Gotcha, Cricket!

In ancient times, children didn’t have to go to school every day as they do now—back then, there weren’t even schools. Instead, the village elder, who could barely read, write, and do some basic math, taught the children. The elder would gather all those who wanted to learn in his house. The children only studied in the winter because, come early spring, the elder and the peasants would be busy with sowing—there was no time for studies. Besides, the children had their own tasks: they would put on simpler clothes and either herd cattle in the meadows or gather firewood in the forest. Sometimes, they would all gather in a clearing, light a bonfire, and have fun until morning.

It was during these times, which I am telling you about, that a little shepherd boy lived in the village. His name was Vincent, but everyone called him Cricket.

One day, he went up to his father and said:

“You know, father, to earn my living, I’ll become a seer.”

“A seer? You?” laughed his father. “You’ll turn out to be a seer, but a fake one.”

“We’ll see about that!” said Vincent and ran off to the meadow to tell his friends about his plan.

“Let’s test him!” the kids decided. “You have to guess three things,” they told Vincent. “If you guess them, we’ll consider you a seer. If not, you’ll get a good thrashing!”

The kids gathered together, took a tin plate, put something inside, covered it with a large burdock leaf, and placed it in front of Vincent.

“Tell us, what’s in the plate?”

The boy scratched his head, thought and thought, and, coming up with nothing, said in frustration:

“Ah, my father was right—I’ll be a seer, but a fake one!”

The kids removed the burdock leaf, and inside the plate were linden leaves.

“Well done!” they praised him. “You solved the first riddle. Now, the second one.”

They wrote something on a piece of paper, folded it four times, and asked Vincent:

“What did we write on this paper?”

Vincent was stumped again and, regretting that he had boasted too soon, muttered to himself:

“Ah, Vincent, Vincent!”

The kids unfolded the paper and showed him the word “Vincent,” which in those distant times meant the number “two thousand.”

“You guessed it again!” the kids praised him. “Now, the last, third riddle. Wait for us a bit!”

They went somewhere and soon returned, holding a closed box.

“Guess what’s inside?”

Vincent racked his brains, thought and thought, and, finally deciding that a beating was inevitable, exclaimed:

“Well, Cricket, you’re caught!”

They opened the box, and inside was a real cricket. That’s when they recognized Vincent-Cricket as a seer. He himself believed it and decided to set off on a long journey to see the world and show off his great skill.

Vincent walked and walked until he reached a big city. It happened to be fair time, and the place was packed with people. Vincent wasn’t afraid and announced to everyone that he was a great seer and ready to demonstrate his skill to anyone who wished.

What a daring fellow!

A woman approached him and, looking doubtfully at his shabby clothes, asked:

“Are you the seer?”

“Yes, I am Vincent-Cricket in person, a true seer.”

“Then come with me. My mistress has had a valuable diamond ring stolen. If you find the thief, she will reward you royally.”

Vincent followed the maid to her mistress’s house and learned what had happened. It turned out that while trimming roses in the garden, the mistress had taken off her ring and placed it on the edge of the fountain. She forgot about it, and when she remembered, the ring was gone.

“Madam, I will find the thief,” Vincent confidently declared. “Give me three days!”

“Oh! Stay with us as long as you like!” said the mistress. “I’ll have the best room prepared for you, and you’ll be served the most exquisite dishes!”

“Not bad,” Vincent thought to himself. “At least I’ll have a good bed and delicious food for three whole days. We’ll see what happens next.”

In the evening, a servant brought him dinner. Vincent had never eaten such delicious food in his life. He ate his fill, got up from the table, and, thinking that one of the three meals was already over, exclaimed:

“Well, one’s already done!”

The servant standing behind Vincent heard these words, turned pale, and rushed to the kitchen, where two other servants were eagerly waiting for him. They were waiting because they were the ones who had conspired to steal the ring.

“He’s a real seer!” the servant shouted as he burst into the kitchen. “He saw me and said, ‘Well, one’s already done!’ I’m not going near him again.”

Meanwhile, Vincent spent the night in a soft bed, slept wonderfully, and went out into the garden in the morning. He admired the flowers, examined the fountain, and returned to his room with a satisfied look.

That day, another servant brought him lunch. The seer ate and drank his fill, got up from the table, and said:

“Tell me, is there a goose in the poultry yard?”

“Of course! We have fifteen geese and one white gander.”

“Then go get the gander and make him swallow this ring.”

The servants rolled the ring into a ball of sweet dough and slipped it to the white gander. The gander snatched the sweet ball with its beak and swallowed it in an instant.

The next morning, Vincent-Cricket asked to be taken to the mistress.

“Madam,” he said gravely, “I have found the culprit. Your ring was swallowed by the white gander. Order him to be slaughtered, and you’ll find your ring in his crop.”

The mistress ordered the cook to slaughter the white gander, and sure enough, the ring was found in its crop.

“Sir!” exclaimed the delighted mistress. “Truly, you are a great seer. Accept this generous reward from my hands!”

And she handed Vincent a large purse filled with gold coins.

Vincent set off on his way back and soon found himself at home. He bought himself a good farm and lived happily and well. He never refused anyone advice, but he didn’t like to recall the time when he had been a seer.

This story became known only many years later, but, one way or another, it spread all over France. And now, for example, when a policeman catches a thief, or a soldier grabs a poacher by the collar, or a boy finds his hiding friend, everyone—the policeman, the soldier, and the boy—always says: “Gotcha, Cricket!”

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Gotcha, Cricket!

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