A long time ago, now I can’t even remember, in a sieve, in straw, when a camel called out for news in a loud voice, when I was my master in the cradle - creaking, creaking! - shook, a huge tree grew near our house. I hired forty people to plan it and another forty people to hollow it out. Then he poured forty cauldrons of wheat pilaf with meat inside, and poured in forty cauldrons of sour milk. I mixed everything and ate it, but neither my lips nor my tongue even felt the taste of the brew. But if I give you a whole river of compote, a whole mountain of pilaf and a bunch of cabbage rolls, each the size of my hand, will you agree to tell a fairy tale? I’ll probably agree and start right away.
Whether it happened or not, the Generous and the Stingy lived in the same country. The person is difficult to recognize immediately. It’s not a melon—you can’t feel it through the skin. And it’s not lemon—you can’t tell by the smell. Everything good and bad is inside him. Be that as it may, the Generous and the Stingy became friends with each other. In addition, both had to go to a foreign country. “Since we have become friends,” they decided, “we will go on the journey together.”
Anyone who has traveled knows: to walk alone - the road seems longer, to walk together - the road is shorter, the day flies by like an hour.
The Generous and the Stingy went out early in the morning and walked around talking until almost noon. We were tired from such a long trek and also hungry. As they approached the source, Shchedry suggested:
- Let's stop here, rest and eat a little.
“Okay,” agreed Stingy.
They settled down on a green lawn. The Generous One untied his bag of food, took out everything, laid it out, and began to treat the Stingy One. And Stingy - he is stingy. He didn’t have to ask himself for long, he immediately fell into the food. We ate, drank, rested and hit the road again.
We went through another considerable transition, this time the Miser says:
- I'm tired.
“Me too,” answers the Generous. “I’m tired and hungry.”
“Come on,” suggests Stingy, “let’s stop and eat.”
They reached a stream and settled down near it. The Generous One again untied the knapsack, laid out all his supplies, and treated the Stingy One. He didn’t refuse and quickly grabbed the treat.
- We ate well! - Stingy is happy.
They hit the road again. We walked and walked, walked and walked, we passed another transition. So tired that they fall off their feet.
“I’m dying, I don’t have the strength,” Shchedry admitted. “Let’s stop here, I can’t take another step.”
- Me too.
“I’m so hungry and thirsty.”
- Me too.
“But I don’t have any supplies left,” says Shchedry. “Do you have anything?”
“No,” Stingy got angry.
- Really not? Anyone who is preparing to travel must have everything in place.
- Where from! - Stingy was surprised. “I don’t have anything.”
Why did Stingy lie? Yes, because he is stingy, ready to remain hungry, just so as not to share with a friend.
Evening came, the waters darkened, the stars lit up in the sky...
People say: drinking twice is the same as eating once. But that's just what they say. But in fact, water has its place, food has its place.
The generous man drank water not only twice, but twenty-two times, but - alas! — my stomach was still rumbling and sucking from hunger. Finally he couldn’t stand it anymore and said to the Miser:
“I’ll take a walk around the neighborhood, maybe I’ll get a piece of bread somewhere.”
He walked and walked in the darkness of the night and came across a mill. I called the miller - no answer. “Let me,” he thinks, “let me go inside, at least breathe in the smell of flour, deceive my insides.”
As soon as the Generous One crossed the threshold, such a noise and uproar arose that God forbid! He hid behind the bags and what did he see? A whole crowd of genies staged their nightly Sabbath at the mill. The genies began to play tambourines and drums, began to sing songs and lead round dances. Then we got tired, sat in a circle, and let’s talk. One genie says:
“In the village where I settled, there is a poor blacksmith. He has as many as eleven parasites. The unfortunate man can barely make ends meet. If only he knew that he had a rich treasure buried under his forge! Just dig deeper, there you will find gold and diamonds. I could become rich!
- What is this! - another genie interrupted him. “But in the country where I settled, the padishah went blind in both eyes.” Neither the chief physician nor the chief adviser can help him. But there is a very simple remedy. Every morning a nightingale flies into the padishah’s garden, sits on the stem of a rose and sings and sings. They would catch that nightingale, give him two black mulberries to swallow, then they would say: “Spit it out, nightingale, spit it out!” He would have spat out those berries, their juice would have moistened the padishah’s eyes, and he would have immediately regained his sight.
- Oh, man, man! - the genies sighed. - Truly a strange creature!
While they were talking like this, the fatigue passed, and the genies began to sing and dance again. And as soon as dawn broke, they instantly disappeared. They scattered like dust, disappeared like smoke - and there was no trace left.
The generous man waited for this and immediately ran to the village where the poor blacksmith lived. I found him and asked:
- Hurry up and get the shovel!
- Why do you need a shovel? — the blacksmith was surprised.
- Get the shovel, don’t let the rest worry you.
“It looks like this man knows some secret,” the blacksmith decided to himself and gave him a shovel.
The generous one turned the entire forge upside down, but got to the bottom of the treasure. There was a lot of gold, silver, and various jewelry. The blacksmith, for joy, did not feel his feet beneath him, he threw himself on the Generous One’s neck:
- You found out about the treasure, you found it, take half for yourself.
- Thank you! - Shchedry answers. “I don’t need anything.” I have no family, no one to feed or drink. I am alone in the world. Take the treasure and arrange your affairs.
He said so and left.
After some time, the Generous One comes to the country where the padishah is blind in both eyes, and comes straight to the palace:
“Sir, I have brought you deliverance from your misfortune.”
- Tell me quickly, what needs to be done?
—You have a garden, don’t you?
- Yes, of course. Each padishah has his own garden.
— Is there a rose bush growing in the garden?
- Certainly! All padishahs love roses.
- Does the nightingale sit on this rose bush in the morning?
- The rose loves the nightingale, and the nightingale sighs for the rose. Everyone knows this.
- Order to catch the nightingale and let him swallow two black mulberries. Then say: “Spit it out, nightingale, spit it out!” And when he spits it out, apply the juice of these berries to your eyes.
- And then?
“Then your eyes will see clearly, sir.”
They did everything as the Generous One ordered. As soon as they smeared the padishah’s eyes with mulberry juice, he immediately regained his sight.
“Ask me for whatever you want,” says the padishah to the Generous.
- I want you to be healthy!
- My health is of no use to you. Ask for whatever you want.
- I want you to be healthy!
The padishah sees that in front of him is a generous, modest, magnanimous man.
“I cannot remain indebted to your kindness,” he says. “I will give you my daughter as a wife, I will place you in the most honorable place in the palace.” What is your answer to this?
The generous one lowered his head:
- Whatever you say, whatever you do, everything is fine.
The padishah gave his daughter to the Generous One, ordered the festive lights to be lit and the wedding celebrated.
While the Generous and the daughter of the padishah are feasting at the wedding and treating themselves to sweet pilaf with fragrant saffron, let's see what happened to our Stingy.
He waited, waited for his comrade, and a suspicion crept into his soul: since the person left and did not return, it meant that he had probably found something. “Let me go,” he thinks, “and I’ll go there and find the same thing that he found.”
The Miser wandered randomly in the dark. He walked and walked and came across a mill. As soon as I stepped over the threshold, there was such a roar and noise that it is impossible to describe. The stingy one immediately hid in a corner and looked - a whole crowd of genies had gathered. And these were the same genies as the previous night. And they began to play songs again, lead round dances, dance and stamp their feet. Then we got tired, sat down on the floor and started talking.
“Remember,” one began, “last time we sat here, talked, and I told you about a poor blacksmith who had a treasure buried under his forge?” I also said then that if he had dug deeper and found this treasure...
- We remember, we remember! - the genies interrupted him. - So what happened to him?
- Here's what. Someone came and told the blacksmith about this, they dug up all the ground under the floor and found the treasure. Now the blacksmith is no longer an unfortunate poor man, but has become a rich man on our heads!
- Ay-yay-yay! - the genies screamed.
“What’s this,” says another genie. “Remember, that same night I talked about the padishah who was blind in both eyes?”
- I told you, we remember it well! Did something really happen to him too?
- It happened. Someone came, taught the padishah, and they did everything as I said. Now the padishah has become sighted.
- Ay-yay-yay! - the genies shouted again. “After all, these are all things that a person cannot think of on his own.”
- Of course he can’t!
- So...
“So someone got in here and found out our secrets.” Well, let's search the mill.
The genies pushed away the bags of flour, and behind them the Miser sat, trembling with fear. The main genie did not allow him to say a word, he ordered the others:
- Beat this scoundrel thoroughly so that he will be smarter in the future!
The genies attacked the Miser, kicked him and slapped him in the face and left him lying there, while they themselves disappeared.
What else can I say? Fairy tale after fairy tale, everything in order, the tongue is loose, but the palate is sweet. Let's leave it at that.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru