Once Upon a Time, There Was a Farmer...

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- T..t..that much!!!? cried the peasant.

- Yes as much as that, and even if you sell all what you have. But you still have a last chance: I heard of an object or an animal that could be able to give you what you wish... said the king in an evasive tone.

- All right then; I'll go there immediately... But where is it?

- You'll find it in the desert and you'll have to climb a mountain, but even the most foolish of the insane people would not take the risk, replied the king in laughter.

- Err well, let's say I'm crazy and I will do it, replied the farmer determinately.

- All right then, go ahead but hurry up, I'm already impatient.

Following this discussion the farmer decided to leave during that same night...

As the evening approached, the hours seemed whole days. However he was ready: he had harnessed his cart to his last ox. He had set up a triangular tent stuffed with dry straw and grass. He had dressed warmly and had prepared a light clothing for the summer (one must not believe that it is always hot in a desert). He had also taken a barrel of water he had filled with ice stolen from the cool box of the king. Inside the tent, there was all the necessary equipment: a bunk, a terra cotta chimney, some clothing to change, and books that were hidden under the cart. "So", thought the peasant, "I have enough with all this bric-a-brac."

Finally he decided it was time to leave, and opened the gate. After a while, he took a path edged with trees. Suddenly, the lantern switched off. When he switched it on again, to his great surprise, he was in the desert. On checking on the chart, he saw that the path ended directly in the desert. He tidied his chart, lay down on the bunk and fell asleep.

He woke up a few hours later, it was still night. On leaving the tent to sit down on the driver's bench, he saw a silhouette at a few meters from the cart. The farmer stopped him, and brought forward the lantern to see better. He could see the light of the lantern in the two eyes looking at him. The two eyes that were coming towards him. The peasant cried out: