john the lucky

 

 

tale of the brothers grimm

translation by Renate Kaufmann
review by Ruth Salles

John served his master for seven years and then said to him:

– Sir, my term is up, and I would now like to go back to my mother's house. Give me my salary.

The boss replied:

— Thou hast served me faithfully and honestly; as was the service, so must be the salary.
And he gave him a piece of gold that was the size of John's head. John took his handkerchief from his pocket, wrapped the gold in it, put it over his shoulder, and set out for home. And as he was walking along, always putting one leg in front of the other, there appeared before his eyes a cheerful and cheerful rider mounted on a horse full of life, which came at a trot.

– Oh! – said João, very loudly – What a beautiful thing to ride! One goes on sitting as if in a chair, one does not trip over any stone, one saves the shoe and goes forward without even knowing how.

The knight, who had heard him, stopped and shouted:

– Hey, John! Why are you walking?

“There is no other way,” he replied, “because I have to carry this block home. Admittedly, it's gold, but I can't even keep my head straight, and on top of that, he pinches my shoulder.

– You know what? - Said the knight - Let's make an exchange: I give you my horse, and you give me your block of gold.

“With pleasure,” said John, “but I warn you that you will have to carry it.

Joao was beaming with happiness when he found himself on top of the horse and, free and unimpeded, went out there. After a while, it occurred to him that he could go even faster, and he began to click his tongue and shout, “Whoa, whoa!”

The horse started at a stronger trot, and John, before he knew it, was thrown from the saddle and fell into a ditch that separated the fields from the road. The horse would even have run if it hadn't been stopped by a peasant, who was walking along the path leading a cow in front of him. John gathered his bones and stood up again. He was, however, annoyed and said to the peasant:

– It's a dull joke to ride a horse, especially riding a matungo like this one, who shakes us and knocks us over so that we can break our necks; I don't ride anymore, not now or ever. That's why I admire your cow, which can be driven with peace of mind and which, besides, surely gives us butter and cheese every day. What I wouldn't give to have a cow like this!

“Now,” said the peasant, “if it pleases you so much, I would very much like to exchange the cow for the horse with you.

John agreed, beaming with joy, and the peasant jumped on his horse and hurried away.

João calmly led the cow ahead of him, thinking about the good deal he had made: “Let's just have one piece of bread (and I won't miss that); so whenever I want, I can eat it with butter and cheese. If I'm thirsty, I just milk my cow and drink the milk. O my heart, what more can you desire?”

Arriving at an inn, he stopped, ate with great joy everything he had brought with him, his lunch and dinner, and, with his last coins, he poured himself a glass of beer. Then he continued driving his cow, always towards his mother's village.

The heat was becoming more and more stifling as noon approached, and John was on a heath which it would still take him an hour to cross. Then he began to feel very hot and, from being so thirsty, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. "There is a remedy for that," he thought, "I will now milk my cow and refresh myself with her milk." He tied her to a dry tree and, as he had no bucket, took his leather cap for a bowl; but, in spite of his efforts, not a drop of milk appeared. And as he milked very clumsily, the impatient animal ended up giving him such a kick on the head with one of its hind legs, that he staggered and fell to the ground, not knowing where he was for some time. Luckily, a butcher was coming along the way, carrying a little pig in a wheelbarrow.

– What arts are these? he exclaimed, helping good John to his feet.

John told what had happened. The butcher handed him his bottle and said:

- Take a drink and restore your strength. The cow doesn't want to give milk anymore, it's old; it only serves as a draft animal and for cutting.

– Well, well… – said João, smoothing his hair – who would have thought? There is no doubt that it is good when such an animal can be slaughtered at home; how much meat is not enough! But I don't mind beef, it's not juicy enough for me. Ah, if only I had a little pig like this… It tastes different and still makes sausages.

- Listen, John - said the butcher - To please you, I want to make a trade and leave you the pig instead of the cow.

"May God reward you for your kindness," said John. And, handing him the cow, he let the other one take the little pig out of the cart and put the rope that tied him in his hand.

