Fegall's Fingers : The Greedy Git
Fegall's Fingers: The Greedy Git
Translation into the Proper Common by ganoomkin Plitz of the Haubenschnaupfen.
...and so Fegall came upon a traveling caravan group. The group had a young leader, a human with fiery hair - and fiery humor! Fegall offered to help the caravan in mending their general crockery and tents, but the leader was not happy! He roared: "How can those fingers, not nearly as long and strong as those of us humans, be of any help to us?" One of the leader's wives, though, was filled with much Wisdom. She went to her husband after Fegall had left, and implored that he ask the dwarf for his assistance. The husband snorted as he held her in their bed. "But why! As I said, his fingers are puny and seem wrinkled!"
"My husband", the woman chortled. "Did you not see him idly playing with your boot while we were talking?" She got out of bed and walked to their chest. "I saved it here for you to see." For lo! The boot shone like a sapphire, and it was hard as steel. The leader placed the boot on his foot, and found it quite sturdy! "We must find him, now!", he shouted. The leader rounded up his best scouts and bade them search the area around the caravans. "Do not let that dwarf leave!"
He smirked at himself. "If I can force him to strengthen our weapons as he can do my boots...we won't need to gather to survive! We would be able to take what we want!" The scouts found Fegall as he was wandering through a rocky gully. They threatened him with many utterings of "follow us back, or else...!" He shrugged and did so. Returning to the camp, the leader bade Fegall to do with their weapons what he did with his shoe. Fegall exclaimed: "Why, I'll give your weapons the hardness of diamonds! After all, a Gift Made by the Hands is a great sign of Friendship."
The leader was pleased. Now they wouldn't be treated like peasant wanderers by city folk! They escorted Fegall to the weapons tent and posted many guards around it. Throughout the night, sounds of hammering and hissing could be heard from the tent. The next morning, the leader checked in on the tent. The guards had been switched many times that night, to be sure that the dwarf would not sneak away. As he opened the tent flap, he gasped. Standing there, all their weapons were gleaming like diamonds! Blades, mace heads, and arrowheads all glistened like oiled leather.
However... Fegall was nary to be seen! "Oh well, at least the rascal left us with these fine weapons!", the leader smiled at himself. Against his wife's protests, he organized a raid on a nearby village. They would strike at the break of dawn, and surprise the villagers.
Just before daybreak, the leader and twenty of his men waited outside the village. He was impatient to attack, and as he saw the sun starting to rise, he bellowed: "Take them, men!" But lo, and Witness this Learning! In the middle of the village square stood Fegall. He pointed a Finger at them and shouted in a deep voice:
"You would use these Gifts to Take from others, and not Make your own? A shame on these Gifts I bestowed upon you!"
The sun broke out fully, then, and the weapons shone - nay, they burned brighter than the fires of the Heavens! The leader and his men were blinded! They threw down their weapons and clutched at their useless faces. A rugged cheer broke out from the now-aware villagers, and they chased the leader and his men out. The dropped weapons were then gathered by the villagers and used to ever defend themselves against those who would Take, and their smithy became known throughout the area for its Weapons of Excellent Design. For the villagers knew that a Gift should be used to Further Making, and not to Assist Taking or Breaking!