Chapter 146 163. Three Tales of Three Merchants' Sons

Once upon a time there were three merchants, and each of them had a son.One day the three boys decided to go hunting together.They went to bed early, and one of them awoke in the middle of the night, and saw the moonlight, and mistook it for the sun; so he put on his hunting-coat, and took his dog with him, and went to wake his friend.They set off together, but it was still night.The weather changed suddenly, and it rained cats and dogs, but the three hunters couldn't find a luxurious hotel to take shelter from the rain.They found a lamp and then found a palace. "It's midnight," said one of the maids, "is it time to knock?"

The hunters said, "Won't you let us take shelter from the rain?" The maid replied, "I'm going to report to the mistress." "Ma'am, there are three people, soaked like chickens, let them come in?" "Ok." So they entered the house, and sat down before the beautiful widow.The hostess said, "Change into my poor husband's clothes, and eat something while your clothes dry. Then each of you will tell a story that happened to you. Whoever tells the most horrible story will I will marry whoever." The biggest one begins to speak: "Well, madam, I am the son of a merchant. Once my father sent me on a business. I was accompanied along the way by a man wrapped in thick clothes. I never saw him. He seemed to know him. At night, he said to me, "Come with me, I know where to take you to sleep." We entered a lonely house, and the door closed behind me. I stood in a large room with There is an iron cage full of Christians. "Who are you?" I asked these Christians, and they gestured with their hands that I would also be imprisoned. But they couldn't speak because there was a giant guarding here. This giant kidnapped the Christians and locked them here. Then I was also picked up by the giant and put into a cage. I asked my friends, "What should I do now?" "Shut up," they said I said, "Every morning the giant grabs one of us and eats it." And so we lived, silent and frightened, and when the giant raised his hand we were close together. Sometimes, The Giant got bored, so he picked up the guitar and played a song. Once, while he was playing, a string broke. "If any of you can fix a guitar," he said, "I'll set him free." I was ready, so I said loudly, "Mr. Giant, I sell guitars, my father sells guitars, my uncle sells guitars, and all my relatives sell guitars." The giant said, "Let us Come and see." He dragged me out of the cage. I took the guitar in my hand, tugged here and there, and it was fixed. So the giant kissed me on the head and gave me a ring. Put on this ring and you will be free," he said to me. I put the ring on, and immediately I was outside the house. I started running through the fields, and at last I came to the giant's gate. "How could this be? Here I am again ?” I started to run in the opposite direction, running and running, still returning to this door. “Why am I always here?” I yelled. At this time, I heard the voice of “Shh! Shhh!” , raised my head, and saw a small tall window, and there was a little girl, who whispered to me, "If you want to get out, you have to throw that ring away!" I tried, but I yelled again: " It won't come down!" "Cut off your fingers! Come on!" "I don't have a knife!" I said. "Here's one," said the little girl, and she threw me a knife. There was a base of a pillar by the door: I I put my finger on it, cut off the ring with a knife, and then I found the right way and ran away, returning to my father's house."

The lady kept crying out as she listened to the story: "Oh, poor man! Oh, poor man!" At this point, she let the second one begin to tell with a long sigh of relief.The second sermon: "Madam, once my merchant father gave me a sum of money to start a business. I took a boat out to sea. A violent storm came and I had to throw all my goods overboard. The storm was very Go over, but we have nothing left to eat. The captain said, "Gentlemen, we are going to starve: now we all write our names and draw lots every morning. Whoever is drawn will be killed and eaten." Fall.' Just think, Madame, how terrified we were when we heard the news. But if we don't want everyone to starve to death, there is no other way. In this way, we draw lots every morning, and those who are killed are cut into pieces In the end, there are only two people left: me and the captain. The next day we will draw lots. I thought to myself, if it is the captain's turn, I will kill him; , I would never let him kill. Then it was the captain's turn, and the poor man opened his arms and said to me, "Here I am, brother." My heart was crying, but I got up the courage to kill him. I put He cut it into four pieces, and one of them was hung on a string. Then an eagle came and took the quarter of Christian's flesh. I hung up another piece, and the eagle came back and took it away. Go. I was disappointed. Even the third piece was taken by the eagle. When I had only the last quarter left, the eagle flew down again and grabbed the eagle's leg. The eagle flew up, I grabbed it and flew into the sky with it. When it was flying over a mountain, I jumped off. I asked for help, was rescued, and went home."

"Poor little! Poor little!" said the lady. "That's a very scary story too. Now it's your turn," she said to the third. "Ma'am, my story is horrible. You know, I was also sent by my father on business. At night, I stayed in an inn. After dinner, I went to bed, because I always have to pray at night, I was in bed. I knelt down and began to pray. While I was praying, I leaned down and kissed the ground, but I found someone under the bed. Looking carefully, it turned out to be a dry dead person. I thought to myself: "This must be the person who was killed last night, this place I am used to killing people when they are asleep.” What should I do now? I lifted the dead man and laid him flat on the bed, while I was lying under the bed, not daring to vent my anger. After an hour or two, I Hearing the door open, the innkeeper came in with a knife in his hand, the clerk with a hammer, and the innkeeper's wife followed with a lamp. "This man sleeps like a dead pig," said he, "and strike The shopkeeper put the knife on the man's head, and the man smashed it with a hammer. The wife said, "Get him up and put him under the bed now. He killed him yesterday and threw him out of the window." There is a deep valley under the window, and I feel My whole body fell apart. But the shopkeeper said, "That's it for tonight. Let's talk tomorrow when there is light." They left, and I breathed a sigh of relief, and began to wait for the dawn. The village over there gestured. The police were called to the store, released me, and arrested the owner and all his men."

Madame began to think which of the three stories was the scariest.After thinking and thinking, she still hasn't decided yet. (Palermo area)