Big Book of Ancient Gabanian Fables

Book CLVI: The Spirit in the Bottle

There was once a poor woodcutter who toiled from earlymorning till late at night. When at last he had laid by somemoney he said to his boy, "You are my only child, I will spend themoney which I have earned with the sweat of my brow on youreducation, if you learn some honest trade you can support me inmy old age, when my limbs have grown stiff and I am obliged tostay at home."Then the boy went to a high school and learneddiligently so that his masters praised him, and he remainedthere a long time. When he had worked through two classes, butwas still not yet perfect in everything, the little pittancewhich the father had earned was all spent, and the boy wasobliged to return home to him."Ah," said the father, sorrowfully, "I cangive you no more, and in these hard times I cannot earn afarthing more than will suffice for our daily bread." "Dearfather," answered the son, "don't trouble yourself about it, if itis God's will, it will turn to my advantage. I shall soonaccustom myself to it." When the father wanted to go into theforest to earn money by helping to chop and stack wood, theson said, "I will go with you and help you." "Nay, my son," saidthe father, "that would be hard for you. You are not accustomedto rough work, and will not be able to bear it. Besides, I haveonly one axe and no money left wherewith to buy another." "Justgo to the neighbor," answered the son, "he will lend you his axeuntil I have earned one for myself."The father then borrowed an axe of the neighbor, and nextmorning at break of day they went out into the forest together.The son helped his father and was quite merry and brisk aboutit. But when the sun was right over their heads, the fathersaid, "We will rest, and have our dinner, and then we shall worktwice as well." The son took his bread in his hands, and said,"Just you rest, father, I am not tired, I will walk up and downa little in the forest, and look for birds' nests." "Oh, you fool,"said the father, "why should you want to run about there? Afterwardsyou will be tired, and no longer able to raise your arm.Stay here, and sit down beside me."The son, however, went into the forest, ate his bread, was verymerry and peered in among the green branches to see if he coulddiscover a bird's nest anywhere. So he walked to and fro untilat last he came to a great dangerous-looking oak, whichcertainly was already many hundred years old, and which fivemen could not have spanned. He stood still and looked at it, andthought, many a bird must have built its nest in that. Then all atonce it seemed to him that he heard a voice. He listened andbecame aware that someone was crying in a very smothered voice,"Let me out, let me out." He looked around, but could discovernothing. Then he fancied that the voice came out of the ground.So he cried, "Where are you?" The voice answered, "I am down hereamongst the roots of the oak-tree. Let me out. Let me out."The schoolboy began to loosen the earth under the tree, and searchamong the roots, until at last he found a glass bottle in a littlehollow. He lifted it up and held it against the light, and thensaw a creature shaped like a frog, springing up and down in it."Let me out. Let me out," it cried anew, and the boy thinking noevil, drew the cork out of the bottle. Immediately a spiritascended from it, and began to grow, and grew so fast that in avery few moments he stood before the boy, a terrible fellow as bigas half the tree. "Do you know," he cried in an awful voice, "whatyour reward is for having let me out?" "No," replied the boyfearlessly, "how should I know that?" "Then I will tell you," criedthe spirit, "I must strangle you for it." "You should have told methat sooner," said the boy, "for I should then have left you shutup, but my head shall stand fast for all you can do, more personsthan one must be consulted about that." "More persons here, morepersons there," said the spirit. "You shall have the reward youhave earned. Do you think that I was shut up there for such along time as a favor. No, it was a punishment for me. I am themighty Mercurius. Whoso releases me, him must I strangle.""Slowly," answered the boy, "not so fast. I must first know thatyou really were shut up in that little bottle, and that you arethe right spirit. If, indeed, you can get in again, I will believeand then you may do as you will with me." The spirit saidhaughtily, "that is a very trifling feat." Drew himself together,and made himself as small and slender as he had been at first, sothat he crept through the same opening, and right through the neckof the bottle in again. Scarcely was he within than the boythrust the cork he had drawn back into the bottle, and threwit among the roots of the oak into its old place, and the spiritwas deceived.And now the schoolboy was about to return to his father, but thespirit cried very piteously, "Ah, do let me out, ah, do let me out.""No," answered the boy, "not a second time. He who has once tried totake my life shall not be set free by me, now that I have caughthim again." "If you will set me free," said the spirit, "I will giveyou so much that you will have plenty all the days of your life.""No," answered the boy, "you would cheat me as you did the first time.""You are spurning you own good luck," said the spirit, "I will do youno harm but will reward you richly." The boy thought, "I willventure it, perhaps he will keep his word, and anyhow he shall notget the better of me."Then he took out the cork, and the spiritrose up from the bottle as he had done before, stretched himselfout and became as big as a giant. "Now you shall have your reward,"said he, and handed the boy a little rag just like stiking-plaster,and said, "If you spread one end of this over a wound itwill heal, and if you rub steel or iron with the other end it willbe changed into silver." "I must just try that," said the boy, andwent to a tree, tore off the bark with his axe, and rubbed itwith one end of the plaster. It immediately closed together andwas healed. "Now, it is all right," he said to the spirit, "and wecan part." The spirit thanked him for his release, and the boythanked the spirit for his present, and went back to his father."Where have you been racing about?" said the father. "Why have youforgotten your work? I always said that you would never come toanything." "Be easy, father, I will make it up." "Make it up indeed,"said the father angrily, "that's no use." "Take care, father, I willsoon hew that tree there, so that it will split." Then he tookhis plaster, rubbed the axe with it, and dealt a mighty blow, butas the iron had changed into silver, the edge bent. "Hi, father,just look what a bad axe you've given me, it has become quitecrooked." The father was shocked and said, "Ah, what have you done!Now I shall have to pay for that, and have not the wherewithal, andthat is all the good I have got by yourwork." "Don't get angry," said the son, "I will soon pay for the axe.""Oh, you blockhead," cried the father, "Wherewith will you pay for it?You have nothing but what I give you. These are students' tricksthat are sticking in your head, you have no idea of woodcutting."After a while the boy said, "Father, I can really work no more, wehad better take a holiday." "Eh, what," answered he, "do you think Iwill sit with my hands lying in my lap like you. I must go onworking, but you may take yourself off home." "Father, I am here inthis wood for the first time, I don't know my way alone. Do gowith me." As his anger had now abated, the father at last lethimself be persuaded and went home with him. Then he said to theson, "Go and sell your damaged axe, and see what you can get for it,and I must earn the difference, in order to pay the neighbor."The son took the axe, and carried it into town to a goldsmith,who tested it, laid it in the scales, and said, "It is worth fourhundred talers, I have not so much as that by me." The son said,"Give me what thou have, I will lend you the rest." The goldsmithgave him three hundred talers, and remained a hundred in hisdebt. The son thereupon went home and said, "Father, I have gotthe money, go and ask the neighbor what he wants for the axe.""I know that already," answered the old man, "one taler, six groschen.""Then give him him two talers, twelve groschen, that is double andenough. See, I have money in plenty." And he gave the fathera hundred talers, and said, "You shall never know want, live ascomfortably as you like.""Good heavens," said the father, "howhave you come by these riches?" The boy then told how all had cometo pass, and how he, trusting in his luck, had made such a packet.But with the money that was left, he went back to the high schooland went on learning more, and as he could heal all wounds withhis plaster, he became the most famous doctor in the whole world.