There lived one old man. In his entire life he never said an empty word. What he knew, he knew correctly. What he didn’t know, he didn’t talk about.
Everywhere the old man was honored and respected. But there were also those who envied his good fame and wanted to laugh at the old man.
This is what these evil people came up with.
One of them shaved the right half of his head - from the forehead to the back of the head, then smeared the left side of the pinto horse with red paint and led it past the old man’s house. And his friends waited a little and followed him.
They stopped at the old man’s house, bowed to him with respect and said:
-Are all your days good?
And then, as if by chance, they ask:
“Tell me, did a curly-haired young man with a red horse pass here?”
The old man replied:
- Yes, a young man with a horse passed here. The side of his head that I saw was curly, but I don't know if his whole head was curly. And the side of the horse that I saw was red, but whether its other side was red - or whether it was piebald or black - I don’t know.
Another time, these cunning people dressed a girl in a boy’s dress, girded her in the same way as boys are girded, then they shaved the wool from one side of a black sheep and ordered the girl to walk with this sheep past the old man.
And after her they themselves went to the old man.
They again bowed to him with respect, wished him happy days, and then asked, as if by the way:
“Tell me, did a boy with a long-haired sheep pass here?”
The old man replied:
— Yes, a child with a sheep passed along the road. The side of the sheep that I saw was covered with long black wool, but what kind of wool the sheep has on the other side - black or white, long or cropped - I don’t know. And the child I saw was dressed as a boy, but whether it was a boy or a girl in disguise, I also don’t know.
Then, for the third time, the cunning friends decided to catch the old man in the wrong word.
They dressed the boy as a girl, gave the boy a basket in which they carry bread, put stones in it and said to the boy:
- Go pass this old man!
And they themselves also went to the old man.
They bowed low to him and said with respect:
- May your days pass in good health!
And then they ask:
“Did you see a girl on the road carrying a basket of bread?”
The old man said:
- Yes, I saw a child carrying a bread basket. The child was dressed as a girl, but whether it was a girl or a boy in disguise, I don’t know. The child had a bread basket in his hands, but whether there was bread in it, or maybe there were stones in it or whether it was empty, I don’t know either.
The cunning men saw that their trick had failed again and turned to leave.
But the old man stopped them and said:
- Listen and remember my words. What a person sees is not all that can be seen. And if they come to your house with a bow and words of greeting, do not rush to say that they are friends. It could also be enemies who are setting a trap for you.
And those who wanted to laugh at the old man left his house in great embarrassment.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru