Translated from
Lithuanian by Gloria O’Brien
Gyveno du broliai. Vienas buvo labai
turtingas, o kitas visiškai vargšas ir vaikščiojo
apiplyšęs.
Once there were two
brothers. One was very rich, and the other, so poor that he went about in
torn clothing. It was most unpleasant for the rich man to have such a
brother, and embarrassing to be seen with
someone who looked like a beggar. He decided to get rid of this
inconvenience.
He heard that somewhere, far
away, there was an abyss at the very edge of the world, where devils
lived. Calling his brother to him, he said, “I am indebted to some
devils for a large smoked ham, so take this to them for
me”. The poor fellow took the ham, and left on his
errand. His journey was long and difficult, through bogs, swamps and
dense woods. As he went, he came upon an old man
cutting firewood. Approaching the man, he said, “Grandfather,
surely this job is too hard for a man of your years. Here, let me help
you.” And he took the axe and chopped up all the firewood.
The old man thanked him and
said, “I know, my boy, who has sent you, and where you are going.
When you get there, you will be surrounded by many devils, who will want you to
sell them that smoked ham. You must answer that you cannot sell it, but
that you will exchange it for the little mill that stands on their
window-sill.”
And it happened just as the
old man said. No sooner had he entered the abyss, when he was surrounded
by devils entreating him to sell the ham to them. He obeyed the old
man’s instructions, and though the devils at first refused to part with
their little mill, they finally agreed to give it in exchange for the
ham. So he took the mill, left the ham, and hurried home away from the
abyss. The devils quickly ate the ham, and decided to chase after him to
retrieve their mill, but he was truly gone, his very footprints had frozen.
He met the old man on his way
back, and asked, “What shall I do with this mill?” The old man
answered, “This is a very good thing to have. Whatever you desire,
this little mill will grind it out for you.” And he told him how to
use it. He thanked the old man and went home happy.
When he got home, he decided
to use the mill to grind out some money. He just pressed a spot as the
old man had instructed, and golden coins began to pour out. He stood a
large bag under the spout, and it was soon bursting with money. Again, he
pressed, a different spot, and the mill stopped.
In this way, he accumulated
piles and piles of money, until he became a very rich man. Eventually he
grew tired of the mill and left it standing on a window-sill. His
brother, no longer wealthier than he, noticed the mill and begged his brother
to give it to him. And he did, showing him how to press the spot that
would start it up, but forgetting to tell him how to stop it.
This
brother was very fond of herring, and when he got home, he asked the
mill to make him some herrings. Before he knew it, the mill had ground
out so much herring, that the house was full to bursting with them.
Frightened, he brought the mill back to his brother, who stopped it and set it
back on his window-sill.
Eventually, a group of
fishermen heard about the little mill. These men always needed a lot of
salt, to preserve their
Source:
From “Lietuviškos
Pasakos” - “Lithuanian Fairy-tales”
Compiled by Dr. Jonas Balys
Published in 1951 by the Lithuanian Book Club, Chicago
© English
Translation - Gloria O’Brien 2004
This article was printed in Bridges Nov 2004