Chapter 4 silly boy learns to be afraid

There was a father who had two sons under his knees.The elder son is smart and can handle any situation with ease; the younger son is dumb, doesn't understand anything, and doesn't learn anything. When people see him, they all say with one voice: "How much trouble does his father have to worry about him! " When there was something to do, the eldest son always had to do it; however, if his father asked him to fetch something late in the evening or in the middle of the night, and he had to pass by a cemetery or other creepy things. He would reply, "Oh, Daddy, I'm not going, I'm afraid!" He was really afraid.

In the evening, the family sits around the fire and tells a story. When the story gets creepy, some of those who listen to the story will say: "It's terrible!" At such times, the youngest son always sits alone. He listened to them in the corner, but couldn't understand what they meant, so he used to say aloud: "They all say, 'I'm afraid! I'm afraid!' But I'm never afraid. I think it must be It's a talent, a talent I don't understand at all." One day, his father said to him, "Stay in the corner and listen to me. You are a strong young man already, and it's time to learn how to support yourself. Look how hardworking your brother is; If you look at yourself again, good words fall on deaf ears."

"Father, you are right," replied the younger boy, "I would very much like to learn something. If I could, I would like to learn to be afraid, and I am not afraid at all." When the elder brother heard this, he laughed and thought, "My God, my brother is such an idiot; he has nothing to expect in his life. He is young at three years old, and old at seven years old." The father sighed In one breath, he replied to his youngest son: "I promise, you will learn to be afraid sooner or later; however, you cannot support yourself by being afraid." After a few days, the deacon of the church came to their house as a guest, so the father told him what was on his mind, and complained that his youngest son was a fool who knew nothing and learned nothing.He said to the deacon: "Think about it, I asked him what he planned to support himself in the future, but he said that he should learn to be afraid."

The deacon replied, "If that's all he thinks about, he'll learn it soon. Let him go with me, and I'll fix him for you." The father agreed wholeheartedly, thinking, "Anyway, this boy will grow up a bit this time." So the deacon took the youngest son home and told him to ring the church bell. A few days later, late at night, the deacon woke up the younger son and told him to go to the church bell tower to ring the bell after getting up. "This time I will teach you what it is to be afraid." The deacon thought to himself, and then quietly went up to the bell tower first.When the youngest son came to the bell tower and turned around to grab the rope for ringing the bell, he found a white figure standing on the stairs facing the window.

"Who is that?" he asked loudly, but the shadow did not answer, but stood there motionless. "Tell me back!" the young man yelled, "or get out of here! What are you doing here in the middle of the night!" But the deacon, still stood there motionless, trying to make the boy think he was a ghost. The young man yelled again: "What do you want to do here? Tell me the truth, if you don't tell me, I'll throw you downstairs." The deacon thought, "He won't do that," so he remained silent, standing there motionless, like a clay sculpture.

Then the boy yelled at him a third time, but it was no good, so the boy threw himself on him and threw the ghost down the stairs.The ghost rolled more than ten steps on the stairs before lying in the corner of the wall and not moving.Then the boy went to ring the bell, and when he had gone back to his own room, fell asleep without saying a word. The deacon's wife waited and waited, but her husband did not come back. Then she was very worried, so she woke up the young man and asked him, "Do you know where my husband is? He went up to the bell tower before you." "I don't know," replied the lad, "but there was a man standing on the stairs facing the window. I yelled at him and he didn't answer or go away. Pushed him down the stairs. You'll see if it's your husband. If so, I'm very sorry."

The deacon's wife hurried out, and found her husband lying in a corner, moaning and sighing, for his leg had been broken. The deacon's wife carried him home, and then ran to the lad's father, and shouted at him, "That lad of yours has been in trouble. He threw my husband off the stairs of the belfry." I fell down and broke my legs. Take this piece of shit away from our house." Hearing this, the father panicked, ran to the deacon's house in a hurry, and yelled at his son, "You must be possessed by a demon to do such a stupid thing!" "Father," pleaded the boy, "it's not my fault at all. Listen to me: he's standing there in the middle of the night looking like he's here to do something bad. I don't know who that is! I told him three times in a loud voice. , either answer or walk away."

"Alas!" said the father, "you will only bring trouble upon me. Go far away, and don't let me see you again." "Well, papa," replied the boy, "it won't be until daylight. When it's daylight, I'll learn to be afraid. At least I'll learn how to support myself." "Learn what you want," said my father, "it's all the same to me. Here's fifty silver pieces, and go out into the world. Remember, never tell anyone where you come from." Who is your father? I am ashamed to have a son like you." "Well, papa, I'll do as you tell me," replied the boy, "and it's very easy to do, if you don't ask for anything else."

At daybreak, the young man put the fifty silver coins in his pocket, walked out of the house, and went on the road.As he walked, he kept saying to himself: "If only I could be afraid! If only I could be afraid!" After a while, a person came up from behind and heard what the young man said when he was talking to himself.They walked together for a while, and when they came to a place where the gallows could be seen, the man said to the boy, "Look! There is a tree over there, and there are seven robbers hanging from it. Sit under the tree and wait until When it's dark, you can learn to be afraid."

"It's easy enough if I'm the only one doing it," replied the lad. "If I've learned to be afraid so quickly, you'll have my fifty silver pieces. Come back tomorrow morning." After speaking, the young man walked towards the gallows, and sat under the gallows, waiting for the night to fall.He sat there feeling cold, so he got angry and made a fire.But the wind blew up in the middle of the night, and the cold was unbearable. Although he was warming by the fire, he still felt very cold.The cold wind blew the hanging corpses to swing and collide with each other."I'm cold sitting by the fire," thought he, "how cold it must be for those poor fellows hanging there." The lad had such a good heart: he set up the ladder, climbed up, and relieved himself. Release the ropes from the hanged robbers and let them down one by one.Then he stoked the fire, and blew and blew, and the fire blazed up.Then he took them in his arms and sat round the fire to keep them warm.But these guys sat there motionless, even the fire burned their clothes, they still didn't move.So the boy said to them, "What are you doing? Be careful! Or I will hang you up again." But the hanged robbers could not hear him at all, and they remained silent, letting their rags The rotten clothes were set on fire.

