Once upon a time there was a poor young man who went out into the world
to seek his fortune. He went aboard a ship sailing across the ocean;
and after they had sailed for a year and a day, suddenly a great storm
arose. The rain descended, and the wind blew, and it blew so hard and
so wild, that the ship went miles out of her course, and the skipper
could not tell where they were. And then, in the middle of the night,
a great crash came, and the ship was dashed upon a reef. The waves
beat and battered it, and turned it topsy-turvy, and the end of it
was that every soul was drowned except the poor young man.
The waves washed him ashore, more dead than alive, and on the shore
he lay till next morning, when the sun warmed him and woke him up
from his faint. He got up and looked about him, and wandered over
the place, which he found was an island. It did not take him long to
walk round it; and then he saw that it was a small island, and far as
the eye could reach not another speck of land was to be seen. There
were plenty of trees growing in the island, with fruit and flowers,
bananas and cocoanuts, and springs of water; but on the trees were
no birds, and no animals ran about on the ground. So he lived on the
fruits and roots, and did the best he could.
One day, to his great surprise, he saw a black thing in the sky; and,
still more surprising, the black thing had no wings. Yet it was flying,
and flew nearer and nearer, until he saw that it was a large wild
pig. How could a pig fly through the air? He rubbed his eyes and looked
again; yes, a pig it was beyond all doubt; and it flew closer and
closer until it came to the island. He hid behind a bush, and saw the
pig sink slowly to the ground and lie down under a tree. Soon the pig
was fast asleep and snoring. He went up close, and, to his amazement,
by the pig's side, was the most magnificent diamond he ever saw. It
blazed and sparkled in the sun and looked like a ball of fire. He
stepped gingerly up to the pig, and took hold of the diamond; the pig
was very sleepy and snored away heartily. As he turned the diamond
about in his hand and saw it flash, he suddenly thought to himself,
"What if the pig should wake? He looks fierce, he has great sharp
tusks, and I have nothing to defend myself with. If I were only up
in that tree, now----" But what on earth had happened? As the thought
came into his mind, he found himself perched in the tree-top.
For a little while he was quite dazed and dizzy. Then he began to
wonder if it could be the diamond which had done this miracle. So
just to try, he wished himself down again; and there he was, without
knowing how! He began to understand that this was a magic diamond,
and something which he must take great care of. Then he wished himself
up in the tree again.
When he was in the tree once more, he picked off a nut that was
growing on the tree, and dropped it upon the pig's nose. The pig
woke up, raised his head, and looked round for the diamond; he was
a very intelligent pig, indeed he was really not a pig at all, but a
great magician, who used to fly about in the shape of a pig because
he was as wicked as could be, and preferred being a pig rather than
a man. There are really a great many people like that, only we see
them in the shape of men and do not know the difference.
Now when this pig saw that his diamond was gone, he fell in a fury; for
all his power lay in the diamond, and without it he was nothing more
than any other pig. So he glared and snorted, and looked all round,
and down, and up--and then he saw the man who had dropped the nut
upon his snout! Then his fury knew no bounds; he foamed at the mouth,
and ran raging round and round the tree; but the man only laughed,
and dropped more nuts on him. This made him mad indeed, for pigs
cannot climb trees, and he saw that his diamond was lost, and with
it all his magical power; so in his madness he charged straight at
the tree, and ran his tusks right into the trunk. There they stuck,
and tug as he would, he could not get them out.
The man wished himself down from the tree, and looked about for a large
stone, with which he battered the pig's skull till it was dead. Then he
held the diamond over the pig, so that the sun's rays shone down and
were reflected through it; and so fine and strong was the diamond,
that in a very short time a delicious smell of roast pork rose to
his nostrils, and the whole pig was done to a turn, with rich crisp
crackling. Then he took a sharp shell which he found lying on the
beach, and carved off slices of the pork, which he ate. It was very
nice indeed, and he had the best meal he had enjoyed since the ship had
been wrecked on the reef, and he had been cast ashore on that island.
By-and-by, when he had finished his dinner, it occurred to him that
as the pig had flown there through the air, so he might fly away. So
holding his diamond in his hand, he wished to fly through the air to
the nearest land. Then he felt himself rising, and he was carried
swiftly through the air, and away, away over the sea; the island
grew smaller, it became a black patch, it dwindled to a speck in the
distance. The sun shone warm upon him, the waves sparkled underneath;
porpoises gambolled about, playing leap-frog in the sea; flying-fish
came out of the water in a flash of light, and dropped into the water
again; still he went on, till, as the sun was setting, he came close
to a sandy beach; and there before long he stood, wondering what he
should do next.
He looked round, and not far off, behind a clump of bushes, rose a
thin column of smoke. He put the diamond in his pocket, and walked
towards the smoke. Soon he saw a queer little hut, and at the door,
upon the ground, sat a man without any legs. Whether a shark had
bitten off his legs, or whether he never had any, I cannot tell you,
for he never told me; but there he sat, like a chessman. He had a
fur cap, and a fur coat; he did not need any trousers, for he had no
legs to put them on, as I have told you. In front of him was a fire,
and over the fire was a spit, and on the spit was a young kid roasting.
"Good evening, sir," said the young man.
"Good evening," said the other.
"Can you give me a night's shelter?" the young man asked.
"Whatever I have, you may share," said the old man with no legs.
So they sat down, and ate a good meal; but the young man was
rather frightened to see that the other man ate skin, and bones,
and everything. And he did not like the way the old man eyed him. In
fact I must tell you, that this old man was another magician, and a
friend of the magician who looked like a pig; and when any travellers
came that way, he used to eat them. He did not eat this traveller,
because the kid was ready roasted; but he meant to do it as soon as
he should be hungry again.
"How did you get here?" asked the old man.
"I flew over the sea," said the young man.
"Indeed!" said the old man. "And how did you manage that?"
Then the traveller showed his diamond, and told the old man what a
wonderful stone it was, and how it gave any one power to fly through
the air.
"If you will give me your diamond," said the old man, "I will give you
my axe. You see I have no legs, so you may wonder how I live. This is
the way I live. If I slap this axe on the handle, and say, Wood and
fire! away it flies, and cuts wood and kindles a fire. If I slap the
steel, and say, Heads! away it flies, and chops off the head of a goat
or any animal I want; and then it brings me meat for my dinner. Now
I have lived here for a thousand years by the help of my axe, and I
am rather tired of being in one place. I should like to see the world
before I die, and that is why I want your diamond."
"All right," said the young man, "it's a bargain." They exchanged the
axe and the diamond; the old man turned it over in his hand, chuckling
greedily. As soon as the young man got grip of the axe, he smacked
the steel, and says he, "Heads!" In a jiffy the axe sliced through
the old man's neck like a turnip, and he had no more head than legs.
Then the traveller picked up the diamond, and put it in his pocket. So
now he had two magic things instead of one. He blessed his luck,
and fell asleep very happily inside the old magician's hut.
Next morning, with the diamond in his pocket and the axe on his
shoulder, the young man set out on his travels. All day long he walked
through the forest, until at evening time he saw before him another
hut, like the first, where lived the old man with no legs. Before
this hut, too, there was a fire burning, and beside the fire sat an
old man without any arms. Whether a tiger had bitten off his arms or
whether he never had any, I cannot say, because he never told me;
but there he sat like a pair of compasses. He had the stump of a
tree to sit on, and before him was another stump, and on this stump
was a large bowl of milk, out of which he was drinking. When he saw
our friend, he tipped over this bowl with his chin; instantly a deep
roaring river surrounded him and his hut, and he sat in the middle,
laughing at the young man's surprise. But he did not laugh long, for
the young man instantly wished himself over the river, and there he
was. Now it was his turn to laugh.
"How on earth did you do that?" asked the old man. He was much too
astonished to think of saying good-day.
"Oh, that's nothing," said the young man, and showed him his diamond.
The old man's eyes glistened. He thought how nice it would be to have
that diamond.
"What do you say to selling me that diamond?" said he.
"What will you give me for it?" asked the young man.
"I will give you this bowl. It is a wishing bowl. Whenever you are
hungry all you have to do is to wish for something in it, and there
it is; milk, or soup, or wine; anything that can go in a bowl. And
if you turn it over, as you saw me do just now, a rushing, roaring
river pours out, and surrounds you, or, if you like, it will flood
a whole country and drown every living thing."
"Dear me!" said the young man, "that is a wonderful bowl. Well,
I agree; I'll give you my diamond for it." So they exchanged the
bowl and the diamond. The old man took the diamond in his hand and
watched it sparkle; but he did not watch long, for the young man
slapped his hatchet and cried, "Heads!" In a jiffy the steel sliced
through the old man's neck like a cucumber, and he had no more head
than arms. Then the young man picked up his diamond and put it away in
his pocket. So now he had three wonderful things instead of two. He
blessed his good luck, wished for some delicious wine in his bowl,
drank it, and went to sleep happily, in the old man's hut.
