The Story of Pacala

7/30/2019 The Story of Pacala

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The Story Of Pcal

Once upon a time there was a man. If he hadnt been, I would not have told his story. All

happened when the fleas leg used to be shoed with two-hundred-and-ninety-nine pounds of iron,

and the flea flew up into the sky to bring us stories. Its a story from an age when the horses used

to walk on the walls and he who doesnt believe it might be the greatest liar.

Once upon a time there was an old man whose wife had died and he had three sons. The

youngest sons name was Pacala. When the old man died, the only fortune which remained for his

sons was a cow. And since they didnt know how to share this fortune and didnt want to sell the

cow, the elder brothers proposed that each of them should build a stall and set the cow free in the

middle of the courtyard. The cow was to become the property of the brother whose stall it would

get in.

All agreed to this proposal and each built a stall. The elder brothers built wooden shingled

stalls, while Pacala made it out of green withes and covered it with green grass. No sooner did

they let the cow free, than it went straight to Pacalas stall and started to eat grass and leaves from

the withes. Consequently, in spite of his brothers wish, the cow became Pacalas property.

Since Pacala was as gamboling then as in his childhood, he did not feel inclined to become

a cowherd, so he decided to sell the cow. He tied its horns with a rope and took it to the market to

sell it. Passing through a forest, he tied it to an old tree and lay down to rest, but the tree rocked

and creaked a lot since it was very windy outside. Pacala thought the tree had asked him if he

wanted to sell the cow and he said yes. The tree creaked again and Pacala thought it had asked

the price and he said 200 lei. The tree creaked again and Pacala thought it said 20 lei. He was

satisfied with this price and asked for the money, but the tree creaked once more. Pacala thought

the tree said it was to give him the money next day. He was content and went home. When he

arrived at home, his brothers asked him what the sale price had been. 20 lei, he said and told

them he had sold it to a tree, which was to give him the money the next day. His brothers thought

him to having lost his mind. How can a tree buy a cow? He didnt answer.

The next day, Pacala went to the tree and found only the rope tied to it, since the cow had

torn it and run into the forest.

I came back for you to give me the money for the cow, Pacala said, but the tree didnt

answer.

Worried because it did not answer or give him the money, Pacala took the axe and started

to cut it down. But look what happened! When the tree fell down, he found a cauldron full of

money under its roots. Pacala took only 20 lei out of that, exactly the price of the cow, and went


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home. Seeing he brought the money, his brothers were very surprised that a tree was able to buy

and pay for a cow. They asked him about it and he told them the whole story, that the tree had a lot

of money and they wondered a lot about how foolish he was, why he did not take all the money for

himself and why he told them everything about it. His brothers asked him to join them to the tree

and take all the money from that treasure. He obeyed happily and they went together to thetreasure and took the cauldron with coins home. When the brothers wanted to share the money

among them, they decided to use a pot, since there were a lot of coins. But they had no pot, so they

sent Pacala to ask the parson of the village for a pot. When he went to the parson, he was asked

what he needed it for. He answered, To measure out the money.

The parson gave him a pot, but, curious as he was, he sneaked after Pacala and, when the

three brothers were measuring out the money, the parson introduced his head through the window

to see what they were doing. Noticing him, the brothers were afraid of being found by other people

and told Pacala, Go and satisfy the parsons curiosity. Shut him up.

Pacala went out and dealt him a deadly blow, which felled the parson down. Then he threw

him into the lake in front of their house and came back in, telling them calmly, The parson wont

look on the window anymore.

It had not even occurred to them that Pacala did something to him to keep his mouth shut

for good. When one of his brothers went out and saw the parsons beard on the water, he asked

Pacala what was swimming there, but he answered laughing that it was a goat. The brothers saw

there was not a goat, but the parsons corpse. They asked him very scared what he had done to kill

the parson. He answered, Werent you who told me to shut him up? Hell shut up forever now.

The brothers started to complain, not knowing what to do to escape the danger, but Pacala toldthem, Stop whining like women! Lets hide the parson and run away. Heres not a place to live

anymore!

