In one country there lived a man who had a very large family. The man respected laws and customs. However, in this world, wealth and poverty, honor and humiliation constantly replace each other. The time of famine came, and it became difficult for the man to feed his large family. Then he decided to find a country where he and his family could live in abundance. He took his wife and children with him and hit the road.
They spent many days on the road. Once they met peasants and asked if they knew of a country where the bins were bursting with bread. And the peasants, pointing to the distant mountains, said:
- In that region there is a country in which there is a lot of grain. There is fertile land, but the judges are unjust, and lawlessness and disorder reign in the country. In the neighboring country, life is not particularly comfortable, but there are honest judges, and law and justice triumph.
The man listened to them and thought: “I am poor. I have no land, no livestock, no property. I am not interested in whether a judge is fair or unjust, whether the laws are respected or not. I only want to earn my living through my labor. I have nothing to quarrel with people about.”
And he firmly decided to go to that country where there is a lot of bread, but there is no justice. Soon the man reached this country. He built a hut for his family and, working day and night, was able to feed his wife and children.
He lived in this country for several months, and then one day a neighbor came up to him and said:
-Who are all these people who live with you?
- This is my wife, and the rest are children.
- Do you really have that many children? - the neighbor did not let up.
“Of course,” he answered.
Then the neighbor says:
“You are the father of such a large family, and I am a lonely person.” Give me your wife. Let her give birth to a child for me too.
- How can I give you my wife?! No, I won’t give it back,” he replies.
Then they quarreled, and the neighbor said:
- Oh, don’t you want to give me your wife?! Then you go to the judge.
“Even though the local judge is unfair, he will not tell me to give this man my wife,” thought the father of the family, and they headed to the judge’s house.
As soon as they came to the judge, the neighbor said:
- Sir, judge fairly! It has been a long time since this man came here from another country and settled here. Since many people came with him, I asked him who these people were, and he told me that they were his wife and children. And I'm a lonely person. So I asked him to give me a wife so that she would bear me a child, but he refused. When I saw that he was jealous and thought only of himself, I decided to turn to you for help. I am sure that, having learned about such injustice, you will force him to give me his wife.
The judge listened to him and said:
- Listen, alien! Where did you come here from? You don't know the laws and customs at all. You have many children, but he has none, and when this man asks you for a wife to give him at least one child, you object! What a weirdo you are! Give him your wife now! If you do not follow my order, you will suffer severe punishment!
Having given away his wife, the father of the family fell ill from anger and sadness and took to his bed. He was ill all week, and on Sunday the neighbors gathered and, heading to the sick man’s house, decided along the way:
“If he’s still sick, we’ll put him on a stretcher and take him to bury him.” Otherwise, he will die on the working day when we work on the lands of the Negus!
Having come to the sick man, they said:
- Today is Sunday. We are free and can bury you.
- How is this so? I didn’t die, and you want to bury me?! - he was surprised.
Then they tell him:
“You’ve been lying there all week, and now you’re going to die on a working day and force us to quit working on the lands of the Negus?!” No, we will bury you today. And if you don’t want to, let’s go to the judge and let him judge us. You've always been a rogue. When your neighbor asked you for a wife, you also refused, but our fair judge exposed you, and you still had to give up your wife.
The man refused to go with them to the judge. Then they forcibly picked him up and dragged him with them. Appearing before the judge, they said:
- O judge, judge fairly! This man came to us from another country and settled here. On Monday he fell ill and went to bed. We were afraid that he would suddenly die and because of him we would have to give up work on the lands of the Negus, but thanks to God's grace he survived until Sunday. That's why we got together today and decided to bury him, but he refuses and causes us unnecessary trouble. So we have come to you to hear your fair verdict.
Then the judge stood up and said:
“Isn’t this the same man who recently said that he wouldn’t give up his wife?” How long will he mock us?! This is a jealous person and a rogue who does not recognize laws and customs! Where did he come from?! He got sick, lay there all week, and now he even dares to say that he shouldn’t be buried! Does he really want to die on a working day so that because of him work on the lands of the Negus will stop?! Bury him now!
The people thanked the judge for his sentence and went to bury the alien.
That's what they say.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru