Tell Me a Story (21 traditional stories from the British Isles dramatised by J.D.Graham), страница 5

The next day the little weaver got some old saucepans and an old kettle. and made himself a suit of tin clothes.   Then he decided to make a shield, so he got the lid of a very large pot.   He said:  “I’m going to write on it.”   What did he write?   The little weaver wrote on his shield “I’m the man who killed three score and ten with one blow.”   But the little weaver didn’t mention that he had killed flies.   He was pleased with what he had written.   “When people see that, they’re going to be very impressed.”

Then the little weaver set off dressed in his tin suit and carrying his shield.  He said goodbye to his neighbour and walked along until he came to the miller’s house.   In the field next to the miller’s house, a horse was eating grass.   The little weaver said:  “I’m going to ride that horse.”   And the little weaver got onto the horse and began to ride away.   But just then, the miller came out of his house.   “What are you doing on my horse?”, he asked.   “I’m going to see the King,” said the little weaver.  The miller said “I don’t want you to ride my horse.   Please get off at once.”   But the little weaver rode off anyway.   He rode a long way until at last he arrived at the King’s Palace.   He sat down on a seat in front of the Palace and rested, and the horse ate some grass.   The little weaver closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep but he made sure that everyone could see his tin shield with the writing on it.

Now the King was sitting in his palace looking out of the window, and, of course, he saw the little weaver in his tin suit and the shield with the writing on it.   The King said to the Queen:  “Look at that!    Who is that man?   I’m going to go down and have a look.   I’m going to find out who that man is.”

So the King and the Queen went down and went over to where the little weaver was sitting, pretending to be asleep.   The King read the writing on the shield.   “Very impressive!” said the King.   “A man who can kill three score and ten with one blow!”   Of course the King didn’t know that it was flies that the little weaver had killed.   He thought that the little weaver must be a great warrior.

Now there was a dragon living near the Palace.  The King wanted someone to kill the dragon.  and when he saw the writing on the shield, he had an idea.   What do you think it was?   He said:  “this is just the man I want.   If he can kill threescore and ten with one blow, then he can kill the dragon.”   So the King went over to the little weaver and said “Wake up!”   And the little weaver pretended to wake up.   He said to the King:  “I need work”.   The King said:  “You shall have a job immediately.   It’ll be no trouble to you.   It’s only a dragon.   He lives near here.   I want you to kill this dragon.”   The little weaver said that he would fight the dragon and he followed the King and Queen into the palace.   But the little weaver said to himself.   “I don’t want to fight the dragon.  I want to make my fortune.   I don’t like dragons.”   The little weaver thought hard.   He said  “I won’t fight the dragon.   But I will make my fortune.   I’ve thought of a plan.”

But what was the little weaver’s plan?   What was he going to do?   Find out in part 2 of “The Story of the Little Weaver”.

THE STORY OF THE LITTLE WEAVER (PART II)

The King wanted to know when the little weaver would fight the dragon. and the little weaver said that he would do it at once.   “Oh dear” said the Queen.   The King was pleased.   “Good” he said.   “Very good.”   But the little weaver had no intention of fighting the dragon.   He had a plan. He smiled at the King and he said that he would fight the dragon.   The King said:  “You’re the man for my money.”   And the little weaver asked for some money for his travelling expenses.   “You can have as much money as you like”, said the King.   “Come in here”. And he took the little weaver into a room where there was a big box full of gold pieces.   The King told the little weaver:  “Take as many as you like.   I’m going to give you one of my horses to ride.”   So the little weaver got onto the horse and said good bye.