Saturday, September 5, 2009

The old woman and the Death - Hungarian folk tale

Death and the very old woman

Once upon a time, far away, at the other end of the mountain and the ocean, there lived a very old woman. Almost a hundred years old! She was always doing something, lots of things, never stopping, all day long occupied so much that she did not even had the time to think of death.

But the time come, nearer and nearer, and finally there he was, the Death arrived at her door.

- Well, old woman, you lived enough, now pack up and come!

- Oh, Death, dear nice death, I am just not ready, let me wait until I finish this!

- Impossible! What to wait? I take you now!

- Oh, give ma ten years, five years, at least... one more year!

- Out of question!

- Give me at least one day, only yet another day.

- Impossible! answered the Death.

- Three hours more then... let me remain at least until tomorrow!"

Well, what he could do,said the Death to himself, so much the old woman argumed, pleaded, ah, she spoke so well! Finally the Death was persuaded "let's give her a bit more time to finish what she was doing".

- Well, until tomorrow then.

- Dear Death, my memory is not so good, my eyes see less, please write on the door with big letters: "I'll come Tomorrow!"

The Death wrote on her door in huge letters "I'll come Tommorow" and left.

The old woman went to bed and lay more relaxed. But too soon, the next day arrived and the Death was back.

- So, old woman, I am back to take you! But now, not a word! You come with me!

- Oh, Death, just look at my door! There it is written clearly, that you"ll come only tomorrow!

Aie, the Death reads: on the door it was really written "I'll come only tomorrow".

Death went away and come back, day after day, for seven days, until he had enough. I am not coming back again! he said and cleaned off the words from the door.

- Now you come with me!

- Oh, give me at least one more hour!

- Well, if you have lived so far, I can give you another hour, to live. I'm leaving, but after an hour I come back, and I take you for sure!

The Death went away and the old woman begun shaking like a leaf. Everything rattled, her bones and remaining teeth. Oh, how to get out of this, what to do now, where to hide?

She had a barrel of honey and slipped inside it. But there was a hole on the bottom: that's not good. "If I can see out of it and see him, he will see me to, he'll find me. So she scrambled out of the honey barrel, and decided to hide inside her quilt, she tore her feather kilt and hid inside it. Even her hair, everything become fluffy the feather clinging to the honney.

Will that be good enough?

The Death arrived.

- Where are you, old woman?

Looked around the house. He did not find her anywhere.

The feathers clinging on the honey, the old woman was covered with them on her face, her hair, everywhere and could not breath any more so she rose out of kilt, rose suddenly from the bed. The Death was so frightened of hte feathered Monster rosing from the bed seeming bigger and bigger, that he ran away. He ran and ran far away, accross the mountains and the ocean, and he never again dared to return to take the old woman.

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