Janni and the Draken

Janni and the Draken

Once there was a man who avoided other people and lived in the wilderness. He owned nothing but a flock of sheep. He sold their milk and wool, and bought himself bread. He also carved wooden spoons and sold them. He had a wife and one little girl.

After a long time, his wife had another child. The evening the baby was born, the man went to the nearest village to fetch a nurse. On the way he met a monk who asked him for a place to sleep. The man gladly agreed and took the monk home with him.

There was no one nearby to baptize the child, so the man asked the monk to do it. The child was named Janni.

In time, Janni’s parents died, and he and his sister were left alone in the world. Soon things went badly for them, so they decided to wander away and seek their fortune. While packing, the sister found a knife that the monk had left for his godson, and she gave it to her brother.

Then they set off, taking with them the three sheep that were all that remained of their flock. After wandering for three days, they met a man with three dogs. The man suggested they trade: he would take the sheep, and they would take the dogs. The brother and sister were happy with this, and after the trade they parted ways.

Janni and his sister eventually came to a great castle. In the castle lived forty Draken. When the Draken heard that Janni had come, they fled forty fathoms underground.

So Janni found the castle empty. He and his sister lived there, and every day Janni went hunting with the weapons the Draken had left in the castle.

One day while Janni was hunting, one of the Draken came up to get food. He did not know that anyone was in the castle. When he saw Janni’s sister, he was terrified. But she told him not to be afraid, and soon they fell in love. Every time Janni went hunting, the sister called the Drakos up. They continued meeting until, without Janni knowing, they got married. Then, when it was too late, the sister regretted it and feared Janni’s anger if he found out.

One day the Drakos said to her: “You must pretend to be sick. When Janni asks what you want, say ‘Cherries.’ When he asks where to find them, say ‘In a garden a day’s journey from here.’ Then your brother will go there and never come back, for three of my brothers live there and will take care of him.”

The sister did as the Drakos said. The next day Janni set out to fetch the cherries, taking his three dogs with him. When he reached the garden where the cherries grew, he jumped off his horse, drank some water from the spring, and fell into a deep sleep.

The Draken came around to eat him, but the dogs attacked them, tore them to pieces, and dug a grave with their paws. They buried the Draken so Janni would not see the dead bodies.

When Janni woke up and saw his dogs covered with blood, he thought they had caught a wild animal somewhere. He was angry because they had left none for him. But he picked the cherries and took them back to his sister.

When the Drakos heard that Janni had returned, he fled deeper underground for fear. The sister ate the cherries and said she felt better.

The next day, when Janni was out hunting, the Drakos came out and told the sister to pretend to be sick again. She should ask for quinces, and say they were in a garden two days’ journey away. Then Janni would surely be destroyed, for six brothers of the Drakos lived there, each with two heads.

The sister did as she was told. The next day Janni set off again, taking his three dogs. When he reached the garden, he dismounted, sat down to rest, and fell fast asleep. First three Draken came to eat him. The dogs killed them.

Then three more came, and the dogs killed them too. The dogs dug a grave and buried the dead Draken so their master would not see them. When Janni woke and saw the dogs covered with blood, he thought again that they had killed a wild beast, and he was angry that they had left nothing for him.

But he took the quinces and brought them back to his sister. She ate them and said she felt better. When the Drakos heard that Janni had returned, he fled deeper underground.

The next day, when Janni was hunting, the Drakos went to the sister and told her to pretend to be sick again. She should ask for pears that grew in a garden three days’ journey away. From this quest Janni would certainly never return, for there lived nine brothers of the Drakos, each with three heads.

The sister did as she was told. The next day Janni, taking his three dogs, went to get the pears. When he reached the garden, he lay down to rest and soon fell asleep.

First three Draken came to eat him. The dogs killed them. Then six others came and fought the dogs for a long time. The noise woke Janni, and he killed the Draken. At last he understood why the dogs were covered with blood.

After that he freed all the prisoners the Draken held, among them a king’s daughter. Out of gratitude, she wanted to marry him. But he put her off, saying: “For the kindness I have done you, you shall receive in this castle all the blind and lame who pass this way.” The princess promised to do so, and when he left, she gave him a ring.

Janni picked the pears and took them to his sister. She ate them and said she felt better. When the Drakos heard that Janni had returned safe and sound a third time, he fled deeper underground. The next day, when Janni was away hunting, the Drakos crept out and said to the sister: “Now we are both lost, unless you find out from him where his strength lies. Then between us we will get rid of him.”

When Janni came back from hunting and sat by the fire with his sister in the evening, she begged him to tell her where his strength lay. He answered: “It lies in my two fingers. If they are tied together, all my strength disappears.”

“I won’t believe that unless I see it myself,” said the sister.

Then he let her tie his fingers together with a thread, and immediately he became weak. Then the sister called the Drakos. When he came out, he tore out Janni’s eyes, gave them to his dogs to eat, and threw Janni into a dry well.

It happened that some travelers came to draw water from the well. They heard Janni groaning at the bottom. They came closer and asked where he was. He begged them to pull him up, for he was a poor unfortunate man. The travelers let down a rope and pulled him up into the daylight. Only then did he realize he was blind. He begged the travelers to take him to the country of the king whose daughter he had freed, and they would be well rewarded.

When they brought him there, he sent a message asking the princess to come to him. She did not recognize him until he showed her the ring she had given him. Then she remembered him and took him into the castle.

When she learned what had happened to him, she called together all the sorceresses in the country to find out where his eyes were. At last she found one who knew where they were and could restore them. The sorceress went straight to the castle where the sister and the Drakos lived. She gave something to the dogs to eat, and the eyes reappeared. She took them and put them back in Janni’s head, so he could see as well as before.

Then he returned to the castle of the Drakos. He killed the Drakos and his sister. Taking his dogs with him, he went back to the princess, and they were married immediately.

The Partnership of the Thief and the Liar

Once upon a time there was a thief. He was out of work and wandering alone by the seashore. As he walked, he passed a man who stood still, looking at the waves.

“I wonder,” said the thief, “if you have ever seen a stone swimming?”

“Certainly I have,” replied the other man. “And what’s more, I saw the same stone jump out of the water and fly through the air.”

“This is great,” said the thief. “You and I must become partners. We will surely make our fortunes. Let us go together to the palace of the king of the neighboring country. When we get there, I will go in alone and tell him the most amazing thing I can invent. Then you must follow and back up my lie.”

They agreed, and set off. After several days they reached the town where the king’s palace was. They parted for a few hours while the thief asked to see the king. He begged the king to give him a glass of beer.

“That’s impossible,” said the king. “This year there has been a failure of all the crops—hops and vines. So we have neither wine nor beer in the whole kingdom.”

“How strange!” answered the thief. “I have just come from a country where the crops were so fine that I saw twelve barrels of beer made from one branch of hops.”

“I bet you three hundred florins that is not true,” said the king.

“And I bet you three hundred florins it is true,” replied the thief.

Each put up three hundred florins. The king said he would send a servant to that country to see if it was true.

The servant set out on horseback. On the way he met a man and asked where he came from. The man said he came from the very country the servant was traveling to.

“If that is so,” said the servant, “can you tell me how high the hops grow in your country, and how many barrels of beer can be brewed from one branch?”

“I can’t tell you that,” answered the man, “but I was there when the hops were being gathered. I saw that it took three men with axes three days to cut down one branch.”

Then the servant thought he could save a long journey. He gave the man ten florins and told him to repeat that to the king. They went together to the palace.

The king asked: “Well, is it true about the hops?”

“Yes, sire,” answered the servant. “Here is a man from the country to confirm the tale.”

So the king paid the thief three hundred florins. The partners set out again on their adventures. As they traveled, the thief said: “I will now go to another king and tell him something even more amazing. You must follow and back up my lie, and we will get more money out of him.”

When they reached the next kingdom, the thief presented himself to the king and asked for a cauliflower. The king answered: “Because of a blight among the vegetables, we have no cauliflower.”

“That’s strange,” said the thief. “I have just come from a country where cauliflower grows so well that one head filled twelve water tubs.”

“I don’t believe it,” said the king.

“I bet you six hundred florins it is true,” replied the thief.

