Dănilă Prepeleac

"Dănilă Prepeleac" (Romanian pronunciation: [dəˈnilə prepeˈle̯ak]; occasionally translated as "Danilo the Pole", "Dănilă Haystack-Peg" or "Danillo Nonsuch") is an 1876 fantasy short story and fairy tale by Romanian author Ion Creangă, with a theme echoing influences from local folklore. The narrative is structured around two accounts. In the first part, the eponymous peasant hero, shown to be poor, lazy and idiotic, exposes his incompetence and lack of foresight by becoming in involved in a cycle of barters, which results in him exchanging a pair of oxen for an empty bag. The second portion of the text shows Dănilă's adventures inside a forest, where he decides to become a hermit, unwitting that the land is inhabited by an army of devils. Confronted by the latter, he survives a set of challenges by outsmarting his adversaries, and, although losing one eye to demonic curses, he becomes the recipient of a large fortune awarded by Satan himself.

Noted among samples of 19th century Romanian humor, "Dănilă Prepeleac" earned critical attention for its creative language, the defining traits of its main characters, and echoes of larger themes found throughout European folklore. It also inspired works in other media, such as a 1996 film by Moldovan director Tudor Tătaru.

Prepeleac itself is a Romanian-language word of unattested origin, designating slim wooden poles or pegs. These are used in rural society either for stacking hay (according to a traditional method in which the pole rises above and in the middle of the rounded pile) or for drying out freshly made pottery.

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