THE MAN OF ALL COLORS
There were some who said to others:
“Let’s all dive at once. Let's help each other. Let's swim together, all together."
Then the Man of All Colors thought:
“In this contract, there is everything to give and nothing to take. These people will not pass."
There were also two or three who jumped like bold people. But instead of shooting straight ahead, they turned towards those who were looking down from the top of the mountain and shouting:
"To the right! To the left! Not like this. You are lost."
These people did not pass, and the water covered them forever.
Then the Man of All Colors thought:
“Now I know what I have to do." He hid behind a rock, rolled up his clothes and tied them on his back, made the sign of the cross, and said:
"Let's go! my friend."
He jumped, without fear. When he returned to the surface, he shot straight ahead, swimming strong and firm, like a fish, without looking behind him, without listening to the cries of the mountain people. An hour later, he was getting dressed on the other side of the river.
Then the Man of All Colors honestly saluted the people on the other side of the water. But they were angry to see that he had passed. They shook their fists at him, and they heaped insults on him. But he only laughed about it. He set off again. When he had walked for an hour, he met a bearded Dwarf, who was not two spans high.
“Man of all colors, you must follow me.
— With pleasure, Dwarf. »
The two walked side by side to a large black hole, which went far underground. They went down this hole for a long, long time. But the Dwarf, who walked behind, arranged things in such a way that afterward no man could go back that way, either to go down or to go up.
Finally, the Man of All Colors and the Dwarf arrived below and saw a small light. Immediately, they walked in that direction. As they walked, the light grew ever brighter. Finally, they found themselves on the threshold of a large gate, which opened onto a beautiful country, where there was a large castle and a hundred farms around it.
“Man of all colors, I give you this great castle and these hundred farms around it. From now on, try to live contentedly underground, because you will no longer see man or woman."
The Dwarf left, and the Man of All Colors went and knocked at the door of the great castle. Immediately, a Hand came to open the door. Another Hand led him into a large room where the table was set, and the meal was served by a dozen Hands. But there was neither man nor woman. After dinner, the Man of All Colors visited the great castle from the cellar to the attic. Everywhere he saw other Hands, working in the kitchen, taking care of the rooms, and other such things.
Source: L'Homme de Toutes Couleurs, from the French book Contes populaires de la Gascogne, tome 2, published in 1886
Hello, my name is Vincent Celier.
I am writing translations of folk tales that I found in public domain French books, so that people who do not understand French may enjoy them too.
Of course, the Man of All Colors could cross the water.
And the people that could not cross were angry! I am always surprised to see people angry when somebody succeeds, even though this has no impact on their lives.
We finally meet the dwarf, who does not seem to be a nice guy: he gives the Man of All Colors a castle and tells him he will spend the rest of his life in solitude.
As I said yesterday, it was my birthday today, and I was unlucky!
At noon, when we arrived at the vegan restaurant, Mandala Étterem, this is what we discovered on the door:
It says: Dear guests, we will be closed this week due to illness. Thank you for your understanding.
When we made the reservation, Kati gave them her phone number, but they never called her back to say that they would be closed.
So, we had to go to another restaurant, and the closest one that we knew of was the same one that we usually go to to celebrate events with Kati's family, the "Fiaker".
Anyway, we had a good time. We were 10. Ili, Kati's sister who lives in Budapest came especially to Pécs for my birthday. I was very touched.
I got presents: three bottles of wine and one bottle of scotch.
Some of us, including me, had palacsinta for dessert.
Anyway, even if we could not go to the vegan restaurant, we still had a very good time for more than two hours.
-- Vincent Celier