grey fairy tale book

Chapter 35 The Demon
Once upon a time in the country of Magliano there lived a poor woman named Marcella, who had six beautiful daughters, all of whom were as straight as young cedar trees, plus A son named Antonio, this son is very stupid, almost to the point of idiot.Not a day went by when his mother didn't say to him, "What are you doing, you useless thing? If you weren't too stupid to take care of yourself, I'd throw you out of the house and never see you again."

The lad does something stupid every day.One day Marcela finally lost her patience and beat him up hard.Antonio ran away in fright until it was dark and the stars were twinkling in the sky.He walked aimlessly for a while, not knowing where to go.At last he came to the mouth of a cave, where sat a monster who was as ugly as he could say.

He had a large head and a wrinkled face—brows drawn together, squinting eyes, a flat nose, and a wide gap-like mouth with two huge fangs.He is covered with long hair, his arms are huge, his legs are like two swords, and his feet are like duck's feet.In short, he had all the ugliest and funniest things in the world.

Antonio, however, was by no means a coward, although he was a man with many faults, and besides, he was a kindly fellow.He took off his hat, and said: "Good morning, sir. I hope you are well. How far is it from where I am going, please?"

When the demon heard this unusual question, he couldn't help laughing.As he liked the boy's politeness, he said to him, "What will you do with me?"

"How much do you pay me?" Antonio replied.

"If you are honest and willing to work," replied the demon, "I promise you will be satisfied with your wages."

The deal was concluded, and Antonio agreed to be the demon's servant.He was treated superbly in every way.Because he didn't work much, or even had no work to do, within a few days he became as fat as a black bear, with a waist as thick as a bucket, as red as a lobster, and as aggressive as a chicken.

But two years later, the young man began to get tired of this kind of idle life, and desperately wanted to go home.The demon who read his mind knew that he was very unhappy, so he said to him: "My dear Antonio, I know that you are very longing to see your mother and sisters again, because I also regard you as my own treasure, so I am very willing to let you go. You go home. Take this donkey, and you don't have to walk. But be careful, don't tell it 'it's not good,' or you'll regret it."

Antonio led the donkey, jumped on the donkey without saying thank you, and left in a hurry.He came down before he had gone two hundred yards, saying, "No way, no way."

No sooner had he said this than the donkey opened his mouth, and spat out rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and pearls as big as walnuts.

Antonio gazed at the riches in amazement, and eagerly put them into a large sack, then mounted the donkey again, and went on until he came to an inn.After getting off his donkey, he went straight to the shopkeeper and asked: "My lord, I would like you to put this donkey in the pen for me, and feed this poor beast with oats and hay. Be careful not to hurt it. Say 'it's a bad deal,' or I dare say you'll regret it. Take care of that heavy bag, too."

The shopkeeper was no fool, and after hearing this strange warning, and seeing the light of the gemstone shining from the canvas pocket, he was anxious to know what would happen after using the forbidden language.So he prepared a good table for Antonio, brought him a bottle of good old wine, and made his bed comfortable.As soon as the poor fool closed his eyes and heard the drowsy snoring, the innkeeper hurried to the barn and said to the donkey, "It's bad, it's bad."As a result, the animal spit out a large amount of gemstones.

Seeing these treasures, the shopkeeper wanted to get his hands on the priceless animal, so he decided to steal the donkey from the foolish customer.At dawn the next day, Antonio woke up, rubbed his eyes, moved his limbs, and called the shopkeeper: "Please come here, friend, and get the bill. If you pay early, your friendship will last forever."

Antonio paid the bill, went to the stable, brought out the donkey which he thought was his, and tied a sack of stones to its back, for the shopkeeper had exchanged his stones, and got up and went home.

As soon as he got home, he shouted loudly: "Mom, come quickly, take the tablecloth and sheet, spread it on the floor, and look what a treasure I brought back for you!"

His mother hurried back to the house, opened the linen bag used to hold her daughter's wedding dress, took out the tablecloth and bed sheets, and spread them evenly on the floor.Antonio made the donkey stand on it, and then called out "Bay is bad!" but this time he heard nothing, because the donkey ignored the incantation.Donkey ears usually react when they hear the lyre playing.Antonio shouted again and again, "It's not good, it's not good." It's also useless, just like talking with the wind.

Out of disgust and anger at the poor animal, he seized a thick stick, and struck it hard until it was about to break all the bones.The poor donkey was so mad at being so ill-treated that instead of spitting out the gems, he tore and soiled the linen.

Seeing that the table-cloth and bed-sheets were ruined, and that, instead of getting the treasure, she was being tricked, poor Marcela took another stick, and beat Antonio so badly that he made him run back to the devil's cave and stopped. pace.

When the master saw the child returning in such a state of embarrassment, he immediately understood what was going on.The master did not pursue the matter, but told Antonio that he had been a fool to allow the shopkeeper to take advantage of him by defrauding the donkey from him with a poor animal.

Antonio humbly listened to the demon's reprimand, and vowed not to be a fool again.A year later, Antonio felt homesick again and wanted to see his relatives again.

Although the monster looks ugly, it has a kind heart.Seeing that Antonio was so restless and depressed, the goblin let him go home again.At the time of parting, the demon gave him a beautiful tablecloth and said, "Give this to your mother, and be careful not to throw this away as you did when you threw away the donkey last time. Don't let it go until you get home safely." Say 'tablecloth, open' and 'tablecloth, close'. If you do, disaster will befall you. I warned you."

Antonio set off, but not far from the cave, he put the tablecloth on the ground and said, "Open the tablecloth."After a while, the tablecloth opened automatically, and a large number of gemstones and other properties were displayed one by one.

Seeing this, Antonio said, "Close the tablecloth," and continued on his way.He came to the hotel from last time, called the owner over, and told him to keep the tablecloth properly, and told him not to say "tablecloth, open" or "tablecloth, close".

The rogue shopkeeper replied: "Just leave it to me, and I will take care of it as my own."

After serving Antonio to eat and drink, and setting up a bed for him, the shopkeeper went directly to the "tablecloth" and said, "Tablecloth, open it." The tablecloth opened immediately, revealing the incomparably expensive belongings, and the shopkeeper became suspicious on the spot.

The next day, when Antonio woke up, the master handed him an identical tablecloth.The silly boy carefully hung the tablecloth on his arm, and hurried back to his mother's house, saying to his mother, "This is a great fortune for our family, which is beyond the reach of greedy dreams. We don't have to go around in rags anymore." , and there is no shortage of delicious food.”

As he spoke, he spread the tablecloth on the ground and shouted "tablecloth, open it".Even if he said the spell a hundred times, it was useless, because nothing came out.Seeing this, Antonio turned to his mother and said, "That innkeeper, who is no different from a rascal, has cheated me once more, and I will make him regret it to death. When I go to his hotel again, I will make him a thief." Donkeys and robbing money are in trouble."

Marcella, furious at being disappointed again, could no longer hold back the boredom in her heart, turned to Antonio, cursed him, and told him to go away at once, because she did not want to recognize her son again.Disturbed by his mother's words, the poor boy returned to his master like a pinch-tailed dog.As soon as the goblin saw him, he guessed at once what was going on.He gave Antonio a good meal: "I really don't know how to let my words pour into your head, you useless fool! Whenever you have words, you have to shake them out, your long tongue never stops A moment. If you had said nothing at the inn, the disaster would not have caught up with you. So it seems you brought it on yourself."

Antonio listened to what his master said, just like a dog that has been beaten.After another three years of working under the hands of the demon, the feeling of homesickness struck again, and the longing for my mother and sisters was beyond words.

Therefore, he once again asked to go home to visit relatives, and he was granted right away.As he was leaving, the demon gave him a beautifully carved stick and said, "Take this stick as a memory of me. Just remember not to say 'Stand up, stick' and 'Lie down, stick', because if You did this, and all I can say is, I won’t be in the same situation as you when something happens.”

Antonio took the stick and said, "Don't make such a fuss, I'm not as stupid as you think, and I'm more sensible than most people."

"I am glad to hear you say that," replied the demon, "words are like a woman's, actions are like a man's. You heard my words. Be prepared."

Antonio expressed his sincere thanks to the host for his kindness this time, and then happily embarked on the journey home.But before he had gone half a mile he said, "Stand up, Stick."

As soon as the words were spoken, the stick rose, with the speed of lightning, and began to rain down poor Antonio's back, so that he almost lost the strength to say "Lie down, stick."Fortunately, as soon as this remark came out, the stick lay down, and he didn't beat him badly.

Although he had bought his lesson at a loss, Antonio was still full of joy, because he had found a way of taking revenge on the wicked shopkeeper.He came to the inn again, and the innkeeper received him with the same kindness and hospitality.Antonio greeted him cordially, and said: "My friend, please take good care of this stick for me, but, in any case, never say 'Stand up, stick', or you will regret it, and don't count on me Any sympathy will be sent to you."

The innkeeper thought that the third luck was coming, and let Antonio have a good dinner.Seeing him lying comfortably on the bed, the shop owner called his wife to watch the fun together, then ran towards the stick, and shouted impatiently, "Stand up, stick".

As he said this, the club sprang up and beat the shopkeeper so hard that he and his wife ran straight to Antonio, screaming as they ran, and begging for mercy after waking Antonio.

Seeing that the trick worked, Antonio said: "Unless you return what you stole from me, I will not save you, and you will die." Thinking that he would be killed, the shopkeeper shouted: "Take Take your property, only that I shall not suffer from this dreadful club." Having said this, he had the donkey, the table-cloth, and other goods brought up, to be returned to their owners.

As soon as Antonio had recovered his belongings, he said "Lie down, stick," and the stick ceased beating the innkeeper.

Then, he took his donkey, tablecloth, and stick, and returned home safely.This time, all the spells are on command, and the donkey and the tablecloth bring endless wealth to the family.Before long, Antonio married off all his sisters, which made his mother's life rich, and all of them lived happily ever after.

(End of this chapter)