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WHY THE SEA IS SALT

CHARACTERS:

NARRATOR

SAM – (poor brother)

GELA – (poor brother’s wife)

MARIUS – (rich brother)

MAYRA – (rich brother’s wife)

WOODCUTTERS

HIYSI

SCRIPT:

NARRATOR: Long ago, there lived two brothers. The older brother was rich and successful but mean and arrogant. The younger brother was poor but kind and generous.

SAM: (to GELA) Oh, my dear wife, we have nothing to eat, and we don’t have money or anything to sell.

GELA: (crying) I know, and tomorrow is a holiday. How will we celebrate? Where will we get something to eat?

SAM: I don’t know what to do.

GELA: Go to your brother and ask for his help. He got a cow yesterday—I saw him. Surely, he will not begrudge us a little meat for the holiday?

SAM: I don’t want to ask my brother for help. I know he is selfish.

GELA: I know, but we have to get something to eat.

SAM: Very well, I’ll see my brother.

NARRATOR: The poor man slipped into his ragged cloak and walked to his rich brother’s house.

(Sam knocks at Marius’ house. Marius opens the door.)

MARIUS: What do you want?

MAYRA: Why are you here? Tomorrow is a holiday, and we are busy preparing the feast. Go away, we have no time for you!

SAM: Brother, we have nothing to eat in the house, no food to celebrate the holiday. Give me some meat so that my wife and I may also celebrate.

MAYRA: (to MARIUS) I knew it! I knew your brother would come begging one day. Throw him out!

SAM: Please, brother!

MARIUS: Oh, very well. Take this—and go to Hiysi!

NARRATOR: And he threw a cow’s hoof at his poor brother.

SAM: Thank you.

NARRATOR: But as he walked away, he thought:

SAM: (thinking) My brother didn’t give me this cow’s hoof. He told me to take it to Hiysi. So, this meat is not mine to eat, but Hiysi’s. I must take it to Hiysi.

NARRATOR: Hiysi was the Wood-Goblin who lived deep in the forest.

SAM: (thinking) The forest is dark and gloomy, but I need to deliver the cow’s hoof to Hiysi. I’ll keep walking through the trees.

NARRATOR: After a while, he met some woodcutters.

WOODCUTTERS: Where are you going, so deep in the forest?

SAM: To Hiysi, the Wood-Goblin’s hut. I have this cow’s hoof for him. Can you tell me how to find his place?

WOODCUTTERS: Keep walking straight ahead. Turn neither left nor right, and soon you will be at Hiysi’s hut. But listen carefully. Hiysi loves meat. He will offer you silver, gold, and precious stones in gratitude. Don’t accept any of those. Ask instead for his millstone. If he offers you something else, refuse. Ask only for his millstone.

SAM: Thank you. I must go now.

NARRATOR: Very soon, he saw a hut. He went inside, and there sat Hiysi, the Wood-Goblin himself.

HIYSI: Why have you come here?

SAM: I have brought you a gift—a cow’s hoof.

HIYSI: Meat! Quick, give it to me. I haven’t eaten meat for thirty years!

NARRATOR: Hiysi grabbed the hoof and ate it.

HIYSI: Now, I shall give you a gift in return. Here, take some silver coins.

SAM: No, I don’t want any silver.

HIYSI: Gold, then? Here, take these two handfuls of gold coins.

SAM: No. I don’t want gold either.

HIYSI: How about some precious stones? Diamonds, rubies, sapphires?

SAM: No, thank you. I don’t want any of those either.

HIYSI: Well, what do you want then?

SAM: I want your millstone.

HIYSI: My millstone! No, you can’t have that. But I can give you anything else you like.

SAM: That’s very kind of you, but I only want your millstone.

HIYSI: Oh well. I suppose I must let you have my millstone. Take it, but do you know how to use it?

SAM: No. Tell me.

HIYSI: Well, this is a magic millstone. It will give you whatever you wish for. Just make your wish and say, “Grind, my millstone!” When you have enough and want the millstone to stop, say, “Enough and have done!” and it will stop. Now go!

SAM: Thank you. Now I will go back home with the millstone.

NARRATOR: He walked and walked, and at last, he reached his home. His wife was waiting for him.

GELA: Where have you been? I thought I’d never see you again!

NARRATOR: The poor man told his wife the tale of his adventures. Then he placed the magic millstone onto the table.

SAM: Grind, my millstone! Give us delicious food to eat.

NARRATOR: The millstone began to grind and placed the most wonderful dishes on the table. The poor man and his wife ate until they could eat no more.

SAM: Enough and have done!

NARRATOR: And the millstone stopped grinding. From then on, there was enough food and new clothes to wear. The millstone gave them a new house, and fields full of crops, horses, and cattle. Soon, they had so much that they did not need to use the millstone anymore. One day, the rich brother heard of the poor man’s change of fortune.

MARIUS: How could my brother have become rich so suddenly? I must find out.

NARRATOR: The rich brother went to the poor brother’s house.

MARIUS: How have you become rich so quickly?

NARRATOR: The poor brother told him everything.

MARIUS: Show me your millstone.

NARRATOR: The poor brother did so. He put the millstone on the table.

SAM: Grind, my millstone! Give us good things to eat.

NARRATOR: The millstone began grinding and poured the most delicious pies, cakes, and bread onto the table.

MARIUS: Sell me your millstone!

SAM: No. The millstone is not for sale.

MARIUS: Well then, lend it to me for a bit. After all, I gave you the cow’s hoof for Hiysi!

SAM: Very well, you may borrow it for a day.

NARRATOR: The rich brother grabbed the millstone and ran off without asking how to make it stop grinding. He put the millstone into a boat and rowed out to sea with it, where he saw some fishermen.

MARIUS: The fishermen are salting the fish right now. They will pay well for fine salt. Grind, my millstone, and give me salt!

NARRATOR: The millstone began to grind and poured the finest, whitest salt imaginable. Soon the boat was full. The rich man decided to stop the millstone, but he did not know how.

MARIUS: Stop, my millstone! Stop grinding! I don’t want any more salt!

NARRATOR: The millstone kept grinding and pouring the finest and whitest salt. The rich man begged and pleaded with the millstone to stop, but he did not know the magic words. So, the millstone kept grinding and pouring out more salt. Then, the rich brother tried to throw the millstone overboard, but it was too heavy, and he couldn’t lift it. The boat was now so full of salt that it began sinking.

MARIUS: Help! Somebody help me, please!

NARRATOR: But there was no one there to hear him. The millstone kept grinding and pouring out salt, and the boat sank to the bottom of the sea with the rich man and the millstone. And so, the magic millstone kept grinding and pouring out the finest, whitest salt, even until today. And that is why the sea is salty.

THE END

Author:  Norwegian Folktales

Adapted by: K I D S I N C O

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