grey fairy tale book

Chapter 42 The Clever Tailor

Once upon a time there lived a very proud princess.Whoever proposed to her was tested by her with some riddle or puzzle.If the suitor can't answer, he will be kicked out of the city in despair, and will be ridiculed by everyone.The princess announced to the outside world that anyone can try to guess the riddle, and if anyone solves her riddle, he will become her husband.

Among the applicants, three tailors met together, and the two older tailors thought to themselves: "A good tailor like me has done a lot of exquisite needlework, and he didn't even miss a single stitch. I'm sure I'll succeed this time too." The third tailor was a young, lazy, mischievous rogue who couldn't even do needlework, but he was convinced that luck would be on his side—anyway, if he didn't If he came to try his luck, he didn't know what he should do.The other two tailors said to him, "You'd better stay at home! With your IQ, you can't fill a melon seed shell if you dig it out of your head. Don't be a toad trying to eat swan meat." But the little tailor didn't agree. be discouraged.He said that he had made up his mind and must find his own happiness.So he set off arrogantly, as if the world was under his control.

Three tailors visited the princess in that kingdom and asked her to write a question.They said confidently: "We are the ones who can guess the answer. We are smart and quick-witted, and we are as careful as a needle."

The princess said, "I have two different kinds of hair on my head. What color are they?"

"That's it?" said the first tailor. "They should be black and white, like a cloth called 'sesame'."

"Wrong," said the princess.

"Then," said the second tailor, "if it's not black and white, it must be red and brown, like my father's frock coat."

"It's wrong again," said the princess, "let the third one speak, for he looks like he knows everything."

So the little tailor stepped forward boldly and said, "The princess has two colors of hair, one is golden and the other is silver."

Hearing this answer, the princess turned pale, and almost fainted, for the little tailor had guessed right.She thought no one in the world would ever guess the answer.After a while, the princess returned to normal and said: "Don't be complacent, you haven't got me yet. First you have to do one more thing: there is a bear in the stable downstairs, and you must live with it for one night. If I wake up tomorrow morning You are still alive when you come here, so you can marry me."

She wished very much to get rid of the tailor in this way, for the bear was so fierce that no one had ever escaped alive from its paw.But the little tailor was not afraid at all. He said happily, "If you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't catch a tiger's cub."

As night fell, he was taken to the stables.The bear rushed over immediately, intending to give him a warm welcome with its big paw. "Slow down, slow down," said the tailor, "I will teach you to be quiet in a moment." Then, he took out a large handful of walnuts from his pocket, and ate them deliciously. , as if there was nothing in the world to concern or bother him.The bear was so hungry that he wanted some walnuts too.So the little tailor reached into his pocket, and took out a handful, and stuffed them into the bear's paw—but they were not walnuts, but pebbles.The bear stuffed them all into his mouth, but with all his might he couldn't crack the walnut's shell.

"My mother," thought the Bear, "I must be such a fool as not to be able to bite open a nut." He said to the little tailor, "Say, will you bite a nut for me?"

"What a fool you are," said the little tailor, "with such a big mouth and such a big hand that you can't bite a nut!" He took the stone, and quickly exchanged it for a nut , and then threw it into the mouth with a click, and the walnut was immediately bitten open.

"Let me try again," Xiong said. "If someone else shows me this kind of thing, I will learn it."

So the tailor gave him more pebbles, and the bear gnawed as hard as he could, until his teeth became loose, and he couldn't even crack a walnut.

The little tailor took out a violin and played it leisurely.The bear heard the music and couldn't help dancing.It danced happily for a while, and said to the little tailor, "I said, is it difficult to play the violin?"

"It's a piece of cake!" said the little tailor. "Look! You hold the strings with the fingers of your left hand like this, and draw the bow with your right hand, and that's it—as easy as you want, Sha la la la -"

"Oh!" cried the bear. "I wish I could play the violin like you, too, so I might dance. What do you think? Can you teach me?"

"Very gladly," said the little tailor, "if you have talent. But let me see your claws first... My God, your nails are too long, I have to cut them for you first." So saying, he Take out a pair of pliers, let the bear insert its claws in, and squeeze the pliers tightly.

"Now wait for me to find a pair of scissors." After finishing speaking, he left the bear aside, and lay down in the corner and fell asleep.The bear howled all night in pain.The princess heard him howling, and she thought it was howling with joy that he had killed the tailor.

The next morning, the princess got up happily.But when she looked into the stable, she found that the little tailor was standing at the door of the stable, looking healthy and alive.Now the princess could no longer break the promise she had made in front of so many people.So the King sent her and the tailor to the church in a royal carriage, where they were to be married.

The other two tailors were so jealous of the little tailor's good fortune, that they sneaked into the stable and let the bear out as soon as the royal carriage had set off.The bear wanted to tear the little tailor to pieces, and he ran after the carriage desperately while growling.The princess was frightened half to death, and she exclaimed: "Oh! My God! The bear is chasing us! It will catch us!" The little tailor had an idea, and thought about it.Stretching his legs out the window of the carriage, he called out to the bear, "See my pliers! If you don't get back right away, I'll have you in my pliers again!"

The bear was so frightened that he turned around and ran for his life.The little tailor drove the carriage safely to the church.They held their wedding there, and they lived happily ever after like loving mandarin ducks.Anyone who doesn't believe the story will be fined a dollar!

(End of this chapter)