The international art competition Spring Day 2005

The Cunning Girl

The tale The Cunning Girl was written by Gašpar Križnik, a shoemaker from Motnik, it was published 130 years ago in the book Slovenian Tales from Motnik (Celovec, 1874, pp. 6-8). You can read it in the book Veronica from the Little Castle (Veronika z Malega gradu, Kamnik, 1999, pp. 39-41) or in the online book accessible at http://www.kamniskaveronika.net.

 A judge in the tale sets three riddles to a shoemaker and his brother: who is the happiest in the world, who is the cleverest in the world, and what is the sweetest thing in the world. They both think in their own ways, yet the judge was convinced most by the answers of the shoemaker’s daughter. She always relied on her own wit to make right decisions.

What would be your answers to the questions above? What is the most important thing in the world for you? Draw a picture that depicts your idea of happiness, sweetness or some other value which you hold in high esteem and consider it very important both for your life and in a broader sense.

 Rules of the Competition

• children aged eleven or under can participate,
• pictures have to be made by computer tools,
• enclosed should be the following information about the author: first name and surname, age, address, school (or other educational institute) and the first name and surname of the mentor,
• each institute (school, kindergarten) can send up to 10 contributions,
• the contributions can be submitted until April 1, 2005. Send it via e-email to the address andreja@kam.sik.si.

The file name must include the surname and first name of the author. The printed version should be sent to the address:
Matična knjižnica Kamnik, Ljubljanska 1, 1240 Kamnik, Slovenia, with the note: Likovni natečaj.

The commission will examine the contributions and select the three best works which will be awarded prizes. The prizes will be conferred on the 21^st May 2005 at the Primary School Ciril Kosmač in Piran at the conclusion of the international educational conference for computing MIRK 2005. All contributions, including the information about the authors and mentors, will be published at the web page of Veronica from the Little Castle www.kamniskaveronika.net. All participants of the competition (including mentors) will be given commemorative awards.

The Cunning Girl (The story):

(Published in: Podšavniški [Gašpar Križnik], Slovenske pripovedke iz Motnika, Celovec 1874, pp. 6-8.)

Once there was a poor shoemaker who had a rich brother. The brother had a lot of cattle, among it was a bony calf. The shoemaker asked his brother to give him the calf, and the brother agreed. After a year the calf gained weight. One day it ran back to the brother's cattle. He refused to give it back because he didn’t get anything in return.

The shoemaker sued him. On the day of the trial both brothers appeared before the judge and told him how the calf had become the property of the shoemaker. The judge took some time to think it over. Then he set them three riddles and told them they have eight days to solve them. The one who would solve the riddles would win the case. The first riddle was: Who is the happiest in the world? The second: Who is the cleverest in the world? And the third: What is the sweetest thing in the world? The judge then called it a day and told them to go home.

The rich brother was thinking about the riddles on his way home and concluded he would solve them easily. He said to himself: "Who is the happiest? It's me. I have everything I need and a nice farm. I will say a farmer is the happiest man in the world." Then he started to think about the second riddle – who is the cleverest person in the world. "I am the cleverest person because I can bargain and know how to turn money into more money", he thought, "I will say the cleverest person is a bargainer who knows how to make money."

"And what is the sweetest thing in the world?" he pondered. He decided to say: "Honey, everyone knows that."

The shoemaker did not think how to solve the riddles. In the morning before he went to the trial, he said to his seventeen year old daughter: "The judge set us three riddles. I know I can't solve them."

The daughter said: "Tell me the riddles."

He replied: "The first – who is the happiest in the world, the second – who is the cleverest in the world, and the third – what is the sweetest thing in the world."

The girl said: "Answer as I tell you. The earth is the happiest thing in the world since it gives us everything. The cleverest are the eyes which can in an instant look across mountains and valleys. The sweetest thing is undoubtedly sleep since everybody needs it."

Eight days later the shoemaker and his rich brother appeared in front of the judge to give their answers to the riddles. The rich brother was first to talk to the judge. After he answered the riddles, the judge merely shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. He said to the shoemaker: "Tell me what you think?"

The shoemaker said: "The earth is the happiest thing on the world since it gives us everything. The cleverest are the eyes since they can look across mountains and valleys in an instant. The sweetest is sleep since everybody needs it."

The judge told him: "You are right. Who taught you this?"

The shoemaker replied: "My sixteen year old daughter."

"I would like to meet your girl," said the judge. "Tell her, since she is so clever, to visit me tomorrow, but she must come neither barefoot nor shod, neither bareheaded nor covered, neither on foot nor on horseback. I will marry her if she can come the way I told you."

The shoemaker returned home and explained his daughter what he was told by the judge – she should come to the judge's manor neither barefoot nor shod, neither bareheaded nor covered, neither on foot nor on horseback. The girl said: "I know how to do it, that’s not difficult."

Next morning she prepared a goat to lean on it while going to the manor. She put a cat in a sack, put on a pair of old shoes without soles, covered her head with a torn napkin, and set out for the manor – alternately walking upright and leaning on the goat.

The judge was waiting for her. When she approached the manor, he let out his dog to distract her. She left the cat out of the sack and the dog ran after it, so she could reach the manor.

The judge married her as he had promised, but he abused her. He once told her to go where she pleased and take what she liked best. Before that he made her lunch at which he got drunk. She took him to her father’s house in a coach. The shoemaker made them a bed of straw in the house, and they went to sleep. The judge woke up in the middle of the night. The straw was rustling and he asked: "Where are we?"

The wife replied: "We are at my father's house. You remember what you told me – take what you like best. I like you best, so I took you." He took her home and they lived as a happy couple until they died.