English Folktale

Retold by The Legendary Connection

TLC#00205

A cobbler once lived with his mother in a little village. Although he wasn’t very clever, he worked hard and made just enough to keep them both comfortable. He didn’t have much, but he was happy with his life.

One day, the cobbler received a bit of money from a distant relative. He was thrilled and couldn’t stop talking about all the things he could buy with it. His mother suggested he save the money for the future, just in case something happened. “We’re happy as we are,” she said, “and you’ll be glad you saved it if times get tough.”

But the cobbler disagreed. “If we save it, it might get stolen! But if we buy something useful, we can enjoy it now and maybe even sell it later.” After much thought, he decided to buy the little house they lived in so they wouldn’t have to pay rent anymore.

With a few coins left, the cobbler tied them up in a noisy bag to jingle as he walked. He felt like a rich man. “Since I own my house now, I don’t need to work so hard,” he thought. “I’ll go borrow a book from the professor to study—after all, a man of my standing should be educated!”

He went to the professor’s house and asked for a book, but he didn’t care what book he read and randomly picked a book off the shelf. The book he grabbed happened to be one about ghosts and spirits. The cobbler took it home and spent all his time reading it. He soon became obsessed with seeing ghosts for himself. He even asked his neighbors if they had ever seen ghosts. But no one had ever seen a single ghost.

He thought, “If I could see a ghost, I’d be known as the bravest man around!” So one night, he went to the churchyard hoping to find one.

But a thief, who had heard the jingle of the cobbler’s money and knew about the man’s ghost obsession, had another plan. So dressed in a white sheet, the thief waited for the cobbler in a nearby field. The cobbler, sure he’d finally seen a ghost, walked right up to it. He expected to pass through it like he read in the book. Instead, the thief grabbed his money and ran. The cobbler bravely grabbed the sheet, holding on tight as the thief slipped away. With the sheet in hand, he went home to tell his mother about his “ghostly” adventure.

“Oh dear, it wasn’t a ghost, but a thief who has your money!” she cried. “You should have grabbed him, not the sheet!” But the cobbler insisted he did well enough.

The next night, he tried again. He reached the churchyard and saw another white figure. This time, he attacked it, thinking it was another ghost. However, he soon realized it was only a tombstone. He went home with sore hands, and his mother sighed. “If you’d covered it so no one else would be scared, that would have been more helpful.”

“Live and learn,” he replied. On the third night, he went out again and saw his mother’s sheets lying in a field to dry. Thinking they were ghosts, he ran back for a sack of soot and covered them until they were black.

Frustrated with him, his mother then suggested he stay home the next night. “Ghosts can visit you at home too,” she said. The cobbler had read that it was true and eagerly prepared his room according to what his book said. He set out candles around the room, then sat down and began watching for them to turn blue.

After a while, he fell asleep, only to wake up and see his neighbor, the blacksmith in his nightgown, standing over him. The blacksmith shouted, “Your house is on fire! Get up!” But the cobbler thought it was a ghostly trick and pulled the blanket over his head, pretending to sleep.

Finally, he heard his mother’s frantic cries and realized the blacksmith was right. The house was ablaze, and he barely escaped, losing nearly everything.

With no money left, he returned to his cobbling work. He never saw another “ghost” again but lived the rest of his days peacefully, just as he had before.

Original Source:  “Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales.” Gutenberg.org, 2020, www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/15592/pg15592-images.html#THE_COBBLER_AND_THE_GHOSTS. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.