The Miserly Squire

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22767, 20 July 1939, Page 8 (Supplement)

The Miserly Squire

.(Told, ih English By Gustav Hein)

Upon a time there lived an old bachelor named Lars Larsen, who owned a fine estate, but was so miserly that he had never married, (thinking a wife would; cost him a lot of money. He lived as plainly 'as, • possible .and grudged, his ser-, vants even- the food they heeded ■for their sustenance. He was never: happy, though he grew richer from year - to.: year, for he, was .always, worried by the .thought that too "much ‘'mqney.waS .being spent ;on thehpiceep’ ;bf his farm. - At last he: thought .'that ' having a wife 1 might, 3ri thg;ehd : be*;cheaper, because she; icoukl after, many things better; if-,he. could only find’ : onefitbati did;;not-require any food. ■- <sfte;;day he discussed the sub-i ;3ect tvithr-phe -of /his; croftprs. 'The; \whdn* he-ireached : -hofiie he said to. daughter,. Margery: “When; you -spe the ‘Sguire r .go.: past - here ? geese: and; ;*BsTat-; the ’ same-, time,; ‘Gov littld ;Bgesevfor , her. ’ who,; eats nothing/ , Then he will ask ypu. who, it ■ is .that-Veats; nothing,, and -you must - reP3te‘lt.is;;l: -my'.ifather : is. ; a f poor man;and. has; .many, children,; so! i.tfeat ;he c cannot give me anything • .to/jgjt,-'. Iri Vpur room -there; stands! a Wnddeh,-pqst in which my. father ' ha&sbpred 'a few holes, and now; and then.;! -go. to (those .-holes,. open my-mouth and - draw .a - .mouthful • pf that:'is‘ what I live on.”^ Things 1 happened ; just - as v the crofter had foretold;'iiext day -Lam Larsen, went put into.bis. fields ahd had to pass the crofter’s house just , when -Margery was driving but her geese to the pasture. “Go little geese for her who eats nothing',’she said. Lars heard these words .and asked her: “Who is it that eats nothing?” r “Oh, it is I,” said Margery, “for my:.father is a poor man and he has many children so .that he cannot give me anything, to eat.” . “On what are you living then?” ■ asked Lars.; “There is a wooden -post in our jxoortr in which my father has bored few holes. I go up to these -holes now and then and draw in of mouthful or two of air, and that is,.what I live on.” u "Listen, my good girl,” said Lars, .-Would, you like to marry me and become mistress of my large estate?” • "Oh, yes,” said Maigcry. ■• 'They were soon married and she Went to live at the manor house. Lars, put up a wooden post'in the Parlour, bored a few holes in it; and told Margery that she could go to them and get a few' mouthfuls Ol air , .whenever she was hungry. Alter- .some time had passed the aguws .said to one of nis men: - - “Look here, Niels. I don’t really knoy whether your mistress does cat anything or not, but it seems me . that she is looking very well ind Md.. -Can you tell me how I can -find- out?” “Well, I don’t know,”'said Niels, “unless I help you to get down the kitchen chimney, and then you . might see whether • she-was having my food ih the, kitchen.” ' , Tne squire went down the enmmey; and Niels warned his mistress: '“Take care not to eat anything . to' : kitchen. Your husband is, Hanging up yonder -in . the chim- - hey.’* > ■

A Danish Fairy Tale by Svend Grundtvig

“That is all right, thank you,” said Margery; and then she sent out the kitchen maid to fetch some damp wood; and put it on the fire so as to cause a good smoke. When Niels thought that his master had been long enough in the chimney, he helped him down and asked him: .“Well, did the mistress eat anything?” “No,” said Lars, but-he was so ill from 5 all the" smoke that he had swallowed that he, could not speak, another word and was forced to go to his bed and lie down. So 'se'veial more weeks passed until Lars said one .day to his ser-. vant: , , • . “Look here, -.Niels, I am afraid, after all that' our mistress does eat,

she is getting so stout. Could you help me to find out?” , . t • “No, I can’t suggest anything, unless you hide iii her bedroom; there is a big feather-bed in shere into which you might creep, you could make a little hole to peep through, and then you could find out whether she eats any meals in her bedroom.” The squire thought that was a good -idea and he did as Niels advised him. But the servant went downstairs and said to his mistress: “Take care not to eat anything to-night in your bedroom l because your ■ husband is going to hide inside the big feather-bed.” ' r “Thank;, you. " That will be all right,” she said, and then she said to' the l maid servants: ■“1 think it is 'time that the feather-beds wereeleaned. Carry, them-outside and‘give; them a good beating.” ' ..' The servants- knew . why they were to do' that; they carried the beds outside into the sunshine and . gave, them, a, thorough, beating and then carried them back. - ' After a While Niels went - upstairs and pulled his master out from the feather-bed. But he was so thoroughly bruised all over that he could neither ■vyalk- nor crawl. - “Well,; did the mistress eat anything?" asked Niels.

“No, phe had no food .in .her room,” said the squire, and he crept downstairs to bed where he lay for a whole week in great pain. Bvit his wife nursed him most tenderly and said to him several times: “I think, Lars, that you are eating too much; you should not eat any more than I do and you would always be well and cheerful.” I Again several weeks had passed. When Lars had recovered from his beating, .he said one day to Niels: “I am sure your mistress does eat something, for.it seems to me that she has been growing much stouter lately. Is there no way which I could find out?” : “No,” said Niels, "god have seen that she does not ea% either in the kitchen or in her bedroom, and I -do ‘ not -know where else she could eat unless it were in the cellar. There is an old beer barrel down there; you might crawl inside and

peep through 'the bung-hole . and then.'you would find out whether she, eats anything there.” The squire thought it an excellent plan, and he crawled into, the barrel wnile Niels went to his mistress and said: . - ... “JVfind you do not 63t flnytning downstairs in the cellar, for yqur husband is hidden in the old beer barrel.” . • , “That will be all right, thank you,” said the wife, and, calling her maids she said to them: . “There is an old beer barrel in the cellar that smells very, badly. Fill the brewing, vat with water and bring it to the boil/ then pour the water into the'barrel so that it may be throughly clean.” ' As the maids loved their mistress they;-hastened to do as they were told, and the squire was nearly scalded to death , with the hot water. When Niels helped him out,he had to go to bed, and he there a whole month. His wifeCursed him and said: “What a- pity it is that you so frequently fall ill when you go from home.” For every . time when he had hidden himself to watch her he had pretended that he went on. a journey. There were two fat oxen in the squire’s stable, and while the husband was ill in bed, Margery said to Niels: ‘‘You may take -the two oxen and sell-them at the-market and

you may keep the money because you have been a faithful servant to me.” Niels did this, and, when the squire got out of bed again he missed the two oxen, and he said to his wife: “What has become of my two oxen?” “I have eaten them,” said hia wife: “But where are their hides?” “I have eaten those also.” “But where are the horns?” “I ate them, too.” This startled the squire so much that he fell fainting to the ground and had to be put back to bed. He never recovered from the shock and died shortly afterwards. Margery inherited all his money and his large estate; and before long she married her faithful servant, Niels, and I believe they are still living, happy and well.