Once upon a time there lived a poor farm-hand who could barely earn enough to support his family. Of his three children only the youngest, a son, had survived. He was nine when his parents died, one after the other. All he could do now was to go begging at the doors of kind folks. One day he came to a farm whose owner needed a cow-herd. The farmer was a kind-hearted man, but it was the wife who wore the breeches in that household, and a real termagant she was. It is easy to imagine how the poor orphan was treated. The flogging he had to endure would have been more than a fair share for three, and he was fed very grudgingly. Still the orphan was obliged to put up with all that because he knew nothing better awaited him anywhere.

One day a cow strayed from the herd and got lost. Until sunset the boy rushed frantically about the forest in search of the cow, but in vain. Although he knew he was in for a severe beating, he could not linger any longer for he had to drive the cattle home at sunset. The sun had barely disappeared below the horizon, when already the farmer's wife bawled,

"You, lazy dog! Where have you been that long!"

There was nothing the boy could do but face what was coming to him. Even in the twilight the farmer's wife detected at once that one cow was missing. Without uttering a word she pulled a stake from the paling and started cudgelling the child with such fury that she might have killed, or at least crippled him, had not the farmer, hearing the boy's cries, come to his aid. As he knew his wife's temper well enough he did not trust to interfere in a straightforward manner. Therefore he assumed the role of a go-between or a peacemaker. He said, half pleadingly,

"It would be no good to break his legs, for then he would not be able to find the cow for us."

"This is true," agreed his wife, "he'll be more worth to us alive than dead." With a couple of final punches she dismissed the orphan, telling him to return to the forest. "If you come back without the cow I'll beat you to death," she threatened.

Weeping and groaning with pain the little boy went out of the gate and made straight for the forest where the cattle had grazed by day. He spent the whole night searching for the stray cow, but could not find a trace of it.

When the sun came up the next morning the boy made a desperate decision. He said to himself, "Come what may, I'll never go back home." Having uttered these words he started running. He ran straight on without stopping, and every step carried him farther away from home. How long or how far he had run, he did not know, but when at last he fell to the ground exhausted, the sun was high up in the sky. Waking up after a long heavy sleep he felt the taste of honey in his mouth. He opened his eyes and saw a tiny old man with a long grey beard in front of him plugging up a small cask.

"Give me some more of this drink," begged the boy.

"That will do for today," replied the old man. "If by chance my path had not led me here, this sleep would have very nearly been your last, because you were half dead when I came upon you."

Then the old man was curious to know who the boy was and where he was wending his way to. The orphan gave him an account of his life, from the earliest memories until the beating of the night before, and how he had taken to flight after that. Silent and in deep reflection the old man listened to his story. After a long while he said gravely,

"My dear orphan, your lot is neither better nor worse than that of other children who no longer have anyone to care for them and to dry their tears. You can't go back home. Once you decided to run away you'll have to seek your fortune in the wide world. I have neither a home of my own, nor a wife, therefore I cannot take you with me and look after you. But I will give you good advice. Spend this night here and have a sound sleep. In the morning when the sun comes up, start walking towards sunrise and travel so that the sun is always in your eyes in the morning and at the back of your head when it sets. The journey will be a little long, but you'll have no reason to complain. You'll grow stronger by the day. After seven years you'll come to a high mountain whose top nearly reaches the clouds. This is where you'll find your fortune.

Here are my food-bag and the cask. These will provide you with enough to drink and eat. But mind you don't waste even one morsel of bread, or a drop of drink, otherwise your provisions will run short. If you share your food with a hungry bird or a thirsty animal, there is no harm in it. God sees it with pleasure that one of His creatures does a good turn to another. At the bottom of the bag you will find a folded burdock leaf. Be very careful not to lose it. When you come to a river or a lake on your route spread the burdock leaf on the water. It will change into a boat immediately and carry you across the water. Once you are across roll the leaf up again and put it back in your bag."

Having given these instructions he handed the boy his bag and the cask, and with a good-bye, he vanished.

The orphan would have considered it all a dream, had there not been the evidence of the food-bag and the cask. Looking into the bag he found half a loaf of bread, some salted herrings, a small wooden bowl of butter in it, and a fair chunk of ham into the bargain. It was a long time since he had last tasted such delicacies. The cask contained a beverage that tasted like fresh milk and mead, and it was delicious. Having had his supper he laid himself down to sleep with his bag and cask under his head that nobody could steal them.

Next morning he got up with the sun, had a good breakfast and started on his journey. Strangely enough his feet never felt tired, and only the sensation of hunger reminded him that it was dinner-time. Then he ate his fill, took a long afternoon nap and padded along. There was no mistake about the course he held: the sun set straight behind his back.

In this manner the boy had tramped for several days when he saw a small lake in front of him. He was anxious to test the magic power of the burdock leaf. It happened just the way the old man had said: there appeared on the surface of the water a small boat with oars in it. The boy stepped into the boat and with a few pulls reached the opposite shore. There the boat again changed into a burdock leaf which the boy put back into his bag.

