The Mouse and the Chafers- Or Small Things should not be held in Contempt (More Tales from Denmark)
A husband and a wife had an only son whose name was Mogens.
He was a headstrong lad, who always did things on his own terms,but everyone agreed that he was not a malicious boy.
When Mogens was eighteen, he had a fancy to go out intothe world and seek his fortune. His father was a good-naturedman and took it all in his stride. He gave his son two pounds fortravelling money and his mother gave him a parcel of food andMogens set off on his travels.
He walked all morning before stopping for lunch and eatinghis parcel of food. Later that afternoon, he met an old womanwho carried a little violin; the sort you buy at market and give tolittle children to play with.
“Now, my boy,” she said. “Would you like to buy my violin?”
“I’d like to, but first, I’d like to know how much it costs,” saidMogens.
“I can sell it for exactly two pounds,” said the old woman.
“That suits me fine. I’ve exactly two pounds on me,” saidMogens.
Mogens handed over his two pounds, took possession of theviolin and they took their leave of each other.Mogens was so pleased with his violin that he played andplayed until he became hungry. As he had eaten his parcel offood and had no money to buy any more, he ran all the way backhome.
When he arrived home, his father asked him to explain whyhe’d come back so quickly.
“I met an old woman who had this violin for sale,” saidMogens. “I bought it with the two pounds you gave me for travellingmoney. Then I realised I had no money left to buy foodwith, so I thought it best to return home.”
The father thought he had made a bad trade, but as he was anextremely good-natured man, he contented himself with scoldingthe boy and told him to be on his guard against such transactions.
Mogens promised to be more careful in the future.
The following year, shortly after his nineteenth birthday,Mogens left home again to seek his fortune in the world. His fathergave him another two pounds for travelling money and hismother gave him a parcel of food.
He hadn’t gone far when he met the same old woman on theroad; she had a small leather bag under her arm.
“Now, my boy,” she said. “Wouldn’t you like to buy this leatherbag off me? It has three hidden compartments in it. In one ofthem you can put your violin and bow and I dare say you willfind a use for the other two.”
“The bag would certainly stand me in good stead and I wouldlike to buy it,” answered Mogens, “but I must first know howmuch it costs.”
“I couldn’t sell it for less than two pounds,” said the old woman.
“It’s a bargain at that price.”
“Two pounds is all the money I’ve got,” said Mogens, “butnever mind, you give me the bag and I’ll give you the money.”
They made the trade and went their separate ways.
Mogens continued on his way, but he’d already eaten the foodthat his mother had made for him, and as he no longer had themoney to buy anything else to eat, he turned around and wentback home.
When he arrived back home, he took the violin out of the bagand began to play. His father was very patient, but he was notprepared to have his son running back home whenever it suitedhim. He asked Mogens, in no uncertain terms, why he had comehome again. Mogens put a brave face on and said that he hadcome home because he had no money.
“What have you spent it on?” asked his father.
“This,” said Mogens.
He showed his father the excellent leather bag that he couldhide his violin in.
“And that is all you got for your money?” said his father.
The father had been put out by his son’s first purchase from theold woman, but now he was seriously annoyed by the second. Hegave Mogens a severe telling off. Mogens promised to mend hisways and said that he would never enter into such a trade again.
His father forgave him; Mogens was still only nineteen after all.
He passed from adolescence into manhood; tall and well proportioned,handsome and lithe. He decided to leave home again andseek his fortune in the world. His father gave him two poundsfor travelling money and his mother gave him a parcel of food.
He had not walked very far when he met the old woman again.
This time she had a mouse and two chafers.
“Now, my boy,” she said. “Shall we do business today?”
“Yes, but I’d like to know what you are selling,” said Mogens.
“A little mouse and two chafers,” answered the old woman.
“How much do you want for them?” asked Mogens.
“Two pounds,” said the old woman. “It’s a bargain.”
Mogens stared long and hard at the mouse and the two littlebeetles, and then bought them with his two pounds.
“Take good care of them,” said the old woman. “They will beof use to you later on. Put the animals in the other compartmentof your bag. They should be safe there.”
Mogens did as she suggested and walked off down the road.
It wasn’t long before he felt peckish, so he stopped and ate hisparcel of food.
Later in the day, he felt hungry again, but as he’d eaten all hisfood and having no money to buy further provisions, he turnedaround and went back home again.
