Have you ever heard about the good King O Toul, who lived in ancient times in Ireland and who, in his old age, had an unexpected joy?
Yes, so when King O Toul was still young, in all of Ireland there could not have been a braver youth than him. The king's favorite pastime was hunting, and from sunrise until dark evening he only knew that he was galloping through the swamps, spurring his horse and inciting the dogs.
His life flowed gloriously and cheerfully until the king became completely old and hunched over. Now he could no longer hunt all day long, be it summer or winter, be it rain or sun. And the day came when the only thing left for the poor old king was to hobble around the garden with a stick. “Life is over,” he thought, “if there are no more joys or comforts.”
And so, in order to somehow console himself and cheer himself up, the king got himself a goose. Believe it or not, the goose turned out to be a good friend to the poor old king.
For a while they had quite a good time together - King O'Tool and the goose - and don't laugh, there's nothing funny here. Wherever she flew, as soon as he called her, she immediately returned and could hobble after him all day if he wanted it.
And on Fridays - you know that Friday, sacred laws, a day of fasting and good Christians are not supposed to eat meat - so, on Fridays she swam further into the lake and brought her owner an obscure, fatty trout for dinner.
Yes, this good creature was the only joy and consolation of poor old King O Toul. But, alas, nothing lasts forever in this world! And the royal goose also grew old, and the day came when her wings gave out, just like the old king’s legs, and the poor thing, with all her desire, could no longer entertain her master. What can you do!
King O'Tul was inconsolable.
One fine day, the old people - we wanted to say: the old king and the old goose - were sitting on the shore of the lake and were sad. The king held the goose on his lap and looked at her with tenderness, and there were tears in his eyes. “No, it’s better to die or drown in this lake than to drag out such a miserable, dull life,” he thought.
He released the goose from his hands, and she hobbled to the coastal reeds to look for prey. And the king still sat and thought about his joyless life.
Suddenly he raised his head and saw in front of him an unfamiliar young man who looked so modest and handsome.
– Greetings, King O Toole! - said the modest young man.
- Here you are, how do you know my name? – the king was surprised.
- It doesn't matter. “I still know something,” answered the young man. “And I dare ask you, good King O Toole, how is your goose doing?”
- How do you know about my goose too? - asked the king.
After all, the goose was not visible at that time: she was hunting in the reeds.
- I know everything about her. “It doesn’t matter where it comes from,” the young man answered, smiling.
- But who the hell are you? - asked the king.
“An honest man,” answered the young man.
– What do you do for a living? – the king asked.
- I make what is old new.
- Ah, so you are a tinker? - the king decided.
- No, raise it higher! For example, what would you say if I made your old goose young again?
- Young again?! - the king asked, and his old face began to shine with joy: he could not even dream of anything better.
“Well, yes, young again,” the young man nodded in response.
King O'Tul whistled. Immediately an old goose appeared from the reeds and hobbled towards its hunched over old master. Needless to say, the old woman was as faithful to him as a dog.
The young man looked at the goose and said:
“I give you my word, I’ll make her young if you want.”
- I swear by my health! - exclaimed the king, in turn, casting a glance at the old goose, of whom all that was left was skin and bones. “If you do this, I will consider you the smartest young man in all seven parishes of my kingdom!”
, “Just think, I borrowed it,” the young man said, laughing. – What will you give me for this?
- Anything you ask! - said the king. - And this will only be fair.
“Will you give me all the lands that your goose will fly over on the day when I make her young again?”
- I'll give it back! - said the king.
- Aren’t you going to back down? - asked the young man.
- I won’t go! - said the king.
Then the young man called the old goose to him, from which only skin and bones remained, picked her up in his arms, spread her wings and threw her up. Yes, he not only threw her up, but also blew under her wings to make it easier for her to take off. And I swear to you! – the old woman soared into the air like an eagle. And she circled, and dived, and frolicked like a swallow.
It was a pleasure to look at the old king! say: he even opened his mouth in surprise and rejoiced, looking at his old goose, who was fluttering in the sky like a lark.
Yes, so, the goose made a big circle - first it disappeared from view, then it returned, and finally it sank at the feet of its owner. He stroked her head and wings and made sure that she really became young and healthy again, and even better than she was.
- No, the world has never seen better geese! – he praised her.
– What do you want to tell me? – the young man asked him.
“That you are the smartest young man who has ever walked the land of Ireland,” answered the king, continuing to admire his goose.
- And what else?
- That I will be forever grateful to you.
“Will you keep your word and give me all the lands that the goose has just flown around?”
“I will keep it and give it,” said the king, “and I will always be glad to welcome you to my land, even if I only have one acre left.”
“I see that you are an honest and kind old man,” the young man says then. “You’re lucky that you kept your word, otherwise your goose would never fly again!”
- Oh, who are you? – the king asks the young man, for the second time this morning.
And he hears the answer: “I am Saint Kevin.”
- Oh my God! - the king exclaims and falls to his knees, of course, with great difficulty, since his old bones no longer obeyed him. “So it turns out that I’ve been talking here all morning and having a conversation with the saint himself?”
“Well, yes,” says Saint Kevin.
“But I thought I was talking to a simple, modest guy!”
“I changed my clothes,” says the saint, “so you didn’t recognize me.” And I have come, King O'Tul, to test you. And I was convinced this morning that you are an honest and kind king, because you kept your word to the simple tinker for whom you took me. And for this I will reward you: may your goose remain young!
That's the story of old King O'Tul, believe it or not.
In the old days they said:
Autumn is catching up with us as quickly as a hound dog catches its prey.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru