Read Online Strange Happenings by Avi - Free Book Online

cried the shoemaker, determined to outwit this changeable fellow.
    "I'd like that," said Old Scratch. "You are a maker of shoes. From time to time—considering how much I travel—I need shoes. Would you be willing to try your skills on me?"
    What a fool this fellow is,
thought the shoemaker.
If there is one thing I can do, it's make shoes.
He said, "That sounds like an excellent idea."
    "Here's my deal," said Old Scratch. "Things change, so I shall visit you three times. I shall visit you small. I shall visit you tall. I shall visit you one and all. Each time I come, if you can find a way to put shoes on my feet, I'll not take you. But if ever you can
not
shod me, it's you and your soul I'll take."
    The shoemaker, quick as anything, said, "I accept."
    The bargain made, Old Scratch vanished.
    As for the black cat, she woke up, stretched, and then looked coolly at the shoemaker with her lemon-colored eyes.
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    Days, months, years passed. After the shoemaker made his bargain with Old Scratch, his fortunes changed much for the better. He began to greatly prosper. He married well. He and his wife had healthy, happy children.
    During all this time the shoemaker was not visited by Old Scratch. In fact, so much time went by without his seeing or hearing from him, the shoemaker began to think his bargain was nothing more than a dream.
There's nothing to fear from him!
    As for the black cat—she remained.
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    One afternoon—it was a hot and lazy summer day—as the shoemaker worked at his bench, a fly began to buzz about his head. Finding it very annoying, the shoemaker tried to brush it away with his hand, but it didn't work. Finally the fly landed right before him on his workbench.
    The shoemaker picked up a shoe. He was just about to bring it down on the fly when the insect called out: "Would you kill me, Shoemaker?"
    The shoemaker was so startled, he could neither move nor speak.
    "Why would you want to kill me?" asked the fly.
    "Forgive me," said the shoemaker, thinking,
Where have I heard this voice before?
Then he said, "I didn't stop to consider you might have feelings on the subject."
    "Things change," said the fly. "But no one likes to die."
    "I apologize," said the shoemaker as he put the shoe he was working on aside.
    The fly cocked his head and looked up at the shoemaker. "Does it mean nothing to you that I have no shoes and must go barefoot all the time?"
    The shoemaker looked closely at the fly. It was true: The fly had no shoes. At that very moment he realized who the fly was: Old Scratch.
    "Yes," said the fly with a chuckle, as if reading the shoemaker's thoughts, "this time, as promised, I am visiting you small. Can you make me shoes?"
    The shoemaker remembered his bargain. Knowing he had no choice, he said, "Yes, I can make shoes for you."
    "Then do so," said the fly. "And, as you can see, I require three pairs."
    The shoemaker set to work. First he measured each of the fly's feet. They were so small he could hardly see what he was doing. Next he cut the necessary leather. What tiny bits they were!
    The fly—promising to return when the shoes were done,
if
they were done—flew off.
    The shoemaker worked with infinitesimal stitches to make the shoes. Three pairs. It took the shoemaker a year to make them. In addition, his eyes had become so sore as he made the shoes, he could no longer see: He had become blind.
    However, no sooner were the shoes complete than the fly returned. "I'm back!" he announced.
    The shoemaker fit the shoes to the fly. "There," he said with pride, for he had done what he was sure Old Scratch did not think he could do. "I've kept the bargain."
    "Things change," said the fly. And he flew off.
    As for the black cat, she with the lemon-colored eyes, she slept in a snug and sunny corner, purring blissfully.
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    Though the shoemaker did not regain his sight, his skills had grown so much while he made the tiny shoes that he no longer
needed
to see. So great was the