Pacala took the parson pickaback to the neighbors garden. He put him in an apple-tree

and, when his neighbor entered the garden and saw the parson in his tree, he thought he was there

to steal his apples, so he shouted, Whatre you doing there, priest? Arent you ashamed of

stealing apples? But the parson did not answer. Then he took a wooden cudgel and threw it at

him, hitting him so hard in his head that the parson fell down. The man thought he killed him and

got very frightened, took him from where he had fallen and hid him until the evening, when his

neighbor was preparing his wagon to go to the market with fish. Pacala took the parsons body and

put him in his neighbors wagon, face downwards and both hands in the fish. The neighbor, who

left before daybreak, did not notice the parson was in the back, but, after dawn, the peasant found

the parson with his hands in his fish and began to shout, Get off my wagon. Arent you ashamed

to steal? but the parson said nothing.


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Then he seized his legs and threw him heavily to the ground. Terror-struck, he realized the

parson was dead. Thinking he had just killed him, he put him back in the wagon and covered him

with rugs. When he arrived at a pond, he put him on a board, and set him floating down the water.

Some hunters, who had come there to hunt wild ducks, saw him floating on the water and

shouted, Hey you, clear off! Youll scare the ducks! But because the dead man kept floating onthe water, the ducks got scared off and flew away. Then, out of pique, the hunters shot at him and

the parson fell into the water.

After they got rid of the parson, Pacalas two brothers took as many coins as they could

and ran away, while Pacala took only a grinding mill and left too. In the evening, he arrived at a

large forest and climbed up a big tree to sleep. Some peddlers stopped their wagons full of wares

just under this tree. Overnight, Pacala was unable to keep the grinding mill on his back anymore,

so he let it fall down. It made so much noise when it fell through the twigs that the peddlers got

scared and ran away, leaving the wagon unattended. Pacala climbed down and took only a sack of

incense from what was in the wagon and left.

After he ran away with the sack of incense, he thought God is happy when you light a bit

of incense in the church and, if he lit all the sack of incense, what a joy for God! Pacala decided to

make a big fire and light all the incense. As he was looking at the smoke going up into the sky,

suddenly the sky parted and he saw the pale God, sitting among his angels, who happily received

Pacalas offering. God made a sign to his angels and Pacala was immediately transported into the

sky, in front of God who said, Pacala, you did me a good turn, since the smell of incense made

me feel good. Therefore you can ask from me whatever you want.

Pacala pondered for a while and, seeing an old bagpipe in a corner of the sky, he said,God, would you give me that bagpipe, laying here? God was surprised he asked for such an

unimportant thing, but what could he do? He gave him the bagpipe and sent him back to the earth.

Pacala was seized with joy as he got the bagpipe, which he had wanted since long before.

Having no occupation, Pacala went to a rich mans house to look after his goats. In the

morning, he used to take them to the pasture and he brought them back in the evening. One day the

master asked why the goats were not happy, why they didnt jump and smile. He answered, If

this is your wish, then they could do like this. The next day, while he was returning with the

goats, he broke a leg of each goat and cut their upper lip. When the master saw the goats like this,

he asked, Why have you done all this? And he answered, Didnt you say you wanted to see the

goats jumping and smiling?

The master did not send him to take the goats to the field anymore, but gave him other

tasks. One day, the master went with all his servants to the field and left him at home, telling him

to do what their neighbor would do. The neighbor started to remove the rotten corn stalks, which

covered the house, in order to replace them with new ones. He imitated the neighbor and started to


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throw down the new roofing tiles, so that all of them broke into small pieces. Had the master not

come, he would have wanted to take down the pillars of the house as the neighbor did, but the

master came in time and kicked him out of his service.

After he left, Pacala filled the empty sack he took with him with old bones. On the way he

met Tandala, who had a sack on his back too. After they greeted each other, they agreed toexchange their sacks, trying to deceive each other, but as soon as they moved away and opened the

sacks, they started to laugh, seeing each of them was deceived by the other. They came together

and hugged, swearing to be blood brothers, and each took a different direction.

After they parted, Pacala moved on and on until he arrived at a village. He went to the

parsons house since he had heard he was behaving badly with his servants. The parson asked him

what he wanted, and he answered he would like to be a shepherd wherever possible. The parson

needed a shepherd and asked how much he wanted. Pacala answered, Im not looking for a price,

Im looking for a good master and Im content if I have clothes and food. Then you can stay

with us, said the parson. I agree, but Id like to have it written, said Pacala. Right, said the

parson, lets do it, but what are your terms? Pacala said, You know, your holiness, Im ill-

tempered. I get angry very quickly and Id like to get rid of this bad habit. So my condition is this:

if I get angry, youll have to flay a piece of skin from my back and, if your holiness gets angry

with me, Ill do the same. Otherwise I wont stay here.

