In one village there lived a peasant named Genbei. The neighbors did not like Genbei: he was very boastful. If trouble happened to someone, Genbei would laugh and say:
- This will never happen to me! You can't fool me that easily!
One day, Genbei was going to the city. He decided to buy himself a heifer there at the market. Genbei's wife chose the strongest rope and, handing it to her husband, said:
- Lead the heifer home on a rope. Yes, be careful that thieves don’t steal the chick along the way.
- What nonsense you are saying! - Genbei got angry. - So that they steal my chick! No, you can’t fool me that easily!
On the same day, Genbei went to the city. He wandered around the market for a long time and finally saw a tall, well-fed white heifer.
“This is exactly what I was looking for! - Genbei rejoiced. “No one in our village has such a chick!”
And Genbei even clicked his tongue with pleasure.
He made a deal with the seller and drove the heifer home. On the outskirts of the city, Genbei remembered that his old acquaintance, a shoemaker, lived nearby.
Genbei came to a friend and immediately began to brag:
- Look what a chick I bought! You've never had such a chick in your life!..
And Genbei clicked his tongue again with pleasure. And the shoemaker had an apprentice - the boy Ichiro.
Ichiro looked at the chick, also clicked his tongue and said:
- That's right, the chick is good. Just be careful, Genbei-san, that it is not stolen along the way.
Hearing these words, Genbei began to laugh:
“They would, of course, take her away from you, but you won’t fool me!” I'm not that kind of person!
Having said this, he said goodbye and went home to the village.
As soon as Genbei disappeared, Ichiro said:
- Let me, master, wean this man from boasting.
“No one will wean him off this disease,” answered the master.
- Still, I ask for your permission: let me try.
- How will you do this?
- And I’ll steal his chick.
- Try it if you want. But nothing will come of it: after all, he is leading the heifer on a rope.
- Let's see, let's see! - the apprentice exclaimed and, tearing a new pair of geta from the wall, ran out into the street.
Ichiro knew the road along which Genbei walked. Along the side paths he got ahead of the braggart and, throwing one shoe onto the road, hid in the grass.
And the satisfied Genbei pulled the chick along with him and hummed some kind of song. Suddenly he saw a shoe on the road.
- Tse, tse, tse! - the braggart was upset. — It’s a pity that there is no second one. I won’t even bend over for one...
And, pulling the rope, he led the heifer further. So he walked safely, maybe ri, or maybe less, but only when he entered the oak grove did he again come across the same shoe.
- What a pity that I didn’t pick up the first shoe! - Genbei was upset. - However, it’s probably still lying around in the old place.
Genbei hastily tied the heifer to the oak tree and rushed as fast as he could onto the road, where he saw the first shoe. The shoe was in its old place.
Grabbing it, Genbei hurried into the grove. But when he ran up to the oak tree, the heifer was not there.
Genbei searched the entire grove, but the heifer seemed to have disappeared into the ground.
“And how did she manage to get rid of it? - Genbei was upset. “If only no one would know that this happened to me...”
Not finding the heifer, he went back to the city: it was impossible to return to his wife without the heifer. Then I would have to admit everything.
By this time, Ichiro had already driven the stolen heifer home and hid it in the yard. Ichiro told the master how he had outwitted the boastful Genbei, and they both laughed for a long time.
- What are we going to do with this chick? - asked the apprentice.
The owner did not have time to answer anything, because at that moment the doors opened and Genbei entered the house.
- Where is your chick, venerable Genbei-san? - asked the master, as if nothing had happened.
- Chick? Ah, chick! You know, I didn’t like it anymore, and I sold it to some passerby. Now I want to buy myself another one. That's why I came back.
The owner treated Genbei to tobacco and said:
- You're lucky: I've been planning to sell my heifer for a long time. If you don't skimp, I can give it to you.
And he ordered the apprentice to bring the heifer.
- How much do you want for her? - asked Genbei when Ichiro carried out his master’s orders.
- Yes, the same as you paid for yours.
- Here's another! - Genbei waved his hands at him. - Is it possible to compare my chick with yours?! Mine was both larger and fatter! And the hair on your heifer is much shorter!
- As you know, I won’t sell it cheaper.
Genbei had to shell out money for his own chick again.
When he led her out of the yard, the master said:
“I hope, Genbei-san, that no one will steal your chick along the way?”
And again Genbei declared boastfully:
- Well, no, you can’t fool me! I'm not that kind of person!
As soon as Genbei left, Ichiro asked again:
- Allow me, Mr. Master, I will steal this chick again.
- Well, you won’t be able to do it the second time! Now you can't fool him so easily.
- But still, let me make such an attempt. I really want to wean him from bragging.
- Well, try...
Ichiro rushed into the grove again to get ahead of the braggart. Hiding in the bushes near the road, he began to wait. And, as soon as Genbei appeared on the path, the apprentice mumbled loudly:
- Mu-u-u-u, mu-u-u...
- But it’s my missing chick screaming! - Genbei rejoiced. “Now I’ll catch her, and I’ll have two heifers.”
And, tying the heifer to the oak tree with a triple knot, Genbei rushed into the bushes, from where the mooing was heard.
Then Ichiro, continuing to moo, began to run from place to place. Having lured the braggart into the thicket, the apprentice hurried to the oak tree, untied the heifer and drove her home.
Only towards sunset did Genbei emerge onto the path. Here he immediately saw that his second heifer had disappeared.
Again Genbei walked into the city.
Entering the shoemaker's house, he stood silently at the door.
- What brought you to the city again and where is your beautiful chick? - asked the cunning Ichiro.
“You see,” the braggart began to lie, “on the way I went into the temple and gave the heifer to the abbot, so that the gods would be even more merciful to me.” In the morning I will go to the market and buy myself a new one.
The owner grinned and said:
- There is no need to wait until the morning. I have another beautiful heifer in store for sale.
Barely holding back his laughter, Ichiro brought in a white chick. In order not to laugh, the owner always covered his mouth with a fan. Genbei saw the chick and muttered displeasedly:
- This chick is a hundred times worse than mine!
At this point the master and apprentice could not stand it and began to laugh so loudly that the neighbors came running. Everyone started asking what happened.
Then the owner told how the boastful Genbei bought the same heifer twice and came for her a third time.
Then the neighbors started laughing merrily. When the laughter died down a little, the master said:
- Genbei-san, promise never to brag again, and I will give you the chick and the money.
Genbei had to agree: it’s impossible to return home without money and without a chick. He took the heifer, begged for a thicker rope and trudged towards himself.
Soon this story reached his village.
From that time on, if Genbei began to boast, someone would exclaim:
- Genbei-san, tell me how you bought the same heifer three times.
And then the braggart fanned himself in embarrassment and fell silent.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru