Plain Jane 3: Old Folks Story/ My Childhood Stories

By Jane Coma

The stories contained in this book were told to children in Albania many years ago. Some may appear harsh, confusing, or antiquated to contemporary readers, but they are best understood as stories written for us and not to us. Albania is an ancient and rich culture with centuries of tradition, so please read these stories with that in mind.
In Plain Jane 3, I will share childhood stories that I heard growing up. Although my grandparents and great-grandparents were uneducated people, they were very smart, though quite old-fashioned. They taught me the value of hard work and how to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Nov 27, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466969117

Jane Coma

Jane Coma was born on March 17, 1962, in Shum, a small old village in the country of Macedonia (formally Republic of Yugoslavia) as one of six children. After a childhood of hardship of working the fields, chopping firewood, and being under the reins of her very opinionated father, she tried to escape his wrath by marrying at sixteen into a family who would ultimately see her as their servant and not their daughter-in-law. She would eventually give them four beautiful grandchildren, one girl and three boys. Nine long years of slavery to her husband’s parents and grandparents had passed when she was given the opportunity to come to America for freedom and opportunity, none of which came to light until she escaped from the beatings and infidelity of her controlling and abusive husband. The responsibilities of a single mother took over her life and led to what it is today.

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© Copyright 2012 Jane Coma.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4669-6909-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4669-6910-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4669-6911-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012901933

Trafford rev. 11/19/2012

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Contents

The Boy Who Was Born With Kismet

The Judge Who Lost His Good Wife

The Smart Man Who Lost His Daughter

The Hardworking Man With The Mean Wife

The Man With The Bad Bump And A Good Attitude

The Young Wife In Labor

The Young Man In Love With The Girl Next Door

The Young Man And The Beautiful Ghost Girl

The Controlling Mother-In-Law

The Sick Young Man Who Was Healed By Pickled Cabbage Juice

The Business Between The Man And The Snake

The Boy Who Died From A Snake Bite

The Son Who Did Not Lisen To His Father’s Advice

The Saddle Maker And His Money

The Shoemaker And His Luck

The Three Brothers And The Blue Horse

Crossing The King’s Canal

The King’s Crazy Son

The Poor Hospitality And The Rich Hospitality

The Broken Fireplace Poker

Mother’s Heart

Two Good Doctors

You Can’t Buy Happiness

The Woman Who Gave Away Salt

The Crazy Bull

Two Best Friends

The Girl Who Learned The Hard Way

The Man And The Smelly Bear

Three Brothers

The Old Couple

How The Rabbit Lost His Tail

The Stair Case

Molasses Story

Mother-Son Bond

Four Brothers

The Three Brothers And The House

The Good And The Bad

The Old Couple And The Rooster

The Good Hunter

The Smart Neighbor

The Couple

Two Sisters

The Village Bully

The Best Friend With The Mule

Nostradamus And The Beautiful Widow

The New Bride And The Garbage Truck

The Mother-In-Law And The Chickens

Don’t Trust The Snake

The Man Who Worked His Land

The Three Sisters

The King And His Close Trustee

Passion And Unpassion

The Treasure Hunt

The Mill Man And The Fox

The Three Brothers

About The Author

I would like to dedicate this book to my five grandchildren, who are the light of my life, and the most important thing to me. It is them who I always tell my childhood stories to; who I juggle apples or oranges for, just to see them smile. They are my reason for being alive.

My prince, Arian, came into my life when I needed hope to go on; he was born on December 24, 1996. Watching him grow up gave me that hope. His brother, Visar, came into this world on September 27, 2004, following in his brother’s footsteps. They are both my shining stars, whom I love more than life itself. They are the sons of my daughter Albana and her husband, Skender.

My three princesses—my angels—healed my broken heart. My Ariana was born on September 22, 2005; she stole my broken heart from the moment I saw her. She entered my life like a firecracker with her big, beautiful eyes; her gorgeous face and smile; and her big, soft heart. In 2007, her sister, my little Amida, came into my life on April 6. She is Albana’s lookalike. She means what she says, and is the total package—brains and beauty together, just like her sister Ariana. They are my son Nadim and his wife Mia’s daughters. I helped raise them since they were newborns; they will always have my heart.

