There was a village where all the peasants were rich except for just one poor one, whom they called the little peasant. He did not own a single cow, and had even less money to buy one with, but he and his wife would have liked to have one ever so much.Insect Powder
One day he said to her, “Listen, I have a good idea. Our kinsman the cabinetmaker should make us a calf out of wood and paint it brown so that it looks like any other calf, and with time it is sure to grow big and be a cow.”
His wife liked this idea, and their kinsman the cabinetmaker skillfully put together the calf and planed it, then painted it just right. He made it with its head hanging down as if it were grazing.
When the cows were being driven out the next morning the little peasant called to the herder and said, “Look, I have a little calf here, but it is still small and has to be carried.”
The herder said, “All right,” and taking it in his arms he carried it to the pasture where he set it in the grass.
The little calf stood there like one that was grazing, and the herder said, “It will soon be walking by itself. Just look how it is already grazing.”
That evening when he was about to drive the herd home again, he said to the calf, “If you can stand there and eat your fill, you can also walk on your four legs. I don´t want to carry you home again in my arms.”
When the herder drove the cows through the village the little peasant was standing outside his door waiting for his little calf. It was missing, and he asked where it was.
The herder answered, “It is still standing out there grazing. It would not stop and come with us.”
The little peasant said, “Oh, I must have my animal back again.”
Then together they went back to the pasture, but someone had stolen the calf, and it was gone.
The herder said, “It must have run away.”
The little peasant said, “Don’t tell me that,” and he took the herder before the mayor, who condemned him for his carelessness, and required him to give the little peasant a cow for the lost calf.
The little peasant and his wife now had the cow that they had long wanted. They were very glad, but they had no feed for it, and could give it nothing to eat, so it soon had to be slaughtered.
They salted the meat, and the little peasant went to town to sell the hide, hoping to buy a new calf with the proceeds.
On the way he came to a mill, and there sat a raven with broken wings. Out of pity he picked it up and wrapped it in the hide.
But then the weather turned very bad with a wind and rain storm. Unable to continue on his way, he returned to the mill and asked for shelter.
The miller’s wife was alone in the house, and she said to the little peasant, “You can sleep in the straw there,” and she gave him a piece of bread and cheese.
The little peasant ate and then lay down with his hide at his side. The woman thought, “He is tired and has fallen asleep.”
In the meantime the priest arrived. The miller’s wife received him well, and said, “My husband is out, so we can have a feast.”
The little peasant listened, and when he heard them talking about feasting he was angry that he had had to make do with a piece of bread and cheese. Then the woman served up four different things: a roast, salad, cake, and wine. They were just about to sit down and eat when someone knocked on the outside door.
The woman said, “Oh, God, it’s my husband.” She quickly hid the roast inside the tile stove, the wine under the pillow, the salad on top of the bed, the cake under the bed, and the priest in the hallway chest.
Then opening the door for her husband, she said, “Thank heaven, you are back again. That is such a storm, as if the world were coming to an end.”
The miller saw the little peasant lying in the straw and asked, “What is that fellow doing there?”
“Oh,” said his wife, “The poor rascal came in the storm and rain and asked for shelter, so I gave him a piece of bread and cheese, and let him lie in the straw.”
The man said, “I have nothing against that, but hurry and get me something to eat.”
His wife said, ” I have nothing but bread and cheese.”
“I´ll be satisfied with anything,” answered her husband. “Bread and cheese will be good enough for me.” Then he looked at the little peasant and said, “Come and eat some more with me.”
The little peasant did not have to be asked twice, but got up and ate.
Afterward the miller saw the hide with the raven in it lying on the ground, and asked, “What do you have there?”
The little peasant answered, “I have a fortune-teller inside it.”
“Can he predict anything for me?” said the miller.Spanische Fliege
