The Two Travelers

Mountain and valley do not meet, but the children of men, especially good and bad. So once a cobbler and a tailor came together on the wanderings. The tailor was a handsome little fellow and was always merry and in good spirits. He saw the cobbler approaching from the other side, and since he noticed by his hides what kind of craft he was doing, he called out a little mocking song to him,

'sew me the seam,
pull the wire for me,
paint him right and left with pitch,
strike, strike me hard the purpose'.

The cobbler, however, could not take a joke, he made a face as if he had drunk vinegar, and made an appearance to grab the little tailor by the collar. But the little fellow began to laugh, handed him his bottle and said, "It's not meant badly, drink once and swallow the bile. The cobbler took a huge gulp, and the storm on his face began to clear up. He gave the bottle back to the tailor and said: 'I have given her a good drink, one says of much drinking but not of great thirst. Shall we walk together? It's all right with me,' the tailor answered, 'if you only want to go to a big city where there is no lack of work. I wanted to go there too,' the shoemaker replied, 'there is nothing to earn in a small town, and in the country people prefer to go barefoot.' So they walked on together, always putting one foot in front of the other like weasels in the snow.



They both had time enough, but little to bite and break. When they came to a town, they went around and greeted the craftsmen, and because the little tailor looked so fresh and lively and had such pretty red cheeks, everyone gave him gladly, and if the luck was good, the master's daughter also gave him a kiss on the way under the house door. When he met up with the cobbler again, he always had more in his bundle. The grouchy cobbler made a wry face and said 'the bigger the rascal, the bigger the luck'. But the tailor began to laugh and sing, and shared everything he got with his comrade. If a few pennies rang in his pocket, he would serve them up, bang on the table with joy so that the glasses danced, and it was called "easily earned and easily done".

When they had walked for some time, they came to a large forest through which the road to the royal city went. Two footpaths led through it, one of which was seven days long, the other only two days, but none of them knew which was the shorter path. The two hikers sat down under an oak tree and discussed how to take care of themselves and how many days' bread they wanted to take with them. The cobbler said 'you have to think further than you go, I want to take bread for seven days.' 'What,' said the tailor, 'to carry bread on my back for seven days like a beast of burden and not look around? I stick to God and turn to nothing. The money I have in my pocket is as good in summer as in winter, but the bread gets dry in the hot season and moldy to boot. My skirt also does not go longer than on the ankles. Why should we not find the right way? For two days bread and so good.' So everyone bought his bread, and then they went into the forest on the off chance.

It was as quiet in the forest as in a church. No wind was blowing, no brook was rushing, no bird was singing, and no ray of sunlight penetrated through the densely leafy branches. The cobbler did not speak a word; the heavy bread on his back pressed him so hard that sweat poured down his glum and gloomy face. The tailor, however, was quite lively, jumped around, whistled on a leaf or sang a little song, and thought 'God in heaven must be pleased that I am so funny. This went on for two days, but when on the third day the forest would not come to an end, and the tailor had eaten all his bread, his heart sank a cubit: nevertheless he did not lose heart, but relied on God and on his luck. The third day he lay down hungrily under a tree in the evening and rose again hungrily the next morning. The same happened on the fourth day, and when the cobbler sat down on a fallen tree and ate his meal, the tailor had nothing to do but watch. If he asked for a piece of bread, the other laughed derisively and said, "You have always been so funny, you can also try what happens when one is unhappy: the birds that sing too early in the morning, the hawk kills in the evening," in short, he was without mercy. But on the fifth morning the poor tailor could no longer get up and could hardly utter a word because he was so faint; his cheeks were white and his eyes red. Then the cobbler said to him 'I will give you a piece of bread today, but in return I will gouge out your right eye'. The unhappy tailor, who wanted to preserve his life, could not help himself: he cried again with both eyes and then held them out, and the cobbler, who had a heart of stone, gouged out his right eye with a sharp knife. The tailor remembered what his mother had told him when he had nibbled in the pantry: "Eat as much as you like and suffer as much as you must. When he had eaten his expensive bread, he got back on his feet, forgot his misfortune and consoled himself that he could still see enough with one eye. But on the sixth day hunger made itself known again and almost consumed his heart. In the evening he fell down by a tree, and on the seventh morning he could not get up because he was so faint, and death was breathing down his neck. Then the cobbler said 'I will exercise mercy and give you bread again; you won't get it for free, I'll gouge out the other eye for it'. Then the tailor realized his careless life, asked God for forgiveness and said: "Do what you have to do, I will suffer what I have to suffer; but remember that our Lord God does not judge every moment and that another hour will come when the evil deed that you have done to me and that I have not deserved from you will be repaid. I have shared with you in good days what I had. My handiwork is such that sting must drive out sting. When I have no more eyes and can no longer sew, I must go begging. Just don't let me lie here alone when I am blind, otherwise I will pine away. But the cobbler, who had driven God out of his heart, took the knife and cut out his left eye. Then he gave him a piece of bread to eat, handed him a stick and led him behind him.

When the sun went down, they came out of the forest, and in front of the forest in the field stood a gallows. The cobbler led the blind tailor to it, left him there and went his way. From fatigue, pain and hunger, the unfortunate man fell asleep and slept all night. When day dawned, he awoke, but did not know where he lay. There were two poor sinners hanging on the gallows, and a crow was sitting on the head of each of them. Then one of them began to say, 'Brother, are you awake?' 'Yes, I am awake,' answered the second. Let me tell you something," the first one began again, "the dew that fell on us tonight from the gallows gives back the eyes of anyone who washes himself with it. If the blind knew this, how many could have their faces again who do not believe that this is possible. When the tailor heard this, he took his handkerchief, pressed it on the grass, and when it was moistened with the dew, he washed his eye sockets with it. Immediately what the hanged man had said came true, and a few fresh and healthy eyes filled the sockets. It was not long before the tailor saw the sun rising behind the mountains: before him in the plain lay the great royal city with its magnificent gates and a hundred towers, and the golden buttons and crosses that stood on the tops began to glow. He distinguished every leaf on the trees, saw the birds flying by and the mosquitoes dancing in the air. He took a sewing needle out of his pocket, and when he was able to thread the twine as well as he had ever been able to, his heart leapt with joy. He threw himself on his knees, thanked God for the grace shown, and said his morning blessing: nor did he forget to pray for the poor sinners who hung there like the swan in the bell, and whom the wind beat together. Then he took his bundle on his back, soon forgot the heartache he had endured, and went on singing and whistling.

The first thing he saw was a brown colt jumping freely in the field. He grabbed it by the mane, wanted to swing himself up and ride into the city. But the colt begged for his freedom: 'I am still too young,' he said, 'even a light tailor like you will break my back in two, let me run until I am strong. There may come a time when I can reward you.' 'Run along,' said the tailor, 'I see you are also such a spring chicken.' He gave it another blow with the whip across its back, so that it kicked its hind legs for joy, jumped over hedges and ditches, and ran into the field.
But the little tailor had not eaten since yesterday. The sun,' he said, 'fills my eyes, but the bread does not fill my mouth. The first thing that comes my way and is halfway edible, that must serve. At this, a stork strode across the meadow in all seriousness. Stop, stop,' cried the tailor, grabbing him by the leg, 'I don't know if you're edible, but my hunger doesn't allow me much choice, I have to cut off your head and fry you. Don't do that," replied the stork, "I am a sacred bird that no one harms and that brings great benefit to mankind. If you let me live, I can repay you some other time. So go away, cousin Longlegs,' said the tailor. The stork rose, let his long legs hang and flew away leisurely.

'What is to become of it?' said the tailor to himself, 'my hunger is getting bigger and my stomach emptier. Anything that gets in my way now is lost.' Then he saw some young ducks swimming on a pond. You're just in time,' he said, grabbing one of them and trying to wring its neck. Then an old duck stuck in the reeds began to screech loudly, swam up with its beak open and begged him to have mercy on its dear children. 'Don't you think,' she said, 'how your mother would wail if someone wanted to take you away and finish you off.' 'Be quiet,' said the good-natured tailor, 'you shall keep your children,' and put the prisoner back into the water.

