The Junior Classics, Volume 1: Fairy and wonder tales
General
The Junior Classics, Volume 1: Fairy and wonder tales
Children's literature
The children took all the pains they could to pull the Dwarf’s beard
out; but without success. “I will run and fetch some help,” cried
Rose-Red at length.
“Crack-brained sheep’s head that you are!” snarled the Dwarf; “what are
you going to call other people for? You are two too many now for me;
can you think of nothing else?”
“Don’t be impatient,” replied Snow-White; “I have thought of
something;” and pulling her scissors out of her pocket she cut off the
end of the beard. As soon as the Dwarf found himself at liberty, he
snatched up his sack, which lay between the roots of the tree, filled
with gold, and throwing it over his shoulder marched off, grumbling and
groaning and crying: “Stupid people! to cut off a piece of my beautiful
beard. Plague take you!” and away he went without once looking at the
children.
Some time afterward Snow-White and Rose-Red went a-fishing, and as they
neared the pond they saw something like a great locust hopping about on
the bank, as if going to jump into the water. They ran up and
recognized the Dwarf. “What are you after?” asked Rose-Red; “you will
fall into the water.” “I am not quite such a simpleton as that,”
replied the Dwarf: “but do you not see this fish will pull me in?” The
little man had been sitting there angling, and unfortunately the wind
had entangled his beard with the fishing line; and so, when a great
fish bit at the bait, the strength of the weak little fellow was not
able to draw it out, and the fish had the best of the struggle. The
Dwarf held on by the reeds and rushes which grew near; but to no
purpose, for the fish pulled him where it liked, and he must soon have
been drawn into the pond. Luckily just then the two Maidens arrived,
and tried to release the beard of the Dwarf from the fishing line; but
both were too closely entangled for it to be done. So the Maiden pulled
out her scissors again and cut off another piece of the beard. When the
Dwarf saw this done he was in a great rage, and exclaimed: “You donkey!
that is the way to disfigure my face. Was it not enough to cut it once,
but you must now take away the best part of my fine beard? I dare not
show myself again now to my own people. I wish you had run the soles
off your boots before you had come here!” So saying, he took up a bag
of pearls which lay among the rushes, and without speaking another
word, slipped off and disappeared behind a stone.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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