Tale II - The Shoe
"Hello, who is there" came a voice from inside the house.
"My name is Mr Toast. I was wondering if I might trouble you for something to drink for I have been traveling for many leagues" said Mr Toast
The door to the house opened and there stood a grizzled old woman. "Come in. I have just gone to the well and have cool water which might satiate your thirst" said the old woman as she made room for Mr Toast to enter the shoe. The inside of the house was quite small but there was a loft for sleeping, a table for eating and an area for cooking.
"I had hoped that you were here to buy my house. You see I must sell the house today for I am leaving in the morning. I have been trying to sell it for many months but the local people do not find the idea of living in a shoe to be appealing. I raised 2 sons and 3 daughters here but they are all grown and gone onto live their own lives but my eldest is the magistrate in the town of Geurele and he has sent for me to live with him. Perhaps you as a traveling man would like to settle down here. This is a very fertile valley and you could make a good living as a farmer here" said the old woman.
"I appreciate your kind offer but my life is not that of a farmer, I am a traveler, story teller and adventurer. But I would be happy to wait here with you on your last day and tell you some of my stories" said Mr Toast.
The old woman gladly assented and they spent the rest of the day and late into the evening talking, Mr Toast on the things he had seen and news of the world and the old woman spoke of raising children, the loss of her husband and the hardships of life. She invited Mr Toast to sleep in the loft but he refused and instead slept outside beneath the stars.
In the morning he was awoken to the smell of hot porridge. The old woman had set a steaming bowl of it and large spoon next to him. He finished the bowl just as the old woman was coming out of the house carrying a large bag. Mr Toast helped the woman put her bag into a cart that was hooked up to a small pony.
"Well I thank you for spending your time with me. I will remember your tales for the rest of my days. Now I must go but before I do, here is the deed to my property. Do with it what you will and good luck to you" said the old woman. "Good bye and thank you" said Mr Toast as the old woman rode away in her cart. Mr Toast had no intention of living in the house but he rolled up the deed and placed it is in his pack and headed off.
A few miles down the road he found a small village. As he entered the village he found that all the townspeople moved in an odd and jerky way while they went about their business. Occasionally someone would grab at their side or scratch at their heads. Mr Toast approached a woman selling eggs and from a short distance away said "I am new to your village but I am bit worried that your village is under some curse or palsy and I do not wish to fall under its spell."
"You are quite right but it is not a curse or plague but instead a pestilence," said the woman " that our village suffers from. They are lice and they are too small to see and kill but they cause one to itch and scratch. You should be safe since you are not born of man nor woman but all the people and animals in the village can know no peace from this terror. They came on the backs of a herd of goats that were led though here some two months back. The wise man of the village has a plan to rid the village of them perhaps you can talk with him."
"I shall" said Mr Toast. He then headed to the house of the wise man in the center of the village. Reaching it he found a very ancient bald man sitting outside on a stool. "I have come to offer you my services since it seems that I am immune to your infestation" said Mr Toast. "Yes you would be of great help for I have a plan to rid the village of the lice. I had the blacksmith fashion a small whistle which when blown emits a tone which attracts the lice. With it you could lure all the lice out of the town" said the wise man.
Mr Toast took the whistle and began to blow it. Soon the wise man was no longer itching and jerking and scratching. Mr Toast then began to slowly walk around the village all the while blowing the whistle and relief began to spread as the lice followed the whistle and left the villagers. Knowing that if he stopped blowing that the lice would immediately return to people, Mr Toast turned and headed out of the village.
Soon he could see the shoe house in the distance. While continuing to blow the whistle he reached the house and and went inside with all the lice following him. Shutting the door he stopped blowing and the lice spread all over the shoe house. Thinking quickly Mr Toast stoked the still warm fire into a nice blaze. He took out a burning log and tossed it up into the hay bedding in the loft and quickly slipped outside and shut the door. The shoe was quickly ablaze and the lice with it. Mr Toast congratulated himself on a job well done and set off down the road.
The End