Last, but certainly not least, my little Bora—my angel who blows me kisses everyday via Skype—with the blue eyes and the golden curly hair, was born on March 8, 2010. She has her mother’s beauty; she is Abip and Elira’s baby girl. She makes me a proud grandmother.

I have more and more reasons to feel happy, since my grandchildren are the fruits of my labor. They make up for my horrible past and the difficult life that I have lived. For me, they make everything better. My children are great parents to them, so it is my pleasure to dedicate my third and final book to my five lucky stars, from my heart.

With all my love to all my babies,

Nena

The stories contained in this book were told to children in Albania many years ago. Some may appear harsh, confusing or antiquated to contemporary readers, but they are best understood as stories written for us and not to us. Albania is an ancient and rich culture with centuries of tradition so please read these stories with that in mind.

In Plain Jane 3, I will share childhood stories which I heard growing up. Although my grandparents and great-grandparents were uneducated people, they were very smart, though quite old fashioned. They taught me the value of hard work and how to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

I especially remember long winter nights when the snow was piling up outside and my family would gather in the living room to listen to the old stories. We would all sit around the sofra (a low-to-the floor, round table on which we served our food) and sort the wheat from the chaff as we ate and heard yarns.

We children were quiet as the elders spun their tales. Sometimes we listened and worked, sometime we listened and ate. As a rare treat, guests would come over with surprises such as baked apples, roasted quinces or boiled chestnuts. But even when we had guests, the girls in the family had to help out, without being asked. My mom always used to say that good girls don’t embarrass their family. So, if Mom even looked at me, I knew what I needed to do.

Although my life was very difficult, these storytimes represent fond memories for me. Hearing the old tales was a way to connect with my past. In my house there were five generations of storytellers. There was my great grandfather, Ismail, who lived to be 108 (he was the oldest man in the village when he passed away); his son, my grandfather Sunai; my father, Demir; and my siblings and their children. Here are some of their stories.

1

The Boy Who Was Born With Kismet

Once upon a time there was a young, poor couple who eloped, but they had no place to call home. After their marriage, they decided to move to the mountains far away from the village. Since the weather was warm, life was good for them, but in a few short months winter would be approaching. At that time, the woman would be entering into her ninth month, and would be ready to deliver the couple’s first baby. The wife began to think about this and she started to cry. What is wrong? begged the husband. She explained how worried she was that they would freeze up here on the mountain and the baby would not survive.

The husband tried to calm her and promised he would figure something out. Okay, he said to his wife, let’s get ready. We are going to the king’s castle in the city, and we are going to ask to work at the castle in exchange for food and a place to stay. Okay, said his wife, and they took the long road to the castle. After two days of walking, they came to the front of the king’s castle and saw a lot of people were gathered around the castle in mourning. The young couple asked someone what was going on, and they told them that the king had passed away.

Since the king had no children, the mayor of the city was selling the castle, but it was so expensive, no one would be able to buy it. The father-to-be signaled to the man in charge and got his attention. I am very interested in purchasing the king’s castle, he said, but I have one request. His wife was distraught. Why you are doing this? We haven’t got a penny to our name, she pleaded. Her husband calmed her down and said, let me handle this. The man in charge of the castle went up to the husband and asked him what his request was.

I am very interested purchasing the king’s castle, the husband said, but I want to sleep here tonight, just to make sure that I am not making a mistake. Everyone looked at him in amazement, and his wife was shocked. The husband continued, come back tomorrow at nine o’clock in the morning, and if this house is for me, I will be happy to pay for it. Very well, said the man in charge, and everyone left.

The young, poor couple entered the castle. The wife was still worried. What are we going to give to that man tomorrow morning? We have no money. The husband said that they would leave before the man came back. While the husband and wife were spending a nice, warm night in the castle, it suddenly came time for the wife to have her baby. She gave birth to a beautiful