The Merry Cobbler
Once upon a time, there lived a shoemaker with a very, very large hump. He had seven sons. Their names were Perrotto, Gianotto, Rinaldotto, Erminotto, Arrigotto, Ambrogiolotto, and little Peppino. He also had seven daughters. Their names were Ninettaggia, Giletta, Giovannetta, Ermellinetta, Lauretta, Gelisetta, and little Catellina.Let's count—seven plus seven makes fourteen children. And how many legs do these children have? Wow, a whole twenty-eight. And how many shoes do they need? Do you think twenty-eight? Not so fast. Did you count the shoemaker and his wife? The whole family needs thirty-two shoes. That many!
The shoemaker had to make so many shoes for his family that he barely had time to take orders. So, the family ate bread with water one day and water with bread the next.
But the shoemaker didn’t lose heart. He was a very cheerful shoemaker. While working, he sang; while resting, he danced. He even made up a little song about himself:
"I tap with my hammer—tap-tap—without a moment’s rest. Once my work is done, I’ll dance with zest."
One day, the cheerful shoemaker made three pairs of shoes and decided to sell them at the fair in a nearby town. He slung the shoes over his back and set off down the road. As he walked, the shoes clattered against his hump—clatter-clang, clatter-clang.
"Everything would be fine," thought the shoemaker, "if only I didn’t have this hump."
When he arrived at the fair, he chatted with one person, laughed with another, and forgot all about his hump.
The shoes were snatched up in no time. With the money he earned, the shoemaker bought a heap of gifts for his family, stuffed them all into a sack, slung it over his back, and set off home. As he walked, the sack of gifts clattered against his hump—clatter-clang, clatter-clang.
"No," thought the shoemaker, "this hump really is no good."
Meanwhile, it began to grow dark. And home was still far away. The shoemaker decided to cut through the forest to reach his village directly. As he walked through the forest, it grew completely dark. Luckily, the moon rose. And in the moonlight, the shoemaker saw... who do you think? A forest fairy. She was very, very tiny. The fairy sat on a tree stump, crying.
"Why are you crying?" asked the shoemaker.
"I’m bored," replied the fairy.
"Bored? Well, I’m never bored." And he began to sing:
"I tap with my hammer—tap-tap—without a moment’s rest. Once my work is done, I’ll dance with zest."
The fairy wiped her tears and smiled.
"But that’s not all," said the shoemaker. "Listen to this:
I work, I dance—so much to do, no time to feel bored. Whoever wears my shoes will dance forevermore."
"Then make me some shoes right away!" exclaimed the fairy.
"I’ll make them in a flash," replied the shoemaker.
He plucked two plantain leaves, used a dry stalk as thread, and a pine needle as a needle. Soon, the shoes were ready. The fairy began to try them on. The shoemaker looked, but the fairy was gone.
"Oh!" came a tiny voice from the left shoe. "They seem a bit too big."
"Yes, a little too big," said the shoemaker. "But no matter. I’ll make you another pair right away."
He bent down, plucked two small clover leaves, and sewed shoes that fit the fairy’s feet perfectly. As soon as she put them on, the shoemaker began to sing his song, and the fairy started to dance.
The fairy and the shoemaker danced all night. When dawn broke, the fairy said:
"Oh, I’ve danced so much! You’ve made me so happy. Tell me, what can I give you in return?"
"Give me?" the shoemaker was surprised. "I don’t need anything."
Then he thought for a moment and said:
"Could you take something from me instead? I’d gladly get rid of my hump."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" replied the fairy.
She jumped onto the tree stump and touched the shoemaker’s hump with her magic wand. The hump vanished instantly, as if it had never been there.
"Thank you so much!" exclaimed the shoemaker. He kissed the fairy and headed home.
As soon as he entered the village, he ran into an old neighbor woman. She also had a hump—only hers was in the front, not the back. When she saw the shoemaker, her eyes burned with envy.
"Hey, neighbor! Is that you or not? Where’s your hump?" The shoemaker told her everything that had happened. The next night, the old woman went into the forest.
"How wonderful that you’ve come!" cried the fairy when she saw the old woman. "I have no one to dance with tonight."
"As if I have nothing better to do than dance with you," the old woman snapped.
"But the shoemaker danced with me," said the fairy. "If you don’t want to dance, let’s sing a song."
"What nonsense!" grumbled the old woman.
"But the shoemaker sang with me," said the fairy.
"That shoemaker of yours is a slacker, and so are you. All you do is sing and dance. Why don’t you put that magic wand of yours to work?"
"Very well," agreed the fairy. "But know this: my wand can give, and it can take. So, what will it be—give or take?"
"I’ll say take!" thought the old woman. She opened her mouth and shouted:
"Give! Give!" She was, after all, the greediest woman in the village.
"Well then, take it," the fairy smirked.
She jumped onto the tree stump and touched the old woman with her magic wand. Instantly, a hump grew on the old woman’s back.
The old woman screamed and cursed, but nothing helped.
And so, the old woman was left with two humps—one in the front and one on the back.