YASHPEH
International Folktales Collection
The Man Who Liked Baked Beans |
The Flying Dutchman and Other Folktales from the Netherlands |
Tradition: Dutch, Hollander |
Copyright © 2008 by Theo Meder |
A man was very fond of baked beans all his life. He had one problem, though, they gave him such terrible wind. When he got married, he decided not to eat baked beans anymore, because he did not want his wife to suffer from the effects. For four years, he managed to stick to his decision. But one day he walked past a restaurant and smelled baked beans. He could not resist the temptation, went inside, and ate not one, not two, but three plates of baked beans. And then it began: pffrrt, pffrrt. The man walked home: pffrrt, pffrrt. Before he rang the bell, he managed to squeeze out a big one: pppfffffrrrrrt. His wife opened the door and said, "Darling, I have a surprise for you. But I'll have to blindfold you first." The man was blindfolded and put at the kitchen table by his wife. "No peeking, mind," said his wife and she walked out of the kitchen. Quickly, the man farted at length: pppfffrrrt! And he waved the tails of his jacket about. His wife returned and took off his blindfold. And what do you reckon? There were twelve people sitting at the table! |
This story was told in 1994 during a joke-telling contest on Dutch television called Moppentoppers (Top Jokers, broadcast by RTL4). The tale can be told as an urban legend as well, and is known as BRUN 05315, The Fart in the Dark. The translation is based on T. Meder, De magische vlucht (Amsterdam, 2000), p. 173. |
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