“And I bet you six hundred florins it is not true,” answered the king. He sent a servant to find out the truth. On his journey, the servant met a man. He asked where he came from, and the man replied that he came from the country the servant was traveling to.

“Then can you tell me how big cauliflower grows there? Is one head big enough to fill twelve water tubs?”

“I haven’t seen that,” said the man. “But I saw twelve wagons, drawn by twelve horses, carrying one head of cauliflower to market.”

The servant gave him ten florins and said: “You have saved me a long journey. Come with me and tell the king what you just told me.”

They went together to the palace. When the king asked if the story was true, the servant said: “Sire, it is perfectly true. Here is a man from the country who will confirm it.”

So the king paid the thief six hundred florins. The two partners set out again, now with nine hundred florins. They reached the country of the neighboring king. The thief entered the royal presence and asked: “Does your majesty know that in a nearby kingdom there is a town with a church steeple where a bird alighted? The steeple was so high and the bird’s beak so long that it pecked the stars and some fell out of the sky?”

“I don’t believe it,” said the king.

“I am prepared to bet twelve hundred florins it is true,” said the thief.

“And I bet twelve hundred florins it is a lie,” replied the king. He sent a servant to find out the truth.

As the servant rode, he met a man coming from the opposite direction. He asked where he came from. The man replied that he came from the very town the servant was heading to. The servant asked if the story about the bird with the long beak was true.

“I don’t know about that,” said the man, “as I have never seen the bird. But I once saw twelve men pushing with all their might, using brooms, to shove a monster egg into a cellar.”

“That’s perfect,” said the servant, giving him ten florins. “Come and tell your tale to the king, and you will save me a long journey.”

When the story was repeated to the king, he had to pay the thief twelve hundred florins.

Then the two partners set out again with their ill-gotten gains. They divided the money into two equal shares. But the thief kept back three florins that belonged to the liar’s half. Soon after, they each married and settled down. One day the liar found out he was cheated of three florins. He went to the thief’s house and demanded the money.

“Come next Saturday, and I will give it to you,” said the thief. But he had no intention of paying. On Saturday morning, he stretched out stiff and stark on the bed and told his wife to say he was dead. The wife rubbed her eyes with an onion, and when the liar came to the door, she met him in tears and said her husband was dead, so he couldn’t pay the three florins.

The liar suspected the trick and said: “Since he didn’t pay me, I will pay him back with three good lashes of my whip.”

At those words, the thief jumped up, came to the door, and promised to pay if the liar returned the next Saturday. The liar agreed.

But when Saturday came, the thief got up early and hid under a truss of hay in the hayloft. When the liar appeared, the wife met him with tears and said her husband was dead.

“Where is he buried?” asked the liar.

“In the hayloft,” answered the wife.

“Then I will go there and take some hay in payment of his debt,” said the liar. He went to the hayloft and began tossing the hay with a pitchfork, prodding into the trusses. In terror, the thief crept out and promised to pay the next Saturday.

When that day came, the thief got up at sunrise and went to the crypt of a nearby chapel. He stretched out stiff in an old stone coffin. The liar soon thought of the crypt and set out for the chapel.

As he entered, his eyes not yet used to the darkness, he heard whispering at the grated windows. He listened and overheard a band of robbers planning to hide their treasure in the crypt. They were removing the bars from the window. In a minute they would enter and discover him.

Quick as thought, he wrapped his cloak around him and stood stiff and erect in a niche, looking like a stone statue in the dim light.

The robbers entered and began dividing their treasure. There were twelve robbers, but by mistake the chief divided the gold into thirteen heaps. He said they had no time to recount, so the thirteenth heap would belong to whoever could strike off the head of the old stone statue in the niche with one blow.

He took up an axe and approached. Just as he raised the axe, a voice from the stone coffin boomed: “Get out of here, or the dead will rise from their coffins and the statues will come down from the walls, and you will be driven out more dead than alive!”

With a bound, the thief jumped out of the coffin and the liar from the niche. The robbers were so terrified that they ran helter-skelter out, leaving all their gold behind. The partners divided the gold between them and took it home. And history tells us no more about them.