The Gothamites by Eno Raud

Author:Eno Raud [Raud, Eno]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steerforth Press
Published: 2019-06-11T00:00:00+00:00

The Dreadful Beast

SINCE THE GOTHAMITES HAD RECEIVED an unexpected amount of money from the king, they rode straight to the pub on their hobby horses. There, each and every one ate and drank as much as he could possibly endure. When no more could fit into anyone’s stomach, the Gothamites all went outside to sit on the grass, let the food settle a bit, and chat in the open air. Naturally, they didn’t forget to take some stronger spirits along to oil up their tongues. The hours passed merrily in this manner until evening arrived.

However, the men’s legs had gotten mixed up as they sat drinking and chatting away. When they finally felt like going back into the pub, no one was able to find his own legs again. All they could remember was that each one had had his own two legs along when they came there. Now, everyone was terrified that someone else might take his legs by mistake and leave a stranger’s ones in their place. And so, they stared suspiciously at one another, having no idea what to do to get out of their tight spot.

A man happened to pass by the pub on horseback just then. The Gothamites called him over and promised to pay a pretty penny if the stranger could somehow figure out how to solve their troubles.

The rider dismounted and said:

“I’m certainly able to do that.”

He cut a switch from a willow, stepped into the middle of the Gothamites, and started whipping their legs. And what do you know – whomever was getting a good walloping found his legs in a flash and leapt right to his feet.

Finally, only one last Gothamite was left lying on the grass. The poor man thought the stranger didn’t want to help him and bleated pitifully:

“Dear sir, please give me my right legs back, too! I’ll pay you for your troubles just like the others did.”

The stranger gave the distressed man a nice stinging lash as well, and with that, everyone had their legs back under them. The Gothamites gave the helpful man all the money left in their pockets and started marching happily home.

Yet on the way, a dreadful thing happened that made many of the men’s blood curdle: the Gothamites suddenly found themselves facing a dreadful beast, the likes of which none of them had ever seen before. The beast had two long, straight horns poking up from its head and was glaring threateningly at the Gothamites with black, turnip-sized eyes. It thumped its feet angrily against the ground, making everything around them quake, and then bounded away at a breakneck speed.

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