Even if the parson was afraid of this condition, he did not want to lose a servant whom

hed pay nothing, so he agreed and, after Pacalas insistence, they concluded a contract, signed it

in front of witnesses, and legalized it at the town hall. So Pacala began to serve the parson. He was

sent to take the sheep to the pasture and, no sooner did Pacala start to play the bagpipe, than thesheep began to dance around him. Happy that the sheep were dancing, Pacala played all day long,

so that the sheep had not tasted the grass at all. On the way home, they could barely walk, were

starving and dead tired. The parson asked him why they were so tired. Pacala answered they had

not eaten because it was hot. The parson seemed satisfied with this answer willy-nilly and, seeing

the sheep eating hay, he was sure they were not ill.

Many days passed and the sheep still came home tired and starving. One day, wishing to

see what the sheep were doing in the field, why they came home so tired and starving, the parson

went after Pacala and hid among some brambles, but Pacala saw him and started to play his

bagpipe even louder, and then not only the sheep began to dance and hop, but the parson too. And

so Pacala, brimming over with joy, drew near the parson and played ceaselessly so that the parson

was pulling his hair out and was tearing his clothes among the brambles while dancing, and

eventually turned tail, cursing Pacala. At that moment, Pacala reminded him he was not supposed

to get angry, otherwise that would mean he was breaching the contract and he could suffer even

more. Then the parson held his tongue and, tired, Pacala stopped playing too.


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When the parson arrived at home and his wife saw him in such a bad condition, she started

to curse him and asked him why he was so bruised and ragged, since the parsons wife was even

more wicked than him. The parson told her the entire story, and that whenever Pacala played, the

sheep and whoever was around started to dance. Yet she scolded him even more, saying those

were trifles and lies. But when Pacala came home, the parson told him, Hey Pacala, do you knowmy wife doesnt believe you can play the bagpipe so well? Now Id like you to play it for a while

so that she can hear you and maybe shell believe me.

The parson held onto a post and clung to it tightly to resist dancing, but his wife, who was

in the attic, started to dance as soon as Pacala began to play. Hearing that the parsons wife was

dancing in the attic, he played even more loudly and with great joy, while she was dancing so

passionate and entranced that she tumbled down dead through the door of the attic.

After his wife died, the parson could not be angry at Pacala, because, first, he had asked

him to play; secondly, they had an agreement and, thirdly, he had finally got rid of his wicked

Neaga.

Before leaving for the church to bury his wife, he put three pots of meat on fire to cook the

meal and prepare the funeral feast, as the customs were. He ordered Pacala to take care of them, to

cut parsley, dill and onion, and to take the baby from its cot, to wash it and, when he came back, to

find it clean.

After the parson left, Pacala grabbed and cut the tails of the parsons three dogs. Their

names were Parsley, Dill and Onion, so he put their tails into the pots to boil together with the

meat. Then he took the child from its cot, cut it up, took out its entrails, cleaned them well, neatly

washed the baby inside and outside and hung it on a nail.When the parson returned from the church, he asked him if he had done what he ordered

him to do. Pacala showed him what he had put in the pots. When the parson saw he had put the

tails of the dogs in the pots, he got angry, but Pacala said he had done nothing else than what his

holiness had told him, reminding him of their agreement, by showing him his back, so the parson

felt being forced to shut up. Then, when the parson asked about the baby, Pacala showed it

hanging on the nail. The parson began to shout and to curse him again, but Pacala told him not to

get angry, because they had a contract, and showed him his back. The parson, not knowing what to

do after he buried his child too, called his elder son and told him, My son, lets run away from

Pacala. Hes going to kill us all.

But Pacala, who was hiding behind the hearth, heard them and whispered to himself,

Youre not going to get rid of me so easily. The parson grabbed his books, put them in a bag and

went to another room to put his clothes in another bag to run away. Pacala slipped into the bag of

books, then the parson came, tied the bag, put it on the horse together with other things and they

ran away. As they crossed a river, the bag got wet and Pacala started to shout inside, Up, father,


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up! The Bibles getting wet! The parson looked back and asked his son if he had said anything,

but he answered no. And because the bag was still reaching the water, he whispered again, Up,

father, up! The Bibles getting wet! The parson looked back and asked his son if he heard

anything. He replied that he heard the words up, father, up, the Bibles getting wet. The parson

was wondering what book was that, which was able to talk. It did not take long until they reachedthe bank of the river, where he put down the bag. Pacala jumped out quickly, with great joy and

said, Forgive me, master, your wish is my command. Im ready to serve you, my good master.

