Two Hunchbacks and the Dwarfs

Once upon a time, there were two hunchbacks, two friends named Nonnik and Gabik.

They worked as tailors and every morning set out to look for work at nearby farms and castles: one went in one direction, the other in the opposite.

One evening, Nonnik was returning from work alone, and as he walked through the desolate area of Penanroku, near the town of Pluar, he heard faint voices. They were singing:

"Monday is a day, Tuesday is a day, Wednesday is a day..."

"Who is singing here?" he wondered and quietly crept closer. It was a beautiful moonlit night, and he saw the night dancers—gnomes; they were spinning in a circle, holding hands, and singing. One of them began:

"Monday is a day, Tuesday is a day, Wednesday is a day..."

And the others joined in chorus:

"Monday is a day, Tuesday is a day, Wednesday is a day..."

And so on endlessly. Nonnik had often heard of the night dancers but had never seen them. He hid behind a rock and began to watch. But he was noticed and dragged right into the circle. The gnomes began to dance and whirl around him, chanting:

"Monday is a day, Tuesday is a day, Wednesday is a day..."

They said to the hunchback:

"Dance and sing with us!"

Nonnik was no coward—he joined the circle and began to dance and sing with them:

"Monday is a day, Tuesday is a day, Wednesday is a day..."

However, noticing that they kept repeating only these words and nothing more, he asked:

"What comes next? Your song is awfully short."

"That's all," replied the gnomes.

"That's all? Why don't you continue: and Thursday is also a day, and Friday is a day..."

"True," they agreed, "that's very nice." And they began to sing, stomping and jumping with joy:

"Monday is a day, Tuesday is a day, Wednesday is a day... And Thursday is also a day, and Friday is a day..."

Then they spun around like mad. When Nonnik grew exhausted and wanted to leave, the gnomes began to confer among themselves:

"What shall we give Nonnik for helping us compose such a good song?"

"Anything: plenty of silver and gold, and if he wishes, we can rid him of his hump."

"Oh," exclaimed Nonnik, "if you rid me of this burden I've carried for so long, take the gold and silver for yourselves!"

"Very well, let's remove his hump!"

And they rubbed his back with a miraculous ointment, and the hump disappeared as if by magic. He returned home light and free—slim, straight, and very handsome.

The next day, when his hunchbacked companion saw him, he was very surprised and didn't recognize him at first.

"What!" he exclaimed, examining Nonnik from all sides. "Where is your hump?"

"Gone, as you can see."

"But how did it happen?" Then Nonnik told him everything.

"Ah, I'll go see the night dancers in Penanroku too, and this very evening, without delay!"

And so he did.

When he appeared among the rocks, the gnomes were already dancing there, singing:

"Monday is a day, Tuesday is a day, Wednesday is a day..."

one voice began, and the others joined in chorus:

"And Thursday is also a day, and Friday is a day..."

How they spun, jumped, and pranced! Gabik approached them, and the gnomes shouted:

"Come dance with us!"

And so he joined the circle and began to dance and sing like them:

"Monday is a day, Tuesday is a day, Wednesday is a day... And Thursday is also a day, and Friday is a day..."

"What comes next?" he asked.

"That's all. Do you know what comes next?"

"Of course!"

"Well, speak quickly, speak!" And Gabik replied:

"And Saturday is a day, and Sunday!"

"Well, that's bad! It doesn't rhyme! He's ruined our song, such a good song! We must teach him a lesson. What shall we do with him?" the gnomes all cried at once, bustling and swarming around Gabik like ants in an anthill.

"We should add Nonnik's hump to his hump!" someone suggested.

"That's right—let's add Nonnik's hump to his hump."

No sooner said than done. And poor Gabik returned home ashamed, bent under the unbearable weight. And he had to carry his own hump along with his friend's hump for the rest of his life!

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Two Hunchbacks and the Dwarfs

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