Once upon a time there lived a woodcutter, and he had two sons. Every time he went into the forest, he took one of them with him as an assistant. And one day the woodcutter said to his sons:
- Today, children, you will go alone to the forest for firewood, and I will stay home to rest, because I am very tired.
“But father,” the young men answered, “if the cart breaks down, who will help us fix it?”
“If the cart breaks down, son,” answered the old woodcutter, “call the slave.” She will help you.
The sons obeyed their father, harnessed the oxen, and went into the forest. There they unharnessed the oxen, let them graze, and took up axes. Swung. They began to cut down the tree. They quickly chopped wood and loaded the full cart. They harnessed the cattle again and headed towards the house. And then - it’s necessary! Take the cart right in the middle of the road and break down. The young men stopped and started shouting:
- Bondage! Captivity! Fix our cart! - they shouted and shouted, but no one answered them. already? It was beginning to get dark, but no bondage could be heard or seen. Finally the youngest son says:
- Brother, this damned bondage will not come. Already? It got dark. Let's get down to business ourselves and fix the cart as best we can!
When the sons returned home, their father asked:
- Well, how? Was it good in the forest?
- Come on, father! - the sons answer. — Our cart broke down in the middle of the road. We began to call for captivity. They called and called, almost hoarse, but she never responded. They realized that bondage would not come. They took an ax and straightened the cart as best they could.
- This, son, was bondage! - the father told them. “You called her, but she was next to you all the time.” There was no one to fix your cart, so you took on the task yourself. And this means that bondage forced you!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru