The Tailor and the Whirlwind

Once upon a time, there lived a tailor; he had a wife. Tailors' wives are usually lazy, and this one was no exception. Her name was Jeanne, and her husband was called Jean Crooked Foot. Every morning, as soon as Jean left for work, Jeanne would go back to sleep, get up around eleven or twelve, and then start visiting neighbors, gossiping like a magpie. When Jean returned home in the evening, she was always sitting at her spinning wheel; so he imagined that Jeanne had been spinning all day.

One morning, Jean said to his wife:

— Today I won’t work; we’ll go to the market together to sell the yarn. Surely you’ve spun a lot by now.

Jeanne was terrified; what could she do? She didn’t even have three skeins of yarn. She ran to her closest neighbor, a gossipy friend, and told her about her trouble.

— Tell your husband— advised the neighbor— that you washed the yarn, took it to the bakery to dry, and left it in the oven. The baker, not knowing about it, lit the fire as usual, and all the yarn burned.

When Jeanne returned home, she repeated word for word what her neighbor had told her.

— Fool! — Jean shouted angrily.— It seems you’ve lost even the little sense you had. As long as I live with you, I’ll never escape poverty. As punishment, you’ll sow half a measure of flaxseed in the yard— here it is— and by the time I return, the flax must be ripe, pulled, soaked, dried, tied into bundles, and stored in the attic!

— Come now, husband— Jeanne replied— how can you say such things? No one in the world could do that. How do you expect me to manage it?

— Do as you please— Jean answered— but by evening, when I return, everything must be ready, or you’ll regret it.

With that, the tailor left. Jeanne grew anxious and ran to her neighbor.

— If only you knew, friend, what my husband has come up with! He must have lost his mind.

— What does he want, dear?

— What does he want? He wants me to sow half a measure of flaxseed in our yard and have the flax ripe by evening, and on top of that, I must pull it, soak it, dry it, tie it into bundles, and store it in the attic! Tell me, would he bother me with such nonsense if he were in his right mind? — She even began to cry.

— Don’t worry, dear— said the neighbor.— Surely we can find a way to outsmart your Jean, who thinks he’s so clever but is actually a fool. Here’s what you should do: I still have some flax from last year in my attic. Take two or three bundles, untie them, scatter the stalks across the fields and meadows, throw them on fences and bushes, and tonight, when Jean returns, tell him you did everything he asked, but while the flax was drying in the meadow, a whirlwind came and scattered it all. As proof, show him the stalks strewn across the bushes and trees.

Jeanne liked this advice. She took three bundles of dry flax from her neighbor and scattered them across the fields and meadows, tossing them onto bushes and tree branches.

When Jean returned home that evening, he immediately asked:

— Well, wife, did you do everything I told you this morning?

— Of course, I followed your instructions exactly, but we’re just unlucky, husband!

— What happened?

— What happened? Just imagine: the flax was drying in the meadow near the pond where I soaked it, and I had just started gathering it to tie into bundles and store in the attic when suddenly a whirlwind came and scattered everything.

— Oh, come now! I don’t believe such tales— Jean replied.

— It’s no tale, husband. Come with me, and you’ll see it’s the truth.

Jeanne immediately led her husband to the meadow where, she claimed, she had laid out the flax to dry, and showed him the stalks scattered across the fields and meadows, tangled in bushes and tree branches.

Reluctantly, the tailor had to believe his wife, and he exclaimed:

— So that’s how it is! If the Whirlwind caused me such losses, it will pay for them. I’ll go complain to the Lord of the Winds right now!

Jean returned home, took his knobby walking stick, a barley cake, and a few flatbreads, and set off on his journey.

He walked for a long time. He walked and walked until he finally reached the foot of a hill where an old woman as tall as a tower sat. Her gray hair fluttered in the wind, and a large black tooth, the only one she had left, stuck out of her mouth.

— Good day, grandmother— said the tailor.

— Good day— replied the old woman.— What are you looking for?

— I’m looking for the home of the Winds.

— In that case, my son, you’ve reached the end of your journey: the home of the Winds is here, and I am their mother. What do you want from them?

