Doctor Know-It-All Fairy Tales

Once upon a time, there was a poor farmer named Crab. He drove two oxen to pull a cart of wood into the city and sold the wood to a doctor for two gold coins. The doctor gave him some money while eating at the table.

The farmer saw that the doctor’s meal was so rich and felt envious from the bottom of his heart. He thought it would be great if he could be a doctor too. He stood there for a while, and finally asked him embarrassedly if he could also be a doctor.

　　”Oh, yes,” the doctor said, “that’s easy.”

　　”What should I do?” the farmer asked.

　　”First, buy a primer with a cockerel on the front; then trade your cart and two oxen for money, and buy yourself some clothes and whatever you like that has to do with medicine; and finally, make a sign that says, ‘I am the Know-It-All Doctor,’ and nail it above your door.”

　　The farmer did everything as he was told and began to practice medicine.

　　Not long after, a rich man had his money stolen. He heard that there was a know-it-all doctor in a certain village, and he thought the doctor must know where the stolen money was.

So the rich man harnessed his carriage, drove to the village, and asked Crab if he was the know-it-all doctor.

　　”Yes, I am,” he replied.

　　The rich man invited him to go with him to recover the stolen money.

　　”Oh, yes, but my wife, Gerrit, must go too.'”

　　The rich man agreed, invited the two of them to get in the car, and set off together. When they arrived at the mansion of the big man, the table had been set, and the crab was invited to sit down and eat.

　　”Well, but my wife, Gerrit, must be seated too,” he said, and sat down at the table with his wife.

　　Then the first servant came in with a plate of fine food, and the peasant nudged his wife and said, “Gerrit, this is the first one.”

　　He meant that this was the first dish. However, the servant thought that he said, “This is the first thief.” In fact, he was the thief, so he was very scared and said to his accomplices outside, “The doctor knows everything. We are in trouble. He said I am the first.”

　　The second one did not dare to come in, but he had to come in. When he came in with the food, the farmer nudged his wife and said, “Gerrit, this is the second one.” The servant was also frightened and immediately withdrew.

　　The third one was also terrified, for the peasant said again, “Gerrit, this is the third one.”

　　The fourth one brought a covered plate, and the rich man asked the doctor to show his talent and guess what was under the cover. The plate was filled with crabs. The doctor stared at the plate, but he really didn’t know what to say. He sighed, “Alas, poor crab.”

　　When the rich man heard this, he shouted, “Great! He knows what’s inside, and he must also know where the money is!”

　　Seeing all this, the servants looked very nervous. They hinted to the doctor if he could go out for a while. So he went out, and the four servants confessed that they had stolen the money and promised that if he did not expose them, they would return the money and give him a large sum of money as a reward, otherwise they would be hanged. They took him to the place where the money was hidden.

　　He confidently returned to the hall, sat down at the table, and said, “My lord, now I will look in my book for the place where the gold is hidden.”

　　Meanwhile, the fifth servant crept into the fireplace to hear what the doctor knew. But the doctor sat motionless, opening his primer, turning the pages back and forth, looking for the cockerel. As he could not find it, he said, “I know you are there, so you had better come out yourself!”

　　The old fellow in the fireplace mistook the doctor for him, and jumped out in horror, shouting, “That man is a master of calculations, and knows everything!”

　　At this time, Dr. Know-it-all told the rich man where the money was hidden, but did not tell him who stole it. As a result, both parties rewarded him, and he became a celebrity.