by Zuzana Klepáčová

Once there was a man and a woman. They lived in a little cottage close to the forest in a small village. They were very poor and had no children. They wanted to have a child very badly. Some people said them that they were too poor to have a child (they wouldn´t have enough food for the child). But the man and woman said: “When we have enough food for us, our child would have enough food too.”
One day in the morning the man found a small stump in the forest and dug it up. The stump looked like a little child: a little head, body, short arms and legs. The man hewed fingers and toes from small roots and the baby was finished. The man brought the stump to his wife and said: ”Here you have what you want – a baby - our Stump boy. You can take care of him.” The woman was happy, she hold the Stump boy in her arms and said: “If you wake up, I shall cook you gruel.” Suddenly the boy began to move, shook his head and said: “Mum, I am hungry!” The woman was surprised and very happy, she lay the boy into a bed and cooked gruel. The Stump boy ate all the gruel and shouted: “Mum, I am hungry!” The woman ran to a neighbour and brought a full mug of milk. The Stump boy went on drinking untill the mug was empty and shouted: “Mum, I am hungry!” “Are you still hungry?” wondered the woman and went to buy bread on debt. She returned home put a loaf of bread on the table and left the room. The Stump boy saw the bread, jumped out of the bed and ate the whole loaf. The woman turned back to the room and looked for the bread. The Stump boy was sitting in the corner and looked at his mother. Mother asked him: ”Where is the bread? Oh my God! You ate it all.” And Stump boy said: “Yes, I did! And I am going to eat you too!” He opened his mouth and ate his mother up.
Suddenly his father came home. The Stump boy shouted: “Dad, I am hungry!”. The man was frightened. The Stump boy was as big as a stove and was opening his mouth again and again. The man asked: “Where is your mother?” And the Stump boy answered: “ I ate her up and I am going to eat you too!” He opened his big mouth and ate the father very quickly.
The Stump boy was getting hungrier. There was nothing to eat ih the cottage. So he decided to go to the village to look for something to eat. He met a girl with a barrow full of grass. The girl wondered: “Your belly is so big! You probably ate too much.” And he answered: “I ate: a plate of gruel, a mug of milk, a loaf of bread, mum, dad and I am going to eat you too!” He opened his big mouth and swallowed the girl with her barrow.
Then he met a farmer with a waggon full of hay from a meadow. The farmer was frightened and wanted to hit the Stump boy, but the boy said: “I ate: a plate of gruel, a mug of milk, a loaf of bread, mum, dad, a girl with a barrow and now I am going to eat you too!” He opened his big mouth and swallowed the farmer, his waggon and horses.
Then the Stump boy saw a herdsman, he cattled out pigs. The Stump boy swallowed the herdsman and all pigs too. Then he saw a shepherd with his sheep and said to himself: “I am going to eat them too!” He went up the hill and swallowed the shepherd, sheep and a shepherd´s dog too.
Then he came to a field. There was an old woman who hoed cabbage. The Stump boy began to eat cabbage very quickly. The old woman said: “Why are you eating my cabbage? Didn´t you eat enough?” He laughed only and said: “ I ate: a plate of gruel, a mug of milk, a loaf of bread, mum dad, a girl with a barrow, a farmer with hay, a herdsman with pigs, a shepherd with sheep and now, I am going to eat you too!” He wanted to gulp her but the old woman split his belly with her hoe. The Stump boy fell down dead.
And what happened then? First jumped out from the shepherd´s dog, sheep and the shepherd from his belly. Then jumped out the farmer with the waggon and horses. After the horses jumped out the girl with the barrow. And finally jumped out the man and the woman, she has still the loaf of bread in her hands. Since that time the man and the woman didn´t want to have a child anymore.