His father was normally a mild mannered man, but he wassomewhat annoyed to see his son returning home yet again. Hethought Mogens was too old to be so changeable in his intentionsand demanded an explanation.
“I had nothing to eat and I’d run out of money,” said Mogens.
“I thought it best if I came back home.”
“What have you spent your money on now?” asked his father.
“I bought a little mouse and two chafers,” said Mogens.
“A mouse and two chafers for two pounds!” said his father.
“Who managed to foist them on to you?”
“An old woman that I met on the road sold them to me,” answeredMogens. “I got them dirt cheap.”
“Dirt cheap!” said his father. “What do you take me for? I’venever heard anything so stupid in my life. You could have foundchafers outside and we’ve got enough mice as it is. It would havebeen better if you had bought a cat. In fact, I’ll give you the catfor nothing.”
He seized Mogens and gave him a sound thrashing. Whenhe had finished, he gave him ten shillings to cover travelling expenses.
“Now be off with you,” he said. “I never want to see youagain.”
Mogens soon found himself on the road again; he felt verysorry for himself and cried. The old woman approached himand asked him what was wrong. He told her how his father hadreacted when he told him about buying the mouse and chafersfrom her.
“Don’t worry about it,” said the old woman. “Your fatherdoesn’t know what the animals can do. The mouse will teachyou all the social graces you could want and the chafers willhelp. The chafers will also do your cleaning wherever you are.
In short, you will have your own company of servants. It’s also abonus that you have three compartments in your bag as you canuse the third one to keep your food in. Now let me give you somenews. The Lord of the Manor round here has a daughter that hasnever been known to smile. He has promised his daughter’s handin marriage to the person who can get her to laugh.”
“Why should that concern me?” asked Mogens.
“If you give the matter some thought, I’m sure you’re the oneto make her laugh,” she said. “You’ve got good fortune on yourside, my boy, and you can thank me for that.”
The woman left and Mogens made his way to the manor house.
He went straight into the servants’ dining room where he learntthat everything the old woman had told him was true.
“As a child she looked sullen,” said one of the servants.
“I don’t think it would be possible to get a smile out of her atthe end of a carriage whip,” added another.
“Then let’s begin with a bow,” thought Mogens.
He took his violin out of the bag and began to play. The youngheard the violin and came into the servants’ room to listento the music. As soon as she’d entered the room, he put the violinaway.
“Listen now, chafers,” he said. “Take my boots off.”
The chafers scuttled out of the bag, fixed their jaws on the toeof his boot and tugged with all their might, though the work wasfar too hard for them.
“Hey, little mouse!” shouted Mogens. “Come and help out.”
The mouse, which was by far the strongest, came out of thebag and tugged at the boots, which finally came off.
“Now clean my boots,” said Mogens.
The chafers set to work with their claws and the mouse gave ahand. They clambered up and down the boots and worked witha will. The young girl stood and looked on, as a smile began toform.
When the boots were shiny enough, Mogens told the mouseto hang them on a nail that had been driven into the wall. Themouse took hold of the bootstrap and took a run up. It jumpedinto the air, but it hadn’t taken a long enough run up and droppedto the ground with a thump. The girl began to laugh.
The mouse did better at the second attempt; it took a longerrun up, ran as fast as it could, then leapt up to the nail and hungthe boot from it. The girl kept on laughing. The mouse took holdof the other boot and managed to hang it on the nail, but only atthe second attempt. The girl chuckled and chortled; the soundof her laughter had never been heard before and the news of itspread like wildfire through the house.
The Lord of the Manor hurried down to the servants’ roomand congratulated Mogens. He was so grateful that he offered hisdaughter’s hand in marriage to him there and then.
Now at that time, there was a man working on the estate. He’dbeen there for many years and had tried his hardest to make thegirl laugh, but always in vain. He thought it was wrong that ayoung pup should waltz in and take her from under his nose.
As soon as the wedding ceremony was over, he offered to giveMogens two pounds if he would not go to bed that night.
“That’s money easily earned,” thought Mogens and took himup on the offer.
Mogens gave the same promise on a second night and on athird and earned the money back that he’d given the old woman.
His young bride didn’t want such an unfeeling lump for a husbandand demanded to marry the other man, which was quiteunderstandable.
A second wedding was held and to make her feelings clear toher former husband, she had Mogens marched around the backof the house and put in a damp outbuilding full of white cabbagesand carrots. Mogens was none too impressed with his livingquarters.
