Once upon a time there lived near Swinford a man named Owen O Mulready. He planted potatoes, raised a vegetable garden with his wife Molly, and never became discouraged or complained about anything. He had only one secret desire - to have a dream. He had never dreamed of anything in his life.
He once met a neighbor and they started talking about this and that. Owen just admit that he has no more cherished dream than to have at least some kind of dream.
“You’ll see it tonight,” said the neighbor, “if you listen to my advice.”
“Talk quickly,” Owen said gladly.
- Rake out all the ashes from the hearth, make a bed there and go to bed. You will have both sleep and dreams, don’t worry.
Owen came home, began to shovel the ashes from the fireplace and make a bed there.
His wife decided that he was crazy, but Owen explained to her what was going on, somehow calmed her down, and so they went to bed right on the fireplace. We had just fallen asleep when there was a knock on the door:
- Get up, Owen 0 Mulready! The landowner told you to deliver the letter to America.
Owen stood up, put his feet in his shoes, and thought: It’s not easy that you’ve been brought at this time!
However, he took the letter and walked along the road without hesitation. Near Mount Slieve Charn he came across a boy tending a herd of cows.
– God help you, O Mulready! - the shepherd greets him.
- And the same to you! Owen replied, surprised. “Everyone knows me, but I don’t know anyone.”
– Where are you going in the middle of the night? - asks the shepherd.
- To America, with a letter from the landowner. Have I lost my way?
- That's right, go straight to the west. But how do you think about crossing the sea?
“We’ll see,” Owen answered and moved on.
So he approaches the sea and sees a crane standing on one leg on the shore.
– God help you, O Mulready! - the crane greets him.
- And the same to you! Owen replied, surprised. “Everyone knows me, but I don’t know anyone.”
“Where are you going, O Mulready?”
- To America, with a letter from the landowner. I don’t know how to get across the sea.
“Sit on my back,” says the crane. - I'll carry you.
“Won’t you get tired halfway?” What will I do then?
- Don't be afraid, I won't get tired.
Owen sat on a crane and they flew across the sea. Halfway, just in the middle, the crane says:
- Hey, Owen, get off! I'm kind of tired.
- Oh, you worthless little crane! – Owen was indignant. - May the devil tire you so much!
Don't cry, and don't ask.
“Well, get down for a minute, give me a break,” the crane asks.
Then they heard a knocking above them, they looked - and it was the threshers in the sky threshing grain.
- Hey, thresher! Owen shouted. “Let me hold on to the threshing hammer while my crane takes a break.”
The thresher lowered the thresher to him, Owen grabbed it with both hands, holding it tightly. And the crane laughed impudently and flew away.
- So be it, you deceiver! – Owen swore. “Because of you, I’m hanging here between the sky and the water in the middle of the ocean.”
A little later the thresher shouts to him:
- Hey, guy, get off, I need to thresh!
“I don’t think so,” Owen replies. “I don’t want to drown.”
- Oh so? - the thresher got angry. “Then I’ll cut the holder.”
“Please,” Owen replies, “I’ll still have the thresher anyway.”
Then he looked down and saw a longboat in the sea.
- Hey, sailor-sailor! Row here and I'll jump down to you.
A sailor approaches and shouts from below:
- To the right or to the left?
- A little more to the left! - Owen asks.
– Drop one shoe to see where it lands! - the sailor shouts.
Owen shook his foot and the shoe flew down.
- Oooh-ooh-ooh-ooh! They are killing! – the wife squealed, jumping up on the bed. - Owen!
Where are you?
- I'm here, Molly. But what are you doing there on the longboat?
The wife got up and lit a candle. And where do you think she found Owen? In the chimney. There he hung, his hands clinging to the ledge of the brick, all black with soot. One of his feet was shod with a shoe, and as for the other shoe, it was he who fell from above and woke up and scared Molly.
Owen crawled out of the chimney, somehow washed himself and came to his senses. But since that night he has never, ever envied people who dream.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru