grey fairy tale book

Chapter 15 Mr. Lazarus and the Drakes

Once upon a time, there was a cobbler named Lazarus who liked to eat honey.One day, when he was working, he ate a little honey, and suddenly the flies swarmed, and he killed forty of them with one slap.After that, he went to ask someone to order a sword for himself, with the following words engraved on it: With a wave of my hand, forty lives will return.When the sword was ready, he took it around the world.After walking two days away from home, he came to a spring well, lay down and fell asleep.

That's the area where the Draks live.A Drak came to fetch water from the well, and found Lazarus sleeping there, and saw the inscription on the sword.The drake went back and told the others what he had seen, and they suggested that the man go back and befriend the mighty stranger.He went back to the well, woke up Lazarus, and said he wanted to befriend him.

Lazarus said he was willing to make friends, and after asking the priest to bless them, they returned together to the other Drakes and lived among them.After a few days, Lazarus discovered that the custom there was to take turns carrying wood and fetching water. Since he was one of them now, he had to take turns to carry wood and fetch water, but the Drakes did it first, and it was Lazarus’ turn last Zarus fetches water.The drake has a huge skin bag that can hold two hundred buckets of water.It was with great difficulty that Lazarus dragged the empty waterskin to the spring, and since he could not drag the full waterskin back, he simply dug around the spring.

Because Lazarus stayed so long, the Drake sent one of them to see what had happened to him.When the man came to the spring, Lazarus said to him, "I will bring this spring home, once and for all."

But the Drake shouted, "That's not right, Mr. Lazarus, we're all going to die of thirst. Let's take turns fetching water, and you'll be spared."

Now, it's Lazarus' turn to move the wood.Drakes carry logs, and they always carry a whole tree on their shoulders and then carry it home.Lazarus couldn't do it the way they did.He went into the forest, and tied up all the trees with strong ropes, and stayed there till evening.The Drakes asked one of them to see what happened to Lazarus, and when the man asked what Lazarus was doing, he replied, "I'll just move the whole forest home, and then we'll be fine."

But the Drake yelled, "Absolutely not, Mr. Lazarus, we'll freeze to death. Let's move the wood ourselves, and forget it!" Then he pulled up a tree and carried it on his shoulders gone back.

When the Drakes lived with Lazarus for a while, they grew tired of him and decided to get rid of him.They decided that after Lazarus was asleep, each Drake would take turns striking him with an axe.But Lazarus learned of their plot.When night fell, he took a log, covered it with his coat, and placed it where he usually slept, but hid himself.At night the Drakes came, and each hacked at the wood until splinters flew everywhere.

Thinking they had achieved their purpose, they lay down and fell asleep.

Afterwards, Lazarus took the wood out and threw it away, and then lay down and fell asleep.When daylight came, he began to grunt.When the Drake heard this, he asked what troubled him, and he replied, "Some flies have bitten me so badly." This frightened the Drake, who thought that Lazarus regarded their attack as a The fly bites and decides to get rid of Lazarus at all costs.The next morning they asked Lazarus if he had a wife and children.They also planned to give him a bag of gold if he wanted to go back and have a look.Lazarus gladly accepted the offer, and asked for a Drake to help him carry the sack of gold.The Drake agreed, and sent someone to leave with Lazarus.

When they were very close to Lazarus' home, Lazarus said to the Drake: "Wait a while, I have to go back and tie up the children, so they don't eat you."

As he spoke, Lazarus went back and tied up the children with a strong rope, and said to them: "As soon as the Drakes arrive, you should shout loudly: 'Draco's flesh! Drake's flesh!'"

As soon as the Drake appeared, the children shouted, "Drakh flesh! Drake flesh!" The Drake dropped his pockets in fright and ran away.

The drakes met a fox on the road.The fox asked him why he was in such a panic, and he said Mr. Lazarus' children had frightened him into such a state, and they almost ate him up.The fox smiled and said: "What! You are so frightened by Mr. Lazarus's child? He has two poultry. I ate one yesterday, and I will eat the other today—if you don't Believe me, you can see for yourself, but you must first tie yourself to my tail."

The Drake tied himself to the fox's tail and went back to Lazarus' house to see what would happen.Lazarus stood there holding his gun.Seeing the fox and the Drake coming, he shouted to the fox: "Didn't I tell you to bring all the Drakes? Why did you only bring one?"

At this the Drake turned and fled, running so fast that he smashed the fox into pieces among the stones.

After scaring away the Drakes, Lazarus used the gold they gave him to build himself a very grand villa, and spent the rest of his life comfortably.

(End of this chapter)