The Blue spectacles!

The Blue spectacles!  Michel set out to see the world taking with him three gold coins, a knapsack, a hymn book and a knotted stick First, he met a man who scared him with stories about thieves and convinced Michel that he should leave the gold coins with him to keep safely. Overnight, the man disappeared leaving Michel with no money. 

Michel began to walk and soon met a tramp, eating pear. Hungry Michel happily agreed to join him and told the man about the loss of his gold coins. Realizing that Michel was an innocent fellow, the tramp pointed to a tall poplar tree and said that Michel would find a nest there, containing gold jewellery. The man persuaded and advised Michel to leave his jacket and boots next to his knapsack on the ground and climb the tree.  Michel did so, but there was nothing in the nest! When he came down, he found that all his belongings had disappeared. He had been fooled again! 

Barefoot and without a coat to keep him warm, Michel continued his walk and came near a stream. He rolled up his trousers and was about to cross the stream when he heard someone crying loudly. Michel found out it was a dwarf with a long nose and lengthy beard who was trying to hide behind a small plant. The dwarf took out a pair of blue spectacles from his pocket, put them on and stared at Michel. He then took them off and said, “I need to cross this stream. The rest have gone by boat and I was left behind.” 

Kind hearted Michel picked up the dwarf carefully, kept him on his palm, waded across the stream to the other end and put the little man down. The dwarf said, “Take this pair of spectacles. Once you put them on, you can read the thoughts of others” and disappeared behind the plants. 

Soon, to sustain himself, Michel approached a fat man for a possible job. But he soon found out, with the help of the blue specs, that if he accepted the job for a low salary, the other workers might lose their job. So Michel refused the fat man’s offer and walked away. The workers, who were initially angry with Michel, became friendly with him. They even got him a coat, a pair of boots and food to eat when they heard his story. 

In the inn where he had his food, Michel saw three men lurking in a corner. With the specs on, he could read their minds… they had planned to rob a castle – where a Countess and her beautiful daughter lived – while the Count was away. After his friends left, Michel walked to the castle and told the Countess about the robbers’ plan. The brave Countess gave him a gun and together they kept watch.  Hiding himself behind the door, Michel fired a shot when the first robber set foot through the window. The robber threw a dagger at Michel before falling out of the window. Seeing him fall, the other two ran away. 

Michel was badly hurt. The Countess and her daughter nursed him to health. Once again, with the help of the blue spectacles, he knew that the Count’s daughter loved him and wanted him to stay with her forever. 

Soon, the Count returned. Impressed by Michel and convinced by the story of the blue spectacles, he took Michel to the King who tried the specs on and stared at his courtiers for a long time. Shaking his head, the King returned the specs to Micheland said, “I don’t want them. I will make you the Chief Judge of my kingdom. The specs can be put to good use”. 

Michel married the Count’s daughter and became a famous judge, feared by bad, honored by good and praised by all as the wisest man in the kingdom.