THE
CARNIVAL
|
Once upon a time there lived a husband and wife who did not see eye to eye.
The man called his wife a dimwit and she returned the compliment. They were
always fighting about something or other.
One day, the
man bought a hundred pounds of butter and rice. His wife was furious.
"Didn't I always say you were a dimwit!" she cried.
"What did you go and buy so much butter and rice for?
Thinking of holding a wedding for your sun, for a funeral banquet for your father?"
"What are you
talking about? what funeral banquet, what wedding?
Take it and put it all away. It's for the Carnival".
The wife calmed
down, took the stuff and put it away. Some time passed and the woman waited
and waited, but the Carnival did not come.
As she was sitting by the door one day, she saw a man hurrying by along the
street. She raised one hand to her forehead and called: "Hey, brother, come
here for a minute!"
The young
man stopped.
"You
are not the Carnival by any chance, are you, brother?" she asked.
The man saw at once that there must be something wrong with her up top and thought to himself: "Aha, I'll say I am, and see what happens". "Why, of course, sister. I'm Carnival. What is it?" "Well all I have to say is that after all we're not your servants, to keep your rice and butter for such a long time! Aren't you ashamed of yourself, taking advantage of our kindness? Why haven't you ever showed up to take your stuff away?" "Why so angry, my dear? That's just I've come for. I've been looking for your house for a long time but couldn't find it." |
"Well, all
right, come on and take it then". The man hurried into the house, grabbed the
butter and rice, put it on his shoulder and took off his village.
When the husband
came home in the evening, the woman told him: "The Carnival came at last. I
gave him back his things and he took them away".
"What Carnival...?
What things, Woman?"
"The butter
and the rice.... I saw him coming along the road, looking for our house. I called
him over, gave him a good telling off and had him carry the stuff away on his
back".
"Oh, you dimwit,
you! You've ruined me!
Didn't I always
say you were a stupid dimwit! Which way did he go?" She showed him and the man
mounted his horse and rode after the Carnival. Meanwhile, the Carnival, making
good his escape, glanced back and noticed man on horseback riding after him.
He realized at once that it must be the woman's husband. The man rode up to
him and said: "Good day, brother. Have you seen a man going this way?"
"Yes, indeed, I did see one". "What was he carrying on his back?"
"Butter and rice". "Ah, he must be the one I'm looking for. Did he go by long
ago?" "Quite a time". "Do you think I can catch him up if I ride fast?" "How
could you?" said the Carnival.
"You are on
horseback, but he is on foot. By the time your horse has taken 4 steps-one,
two, three, four-the man will already have walked away on his two feet: one-two,
one-two! Much faster than you!"
"What shall
I do then?"
"Well, if you
like, you can leave your horse with me and go on foot like him. Maybe then you'll
catch him up".
"Yes, yes,
well said!" approved the dimwitted man.
And he climbed off his horse, left it with other man, and set off on foot
- one-two, one-two....
As soon as
he was out of sight the Carnival loaded his burden on the horse's back, turned
off the road and galloped home. Our man, however, walked on and on and finding
nobody turned round and came back - to find both the horse and the stranger
gone. He returned home and husband and wife started fighting anew: the man because
of the butter and rice, the woman because of the horse. And they are fighting
to this day. He calls her a dimwit, and she returns the compliment.
And the Carnival
listens and laughs to himself.