Once Reason
met Fortune on a footbridge.
"Let me
pass," said Fortune.
Reason was
inexperienced and did not know who should go
first and said: "Why should I let you pass?
You are not better than me."
The one who
manages to do more," answered Fortune,
"is better. Can you see that boy who ploughs
the field? Get inside him
and if he is better with you than with me, I will
let you pass any time and anywhere we will meet.
Reason agreed and
got inside the boy's head.
When the boy felt
reason in his head, he began to think: Why should
I plough field all my life? I could be happy
somewhere else too." He stopped ploughing
and went home.
"Daddy,"
he said, "I do not like farming, I would
like to learn to be a gardener."
His dad said:
"Have you become a fool?" But when he
thought it over, he said: "If you want to,
Vanek, you can, God be with you. Your brother
will inherit our house from me instead of
you."
Vanek lost the
house but he did not mind it. He went away and
began to learn from the royal gardener. He
learned very quickly and the gardener did not
have to teach him much. Soon Vanek began to learn
himself and did not need the gardener.
The gardener did
not like it but when he saw that everything is
being done well, he was satisfied: "I see
that you are wiser than me," he said and let
Vanek do everything himself.
The garden was
nicer and nicer and the king was very pleased and
walked in the garden very often with the queen
and their only daughter. The daughter was a very
beautiful girl but she stopped speaking when she
was twelve and nobody heard her to speak since
that time. The king was troubled by it very much
and announced that any who would teach her to
speak, becomes her husband. Many young kings,
princes and dukes came to try it but nobody
managed it. The princess was silent.
"Why couldn't
I try it too? Maybe, I will be lucky,"
thought Vanek, "I will ask her, she has to
answer me."
He went to the king
and was led to the room where the king's daughter
was. She had a small dog and liked him very much
because the dog was very smart and understood
everything she wanted. When
Vanek and the king entered the room, he did not
even notice the princess but began to talk to the
dog:
"I heard that
you are very smart and I want advice from you. We
were three journeymen--a carver, a tailor and me.
Once we went through a forest and we had to sleep
there. We were scared of wolves so we made fire.
Each of us was to watch for some time.
Firstly, the carver
watched and because he had not much to do, he
took a piece of wood and made a nice girl of it.
Then he woke the tailor. The tailor saw the girl
and asked what it was. 'You see,' said the
carver, 'I did not know what to do, so I made
this girl. If you want you can make a dress for
her.'
The tailor took
scissors, needle and thread and began to sew.
When the dress was made, he put it on the girl.
Then he asked me to watch. I asked what the girl
was. 'You see,' said the tailor, 'the carver made
this girl and I sewed the dress for her. If you
want, you can teach her to speak.' And I really
taught her to speak. In the morning, when they
woke up, everybody wanted to have the girl. The
carver said: 'I made her.' The tailor said: 'I
made dress for her.' I also wanted to have the
girl. Tell me, little dog, who should have the
girl?"
The dog was silent
but the princess answered instead of him:
"Who else than you should have her? What is
a carver's girl without life? What is a tailor's
dress without speech? You gave her the best
gift---life and speech---you should have the
girl."
"You decided
about yourself," said Vanek, "I gave
speech and new life to you, so you should be
mine."
One of the king's
counsellor said: "His Majesty will give you
a good raward because you have managed to give
speech to the princess but you cannot marry her,
you are not of a noble origin."
The king said:
"You cannot marry her. I will give you a
good reward."
Vanek, however, did
not want to even hear about the reward: "The
king promised: 'who will make his daughter speak,
will marry her.' The king's word is law and if
the king wants people to behave according to law,
he must behave in that way too. The king must
give me his daughter."
"Bind him
up," shouted the counsellor, "he said
that the king must do somethhing, he will die.
Your Majesty, his head should be cut off!"
The king said:
"Cut his head off!" Vanek
was bound up and led to the place of execution.
When they came
there, Fortune said to Reason: "You see, he
is not very well with you, his head will be cut
off. Get out so I can get into your place."
When Fortune got
inside Vanek, the headsman's sword broke. Before
they brought another sword, the royal bugler came
and after him the royal coach. The
king's daughter said to her father that Vanek was
right and the king's word should not be cancelled
and that the king can make duke of Vanek.
The king said:
"You are right, he will be the
duke." They sent a coach for Vanek and
istead of Vanek's head, the head of the
counsellor was cut off because his advice was not
wise. There was a wedding reception, and
Reason came but seeing he would meet Fortune, he
ran away.
Since that time,
when Reason meets Fortune, Reason gets away so
Fortune can pass.
