The Ogre

There lived, once upon a time, in the land of Marigliano, a poor woman called Masella, who had six pretty daughters, all as upright as young fir trees, and an only son called Antonio, who was so simple that he was almost an idiot. Hardly a day passed without his mother saying to him, 'What are you doing, you useless creature? If you weren't too stupid to look after yourself, I would order you to leave the house and never let me see your face again.'

Every day the youth did something new and foolish, until at last Masella, losing all patience, gave him a good beating. This scared Antonio so much that he ran away and didn't stop running until it was dark and the stars were shining in the sky. He wandered for a while, not knowing where to go, and at last he came to a cave. At the mouth of the cave sat an ogre, uglier than anything you can imagine.

He had a huge head and wrinkled brow, eyebrows that met, squinting eyes, a flat broad nose, and a great gash of a mouth from which two huge tusks stuck out. His skin was hairy, his arms enormous, his legs like sword blades, and his feet as flat as ducks'. In short, he was the most hideous and laughable object in the world.

But Antonio, who, with all his faults, was no coward and was also a very polite boy, took off his hat and said, 'Good day, sir. I hope you are pretty well. Could you kindly tell me how far it is from here to the place where I wish to go?'

When the ogre heard this extraordinary question, he burst out laughing. Because he liked the youth's polite manners, he said to him, 'Will you enter my service?'

'What wages do you give?' replied Antonio.

'If you serve me faithfully,' returned the ogre, 'I'll be bound you'll get enough wages to satisfy you.'

So the bargain was struck, and Antonio agreed to become the ogre's servant. He was very well treated in every way, and he had little or no work to do. As a result, in a few days he became as fat as a quail, as round as a barrel, as red as a lobster, and as cheeky as a bantam rooster.

But after two years, the lad grew tired of this idle life and longed desperately to visit his home again. The ogre, who could see into his heart and knew how unhappy he was, said to him one day, 'My dear Antonio, I know how much you long to see your mother and sisters again.

Because I love you as the apple of my eye, I am willing to let you go home for a visit. Take this donkey so you don't have to go on foot. But see that you never say "Bricklebrit" to him, for if you do, you'll be sure to regret it.'

Antonio took the beast without even saying thank you, jumped on its back, and rode away in great haste. But he hadn't gone two hundred yards when he dismounted and called out, 'Bricklebrit.'

No sooner had he said the word than the donkey opened its mouth and poured forth rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and pearls as big as walnuts.

Antonio stared in amazement at the sight of such wealth. Joyfully, he filled a huge sack with the precious stones, mounted the donkey again, and rode on until he came to an inn. Here he got down, went straight to the landlord, and said to him, 'My good man, I must ask you to stable this donkey for me. Be sure to give the poor beast plenty of oats and hay, but beware of saying the word "Bricklebrit" to him, for if you do, I can promise you will regret it. Take this heavy sack, too, and put it carefully away for me.'

The landlord, who was no fool, received this strange warning and saw the precious stones sparkling through the canvas of the sack. He was very eager to see what would happen if he used the forbidden word. So he gave Antonio an excellent dinner, with a bottle of fine old wine, and prepared a comfortable bed for him. As soon as he saw the poor simpleton close his eyes and heard his loud snores, he hurried to the stable and said to the donkey, 'Bricklebrit.' The animal, as usual, poured out many precious stones.

When the landlord saw all these treasures, he longed to own such a valuable animal. He decided to steal the donkey from his foolish guest. As soon as it was light the next morning, Antonio awoke, rubbed his eyes, stretched himself about a hundred times, called the landlord, and said, 'Come here, my friend, and give me my bill, for short reckonings make long friends.'

When Antonio had paid his account, he went to the stable and took out what he thought was his donkey. He fastened a sack of gravel, which the landlord had substituted for his precious stones, on the creature's back, and set out for home.

No sooner had he arrived than he called out, 'Mother, come quickly. Bring tablecloths and sheets with you and spread them out on the ground, and you will soon see what wonderful treasures I have brought you.'

His mother hurried into the house, opened the linen chest where she kept her daughters' wedding outfits, took out tablecloths and sheets made of the finest linen, and spread them flat and smooth on the ground. Antonio placed the donkey on them and called out, 'Bricklebrit.' But this time he had no success. The donkey paid no more attention to the magic word than if a lyre had been twanged in his ear. Two, three, and four times did Antonio say 'Bricklebrit,' but all in vain. He might as well have spoken to the wind.

Disgusted and furious with the poor creature, he seized a thick stick and beat it so hard that he nearly broke every bone in its body. The miserable donkey was so upset by this treatment that, far from pouring out precious stones, it only tore and dirtied all the fine linen.

When poor Masella saw her tablecloths and sheets being destroyed, and that instead of becoming rich she had only been made a fool of, she seized another stick and beat Antonio so unmercifully that he fled before her and did not stop until he reached the ogre's cave.

When his master saw the lad returning in such a sorry state, he understood at once what had happened. Without making a fuss, he told Antonio what a fool he had been to let the landlord trick him and to accept a worthless animal instead of his magic donkey.

Antonio listened humbly to the ogre's words and vowed solemnly that he would never act so foolishly again. And so a year passed. Once more, Antonio was overcome by homesickness and felt a great longing to see his own family again.

