The Little Peasant

There was a village in which only rich peasants lived—and apart from them a poor one, who didn't even have a cow. He and his wife had always wanted to be able to buy one, but they could not afford it. One day, the little peasant had an idea and said to his wife, "Let's ask the carpenter to make us a wooden calf, paint it brown, and in time, everyone will think it's a real cow that will grow bigger.

The wife yielded, and the carpenter made a calf-herd out of wood, its head leaning towards the ground as if it were eating. Next morning the little peasant said to the cowherd, "I have a little calf that must be taken into the field." The cowherd took up the wooden calf, and carried it into the meadow, where it stood still, and looked as though it were eating grass.

That evening, when the herd was brought back, the wooden calf was missing. The cowherd told the little peasant, “Your calf stayed behind—it wouldn’t come with us.” The peasant insisted on retrieving it, but when they returned to the meadow, the calf was gone; someone had stolen it.

He took the cowherd up before the mayor, who decided that he must give the peasant a real cow in place of the missing calf. At last, the little peasant had a cow, but since he did not have anything to feed her, she had to be slaughtered.

The peasant cured the meat and reserved the hide. Afterwards, he put a raven with a broken wing into the cow's skin. On the way to sell the hide, he was caught by a storm, and he sought shelter at a mill. The miller's wife admitted him and offered him bread and cheese while he lay on the straw with his skin bundle.

Meanwhile, the miller's wife was diverting the parson, and they made a good cheer. About supper time the miller came home, unlooked for by his wife, who had hidden the roasting meat in the stove, the wine under a pillow, the salad on the bed, the cakes under the bed, and the parson in the closet.

The miller saw the peasant and asked about the bundle. The peasant said it contained a soothsayer who could show him many hidden secrets. The miller was curious and asked him to prove it. The peasant pinched the raven so that it croaked, and made his prophecies as follows:

1. "There's wine under the pillow." The miller found it. 
2. "There's roast meat in the stove." The miller found it.
3. "There's salad on the bed." The miller found it. 
4. "There are cakes under the bed." The miller found them.

The miller was astonished and asked for the fifth prophecy. The peasant replied that it was bad news and that he wanted 300 talers for it. The miller agreed. The peasant pinched the raven again and said, "The devil is hiding in the closet." The miller opened the closet, and the parson sprang out of it in fright. Convinced, the miller paid him, and he left with the money.

The little peasant used the money to build a beautiful house. When the villagers saw his wealth, they demanded to know how he earned it. He said, “I sold my cow’s skin for 300 talers.” The villagers, eager to profit, slaughtered their cows and tried to sell the hides, but they only got a few talers. Furious, they accused the peasant of deceit and sentenced him to death by drowning.

They put the peasant into a barrel full of holes to be rolled into the water. While he waited for what should happen to him, he saw a shepherd passing with a flock of sheep. The peasant shouted, "I refuse to be mayor! " The shepherd asked why, and the peasant said that he was being forced into the position. The shepherd offered to exchange places with him, and so the peasant climbed out of the barrel, while the shepherd was rolled into the water.

The villagers all thought he had drowned, but later the peasant returned with the shepherd's flock and said, well, he popped out of the barrel, and at the bottom of the river, there were sheep, which is a pretty ridiculous thing to say. But because of the clouds in the water, the villagers believed the story and leaped in to get their own flocks. None returned.

Therefore, the poor little peasant became the richest man in the village, living happily ever after.