Next morning the young man was up betimes; and after taking a meal
out of his wishing-bowl, he set out once more to walk through the
forest. After he had walked for some hours, he heard, far in the
distance, a loud rub-a-dub-dub, rub-a-dub-dub, boom, boom, boom. He
felt as if he could hardly help running away; still, with a great
effort, he began to walk towards the sound, which got louder and
louder every minute, till at last it made a tremendous din. Then,
suddenly, just as he came upon a little open glade in the forest, he
heard a rustle, bustle, jostle, and out of the trees came a great herd
of elephants, lions, tigers, wolves, and all sorts of wild animals,
their hair bristling with fright, and every one of them tearing along
at full speed. They were far too much terrified to notice him, and,
scurrying across the glade, they vanished among the trees.
By this time the noise had ceased, but it was not long before he came
upon another little glade, and at the end of the glade was a hut,
and in front of that hut sat a big black giant with a drum.
"Good day to you!" roared the giant, in a great voice.
"Good day!" said the young man, rather frightened.
"Come and have something to eat!" roared the giant.
"Thank you," said the young man.
They sat down, and the giant offered him some food. But the young
man thought it was safer not to take any of the giant's food, so he
pulled out his bowl, and wished for some soup, and sipped it.
"What is that?" asked the giant.
The young man told him it was a wishing bowl, that gave any food
he wanted. The giant was very much delighted with the wishing bowl,
and thought that if he could get that bowl, he would be able to eat
without the trouble of getting things.
"I'll buy that bowl!" he roared.
"What will you give me for it?" asked the young man.
"I will give you this drum," said the giant. "If you beat on one side,
everybody that hears it will run away."
"Ah, that was why the lions and tigers were running away just
now!" said the young man.
"Yes," said the giant. "And if you beat on the other side, a splendid
army of soldiers and horses will spring up out of the ground and
defend you."
"All right, here you are," said the young man, and gave him the bowl.
The giant took the bowl in great glee, and horrid to tell, wished
out loud for a bowlful of blood! He began to drink it, but he did not
finish; for as he buried his nose in the bowl, the young man slapped
his axe, and said--"Heads!" Down came the axe with a crash on the
giant's head, and cut it clean in two!
If the young man was glad when he saw the giant's head cleft in two,
he was gladder when he went inside the giant's hut. For there, all
round the wall, were the bodies of travellers who had passed that
way; and they were tied to the uprights of the wall, and their bodies
were dry as dust, and shrivelled like a medlar. For this giant used
to catch all travellers and tie them up in his house, and then he
sucked their blood till they were dry. So when our traveller saw what
a narrow escape he had had, he determined no longer to remain in that
dreadful place. Picking up the bowl and the drum, and feeling to see
that his axe and diamond were safe, he wished himself at the gate of
the nearest city.
Now the king of this city was a very cruel king. He used to rob and
murder even his own subjects; and as for strangers, he had short
shrift and no mercy for them. So when the king heard that there was a
stranger outside the gates, he made up his mind to have some sport;
and sent out a company of soldiers to fetch him in. The young man
beat his drum, and they all took to their heels! You may imagine
how angry the king was to hear this; he had all their heads chopped
off on the spot, and sent a regiment. The same thing happened to the
regiment. But this only made the king angrier than ever. He ordered
all his army to be marshalled before the gates, and himself riding at
their head, led them forward to capture this audacious stranger. Then
the young man tipped over his wishing bowl. Out poured a roaring
torrent of water that flooded the plain, and drowned every soldier
in the army, all except the king, who had galloped back to the city,
and got up on the wall. Then the young man slapped his axe, and cried,
"Heads! I want the king's head!" Off flew the axe through the air
like a boomerang, and sliced off the king's head, and brought it
back to its master. The people inside the city began to cheer with
joy, when they saw the king with his head off. And when the axe came
back, the young man beat upon the other side of his drum; and lo and
behold! the earth began to tremble, it seemed full of holes, and from
every hole sprouted a warrior fully armed. Surrounded by his army,
he marched into the city, where he became king, and lived happily
ever after. And I hope that we may be half as happy as he was.