Chapter I: Introduction

The Christmas Tales of Flanders presented in this volume are popular fables and legends current in Flanders and Brabant, which have for centuries been told to children throughout Belgium. Their origin is doubtful, as all literature handed down by oral tradition must be. A good many of these stories are found in a different guise in the legends of other nations. “Seppy” is closely akin to the rhyme of “The Old Man who lived in the Wood”; and the prototypes of others will be readily recognized; but all of them have peculiar Flemish traits. They have the picturesqueness characteristic of the country which produced such a glorious school of painting, and the freshness of their presentation is a high tribute to the creative imagination of the Flanders folk. Sometimes they are primitive to a degree, and in such tales as “Simple John” and “The Boy who always said the Wrong Thing,” the storyteller attributes the most elementary and artless mentality to his heroes, so as to explain the extravagant adventures he relates. These tales occupy for the Flemish the place nursery rhymes take in England, and as the nursery rhymes have been collected in England at various times and in different forms and guises, so the Flemish folk-tales have also been collected in various ways and in various parts of Flanders. Messrs. Demont and Decock produced a book entitled “Zoo Vertellen de Vlamingen,” from which collection a good many of these stories are taken. Others came from the “Brabantsch Segenboak,” which J. Teiclinck wrote for the Flemish Academy. They were translated by M. C. O. Morris and are here published for the first time in English.

CONTENTS

PAGE

THE RICH WOMAN AND THE POOR WOMAN 1

THE STORY OF SEPPY 8

THE ENCHANTED APPLE-TREE 14

THE CONVENT FREE FROM CARE 18

THE WITCHES’ CELLAR 21

THE BOY WHO ALWAYS SAID THE WRONG THING 25

HOP-O’-MY-THUMB 29

THE EMPEROR’S PARROT 36

THE LITTLE BLACKSMITH VERHOLEN 42

BALTEN AND THE WOLF 61

THE MERMAID 69

THE STORY OF THE LITTLE HALF-COCK 75

THE DWARF AND THE BLACKSMITH 81

PERCY THE WIZARD, NICKNAMED SNAIL 86

SIMPLE JOHN 94

THE TWO CHICKENS OR THE TWO EARS 100

THE WONDERFUL FISH 105

THE FRYING-PAN 115

FARMER BROOM, FARMER LEAVES, AND FARMER IRON 118

LITTLE LODEWYK AND ANNIE THE WITCH 123

THE GIANT OF THE CAUSEWAY 126

THE KEY-FLOWER 134

THE OGRE 136

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

IN COLOUR

_Facing
page_

THE SEA-MONSTERS AND THE FISHERMAN _Frontispiece_

THE RICH WOMAN AND THE POOR WOMAN: THE TWO FARMS AT CHRISTMAS EVE 2

THE ENCHANTED APPLE-TREE 16

THE WITCHES’ CELLAR 24

HOP-O’-MY-THUMB AND THE ROBBERS 30

THE DEVIL BEATEN THREE TIMES 52

THE PROCESSION 58

THE MERMAID, THE MOTHER, AND HER DAUGHTER 74

THE DWARF’S FEAST 84

SIMPLE JOHN, THE HORSE, THE COW, AND THE PIG 94

THE THREE FARMERS AND THEIR HOUSES 118

THE GIANT, HIS DAUGHTER, AND THE KNIGHT 132

IN BLACK AND WHITE AND IN TWO COLOURS

PAGE

ST. PETER AND THE TWO WOMEN 1

SHE SENT THE BEGGAR AWAY, WISHING HIM GOD-SPEED 2

THE NEIGHBOURS CAME TO SAY GOOD DAY 3

SHE WAS DISGUSTED WITH HERSELF 4

TRY AS SHE WOULD, SHE WAS OBLIGED TO GO ON CUTTING 5

THE RICH WOMAN’S SCISSORS 7

SEPPY WORKING IN THE FIELDS 8

HOWEVER, THE PRIEST HAD A GLASS 9

SEPPY WAS VERY ANGRY WITH THE PIG 10

SHE GRADUALLY SLIPPED TO THE EDGE OF THE SLOPING ROOF 11

SEPPY WAS DRAWN UP THE CHIMNEY 13

THE DEATH, MISERY, THE OLD MAN, AND THE TREE 14

THE VILLAGE URCHINS CAME AND STOLE THEM OFF THE TREE 15

“HERE IS HALF A LOAF, TAKE IT; IT IS ALL I HAVE” 16

THE DEATH HANGING IN THE TREE 17

TWO MONKS OF THE CONVENT 18

HOW MANY COWS’ TAILS WOULD IT TAKE...? 19

WHAT IS THE DEPTH OF THE SEA 20

JOHN TWIST AND THE WITCHES 21

RUBBING IT ON HIS FACE AND HANDS 22

DREW THE PEAK OF HIS CAP OVER HIS EYES 23

THE PIG TRAVELLED VERY QUICKLY 24

THE MILL, TONY, AND HIS MOTHER’S HOUSE 25

“I SHALL BE IN A BAD WAY” 25

HE THEN CAME TO THE CHURCH 26

THE STORY OF THE BOY WHO ALWAYS SAID THE WRONG THING 27

THE BOY RUNNING AWAY 28

HOP-O’-MY-THUMB AND A DUCK 29

LOOKING UP HE ESPIED A LITTLE LADY 29

HOP-O’-MY-THUMB THREW THEM SOME CRUMBS 31

POOR LITTLE ANT 32

THE STORY OF HOP-O’-MY-THUMB 33

THE CAPTAIN, THE PEASANT, THE PARROT, AND THE EMPEROR 36

HE GAVE HIM BACK THE PARROT AS GALLANTLY AS HE COULD 37

HE KICKED AND STRUGGLED VIOLENTLY 38

A PEASANT WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO CATCH IT 39

THE PARROT 41

THE BLACKSMITH VERHOLEN AND A DEVIL 42

A GENTLE KNOCKING AT THE DOOR 43

THE SHOE WAS TRIED ON 44

HE WISHED 45

OPEN THE DOOR, SMITH 46

THE LITTLE BLACKSMITH WAS SEATED ON A LOW STOOL 47

REST A WHILE IN THIS CHAIR 48

CLIMBED UP THE TREE LIKE A CAT 49

AS MUCH COAL AS HE COULD WISH 51

ORDERED THEM TO BURN THE DEVIL’S FEET 52

“I WILL MAKE MYSELF AS TALL AS THE TOWER” 53

IT WAS NOT A MESSENGER FROM HELL 54

HE WAS DRESSED IN DEEP BLACK 55

“LET THAT GOOD FELLOW HAVE A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN” 57

“OOH! BOO! MY POOR HEAD!” 58

MILK-AND-HONEY AVENUE 60

BALTEN, THE BARREL, AND THE WOLF 61

THE WOLF STARED AT JACK 62

“BALTEN, POUR! BALTEN, POUR!” 63

THE LADDER BECAME YET HIGHER 65

ONE HAS A PAW BROKEN 66

THEY PUT HIM INTO AN EMPTY BARREL 67

BALTEN AND THE WOLF 68

THE MERMAID AND THE CHILD 69

SHE FELL ON HER KNEES 70

EVERY MORNING THE MERMAID LOOKED IN AT THE WINDOW 71

A NUMBER OF LITTLE GIRLS AND BOYS 73

THE MERMAID, THE MOTHER, AND HER DAUGHTER 74

THE HALF-COCK, THE TWO FOXES, AND THE TWO ROBBERS 75

“I WILL ENCHANT HIM” 76

THEY IMMEDIATELY MOUNTED TWO HORSES 77

THE HALF-COCK 78

THE WATER JOINED THE OTHER LODGERS 79

THE BLACKSMITH, THE DWARF, AND HIS HAT 81

“THIS LITTLE FELLOW CANNOT HARM ME” 82

THEY WANTED TO FIND OUT HOW IT WAS DONE 83

ANOTHER SET OF VERY FINE MATERIAL 84

THE DWARF DISAPPEARED 85

THE WIZARD, THE TURKEY, AND THE COUNTESS 86

THE NECESSARY INGREDIENTS FOR A NICE HOTCHPOTCH 87

“IF I COULD DISCOVER THE THIEF” 88

ONE OF THEM WHISPERED TO THE OTHERS 89

TO OFFER HIM PART OF THEIR SAVINGS 90

THREW IT TO SOME GEESE AND TURKEYS 91

THE COUNTESS HAD TWO DISHES PLACED BEFORE HIM 92

THE SNAIL 93

SIMPLE JOHN 94

THE BRUSSELS MARKET 95

“LIVER, KIDNEYS, SAUSAGES” 96

THE EXCHANGES OF SIMPLE JOHN 97

THE TWO CHICKENS 100

THE FIRST THING HE DID WAS TO TAKE UP HIS KNIFE 101

THE COUSIN AND THE KNIFE 102

BEMOANING HER FATE AND REPROACHING THE ALMIGHTY 104

THE FISHERMAN, THE FISH, THE SEA-KING, AND SUSIE GRILL 105

STOOD UP ON ITS TAIL 106

A LOVELY HOUSE WITH LOFTY TOWERS 107

SHE COUNTED IT WITHOUT CEASING 109

“I AM NOT DISSATISFIED WITH WHAT YOU HAVE DONE” 110

HE SOON CAUGHT THE FISH 111

A MIGHTY SEA-KING 113

IN FRONT OF THE BATHING-MACHINE 114

THE COBBLER AND HIS WIFE 115

THE FRYING-PAN 116

NEITHER OF THEM WANTED TO RETURN THE FRYING-PAN 117

THE THREE FARMERS 118

HE BURST IT OPEN 119

THE WOLF WENT IN AND SAT DOWN 120

FARMER BROOM AND FARMER LEAVES CAME OUT ALIVE 121

DANCING FARMERS 122

LODEWYK AND HIS CARDS 123

LODEWYK 124

ANNIE THE WITCH ALWAYS CAME TO BLOW THEM DOWN 125

THE GIANT AND FIVE HIGHWAYMEN 126

HE NEVER LEFT HIS CASTLE EXCEPT TO INFLICT PUNISHMENT 127

SHE VENTURED TO TAKE A LITTLE WALK 128

TOOK HER FATHER’S HAND 129

HE WAS NO MORE THAN THREE FEET HIGH 130

LED BY TWO PAGES 131

ABOUT MIDNIGHT A TERRIBLE STORM AROSE 132

SHE RAN UP TO THE TOWER 133

HE LET FALL THE BUNCH OF KEYS 135

RIPE NUTS IN THEIR CUPS 136

I FILLED MY POCKETS 137

I SAW SOMETHING WHITE 138

COULD I DARE TO KNOCK? 139

BEHIND THOSE TWO LARGE TUBS 141

“I SMELL HUMAN FLESH” 141

I SAW HIS BODY 142