The mausherz and the lausenschlange
Once upon a time, there was a most extraordinary pair of friends. It were a hexenbiest and a grimm, who traveled the world together. One night, they found themselves at a crossroads where two houses stood opposite each other. One was large and ornate and belonged to a rich lausenschlange, the other was small and damp, and a poor mausherz lived there. The two decided to stay there for the night, because traveling at night was dangerous. They said toe ach other: 'We will stay at the house of the rich man there, he has enough, so he can share.' They knocked on the door, and asked if they could stay for the night. But the rich man answered: 'No, I am sorry, there is no room in my house. Nothing more can fit in, i fit were as small as a mouse.' And he slammed the door shut in their faces. He did have enough room, but he was a greedy man, and didn't want to spend money on strangers who, he suspected, could not give him anything in return.
The hexenbiest and the grimm shook their heads at such rudeness, and turned around to go and ask if they could stay at the mausherz' home. They had barely started introducing themselves when the poor man invited them in, told his wife to peel extra potatoes, and insisted on sleeping on the ground, so that the visitors could sleep in his and his wifes bed. It was all done as said.
The next day, the two friends left early in the morning. The hexenbiest said: 'I will reward you for your hospitality. Drink this potion, and make three wishes, and fulfilled they will be.' The mausherz stammered his thanks, and drank the potion. He said: 'I wish a life in good health for me and my wife, and enough food for the rest of ou lives.' The hexenbiest smiled, and said: 'A good choice. It will be as you said.' 'But what else should I wish as health and bread?' 'If there's nothing else, my dear mouse, why don't you wish for a nice new house?' The grimm suggested. The mausherz liked the idea, and as soon as he had wished for it, the old, damp house was gone, and in the same place stood a new house with white walls and red roof tiles. Now the grimm spoke: 'I will give you something too: I'll leave a sign on your fence, so that no grimm will ever hurt you.' And he carved a mark into the fence wich told other grimms to leave the mausherz in peace. But in the fence of the lausenschlange, he carved a mark that told grimms tat an evil wesen lived here.
A few hours later, the lausenschlange got up. (for he was lazy as well as rich) And he saw the new house where the old house had been. 'Neighbor, how do you come by this house so quick?' 'A hexenbiest let me wish three times, that did the trick.' Thoroughly frustrated, the lausenschlange went home. The travelers had been at his door first, after all.
The thoughts of what he would have wished occupied the lausenschlanges' mind for a long time. At last, he took his horse, and went after the duo. After a few hours, he had found them. He started begging and pleading, and finally the hexenbiest said: 'Fine! You'll have your wishes if you just leave us our quiet and peace! But I warn you, they might not turn out as you please!' But the lausenschlange didn't listen, and snatched the potion from the hexenbiests' hand and drank it. He immediately hurried home again, thinking about what he would wish.
When he was halfway home, his horse started to slow down, for it was tired, as it had run for hours on end. The lausenschlange hit it with a stick to make it go faster, but the horse kicked and reared, and almost threw him off. 'Stupid horse, I wished you dropped dead!' He cursed. And so it did, almost crushing him. He stared at his dead horse, and said: 'That is not the smartest thing I could have said.' After a minute, he started to walk the rest of the way home.
When he was halfway between the dead horse and his home, he was sweating, as it was a hot day. He muttered: 'How does the sweat over my back run! I wish I didn't walk in the sun!l' And sure enough, clouds formed, and it began to rain as it hadn't done in years.
When he finally came home, he was wet and tired. But the sun had already set, and all doors were locked. When his wife didn't come to answer the door, because she was sleeping already, he said: 'I wish I could get in, no matter how, so that I can go to bed right now!'And at these words, a millstone came rolling down the hill and crashed into the house with such force that it went right through it, and rolled on, and out of sight.
The years after that, luck rained down on the mausherzs' household in the same way that misfortune seemed to pour down on the lausenschlangens' house. The lausenschlange didn't know why, but it was because of the marks that the grimm had left on their fences. And when the good mausherz was rewarded, the lausenschlange was punished, for the rest of their days, until they both left this world.
Written in the sun behind our house, because my desk has been sawn in half.
That's not as bad as it sounds. It had to be, because this way it will fit in my new room in the city where I am going to study- my very own, rental, twelve square meters it is! This might cause a schedule slip in two weeks, because that's when I am going to move.
It sure seems like I punish my 'villains' more than the original fairy tales do. Maybe because I can't stand ungrateful or selfish people. Maybe I just like to put my characters through hell. I don't know.