When he turned around, he stood in front of an old tree that was half hollow, and saw the wild bees flying in and out. There I will find the reward for my good deed," said the tailor, "the honey will refresh me. But the queen came out, threatened and said: "If you touch my people and destroy my nest, our stingers will drive into your skin like ten thousand glowing needles. But if you leave us alone and go your way, we will do you a service another time.
The little tailor saw that there was nothing to be done here either. Three bowls empty,' he said, 'and nothing on the fourth, that is a bad meal. So he dragged himself with his famished stomach into town, and since the lunch bell was ringing, there was already cooking for him at the inn and he could sit down at the table right away. When he was full, he said, "Now I want to work, too. He went around the city looking for a master and soon found a good place to live. Since he had learned his trade from scratch, it was not long before he became famous, and everyone wanted to have their new skirt made by the little tailor. Every day his reputation increased. I can't get any further in my art," he said, "and yet it gets better every day. At last the king appointed him his court tailor.

But how it goes in the world. On the same day, his former comrade, the cobbler, had also become a court cobbler. When he saw the cobbler and saw that he had two healthy eyes again, his conscience tormented him. Before he takes revenge on me,' he thought to himself, 'I must dig a pit for him. But he who digs a pit for others falls into it himself. In the evening, when he had finished his work and it had become dark, he crept up to the king and said, "Lord King, the tailor is an arrogant man, and he has presumed to bring back the golden crown that was lost in ancient times. The king said, "I should like that," and the next morning he summoned the tailor and ordered him to bring the crown back or to leave the city forever. Oho,' thought the tailor, 'a rogue gives more than he has. If the mulish king demands of me what no man can do, then I will not wait until tomorrow, but wander out of the city today. So he tied up his bundle, but when he was out of the gate, he was sorry that he had to give up his happiness and look at the city, where he had been so happy, with his back. He came to the pond where he had made acquaintance with the ducks, and the old woman to whom he had left her young was sitting on the bank, preening herself with her beak. She recognized him at once, and asked why he hung his head like that. You won't be surprised when you hear what happened to me," answered the tailor, telling her his fate. If it's nothing else,' said the duck, 'we can take care of it. The crown has fallen into the water and lies at the bottom, how soon we will bring it up again. Meanwhile, spread out your handkerchief on the shore.' She dived under with her twelve boys, and in five minutes she was up again, sitting in the middle of the crown, which rested on her fitties, and the twelve boys swam round and round, having put their beaks under them and helping to carry. They swam ashore and placed the crown on the cloth. You wouldn't believe how magnificent the crown was, when the sun shone on it, it shone like a hundred thousand carbuncles. The tailor tied his cloth with the four tails and carried it to the king, who was in a joy and hung a golden chain around the tailor's neck.

When the cobbler saw that the first prank had failed, he thought of a second one, came before the king and said, 'Sir King, the cobbler has become so overconfident again, he misses to depict the whole royal castle with all that is in it, loose and solid, inside and outside, in wax'. The king sent for the tailor and ordered him to depict the entire royal castle with everything in it, loose and solid, inside and out, in wax and if he did not manage to do so, or if only one nail was missing from the wall, he was to be imprisoned under the earth for the rest of his life. The tailor thought 'it's getting worse and worse, no man can stand it,' threw his bundle on his back and wandered off. When he came to the hollow tree, he sat down and hung his head. The bees came flying out, and the queen bee asked him if he had a stiff neck because he held his head so crooked. The tailor replied, 'I have something else on my mind,' and told what the king had asked of him. The bees began to buzz and hum among themselves, and the queen said, 'Go back home, but come back tomorrow at this time and bring a big cloth, so everything will be all right. Then he turned back, but the bees flew to the royal castle, straight into the open windows, crawled around in all corners and inspected everything in detail. Then they ran back and reproduced the castle in wax with such speed that one thought it was growing before one's eyes. Already in the evening everything was ready, and when the tailor came the next morning, the whole splendid building stood there, and not a nail was missing on the wall and not a tile on the roof; besides, it was delicate and snow-white, and smelled sweet like honey. The tailor carefully wrapped it in his cloth and brought it to the king, who, however, could not marvel enough, placed it in his largest hall and gave the tailor a large stone house in return.

