Reading Notes: Czech Fairy Tales, Part B

(The ogre)

• A father, who was very rich, told his son Francis about Misery in the world. His son, who had been stuck at home all his life, got curious and wanted to meet Misery. So he left home and went out into the world
• As long as Francis had enough money, he couldn't meet Misery
• Eventually all of his money was gone and he had to rely on other people for help
• He traveled some more and came upon a country that was unfamiliar to him. It had a big desert and Francis walked for a long time. He became hungry and thirsty but there was no water in sight
• Then he came upon a staircase that went down into a hole, and so he went down the stairs
• He came upon a cellar with a man sleeping on a table. It was an awfully big man who looked like an ogre
• Francis looked around and saw a bunch of human bones on the ground, determining the ogre was a man-eater
• Francis tried to get out but he was crippled by anxiety and was frozen in place. Instead, he took out his dagger and used it to poke out the ogre's eyes. The ogre sprang up and found that he was completely blind
• Then Francis ran and the ogre chased after him. Even though the ogre was blind, he knew the place well so he kept up with Francis
• The orge commended Francis and told him he would give him a reward for getting the better of him. So the ogre threw a ring at Francis. Francis picked up the ring and put it on his finger
• Once he put it on, the ogre called out to the ring, "Where are you?" The ring answered back, "Here I am."
• This went on for a while until Francis got tired. He tried to pull the ring off his finger but it clung tight, digging into his flesh
• Finally, the ogre got so close that Francis stretched out the finger and the ogre gripped it and broke it off. Francis lost his finger but escaped with his life
• He went back home and his parents asked him if he met Misery. He said he did. It was awful and nothing to joke about

Bibliography
The Man Who Met Misery: The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis