Smart Farm Girl Fairy Tales

Once upon a time there was a poor farmer. He had no farmland to cultivate, but he had a small house and a daughter.

　　One day, the daughter said, “We should ask the king to give us a piece of wasteland.”

　　When the king learned of their poverty, he gave them a piece of land. Then she and her father began to till the land, hoping to plant some crops. When they had almost finished tilling the land, they found a pure gold mortar in the soil.

　　”Listen,” the father said to his daughter, “our king was kind enough to give us this land. In return, we should give him this golden mortar.”

　　However, the daughter disagreed and replied, “Dad, we have a mortar but no pestle. We must find the pestle. So you better keep silent.”

　　But the father did not listen to her, and took the mortar to see the king, saying that he had found the mortar while plowing the soil, and hoped that the king would accept the gift. The king took the golden mortar and asked if he had picked up anything else.

　　”No,” the farmer replied.

　　So the king said that he should go find the pestle now. The peasant replied that they had not found the pestle. But the king ignored his words and the peasant was thrown into prison, and the king said he would not release him until he found the pestle.

　　The jailers brought him prison food every day, which was just water and bread. They always heard him crying loudly: “Oh, if only I had listened to my daughter! Oh, if only I had listened to my daughter!”

　　So the jailers went to report to the king: “The peasant kept shouting: ‘Oh, if only I had listened to my daughter!’ and would neither eat nor drink.”

　　The king ordered the jailer to bring the peasant. When the peasant was brought, the king asked him why he kept shouting, “Oh, if only I had listened to my daughter!” and asked him what his daughter had said.

　　”She said I shouldn’t have brought the mortar because you would have wanted me to find the pestle again.”

　　”If your daughter is so smart, let her come to me.” Bedtime Stories: http://www.qigushi.com

　　The farmer’s daughter was ordered to see the king. The king said that if she was really so smart, he would give her a riddle, and if she could guess it, the king would marry her. The farmer’s daughter immediately said yes, she was willing to guess the riddle.

　　Then the king said, “Come to me, neither clothed nor naked, neither on horseback nor on foot, neither on the road nor off the road. If you can do this, I will marry you.”

　　So the farmer’s daughter went back. She stripped off all her clothes, so she was naked; then she took a big fishing net, got into it, and wrapped herself with the net all over her body, so she was no longer naked then she rented a donkey and tied the fishing net to the donkey’s tail.

So the donkey had to drag her, so she was neither riding nor walking and the donkey could only drag her along the ruts, so that she could only touch the ground with her big toe, so she was neither on the road nor off the road.

　　When she came before the king, he said that he had guessed it and met all the conditions. He ordered her father to be released, made her his wife, and gave her control of all the royal property.

　　A few years passed. The king was going to review the army. Then something happened: some peasants stopped their carts in front of the palace after selling wood. Some of the carts were pulled by oxen and some were pulled by horses. One peasant’s cart was pulled by three horses. One of the horses gave birth to a foal.

The foal ran away after it came to the ground and lay between the two oxen in another cart. The peasants got together to argue over the foal, and they fought and made a mess. The peasant who drove the ox cart wanted to keep the foal, saying that his ox gave birth to the little thing, while the peasant who drove the horse cart said that his horse gave birth to the foal, so the foal was his.

　　The quarrel was reported to the king, who ruled that the pony should remain where it was. The peasant who drove the cart got the pony that did not belong to him. The other peasant had to leave crying, feeling wronged for losing his pony.

　　Later he heard that the queen was very kind, because she was also born poor, so he came to her and asked her to help him get the foal back. The queen said, “Okay, if you promise not to tell others that it was my idea, I will tell you what to do.

Tomorrow morning, when the king is going to inspect the guards, you stand in the middle of the road where he must pass, and take a large net and pretend to fish. Pull the net and pour out the fish as if it were really full of fish.” Then she told the peasant what he should say if the king asked him.

　　The next day, the peasant was indeed standing there, fishing on the road. The King passed by and saw him, so he sent his herald to ask the fool what he was doing.

　　The farmer replied: “Fishing.”

　　The messenger asked, “How can we fish when there is no water?”

　　The farmer replied, “They are easy to catch. Just like a cow can give birth to a foal, I can catch fish on dry land.”

　　The messenger ran back and reported the fool’s answer to the king. The king ordered the peasant to be brought before him and told him that he could not have come up with such an idea. The king wanted to know whose idea it was and asked him to confess immediately.

But the peasant refused to do so and just said: God bless, it was his own idea. They pushed him down on a bundle of straw and tortured and threatened him for a long time. Finally, the peasant admitted that it was the queen’s idea.

　　When the king returned home, he asked his wife, “Why were you false to me? I no longer want you to be my wife. Your good days are over. Go back to where you came from – your little farmhouse.” However, he allowed the queen to take away something that she considered the most beloved and precious.

　　”Well, my dear husband,” she said, “if you command me so, I will do it.” And she threw herself into the king’s arms, kissed him, and said good-bye to him.

　　Then she sent for a strong sleeping water as a farewell drink. The king drank a large gulp, while she drank only a little. Soon the king fell into a deep sleep, and she asked the servants to bring a piece of white and beautiful linen and wrap the king in it.

Then the servants were ordered to carry the king to the carriage parked in front of the door, and she drove the carriage to take him back to her cottage. Then she made the king lie down on her bed.

　　The king slept for a day and a night. When he woke up, he looked around and said, “Oh, God, where am I?” He called his servants, but none of them was there.

　　Finally, his wife came to the bed and said, “Dear King, you told me that I could take away from the palace something that I thought was the most beloved and precious. I felt that there was nothing more dear and precious than you, so I brought you back.”

　　Then the king took her back to the palace and reunited with her as husband and wife. Perhaps they are still alive today.

　　The king was so moved that his face burst into tears and he said, “My dear wife, you should belong to me and I should belong to you.”