One day a noble biy was traveling with his three viziers, inspecting his possessions and saw an old man reaping wheat.
“Hey, old man!” shouted the biy. “I see the top of your mountain is covered with white snow.”
“What a mountain!” the old man responded. “Already the plain, my dear, is covered with a white haze...
- How are you doing with food?
- I'm managing, thank you. I chew bread with meat.
- What are you doing, old man?
- I lent it, and now I receive this debt.
- And if I sent you three fat drakes, what would you do with them?
— I plucked it to the last feather.
The biy grinned, whipped his horse and rode on. And behind him were the viziers... The viziers did not understand anything from the old man’s conversation with the bey and whispered among themselves: “What does this mean?”
Finally, the senior vizier could not stand it and asked:
- What, venerable biy, were you and the old man talking about? I must admit, I didn’t understand anything...
- Don’t understand anything? Well, what about you?” the biy turned to the junior viziers.
“We didn’t understand a word!” they said in response. The biy got angry:
“What kind of advisers are you, my smart viziers, when you can’t understand a simple conversation!” Either you guess what was discussed, or I don’t need you anymore. I'll drive everyone away!
The viziers moved aside and began to confer. And so they thought, and so... They can’t come up with anything! We decided: “Let’s go back to the old man and ask him himself.”
They returned to the old man’s field, and the senior vizier shouted:
- Old man, oh old man! Biy kicked us out because we didn’t understand what you were talking about. Won't you tell us?
- Why not tell me? I'll tell you! Only for this you give me your horses and clothes.
The viziers looked at each other, hesitated... I really didn’t want to give them fast horses and an expensive dress. What can you do! If the bey drives you away, it will be very bad!
They got off their horses, took off everything and said:
- Well, come on, old man, tell me your secret. And the old man said:
- When the biy shouted: “The top of your mountain is covered with white snow!” - this meant: “You’ve gone completely grey, old man!” And I answered: “The plain is already covered with white haze.” This meant: “My eyes began to see poorly.” Biy asked me: “How are you doing with food?” And I answered him: “I chew bread with meat.” It meant: “I chew with my gums.” (I don’t have any teeth left!) “What are you doing?” - the bey then asked. And I answered: “I lent money, but now I receive debts.” This meant: “I threw grains of wheat into the ground in the spring, as if I had given it a debt, and now the earth returns the debts to me with a harvest.” The last question the bi asked me was about fat drakes: what would I do with them if I came across them? And I answered: “I would pluck to the last feather.” “So I got you!” the old man concluded. “Standing in front of me like plucked drakes, without a single feather.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru