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HUNGARIAN FOLKTALES
THE ALL-DELIVERING MILL
Once upon a time there was a poor old man.
This poor man had as many children as holes in a sieve, and one more.
His yoke of oxen were so tiny they were barely bigger than grasshoppers.
The poor man and his wife were always very downcast,
worrying about how to feed so many children.
One day he hitched his two tiny oxen to his tiny cart and went into the forest.
While he was busy collecting dry branches and piling them into the tiny cart,
he suddenly saw a little boy and girl playing in a clearing,
and he started talking to them.
He discovered that the girl was the daughter of the Sunrise King
and the boy was the son of the Sunset King.
As they chatted aimlessly, the two children noticed the two tiny oxen.
The little Prince took such pleasure in the two tiny oxen
that he begged the poor man to sell them to him.
The poor man certainly did not wish to part with his oxen,
but the Prince argued and persisted, claiming that his father would pay him well,
and in the end the poor man acquiesced.
When the poor man arrived home without the oxen there was a terrible row!
His wife cried and cursed him in her anger,
so much so that the poor man left home
and went straight back to the court of the Sunset King the very same day.
When he arrived he beheld the Prince playing with the two tiny oxen.
''Come old man, come,
said the Prince, and let me give you some good advice.
No matter what my father offers you,
you should refuse it and insist on having the All-Delivering Mill as payment.''
The poor man went to the King.
''Your two little oxen give my son such great joy and pleasure
that you may have whatever you like.''
The poor man noticed that the All-Delivering Mill was on the table.
It was so small that it looked like a toy.
''Your Majesty, the only thing I wish
to have in return for my two tiny oxen is this tiny mill on your table.''
The King's face grew pale:
''You may have whatever you wish with the exception of this tiny mill.''
Oho, thought the poor man, so this tiny mill isn't a toy after all,
since the King does not want to part with it.
The poor man humbly said:
''Your Majesty, please let me have this tiny mill so that my children, too,
can have something to play with.''
The King loved his son dearly so he let the poor man have the mill.
''Old man, you should now go home in peace, and when you get home
put the mill on the table and say:
''All-Delivering Mill, deliver me gold coins, fried food, baked food!''
You will see, the mill will deliver everything you ask for.
When you have enough of what you've asked for, just say:
All-Delivering Mill, enough!''
The poor man was so overwhelmed with delight that he jumped for joy.
He thanked the Prince for his kindness, put the tiny mill under his arm,
and headed for home in such a great hurry that you couldn't see him for dust.
On his way home, he saw something huge and black coming towards him.
He could not for the life of him imagine what it could possibly be!
And what was it? It was a horrible looking huge, black hat.
Underneath the hat, a man. The poor man jokingly asked:
''Hello friend, isn't that hat a bit too tight for you?''
''Instead of mocking me, why don't you give me a bit of bread,
because I've had nothing to eat for three days.''
''I'd be more than happy to oblige but I don't have any food on me either.''
Suddenly he remembered the miraculous mill under his arm.
''All-Delivering Mill, deliver me all kinds of food and drink!''
The poor man had barely finished
and in the bat of an eye there was enough food to feed an entire village.
''All-Delivering Mill, enough!''
The two men busied themselves eating,
drinking and talking until the man with the huge hat said:
''Listen my good man, that mill is a clever piece of property,
but my hat isn't to be sneezed at either,
because if you ask it for one, you get two, so let's trade!''
''I've not lost my wits, you know,
because the only thing your hat is good for is a scarecrow!''
''That's what you think!
You just watch this,'' said the man with the huge hat.''
''Fire!''
''Enough!''
''Yes,'' said the poor man,
''I see your hat is also clever ware,
but owning it would not save me from dying of hunger.''
The man with the huge hat argued and argued until he managed
to trick the poor man into agreeing to trade.
But, the man with the huge hat also had a walking stick,
which he left on the ground as the two men parted.
The poor man idled behind in a woebegone state
of worry when suddenly the walking stick said:
''Why are you so mournful, my master?''
''I'm mourning my good sense, which I never had in the first place, and
I'm also mourning for my tiny mill, which I was stupid enough to trade for a hat.''
In the flick of a moment the walking stick scurried off and was soon back again
with the All-Delivering Mill,
so there was no need for the poor man to be sad any more.
When he got home, his family surrounded him with respect and
there was great rejoicing as soon as they realized
what a miraculous little mill he had brought.
Time passed slowly and one fine day
as the poor man stood at his fence gate he saw the King approaching on foot
with his wife and son, so he asked:
''Where to, Your Majesty? Where are you going on foot?''
The King replied: ''We're in great trouble indeed!
The Northern King, has occupied my country
and I've been forced to flee with my family.''
''Don't be sad over a little matter like that Your Majesty,
I'll put things right for you in no time!''
The poor man put the huge black hat on his head, grabbed the walking stick
in his fist and off he went to find the troops of the Northern King.
He soon found them.
The Sunset King's whole country and Kingdom was crowded
from the sky to the earth with the troops of the Northern King.
The poor man climbed to the top of a hill,
pointed his huge black hat in the direction of the enemy and commanded:
''Hat, Fire!''
He also sent the walking stick after the enemy to beat their heads
so they would run faster.
The destruction was utter!
Not a man lived to tell the tale of the troops of the Northern King.
Having wiped out the enemy, the poor man turned and headed for home,
where he told the King that the matter had been settled and
he could now return to his palace with his family.
The King bought the hat and walking stick from the poor man and headed for home.
In the meantime the Sunset Prince had grown into a man
and married the Sunrise Princess.
They had an enormous wedding party with more than enough to eat and drink.
The poor man was there, too, in charge of the dancing,
and indeed he is still dancing if he has not yet grown weary.
THE END