decided to attack by night.

It was so dark that the Roman sentries did not see them, but the alarm was raised by the geese on the Capitol, which were kept there for sacrificing to the gods. The geese heard the Gauls and began to honk loudly. The Romans awoke, seized their arms, and replied the attack.

Later, when Rome was saved by the returning army, it was decided that the geese should never again be scarified to the gods, in recognition of their services as sentries on the Capitol.

Why Beans Have a Split in the Middle

A woman, who was preparing a pot of soup, dropped on the floor a bean, a piece of red hot coal and a piece of the straw she had used to light the fire, These three things were all glad to have escaped, and they decided to run away, before they were picked up again and thrown in the fire.

As they ran down the path, they found a small stream in their way. The piece of a small stream in their way. The piece of straw generously offered to lie down and make a bridge from one side to the other, so that its companions could cross over.

The bean and the coal were very grateful, but the coal, who went first, reached the middle of the bridge, looked down and became so frightened that it stopped. Then, because the coal was still lot, it set fire to the straw, and both fell into the water and were carried away. All this made the been laugh so much that it split its sides. Luckily, a passing tailor found it, and sewed it back together again. And from that day on, all the beans in the world still carry the scar down their backs.

The Spirit in the Bottle

A young student walking in the woods, when he heard a small voice calling to him. He looked all around, but could not see anyone, The voice called out again, and appeared to come from the roots of an enormous oak tree. There the student found a bottle, in which there was a tiny man, who begged him, 'Let me out.'

So the student removed the cork, and a cloud of smoke emerged and grew into a frightening giant.

'I am a genie,' said the giant, 'and I was imprisoned in the bottle by a magnician. But now that I am freed, prepare to meet your end!'

'Wait a minute,' said the young man. 'I don't believe one word you have said. A giant your size could not have really come out of that little bottle. You could never get into it.'

'Of course I can,' said the genie. 'I'll prove it to you,' But as soon as the genie returned to the bottle, the young man put the cork back in. The next time, in order to get free, the spirit had to make a bargain with the student not only would it refrain from killing him, but it had also to give him a dagger which turned to gold everything it touched, and healed all wounds. And afterwards, thanks to that magic dagger, the student became a rich and famous doctor.

The Generous Camel

At the beginning of time, in a large Arabian city called Tamul, the earth began to have and tremble until eventually a huge camel burst forth from it. From the camel burst forth from it. From the camel's head to its tail was over seven hundred paces, and it was as tall as the nearby hills.

Before the people could get over their surprise, this giant camel gave birth to a baby camel. Then the two of them went off together into the mountains.

Thereafter, the great camel would come down into the city every morning to give its milk to whoever wanted it, so nobody was hungry any more. But the great camel itself needed a lot of water to drink, and as Tamul did not have enough water for everyone, the inhabitants decided that they themselves could only use the wells on alternate days., Thanks to this, everybody had enough to eat and drink.

But the miraculous camel was not popular with the owners of goats, because nobody would buy goats' milk any more. And the owners of gardens no longer had enough water for their lawns. So these tow groups joined forces and chased the giant camel away.

From then on, in Tamul, only a few people had milk and flowers, while all the others suffered hunger and thirst.

The Frog and the Ox

A frog decided that it wanted to become as bi as an ox.

So it began to breathe, in, and in, and every time it swallowed more air, it did in fact become bigger.

But it soon began to tire of its efforts.

'Am I big enough yet?' it asked hopefully of its many watching companions.

Then they had another look at the ox and shook their heads, 'No, a bit more.'

So the ambitious frog kept on puffing itself up and up....until it burst like a balloon!

The Crystal Castle

A prince and a princess were very much in love, and had already exchanged betrothal rings, when a jealous magician kidnapped the girl. For many years, the desperate young man wandered about the land in search of his beloved. Finally, he found that she was being kept prisoner in a castle with high crystal walls that were so smooth that even a fly could not climb them.

No matter how hard he tried, the prince could not think of a way in. Then one day, in the woods nearby, he heard some cries for help. There he found three hideous old witches who had wandered into a swamp.

'Good riddance,' thought the prince, but then, because the cries were so pitiful, he relented, and rescued them from the swamp. In gratitude, the witches gave him three gifts; a sick which could open any door, a horse that could fly, and a cloak which would make the wearer invisible. With these gifts, the prince was at last able to release the princess was at last able to release the princess from the crystal castle. Invisible in the cloak, he flew on the horse to the topmost tower, and with the stick opened the door to her prison. And soon after, they were married and the three witches were welcome guests at the feast.

Catherine and the Cheeses

Catherine the farm girl was so simple and naive that she was always getting into trouble. One day, she was taking the cheeses to market, when one fell out of her basket and rolled off down the hill.

'I really don't feel like chasing after it,' she thought. 'I'll send someone else to get it back.'

So she rolled another cheese off after the first. She waited and waited, but neither of the cheeses came back. 'Perhaps they want company,' thought Catherine, and sent off a third cheese. When none of them came back, she thought that perhaps the third cheese had gone the wrong way, and so she sent sent a fourth to look for it. She then set off the fifth cheese, and the sixth, and the seventh, until eventually her basket was empty.

For a while, she waited patiently but then she grew annoyed. "If you cheese think I can be bothered wasting time waiting for you, you're wrong. I'm going ahead without you, and you can just run along behind me. That'll teach you to be so disobedient.'

So she arrive at the market empty handed, and her husband shouted at her. 'Why are you getting angry?' said Catherine. 'In just a few minuted those cheeses will be along, you'll see!'