The Story of a Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was

The Story of a Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was

A certain father had two sons, the elder of whom was smart and
sensible, and could do everything, but the younger was stupid and
could neither learn nor understand anything, and when people saw him
they said 'there's a fellow who will give his father some trouble.'
When anything had to be done, it was always the elder who was forced
to do it, but if his father bade him fetch anything when it was late,
or in the night-time, and the way led through the churchyard, or any
other dismal place, he answered 'oh, no, father, I'll not go there,
it makes me shudder.' For he was afraid.  Or when stories were told
by the fire at night which made the flesh creep, the listeners
sometimes said 'oh, it makes us shudder.' The younger sat in a corner
and listened with the rest of them, and could not imagine what they
could mean.  'They are always saying 'it makes me shudder, it makes
me shudder,  it does not make me shudder.' Thought he.  'That, too,
must be an art of which I understand nothing.'

Now it came to pass that his father said to him one day 'hearken to
me, you fellow in the corner there, you are growing tall and strong,
and you too must learn something by which you can earn your bread.
Look how your brother works, but you do not even earn your salt.'
'Well, father, he replied,  'I am quite willing to learn something -
indeed, if it could but be managed, I should like to learn how to
shudder.  I don't understand that at all yet.' The elder brother
smiled when he heard that, and thought to himself 'good God, what a
blockhead that brother of mine is.  He will never be good for
anything as long as he lives.  He who wants to be a sickle must bend
himself betimes.' The father sighed, and answered him 'you shall soon
learn what it is to shudder, but you will not earn your bread by
that.' Soon after this the sexton came to the house on a visit, and
the father bewailed his trouble, and told him how his younger son was
so backward in every respect that he knew nothing and learnt nothing.
'Just think,  said he,  'when I asked him how he was going to earn
his bread, he actually wanted to learn to shudder.' 'If that be all,
replied the sexton,  'he can learn that with me.  Send him to me, and
I will soon polish him.' The father was glad to do it, for he thought
'it will train the boy a little.' The sexton therefore took him into
his house, and he had to ring the church bell.  After a day or two,
the sexton awoke him at midnight, and bade him arise and go up into
the church tower and ring the bell. 'You shall soon learn what
shuddering is,  thought he, and secretly went there before him, and
when the boy was at the top of the tower and turned round, and was
just going to take hold of the bell rope, he saw a white figure
standing on the stairs opposite the sounding hole.  'Who is there.'
Cried he, but the figure made no reply, and did not move or stir.
'Give an answer,  cried the boy,  'or take yourself off, you have no
business here at night.'

The sexton, however, remained standing motionless that the boy might
think he was a ghost.  The boy cried a second time 'what do you want
here. - Speak if you are an honest fellow, or I will throw you down
the steps.' The sexton thought 'he can't mean to be as bad as his
words,  uttered no sound and stood as if he were made of stone.  Then
the boy called to him for the third time, and as that was also to no
purpose, he ran against him and pushed the ghost down the stairs, so
that it fell down ten steps and remained lying there in a corner.
Thereupon he rang the bell, went home, and without saying a word went
to bed, and fell asleep.  The sexton's wife waited a long time for
her husband, but he did not come back.  At length she became uneasy,
and wakened the boy, and asked 'do you not know where my husband is.
He climbed up the tower before you did.' 'No, I don't know, replied
the boy,  'but someone was standing by the sounding hole on the other
side of the steps, and as he would neither give an answer nor go
away, I took him for a scoundrel, and threw him downstairs.  Just go
there and you will see if it was he.  I should be sorry if it were.'
The woman ran away and found her husband, who was lying moaning in
the corner, and had broken his leg.

She carried him down, and then with loud screams she hastened to the
boy's father.  'Your boy,  cried she,  'has been the cause of a great
misfortune.  He has thrown my husband down the steps so that he broke
his leg.  Take the good-for-nothing fellow out of our house.' The
father was terrified, and ran thither and scolded the boy.  'What
wicked tricks are these.' Said he,  'the devil must have put them
into your head.' 'Father,  he replied, 'do listen to me.  I am quite
innocent.  He was standing there by night like one intent on doing
evil.  I did not know who it was, and I entreated him three times
either to speak or to go away.' 'Ah,  said the father,  'I have
nothing but unhappiness with you.  Go out of my sight.  I will see
you no more.'

'Yes, father, right willingly, wait only until it is day.  Then will
I go forth and learn how to shudder, and then I shall, at any rate,
understand one art which will support me.' 'Learn what you will,
spoke the father,  'it is all the same to me. Here are fifty talers
for you.  Take these and go into the wide world, and tell no one from
whence you come, and who is your father, for I have reason to be
ashamed of you.' 'Yes, father, it shall be as you will.  If you
desire nothing more than that, I can easily keep it in mind.'