The traveller moved eastwards for several years, his food and drink never running short. Seven years went by. The boy had grown into a sturdy young man. Then one day he beheld a lofty mountain from afar which seemed to be rising to the clouds. Yet it took him a week to reach the foot of the mountain. Having arrived there he sat down on a slope to have a rest and see if the old man's prophecy would come true.

After some time his ears caught a strange hissing sound and in a while there appeared a huge snake, at least a hundred feet long, winding its way past him. The young man was so frightened he could not move, never mind flee. When he recovered, the reptile had disappeared.

For a long time everything remained quiet. Then he heard heavy thumps nearing. It was a giant frog, the size of a two-year-old colt. This monster, too, passed our young man without taking notice of him.

Then there rose a loud rumbling noise as of a thunder cloud approaching. As he raised his eyes he saw high above his head an enormous eagle flapping its way in the same direction as the snake and the frog had gone.

"Should these strange creatures be my fortune-bringers?" wondered the young man.

Then he saw a rider galloping his way. The horse seemed to have wings attached to his legs for he moved so fast.

When the stranger caught sight of the young man sitting on the slope he brought his horse to a halt and inquired, "Who went past here?"

The young man answered, "At first a huge snake, at least a hundred feet long; then a monstrous frog, the size of a two-year-old colt; and lastly a giant eagle high up over my head. I could not make out its size, but the beat of its wings was like the rumbling of thunder."

"You have seen correctly," said the stranger, "those were my worst enemies. I am racing after them. You might enter into my service if you have no other plans for the present. Climb over the mountain, and you'll come straight to my house. I'll get there at the same time as you, if not earlier."

The young man consented and the horseman continued his pursuit.

The climbing was not easy. It took our traveller three days to reach the top of the mountain, and two more days to descend on the other side. He found the owner of the house at home. The latter told him he had succeeded in killing the snake and the frog, but, unfortunately, the eagle had escaped. Then he invited the young man to stay in his service for a year.

"Your meals will be decent and plentiful, and you'll be paid generously if you serve me faithfully."

After they had made the bargain to the satisfaction of both sides the master showed his new servant round. At the entrance to a cave in the mountain he stopped and said,

"Here, behind three iron gates I keep my vicious dogs in chains. You have to take care that they do not dig their way out from under the gates with their paws. Remember that if one dog should escape, the others would inevitably follow and destroy all life on earth. When the last dog breaks loose, it will be the end of the world, and the sun will never rise again."

Then he took the young man to a hill which was not God's creation but made by man. It was an enormous pile of huge rocks.

The master explained, "These rocks have been carried here so that there will always be a rock near at hand to close the holes the dogs may dig under the gates. In the stables there are the oxen who will haul the rocks. Also, I'll teach you what you have to do."

Indeed, there were about a hundred seven-horned oxen in the stable, each twice as bulky as the largest ones he had ever seen.

"Six pairs of oxen harnessed to the rock-cart will haul a rock to its place without difficulty. I will give you a lever that makes the rocks roll onto the cart when you touch them. As you see your task is not heavy, but watchful you must be. You will have to check the doors three times during the day and once at night so as to avoid any catastrophe. Otherwise the damage would be irreparable."

Our friend learnt his new job in a short time, and found it very much to his liking. His table was always covered with the most delicious dishes and drinks he could wish for. After a couple of months he discovered that the dogs had dug a hole under the gate, large enough to poke their noses through it. Immediately a large rock was rolled in front of it, and the dogs had to start their digging anew.

Years passed and our young man laid by a handsome sum of money from his wages. Then an irresistible longing seized his heart. He desired to return to the other people, for years now he had met no other human being but his master. He could not complain, the master was very kind to him, but his life was very dull and uneventful, especially when his master retired for his seven-week periods of sleep.

One day just as the master had gone to sleep again there alighted a large eagle on top of the rocky hill and spoke thus:

"Aren't you a silly fool wasting away your beautiful life for good food and drink. The money you have saved will be no use to you here, for there is no human being here who might need it. Listen to my advice. Take your master's fleet-footed horse from the stable, tie your money-bag onto his back, sit on the bag and ride to where the sun sets. After a few weeks you will see people again. But mind, you have to tie the horse to an iron chain, or else he may get loose and return to his former master who then may come to trouble you. Without the horse, however, he is hampered."

"But who, then, is to keep watch over the dogs if I leave and the master is asleep?"

"You are an incorrigible fool," responded the eagle. "Has it not dawned upon you that the Creator made him for the sole purpose of watching the infernal dogs? It is out of sheer laziness that he sleeps seven weeks on end at times. He will have to shake off the habit when he has no servant and has to do the job himself."

The young man was delighted at the idea. Following the eagle's advice he took his master's horse, tied his money-bag on his back, jumped onto the bag and off he rode. He had not left the mountain very far behind when he heard his master calling out after him,

"Stop! Stop! In the name of God, go with your money, but leave me my horse!"

The young man took no notice of it. He continued his journey undisturbed, and in a few weeks he found himself among mortals again. He settled down, built a lovely house for himself, married a young girl and lived in happiness and prosperity. If he is not dead yet he is probably still alive today, but the fleet-footed stallion met his end long ago.

Jason Ladock

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