The boy was really angry now, so he said: "You are not careful at all, I can't help you, I don't want to let the fire burn with you." After finishing speaking, he took them one by one. The ground was all hoisted up.Then he sat down by the fire, and soon fell asleep. Early the next morning, the man came to the young man and wanted his fifty silver pieces.He said to the boy, "Hey, I think you know what it is to be afraid now?" "I don't know," replied the boy, "how can I know? Those poor fellows hanging up there don't talk, they're all fools, they wear such rags, they burn I don't care anymore." After hearing this, the man understood in his heart that he couldn't win the fifty silver coins from the young man, so he left, saying, "I have never seen a man in my life." Have you ever lived such a person?" The boy went on the road again, and on the road he began to mutter to himself again: "If only I could be afraid! If only I could be afraid!" A coachman who came up from behind heard the young man's words and asked, "Who are you?" "I don't know," replied the boy. The coachman then asked, "Where did you come from?" "I have no idea." "Who is your father?" "I can't tell you that." "What have you been mumbling about?" "Well," replied the lad, "I want to learn to be afraid, but no one can teach me." "Don't talk nonsense," said the coachman, "come with me. I'll find you a place to live first." The boy followed the coachman on the road, and in the evening they came to a small inn, where they resolved to spend the night.When they came in, the boy said again in a loud voice, "If only I could be afraid! If only I could be afraid!" The shopkeeper overheard this, laughed out loud, and said, "If you're thinking about that, there's a good chance here." "Say no more," said the innkeeper's wife, "how many daredevils have perished there. It would be a pity if the young man's fine eyes should never see the light of day again." Hearing what the shopkeeper's wife said, the young man said, "I must learn, no matter how hard it is, I don't care. That's why I came out from home." He: Not far from the small hotel, there is a magic palace. If anyone wants to know what fear is all about, he only needs to stay there for three nights.The king has made a promise that whoever is willing to try his skills in the magic palace will betroth the princess to him.That princess is the most beautiful girl in the world.In the magic palace, there are a lot of gold and silver treasures hidden, guarded by a group of demons.If anyone can get these gold and silver treasures, even a poor man will become a rich man.Many people ventured into the magic palace, but they never got back. The next morning, the young man went to the king, and he said to the king, "If I can get your permission, I will be very happy to go and watch the night in the magic palace for three days." The king looked the young man up and down and thought he was quite good, so he replied: "You can go, and you can also ask for three things to take to the magic palace, but they must be inanimate things." "Then," answered the lad, "I want a fire, and a carpenter's bench, and a lathe with a knife." The king ordered that what the boy wanted be carried deep into the magic palace during the day.At dusk, the young man walked into the magic palace, got angry with a raging fire in one room, put the carpenter's workbench and turning tools beside the fire, and sat down by himself on the lathe. "If only I could be afraid!" said he, "I might not learn to be afraid here." Towards midnight, the young man was going to add more wood to the fire, so that the fire would burn brighter.Just as he was blowing hard on the fire, he suddenly heard a cry from a corner of the room: "Meow, meow, we are so cold!" "You idiots," said the boy, "what are you meowing about? If it's cold, sit here and warm yourself." As soon as he finished speaking, two big black cats jumped over and sat down beside him, one on each side, staring at him fiercely with wide-eyed eyes.After a while, when the two black cats were warmed up, they said to the boy, "How about we play cards together, my friend?" "That's kind," replied the boy, "but first let me see your paws." The two black cats did stretch out their paws. "Oh, your nails are so long!" cried the young man. "Wait a minute, let me cut them for you." As he spoke, the young man strangled them, placed them on the carpenter's workbench, and clamped their claws firmly.Then he said, "I've seen your paws, and I don't like playing cards with you." With that, he beat the two black cats to death, and threw them into the pool outside. However, just as he tidied up the two black cats and was about to go back and sit down by the fire, groups of black cats and dogs emerged from every corner and hole of the room, dragging their red-hot chains. , and more and more, so many that there is no place for the young man to hide.These black cats and black dogs screamed very frighteningly, and then they stomped on the fire, dragging the burning wood on the fire here and there, trying to put out the fire.At first the boy endured their mischief without saying a word, but when they got too outrageous, he grabbed the turning tool and shouted, "Go away, you rascals!" Start chopping left and right.Some cats and dogs escaped, but those who did not escape were hacked to death by him and thrown into the pool outside. When he returned to the house, he blew and blew on the embers to make the fire glow again, and sat by it to warm himself.As he sat in this way, his eyes gradually became closed, and he longed to sleep.He looked around and found a large bed in the corner. "That's exactly what I need," he said, and lay down.Unexpectedly, just as he was about to close his eyes, the big bed started to move, and then rolled around in the magic palace. "Go on, it's good," the young man yelled, "you can roll as fast as you want." As soon as the words fell, the big bed seemed to be pulled by six horses, tossed up and down, and flew forward. Roll over thresholds and stairs.Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the big bed turned upside down, turned upside down, and fell on the young man like a mountain.But the young man shook the mattress and pillows and got out, and then said: "Anyone who wants to ride now, please do so." After finishing speaking, he lay down by the fire and slept until dawn. The next morning the king arrived.When the king saw the lad lying on the ground, he thought he had been killed by a ghost, and he was indeed dead, and he sighed and said, "What a pity! What a handsome lad!" When the young man heard this, he jumped up, and said, "Not so far!" The king was surprised and delighted at what he saw, and asked him what was going on. "Very well," answered the lad, "one night has passed, and the other two will pass." When the young man returned to the inn, the owner was stunned.He said to the boy, "I thought I'd never see you again. Have you learned to be afraid?" "Not yet," answered the lad, "it's all in vain. If only someone could teach me to be afraid!" The next night, the young man walked into the ancient magic palace again.After he sat down by the fire, he repeated the same old tune: "If only I could be afraid!" It was nearly midnight, and the young man heard a commotion, getting louder and louder from far to near, and then it was quiet for a while, and then a half person stumbled down the chimney, and stepped in front of the young man. "Well," said the lad, "it's got to be halfway there, and what a thing it is!" After speaking, the noise sounded again.With a burst of noise, the other half of the body also wobbled down. "Wait a minute," said the boy, "I'll blow up the fire." When the young man blew up the fire and turned his head, the two halves of the body had joined together and turned into a hideous and terrifying guy, sitting on the young man's seat. "I don't mean that," cried the boy, "that seat is mine." The guy wanted to push the young man away, but how could the young man agree? He pushed the guy away vigorously, and sat back on his seat.Then, more and more of these guys fell from the chimney to the ground, and they took nine big bones and two skeletons with them, and played skittles by standing the bones on the ground.When the young man saw it, he felt itchy and wanted to play this kind of game, so he asked them, "Hey, can I be one of them?" "Well," they replied, "come and play if you have the money." "I have plenty of money," replied the boy, "but your balls are not very round." Then he took the skeleton, put it on the lathe, and rounded it up. "Round," cried the lad, "it'll be smoother this time. We'll have a good time!" The boy played with them and lost some money.Strange to say, when the clock struck twelve o'clock in the middle of the night, everything in front of me disappeared without a trace.So the boy lay down in silence to sleep. On the third night, the young man sat on the workbench again, muttering irritably: "If only I could be afraid!" As soon as the words were finished, a tall man walked in suddenly, taller than anyone the young man had ever seen, and his appearance was particularly terrifying.He was an elderly man with a long white beard. "Hey, rascal!" he bellowed, "you'll learn to be afraid in no time! You're dying!" "It's not that easy," replied the lad, "I'll have to say yes to my death." "I'll kill you now," growled the demon. "What's up, what's up," said the lad to him, "don't be so bragging. I think I'm as strong as you, maybe stronger than you." "Then let's fight," cried the old man. "If you're stronger than me, I'll let you go. Come here, let's fight." He led the boy through a dark passage to a blacksmith's furnace.The old man raised an axe, and with a single blow, smashed an anvil into the ground. "I'll do better than this," said the lad as he walked toward the other anvil.The old man stood watching, his white beard hanging down his chest.The young man seized the axe, and with one blow it split the anvil in two, and wedged the old man's beard firmly in it. "Now I've got you," cried the boy, "and you're dying!" As he said that, the young man grabbed an iron rod and started beating the old man, making him howl, begging the young man to stop, and told the young man that if he stopped, he would get a lot of money.So the young man drew the ax out and let go of the old man's long beard. The old man led the young man back to the magic palace, and showed him three large chests full of gold. "One chest is for the poor," said he, "one chest is for the king, and the other chest is yours." While they were talking, the clock struck twelve midnight, and the old monster disappeared without a trace, leaving only the young man standing alone in the night. "I can get out of this place myself," said the young man, and began to grope around until he finally found his way back to the room.When he got back to his room, he fell asleep by the fire. The next morning, the king came again and asked the young man, "I think you have finally learned to be afraid this time?" "No, not really," answered the boy, "what is it to be afraid? An old man with a white beard came and showed me a lot of gold, but he didn't tell me what it was to be afraid!" "Well," said the king to the boy, "since you have unwound the palace, take my daughter as your wife." "That would be very nice," answered the boy, "but I still don't know what it is to be afraid!" After the gold was taken out, a wedding ceremony took place.The young man loved his wife very much and felt very happy in life, but he still kept nagging: "If only I could be afraid! If only I could be afraid!" At last his young wife was annoyed , so her maid said to her, "Let me find a way to make him learn to be afraid." So she went to the brook that ran through the garden, and had a bucket full of gobies brought into the house, and told her mistress to throw back the covers and put the bucket away when her husband was fast asleep at night. The fish and water in the tank were dumped on top of him so that the gobies would hop all over him. Sure enough, the boy woke up with a start and cried out, "I'm afraid! Oh, oh! What is it that frightens me? My dear, now I know what it is to be afraid!"