Two In A Sack

: The Violet Fairy Book

What a life that poor man led with his wife, to be sure! Not a

day passed without her scolding him and calling him names, and

indeed sometimes she would take the broom from behind the stove

and beat him with it. He had no peace or comfort at all, and

really hardly knew how to bear it.



One day, when his wife had been particularly unkind and had

beaten him black and blue, he strolled slowly into the field
,

and as he could not endure to be idle he spread out his nets.



What kind of bird do you think he caught in his net? He caught

a crane, and the crane said, 'Let me go free, and I'll show

myself grateful.'



The man answered, 'No, my dear fellow. I shall take you home,

and then perhaps my wife won't scold me so much.'



Said the crane: 'You had better come with me to my house,' and

so they went to the crane's house.



When they got there, what do you think the crane took from the

wall? He took down a sack, and he said:



'Two out of a sack!'



Instantly two pretty lads sprang out of the sack. They brought

in oak tables, which they spread with silken covers, and placed

all sorts of delicious dishes and refreshing drinks on them. The

man had never seen anything so beautiful in his life, and he was

delighted.



Then the crane said to him, 'Now take this sack to your wife.'



The man thanked him warmly, took the sack, and set out.



His home was a good long way off, and as it was growing dark, and

he was feeling tired, he stopped to rest at his cousin's house by

the way.



The cousin had three daughters, who laid out a tempting supper,

but the man would eat nothing, and said to his cousin, 'Your

supper is bad.'



'Oh, make the best of it,' said she, but the man only said:

'Clear away!' and taking out his sack he cried, as the crane had

taught him:



'Two out of the sack!'



And out came the two pretty boys, who quickly brought in the oak

tables, spread the silken covers, and laid out all sorts of

delicious dishes and refreshing drinks.



Never in their lives had the cousin and her daughters seen such a

supper, and they were delighted and astonished at it. But the

cousin quietly made up her mind to steal the sack, so she called

to her daughters: 'Go quickly and heat the bathroom: I am sure

our dear guest would like to have a bath before he goes to bed.'



When the man was safe in the bathroom she told her daughters to

make a sack exactly like his, as quickly as possible. Then she

changed the two sacks, and hid the man's sack away.



The man enjoyed his bath, slept soundly, and set off early next

morning, taking what he believed to be the sack the crane had

given him.



All the way home he felt in such good spirits that he sang and

whistled as he walked through the wood, and never noticed how the

birds were twittering and laughing at him.



As soon as he saw his house he began to shout from a distance,

'Hallo! old woman! Come out and meet me!'



His wife screamed back: 'You come here, and I'll give you a good

thrashing with the poker!'



The man walked into the house, hung his sack on a nail, and said,

as the crane had taught him:



'Two out of the sack!'



But not a soul came out of the sack.



Then he said again, exactly as the crane had taught him:



'Two out of the sack!'



His wife, hearing him chattering goodness knows what, took up her

wet broom and swept the ground all about him.



The man took flight and rushed oft into the field, and there he

found the crane marching proudly about, and to him he told his

tale.



'Come back to my house,' said the crane, and so they went to the

crane's house, and as soon as they got there, what did the crane

take down from the wall? Why, he took down a sack, and he said:



'Two out of the sack!'



And instantly two pretty lads sprang out of the sack, brought in

oak tables, on which they laid silken covers, and spread all

sorts of delicious dishes and refreshing drinks on them.



'Take this sack,' said the crane.



The man thanked him heartily, took the sack, and went. He had a

long way to walk, and as he presently got hungry, he said to the

sack, as the crane had taught him:



'Two out of the sack!'



And instantly two rough men with thick sticks crept out of the

bag and began to beat him well, crying as they did so:



'Don't boast to your cousins of what you have got,

One--two--

Or you'll find you will catch it uncommonly hot,

One--two--'



And they beat on till the man panted out:



'Two into the sack.'



The words were hardly out of his mouth, when the two crept back

into the sack.



Then the man shouldered the sack, and went off straight to his

cousin's house. He hung the sack up on a nail, and said:

'Please have the bathroom heated, cousin.'



The cousin heated the bathroom, and the man went into it, but he

neither washed nor rubbed himself, he just sat there and waited.



Meantime his cousin felt hungry, so she called her daughters, and

all four sat down to table. Then the mother said:



'Two out of the sack.'



Instantly two rough men crept out of the sack, and began to beat

the cousin as they cried:

'Greedy pack! Thievish pack!



One--two--

Give the peasant back his sack!



One--two--'



And they went on beating till the woman called to her eldest

daughter: 'Go and fetch your cousin from the bathroom. Tell him

these two ruffians are beating me black and blue.'



'I've not finished rubbing myself yet,' said the peasant.



And the two ruffians kept on beating as they sang:



'Greedy pack! Thievish pack!

One--two--

Give the peasant back his sack!



One--two--'



Then the woman sent her second daughter and said: 'Quick, quick,

get him to come to me.'



'I'm just washing my head,' said the man.



Then she sent the youngest girl, and he said: 'I've not done

drying myself.'



At last the woman could hold out no longer, and sent him the sack

she had stolen.



NOW he had quite finished his bath, and as he left the bathroom

he cried:



'Two into the sack.'



And the two crept back at once into the sack.



Then the man took both sacks, the good and the bad one, and went

away home.



When he was near the house he shouted: 'Hallo, old woman, come

and meet me!'



His wife only screamed out:



'You broomstick, come here! Your back shall pay for this.'



The man went into the cottage, hung his sack on a nail, and said,

as the crane had taught him:



'Two out of the sack.'



Instantly two pretty lads sprang out of the sack, brought in oak

tables, laid silken covers on them, and spread them with all

sorts of delicious dishes and refreshing drinks.



The woman ate and drank, and praised her husband.



'Well, now, old man, I won't beat you any more,' said she.



When they had done eating, the man carried off the good sack, and

put it away in his store-room, but hung the bad sack up on the

nail. Then he lounged up and down in the yard.



Meantime his wife became thirsty. She looked with longing eyes

at the sack, and at last she said, as her husband had done:



'Two out of the sack.'



And at once the two rogues with their big sticks crept out of the

sack, and began to belabour her as they sang:



'Would you beat your husband true?



Don't cry so!

Now we'll beat you black and blue!

Oh! Oh!'



The woman screamed out: 'Old man, old man! Come here, quick!

Here are two ruffians pommelling me fit to break my bones.'



Her husband only strolled up and down and laughed, as he said:

'Yes, they'll beat you well, old lady.'



And the two thumped away and sang again:



'Blows will hurt, remember, crone,

We mean you well, we mean you well;

In future leave the stick alone,



For how it hurts, you now can tell,

One--two--'



At last her husband took pity on her, and cried:



'Two into the sack.'



He had hardly said the words before they were back in the sack

again.



From this time the man and his wife lived so happily together

that it was a pleasure to see them, and so the story has an end.



[From Russiche Marchen.]



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