Lilac Fairy Book

Chapter 42 Plauschneck's Stone
Some of you may have read a book called "Kennes - Napoleon's Regiment".If so, you will remember how two Scotch children found in Russia were cared for by French soldiers to save them as much as possible from the horrors of the ghastly evacuation.There was a soldier from Brittany who often told the children stories about his native Brittany and the wonderful things that happened there, making them forget the cold and hunger.The best and warmest spots by the campfire were always the children's, but even so the frost kept the children shivering.Just then, the Breton soldier said, "Plauchneck is a seaside town, not far from Benny in the Sea." And so on, until Kenneth or Effie couldn't wait to ask a question. , interrupted him.Then he forgets how his mother told the story and starts all over again, and the story goes on for a long time.By the time the story is over, the kids are ready to cover up whatever they can find and go to bed.That's the story I'm going to tell.

Plauchneck is a small seaside town not far from Penny in the sea.The town is surrounded by a barren swamp, where no crops can grow, and even the grass grows so rough that any wild animal will not grow fat if it eats it.There are some cedar trees growing sporadically in the swamp, and the ground is covered with a thick layer of small pebbles. You may think it is a beach inadvertently.On the other side of the swamp, the gods (called Koligan) long, long ago erected two rows of huge stones.The boulder is so high and so heavy, it seems that all the gods in the world can't stand it up.

Not far from Boulder Road, on the banks of a little river called Intel, lived a man named Mazzini and his sister Rosenick.They always had plenty of black bread to eat, wooden clogs to wear, and a pig for tooth sacrifice, so the neighbors thought they were rich.Even better, they themselves consider themselves well off.

Rosenick is a beautiful girl with a handy mind and the best in anything she makes.She could have chosen one of the boys from Plauschnec as her husband if she wanted to.The girl didn't care about anyone else except Bernez because they were childhood sweethearts.Bernez, though hardworking, was very poor, so Mazzini told him very rudely to look for a wife elsewhere.No matter what Mazzini said, Rosenik smiled and nodded to him as always.At anyone she met, she would often turn her head and sing the old song.

Christmas Eve came, and all those who worked under Mazzini or on the nearby farms gathered in the big kitchen to drink honeyed soup and oily pudding.They are invited to enjoy these every special night.In the very center of the table, there is a large wooden bowl surrounded by a ring of wooden spoons so that everyone can take their turn.The benches were full of people, and Mazzini was about to signal to eat, when the door was pushed open suddenly, and an old man walked in, congratulating everyone on their appetite.Everyone stopped suddenly, and some people even showed a little scared look on their faces. It turned out that the person who came in was familiar to everyone. He was a beggar, and it was said that he was a wizard. Let the old man die inexplicably.Nevertheless, it was Christmas Eve, and he was not a man to offend, so the farmer invited him to dinner, and, like the others, gave him a wooden spoon, and made him sit at the table.

After the beggar came in, everyone stopped talking, and when the meal was over, they were all very happy.The old beggar asked if he could sleep in the stable, because he would freeze to death if he stayed out of doors at night.Reluctantly, Mazzini agreed, and Bernez took the key to open the door.There is only one old donkey and one lean cow in the stable, so even if there are a dozen beggars, there is enough to sleep.It was cold at night, so the old wizard made a pillow of reeds and lay between the donkey and the ox to keep warm.

He had walked a long way that day, and sometimes even wizards get tired, so he fell asleep despite the hard ground, until the bell tower of the Plauschneck church struck midnight.Hearing the bell, the donkey raised his head, shook his ears, and turned his face to the lean cow.

"Hey, buddy," she said, "we talked last Christmas Eve, how was your year?"

The bull didn't answer right away, but stared at the old beggar with disgust for a long time.

"There's only one piece of shit who can hear us," he replied gruffly. "What's the use of talking?"

"Oh, you can't waste your time complaining," said the donkey cheerfully, "don't you realize that the wizard is asleep?"

"His tricks ain't gonna make him rich," said the Bull. "He's stupid enough to never see that a week later he's going to be lucky."

"What kind of luck?"

"Oh, don't you know?" said the bull, "every 100 years, the boulders on the Plauschneck Wasteland will go to the river to drink water. When they leave, the treasures under them will be revealed." ?”

"Ah, I remember," answered the Donkey, "but the boulder will return soon, and unless you have a bunch of buttercups and clover in your hand, it will crush you to pieces."

"Yes, but that's not enough," said the Bull, "and even if you get away safely, all your treasures will turn to dust if you don't exchange them with a baptized heart. So first a Christian must die, Only you can enjoy the riches of Plauchnec."

The donkey wanted to ask some more questions, but found that he could not speak: the time for them to speak had passed.

"Ah, dear beasts," thought the beggar, who listened to everything, "you will make me richer than the men of Winners and Lorient. Time is ticking, and I will seek it tomorrow." Those rare plants."

He didn't dare to look too close to Plauschneck, for fear that someone who knew the story might guess what he was up to, so he went to the south, where the air was softer and the plants were evergreen.From dawn until the last ray of light disappeared from the sky, he searched every inch of the land where the magical plant might grow.He hardly cared for water and food, but at last he found Buttercup in a small valley.True, it is a great deal, but buttercups are useless without clover.Time is running out.

He was almost desperate, but the day before he had to go to Plauschneck, he found a half-hidden clump of clover under a rock.He was so excited that he could hardly breathe, he sat down on the ground and couldn't wait to search for the uprooted plant.Leaf after leaf he tossed aside in disgust, until he was nearly gone when he suddenly cried out with joy—there was a five-leaf clover in his hand.