The parson would have sent him to the deepest hell, but he couldnt do that; they had a

contract and he was afraid for his back. He told his son that, in the evening, they should sleep near

the bank of the river and ask Pacala to sleep the closest to the river and, during the night, to push

him into the water to get rid of him. But as soon as the parson and his son fell asleep, Pacala went

on the other side of the river and the parson, instead of throwing Pacala into the water, threw his

son, who drowned instantly. Pacala got up and began to shout, What have you done, father, you

drowned your son!

Losing his last son, the parson was dumbfounded with terror. Unable to keep his temper in

check anymore, he forgot the contract and everything and started to curse and swear at Pacala as

much as he could and almost swooped down on him. Nevertheless, taking the contract out of his

bosom, Pacala told the parson very calmly, Hold on, thief! Your holiness killed your own boy

and now you curse me and want to kill me too! Who do you think you are? To the ground and let

me skin you a little, as the contract says! I dont want to kill you, like you did. Unable to oppose,

he was forced to obey, and Pacala flayed his back, let him fall down almost dead and left him,

taking the bag of books with him, thinking the parson wouldnt be able to carry it anymore.So Pacala left and went on for a long way until he reached a forest, where he took the

books out of the bag and filled it with acorns. He continued on his way and came across a wedding

and the wedding guests, who were all drunk, asked him what he had in the bag. He answered he

carried eggs, which he picked from that forest, where there were lots of them. They believed him

and ran to pick up eggs, leaving the bride alone in the wagon. Pacala saw she was very sad and

asked her why. Was it she didnt like the bridegroom? She said that was true. He asked her if she

wanted to run away, and she said that was her wish. Then he said, Take my clothes and give me

your clothes, and follow your nose wherever you wish.

The bride immediately gave her dress to Pacala, got dressed in his clothes and ran away,

while Pacala got dressed in her dress and sat down in the wagon. The wedding guests returned

cursing after they found no eggs in the forest, and continued the party without noticing that the

bride was not the same person. In the evening after the feast, when the bride (Pacala) had eaten

and drunk well and the groom had gotten besotted, they were taken to the wedding room. But the

bride pretended she needed to go out, and the bridegroom didnt want to let her go. So the bride


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told him, If youre afraid I wont come back, look, tie my leg with this rope. If Im late, you can

pull me inside.

Pacala tied the rope by his own leg and handed it to the groom, but as soon as he got out of

the house, he tied the rope to the horns of a goat that was sleeping near the door, got dressed in

mens clothes, which he found there, and was in full retreat, cutting it off.The groom waited for his bride to come back, but she didnt. Then he started to pull the

rope and the goat began to baa and to gambol, refusing to go inside. The groom went outside to

see what happened. But lo and behold!... instead of his bride, he found a goat. Find the bride

where shes not!

After so many things he had done, Pacala began to hate living alone and decided to get

married. After a long search he found a wife and got married. Once, his wife sent him to the

market to buy a needle and, when he got back home, his wife asked, Wheres the needle, man?

But he answered, See what happened to me, woman. I bought a needle and I put it in a cart of hay

and I couldnt find it anymore. But, stupid, couldnt you put it on your chest or in your pocket?

Thats what Ill do next time, answered Pacala.

One day, Pacala went to the market and bought a plough iron. He started to needle it

somewhere on his clothes, but since it was heavy, his clothes tore, so that he ripped off his clothes.

Seeing he was unable to needle it, he put it down and came home bare-handed and with his clothes

torn. When his wife saw him in this condition, he asked him what happened to him that he was so

ragged, but he answered, I bought a plough iron and wanted to needle it on my clothes as you told

me. I tried many times but it ripped off my clothes and fell down. So I let it there. You, stupid,

his wife shouted, but you dont put the plough iron on your chest. Why didnt you take it piggyback? Pacala answered, Thats what Ill do next time.

Next time, Pacala went to the market and, when he returned, a dog jumped at him, but he

kicked it in the head and killed it. Then he grabbed it by its tail and took it home piggy back. His

wife started to shout when she saw him, What have you done, crazy man? What can you do with

a dead dog? See, woman, he said, the dog wanted to bite me, so I kicked it strongly and took it

piggy back as you told me.

You stupid and fool, his wife said. Why havent you called it doggie, doggie and

thrown it some bread? It wouldnt have bitten you.

Pacala answered, Well, never mind, woman, I can do this next time.

Then Pacala went to the market and bought half a pig, tied its head with a rope and

dragged it home, calling doggie, doggie and throwing it bread. His wife called all their neighbors

to show them her husbands foolishness. Then she told him, From now on you wont be going to

the market anymore; youll stay at home, do all the chores I do, and Ill go to buy what we need.

Good, said Pacala.


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Next day, leaving to the market, his wife told Pacala, Im going to the market now, but

you stay home, sweep the floor, tidy up, shake the churn, bathe the baby, put them to sleep. Id

like to find everything done by the time Im back. Woman, Pacala said, at least I know how to

do these things.

When the woman returned from the market, look what happened! All the things whereupside down, so his wife began to ask him, What have you done while I was away? I have

brought everything we need and you did nothing.

Pacala answered, What do you mean? Havent I worked enough? I tied the churn to my

neck and ran around the house to shake it; I lit the fire, I put the bucket on it, and once the water

started to boil, I poured it into the trough and put the baby inside to bathe it, but look what

happened! Once I put it in the water, it started to shout so loud as if someone burned it. I searched

for what it needed and found it had a sore in its head, its top was soft. So I took the awl and thrust

it into that sore until it broke. A lot of pus ran and the baby fell asleep. It didnt say anything else

and its still sleeping now.

His wife started to tear her hair and to wail, Oh, great Heavens! What have you done, you

mad murderer! Go away, you ill omen! I dont want to live in the same house with you anymore!

She left to bury the baby. Meanwhile, Pacala took his sack and left too.

And he wandered all day long, until he reached the house of a rich man. The latter asked

him what he was looking for. Pacala said he was looking for a master. The rich man answered he

needed a servant and that he can offer him work on one condition: if he gets angry, he will cut his

nose, and Pacala has the same right if the rich man gets angry; the deal would end when the

cuckoo sang in the nut tree.Pacala agreed and remained in his service.

In the morning, they did not call Pacala to have breakfast together. He was in the wheat

field then. But he took a sack of wheat and sold it to buy food. His master asked Pacala after

taking the meal, Are you angry? Pacala said he was not. At noon they did not call him either, but

he took a sack of wheat and sold it, buying enough food. The master asked him again, Are you

sad? Maybe you are sad because Ill cut your nose as I did to many others. Pacala answered,

Should I be sad just for a small lunch? No!

In the evening they did not call him at dinner, but he took again a sack of wheat, sold it and

ate well. The master heard about it and told his wife, Lets call him to eat with us, because this

fool is going to sell all our wheat.

So in the morning, they called him to take breakfast together, and Pacala asked his master,

What? Are you angry with me? He replied, Should I be angry for so little wheat?


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As soon as the threshing time was over, the master said to Pacala, Go now and carry the

manure to the field. Where should I put it? he asked. Take my dog with you and leave the

manure wherever it sits down.

Pacala loaded the cart and went with the dog, and the dog walked and finally sat down near

the masters corn field, next to a mud pool. Instead of spreading the manure on the field, Pacalathrew it into the pool next to which the dog was sitting, and he kept doing that all day long. Every

time he brought more manure he would throw it into the swamp. Later in the evening, the master

went to see whether the manure was properly spread over the field, but surprise, surprise! It was

all dumped into the mud pool near his corn field. He started shouting at Pacala, cursing him, but

Pacala answered, Havent you told me to spread the manure wherever the dog sits? Ive just put it

where the dog showed me. Are you angry because of this?

The master answered he wasnt; he couldnt be angry for such a small thing, fearing his

nose might be cut off.

The master thought it over, talked to his wife about the task he should give to Pacala next,

so he should get angry, and then to be entitled to cut off his nose and get rid of him. He sent for

him and told him, Boy, theres a mud pool in my yard and I need you to build a bridge over it,

one board hard and one board soft and I want it done in three days. Pacala said, Its not such a

big deal.

After his master, his mistress and the shepherd all went to bed, Pacala went to the sheep

pen and cut off their heads and legs and put them over the mud, one face down, one face up,

thinking that was the way his master would like it to be. One hard, one soft and, so as not to see

they were sheep, he covered them with earth and buried their heads and legs and went to sleep. Inthe morning, his master and mistress asked him if he had built the bridge. He answered he had

done it during the night and had had a long sleep until morning. Then he took his master to the

bridge and when they crossed it, it was as he had asked, for, whenever he stepped on a back of a

sheep it felt hard and whenever he stepped on a belly, it felt soft. His master praised him for his

hard work, but when the shepherd went to the sheepfold to take out the sheep to the field, they

were gone. The shepherd cried out, But where are the sheep? Pacala answered they were all in

the yard, some facing upwards, others facing downwards, for there was not other way to make one

board hard and another board soft.

Astonished, the master shouted, But what have you done? You killed all my sheep. What

are you trying to do? Leave me broke? Pacala answered calmly, I just did what you ordered me

to do. Why, are you angry with me? Not at all, the master said, I will buy other sheep.

In the evening, the master planned with his wife to get rid of Pacala; otherwise, by the end

of the year, they would end up poor. The woman answered, You know something, husband?

Tomorrow morning, when its still dark, Ill climb up the nut tree and Ill be singing like the


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cuckoo and then youll give him his pay and let him go, saying the year is over and so well get rid

of him.

Next morning, the woman climbed the nut tree and started singing cuckoo! cuckoo!

cuckoo! Then the master quickly called Pacala and told him, Come and take your pay because

the cuckoos singing in the nut tree, so your year is over now.Pacala grabbed a cudgel, went to the nut tree and said, Go away, damn cuckoo! Because

of you I must leave my good master, and he threw the cudgel bashing the woman in the head, so

that she fell dead to the ground.

Seeing this, the master started to wail and curse Pacala, but Pacala asked him again,

Why? Are you angry? But how could I not be angry? Not only did you take everything away

from me, but you also killed my wife.

Then Pacala pulled out his knife and slash! he cut off his nose. You planned to do to me

the same things you had done to many others before, but now youve found your match.

After Pacala left, satisfied with the revenge he had taken on his master, he kept on walking

until he reached a faraway village where he became the servant of a rich widow. Since he was

handsome and young, she grew fond of him and married him. As he was a foreigner who had

come and married the richest woman in the village, the peasants became jealous of him and plotted

to kill his wife so that he would be forced to spend all of his fortune on burying her. Yet Pacala

took his dead wife, put her in the cart as if she were still alive and headed to the town planning to

denounce those who had killed her. On the way, he came across a rich boyar with a four-horsed

coach and a coachman. The coachman urged him to free the way, but he did not listen to him, so

the coach had to stop and the boyar got off angrily and slapped Pacalas wife so hard that she fellin the cart as tall as she was. Pacala began to shout that he had killed his wife and that he would go

to complain to the king.

The boyar got scared and started begging him to keep him out of trouble for he would give

him a large sum of money. Pacala agreed. He buried his wife right there on the field and returned

with the money to the village and showed it to the peasants. They asked him, Where have you got

all this money from? I sold her to a rich boyar, he answered, for they pay a great deal of money

for a dead peasant woman.

Having heard that, they believed him and killed all their wives and took them to the

market, but, instead of receiving money, they all received a beating they would never forget.

When they returned from the market, all beaten up and with their wives dead, the peasants

ran to Pacala and, while cursing him, they asked him why he had deceived them and made them

kill their wives so they would get beat up.

Why did you kill my wife? he asked them then.


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Because of the grudge they held against him, they stuffed him into a sack and took him to a

large and deep lake in order to drown him and get rid of him. However, when they arrived there,

they thought things through and left him on the shore, running back to Pacalas house so as to

share his fortune.

When he heard the villages cowboy passing by with the cows, he started to shout insidethe sack, I dont want to be mayor! I just want to be drowned in the water. I dont want to be the

mayor of the village!

Hearing that, the cowboy ran to Pacala and said, I do want to be mayor, and he untied

the sack. Pacala came out of it and the cowboy took his place in the sack. Then he tied back the

sack and hid among the cows.

After they took everything from Pacalas house, the peasants returned, took the sack to

throw it into the water, but the cowboy yelled as loud as he could, I want to be the mayor of the

village!

The peasants replied, Well show you what it means to be a mayor, and threw him into

the water.

Not long after they believed they threw Pacala into the water, they saw him walking with a

large herd of cattle. They ran towards him and asked him how he got out of the lake and where he

got all that cattle from. He answered, After you ripped me of my fortune and threw me into the

lake, what do you think I found there? There were people just like here, but kinder than you, for

when I told them how you ransacked me, they told me to take as many cows as I wanted, since

they had many of them and of all sorts of breeds. I took as many as I could and came home.

