The Brave Little Tailor
Once upon a time, there was a little tailor who lived in a small workshop, sewing and mending clothes for the neighbors in the village.
He was always in a good mood, and he loved working by the window, enjoying the sunshine and the fresh air.
One day, while he was stitching a jacket, he heard a street vendor calling from outside.
"Fine jam! Cheap and delicious jam!"
cried a farm woman.
The little tailor, who had a hearty appetite, leaned out the window and called:
"Hey, my friend! Come up here and show me your jam!"
The farm woman climbed the stairs with her heavy basket, and the little tailor examined each jar carefully. At last, he chose one and said:
"I’ll take four ounces. And if you give me a little extra, I won’t complain!"
The farm woman, a bit disappointed by such a small sale, went away grumbling, but the little tailor was delighted. Rubbing his hands, he exclaimed:
"What a treat! May God bless this jam and give me health and strength."
He took a big slice of bread from the cupboard and spread it generously with jam.
"This is going to be delicious!"
he thought. But before taking the first bite, he decided to finish the jacket he was sewing. He left the bread on the table and got back to work, humming a tune.
The sweet smell of the jam soon attracted a swarm of flies, which came down in great groups toward the table.
"Hey—who invited you!"
said the little tailor, trying to shoo them away
But the flies paid no attention and kept coming back in even greater numbers. At last, the little tailor lost his patience. He grabbed a piece of cloth and, exclaiming,
"I’ll serve you jam myself!",
brought it down with a mighty swat on the flies—then another, and another. When he lifted the cloth, he counted at least twenty dead flies.
"Well, look what I can do!"
he said to himself, amazed at his own bravery.
"The whole town must hear about this."
Quickly, he cut a belt to fit him, stitched it, and embroidered in big letters: "SEVEN AT ONE BLOW".
"Not just the town—the whole wide world must know!"
he added, very pleased.
He put on the belt and decided to set off into the world, convinced his little workshop was far too small for such great courage.
He searched the whole house for something useful for the journey, and found only an old piece of cheese, which he slipped into his pocket.
By the door, he saw a bird caught in a bush, and he put it in his pocket too, to keep him company.
With everything ready, he set off, cheerful and determined. He climbed a mountain, and when he reached the top, he found a giant sitting there, gazing over the countryside.
The little tailor walked up without fear and said:
"Good morning, friend! How about coming with me to seek some adventures?"
The giant looked at him with contempt and replied:
"Get out of my sight, you puny worm!"
"Oh, really?"
said the little tailor, unbuttoning his jacket to show his belt.
"Take a good look at what sort of man I am!"
The giant read: 'SEVEN AT ONE BLOW', and thinking it meant men, he stared at him in astonishment.
'You don’t meet every day a man so small—and yet so mighty,'
thought the giant, with a touch of respect and curiosity. Still, he decided to test him, to see how far his skills truly went.
He picked up a stone and squeezed it until a few drops of water came out.
"Let’s see if you can do that!"
said the giant.
"Only that?"
replied the little tailor, pulling the cheese from his pocket and squeezing it until all the juice ran out.
"What do you think? Better, isn’t it?!"
The giant, impressed by the tailor’s cleverness, decided to follow him.
They walked together for quite a while, and the giant kept thinking of new tests for the little hero.
Suddenly, the giant picked up a stone and hurled it so high it could barely be seen in the sky.
"Let’s see if you can do that!"
said the giant, with a mocking smile.
"Nice throw,"
"but the stone fell back down to the ground. Now watch this."
He took the bird from his pocket and tossed it into the air. Happy to be free, the bird flew high and vanished into the sky.
"What do you think, my friend?"
asked the little tailor.
"You’ve got talent,"
admitted the giant.
"Now let’s see if you can handle a heavy load."
The giant led the little tailor to a huge oak tree lying on the ground.
"Let’s carry this tree out of the forest,"
said the giant.
"All right,"
answered the little tailor.
"You take the trunk, and I’ll carry the branches, since they’re the heaviest."
The giant lifted the trunk, and the little tailor settled himself on one of the branches, letting the giant carry the whole weight of the tree—and him as well.
The little tailor sat there, calmly whistling a merry tune.
After a while, the giant, exhausted, had to let the tree drop.
"Hey, watch out!"
he shouted.
"I have to let it go!"
The little tailor jumped nimbly to the ground and held the oak as if he’d been supporting it the whole time.
"A big fellow like you, and you can’t manage a tree!"
laughed the little tailor.
They walked on, and when they passed a cherry tree, the giant bent it down so the little tailor could reach the fruit.
"Have some cherries,"
said the giant.
But as soon as the giant let go, the little tailor, who was so light, was flung up through the air. He landed on the ground without getting hurt, and the giant laughed.
"What’s the matter? Don’t you have the strength to hold a tree?"
"It’s not a lack of strength,"
replied the little tailor.
"See those hunters down there? I jumped over the tree to avoid their shots. You do the same—if you can!"
The giant tried to jump, but got stuck in the branches. This time, the little tailor won the contest.
"Since you’re so brave,"
said the giant,
"come to our home and spend the night with us."
The little tailor agreed and followed the giant. They reached a cave where several giants sat by the fire, eating roasted lambs.
The giant showed the little tailor a bed, but it was far too big, so he curled up in a corner.
At midnight, believing the little tailor was asleep, the giant got up and brought down a tremendous blow on the bed with an iron bar.
He thought he had finished the little tailor, but in the morning they saw him as cheerful and fresh as ever.
The giants, terrified, ran off—each in a different direction.
The little tailor continued on his way until, after days of wandering, he saw in the distance the tall towers of a splendid palace.
He had heard rumors about the king of those lands: a very suspicious man, who was said to like surrounding himself with heroes, and who never kept his promises.
Tired from the long journey, the little tailor crossed the palace’s well-tended gardens and lay down to sleep on the grass.
He didn’t know that several courtiers were watching him from the palace windows.
Rumors began to spread from mouth to mouth, and before long the news had traveled through the kingdom.
When the courtiers read the words on his belt: 'SEVEN AT ONE BLOW', they wondered:
"What is such a mighty warrior doing here in times of peace? He’ll be very valuable to the king."
They went to tell the king about the little tailor.
The king thought it an excellent idea to have someone so brave in his service, and he sent one of his nobles to make him an offer.
When the little tailor woke up, the noble told him the king’s proposal.
"That’s exactly why I’ve come,"
said the little tailor.
"I’m ready to serve the king."
So they received him with great honor and prepared a home just for him. But the king’s soldiers looked at him with suspicion, afraid of his unbelievable strength.
They could not imagine fighting beside someone as powerful as the little tailor. So they decided to speak to the king.
"Your Majesty,"
"we are not prepared to fight alongside someone who can strike down seven in one blow. Please, release us from the army."
The king was displeased to see he might lose his loyal soldiers. He didn’t want to get rid of the little tailor, but he didn’t want to lose his men either. At last, he had an idea.
He sent for the little tailor and said:
"I have a special mission for you. In the forest live two giants who cause a great deal of trouble. If you can defeat them, I will give you my daughter’s hand and half the kingdom as your reward."
“You may count on my hundred best riders to help you complete the mission”.
The little tailor thought it was a splendid offer.
"A princess and half a kingdom don’t come along every day!"
he said to himself. So he replied:
"Of course I accept. I’ll finish off those two giants, and I don’t need the hundred riders you offer. Whoever can strike down seven at one blow is not afraid of two giants."
Confident, he set off toward the forest, followed by the hundred riders. When they reached the edge of the woods, the little tailor said:
"Wait here. I’ll deal with the giants alone."
He went into the forest and soon found the giants asleep under a tree.
They snored so loudly that the branches trembled. The little tailor climbed the tree and, from a branch, tossed a stone at one of the giants.
The giant woke up and, seeing no one but his companion, struck him in fury.
"Why are you hitting me?"
growled the other giant.
"I didn’t hit you,"
replied the first.
They fell asleep again, but the little tailor threw another stone.
This time the giants began to fight fiercely. They tore up trees and clubbed each other with them until both fell down dead.
The little tailor climbed down, happy to have escaped unharmed.
"Good thing we tailors are light on our feet."
He went back to the riders and told them:
"The giants are dead. It was a hard fight, but I did it."
The riders couldn’t believe it, so they went into the forest and saw the giants dead and the trees ripped from the ground.
The little tailor returned to the palace to claim his reward. But the king, who did not want to keep his promise, said:
"Before I give you my daughter’s hand and half the kingdom, you must capture a unicorn that is wreaking havoc in the forest."
"I fear a unicorn even less than two giants,"
"Seven at one blow is my specialty."
He went back into the forest, carrying only an axe and a rope.
Soon the unicorn saw him and charged at him fiercely. But the little tailor stood in front of a tree and, at the last moment, sprang neatly behind the trunk.
The unicorn drove its horn into the tree and got stuck.
"Now I’ve got you!"
said the little tailor, tying the rope around the unicorn’s neck. With one chop he cut off the horn and led the unicorn to the king.
But the king still didn’t want to keep his promise, and he said:
"Before the wedding, you must hunt a fierce wild boar that roams the forest."
"A child’s game!"
cried the little tailor.
He went into the forest, leaving the hunters outside, for they were afraid of the boar.
The animal saw him and attacked with its tusks.
The little tailor ran to a nearby chapel, climbed through the window, and jumped back out. The boar followed him inside, and the little tailor shut the door, trapping it.
He called the hunters to come and see the boar caught inside.
Hey friends! Tonight we’ll have pork in honor of the king!
This time, the king had no choice but to keep his promise. He gave him his daughter’s hand and half the kingdom.
The wedding was celebrated with great splendor, and the brave little tailor became a great king, ruling with fairness and joy.
And that is all… for the moment.
Til the next tale.