The Master of All Masters

Once upon a time, a girl went to a fair: she wanted to hire herself out to someone as a servant. Finally, a somewhat eccentric-looking elderly gentleman hired her and took her to his home. When they arrived, he said that first of all, he needed to teach her a few things because everything in his house was called differently than usual, in a special way.

And he asked the girl:

"What will you call me?"

"Master or sir, whatever you prefer, sir," the girl replied. But he said:

"No, you must call me 'the master of all masters.' And what do you think this is called?" he asked, pointing to the bed.

"A bed or a cot, whatever you prefer, sir."

"No, this is my 'white swan.' And what will you call this?" he asked, pointing to his trousers.

"Pants or trousers, whatever you prefer, sir."

"You must call them 'clappers and crackers.' And who is this?" he pointed to the cat.

"A cat or kitty, whatever you prefer, sir."

"From now on, you must call her 'the whiskered monkey.' Now, what is this?" he pointed to the fire.

"Fire or flame, whatever you prefer, sir."

"You must call it 'the red rooster.' And this?" he continued, pointing to the water.

"Water or moisture, whatever you prefer, sir."

"No, this is 'the clear pond.' And what is all this called?" he asked, pointing to his house.

"A house or cottage, whatever you prefer, sir."

"You must call it 'the mountain of all mountains.'"

At night, the frightened servant woke her master with a cry:

"Oh, master of all masters! Get off your white swan and pull on your clappers and crackers! The whiskered monkey got a spark from the red rooster on her tail! Grab the clear pond quickly, or the red rooster will engulf your mountain of all mountains!"

But by the time the master understood what had happened, his house had already burned down.

↑ To the top

The Master of All Masters

More fairy tales