— I’ve come to demand compensation for the losses they’ve caused me.
— What losses are you talking about? Tell me, and I will compensate you if you have truly suffered.

— Your son, Whirlwind, has completely ruined me...

And Jean told the old woman what had happened. She said:

— Come into our house, my son, and when my son Whirlwind returns, I will make him pay for your losses.

The old woman descended the hill and led Jean to her house, which stood in a hollow. It was a hut built of branches and clumps of earth; it was drafty from all sides. The old woman gave Jean something to eat and told him not to be afraid when her son returned, as she would be able to handle him, even though Whirlwind would threaten to eat the stranger. Soon, a terrible noise was heard: trees cracked, stones were dislodged, and wolves howled mournfully.

— That is my son Whirlwind hurrying home, — said the old woman.

Jean was so frightened that he crawled under the table. Whirlwind entered, growling, sniffed the air, and shouted:

— I smell human flesh! There is a man hiding here, I will eat him!

— Do not hope, my son, that I will allow you to eat this fine little man. Instead, think about how to compensate for the losses you have caused him, — said the old woman.

She took Jean by the hand and pulled him out from under the table. Seeing Jean, Whirlwind opened his mouth and was about to grab and eat him, but his mother pointed to a sack hanging from a beam near the ceiling and asked:

— Do you want to sit in that sack?

Whirlwind immediately calmed down. The tailor, emboldened, said to him:

— Good day, your lordship. You have ruined me.

— How so, my friend? — Whirlwind asked kindly.

— You scattered all the flax my wife had laid out to dry across the meadow.

— That is not true, your wife is a liar and a lazybones. But you are an honest fellow, a good worker, and you toil diligently. With such a wife, despite all your efforts, you will remain poor forever, and I want to reward you for your long journey and for believing in my justice. Here is a donkey for you, and when you need silver and gold, just spread a white napkin on the ground under its tail and say: "Donkey, do your duty!" And it will immediately give you as much gold and silver as you desire. But be careful with it! If it is stolen from you, you will become as poor as before.

And Whirlwind gave him a donkey standing in the corner of the hut, no different from any other floppy-eared donkey. The tailor thanked him for the generous gift, bid farewell to Whirlwind and his mother, and set off home accompanied by the precious animal.

After walking some distance from the hut, Jean found himself in a vast wasteland. Eager to test whether his donkey possessed the properties attributed to it, Jean spread his handkerchief on the ground under its tail and said:

— Donkey, do your duty!

At that very moment, gold and silver coins poured out, quickly covering the handkerchief. Jean filled all his pockets with them and then continued on his way, singing, laughing, dancing with joy, and jumping around like a madman.

As dusk began to fall, he decided to spend the night at an inn by the roadside.

Jean strictly instructed the servant, to whom he entrusted his donkey, to take the best care of it and, most importantly, not to ask it to do its duty. It seems poor Jean was not very clever. After eating heartily and enjoying the best wine the inn had to offer, Jean went to bed and fell asleep, untroubled by thoughts of the next day.

The servant was puzzled by Jean's instruction not to ask the donkey to do its duty—no guest had ever said such a thing to him. "There's something strange here," he thought.

This thought kept the servant awake, and he went to share it with his master.

When everyone in the house had gone to bed, the master, his wife, and the servant went to the stable. The servant approached the donkey and said:

— Donkey, do your duty!

And at that very moment, gold and silver coins rained down with a cheerful jingle. All three were stunned. After filling their pockets with gold, they substituted one floppy-eared donkey for another and locked the magical donkey in a hidden closet far from the stable.

The next morning, Jean had a delicious breakfast, paid his bill, and, taking the donkey brought to him by the servant, continued his journey, unaware of the trick played on him. His pockets were still full of the gold and silver obtained the day before, so he did not need to order the donkey to do its duty until the very end of his journey.

Upon returning home, he found his wife and children nearly starving to death. Jeanne, seeing her husband, began to berate him:

— Finally, you show up, you cruel, heartless man! Wandering who knows where, leaving your wife and children to starve! — And she shook her fist at him.