But the shoemaker did not relent, and went to the king a third time and said, "Sir, the tailor has heard that no water wants to jump in the castle courtyard, and he has presumed that it should rise as high as a man in the middle of the courtyard and be as bright as crystal. Then the king sent for the tailor and said, "If a stream of water does not spring up in my courtyard tomorrow, as you have promised, then the executioner in the same courtyard shall shorten you by a head. The poor tailor did not think twice and hurried out of the gate, and because this time his life was at stake, tears rolled down his cheeks. As he walked along, full of grief, the colt, to which he had once given his freedom, and which had become a handsome brown, came jumping up. Now comes the hour,' he said to him, 'when I can repay you for your good deed. I already know what you are lacking, but you shall soon be helped, just sit up, my back can carry two of you.' The tailor's heart came again, he jumped up in one leap, and the horse ran at full speed into the city and straight into the castle courtyard. There it chased three times around, fast as lightning, and at the third time it fell down. At that moment, however, there was a terrible crash: a piece of earth in the middle of the courtyard jumped like a ball into the air and out over the castle, and immediately behind it rose a jet of water as high as man and horse, and the water was as pure as crystal, and the sun's rays began to dance on it. When the king saw this, he stood up in amazement, went and embraced the little tailor in the face of all the people.

But the happiness did not last long. The king had enough daughters, one always more beautiful than the other, but no son. Then the wicked shoemaker went to the king for the fourth time and said, "Lord King, the shoemaker will not let go of his arrogance. Now he has presumed, if he wants to, he can have a son carried to the king through the air'. The king summoned the tailor and said: 'If you bring me a son within nine days, you shall have my eldest daughter as your wife. The reward is certainly great,' thought the tailor, 'but the cherries hang too high for me: if I climb them, the branch breaks under me and I fall down. He went home, sat down on his work table with his legs tucked under him, and thought about what to do. It is not possible,' he exclaimed at last, 'I want to leave, I cannot live here in peace. He tied up his bundle and hurried out of the gate. When he came to the meadows, he saw his old friend, the stork, who, like a worldly wise man, was walking up and down, sometimes standing still, taking a closer look at a frog and finally swallowing it. The stork approached and greeted him. 'I see,' he started, 'you have your satchel on your back, why do you want to leave the city?' The tailor told him what the king had asked of him and he could not fulfill, lamenting his misfortune. Don't worry about it," said the stork, "I will help you out of your predicament. For a long time now I have been bringing babies to the city, so I can also fetch a little prince from the well. Go home and keep quiet. Today, for nine days, go to the royal castle, where I will come. The little tailor went home and was in the castle at the right time. Not long after, the stork flew in and knocked on the window. The tailor opened it, and Cousin Longlegs carefully entered and walked with grave steps over the smooth marble floor; but he had a child in his beak, beautiful like an angel, and stretched out his little hands to the queen. He put it on her lap, and she hugged and kissed it, and was beside herself with joy. Before he flew away again, the stork took his traveling bag from his shoulder and gave it to the queen. It contained bags with colorful sweet peas, which were distributed among the little princesses. The eldest, however, received nothing, but was given the jolly tailor as her husband. I feel just as if I had won the great lottery," said the tailor. My mother was right after all, she always said that he who trusts in God and has only luck, cannot lack it.

The cobbler had to make the shoes in which the little tailor danced at the wedding feast, after which he was ordered to leave the town forever. The way to the forest led him to the gallows. Tired of anger, rage and the heat of the day, he threw himself down. When he closed his eyes and wanted to sleep, the two crows swooped down from the heads of the hanged men with loud cries and pecked out his eyes. Nonsensically he ran into the forest and must have languished there, for no one has seen him again or heard anything of him.