August 23, 2025 • 8 mins
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
A farmer once had a servant who worked for him
three years without being paid any wages. The servant did
this work well and faithfully, and was the first of
the farmer's help to get up in the morning and
the last to go to bed at night. If there
was any hard work to be done which no one
else would do, he was always ready to undertake it.
(00:23):
He never made any complaint, and never failed to be
good natured and contented. But at last it came into
the man's head that he wouldn't continue without pay any longer.
So he went to his master and said, I have
worked hard for you a long time, and now I
think I should have some money for my labor. The
(00:43):
farmer was miserly and not altogether honest, and as he
knew that his man was very simple hearted, he took
out his purse and gave him threepence. There is a penny,
said he for each year you have served me. The
servant thought threepence was a great deal of money to have,
and he said to himself, why should I work here
(01:06):
any longer? I can now travel into the white world
and make myself merry. Then made his money, jingling him
in his pocket. He set out roaming over a hill
and belly has he tramped singing along the road. A
little dwarf hopped out of the wayside bush and asked,
what makes you so happy, sir? Why? What should make
(01:29):
me downhearted? Said the man. I'm someding else and rich
in purse, have saved up the pay for three years
work and have it all saved in my pocket. How
much may the count, too, inquired the wharf full? Threepence,
replied the servant. Listen, said the dwarf. I wish you
would give the threepence to me. I am very poor.
(01:51):
When the man heard this, he was so sorry for
the dwarf that he gave him the threepence, And the
little dwarf said, as you've been so kind to me,
I will grant any wish that you may care to make.
So choose whatever you like. Ah, said the servant. You
are a wonder worker, I see, and greatly rejoiced. As
(02:11):
is good luck. He paused to think what he must wanted.
I like many things better than maney said he. Now,
if you could give me a fiddle that would set
every one dancing, or hears me play on it, that
would please me more than anything else I can think of.
All right, said the dwarf, You can have what you
ask for, And out of a bag he carried he
(02:34):
pulled a fiddle and bow and handed them to his companion.
Heart alive. What more can one desire, said the servant.
Then the dwarf went his way, and the hired man
walked on, singing as before. But he hadn't gone far
when an old man called to him from a roadside field.
The old man had an axe in his hands and
(02:55):
was standing under a gray oak tree that he had
begun to cut down. This work is too hard for me,
said the old man. But a stout fellow like you
would make nothing of it. And if you will finish
chopping through this stree trunk, I will pay you five shillings.
Give me the axe, said the servant. I am quite
willing to earn a little money, for mine is all gone.
(03:17):
And if you off his coat and went to work,
by and by the oak crashed to the ground there,
said the servant. Now I'll take my five shillings and
be stepping along. I did not think you could do
the work so soon, or I wouldn't have offered you
so much, said the old man. Well that is no
fault of mine, the servant replied. But five shillings is
(03:40):
more than the work is worth, argued the old man. Here,
I will give you three shillings, and that is a
great plenty. No, I will take nothing less than what
you agreed to give me in the first place, the
servant declared. Then you will not get anything, said the other.
We will see about. That was the servant's response, and
(04:03):
he took up his fiddle and began playing, and the
old man began to dance. Who is this, the old
man cried, Is that fiddle enchanted? Yes, said the servant. Then,
for heaven's sake, my good fellow, play no more, shouted
the old man. I don't want to dance. My bones
are too stiff for me to be springing about like this. Master, Master,
(04:24):
do let the fiddle alone. You don't like dancing, her,
laughed the servant. Well it's good enough for you after
treating me so meanly, and he played away more briskly
than ever. Her pity, her pity, begged the old man,
and I will give you your money. So the servant stopped fiddling.
Then the old man handed over the five shillings. But
(04:48):
he was so angry that, as soon as he had
rubbed his aching joints, he hurried to the town, muttering
as he went the miserable fiddler just wait, I will
at even with him. As soon as he reached the town,
he complained to the constables that he had been robbed.
You will know the rascal or rob me easily enough,
(05:10):
said the old man, for he is always singing, and
he carries a violin under his arm. The constables set
off at once in search of the rogue, and presently
they caught him and brought him before the court to
be tried. That is, he said the old man. That
is the very fellow who stole my five shillings. No,
said the servant, I did not steal. You gave me
(05:33):
the money for playing a tune to you on my fiddle.
