#052 The Magic Stick

There was a very clear lake in Yunnan and some farmers living nearby, who kept cows. Every morning, they brought ninety-nine cows to the lake to drink. But, in some strange way, by midday there would be one hundred. A beautiful girl always appeared at the same time. Nobody knew where she came from. The farmers liked her very much. She knew many things and could tell them wonderful stories.

 “There is a magic cow among your cattle,” she told them. “Water will part and make a road when it walks towards it. It can also walk on top of water. A single hair from its body can carry a very heavy weight.”

The farmers asked her which one has the magic cow. She refused to tell them.

“Anyway,” she added, “only an honest man can find out.”

One day, the cows were looking for some corn to eat. The old man looking after them chased them away with a stick. The stick was old and cracked as he had been using it for many years. He did not notice that some cow’s hair had become caught in the cracks.

At the end of the day, when he got ready to return home, he hung two baskets of fire wood on the stick. He was surprised to find it was so light to lift.

“Eh!” he cried. “What has happened?”

He added another basket at each end. It was just as light. He added more and more baskets. Still it was not difficult to lift. He ran all the way home.

From then on, the old man cut woods and took them to the city to sell every day. He got more money than he needed for the first time in his life.

One morning, when he was going to the city to sell his wood, he met a rich man. The rich man was surprised to see him carrying such a heavy load.

“How can you carry such a heavy weight?” he asked.

“This is a magic stick.”

The rich man did not believe him. He asked the old man to let him try. It was true! It was very light.

“I’ll give you five hundred pieces of gold for the stick,” he said.

The old man took the money. It was enough for him for the rest of his life. He gave the rich man the magic stick. The rich man was very happy. He noticed that the stick was cracked. He took it to a carpenter and asked him to repair it. The carpenter used an axe to cut off the part which was cracked. He cut again away the magic cow hairs at the same time.

The rich man told his wife that evening about the magic stick. He asked her to try it. He put a weight at each end of the stick. His wife tried to lift it but she could not.

“What kind of magic stick is this?” she cried. “You’re dreaming. It’s just like any other stick.”

“Women! You know nothing,” said the rich man.

He tried to lift it but he was unable to do so. The magic had left the stick forever.

-FIN-

Read the Indonesian translation HERE

Author: Unknown

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