The Sage Damsel.
An old man and an old woman died, and left behind them a son young in years, who was rich neither in wits nor goods. His uncle took him home, gave him to eat and drink, and when he grew up sent him to watch the sheep. And one day he sent for his kinsman and resolved to test his wits; so he said to him: “Here thou hast a flock of sheep, drive them to market and make profit out of them in such a way that both thou and the sheep shall get fat upon it, and the sheep be all brought back whole, and yet all, to the very last one, be sold for ready money.”
“How is that to be managed?” thought the orphan, who drove the sheep into the open field, sat by the roadside, and fell a-thinking. A lovely damsel passed by that way, and she said to him: “Of what art thou thinking, good youth?”
“Why should I not be thinking? My uncle has taken a spite at last against me, a poor orphan; he has given me a task to do, and cudgel my brains as I may I cannot see how it is to be done.”
“What task has he given thee?”
“Well, look here; he says, ‘Go to market, drive those sheep thither and make a profit out of them, but so that thou and the sheep shall grow fat upon it, and the sheep be brought back whole, all down to the last one, and yet be sold for ready money.’”
“Well, that’s no very tricky task,” replied the damsel. “Shear the sheep, take the fleeces to market and sell them, then thou wilt make a profit out of them, and the sheep will remain whole, and thou wilt be able to feed thyself on the profits.”
The youth thanked the damsel and did as she said. He sheared the sheep, sold their fleeces at the market, drove home the flock, and gave the money he had made out of them to his uncle. “Good,” said the uncle to the nephew; “but I am sure thou didst not work this out with thine own wits, eh? Didn’t some one or other teach it thee?” The youth confessed: “Well, I certainly did not do it by my own wits, but a lovely damsel came by and taught me.”—“Well, then, thou must take this sage young damsel to wife. ’Twill be a very good thing for thee, for here art thou an orphan with neither stick nor stone of thy own, and nothing much in the way of wits either!”—“I don’t mind if I do marry her,” said the nephew to his uncle.—“All right, but thou must render me this one service. Take corn to town to the bazaar. According as thou dost sell it and return again, I’ll wed thee to this damsel.”
The Sage Damsel.