Once upon a time, in one small village of Wujiazhuang, there lived an old man, Lao Li, and his old woman. They lived neither rich nor poor. We even ate rice occasionally. They have one problem - no and no children, but they really wanted to have a child of their own.
One evening Lao Li says to his wife: “Eh, old woman, we would like a little son, even if it’s small, the size of a date.” And what would you think! Heaven quickly sent them a boy, and he was really small, no bigger than a date. The old man and the old woman couldn't be happier and nicknamed their son Zao-he - Date Pit. Years go by, but Zao-he has grown at least a little. It remained the size of a date seed.
One day Lao Li looked at his son, sighed heavily and said: “Zao-he, Zao-he!” What's the use of raising you! You won't be my helper! I shouldn’t have rejoiced when you were born. Mother echoes father: “Here I am, I look at you, but I’m only upset.” Zao-he answers them cheerfully: “Don’t be sad, mother, don’t be sad, father!” I am small, but remote! Take me, father, to the field.
Tsao-he was smart and diligent. He quickly learned to walk behind a plow, drive mules, and there’s nothing to say about brushwood; he always collected more than anyone else. He’s small and can sneak into places that no one else dares to poke his nose into. And if he jumps, he will immediately jump onto the roof.
The neighbors praise Zao-he, but they cannot praise him enough. They hold him up as an example to their own children: “Look at Tsao-he, small but spirited!” And you! Lazy people, although they have grown up big. Lao Li and his wife are so happy that it’s hard to say! And what’s so wonderful about that! Not only is their son diligent and dexterous, but also extremely smart.
This is what happened to him one day. There was a drought one year, and the peasants did not collect a grain from their fields. We have nothing to eat ourselves, and then we need to serve yamen. There was nothing to pay the peasants with, and then the district chief ordered his guards to take all the cows and mules out of the village.
The guards took away the cattle, and there was crying and screaming all over the village. Zao-he looked, listened and said: “Don’t be sad, people, I figured out how to turn back the cows and mules.” People didn’t believe him and answered: “He’s small, but the promises are big!” Zao-he didn’t argue, but in the evening he ran to the yard of the district chief, where the cows and mules were tied, jumped over the steppe, waited until the guards fell asleep, and climbed into the donkey’s ear: will shout: eh-he... eh-he!.. The guards instantly jumped up and came running - there was no one. They had no idea that someone had gotten into the donkey’s ear.
Before they had time to lie down, the donkey screamed again. Then one guard says: “Don’t pay attention!” You never know why the donkey screams! Let's sleep better. And that's all Zao-he needs. He waited until the guards fell asleep, opened the gate and drove the cattle into the village.
When the peasants saw their mules and cows, they were happy. The next morning the head of the district found out about everything and was so angry that it was difficult to tell. He gathered the guards and together with them went to the village to teach the peasants a lesson. Tsao-he saw them, ran towards them and said to the chief: “It was I who stole the cows and mules yesterday.” Do with me what you want! Then the head of the district shouts: “Knit him up quickly!”
The guards grabbed the iron chain, rushed to Tsao-he to knit, but where is it! Zao-he slipped through the ring, looked at how the guards were trying, and laughed. The chief thought and thought about what to do, and finally came up with an idea: he ordered Zao-he to be put in a purse and taken to Yamen for trial. The guards brought the boy into a spacious hall.
The chief here ordered the purse to be untied, pointed to Zao-he to the guards and said: “Beat me, don’t spare any effort!” The guards each took a stick and beat him, but they won’t hit Zao-he. As soon as they knocked, he had already jumped from this place to another. They go there, Zao-he goes back. There is no way they can cope with the Date Pit!
The chief turned green with anger, stamped his feet, yelling: “We need more people and sticks, you turtle children!” Again Zao-he jumped, and not just anywhere, but right at the district chief, grabbed his mustache and let them swing, as if on a swing. The chief forgot about everything in the world and howled: “Here he is, here he is, hold him, beat him!” The guard wanted to hit Zao-he with a stick, but he hit the chief, knocked out his teeth, knocked him to the floor. Everyone who was in the hall rushed to the boss, lifted him up and consoled him. There was a commotion, then Zao-he jumped out the window, climbed onto the roof, laughed and said: “That’s what you need, that’s what you need, you’ll know how to take away livestock from poor peasants!”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru