Reading Notes: English Tales, Part B

Mr. Miacca 

from English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

I thought this story was so weird and funny at the same time.

It starts off with this boy named Tommy, whose mother tells him to never go around the corner alone because Mr. Miacca will get him if he does. Tommy being the bad boy he is, doesn't listen to his mother and goes around the corner.

Mr. Miacca catches him and takes him home. He tells Tommy that he's going to have him for supper. He remembers that he didn't get herbs so he calls his wife, Mrs. Miacca, to watch over Tommy while he goes and gets herbs.

Tommy starts talking to Mrs. Miacca and asks her if Mr. Miacca always has little boys for dinner. She says "Yes, mostly if little boys are bad and get in his way." Tommy says "well doesn't he eat anything else like pudding?" and she says "I love pudding but she doesn't get it often." SO Tommy says that his mother makes pudding and that he can go and get it if she lets him go. Mrs. Miacca thinks that's nice of him and tells him to come back before supper. So Tommy runs home and doesn't go around the corner because he decides to be good.

Until he doesn't one day when he couldn't be good. He goes around the corner and Mr. Miacca catches him again.

This time Mr. Miacca tells him to get under the couch so he can watch him while the water boils. He gets hungry so he tells Tommy to stick out a leg so he can start cooking it. Tommy sticks out a leg and Mr. Miacca chops it off. Then he calls for his wife but doesn't get an answer back so he goes to find her. While he goes, Tommy gets out from under the couch and runs away home because he had actually stuck out the leg of the sofa and not his real leg. Tommy doesn't go around the corner again until he's much older.

Mr. Miacca about to chop Tommy's leg off. Source: Myth and Folklore UN-Textbook.