“Give it a good spring clean,” he said to the chafers.
They both set to work and soon had the place spick and span.
“Now fetch me a selection of sandwiches and a slab of fruitcake,” he instructed the mouse.
The mouse soon came back with everything it had been askedto fetch.
“What more could I want?” thought Mogens. “I have goodclean accommodation and plenty to eat.”
As soon as it was dark, he told the chafers to go to the newlyweds’bedroom and ordered them to nip the groom. They wentto the room and nipped the groom so forcibly that he shot out ofbed and abandoned his wife. Exactly the same happened on thesecond and third night.
The young bride thought of her first husband; perhaps shewould give Mogens a second chance after all. She sent a coupleof servants to fetch him, but instead of finding a damp, miserablewretch surrounded by cabbages and carrots, they found a wellfed man sitting cosily in a beautifully maintained room.
When they returned with Mogens and described the comfortable state they had found him in, no one could understand it.
“I always carry my servants around with me,” explained Mogens.
The wedding was held yet again and from that moment on,the bride was content with Mogens. A letter was written to parents and when they arrived at the manor house, they werepleased to share in their son’s good fortune.
“You can thank the mouse and chafers for that,” said Mogens.
“Whenever you mention the creatures, I urge you to speak of them in the most respectful of tones. After all, small thingsshould not be held in contempt.”
Storyteller’s Comments
Of all the wonder stories for Primary School children (yrs 3 – 6), this has to be my favourite. It’s full of delightful imagery that never fails to raise a smile amongst the audience while still carrying an important message:
Small thingsshould not be held in contempt.Everything, whether great or small, has a value and a purpose – like Mogens’ father in the story, very often we dismiss things because we find them aesthetically unpleasant (spiders), or too commonplace (worms and weeds) to even consider their function.
Curiosity/Wonder should always take precedence over prejudice.
(Girls, for the most part, tend not to like beetles and creepy crawlies whereas boys like to stamp on them – sugar and spice and all things nice/ slugs and snails and puppy dogs’ tails. Whose prejudices are we feeding here?)
The story is beautifully constructed and there will always be a question over how much of an input Nikolaj Christensen had in the final version of the story (he would listen to the story teller but not commit the story to the page for several days) but if it had come to me as an original of N. Christensen, it would still not change my opinion of the story – it really is a pleasure to tell.
Wonder tale stalwarts:
Rule of three (N. Christensen was instrumental in bringing the rule of three to the attention of folklorists).
Hero on a journey
Good Samaritan (old lady)
Magic gifts/animals
Princess (daughter of Lord of the Manor) in distress – can’t laugh.
Needs to be rescued from miserable life (no humour)
Prince (young lad) to the rescue
Wedding bells.
The opening to the story raises some interesting issues:
`A husband and a wife had an only son whose name was Mogens.
He was a headstrong lad, who always did things on his own terms,but everyone agreed that he was not a malicious boy. `
The likelihood is that Mogens is a `spoilt`/cosseted child – being an only child he is the heir to a considerable fortune (his father gives him two pounds without thinking twice about it).
`When Mogens was eighteen, he had a fancy to go out intothe world and seek his fortune. His father was a good-naturedman and took it all in his stride. He gave his son two pounds fortravelling money and his mother gave him a parcel of food andMogens set off on his travels.`
Mogens is a little older than most agricultural lads who leave home to seek employment and in his case there really is no need to go; he’d be better off staying at home and preparing himself for the hand over of the farm. One suspects the father is prepared to humour his son and assumes that he would return sooner than later from his venture into the big wild world – his only life experience being that of helping his mum and dad around the house. Mogens is naïve – as shown by the three transactions he makes with the old woman.
The father’s reaction to the third purchase is not so much as to what was bought but the fact that it was bought at all. He’d counselled his son on the dangers of making such transactions and had had his advice ignored.
Mogens has no concept of the value of money or presumably, the concept of earning it.
It is logical to assume that Mogens would soon have frittered away his inheritance - best to get shot of him and look to find a more distant heir.
The story departs from the expected formula when the old woman does not beg from Mogens but offers to sell him her wares – in effect she cons him out of his father’s hard earned money (for the sake of a good story). She shows Mogens the means to improve his situation and for once, Mogens listens to advice and wins his bride though through naivety almost loses her again.
Mogens was a very lucky boy. It could easily have gone wrong.