Gooffa The Fool
Once upon a time in a small hamlet, there lived a widow and her son, Gooffa. So poor were they that one day they had nothing to eat except a few crumbs of bread. But Gooffa was not only lazy but also foolish. "Gooffa dear, go and try to sell this hat for a good price," said his mother. "But mind you, don't deal with either a chatterbox or a dumb fellow." The lad at once set out with a tune on his lips. "It's a fine hat you have with you," the stranger observed inspecting it. "Will you give it to me? I'll pay you a good amount of money." "No, I shan't sell it to you. You talk too much," replied the boy, and walked away. Then he came across a washerman and showed him his ware. "It's indeed a handsome hat. How much do you want for it?" he asked. "Ten silver pieces." "That's too much! Could you please lower the price?" enquired the washerman. "No! No! You don't deserve to have this hat. You look to be a rather talkative fellow," replied Gooffa and went on his way. All the passers-by he came across struck him as too talkative and he refused to sell his hat to anyone of them. Thus, meandering here and there he reached the crossroads where stood a stone statue. Going up to him he asked, "Sir, would you like to buy this hat?" He received no reply.
"By following my mother's advice, I have not been able to sell the hat so far. If I continue to follow her instructions, I cannot sell this hat at all. Let me try to sell it to this fellow even if he is dumb," decided Gooffa. "This is a fine hat and costs only ten silver pieces," he said but his prospective customer remained silent! "At last! I've found someone who doesn't speak a single word! You're to my mind the most deserving person for this hat and I'm going to sell it to you," said Gooffa placing the hat on the statue's head spread his palm for payment. Seeing no reaction on the buyer's face he added sympathetically, "You must be unwell. Don't worry if you can't pay me now. I'll come back for the money tomorrow." And he briskly walked homewards, happy for the success of his mission. "How much did you get for the hat?" asked his anxious mother. "Mother, the buyer seemed to be unwell today. I'm going to collect the money tomorrow," replied Gooffa. The next day Gooffa once again went to the crossroads. His silent customer stood where he was but the hat had clean disappeared. "Now, will you please pay me the ten silver pieces?" he demanded. But as before he received no reply. After several earnest efforts to extract his money, he lost patience and angrily picking up a staff launched a solid blow on the statue's face. Off fell the head on the ground and along with it fell down a small bag that was lodged inside. Gooffa picked up the bag and untied its strings, and there sparkled in the sunlight a handful of silver pieces.
He pranced home and said to his mother in one single breath, "Mother, I must tell you that I got this price only because I disregarded your advice." His mother did not ask him any further questions. At least she had enough now to provide for the next few weeks. "Son," said his mother one day, "you can't just loaf around and do nothing. That's not the way to lead one's life. I've fixed up a job for you with the cobbler. You're going to start from tomorrow. But remember, don't do whatever anybody asks you to do. Apply your common sense to everything. So, very early the next morning, Gooffa the fool went to join his work. The cobbler, handing him a piece of leather, said, "Now go to the river and wash it well enough. If you don't, you will get a good thrashing from me." "My mother says I should not do whatever anybody asks me to do. But I know my mother's advice doesn't yield any result. So I must do whatever anybody asks me to do!" he decided. Gooffa rubbed and scrubbed and washed the leather all morning long. "How am I to know that I've washed it well enough not to receive the beatings? Whom can I ask? There is not a soul here," he said to himself. Just then he saw a boat sailing in the river. He waved at it and shouted at the top of his voice. "Hey! Ho! Hey! Ho! Come here. Will you?" "Someone is frantically calling us. Let's row towards him and see what's the matter," said the oarsman, turning the boat towards the shore.
As soon as the boat approached Gooffa, he spread out the leather and asked, "Sirs, this is washed well enough, isn't it so?" "What? You bothered us to say this much?" roared the oarsman and he gave the boy a sound beating with his stick. "Then what should I say?" cried Gooffa. "Now just say, 'God, speed them up!' so that we can make up for the delay you have caused us," replied the oarsman and he asked his men to row on. So poor Gooffa, the leather slung over his shoulders, went on repeating loud and clear, "God, speed them up! God, speed them up!" Soon he came across a hunter taking a careful aim with his gun at a couple of hares. "God, speed them up!" said Gooffa. The wee little creatures got frightened and sped away. "You naughty boy! You've spoilt my hunt today," shouted the hunter and he boxed Gooffa's ears. "But what should I have said?" wailed Gooffa. "God, let them be killed is what you must say," advised the hunter looking for another prey. Gooffa continued on his way repeating his new refrain when he met two fellows fighting with each other. "God," he said, "let them be killed!" At once the two men stopped quarreling and pounced on him. "What! You want us to be killed, eh?" They gave him a thorough beating. "But what must I say?" asked Gooffa faintly. "You should have said, 'God, separate them!'" "Okay, God please separate them..." he began repeating and limped along when he happened to pass a newlywed couple returning from the church.
"We're just married and you're praying for our separation?" said the bridegroom and he thrashed the poor boy black and blue. "Then do advise me what must I say!" "You should say, 'God, make them laugh and let them be merry!" A funeral party was winding its way towards the cemetery when it was heard loud and clear. "God, make them laugh and let them be merry!" Someone noticing Gooffa gave him such a blow on the head that he fainted. When he opened his eyes it was already dusk and he decided to keep his mouth shut till he reached the cobbler's dwelling. Alas, his master too had his share of thrashing in store for the poor boy. "What? You took all day long to wash a small piece of leather!" he said and sacked him outright. So poor Gooffa, his body aching from head to toe plodded homewards. His mother chided him when he recounted his adventures. "These beatings and thrashings should now bring some sense into your head," she said. They indeed did. For, from that day onwards a great change came over the poor little boy. He was no longer lazy and foolish and worked hard and joyfully and always applying his commonsense to everything.
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