What exclaimed the judge. Five shillings for a tune and
a fiddle. That's not at all likely. I fear you
are a liar as well as a thief. I speak
the truth, said the servant. Heaven defend us, screamed the
old man. His lies are as thick as flies on
the wall. He stole my money, and you can't believe
(05:55):
a word he says, prisoner said the judge, you deserve hanging.
Then the judge turned to the officers and said, take
the five shillings from him and give them to the
old man, and after that you may conduct the culprit
to the gallows. So the officers took away the servants
money and marched him off to the dollars, while the
(06:17):
old man cried after him, You bag bond, you juggle
a fiddler. Now you will get your just deserts. A
crowd followed the culprit to the place of execution, and
the officers were about to put the roper on his
neck when he said to the judge, my lord, grant
me one last request. What is it, asked the judge.
(06:40):
Only this, replied the servant. That I may play on
my fiddle once more. Very well, replied the judge. Play away.
Oh no, no, shouted the old man. For mercy's sake,
don't let him play his fiddle. But the judge said
it's only for this once. He will soon have done.
Then bind me fath, Oh, bind me fast before he begins,
(07:01):
cried the old man. The servant wasted no time. He
sat in a tune, and at the first scrape all
the people began to wag their heads, his accuser and
the judge, the officers, the jailer, the hangman, and everyone
else who was within hearing they couldn't help themselves. At
the second scrape, they all lifted their legs, and the
(07:25):
hangmen let go his hold of their own servant to
make ready to dance. At the first scrape, they one
and all leaped into the air and began to caper about.
Old and young, fat and lean, danced as hard as
they could. Even the dogs cut up on their hind
legs and pranced about with rest. The dancing was merry
(07:46):
and pleasant enough at first, but when it had gone
on for a while and there seemed to be no
end to the playing or leaping, the people began to
cry out for the servant to stop fiddling, but that
he would not do till the judge had promised he
should not be hanged, and the old man had given
back to him his five shillings. So the judge promised,
(08:08):
and the old man handed over the money. Then the
servant tucked the fiddle under his arm and started off
again on his travels, and the people who had been
dancing around the gallows, heard him singing as he walked
down the street, out of the town and of the
Magic Fiddle.
A farmer once had a servant who worked for him
three years without being paid any wages. The servant did
this work well and faithfully, and was the first of
the farmer's help to get up in the morning and
the last to go to bed at night. If there
was any hard work to be done which no one
else would do, he was always ready to undertake it.
(00:23):
He never made any complaint, and never failed to be
good natured and contented. But at last it came into
the man's head that he wouldn't continue without pay any longer.
So he went to his master and said, I have
worked hard for you a long time, and now I
think I should have some money for my labor. The
(00:43):
farmer was miserly and not altogether honest, and as he
knew that his man was very simple hearted, he took
out his purse and gave him threepence. There is a penny,
said he for each year you have served me. The
servant thought threepence was a great deal of money to have,
and he said to himself, why should I work here
(01:06):
any longer? I can now travel into the white world
and make myself merry. Then made his money, jingling him
in his pocket. He set out roaming over a hill
and belly has he tramped singing along the road. A
little dwarf hopped out of the wayside bush and asked,
what makes you so happy, sir? Why? What should make
(01:29):
me downhearted? Said the man. I'm someding else and rich
in purse, have saved up the pay for three years
work and have it all saved in my pocket. How
much may the count, too, inquired the wharf full? Threepence,
replied the servant. Listen, said the dwarf. I wish you
would give the threepence to me. I am very poor.
(01:51):
When the man heard this, he was so sorry for
the dwarf that he gave him the threepence, And the
little dwarf said, as you've been so kind to me,
I will grant any wish that you may care to make.
So choose whatever you like. Ah, said the servant. You
are a wonder worker, I see, and greatly rejoiced. As
(02:11):
is good luck. He paused to think what he must wanted.
I like many things better than maney said he. Now,
if you could give me a fiddle that would set
every one dancing, or hears me play on it, that
would please me more than anything else I can think of.
All right, said the dwarf, You can have what you
ask for, And out of a bag he carried he
(02:34):
pulled a fiddle and bow and handed them to his companion.
Heart alive. What more can one desire, said the servant.
Then the dwarf went his way, and the hired man
walked on, singing as before. But he hadn't gone far
when an old man called to him from a roadside field.
