XIII.—ARE YOU ANGRY?
Where it was, there it was, a certain village there was, in
which lived a father with three sons. One of them was
silly, and always sat in the chimney corner,[4]
but the other
two were considered clever. One of these went out to
service in a village not far off. His mother put on his back
a wallet full of cakes baked under the ashes. He went into
a house and made an engagement with the master upon the
terms that whichever got angry first was to have his nose
cut off. The servant went to thresh. He was not called
by his master either to breakfast or to dinner. His master
asked him: `Well, Mishek, are you angry?' `What have
I to be angry for?' Evening came, and supper was cooked;
again they did not ask Mishek. His master asked him:
`Well, Mishek, are you angry?' `What have I to be angry
for?' He wasn't angry, for the cakes from home still held
out. But during the second and third day the wallet was
emptied, and again he wasn't summoned to dinner. His
master asked him: `Mishek, are you not angry?' `Wouldn't
even the devil be angry, when you are thus killing me with
hunger?' Then his master pulled out a knife and cut off
Mishek's nose. He hastened home noseless, and complained
to his father and brothers of his wicked master. `You
simpleton!' said the next brother, Pavko. `Stay, I'll go!
Hey, mother, bake some cakes under the ashes!' Pavko
started off and went straight to the same village and to the
same house, and made an engagement with the same master,
on the terms that whichever was the first to become angry
was to have his nose cut off. They set him, too, to thresh
for three days, but neither on the first, nor on the second,
nor on the third day, did they call him to take a meal.
`Pavko, are you not angry?' `Wouldn't even devils be angry
with you? My belly has already grown to my backbone.'
Thereupon his master pulled out a knife and cut off Pavko's
nose. Pavko went home noseless, and said to his elder
brother: `That's a cruel house of entertainment; the devil's
got my nose.' Then Adam, the youngest, shouted from the
chimney-corner: `You are idiots! I'll go, and you'll see
that I shall make a good job of it.' He went with cakes
baked under the ashes in his wallet, and hit right upon the
same village in which his brothers had been, and engaged
himself with the same master upon the terms that whichever
got angry first should have his nose cut off. But Adam
knew how to proceed intelligently. When his master didn't
call him to dinner, he went to the public-house with what
he had threshed and pawned it all. His master came and
didn't see a grain of corn. Adam then asked him:
`Master, are you angry?' `Why should I be angry?' This
occurred several times, and his master always said that
he wasn't angry, for fear of losing his nose. Once there
came a day on which the master and mistress were obliged
to be from home, and they ordered Adam by their return
to kill the first sheep that looked at him when he entered
the stable, to dress it and boil it in a caldron, putting
parsley with it. Adam went into the stable with great
banging and noise, so that all the sheep looked at him at
once, whereupon he slaughtered them all. One he dressed
and put in the caldron, but instead of parsley he threw in a
dog called by that name. His master and mistress came
and asked Adam whether he had done everything properly?
He said: `I've slaughtered the sheep and thrown Parsley
into the caldron till I saw his feet. Now, master, are you
angry?' `What have I to be angry about?' he replied, for
he preferred keeping his nose. On Christmas Eve, when
they had to go to church, it was very dark. Adam's master
said to him: `It would be a good thing if somebody would
light us as far as the church.' `Go! go! I'll light you.'
He took fire and set the roof on fire, till the whole house
was in flames. The master hurried up, and Adam said to
him: `Master, are you angry?' `Why should I be angry?'
said he; for his nose was dearer to him than his house.
But what was he to do without a house, without everything?
They went into the world, master, mistress, and servant.
They wanted to put him to death; and planned together,
that when he was asleep his master should throw him into
the water. But Adam was up to this; he didn't lie down
on the side nearest the water, but got up in the night and
threw his mistress, who was on that side, into the water.
His master woke, and saw that his wife was gone; and
began to cry out. But Adam asked him: `Well, master,
are you angry?' `Wouldn't even the devil be angry, now
that you've done me out of everything?' Adam took a
knife and cut off his master's nose. He then took to his
heels, went home, and said to his brothers: `Now you see,
you wiseacres, that I've earned the nose.'