João went on his way thinking about how everything was going according to his wishes; so if an annoyance occurred to him, it was immediately remedied. Soon he was joined by a young man who had a beautiful white goose under his arm. They greeted each other, and João began to talk about his luck and how his exchanges had always been advantageous to him. The young man said that he took the goose to a christening party.

“Hold it a little,” continued he, taking it by the wings, “see how heavy it is; but, also, he was in the fattening for eight weeks. Whoever eats it roasted will need to wipe the fat from both corners of the mouth.

"Yes," said John, and lifted him up with one hand, "he's got his weight, but my pig isn't the lightest either.

However, the young man looked cautiously to all sides and still shook his head.

“Listen to me,” he began to say then, “there's something wrong with your pig. In the village I came from, one was stolen from the mayor's pigsty. I'm afraid… I'm afraid it's the one you take by the hand. They've already sent people looking for you, and it would be a bad deal if they caught you with him. At the very least they would put you in a dark prison.

Good John was afraid.

- Oh my God! – he said – Help me out of this difficulty, since you know these surroundings better; take my pig and give me your goose.

- I will have to take some risk - replied the young man - but I do not want to be blamed for your misfortune.

So he took the rope by the hand and quickly pulled the pig into a shortcut. Good John, freed from his worries, then set out for his native village, with the goose under his arm. 'If I think about it,' he said to himself, 'I still gain from the exchange: first of all, a good roast; then the amount of fat left over, ah… that will make bread with goose fat for three months; and, finally, the beautiful white feathers with which I will stuff my pillow, on which I will sleep without needing to be cradled. What joy my mother will have!”

As he passed the last village, a scissors-grinder was there with his cart. His wheel was purring, and he was still singing:

– I sharpen scissors all the time.
Fast the wheel I move
and hang up my coat as the wind blows.

João stood looking at him and finally asked him:

“Things are going well for you, for you are sharpening so happily.

“Yes,” replied the grinder, “every trade has coins at the bottom. A good sharpener is a man who, every time he reaches into his pocket, finds money. But where did you buy that beautiful goose?

– I didn't buy it, I just traded it for my pig.

– And the pig?

– This one I got in exchange for a cow.

– And the cow?

– I got it in exchange for a horse.

– And the horse?

“I gave him a block of gold the size of my head.

– And the gold?

“Why, that was my salary for seven years of service.

- In any situation you did very well. - Said the grinder - And now, if you can hear the coins jingling in your pocket when you get up, your life will be done.

– And what should I do for that? asked John.

– You will have to be a grinder like me; for this you don't need more than a whetstone, the rest will come by itself. I have one, which is actually a little spoiled, but on the other hand, you'll only have to give it to your goose. Do you agree?

– Do you still have to ask? – replied John – I will be the happiest man on the face of the earth; if I have money every time I put my hand in my pocket, what more can I want?

And he passed the goose to him, and he received the whetstone.

- And now - said the grinder, and picked up a common, heavy stone, which was beside him on the ground - here you have another great stone on which you can beat well and straighten old nails. Take it and keep it carefully.

John took the stone and continued to walk with his heart full of joy; her eyes gleamed with happiness.

– I must have been born enveloped. - He exclaimed - Everything I desire comes to meet me as if I were a child born on a Sunday.

However, as he had been on foot since daybreak, he began to feel tired; hunger also tormented him, for he had already eaten all his provisions at once, in the joy of having traded the cow. Finally, it was only with effort that he continued and he had to stop at every moment; besides, the stones weighed him too much. He couldn't help but think how good it would be if he didn't have to carry them anymore. Like a snail, he slowly reached a well and wanted to rest and quench his thirst with a sip of fresh water.

But so as not to damage the stones as he sat down, he placed them carefully beside him at the edge of the well. Then he sat down and was about to bend over to drink when, inadvertently, he bumped them slightly, and they both fell into the water. John, seeing with his own eyes the stones sinking to the bottom, jumped for joy, knelt down and thanked God, with tears in his eyes, for having granted him even more this grace, to free him from the heavy stones, without his having from which to reproach himself, for they alone were hindering him.

'There is no man under the sun,' he cried, 'who is as fortunate as I am.

And then, carefree and unburdened, he lay down running, until he reached the house and went to his mother's side.

 

 

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