The Bewitched Mill

The old mill was inhabited by ghosts and no-one knew what went on there, because each person who passed a night there was speechless with fear by morning.

The owner of the mill was in despair, because no-one wanted to work there. So he was delighted when a young man, too simple to be scared, came looking for a job.

That night, when the young man sat down on the bench, the door opened before him and a table moved forward, laden with all kinds of good things. Invisible guests then began to dine and the young man joined in, not at all put out by the fact that the cutlery was moving of its own accord. At a certain moment, all the lights went out and the young man was slapped in the face.

'Do that again,' he said,' 'and you'll get a slap in return.' And when he did get another slap, he slapped right back at the invisible face. He went on all night, trading blow for blow. At dawn, all the strange happenings ceased, and after that nothing eve happened again, for ghosts are scared them-selves of someone who is not scared of them, and in fact they prefer to run away.

Apollo and the Shepherd

Apollo, who was the Greek god of music, was very proud of how well he could play the lyre. Everyone agreed that no music was as good as Apollo's until one day he was told of a shepherd called Olander, whose melodies on the flute were just as sweet as his. So Apollo invited Olander to Delphos, his island home, and challenged him to a contest.

First the god, and then the shepherd, played before a great audience, and the most wonderful melodies came forth from their instruments. The Muses, who were acting as judges. found it impossible to decide which of the two was the better musician. Very put out at this, Apollo proposed a second trial.

'This time let us play our instruments the opposite way,' he said. Again Apollo played first, but even though his lyre was upside down, beautiful music still flowed from it. Then it was Olander's turn. He put the other end of the flute into his mouth, but though he puffed and puffed, he was quite unable to produce a sound.

Only at the end did Olander realise that he had been tricked, because a flute cannot be played from the opposite end to the mouthpiece. So Apollo won, but the Muses still refused to give him any prize because he had won by trickery.

The Darning Needle

A large darning needle was very full of itself, almost as if it was a lacework needle, until one day, pushing through some tough cloth, its eye broke. But the seamstress did not want to throw it away, and used it instead to pin the scarf round her neck. The needle thought it had been promoted and became even more conceited.

One day, it slipped out of its high position, at the woman's neck, and landed in the kitchen sink. But it did not feel at all humiliated, rather it was convinced it had been made lord admiral of the seas, and was being sent out to discover new lands.

In truth, the only land it discovered was the drains, but all the dirt and waste that passed through only made it feel more important, because the needle remained slim and shiny. It even made a friend in its own social class - a bottle top, which, because it also shone, the needle thought worthy of its attention.

'I see that you are a diamond,' said the needle.

'And you are a sword,' replied the bottle top.

'Yes, you are right. I'm the king's sword.'

And the two of them are probably still there, telling each other about their exciting past lives.

The Deer-Witch and the Butterfly

One day a young hunter saw a magnificent deer and chased it through the woods. After a long pursuit, he arrived at a little house hidden in the middle of the forest, and there the deer was transformed into an old witch.

'You've fallen into my trap now,' cackled the witch, pointing a gnarled finger at him. 'Now I am going to change you into an animal as well.'

Terrified, the young hunter turned to escape, only to discover that the way was blocked by a toad, which suddenly changed into a bear. Then the witch changed again, this time into a black raven, which flew at the hunter to touch him and complete the evil spell.

But before the raven could reach him, a butterfly landed on the young man's shoulder and that was enough to break the witch's spell. The butterfly changed herself into a beautiful huntress with drawn bow and arrow pointing at the raven.

'Let us go, old witch, or else.....' she cried.

And then, even the beer, who was actually the brother of the huntress, returned to normal,. All three jumped onto the horse and escaped, followed by the uselessly croaking raven.

The Bell on the Cat

Several centuries ago, the mice called a meeting to consider their sad situation.

All the speakers agreed on the fact that it was all the fault of the cats, and they debated ways in which they could avoid being hunted by them.

Finally, a solution was proposed and everyone approved. It was decided to attach a bell to every cat so that the mice would hear them coming.

This law is still in force, but unfortunately no mice have come forward to volunteer to put the bells on the cats

The Lion and the Old Hare

In the jungle, there once was a fierce lion who killed many animals. The survivors decided that if they were not to suffer the same fate something must be done. The king of the jungle would have to make do with one meal a day, In return, to save him the effort of hunting, each day's victim would come to the lion of his own accord.

Things went on like this until it came to the turn of a cunning, old hare. Off he went to the lion, gasping as if he had just run a long way.

'On my way here,' he panted, 'I was attacked by a lion. But for my fast legs, I would never have escaped,'

'Another lion?' The king of the jungle roared with rage at the very idea of a rival. 'Where is he?'

'At the pool. He is big and young, stronger and braver than you.'

'We'll see about that. Take me to him.'

So the lion followed the hare to the pool and there, as he leaned over the edge, he saw another lion in the water below. He sprang at it immediately .... and that was how an old hare got the better of a cruel tyrant. And that is why there is why there is a proverb which says: 'Cunning is more powerful than brute strength'.

The Giant and the Miser

A good-hearted young giant heard tell of a blacksmith who was very miserly and the treated his workers very unjustly, so he went along to the workshop and asked to be taken on as an apprentice.

The blacksmith thought that such a big strong lad could probably do the work of a dozen others. He was tempted to take him on, but he wanted to know how much money he would have to pay him.

'Just give me a little something for each hammer blow,' replied the giant.

Thinking of the money he would not have to pay the others, the mean blacksmith agreed. He put his new apprentice to work in the forge, but with the first hammer blow, the anvil sank so far into the ground that it could not be pulled back out. The blacksmith realised that he had made a good bargain. He asked the giant to leave before he destroyed everything.

'How much do I owe you for that single blow?' he asked the giant.

'Not much,' answered the young giant. 'Just this....' And he gave the blacksmith a kick that sent him flying over the rooftops.