The Cheerful Monacchio

Once upon a time, in a small Italian town called Grassano... no, not an evil wizard.

There lived a cheerful road worker named Mario Costa. He spent his days working under the scorching southern sun, paving a highway to the village of Irsina.

And on Sundays, Mario would hop on his old bicycle and ride high into the mountains.

One evening, nightfall caught Mario near the very top of a mountain, and he decided to spend the night in a small grotto by the little river Bilioso.

He heartily ate a chunk of homemade bread, washed it down with a glass of white grape wine, and immediately fell into a deep sleep. Mario woke up because someone was painfully tugging at his hair. He ran his hand through his hair...

No one was there. Suddenly, a small pebble hit him right in the ear, and Mario heard a quiet laugh.

"Ha, ha, ha!" a tiny, mosquito-like voice giggled from the unseen jester.

In the early morning mist, a bright red cap flashed by, and then there was no one again...

"What kind of magic is this?" Mario wondered, and at that very moment, he sneezed loudly.

"Bless you, Mario!" squeaked someone very close by.

Now Mario clearly saw a strange little man. The fiery red cap almost completely covered his face. On his feet were tiny wooden clogs.

"It's the merry gnome Monacchio!" Mario realized. "No wonder old Gennaro swore he'd seen Monacchio himself. Back then, I, along with the other kids, both believed and didn't believe him."

The little Monacchio didn't leave Mario alone for a moment.

Agile as a cat, cunning as a fox, the tireless Monacchio would throw handfuls of sand in Mario's face or splash him with icy water from the river.

In vain, Mario tried to grab his tormentor by the leg or arm.

Effortlessly, like a mountain goat, Monacchio leaped over Mario's head, clattering his wooden clogs loudly.

And then old Gennaro came to Mario's aid again. Mario remembered the old man's advice.

"There's only one way to tame Monacchio," Gennaro had said. "You have to be quick and grab his red cap. Just take the cap off Monacchio's head, and he'll become your faithful servant. Monacchio spends almost his entire life in the river or underground, and he knows the secret places where bandits have hidden their loot. But don't give Monacchio his red cap back until he leads you directly to the treasure. If you trust the sly Monacchio and return the cap too soon, the little trickster will just laugh at your naivety."

Mario did as Gennaro advised.

Just as the emboldened Monacchio was about to reach for Mario's jacket, Mario quickly reached out his hand... And before the cunning gnome could jump aside, the red cap was in Mario's grasp.

In vain did Monacchio, crying, beg Mario to return the red cap; in vain did he promise never to harm anyone again—Mario was unyielding.

The careless Monacchio had no choice but to lead Mario into the forest, straight to the oak tree where the bandit Nanko had hidden part of his treasure.

Returning home, Mario rested a bit from the journey, then went to the big city of Potenza and brought back many toys for the children of his native Grassano. He gave old Gennaro a wonderful pipe and bought himself a new bicycle.

Many years have passed since then. Old Gennaro has long since passed away. Mario Costa himself has become a grandfather, and in the evenings, sitting on the porch, he tells the boys about his encounter with Monacchio. And the boys, just like he once did, both believe and don't believe him.

Mario deeply regrets not taking one of Monacchio's wooden clogs: then even the most skeptical kids would have been convinced he was telling the truth.

↑ To the top

The Cheerful Monacchio

More fairy tales