The old man had an axe in his hands and
(02:55):
was standing under a gray oak tree that he had
begun to cut down. This work is too hard for me,
said the old man. But a stout fellow like you
would make nothing of it. And if you will finish
chopping through this stree trunk, I will pay you five shillings.
Give me the axe, said the servant. I am quite
willing to earn a little money, for mine is all gone.
(03:17):
And if you off his coat and went to work,
by and by the oak crashed to the ground there,
said the servant. Now I'll take my five shillings and
be stepping along. I did not think you could do
the work so soon, or I wouldn't have offered you
so much, said the old man. Well that is no
fault of mine, the servant replied. But five shillings is
(03:40):
more than the work is worth, argued the old man. Here,
I will give you three shillings, and that is a
great plenty. No, I will take nothing less than what
you agreed to give me in the first place, the
servant declared. Then you will not get anything, said the other.
We will see about. That was the servant's response, and
(04:03):
he took up his fiddle and began playing, and the
old man began to dance. Who is this, the old
man cried, Is that fiddle enchanted? Yes, said the servant. Then,
for heaven's sake, my good fellow, play no more, shouted
the old man. I don't want to dance. My bones
are too stiff for me to be springing about like this. Master, Master,
(04:24):
do let the fiddle alone. You don't like dancing, her,
laughed the servant. Well it's good enough for you after
treating me so meanly, and he played away more briskly
than ever. Her pity, her pity, begged the old man,
and I will give you your money. So the servant stopped fiddling.
Then the old man handed over the five shillings. But
(04:48):
he was so angry that, as soon as he had
rubbed his aching joints, he hurried to the town, muttering
as he went the miserable fiddler just wait, I will
at even with him. As soon as he reached the town,
he complained to the constables that he had been robbed.
You will know the rascal or rob me easily enough,
(05:10):
said the old man, for he is always singing, and
he carries a violin under his arm. The constables set
off at once in search of the rogue, and presently
they caught him and brought him before the court to
be tried. That is, he said the old man. That
is the very fellow who stole my five shillings. No,
said the servant, I did not steal. You gave me
(05:33):
the money for playing a tune to you on my fiddle.
What exclaimed the judge. Five shillings for a tune and
a fiddle. That's not at all likely. I fear you
are a liar as well as a thief. I speak
the truth, said the servant. Heaven defend us, screamed the
old man. His lies are as thick as flies on
the wall. He stole my money, and you can't believe
(05:55):
a word he says, prisoner said the judge, you deserve hanging.
Then the judge turned to the officers and said, take
the five shillings from him and give them to the
old man, and after that you may conduct the culprit
to the gallows. So the officers took away the servants
money and marched him off to the dollars, while the
(06:17):
old man cried after him, You bag bond, you juggle
a fiddler. Now you will get your just deserts. A
crowd followed the culprit to the place of execution, and
the officers were about to put the roper on his
neck when he said to the judge, my lord, grant
me one last request. What is it, asked the judge.
(06:40):
Only this, replied the servant. That I may play on
my fiddle once more. Very well, replied the judge. Play away.
Oh no, no, shouted the old man. For mercy's sake,
don't let him play his fiddle. But the judge said
it's only for this once. He will soon have done.
Then bind me fath, Oh, bind me fast before he begins,
(07:01):
cried the old man. The servant wasted no time. He
sat in a tune, and at the first scrape all
the people began to wag their heads, his accuser and
the judge, the officers, the jailer, the hangman, and everyone
else who was within hearing they couldn't help themselves. At
the second scrape, they all lifted their legs, and the
(07:25):
hangmen let go his hold of their own servant to
make ready to dance. At the first scrape, they one
and all leaped into the air and began to caper about.
Old and young, fat and lean, danced as hard as
they could. Even the dogs cut up on their hind
legs and pranced about with rest. The dancing was merry
(07:46):
and pleasant enough at first, but when it had gone
on for a while and there seemed to be no
end to the playing or leaping, the people began to
cry out for the servant to stop fiddling, but that
he would not do till the judge had promised he
should not be hanged, and the old man had given
back to him his five shillings. So the judge promised,
(08:08):
and the old man handed over the money. Then the
servant tucked the fiddle under his arm and started off
again on his travels, and the people who had been
dancing around the gallows, heard him singing as he walked
down the street, out of the town and of the
Magic Fiddle.
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