The Butcher and the Thieves

Two thieves went into a butcher's shop. While one was waiting to be served., the other one stole some sausages off a plate, and passes them to his companion. The butcher noticed the sausages were missing, and accused the pair of having stolen them. The one who had the sausages swore he had not stolen them, and the one who had stolen them swore he did not have them,. Both told the truth, but the butcher beat them anyway.

"whoever took the sausages can take one of these as well,' the butcher said between blows. 'and however has them can have one of these as well.'

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!'

The Cat and the Hens

A cat had heard that all the hens in a chicken coop had fallen ill. He had been thinking for a long time of a way to get the door open, and at last this seemed lika a very good opportunity.

He dressed up as a doctor, with a bag full of instruments and medicines, and off he went to the chicken coop.

'Good day, hens, how are you feeling? I've come to give you a check up. Please open the door.'

But the chickens all answered together. 'Thanks very much, but we'll at feel a lot better if you would just go away, thank you.'

The Magic Table

A good-natured and industrious young man worked for a magician, who gave him a magic table as a payment. All he had to say was, 'Set yourself,' and everything he needed for a meal would appear on it. Thanks to this fit, the young man thought that he would not want for anything again for the rest of his life, and so he decided to return home, and so he decided to return home, to his father.

On the way, he stopped in a tavern for a meal and a night's sleep. The owner had no food left because he already had a large number of guests, so he told the young man he would have to make do with a crust of bread. It doesn't matter,' the young man said, not at all worried. 'I'll take care of the rest myself.' Then the magic table provided so much food, that all the others there were able to eat their fill as well. After that, the landlord decided that he could make good use of a table like that. He stole it and replaced it with one that looked the same, so that the young man did not notice. But the magic turned out to be with the young man who owned the table, not with the table itself. So the new table continued to provide the young man with all the food he needed, and when the landlord of the tavern tried to give orders to the table he had stolen, a stick appeared and give him a good thrashing!

The Sick Lion and the Prudent Fox

The lion was old and tired and realised that, if he still wanted to get enough to eat, he would have to resort more to cunning and less to force. So he pretended to be sick and retired to his den. Then, every time that one of his subjects came by, the lion would reach out with his paw, grab the visitor and eat him.

It came to the fox's turn, but the fox remained at the entrance.

'Do come in, fox!' said the lion cordially. 'Thank you, but I'd really rather not,' the fox replied. 'Although I can see so many footprints going in, I cannot see one which comes out!'

He Told No Lies

A farmer had a younger brother, who had the bad luck to be in love with the daughter of a duke. Her father was so mean that he would never agree to give her hand in marriage to anyone who was not rich. The elder brother therefore decided to do something to help the younger one.

First, he made his brother put on his oldest suit, which was patched with dozens of pieces of cloth. Then he got him to sit beside the fireplace, where the roof was sound. Then he put a bowl on his lap, and gave him two gold coins which he was to pass from one hand to the other, then into the bowl, then round again. Then he went to see the duke.

'How is your brother off for money?' the miserly father asked.

'I can honestly say that money is passing through his hands all the time?'

'What's the state of his house?'

'He has a sound roof over his dead.'

'Ah! So he is rich and has his own house!' exclaimed the duke. 'And what about his wardrobe?'

Said the older brother: 'He has far more pieces of cloth to wear than I have.

The miser was most impressed, not realising that he had not had a direct answer to any of his questions.

In his way, without telling a single lie, the wedding was quickly arranged.

The Cossack and the Witch

A valiant cossack came across some splendid apples on a tree, but they were enchanted and had been placed there by a witch in order to capture men. In fact, the cossack had scarcely touched one of the apples with when the witch appeared.

'I will give you a chance to save yourself,' she said. 'You must hide and I must try to find you. If you are clever enough to remain hidden for ten hours, then I shall marry you; if not, then you will be my slave!'

Now the cossack was very good friends with a fairy who changed herself into a great eagle and told the cossack to leap up onto its shoulders.

'I will carry you so high up that the witch will never be able to see you'.

Unfortunately, the witch had a magic book which told her everything, No sooner had she asked the book than she learnt exactly where the cossack was hiding. 'Come down out of the sky at once!' she screamed.

The friendly fairy then transformed the cossack into a needle, with which she sewed the pages of the witch's book together. The witch, thus, lost the challenge and had to keep her promise to marry the cossack. But she reformed completely and the two lived long and happily together.

The Stag and the Lion

A stag was immensely proud of his majestic set of antlers. Yet, on the other hand, he was extremely dissatisfied with his slender legs and hoofs.

One day a lion began to chosen him. By virtue of his speed, the stag succeeded in fleeing from the lion, but then he ran into a thicket and his antlers caught in the branches and he was trapped.

'Alas and woe is me!' thought the stag. 'How wrong I was to complain about my slender legs and delicate hoofs which have served me so well. How wrong I was to be so proud of my large antlers which are now the cause of my ruin!'

The Magicians' War

The Wizard of Ah had declared war on the Wizard of Oh. Oh changed himself into a wild horse and galloped away. Ah observed his escape and changed himself in his turn into a hare which ran off in pursuit. Just as Ah was about to catch up, Oh changed again into a wolf and threw himself on the hare. Ah would have been torn to pieces had he not changed into a bear, then Oh transformed himself into a lion.

