O

nce upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a nameless monster. The
monster was dying to have a name. So the monster made up his mind and set
out on a journey to look for one.
But the world was such a large place. The monster split in two and went on
separated journeys. One went est. The other headed vest. The one who went est came
upon a village. There was a blacksmith who lived at the village's entrance.
"Mr. Blacksmith, please give me your name" said the monster.
"I can't give you my name" replied the blacksmith.
"If you give me your name, I'll go inside you and make you strong" said the monster.
"Really?" said the blacksmith. "If you make me stronger, I'll give you my name."
The monster went into the blacksmith. And so, the monster became Otto the
blacksmith. Otto was the strongest man in town. But then, one day he said:
"Look at me! Look at me! The monster inside of me is getting bigger." *Munch munch,
chomp chomp, gobble gobble, gulp* The hungry monster ate Otto from the inside out.
Once again, he was a monster without a name.
Next, he went into Hans, the shoemaker. However... *Munch munch, chomp
chomp, gobble gobble, gulp* Once again, he went back to being a monster without a
name. Then he became Thomas, the hunter. But soon...*Munch munch, chomp chomp,
gobble gobble, gulp* back he went to being a monster without a name.
The monster, next, went to a castle to look for a nice name. He came upon a very
sick boy who lived in that castle.
"If you give me your name I'll make you strong" said the monster.
The boy replied "If you can make me healthy and strong I will give you my name".
So the monster jump right into the boy. And the boy became full of vigor. The king was
overjoyed. He announced "The prince is healthy. The prince is strong". The monster
became quite fond of the boy's name. He was also quite pleased with his royal life in
the castle. So he controlled himself, no matter how bigger his appetite became. Day
after day, despite his growing hunger, the monster stayed put inside the boy. But finally,
the hunger became just too great. "Look at me! Look at me!" said the boy "The monster
inside of me has gotten this big. The boy devoured the king and all his servants.*Munch
munch, chomp chomp, gobble gobble, gulp* The castle was lonely now with everyone
gone, so the boy left on a journey.
He walked and walked for days. And then, one day, the boy came upon the
monster who gone vest.
"I have a name" said the boy. "And it's such a wonderful one." But the monster who
went vest replied "Who needs a name? I'm perfectly happy without one. After all, that's
what we are. Nameless monsters." The boy ate up the monster who went vest. At last,
he found a name. But there was no longer anyone to call by it. Such a shame, because
Johan was such a wonderful name.