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hundred. Ah, said the peasant, they no longer belong to me, I |
presented two hundred of them to the sentry, and three hundred the |
Jew has changed for me, so by right nothing at all belongs to me. In |
the meantime the soldier and the Jew entered and claimed what they |
had gained from the peasant, and they received the blows strictly |
counted out. The soldier bore it patiently and knew already how it |
tasted, but the Jew said sorrowfully, alas, alas, are these the heavy |
talers. The king could not help laughing at the peasant, and when |
all his anger was spent, he said, as you have already lost your |
reward before it fell to your lot, I will give you compensation. Go |
into my treasure chamber and get some money for yourself, as much as |
you will. The peasant did not need to be told twice, and stuffed |
into his big pockets whatsoever would go in. Afterwards he went to |
an inn and counted out his money. The Jew had crept after him and |
heard how he muttered to himself, that rogue of a king has cheated me |
after all, why could he not have given me the money himself, and then |
I should have known what I had. How can I tell now if what I have |
had the luck to put in my pockets is right or not. Good heavens, |
said the Jew to himself, that man is speaking disrespectfully of our |
lord the king, I will run and inform, and then I shall get a reward, |
and he will be punished as well. When the king heard of the peasant's |
words he fell into a passion, and commanded the Jew to go and bring |
the offender to him. The Jew ran to the peasant, you are to go at |
once to the lord king in the very clothes you have on. I know what's |
right better than that, answered the peasant, I shall have a new coat |
made first. Do you think that a man with so much money in his pocket |
should go there in his ragged old coat. The Jew, as he saw that the |
peasant would not stir without another coat, and as he feared that if |
the king's anger cooled, he himself would lose his reward, and the |
peasant his punishment, said, I will out of pure friendship lend you |
a coat for the short time. What people will not do for love. The |
peasant was contented with this, put the Jew's coat on, and went off |
with him. The king reproached the countryman because of the evil |
speaking of which the Jew had informed him. Ah, said the peasant, |
what a Jew says is always false - no true word ever comes out of his |
mouth. That rascal there is capable of maintaining that I have his |
coat on. What is that, shrieked the Jew, is the coat not mine. Have |
I not lent it to you out of pure friendship, in order that you might |
appear before the lord king. When the king heard that, he said, the |
Jew has assuredly deceived one or the other of us, either myself or |
the peasant. And again he ordered something to be counted out to him |
in hard thalers. The peasant, however, went home in the good coat, |
with the good money in his pocket, and said to himself, this time I |
have made it. |
There were once upon a time a king and a queen who lived |
happily together and had twelve children, but they were |
all boys. Then said the king to his wife, if the thirteenth |
child which you are about to bring into the world, is a girl, the |
twelve boys shall die, in order that her possessions may be great, |
and that the kingdom may fall to her alone. He even caused twelve |
coffins to be made, which were already filled with shavings, and |
in each lay a little death pillow, and he had them taken into a |
locked-up room, and then he gave the queen the key of it, and bade |
her not to speak of this to anyone. |
The mother, however, now sat and lamented all day long, until |
the youngest son, who was always with her, and whom she had |
named benjamin, from the bible, said to her, dear mother, why |
are you so sad. |
Dearest child, she answered, I may not tell you. But he let |
her have no rest until she went and unlocked the room, and showed |
him the twelve coffins ready filled with shavings. Then she said, |
my dearest benjamin, your father has had these coffins made for |
you and for your eleven brothers, for if I bring a little girl into |
the world, you are all to be killed and buried in them. And as she |
wept while she was saying this, the son comforted her and said, weep |
not, dear mother, we will save ourselves, and go hence. But she |
said, go forth into the forest with your eleven brothers, and let |
one sit constantly on the highest tree which can be found, and keep |
watch, looking towards the tower here in the castle. If I give |
birth to a little son, I will put up a white flag, and then you may |
venture to come back. But if I bear a daughter, I will hoist a red |
flag, and then fly hence as quickly as you are able, and may the |
good God protect you. And every night I will rise up and pray for |
you - in winter that you may be able to warm yourself at a fire, and |
in summer that you may not faint away in the heat. |
After she had blessed her sons therefore, they went forth into |
the forest. They each kept watch in turn, and sat on the highest |
oak and looked towards the tower. When eleven days had passed |
and the turn came to benjamin, he saw that a flag was being raised. |
It was, however, not the white, but the blood-red flag which |
announced that they were all to die. When the brothers heard that, |
they were very angry and said, are we all to suffer death for the |
sake of a girl. We swear that we will avenge ourselves - |
wheresoever we find a girl, her red blood shall flow. |
Thereupon they went deeper into the forest, and in the midst |
of it, where it was the darkest, they found a little bewitched hut, |
which was standing empty. Then said they, here we will dwell, |
and you benjamin, who are the youngest and weakest, you shall |
stay at home and keep house, we others will go out and fetch food. |
Then they went into the forest and shot hares, wild deer, birds and |
pigeons, and whatsoever there was to eat. This they took to |
benjamin, who had to dress it for them in order that they might |
appease their hunger. They lived together ten years in the little |
hut, and the time did not appear long to them. |
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