A French Puck

In the middle of France, where there are green pastures and valleys, there lived a mischievous spirit. He loved to play tricks on everyone, especially on shepherds and cowherds. They never knew when they were safe from him, for he could transform himself into a man, a woman, or a child, a stick, a goat, or a plow.

There was only one thing he could not become: a sewing needle. He could indeed transform himself into a needle, but no matter how much he tried, he could not manage the eye of the needle. Every woman would have discovered him at once, and he knew that.

The time the mischievous spirit (whom we call Puck) most preferred to carry out his tricks was around midnight, just when the shepherds and cowherds, exhausted after a long day's work, were sleeping soundly. Then he would go into the stable and loosen the chains that held each cow in place, letting them fall to the floor with a loud clatter.

The noise was so loud that it woke the cowherds, no matter how tired they were, and they dragged themselves wearily to the stable to put the chains back in place. But as soon as they were back in bed, the same thing happened again, and so it went on until morning.

Or Puck might spend the night braiding the manes and tails of two horses, so that it took the grooms hours to get them in order in the morning, while Puck, hidden in the hay in the barn, peeked out and amused himself greatly.

One evening, more than eighty years ago, a man named William was walking along a stream. He noticed a sheep that was bleating loudly. William thought it must have strayed from the flock, and that he should take it home until he found out who it belonged to. He went up to the sheep, and since it looked so tired that it could barely walk, he lifted it onto his shoulders and continued on his way. The sheep was quite heavy, but the good man was merciful and staggered along as best he could.

"It's not much farther," he thought when he came to an avenue of walnut trees. Suddenly, a voice spoke above his head, and he was so startled that he jumped.

"Where are you?" said the voice, and the sheep answered:

"Here, on the shoulders of a donkey."

The next moment, the sheep was on the ground, and William ran home as fast as he could. But as he ran, a laugh that also sounded a bit like a bleat rang in his ears. And although he tried not to listen, the words reached him: "Oh, what fun I've had!"

Puck made sure not to always play his tricks in the same place, but visited one village after another, so that everyone trembled with fear of becoming his next victim. After a while, he grew tired of cowherds and shepherds, and wondered if there wasn't someone else to amuse himself with.

At last, he heard about a young couple who were going to the nearest town to buy everything they needed to furnish their house. Quite sure that they would forget something they couldn't do without, Puck waited patiently until they came rolling along in their wagon on their way home.

He transformed himself into a fly to overhear their conversation.

For a long time, it was very boring – just talk about their wedding day next month and who should be invited. This led the bride to her wedding dress, and she gave a little scream.

"Think! Oh, how could I be so stupid! I've forgotten to buy thread in various colors to match my clothes!"

"Oh no!" exclaimed the young man. "That was unfortunate; and didn't you say the seamstress is coming tomorrow?"

"Yes, I did," and then suddenly she gave another little scream, which sounded completely different from the first. "Look! Look!"

The groom looked over, and on one side of the road lay a large spool of thread in all colors – in all the colors, that is, of the dresses that were tied at the back of the wagon.

"Well, how lucky!" he cried, jumping out to fetch it. "You'd think a fairy had put it there on purpose."

"Maybe she did," laughed the girl, and at the same moment she seemed to hear an echo of her laughter coming from the horse, but that was, of course, nonsense.

The seamstress was delighted with the thread she received. It matched the fabrics so perfectly, and it never tangled or broke all the time, as most thread does. She finished the work much faster than she had expected, and the bride said she must come to the church and see her in the wedding dress.

A large crowd stood watching the wedding, for the young people were very popular in the neighborhood, and their parents were very rich. The doors were open, and the bride could be seen from a distance, as she walked under the chestnut avenue.

"What a beautiful girl!" exclaimed the men. "What a lovely dress!" whispered the women. But just as she entered the church and took the hand of the groom, who was waiting for her, a loud sound was heard.

"Snap! snap! Snap! snap!" and the wedding clothes fell to the ground, to the great confusion of the wearer.

Not that the wedding was postponed for such a trifle! Cloaks in abundance were immediately offered to the young bride, but she was so upset that she could hardly hold back her tears. One of the guests, more curious than the others, stayed behind to examine the dress, determined to find the cause of the disaster.

"The thread must have been bad," she said to herself. "I want to see if I can break it." But no matter how much she searched, she found no thread.

The thread was gone!