How a Schildbürger Saved the Honor of the Town of Schilda and Lost His Mare in the Process

One Schildbürger heard that you shouldn’t burden anyone with more than they can carry, and from that day on, he never loaded his mare. No, he would sling a sack of flour over his own shoulders, and only then would he mount the horse and ride straight home from the mill. He thought it would make things easier for the mare. So, he’s riding along the road and sees—right at the border of Schildian lands—a tree. And in the tree sits a cuckoo. It sits there, cuckooing. On the other side of the border stands another tree. And in it sits another cuckoo, but a foreign one, and it’s cuckooing too.

Our Schildbürger listened and listened, and suddenly noticed that the foreign cuckoo was out-cuckooing the Schildian one. This angered him, so he jumped off his horse, climbed the tree, and started helping his cuckoo out-cuckoo the foreign one.

Meanwhile, a wolf happened to be running nearby. Seeing the mare unattended, it attacked and devoured her. But the Schildbürger kept sitting up in the tree, out-cuckooing the foreign cuckoo—defending the honor of Schilda. And by the end, he got so good at cuckooing that the foreign bird first fell silent and then flew away altogether. It couldn’t take it anymore; it gave up.

The Schildbürger climbed down, pleased with himself, but the mare was gone—only bones remained. So, he had to trudge home on foot, carrying the sack of flour.

However, upon returning to Schilda, he told the mayor how he had defended the honor and dignity of all the townsfolk by out-cuckooing the foreign cuckoo, but unfortunately, while he was doing so, a wolf had killed his mare.

Hearing this, the mayor and the entire Schildian council deemed it a great injustice: how could this be? A man had fought for the honor of the entire Schildian community—and suffered such a loss! They decided to express their gratitude and buy him a new horse.

And so they did.

More fairy tales

• What Gift the Schildburgers Presented to the Emperor
• How the Schildbürgers Sowed Salt
• How the Schildburgers Hid the Bells
• King Thrushbeard
• How the Schildburgers Bought the Fearsome Beast, the Mouse-Catcher, and Along with It, Sealed Their Doom