Andrew Lan's Twelve-Color Fairy Tale Series: Pink Fairy Tale Books

Chapter 27 Do You Know What I Have Learned?

Once upon a time there was an old man who had three daughters who married trolls who lived underground.

One day, he wanted to visit his daughters, and his wife prepared some dry bread for him to eat on the way.After walking for a while, he felt tired and hungry, so he sat down on the east side of a mound and began to eat bread.Suddenly the mound opened, and the little girl came out and said to him, "Oh, Father, why don't you come in and see me?"

"Hey," replied the old man, "if I know you live here, and if I can find any entrance, I'll go in and see you!"

Then he followed his daughter into the mound.

Soon, the troll came back, and his wife told him that his father was coming, and told him to buy some beef and make broth.

"Making broth? I have an easier way," said the troll.

He fastened a large iron nail to a piece of wood, and banged his head against the nail until a large chunk of flesh came out of his head.But his head looked fine, with no signs of being bumped at all.This makes the broth easy to prepare.

Then the troll gave him a big bag of money, and he carried it back home.When he was about to get home, he suddenly remembered that a cow at home was about to give birth.So he put the money on the ground, rushed home as fast as he could, and asked his wife if the cow had given birth.

"How can you run so fast," said the wife, "you haven't given birth yet!"

"Then you must go out and help me get that big bag of money back," said the old man.

"A big bag of money?" cried the wife.

"Yeah, a big bag of money!" he said. "That's pretty sweet, isn't it?"

The wife didn't quite believe him, but followed him out the door anyway.

They went to the place where the money had been put, but there was no money at all, and the thief had already stolen it.The wife was very angry and kept scolding him.

"Okay, okay," he said, "stop thinking about money, know what I've learned?"

"So what have you learned?" his wife asked him.

"Oh, I learned something anyway!" he said.

After a while, the old man wanted to visit his second daughter again.His wife still prepared dry bread for him.Tired of walking and hungry, he sat down on the east side of a mound and began to eat bread.At this time, the second daughter came out from the mound and asked him to go in, and he happily followed his daughter into the mound.

Before long, the troll returned.By this time it was getting dark, and his wife told him to buy some candles.

"Oh, we'll have light soon!" replied the troll.He put his finger in the fire, and it caught fire and glowed, but his hand wasn't burned at all.

The old man got two big pockets of money from his second daughter, and he walked home slowly with the heavy money on his back.When he was almost at the door of the house, he thought again of the cow who was about to calve.So he dropped the money, rushed home, and asked his wife if the cow had given birth.

"What's the matter with you?" cried the wife, "what are you doing so fast, it looks like the house is going to collapse! Don't worry, it hasn't had a cub yet!"

Only then did the old man ask his wife to help him get the two big pockets of money back.The wife didn't quite believe him, but he assured him repeatedly that it was true, and finally she agreed to go with him.They came to the place where they put the money just now, but the money was gone, and another thief took it all away.Of course the wife was furious, but he said, "Hey, if you knew what I've learned, you wouldn't scold me!"

After a while, the old man went out again, this time to see his eldest daughter.When he came to a mound, he sat on the mound to the east and ate the dry bread his wife had prepared for him.At this time, the eldest daughter came out from the mound and asked him to go in.

After a while the troll came home, and his wife told him to go and buy some fish.

"We can get fish in an easier way," said the troll to his wife. "Give me your dough trough and your ladle."

Then they sat in the dough trough and rowed out to a lake not far from the mound.After paddling in the lake for a while, the troll asked his wife, "Have my eyes turned green?"

"No, it's not green yet," said the wife.

He paddled a short distance before asking his wife, "Aren't my eyes green yet?"

"Oh, it's green," said the wife, "it's green now!"

So the troll plunged headlong into the water, and scooped up the fish with the ladle, and in a little while scooped up so many fish that the dough-trough could not hold them.So they paddled the dough trough back home and had a nice meal of fish.

This time, the old man got three pockets full of money, and he set off home with the money on his back.When they were almost at the door, he thought of the cow again, and put down the money again.But this time he took off his wooden shoes and put them on the money pocket, thinking that no one would come to take the money.Then he rushed home and asked his wife if the cow had calved.The wife said not yet, and seeing him rush home like this, she reprimanded him angrily.But in the end his wife believed his words and went with him to carry the three bags of money.

But when I got there, I only saw the pair of wooden shoes, and the money was gone, so the thief took the opportunity to take all the money.This pissed off his wife, who scolded him severely.But the old man was very calm. He said to his wife, "Stop thinking about money! Do you know what I have learned?"

"What have you learned? I'd like to know," said the wife angrily.

"You'll know!" said the old man.

One day, the wife wanted to eat broth, so she said to the old man, "Hey! Go to the village and buy a piece of beef and come back. Let's make broth!"

"That's unnecessary," he said, "I have an easier way!" So he drove a nail into the wood, and banged his head against the nail so hard that he had to lie down on the bed. for a long time.

After he recovered, one day his wife asked him to buy candles because there were no more at home.

"Oh," he said, "you don't have to buy that!" And with that, he put his hand into the fire.As a result, he had to lie on the bed for a long time.

When his hands were healed, his wife wanted to eat fish, so she asked him to buy fish.But the old man also wanted to show what he had learned.He told his wife to get out the dough trough and the ladle, and paddled out to the lake.After a short paddle in the lake, he asked his wife, "Have my eyes turned green?"

"No." The wife was puzzled, "how could it turn green?"

After paddling another short distance, he asked his wife, "Aren't my eyes green yet?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" His wife didn't know what he meant. "Why did your eyes turn green?"

"Oh dear," he said, "can't you just say my eyes have turned green?"

"Well then," said the wife, "turn green!"

When the old man heard this, he jumped into the water with a splash, with the fish ladle in his hand, and he never got up again.

(End of this chapter)