— Be quiet, wife, — Jean said calmly, as befits a man confident in his affairs, — you will never lack bread or anything else again; now we will be rich, and you will see this right now. Take off your apron and spread it on the ground under my donkey's tail.
Jeanne spread out her apron, and Jean, without hesitation, said:

— Donkey, do your duty.

But nothing fell onto the apron. Jean was greatly surprised by this. Thinking that perhaps the donkey hadn’t heard him, he said a second time:

— Donkey, do your duty!

Again, nothing! He shouted a third time, even louder than before:

— Donkey, do your duty!

This time, something fell onto the apron, but it was neither gold nor silver.

Seeing all this, Jeanne decided that her husband was mocking her. She screamed even louder and then grabbed a stick. Poor Jean ran off as fast as he could.

Where could he go? He didn’t even know exactly where his donkey had been stolen; so he decided to go back to Whirlwind.

When Whirlwind saw the distressed Jean, he said:

— I know why you’ve come again: you didn’t keep an eye on your donkey, and it was stolen from you at the very first inn where you stayed on your way home. Now, here’s a napkin. As soon as you spread it on the table, or even on the bare ground, and say, “Napkin, do your duty!” — it will immediately feed and quench your thirst with whatever you desire. But keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t get stolen too.

— Don’t worry,— replied Jean,— I’d sooner part with my life.

Jean bid farewell to Whirlwind and his mother and set off again. When it grew dark, he stayed overnight at the same inn as before. There was a wedding celebration there. He was warmly welcomed and asked to sit at the table with the newlyweds, which he gladly did. Whether because the food seemed meager to him, or perhaps because he wanted to show off to the guests and be seen as a great sage and magician, Jean took out the napkin, spread it on the table, and proudly said, “Napkin, do your duty!” — and in that instant, a lavish feast appeared on the table: exquisite dishes, the kind served only at royal tables, and the finest wines from all over the world.

Intoxicated by praise and wine, Jean once again failed to notice that he had been robbed, and the napkin was stolen. Morning found him in his former poverty, and he again didn’t know what to do. However, this time he didn’t dare return to his wife empty-handed, so he decided that his only salvation was to go back to the mother of the Winds.

And so he set off on the same road again, but this time very ashamed and embarrassed.

Seeing him, Whirlwind said:

— You’ve been robbed again, poor fellow! They’ve taken your napkin!

— Have mercy on me, your lordship,— the unfortunate tailor pleaded,— my wife and children are starving, I can’t return home empty-handed!

— I agree to help you, because you’re a good man, but this is the last time,— replied Whirlwind. Then he handed the tailor a cudgel, saying:

— Here’s a cudgel. All the one who holds it needs to do is say, “Cudgel, do your duty!” — and it will tirelessly beat the enemies of its owner. Nothing can stop it until he says, “Enough!” With this cudgel, you’ll get back both your donkey and your napkin.

Jean thanked him and set off on his way back. He stayed overnight at the same inn again. Hoping to steal some other treasure from him, the hosts gave him the warmest welcome. Jean invited the innkeeper, his wife, and the servant to dine with him. At the end of the meal, he said to his cudgel, which he now never parted with:

— Cudgel, do your duty!

The cudgel immediately began spinning in the air and started beating the innkeeper, his wife, and the servant one after the other. No matter how hard they tried to stop it, it was in vain; they crawled under the table, hid wherever they could, but the cudgel caught up with them everywhere, while the tailor laughed and enjoyed their torment.

— Have mercy! Spare us! — they wailed.

And Jean replied:

— Serves you right, now you’ll know better than to steal donkeys and napkins!

— Have mercy! Spare us! We’ll return everything to you! We’re about to die!

This spectacle lasted for about half an hour, until Jean commanded:

— Enough!

Then the cudgel calmed down, and Jean returned home with the donkey, the napkin, and the cudgel.

If he managed to keep them safe, he’s probably living happily ever after. And I haven’t heard anything about him since.

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The Tailor and the Whirlwind

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