BarAThon: Tiny Shoes

Day 5 of the #BarAThon

Ramu a small poor farmer lived on a lonely farm with his wife, and there were many many pixies and other fairies all around.

One morning in while Ramu went to the shed to feed his cows, he saw that the cows had been milked and fed, the chicken coop was cleaned, the farm was tilled.

He wondered who had done it, maybe it was his wife or the men who worked with him. When the laborers came to work he questioned them, but none of them knew anything about it.

The next night the same thing happened; no one went near the shed, but in the morning all the work was done.

The third night the Ramu made up his mind to find out who it was that was helping him, so he hid himself behind some hay, and lay there watching. The moon shone in and the shed was lit beautifully, but for a long time the Ramu heard and saw nothing.

Then suddenly he heard a sound of footsteps approching, and there was a little fairy carrying a heap of hay for the cow in his tiny hands. The little man was not a foot high. He was as pink as a cotton candy and had scarce a rag of clothes upon him. The little fairy didn’t even have shoes and his feet were all worn out.

He worked so hard that the sweat poured down his forehead, and now and then he stopped to wipe it away. Then he say in a sing-song voice "I sweat, I sweat, I sweat, I sweat"

Ramu was filled with admiration and gratitude, and the third time the little man cried “I sweat!” Ramu could hold his tongue no longer, but answered him, “That you do!”

No sooner had he spoke, the little fairy vanished in thin air.

PC: pintrest

The farmer waited for a while, but the little fairy man did not return. At last Ramu, went back home and told his wife what he say “You stupid!” she said, when he had made an end of the story. “You should never have spoken to him. The small folk cannot bear to be spoken to!”

Well, the damage was done, and now the only thing to do was to think of some way to coax the fairy back.

Early the next morning the Ramu’s wife suggested over breakfast

 “did you say the fairy doesn’t have good clothes and shoes?”

 Why not I will make a little suit of clothes for him, and tiny shoes too. We can keep it in the shed for him.”

Ramu agreed, they made pretty clothes for him and that night the fairy & Ramu became friends for life.

Now, every month Ramu gives the fairy new clothes and candies while in return the happy fairy does the work in the farm for Ramu.

PS: Why does this story sound something like a book that I used to read as a kid???