The Ugly Man

The Ugly Man

Long long ago, there lived a young man in a village.
He was smart and a man of good nature, but girls didn’t even look at him because he had a very big nose, very small eyes, and very wide mouth: in short, he was very ugly.

His parents’ concern was about their son’s marriage partner.
His father said,
“We do want him to have a family.
But I’m afraid my son will never be able to get married.”

One day his father heard a rumor that the millionaire in the neighborhood village was looking for a handsome man for his beautiful daughter.
He said to his wife,
“I’ve got an idea.
You don’t need to worry about our son.
Just wait and see.”

The father visited the millionaire and said,
“My son is one of the most handsome men in this country.
If you are looking for a handsome man for your daughter, he must be the right man.”

The millionaire said,
“I’m so glad to hear that.
Will you tell him to come to my house and meet my daughter?”

The day at last came when the young but ugly man would visit the millionaire.

The father gave a piece of advice to his son that morning,
“You should go there in a mask and say to the millionaire, ‘I’m one of the most handsome men in this country.
Therefore I always wear a mask in case my handsome face should get hurt.’
And just when you say so, you will hear a voice from the ceiling.”

“Then?” the son asked anxiously.
“I have no idea what will happen next.
Play it carefully.
You must think what to do by yourself on the spot.
Anyway it’s time to leave.”
The father said.
The masked young man in beautiful clothes sat in front of the millionaire, and said,
“It may sound presumptuous but people say I’m one of the most handsome men in this country.
I always wear a mask in case my handsome face should get hurt.”

Then he heard a voice from the ceiling,
“Listen, young man.
I am an ogre.
I’ve decided to marry the millionaire’s beautiful daughter.
If you are here to get married with her, I’ll kill you.”

“Oh, help me! I haven’t decided it yet. Please forgive me.”

“Forgive you?
What a hateful man you are!
You just said you are the most handsome man in this country.
I’ll ask you which is more important for you, your life or your handsome face.”

Listening to this, the millionaire was terrified and whispered to the young man’s ear,
“Your life is more important than your face.”
The man said to the ogre,
“Ogre, my face is less important than my life.
Oh, help! Spare my life, please!”

“If you say so, I’ll suck the beauty from your face and spare your life.
Saying this, an ogre-like figure appeared in front of him, took his mask off and began to suck the beauty from his face.
“Auch! It hurts me! Oh, my face is in so much pain.”
The ogre finished in a minute and left the room.
Both the millionaire and the ugly faced man were still in the room.
The ugly man began to cry, covering his face with both hands.
“What shall I do?
I can’t live any more without my face.
I would rather die than live.
I should have showed my handsome face to you and your daughter before I’d lost it.
How foolish I was to come here without thinking of what would happen!”
The millionaire felt a great amount of pity for the ugly man,
“I’ll give you anything I have, including my daughter and my property.
I’ll build a new sturdy house for you lest the ogre should come in again.”

The ugly man succeeded in marrying a millionaire’s beautiful daughter and they lived happily ever after.
By the way, who do you think was that ogre?
Of course you’ve figured out who it was, haven’t you?

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The end