grey fairy tale book

Chapter 9 Little Gray Man

Once upon a time, a nun, a farmer, and a blacksmith roamed the world together.One day, the three of them got lost in a dense and dark forest.Seeing the wall appearing in the distance, they immediately rejoiced, thinking that they might be able to go there to lodge.They approached the house, only to find that it was an old abandoned castle on the verge of ruins, but there were still a few rooms in which people could live.Since they had nowhere to go, they decided to make their home in the old castle.They arranged for one of them to stay behind and manage the housework, while the other two went out to try their luck.

The fate of staying behind fell on the nuns first.As soon as the farmer and blacksmith left for the woods, she set about tidying up the house and getting food ready for the day.Since her companions did not come back for lunch, the nun finished her portion and put the rest in the oven.Just as she was about to sit down to her sewing, the door opened suddenly, and a little gray man came in, stood before her, and said, "Ah! I'm so cold!"

The nun felt very sorry for him, and immediately said, "Sit by the fire and keep warm!"

The little gray man did so, but after a while he yelled again, "Oh, I'm so hungry!"

The nun replied: "There is food in the oven, take it yourself!"

Without saying a word, the little gray man ate all the food like a storm.Seeing this, the nun was furious.The nun scolded the dwarf for not leaving her companion anything to eat.

The little gray man was irritated by the nun's words, so he lost his temper, grabbed the nun and beat her.He slams the nun first against one wall and then against another.He didn't throw her on the ground until he knocked her half to death, and walked out of the house quickly.

In the evening the farmer and the blacksmith came back, and when they asked where the supper was, they found that nothing had been left for them.They scolded the nun mercilessly, disbelieving any explanation she tried.

The next day the farmer asked to stay and look after the house, promising that as long as he was in the house no one would go to bed hungry.So the other two left the house and went into the forest.The farmer prepares the day's food, eats his portion, and puts the rest in the oven.No sooner had he packed up than the door opened, and in came the little gray man, who had two heads this time.Just like last time, he exclaimed tremblingly, "Ah! I'm so cold!"

The farmer, frightened out of his wits, begged him to come and warm himself by the fire.

After a while, the dwarf looked around greedily, and cried, "Ah! I'm so hungry!"

"There is food in the oven, eat it," replied the farmer.

The two heads of the dwarf couldn't wait to eat, and soon there was nothing left.

When the farmer reprimanded the dwarf for this, the dwarf beat the poor creature half dead, as he had done to the nun, and threw him on the ground.

In the evening, the blacksmith and the nun returned.Seeing that there was no supper again, the blacksmith lost his temper, and vowed to stay in the house next day, so that no one would go to bed without supper.

Next morning the farmer and the nun went out into the forest, and the blacksmith, like the other two, prepared food for the day.Again the gray dwarf broke into the house without knocking, this time with three heads.When he complained of being cold, the blacksmith asked him to sit by the fire to keep warm.When he said he was very hungry, the blacksmith put some food on a plate and served it to him.The dwarf quickly swept away what was served, and then, looking around with his six eyes, asked for more food.When the blacksmith refused to give him another morsel, he became angry again, and prepared to deal with him as he had with his companions.

But the blacksmith happened to be just as good as he was, and he took a hammer and knocked off both heads of the dwarf.The little man rushed out of the door in pain and anger.The blacksmith kept on chasing him for a long distance until he came to an iron gate. The little guy disappeared through the iron gate, and then the gate was closed. The blacksmith had no choice but to give up the pursuit and return home.Just then, he discovered that the nun and the farmer had also returned.The nun and the farmer were very happy when the blacksmith brought out the food and the two heads which he had knocked off with the hammer.The three companions immediately decided to break away from the gray dwarf's magic, and set off the next day to find him.

They had to walk a long way, and searched for a long time, before they found the door through which the dwarf had disappeared.Although they found the door, it was difficult to open it.At last they picked the lock, and entered a large hall, where a lovely girl was sitting at a table doing business.Upon seeing the nun, the farmer, and the blacksmith, the girl fell at their feet, thanking them with tears in her eyes for saving her.The girl told them that she was the daughter of a certain king and was imprisoned in this castle by a powerful wizard.A day ago, around noon, she suddenly felt that the magic cast on her body disappeared.Since then, she has been eagerly awaiting the arrival of her savior.She went on to say that there was also a princess trapped in the castle, who was also bewitched by the wizard.

They searched through many halls and rooms, and finally found the second princess.She was as grateful as the first princess, and expressed her most sincere thanks to the three people who rescued her.

Then, the two princesses also told the three saviors that there are a lot of treasures hidden in several basements of the castle, but they are closely guarded by a fierce and terrifying dog.

Fearless, they went down to the basement at once, and, as the princess had said, they found the fierce animal guarding the treasure.However, as soon as the blacksmith hammered down, it ended the monster's life.They then found themselves in a circular vault filled with gold, silver and precious stones.Beside the treasure stood a handsome young man, who came towards them and thanked the nun, the farmer, and the blacksmith for delivering him from his spell.He told them that he was the son of some king, and had been kept in this castle by a wicked wizard, and that he had been transformed into a three-headed dwarf.When he lost two of the heads, the magic on the two princesses was lifted.He was rescued when the blacksmith killed the terrifying dog.

To express his gratitude, the prince begged the three companions to share the treasure.They did so, but it took them a lot of time because the treasure was so great.

Similarly, one of the two princesses married a blacksmith and the other a farmer in order to express their gratitude for saving their own lives.

The prince then announced the nun as his bride, and the three couples lived happily ever after.

(End of this chapter)