Bluebeard

Once upon a time, there were three brothers: Jack, Tom, and Bill. Bill was the eldest, followed by Tom, and Jack was the youngest. They worked in the fields far from home, and each took turns staying behind to cook lunch for everyone. On the first day, Bill, the eldest brother, stayed home. Bill roasted meat over the hearth, boiled turnips and potatoes, prepared everything properly, and blew the horn—back then, there were no bells to call everyone to lunch.

As soon as he blew the horn, an old man emerged from the valley:

With a beard bluer than blue,
With teeth sharper than a fork,

and asked:
- Did you call for lunch?
- I did, but not for you, replied Bill.
He really didn’t want the old man to eat all the food he had prepared for himself and his brothers.
- Well, we’ll see about that, said Bluebeard.
And he entered the house uninvited and ate all the food.
When the brothers returned from the fields, they asked what Bill had been doing all day if he hadn’t even managed to prepare lunch.
- I cooked a wonderful meal, said Bill, but an old man came:

With a beard bluer than blue,
With teeth sharper than a fork,

and sat down at the table uninvited and ate everything. To which Tom, the middle brother, said:
- If I had been home, he wouldn’t have gotten our lunch!
- Well, Bill replied, tomorrow it’s your turn to cook, so we’ll see.

The next day, Tom hung the meat to roast over the hearth, and while it cooked, he peeled turnips, potatoes, and pumpkins, put them on the fire to stew, baked fresh bread—in short, he prepared a splendid meal and went to the doorstep to blow the horn.

Before he could blow it, the old man appeared from the valley:

With a beard bluer than blue,
With teeth sharper than a fork,

and asked:
- Did you call for lunch?
- I did, but not for you, replied Tom.
- Well, we’ll see about that, said Bluebeard.
And he entered the house and ate all the food, leaving only a little pumpkin.

When the brothers returned, Jack asked Tom:
- Why didn’t you save any lunch for us? To which Tom replied:
- Tomorrow it’s your turn to cook, let’s see how you save it.

The next day, Jack prepared lunch and went outside to blow the horn. Then the old man appeared from the valley:

With a beard bluer than blue,
With teeth sharper than a fork,

and Jack said to him:
- Come in, grandpa, try my cooking.
- I don’t want to! replied Bluebeard.
- Come on, you must join us for lunch.
- I don’t want to! said Bluebeard, then walked around the house and headed back to the valley.
But Jack, not being a fool, followed him and saw Bluebeard descend into a deep cave.

Just then, the brothers returned home, didn’t see Jack, and thought Bluebeard had eaten him instead of lunch. But as soon as they sat down at the table, Jack appeared and told them everything.

After lunch, the brothers decided to go to Bluebeard’s cave together. They took a large round basket with a leather handle, tied a long rope to it, and said:
- Well, get in the basket, we’ll lower you into the cave! said Bill to Jack.
- No, take turns, said Jack. The eldest goes first.
So Bill had to get in the basket first, and the brothers lowered him into the cave. When he tugged the rope, they pulled him up and asked what he had seen.
- I went down until I saw a house. Then I tugged the rope.
- Why did you tug the rope so quickly? asked Tom. You should have looked at the house.
- Now it’s your turn to go down, so you can see for yourself, replied Bill.

Tom got into the basket, and the brothers lowered him into the cave. He ended up right on the roof of the house but got scared and immediately tugged the rope.
- You two are useless, said Jack, and got into the basket himself.
He descended to the bottom of the cave, where the house stood, and peeked through the window. Inside, he saw a girl, absolutely beautiful!
- You’re the most beautiful girl in the world, said Jack. I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful. Marry me!
- No, she replied. You should leave quickly! Bluebeard will kill you.
- Don’t worry, Bluebeard won’t touch me. We’re friends! Get in the basket, and my brothers will pull you up. I’ll follow right after.

The girl happily agreed, but before getting into the basket, she took a ring off her finger and handed it to Jack.
- This is a wishing ring, she said. Keep it safe!
Jack took the ring and tugged the rope.

When the brothers pulled the basket up and saw the pretty girl inside, they immediately fell in love with her and started arguing over who she would marry. They even got into a fight, even though the girl told them straight out that she would only marry Jack.
- No, that won’t happen, said the brothers. We’ll leave Jack down there.
And they threw the basket aside and continued arguing and fighting over the girl.

Meanwhile, poor Jack waited and waited for the basket to be lowered, but it never came. He might have stayed in that cave forever if he hadn’t remembered the ring the sweet girl had given him. Jack twisted the ring and said:
- Oh, how nice it would be to sit at home by the warm hearth, puffing on my heather pipe!
No sooner had he said it than he found himself at home. A bright fire burned in the hearth, and the sweet girl sat by it.
- Oh, Jack! she exclaimed when she saw him. And they got married. And when I last saw them, they were very pleased and happy.

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Bluebeard

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