When the peasants heard that, they all threw themselves into the lake and met their deathand Pacala got rid of them.

Craiova, 1892

Pacala: A very popular prankster in Romanian folk tales, who sometimes is fooled himself (a pcli = to hoax / dupe).

[1]In order to understand the joke we should mention the homonymy of the Romanian word blan meaning both sheep fur and

wooden board.

Pacala And The Boyar
http://www.icr.ro/bucuresti/tales-of-two-reigns-children-and-childhood-30-2007/the-story-of-pacala.html#_ftnref1http://www.icr.ro/bucuresti/tales-of-two-reigns-children-and-childhood-30-2007/the-story-of-pacala.html#_ftnref1http://www.icr.ro/bucuresti/tales-of-two-reigns-children-and-childhood-30-2007/the-story-of-pacala.html#_ftnref1


12/16

Once upon a time, Pacala was sitting near a forest and was thinking what to do next. As he looked on the road, he saw a carriage

coming towards him. Quickly, he got up, picked up a wood block and raised it in the air. In the carriage there was a lady and the

coachman who was driving the horses. The boyar, seeing Pacala, told the coachman to stop the carriage and said:

Good day!

Pacala answered:

I thank thee!

What are you doing here?

Well, master, I left this piece of wood to rest a bit, and then Ill take it home. But where are you heading?

I heard about a certain Pacala that fools people and I am going to find him so he can fool me.

Pacala said to the boyar:

Dont go any further, nobleman, for I am Pacala. But I cant fool you now because I left my fooling machine at home. If

you still want me to fool you, Ill go in the village to get my fooling machine and then I shall fool you. And to make haste, get off

the carriage, you, the lady and the coachman. You, sir, hold this wood well, careful not to toss it, and I will be back shortly.

The lady and the coachman got off, and the boyar kept holding the wood block as tight as he could, so that he wouldnt

shake it. Pacala got in the carriage and he was gone. The night fell. Still, there was no sign of Pacala. So did the night pass and the

second day till noon.

Then, a man was passing by.

Good day! the man said.

Good day! replied the boyar.

What are you doing there, sir?

The boyar told the man that he was holding the wood block.

Until Pacala will come with his fooling machine to fool us. He said hed be back before we know it, and hes not here yet.

Then, the man said to the boyar:

But, sir, isnt it enough of a fooling that hes gone with the carriage and the horses?

from Tudor Pamfile, Cartea povestirilor hazlii (Funny Stories Book), Ramuri, Craiova

Once upon a time, Pcal meets on the road Tndal , who is tugging a goat at the

leash.

"Where are you carrying this ox ", Pcala asks.

Vexed, Tndal looks at the animal, being afraid of another Pacal s trick, and

answers promptly.

"Cousin, are you blind, dont you see this is a goat? "


13/16

"Oh, I am speaking with the goat! "

Pcal and the apricots

One day, a boyar noticed two big and beautiful apricots in one of his apricot trees. He asked for

one of his servants whose name was Pcal and said:

"Come here, Pcal! "

"Here I am, my lord! "

"Bring down those apricots! "

"Immediately, my lord! "

And he climbed up the apricot tree. When he saw the soft and big apricots, he made a relish and

he swallowed one of them.

"Where is another one, Pcal? ", asked the master.

"I eat it, my lord! "

"How did you eat it, Pcal? "

"I eat it very well, my lord! "

"What do you mean well, Pcal? "

"Just like this, my lord ", and he swallows the another one left.

HUMAN STUPIDITY

ION CREANGA

Once upon a time, when it was, because, if it hadnt been, wed have no story to tell.

We are not from those times, but we are two to three days closer, when the flea wore ninety-nine

lbs iron heavy shoes to a foot and it still felt too light.

Its been said that once there was a married man, and this man lived together with his mother-in-law. His wife, who had a suckling child, was rather dumb; even the mother-in-law was no smartie.


14/16

One day, our man leaves the house to go about his business, like every man does. His wife bathed

the baby, swaddled and nursed him, then she put him in bed next to the stove, because it was

winter, and then swung it and sang a lullaby, until he fell asleep. After he fell asleep, she sat therethinking, then began to wail as loud as her mouth allowed: "Aulio! My baby, my baby!"

