Captivity

Once upon a time, there was a woodcutter who had two sons. Every time he went to the forest, he would take one of them with him as a helper. But one day, the woodcutter said to his sons:

"Today, children, you will go to the forest alone to gather firewood, and I will stay home to rest because I am very tired."

"But father," the young men replied, "if the cart breaks, who will help us fix it?"

"If the cart breaks, my son," answered the old woodcutter, "call for 'necessity.' She will help you."

The sons obeyed their father, hitched the oxen, and went to the forest. There, they unharnessed the oxen, let them graze, and took up their axes. They swung them and began to chop down a tree. They quickly gathered firewood and loaded the cart full. They hitched the oxen again and headed home. And then—wouldn't you know it!—right in the middle of the road, the cart broke. The young men stopped and began to shout:

"Necessity! Necessity! Fix our cart!" They shouted and shouted, but no one answered them. It was already getting dark, and there was no sign of necessity—not a sound, not a sight. Finally, the younger son said:

"Brother, that cursed necessity isn't coming. It's already dark. Let's take matters into our own hands and fix the cart as best we can!"

When the sons returned home, their father asked:

"Well, how was it in the forest?"

"Ah, forget it, father!" the sons replied. "Our cart broke in the middle of the road. We started calling for necessity. We called and called until we were nearly hoarse, but she never answered. We realized necessity wasn't coming. So we took the axe and fixed the cart ourselves as best we could."

"That, my son, was necessity!" their father said. "You called for her, and she was right beside you all along. There was no one to fix your cart, so you took matters into your own hands. And that's what it means for necessity to compel you!"

More fairy tales

• The Golden Girl
• He who does not work, does not eat
• The Silver Deer
• Mama's Daughter
• The Poor Man's Truth