One merchant put a lock on a chest full of silver, and gave that chest to one of his friends for safekeeping, and he left. After some time, the merchant returned and asked his friend:
- Brother! Give me my chest!
He brought the chest, set it down and said:
- Look, brother! The lock hangs in place. The way you gave me the chest is the way I returned it to you.
The merchant examined the castle and took the chest to his home. I opened it and... what did I see? Instead of silver, there was iron in the chest.
Then the merchant realized that his friend had deceived him. And he began to think and ponder: how to get his silver back? Concerned about this, he went to the deceiver every day.
And then one day I saw the three-year-old son of a treacherous friend skipping out of the house. The merchant sat the boy on his lap and caressed him. Just then a neighbor came up, called out to the owner of the house and took him away with him. And the merchant took advantage of this - he took the boy in his arms and carried him to his home. He had a monkey at home. The merchant took the boy's wrists and necklaces, put them on the monkey, and hid the boy in the house.
And his friend returned home and, not finding his son, thought:
“The boy sat on the merchant’s lap, but I did not return the silver to the merchant. This means that no one, like him, took my son away.”
And so he came to the merchant and asked:
- Where is my son?
- Brother! - he answered. “A miracle happened!” Your son played and played and suddenly turned into a monkey. Look at that! There he sits tied up. Do you recognize the necklaces, the wrists?
- What are you doing? You're kidding, sir! - cried the treacherous friend. - Where was this heard? Could it happen that a boy turns into a monkey!
- Brother! - objected the merchant. - Where silver can turn into iron, a boy can turn into a monkey!
The treacherous friend felt ashamed. He brought silver from home and gave it to the merchant, who returned his son to him.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru