Belgian Fairy Tales

by William Elliot Griffis

Then she noticed that the strange baby’s stomach was swollen, almost as round as a big ball, for it had, from the first moment shown symptoms of ravenous hunger, and its body got bigger and bigger.

Horrified at this, she wrapped up the foundling and was about to lay it down, where she found it, and leave it there; when, out of the bundle, jumped a Wapper. He shook off the swaddling clothes, left them in the street, and ran off howling, laughing and gibbering.

When boys were coming home from school, they often stopped and played the game of “stuif hoed,” or “shove the hat.” Each boy took turns in slinging his hat down in the ring; or, another seized it from his head and pushed it, or kicked it about, with their wooden shoes, until the owner recovered it. Some boys grew very expert at this game, and all were eager to get first kick with their klomps. [[106]]

The Wapper usually found out, beforehand, which one of the urchins had not been at school that day, then he changed himself into a boy, to look like the one who was absent. At the right moment, he threw down his hat. When one of the lads rushed up and gave it a tremendous kick, his klomp, or wooden shoe, flew in pieces, and he howled with pain, for his toes were nearly broken. The Wapper had, just for the fun of it, put an iron pot under the hat. When everybody was laughing at the poor boy, who was limping home, the Wapper could not be seen anywhere.

In fact, this fiendish fairy was always playing April fool jokes on people. He would lay a hat on the pavement, but, hidden under it, was a brick or stone, for some fellow to stub his toe upon.

The Wapper often went into a tavern, and, joining in a game of cards, would make the players cheat each other. Then a fight followed and some one would get hurt. If they had been drinking heavily, one might get killed.

Or, the Wapper would go about the town selling mussels to housekeepers. These shell fish are called mussels, because each one looks like a little mouse. But when a woman would let one of these pass her lips, out would crawl, not a mouse, but a spider; or, she would find her [[107]]mouth full of sand. When the housewives discovered who and what this peddler of shell fish was, they would go after him with tongs, or rolling pins, or even chairs and stools, but at the first alarm, he lengthened his legs and rushed off so fast, that no one could ever catch him. Then again, he was called the Long Wapper.

But by and bye, it was noticed that whenever the Wapper came to an image or shrine of the Virgin Mary, he was afraid to pass it, and turned back. It was a woman, with sharp eyes, who first made this discovery, and all her neighbors honored her highly for her smartness. Some thought she ought to be made a saint.

So at once it became the fashion to make or buy images of the Holy Mother, and set them out in front of houses, over the doors or windows. It came to pass that the shops, where religious goods were sold, soon did a roaring business. Not only that, but whenever a new house was built, the architect set a niche in the angle, and there they built a shrine. Corner houses were especially well provided in this way, for by thus guarding two streets at once, the Long Wapper was double fooled, and so prevented from playing his tricks, whether high or low. By such means, they got rid of the Wappers in Antwerp.

Nobody ever sees this Belgian species of daddy [[108]]longlegs nowadays, and it is supposed that specimens are seen only among the sandhills of the Campine. It is said that the Wappers are very mad about it, because they can do so little mischief, as compared with the good old times, when they broke the toes of boys, scared housemaids, deceived kind mothers, and made themselves a nuisance generally. No one nowadays ever hears even the word “wapper,” unless it be applied to a swing bridge, or the flap of a sail, or to some foolish person, who is more or less silly. They may use the Wapper’s picture as a comic valentine.