Once upon a time a stranger came to the house of a poor man and asked if the man could put him up for the night. He said he had walked a long way and was very tired. The man took the stranger in and made him a bed on top of the stove. He himself slept in the kitchen. In the morning, when the man went to have a look at his guest, he saw that the stranger was still asleep, but the chamber was cold and the stove was quite white with frost.

"He must be freezing," the man thought.

"Hey, stranger, are you still asleep?" the man called out.

"No, I'm not. I couldn't sleep very well, the chamber was too warm."

"What's that you're saying about the warm chamber—just have a look, the stove's quite white with frost!"

"Oh, that's nothing. You should meet my older brother, he sleeps in a freezing cold."

The stranger thanked the man for having put him up for the night. Before he left he gave the man a whistle and said, "If you want your cattle to grow strong and healthy, walk around your cattle-shed and your stable and blow the whistle, then you'll see how your animals thrive."

After some time another stranger came to the same house and asked to be put up for the night.

The man again made a bed for the stranger on top of the stove and he himself slept in the kitchen.

The next morning, when the man went to have a look at the stranger, he got quite a scare. The chamber was so cold that the water was frozen in the pail and the window-panes were frosted, but the stranger seemed to be fast asleep. The man feared that the stranger was not asleep but stiff from cold. But there was nothing wrong with him, he only complained that the room was very warm and he'd found it hard to fall asleep, otherwise everything was fine.

On the point of leaving the stranger gave the man a pair of mittens for his hospitality and said, "When you go to plough or harrow your field, put these mittens on, then you'll always have a good harvest."

In midwinter, when the frost was at its height, a third stranger came to the same man and asked to be put up for the night.

"I wouldn't mind putting you up, but what if you're another of those frost men—you'll freeze everything around," the man said.

"Well, if you don't want to take me into your chamber, maybe you'll allow me to stay in the barn or hayloft," the stranger pleaded.

The man agreed and made a bed for the stranger in the barn.

In the morning the man got up and went to the barn to see how the stranger had slept. It was so bitterly cold outside that he found it hard to breathe and the fence posts were cracking with frost.

"Oh, dear, even if the others survived, this one must surely be frozen to death," the man thought, filled with concern, and went to the barn. But what did he see—the man was asleep in the barn, quite naked.

"Aren't you frozen?"

"Not at all. In fact, it was too warm, so that I had to take off my clothes."

When the stranger was about to leave, he gave the man two bags, a white one and a black one, and said, if you want warmth, open the mouth of the white bag a little, and if you want cold, open the black bag."

Upon that the stranger left.

The man who had been poor all his life, now grew more and more prosperous with each passing day. He had good luck with his cattle and his fields grew the best crops. Nor had he reason to grumble over his health.

David Bocchi

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