Her mother, who spun behind the chimney, startled, threw away her tools and, jumping up

selflessly, asked with dread:

- What is it, mothers dearest, whats with you?

- Mother, Mother! My child will die!

- When and how?

- Here's how. See the salt block on the chimney?

- I see it. So?

- If the cat climbs up there, it will throw it straight to my baby's head and kill him!

- Woe to me, right you are, my girl; the little ones days are numbered!

And, looking ahead to block of salt on the chimney and with their hands clenched, as if someonehad tied them, they began to wail both, like crazy, as if the house was boiling. While they were in

the midst of self-disfigurement, the man of the house entered the door, hungry and worried.

- What is it? What startled you, witches?

Catching their breath, they began to wipe off their tears and tell him while mourning about the

happening that had yet to happen. The man, after listening to them, said with wonder:

- Aye! (that's a medieval YO!) I saw many fools in my life, but never like you two. I'll go roam

the land! And if I find anyone dumber than you, Ill be coming home, but if not, I wont.

So saying, he sighed heavily, leaving the house without saying goodbye, and left angry and bitter!

And he walking batty without knowing where to, after some time, stopping in one place, it

happened to see something that he had never seen before: a man was holding a bushel with itsmouth to the desert sun for a short while then quickly grabbed it and ran back with it in his shack,

and then hed come back out, and put its mouth to the sun, and so on ... Our traveler, puzzled, said:

- Hello, good man!

- Thank you, friend!

- But what are you doing here?


15/16

- Well, Ive been toiling for the past two or three days to carry some sun into my shack, to have

light, but to no avail...

- What a drudge, aye! said the traveler. Have an axe handy?

- Yes I do.

- Grab it by the tail, break here and the sun will go inside by itself.

Once he did so, and sunlight got into the shack.

- A great wonder, good man, said the host. Had God not brought you here, I was to grow old

carrying the sun with my bushel.

"Another goof," said the traveler to himself and left.

And on he went. After a while he reached a village, and, by chance, stopped at the house of a man.The man of the house was a wheelwright, and had assembled a carriage in the house, in its

entirety; and now wished to take it out, so he pulled the hitch with all his might but the wagon

would not come out. You know why? The doors were narrower than the cart. The man wanted todemolish the walls to take it out. Luckily however, the traveler taught him to take the cart apart,

take the parts outside one by one and then put it back together again.

- Much obliged, good man, said the host, you taught me well! Just think about it! I was about to

demolish this good old house for the carts sake ...

From here on our traveler, counting yet another dimwit, went straight ahead, until he again

reached a house. There, what do you see?! A man with a big fork in one hand, was trying to throw

some nuts into the attic.

"More and more idiots," said the traveler itself.

- But why are you so troubled, good man?

- Well, I want to throw some nuts in the attic, and this damned big fork, cursed be its name, not is

no good ...

- You toil pointlessly, uncle! You can curse it all you want, the fork wont work. Have a bushel?

- How could I not have it?

- Put the nuts in the bushel, take it on the shoulder and climb up to the attic; the big fork is forstraw, not for nuts.

The man listened, and work was soon over. Traveler did not linger there any more, but left,

counting one more idiot.


16/16

Then, from there he went on, until he had to see yet another silly deed. A man had tied a cow with

a rope around the neck and, having climbed up to a barn where he had thrown some hay, was

pulling the rope hard to get cow up on the barn. The cow was in pain, and he was getting tired ...

- My man! said the traveler in stupor, but what are you trying to do?

- What am I doing, you ask me? But cant you see?

- I do see, I just do not understand.

- Look, this cow is very hungry but would rather die than come up here on this barn to get some

hay ...

- Hold on, Christian, youre hanging the cow! Take the hay down to the cow!

- But wont it get wasted? ...

- Do not be sparing of bran and cheap on the flour.

The man listened and the cow escaped death.

- Well you taught me, good man! For this little hay I was about to strangle my cow!

So, our traveler, wondering and this is great folly, said to himself, "the cat could have possibly

pushed the salt block off the chimney, but carry the sun in the house with a bushel, throw walnutsto the attic with a big fork and drag the cow up to the barn by rope, NEVER! "

So the traveler returned home and partied with his own, whom he considered more enlightened

than those who saw in his journey.

AND I rode on a saddle, and so told you this ditty.

AND I rode on a wheel, and I told it still.

AND I rode on a strawberry, and I lied to make you merry!

Documents

The Story of Pacala