The Wonderful Musician
There was once a wonderful musician, who went
quite forlorn through a forest and thought of all manner of things, and when nothing was
left for him to think about, he said to himself, time is beginning to pass heavily with me
here in the forest, I will fetch hither a good companion for myself. Then he took his
fiddle from his back, and played so that it echoed through the trees. It was not long
before a wolf came trotting through the thicket towards him. Ah, here is a wolf coming. I
have no desire for him, said the musician but the wolf came nearer and said to him, ah,
dear musician, how beautifully you play. I should like to learn that, too. It is soon
learnt, the musician replied, you have only to do all that I bid you. Oh, musician, said
the wolf, I will obey you as a scholar obeys his master. The musician bade him follow, and
when they had gone part of the way together, they came to an old oak-tree which was hollow
inside, and cleft in the middle. Look, said the musician, if you will learn to fiddle, put
your fore paws into this crevice. The wolf obeyed, but the musician quickly picked up a
stone and with one blow wedged his two paws so fast that he was forced to stay there like
a prisoner. Wait there until I come back again, said the musician, and went his way. After
a while he again said to himself, time is beginning to pass heavily with me here in the
forest, I will fetch hither another companion, and took his fiddle and again played in the
forest. It was not long before a fox came creeping through the trees towards him. Ah,
there's a fox coming, said the musician. I have no desire for him. The fox came up to him
and said, oh, dear musician, how beautifully you play. I should like to learn that too.
That is soon learnt, said the musician. You have only to do everything that I bid you. Oh,
musician, then said the fox, I will obey you as a scholar obeys his master. Follow me,
said the musician, and when they had walked a part of the way, they came to a footpath,
with high bushes on both sides of it. There the musician stood still, and from one side
bent a young hazel-bush down to the ground, and put his foot on the end of it. Then he
bent down a young tree from the other side as well, and said, now little fox, if you will
learn something, give me your left front paw. The fox obeyed, and the musician fastened
his paw to the left bough. Little fox, said he, now reach me your right paw. And he tied
it to the right bough. When he had examined whether the knots were firm enough, he let go,
and the bushes sprang up again, and jerked up the little fox, so that it hung struggling
in the air. Wait there till I come back again, said the musician, and went on his way.
Again he said to himself, time is beginning to pass heavily with me here in the forest, I
will fetch hither another companion. So he took his fiddle, and the sound echoed through
the forest. Then a little hare came springing towards him. Ah, a hare is coming, said the
musician, I do not want him. Ah, dear musician, said the hare, how beautifully you fiddle,
I too, should like to learn that. That is soon learnt, said the musician, you have only to
do everything that I bid you. Oh, musician, replied the little hare, I will obey you as a
scholar obeys his master. They went a part of the way together until they came to an open
space in the forest, where stood an aspen tree. The musician tied a long string round the
little hare's neck, the other end of which he fastened to the tree. Now briskly, little
hare, run twenty times round the tree, cried the musician, and the little hare obeyed, and
when it had run round twenty times, it had twisted the string twenty times round the trunk
of the tree, and the little hare was caught, and let it pull and tug as it liked, it only
made the string cut into its tender neck. Wait there till I come back, said the musician,
and went onwards. The wolf, in the meantime, had pushed and pulled and bitten at the
stone, and had worked so long that he had set his feet at liberty and had drawn them once
more out of the cleft. Full of anger and rage he hurried after the musician and wanted to
tear him to pieces. When the fox saw him running, he began to lament, and cried with all
his might, brother wolf, come to my help, the musician has betrayed me. The wolf drew down
the little tree, bit the cord in two, and freed the fox, who went with him to take revenge
on the musician. They found the tied-up hare, whom likewise they rescued, and then they
all sought the enemy together. The musician had once more played his fiddle as he went on
his way, and this time he had been more fortunate. The sound reached the ears of a poor
wood-cutter, who instantly, whether he would or no, gave up his work and came with his
hatchet under his arm to listen to the music. At last comes the right companion, said the
musician, for I was seeking a human being, and no wild beast. And he began and played so
beautifully and delightfully that the poor man stood there as if bewitched, and his heart
leaped with gladness. And as he thus stood, the wolf, the fox, and the hare came up, and
he saw well that they had some evil design. So he raised his glittering axe and placed
himself before the musician, as if to say, whoso wishes to touch him let him beware, for
he will have to deal with me. Then the beasts were terrified and ran back into the forest.
The musician, however, played once more to the man out of gratitude, and then went
onwards.
--The End-- |
