Lays and Legends of Various Nations/Germany Part 3/Legends of Rubezahl/Rubezahl Gives Orders for a Cloak

by Johannes Praetorius, edited by Johann Gustav Gottlieb Büsching

RUBEZAHL GIVES ORDERS FOR A CLOAK. [E]

A long time since Rubezahl went, in the form of a strange nobleman, to a tailor in Liebenthal, and desired him to cut from a beautiful cloth, which he showed him, sufficient for a cloak, and to have it ready by a certain day, when he would send for it. Now what does the tailor do, in the first place, but thinking the nobleman would never observe it, when he cut the cloth he placed it double, so that he cut off twice as much as was required for the cloak; and in the next, the cunning knave exchanged this cloth, and made use of one of inferior quality, out of which he speedily made the required garment; this was in due course delivered over to the nobleman, although the tailor did not receive the amount of his charge for making it, but only a promise that his customer would call himself some time or other and settle it.

The tailor, at first, thought he had made a capital job, and determined to apply the stolen cloth, at once, to his own use. But when he came to examine it, he found nothing but a heap of coarse matting, such as merchants use for the packing of goods. But, however, the time was approaching when the nobleman had agreed to pay him. Just at this time he was, unexpectedly, compelled to undertake a journey. As he was on his way, who should he encounter but Rubezahl, in all his pride, mounted upon a goat; and with a nose which he had made for himself, a full half-yard long; the goat kept mocking the tailor, and bidding the master welcome, while Rubezahl kept crying out, ‘Good luck to you, master! Good luck to you, master! Do you want to be paid your wages for the garment which you cut out for me, and which I am now wearing?’ All this time the goat kept on his mocking, ‘Master! master!’ But the tailor was sorely frightened, notwithstanding he had oftentimes, before, laughed at the wondrous rider; and now thought to himself, he should be properly rewarded for his roguery.

After this, Rubezahl upbraided him most severely, and at the same time bantered him heartily for his intended theft of the cloth, saying, ‘How stands it, brother, have we not something that we can barter? Hast thou not cribbed any thing, hast thou not nipped off any little bits from one stuff or another, or thrown any behind the stove, and said, ‘The devil shall have that!’ or hast thou thrown nothing after the mice, and so saved some of the best little pieces?’

But the tailor was struck dumb with astonishment, and said not a word. But he who bestrode the goat, proceeded, ‘How strange it is that all you tailors must steal. The very first men and tailors who were upon the face of the earth commenced the practice, for they made themselves aprons of fig-leaves, and robbed the trees for that purpose. So, that it is clear, tailoring, from the beginning, could not exist without robbery; hence it is, that we must, like the fig-tree, put up with the loss and let you go on stealing.’

At last Rubezahl said to the convicted tailor, ‘Go, you bungler, and henceforth accustom your needle to work more closely. Not to take too wide stitches, nor thy fist to take what does not belong to thee. Give to every one his own, and of such of their materials, be they silk, satin, or good broad-cloth, as you don’t use, take none to yourself. Keep to thy lawful wages which you, you ragged rascal, can raise quite high enough, and never more seek to increase thy gains by barefaced purloinings, or I will smite you for your ill deeds, and bid you welcome in somewhat harsher style than I have done this time.’

Upon this he began gradually shuffling back, with his great goat and long nose, and at length left the tailor standing quite alone. He, however, carried his jest upon the tailor thus much further, that whenever he heard a goat bleat, he immediately fancied it was some man calling to him, and saying, ‘Master, master!’

As it afterwards fell out, this tailor, from his not hearing correctly, once called out to a he goat, ‘Sir, shall I make you a suit of clothes?’ The goat gave for answer, ‘Puff’—that is to say, he drove his horns so sharply against the tailor’s ribs, that he puffed.

Note.—This is likewise derived by Busching from Prætorius, but from the second part—(Leipzig 12mo. s. 20-26)

Liebenthal was a nunnery of the Benedictine order, on the summit of the mountains: in the neighbourhood is a village of the same name, which belongs to the nunnery.