When day dawned, therefore, the boy put his fifty talers into his
pocket, and went forth on the great highway, and continually said to
himself 'if I could but shudder.  If I could but shudder.' Then a man
approached who heard this conversation which the youth was holding
with himself, and when they had walked a little farther to where they
could see the gallows, the man said to him 'look, there is the tree
where seven men have married the ropemaker's daughter, and are now
learning how to fly.  Sit down beneath it, and wait till night comes,
and you will soon learn how to shudder.' 'If that is all that is
wanted, answered the youth,  'it is easily done, but if I learn how
to shudder as fast as that, you shall have my fifty talers.  Just
come back to me early in the morning.' Then the youth went to the
gallows, sat down beneath it, and waited till evening came. And as he
was cold, he lighted himself a fire, but at midnight the wind blew so
sharply that in spite of his fire, he could not get warm.  And as the
wind knocked the hanged men against each other, and they moved
backwards and forwards, he thought to himself 'if you shiver below by
the fire, how those up above must freeze and suffer.' And as he felt
pity for them, he raised the ladder, and climbed up, unbound one of
them after the other, and brought down all seven.  Then he stoked the
fire, blew it, and set them all round it to warm themselves.  But
they sat there and did not stir, and the fire caught their clothes.
So he said 'take care, or I will hang you up again.' The dead men,
however, did not hear, but were quite silent, and let their rags go
on burning.  At this he grew angry, and said 'if you will not take
care, I cannot help you, I will not be burnt with you,  and he hung
them up again each in his turn. Then he sat down by his fire and fell
asleep, and the next morning the man came to him and wanted to have
the fifty talers, and said 'well, do you know how to shudder.' 'No,
answered he,  'how should I know.  Those fellows up there did not
open their mouths, and were so stupid that they let the few old rags
which they had on their bodies get burnt.' Then the man saw that he
would not get the fifty talers that day, and went away saying 'such a
youth has never come my way before.' The youth likewise went his way,
and once more began to mutter to himself 'ah, if I could but shudder.
Ah, if I could but shudder.' A waggoner who was striding behind him
heard this and asked 'who are you.' 'I don't know, answered the
youth.  Then the waggoner asked 'from whence do you come.' 'I know
not.' 'Who is your father.' 'That I may not tell you.' 'What is it
that you are always muttering between your teeth.' 'Ah, replied the
youth,  'I do so wish I could shudder, but no one can teach me how.'
'Enough of your foolish chatter,  said the waggoner.  'Come, go with
me, I will see about a place for you.' The youth went with the
waggoner, and in the evening they arrived at an inn where they wished
to pass the night.  Then at the entrance of the parlor the youth
again said quite loudly 'if I could but shudder.  If I could but
shudder.' The host who heard this, laughed and said 'if that is your
desire, there ought to be a good opportunity for you here.' 'Ah, be
silent,  said the hostess,  'so many prying persons have already lost
their lives, it would be a pity and a shame if such beautiful eyes as
these should never see the daylight again.' But the youth said
'however difficult it may be, I will learn it.  For this purpose
indeed have I journeyed forth.' He let the host have no rest, until
the latter told him, that not far from thence stood a haunted castle
where any one could very easily learn what shuddering was, if he
would but watch in it for three nights.  The king had promised that
he who would venture should have his daughter to wife, and she was
the most beautiful maiden the sun shone on.  Likewise in the castle
lay great treasures, which were guarded by evil spirits, and these
treasures would then be freed, and would make a poor man rich enough.
Already many men had gone into the castle, but as yet none had come
out again.  Then the youth went next morning to the king and said 'if
it be allowed, I will willingly watch three nights in the haunted
castle.' The king looked at him, and as the youth pleased him, he
said 'you may ask for three things to take into the castle with you,
but they must be things without life.' Then he answered 'then I ask
for a fire, a turning lathe, and a cutting-board with the knife.' The
king had these things carried into the castle for him during the day.
When night was drawing near, the youth went up and made himself a
bright fire in one of the rooms, placed the cutting-board and knife
beside it, and seated himself by the turning-lathe.  'Ah, if I could
but shudder.' Said he,  'but I shall not learn it here either.'
Towards midnight he was about to poke his fire, and as he was blowing
it, something cried suddenly from one corner 'au, miau.  How cold we
are.' 'You fools.' Cried he,  'what are you crying about.  If you are
cold, come and take a seat by the fire and warm yourselves.' And when
he had said that, two great black cats came with one tremendous leap
and sat down on each side of him, and looked savagely at him with
their fiery eyes.  After a short time, when they had warmed
themselves, they said 'comrade, shall we have a game of cards.' 'Why
not.' He replied,  'but just show me your paws.' Then they stretched
out their claws.  'Oh, said he,  'what long nails you have.  Wait, I
must first cut them for you.' Thereupon he seized them by the
throats, put them on the cutting-board and screwed their feet fast.
'I have looked at your fingers,  said he,  'and my fancy for
card-playing has gone, and he struck them dead and threw them out
into the water.  But when he had made away with these two, and was
about to sit down again by his fire, out from every hole and corner
came black cats and black dogs with red-hot chains, and more and more
of them came until he could no longer move, and they yelled horribly,
and got on his fire, pulled it to pieces, and tried to put it out.
He watched them for a while quietly, but at last when they were going
too far, he seized his cutting-knife, and cried 'away with you,
vermin, and began to cut them down. Some of them ran away, the others
he killed, and threw out into the fish-pond.  When he came back he
fanned the embers of his fire again and warmed himself.  And as he
thus sat, his eyes would keep open no longer, and he felt a desire to
sleep.  Then he looked round and saw a great bed in the corner.
'That is the very thing for me,  said he, and got into it.  When he
was just going to shut his eyes, however, the bed began to move of
its own accord, and went over the whole of the castle. 'That's right,
said he,  'but go faster.' Then the bed rolled on as if six horses
were harnessed to it, up and down, over thresholds and stairs, but