Going A-Travelling

Once there was a poor woman who had a son. He very much wanted to travel, but his mother said, “How can you travel? We have no money at all for you to take with you.” Then the son said, “I will manage very well for myself. I will always say, Not much, not much, not much.”

So he walked for a long time and always said, “Not much, not much, not much.” Then he passed by a group of fishermen and said, “God help you! Not much, not much, not much.” “What do you say, you rude fellow, ‘not much’?” And when they pulled in their net, they had not caught much fish. So one of them hit the youth with a stick and said, “Have you never seen me threshing?” “What should I say, then?” asked the youth. “You must say, ‘Get it full, get it full.’”

After this he walked a long time again and said, “Get it full, get it full,” until he came to the gallows, where they had a poor sinner whom they were about to hang. Then he said, “Good morning; get it full, get it full.” “What do you say, you rascal, get it full? Do you want to say that there are still more wicked people? Is this not enough?” And he got some blows on his back again. “What am I to say, then?” he said. “You must say, ‘May God have mercy on the poor soul.’”

Again the youth walked on for a long while and said, “May God have mercy on the poor soul!” Then he came to a pit where a knacker was cutting up a horse. The youth said, “Good morning; may God have mercy on the poor soul!” “What do you say, you ill-tempered knave?” And the knacker gave him such a box on the ear that he could not see out of his eyes. “What am I to say, then?” “You must say, ‘There lies the dead beast in the pit!’”

So he walked on and always said, “There lies the dead beast in the pit, there lies the dead beast in the pit.” And he came to a cart full of people, so he said, “Good morning, there lies the dead beast in the pit!” Then the cart pushed him into a hole, and the driver took his whip and cracked it upon the youth, until he was forced to crawl back to his mother. And as long as he lived, he never went out travelling again.