WOW-Day Fairy Tale of the Month - October 2020
The Little Snake
Fairy Tale from Georgia
Images of a puppet show by students
Once upon a time, there was a poor man who lived with his wife. The woman made a ball of yarn and gave it to the man to sell. On his way the man saw that a young snake had fallen into the hands of children who were torturing the animal. The man felt sorry for the little snake. He gave the ball of yarn to the children and took the little snake home with him. "What do you want with the little snake? How could you give the ball of yarn for it! Get the snake out of my house, throw it away!" "Where shall I take her tonight? She can stay here, tomorrow I will take her to her parents", the man replied.
The next day, he took the snake away. On his way he met a shepherd. "I want to bring this baby snake back to his parents, but I don't know where they are. Maybe you know your way around and can give me some advice," the man asked the shepherd. "I know where they live", the shepherd replied and told him the place. "When they see you, they will offer you countless pearls and precious stones, gold and silver. But take nothing of it. They have an old table, which is a magic table. When you set it, it gives you everything you want. Ask for this table and take it with you," said the shepherd.
The man set off. When he came to the place the shepherd had told him, bringing the baby snake with him, the snakes were very happy. They invited the man into their dwelling and spread gold and silver, pearls and precious stones before him and asked him to choose and take as much as he wanted. But the man did not take any of the treasures and only asked for the old table. Without hesitation, the snakes gave him what he wanted. The man went home with the magic table. But his wife reproached him: "Why do we need this old table, we have one ourselves. Why didn't you take gold, silver, pearls and precious stones with you?" Then the man took the table, set it, and said, "Table, tell us what we poor people should have." In no time the table was filled with all kinds of food and drink. The table gave them everything they wished for. So the couple became rich.
Once the woman said to her husband, "We want to invite the king to our place." At first, the man didn't want to hear about it, but finally he agreed. They invited the king and his naziers and viziers. When the couple set the table, all manner of food and drink appeared. The king was surprised, for the food appeared on the table without any servants in sight. Finally, he realized what the table was all about. As soon as he had finished the meal, he took the table, folded it together, gave it to his viziers so that they would take it with them, and left.
Then the wife and her husband were very sad, and the husband went again to the snakes. On the way he met the shepherd again and complained: "I had invited the king to my place. He liked my table and took it away from me." Then the shepherd said, "The serpents will offer you much gold and silver, pearls and precious stones, but do not take anything of it. Behind the door they have a horse that snorts gold from one nostril and silver from the other. Every time it snorts, it fills a whole bag. Ask for this horse and they will give it to you."
The man went to the snakes. As soon as the baby snake had recognized him, he came up to him and wrapped himself around his neck. The snakes greeted him and offered him gold and silver, pearls and precious stones. He took nothing of it, but asked for the horse, and the serpents gave it to him without regret. He led the horse home. Every time it snorted, it filled a sack with gold and silver. The couple became rich again.
One day the woman insisted on riding the horse to the bath. When she arrived, the king's wife was bathing. As soon as she saw the beautiful horse, she was seized by envy: "Should some obscure woman have such a horse, while I only own a simple one?” She untied the horse, sat on it and rode off. She left her own horse behind. When the woman came out of the bathroom, she mounted the horse and rode home. She did not notice that the horse had been swapped. When she arrived home, she said to her husband, "See how our horse has changed color?" When the horse snorted, no gold or silver fell out of its nostrils. Then they realized that the king's wife had kidnapped the horse.
Again the man went to the snakes. On the way he again met the shepherd and lamented, "The king's wife took my horse." Then the shepherd advised him, "The serpents will welcome you again with great joy and offer you gold and silver, pearls and precious stones. But take nothing of it. Ask for a pumpkin and they will give it to you. Take the pumpkin to the king and demand your table and horse back. If he refuses, the pumpkin will burst and burn down the king's house. Then the table, the horse, and the whole kingdom will be yours."
The man continued on his way to the snakes. They received him again full of joy, hissed and offered him treasures. He did not take them, thanked them for their kindness and asked for the pumpkin. Without hesitation, the snakes gave him the pumpkin. The man took the pumpkin, carried it to the king and demanded his table and horse back. When the king heard this, he got angry and ordered his servants to beat the man out. But the pumpkin burst into pieces as they tried to attack him and engulfed the royal castle and the whole surrounding area in flames. The horse, the table, and the whole kingdom fell to the man.
The Michael Schoolin Tbilisi, Georgia shared the fairy tale with us. Since its inauguration in 1994, the Michael School for Curative Education is the only school for children with special needs in Georgia. The house of the curative education initiative is situated in the center of Tbilisi. The school is funded according to the same rules that apply to every regular school in Georgia: Around 30 children are expected to be in one class. But if there are only six or eight children in one class, the school only receives the corresponding fraction of the usual funds. This amount is so small that the teachers can’t make a living, not even in Georgia. This is why the school needs continuous support, to maintain the valuable work of our teachers, who have a lot of experience in education and therapy. >> learn more about the Michael School
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The collection of fairy tales and poems from all over the world was created as part of the single-day campaign Waldorf-One-World-Day, WOW-Day for short. On this day, children and young people are directly and actively committed to a better world. Besides, they organize a multiplicity of special donation actions, that connect humans on all continents with one another. The proceeds are used to support children with school time, a protective community or a warm meal. >> learn more about the WOW-Day
