The Buck Tailor

One day a tailor who was always bragging about his cleverness decided to go to the world. After a long way, he came to a steep hill, behind which was a canopy of trees and a towering tower that disappeared into a cloud.

“I’ll see who lives there,” said the tailor boldly. – Nothing scares me. – Even bragging to himself.

He had only walked a few meters when something singular happened. The tower began to move. The tailor rubbed his eyes. Surely I was having mirages. The towers do not move. But this one was moving. He moved to the side of the hill and stopped in front of the tailor. It was not a tower. It was a leg. The leg of a giant. And quickly a second followed. Now where there are two giant legs, there is probably one giant.

– WHAT DO YOU WANT? Roared the giant.

The tailor cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted loudly:

“I want to get a crust of bread!”

“You can come work for me,” growled the giant.

The tailor saw that he could not refuse the offer, since it was so small and the giant so large.

– How much do you pay me? – He asked.

“I will give you three hundred and sixty-five days a year and a day.”

extra in leap years, ”answered the giant.

“Seems fair to me,” said the tailor, though he was determined to flee as soon as possible.

The first task the giant gave him was to bring water.

– A jug arrives? Asked the tailor. – Or do you want me to bring the well? If the well does not come, I will bring the spring.

“No, no, the jar takes enough,” said the giant.

And he thought to himself, “This is not a normal man, if you can bring a well and a spring. I have to be careful what I tell you.”

The second task the giant gave the tailor was chopping wood.

“Why don’t you let me bring the whole forest and we get this over with?” Said the tailor defiantly.

“No, it’s not necessary,” said the giant. And grumbled with his buttons, “Bring a well and more of the spring … cut an entire forest! What kind of man is this?”

The third task the giant gave him was to kill two wild boars for dinner.

“I’ll bring you a thousand,” boasted the tailor.

“No, no, two arrive,” said the giant. And murmured with his buttons, “Bring well and spring … cut a whole forest … bring a thousand boars. This man is dangerous. The sooner I get rid of him, the better.” He was so worried that he stayed up all night thinking about the best way to get rid of the tailor.

The next morning, the giant led the tailor into a swamp where willows grew. The giant hoisted the tailor and sat him on the elastic branch of one of them.

“I don’t think you can even bend that branch to the ground,” said the giant.

– Ah, this is what I can do! Boasted the tailor.

He took a deep breath and held the air in his chest. Then he pushed the branch, which began to bend slowly.

“More …” said the giant.

The tailor pressed harder. The branch descended further. The tailor’s breath had run out. He needed to catch his breath again. I had to catch my breath again. But when he opened his mouth to inhale, the willow’s elastic branch threw it violently into the air like a catapult throws a stone. It rose very high, higher and higher. It must have gone beyond the moon, for no one else saw it to the giant’s relief.

If the tailor were not so bragging, he would probably now be sitting at home telling his grandchildren the story of a giant he had once known. Grimm Tales Sao Paulo, Improvements Editions, 1968