Now the ogre, although he was so hideous to look at, had a very kind heart. When he saw how restless and unhappy Antonio was, he at once gave him leave to go home for a visit. At parting, he gave him a beautiful tablecloth and said, 'Give this to your mother. But see that you don't lose it as you lost the donkey. Until you are safely in your own house, beware of saying "Tablecloth, open" and "Tablecloth, shut." If you do, the misfortune will be on your own head, for I have given you fair warning.'

Antonio set out on his journey, but hardly had he got out of sight of the cave when he laid the tablecloth on the ground and said, 'Tablecloth, open.' In an instant, the tablecloth unfolded itself and showed a whole pile of precious stones and other treasures.

When Antonio saw this, he said, 'Tablecloth, shut,' and continued his journey. He came to the same inn again. Calling the landlord to him, he told him to put the tablecloth away carefully and, whatever he did, not to say 'Tablecloth, open' or 'Tablecloth, shut' to it.

The landlord, who was a regular rogue, answered, 'Just leave it to me. I will look after it as if it were my own.'

After he had given Antonio plenty to eat and drink and had provided him with a comfortable bed, he went straight to the tablecloth and said, 'Tablecloth, open.' It opened at once and displayed such costly treasures that the landlord made up his mind on the spot to steal it.

When Antonio awoke the next morning, the host handed him a tablecloth exactly like his own. Carrying it carefully over his arm, the foolish youth went straight to his mother's house and said, 'Now we shall be rich beyond the dreams of greediness and need never go about in rags again or lack the best of food.'

With these words, he spread the tablecloth on the ground and said, 'Tablecloth, open.'

But he might repeat the command as often as he pleased. It was only a waste of breath, for nothing happened. When Antonio saw this, he turned to his mother and said, 'That old scoundrel of a landlord has tricked me once more. But he will live to regret it, for if I ever enter his inn again, I will make him suffer for the loss of my donkey and the other treasures he has robbed me of.'

Masella was so angry over her fresh disappointment that she could not control herself. She turned on Antonio, scolded him soundly, and told him to get out of her sight at once, for she would never acknowledge him as her son again.

The poor boy was very depressed by her words and crept back to his master like a dog with its tail between its legs. When the ogre saw him, he guessed at once what had happened.

He gave Antonio a good scolding and said, 'I don't know what keeps me from smashing your head in, you useless good-for-nothing! You blurt everything out, and your long tongue never stops wagging for a moment. If you had remained silent at the inn, this misfortune would never have happened.

You have only yourself to blame for your present suffering.'

Antonio listened to his master's words in silence, looking for all the world like a whipped dog. When he had been three more years in the ogre's service, he had another bad fit of homesickness and longed very much to see his mother and sisters again.

So he asked for permission to go home for a visit, and it was at once granted. Before he set out on his journey, the ogre presented him with a beautifully carved stick and said, 'Take this stick as a reminder of me. But beware of saying "Rise up, Stick" and "Lie down, Stick." For if you do, I can only say I wouldn't want to be in your shoes for something.'

Antonio took the stick and said, 'Don't be in the least alarmed. I'm not such a fool as you think, and I know better than most people what two and two make.'

'I'm glad to hear it,' replied the ogre. 'But words are women, deeds are men. You have heard what I said, and forewarned is forearmed.'

This time Antonio thanked his master warmly for all his kindness and started on his homeward journey in great spirits. But he had not gone half a mile when he said, 'Rise up, Stick.'

The words were hardly out of his mouth when the stick rose and began to rain down blows on poor Antonio's back with such lightning speed that he barely had strength to call out, 'Lie down, Stick.' As soon as he said the words, the stick lay down and stopped beating his back black and blue.

Although he had learned a lesson at some cost to himself, Antonio was full of joy, for he now saw a way to get revenge on the wicked landlord. Once more he arrived at the inn and was received in the most friendly and hospitable manner by his host. Antonio greeted him warmly and said, 'My friend, will you kindly take care of this stick for me? But whatever you do, don't say "Rise up, Stick." If you do, you will be sorry, and you can't expect any sympathy from me.'

The landlord, thinking he was in for a third piece of good fortune, gave Antonio an excellent supper. After he had seen him comfortably to bed, he ran to the stick and, calling to his wife to come and see the fun, he lost no time in saying the words, 'Rise up, Stick.'

The moment he spoke, the stick jumped up and beat the landlord so unmercifully that he and his wife ran screaming to Antonio. They woke him up and pleaded for mercy.

When Antonio saw how well his trick had worked, he said, 'I refuse to help you unless you give me all that you have stolen from me. Otherwise, you will be beaten to death.'

The landlord, who already felt at death's door, cried out, 'Take back your property, only release me from this terrible stick!' With these words, he ordered the donkey, the tablecloth, and the other treasures to be returned to their rightful owner.

As soon as Antonio had recovered his belongings, he said, 'Stick, lie down,' and it stopped beating the landlord at once.

Then he took his donkey and tablecloth and arrived safely at his home with them. This time the magic words had the desired effect, and the donkey and tablecloth provided the family with untold treasures. Antonio very soon married off his sisters, made his mother rich for life, and they all lived happily ever after.