FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   267   268   269   270   271   272   273   274   275   276   277   278   279   280   281   282   283   284   285   286   287   288   289   290   291  
292   293   294   295   296   297   298   299   300   301   302   303   304   305   306   307   308   309   310   311   312   313   314   315   316   >>   >|  
much in my sleep." "Show me what you earned," cried the parson. But Hans answered, "Fools jingle their copecks, but wise men hide their roubles." When they reached home, Hans did his duty zealously, unharnessed and fed the horses, and then walked round the church till he found the stone in the wall that was not mortared. On the first night after the full moon, when everybody else was asleep, Hans crept quietly out of the house with a pickaxe, wrenched out the stone with much difficulty, and actually found the hole with the money, just as the dwarf had described it to him. Next Sunday he divided the third part among the poor of the parish, and gave notice to the parson that he was about to quit his service, and as he asked no wages for so short a time, he got his discharge without any demur. But Hans travelled a long way off, bought himself a nice farm-house, married a young wife, and lived quietly and comfortably for many years. At the time when my grandfather was a shepherd-boy, there were many old people living in our village who had known Hans, and who bore witness to the truth of this story. [Footnote 62: Hans is a generic term in Esthonia for the cunning fellow who always contrives to outwit the Devil, &c.] THE TREASURE AT KERTELL. (JANNSEN.) During a great war, the people of Kertell, in the island of Dagoe, caused a great iron chest to be made, wherein they stored all their gold and silver, and sunk it in the river near the old bridge. But they all perished without recovering it. Many years afterwards, a man who was passing by in the evening saw a small flame flickering in the air. He laid his pipe on a stone and followed the flame; but it disappeared, and on going to pick up his pipe, he found it gone, and money lying on the stone. But afterwards, whenever he passed the stone, he found money. His companions advised him to consult a magician with respect to raising the treasure, of which the tradition had persisted; and the magician directed him to go to the place where he had seen the flame on three successive Thursdays, and sacrifice a cock, but not to speak of it to any one.[63] On the third Thursday, he took some companions with him; and when the cock was sacrificed, the treasure-chest appeared above water, and they dragged it to shore with great labour. But one of the party looked towards the bridge, and saw a little boy mounted on a pig riding over it. He exclaimed to his companions,
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   267   268   269   270   271   272   273   274   275   276   277   278   279   280   281   282   283   284   285   286   287   288   289   290   291  
292   293   294   295   296   297   298   299   300   301   302   303   304   305   306   307   308   309   310   311   312   313   314   315   316   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

companions

 

quietly

 

magician

 

bridge

 

treasure

 

parson

 
people
 

evening

 
recovering
 
perished

passing

 
TREASURE
 
KERTELL
 

JANNSEN

 
During
 

fellow

 
contrives
 

outwit

 
Kertell
 

stored


silver

 
island
 

caused

 

sacrificed

 

appeared

 

Thursday

 

successive

 

Thursdays

 

sacrifice

 

dragged


mounted

 

riding

 

exclaimed

 
labour
 
looked
 

cunning

 

passed

 

disappeared

 

advised

 

directed


persisted

 

tradition

 
consult
 

respect

 
raising
 
flickering
 

grandfather

 
mortared
 
walked
 

church