Atondido Stories
neither riding nor walking, neither dressed nor undressed."
When Manka received this message she waited until the next
dawn when night was gone and day not yet arrived. Then she
wrapped herself in a fishnet and, throwing one leg over a goat's
back and keeping one foot on the ground, she went to the burgo-
master's house.
Now I ask you: did she go dressed? No, she wasn't dressed.
A fishnet isn't clothing. Did she go undressed? Of course not, for
wasn't she covered with a fishnet? Did she walk to the burgo-
master's? No, she didn't walk for she went with one leg thrown
over a goat. Then did she ride? Of course she didn't ride for was-
n't she walking on one foot?
When she reached the burgomaster's house she called out:
"Here I am, Mr. Burgomaster, and I've come neither by day
nor by night, neither riding nor walking, neither dressed nor un-
dressed."
The young burgomaster was so delighted with Manka's clev-
erness and so pleased with her comely looks that he proposed to
her at once and in a short time married her.
"But understand, my dear Manka," he said, "you are not to
use that cleverness of yours at my expense. I won't have you in-
terfering in any of my cases. In fact if ever you give advice to any
one who comes to me for judgment, I'll turn you out of my
house at once and send you home to your father."
All went well for a time. Manka busied herself in her house-
keeping and was careful not to interfere in any of the burgomas-
ter's cases.
Then one day two farmers came to the burgomaster to have a
dispute settled. One of the farmers owned a mare which had
foaled in the marketplace. The colt had run under the wagon of
the other farmer and thereupon the owner of the wagon claimed
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