Hungarian Folk Tales: The Little Puli Dog
Once upon a time, a very very long time ago, Jesus rode the earth with Saint Peter.
They sought shelter for the night and knocked on many doors of many houses
but no one would let them in because they were dressed as lowly beggars.
One day they came to the mansion house of a rich landowner:
Let us see, if these good people, will accommodate us for the night.
So the two lowly beggars entered the house, where they were made warmly welcomed.
Their kind hosts made them a hot supper and gave them soft beds to sleep in that night.
The next morning they thanked their kind hosts and left to go on their way.
And as they left Jesus said:
Peter, this man is rich and has everything in the world he needs
and yet there is still one vital thing that he lacks.
We shall give him the gift of a beautiful baby boy.
And we will provide that boy with whatever he needs, whenever he asks for it.
So the rich man called his servant, John, and John overheard what the two beggars had said.
Soon the woman of the house became heavy with child.
And she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.
Soon after the baby was born the rich man had to travel to the local village
and his wife stayed at home with their young child.
Then John had an idea.
He cut the throat of a hen and smeared the red blood around the wife's mouth
to make the rich landlord think that she had eaten the child.
And then he stole away taking the child with him.
They rode and rode until they came to the town where the king lived.
Here John said to the boy:
Do you see, son, what a splendid palace the king lives in?
I do, father.
Now ask for a much better one at the other end of the town!
And so the boy asked for a palace,
and it really was much more spectacular than the one the king owned.
The locals soon began to gossip about the magnificent palace
that had sprouted out of the ground overnight.
Even the king became curious to see for himself.
And so he went to the brand new palace and declared that it really was much grander than his own
and had everything a man could wish for in a home.
The king soon came to like John and so he let him marry his beautiful daughter.
But after the wedding was over the princess began to question John:
Tell me John,
where did you get this beautiful boy from if you say that you have never been married before?
And how come you own such a glorious home?
Don't nag me wife, I shall tell you everything one day!
One day, when the boy was grown, he arrived home from school in a horse-drawn carriage.
His wife told John that she would not live with him for a day longer
if he did not tell her from where he got the boy and the palace.
And so, John began to explain...
As the two of them were talking John said to his wife:
We forgot to tell the coachman to take the boy home!
And as they opened the door they saw that the boy had been standing outside
and heard every word they had said.
They called him to eat but instead the boy went down to the stables
and told the coachman to saddle him a horse as he planned to leave.
When the horse was saddled he told his father:
Now John, you should turn into a black puli dog and follow me.
Then the boy who had no name left for home.
By evening he arrived at a mayor's house where he asked for shelter for the night.
The mayor and his wife made the boy supper,
but when they offered food to his Puli dog he told them not to.
Instead he gave the little dog coal to eat, in fact the coal was still a flame from the fire.
The mayor said:
I have never seen anything like it in my life that a prince should feed a fine dog with burning coal.
Mayor, have you ever heard of a person being buried alive?
Yes, I have.
And did it happen far from this place?
It's a long ride by horse from here.
In the morning the prince awoke and again fed the puli dog with burning coal.
And he rode until he eventually arrived at the second village.
Here again he sought shelter with the local mayor.
They fed him a fine meal and again he asked for burning coal to feed his puli dog.
The mayor said:
I have never heard of such a thing before.
How is it that such a fine dog eats hot coals?
Yes, but have you ever heard, mayor, of a person being buried alive?
I have, and it happened not far from here.
If you ride fast, you will soon be there.
So after a good night sleep, the prince continued his journey.
He arrived in his own village the next day at noon,
where again he sought shelter with the local mayor.
They fed him a fine meal and again he asked for burning coal to feed his puli dog.
I have never heard of such a thing before.
How is it that such a fine dog eats hot coals?
Yes, but have you ever heard, mayor, of a person being buried alive?
Yes, I have and it happened here.
Is the man still alive who buried the woman alive?
Yes, he is.
Then please, mayor, come with me.
Then they went to see the landlord.
But he had become so poor during the last sixteen years
that all he had was a pile of burning coal in the middle of his house and nothing more.
The prince strode up to the pile of coal and gave a piece to his puli dog to eat.
I have never heard of such a thing before.
How is it that such a fine dog eats hot coals?
Yes, but have you ever heard of a person being buried alive?
Yes, it happened to be my wife.
Could you show me where she was buried?
I was not in the cemetery so I don't know where they buried her.
That is such a shame.
Is there a man or woman alive who attended that funeral?
Yes, there is.
Go then and call those people here!
So off the landowner went and called his neighbors.
Then they went to the cemetery and the neighbors told the prince
which grave was his mother's.
As the boy stopped in front of the grave he said:
Dark, wooden coffin, come up to the light!
And the coffin came up at once.
Open your lid, coffin!
The lid of the coffin sprang open, his mother was still alive in the coffin
and she was sewing a shirt for her son.
Then he took his mother by her arm and let her to his father.
Well father, do you recognize her as your wife?
Yes, I do.
Puli dog, you must turn back into John at once!
And the puli dog turned back into John.
Do you recognize this man as your servant?
Yes.
Do you recognize me as your son?
Yes.
That was why my dear mother had to suffer for sixteen long years under the ground.
John, take the horse, ride home, and live a happy life with your wife.
The boy stayed with his father and they became seven times richer than ever before.
And they all lived happily ever after.
You may think this a tale but this story is true.