To escape the wild fury of the lion, Ah became a swan and flew away. He realised that Oh was chasing him in the form of a falcon, and threw himself into the sea, where he took the form of a fish. Oh, who had now become a shark, was about to eat him in a single mouthful, when Ah succeeded in reaching shore just at the spot where the princess was about to pick up, when Oh appeared beside her in the form of a gold ring. She had just placed the ring on her finger, when a merchant, who was really Ah, arrived and bought the ring from the princess. the ring shattered into grains of wheat which fell to the ground. The merchant became a hen which gobbled up the grains, but one grain remained hidden and it now changed into a handsome prince, who, of course, married the princess.

The Casket with Something Good Inside

A young boy found an old casket while he was wandering about the woods. He was very excited and tired to guess what it contained. 'Golden coins? Jewels? Maps to guide me to fantastic treasures?'

The casket, however, was locked and the boy had nothing with which to pen it. Even more curious, he went out of his way to pass the hut of an old man who had a reputation as a fortune teller. The old man inspected the casket, felt if, smelt it, and finally said to the boy; 'There is something good inside.'

'What is it? Gold? Jewels?'

'Something good,' the old man repeated. 'More than this I cannot tell you.'

The young man was now sure that he had some great treasure in his possession and he felt more and more impatient. 'Something good,' he repeated again and again to himself. 'It must certainly be something of enormous value if the old man said that to me.'

Unable to control himself or to wait till he got home, the boy picked up a stone and began to bash at the lid until the casket finally broke open. Inside there was a liquorice root, but, unfortunately, because of the bashing he had given the casket, it too was broken.

The Golden Clog

The shouts of the shoeseller, going up and down the street with his donkey, laden with shoes and clogs for sale, had begun to annoy the townspeople. Wishing to be left in peace, they decided to buy all his goods. But once they had agreed a price per pair, the people noticed that the more clogs they bought and piled up in the street, the more full seemed to be the baskets of clogs on the wagon. There was no doubt that there was witchcraft at work. A great argument broke up.

At that very moment, the king passed by in his carriage. The towns people asked for his judgement, but the shoemaker made a gift of a golden clog to the little prince, who was with his father, and the king decided that no crime had been committed. As he announced this, the mysterious shoeseller disappeared.

Very soon after it was discovered that the golden clog was bewitched. Not only could nobody get it off, but the clog also grew little by little along with he prince's foot. Therefore it never caused him any paint at all.

Years later, the king chose a girl to be a wife for his son. Hardly had the marriage been celebrated when the golden clog began to hurt the prince. It only ceased to hurt him when his marriage was annulled. The king went to the court magician for advice, and learnt that his son would only be able to make a happy marriage to the girl who was able to make the golden clog from his foot. The princess of nearby kingdoms were the first to try, followed by all the duchesses, countesses, and common people in the land until there only remained a dirty scullery-maid! At that moment the shoeseller's cry was heard from the street and the girl, was changed at once into the most gentle and lovable princess. So, the king was content and the young prince and princess lived happily ever after.

The Fountain of Youth

On one of the islands of Japan there one lived an old woodsman with his equally elderly wife. Yoshida and Fumi, for these were their names, were happy with the long life they had lived together, but they knew that the day would come when death would separate even them and this was the only thing that made them sad.

One day, Yoshida went off into the forest, but everything had changed with the passing of years and the old woodsman lost his way. He found a spring and drank a few drops of water. He realised then that he had become suddenly as young and healthy again as he had been when he was twenty years old! He had discovered the legendary fountain of youth.

He ran home and his wife almost failed to recognise him. When. however, Fumi, learnt what had happened, she set off at once.

When a few hours had passed and still Fumi had not returned, Yoshida began to grow worried. He went back to the fountain and found there a baby girl who could not even walk! But Yoshida knew what to do; he took the baby in his arms, and, because of his great love for her, from that day on he acted as her father and they continued to live happily together for many more years.

Rita's Chicken

Rita was a good cook. One day, her master ordered her to prepare a roast chicken, because he was having a guest to dinner. The girl did her best and roasted the chicken so well that your mouth watered just to look at it; and in fact, her mouth really did water.

'I must just taste it and make sure that I've added enough salt,' she said to herself and broke off a wing and ate it. 'It's absolutely delicious!' she congratulated herself: 'But if I leave only one wing, then the master will be bound to notice that one is missing. It would be better if I ate the other wing as well.' By the time she had practiced some more of this logic, there was nothing left of the chicken when the master returned. Rita, however, assured him: 'The chicken is ready. You can even begin to sharpen the carving knife.'

The guest arrived shortly after. 'Run away! Quickly!' Rita whispered to him. 'My master only invited you here in order to kill you. Can you not hear him sharpening his knife?' The guest did not wait to be told again but fled immediately as fast as he could.

'That was a strange person you invited for dinner!' she immediately went and complained to her master. 'Your guest came in, stole the chicken I had cooked, and then ran away!'