The old beggar got up quickly, and without stopping for a moment, he walked quickly along the road leading to the north.The moon was very bright, and for several hours, he kept walking and walking, and he didn't know how many miles he had walked, and he didn't even feel tired.Finally the sun rose and the world began to clamor.He stopped at a farmer's door, asked for a glass of milk and a slice of bread, and was allowed to rest on the porch.Then he continued on the road, returning to Plauschnec as the sun was setting on New Year's Eve.

As he passed the long row of boulders, he saw Bernez chipping away at the tallest boulder with a chisel.

"What are you doing?" asked the wizard, "are you going to carve yourself a bed out of that great stone pillar?"

"No," replied Bernez calmly. "I happened to have nothing to do today, and I thought maybe I could carve a cross into this rock. A sacred symbol like that would always be welcome."

"I suppose you thought it would help you win Rosenick," the old man laughed.

Bernez stopped what he was doing and watched him for a moment.

"Well, you know even that," replied Bernez, "and it's unfortunate that Mazzini wants his brother-in-law to have more pounds than I have pennies."

"Suppose I send you more money than Mazzini dreamed?" the wizard looked around to make sure no one could overhear him, and whispered.

"you?"

"yes, I."

"What do I have to do to get that money?" Bernez asked.He knew very well that a Breton farmer would not give anything for nothing.

"All I need is a little courage from you," replied the old man.

"If that's the case, tell me what to do, and I'll do it," cried Bernez, throwing down the chisel, "and if it cost me thirty times I'd die."

When the old beggar was sure that Bernez would give him no trouble, he told him how the treasure beneath the boulder would be revealed that night, and in a few minutes the two of them would have more than they could spend in a lifetime.But he said nothing about the fate of the man without buttercups and clover.Bernez thought that courage and agility were enough, so he said: "Old man, I am very grateful for the opportunity you gave me. If there is anything I need to do, just ask. Please let me chisel this cross. It's almost here It's over, you set a time, and I will meet you in the fir forest."

"You must arrive an hour before midnight," replied the wizard, and continued on his way.

When the clock at Plauschneck Cathedral struck eleven, Bernez entered the fir grove.He found the old beggar had arrived, with a bag in one hand and another hanging around his neck.

"You're punctual," said the old man, "but we don't need to start yet. You'd better sit down and think what you're going to do when your bag is full of gold, silver and gems."

"Oh, it won't take me long," replied Bernez, laughing, "and I'll buy Rosenick whatever she wants, from cotton to silk, and Eat everything from white bread to oranges."

"The silver you got is enough to buy these things. What do you buy with gold?"

"With gold, I will make all Rosenik's relatives and friends in this parish rich," he replied.

"After gold is used like this, what about precious stones?"

"And I'll give the gems to everyone in the world," Bernez exclaimed, "and make them all rich and happy. I'll tell them Rosenick made it all."

"Hush! It's nearly midnight, and we must go," whispered the wizard.The two climbed to the edge of the woods together.

When the first bell struck midnight, there was a loud bang from the silent wilderness, and the ground under the feet of the two seemed to shake.The next moment, with the help of the moonlight, they saw that the nearby boulder left its original position, hurried, stumbling, walked down the hillside, and walked towards the river.After passing where Bernez and the old beggar stood they disappeared into the darkness.All this is as if a team of giants just passed by.

"Hurry up," whispered the wizard, and ran to the open cave.Even in the dark, the caves glow because of the treasures inside.The old man fell to his knees all of a sudden, and while filling the bag, he listened attentively to the boulder climbing up the hillside.At the same time, Bernez's movements were relatively slow, and he was putting handfuls of treasures he saw into bags.

The wizard had just finished filling the third bag, and was wondering if he could get more treasure, when a low humming sounded in his ears, like the sound of a distant storm.

Jushi had finished drinking the water and was rushing back.

They came, and the tallest one was the leader, leaning slightly forward one by one, invincible along the way.Seeing this scene, Bernez was terrified and said: "We are finished! They will crush us to death."

"I won't!" replied the wizard, holding up buttercups and clover, "these things will protect me. But in order to keep my treasure, I will have to sacrifice a Christian in exchange for the Stone. You are out of luck, Just happened to meet me." He said while holding up two magical plants, stretching towards the boulder that was running quickly.As if acknowledging some power greater than themselves, these behemoths parted left and right, ran past the wizard, then closed up again, and ran towards Bernez.

The young man didn't dare to run away. He knew it was useless to run away, so he knelt down and closed his eyes.Suddenly, the lead boulder stopped in front of Bernez so that no other boulder could pass by.

This was the same stone on which Bernez had carved the cross, and it was now a baptized stone with power to save the boy.

And so the stone remained before the boy until the other boulders were in their place.Then, like a bird, it flew straight to the mouth of its own hole, and pressed on the old beggar.The old beggar, who thought he was safe, was staggering under the weight of his treasure.

Seeing the boulder approaching, the old beggar hurriedly lifted up the magical plant, but the baptized boulder was no longer affected by the spell like other boulders, so he didn't dodge it and kept moving forward, crushing the old wizard to pieces and leaving him in the wilderness superior.

Bernez then returned home and showed Mazzini the treasure.This time, Mazzini did not refuse Bernez to become his brother-in-law, so Bernez and Rosenick got married and lived happily ever after.

(End of this chapter)