Listen to what we're going to tell you... Once upon a time there lived a poor old man named Grasshopper. One day he went to a neighboring village to get food for himself; On the way I got tired and sat down on the mound to rest. And it was summer, in the steppe. And princely herds grazed there. The herdsmen were overwhelmed by the heat, they fell asleep, and the horses wandered into the shadows, into a deep ravine... The grasshopper saw all this, but did not say anything to the herdsmen, and trudged on on his way. He was on his own. mind and decided: “Let the herders rush to look for horses. Maybe this will benefit me."
The herdsmen indeed, as soon as they woke up, raised the alarm. The horses were not found and the prince himself was informed about this,
“If the prince allowed me to tell fortunes with beans, I would tell you where your herd is,” so boasted the Grasshopper, who wandered into the prince’s courtyard, and the servants ran and conveyed these words to the prince,
“Bring him here immediately!” cried the prince.
They brought the Grasshopper to the palace. He sat down, scattered beans on the floor... He was silent... He pretended that the beans were telling him the whole truth. Then he muttered:
- I see, I see! The herd will not fall into the wrong hands... I see... The steppe... Two hills... There is a ravine between the hills... There are horses standing in the ravine... If I'm lying, I'll never take up fortune telling again!
The horses were found and brought in. The prince was very pleased and gave the Grasshopper a full handful of gold. And a rumor spread through the villages: “A wonderful fortune teller has appeared! He found the missing princely horses!”
Well, now the old Grasshopper lives in contentment and peace, he doesn’t sense trouble, but the trouble is here: the prince’s daughter has lost a gold ring studded with diamonds.
The prince sends for the Grasshopper.
“Spread the beans, let them tell you where the ring went,” says the prince. “Guess, fortune teller!” You guessed it, take from my wealth how much you can carry on your shoulders. If you don't guess, I'll have you hanged.
“Fortune telling is a difficult matter,” answers the Grasshopper, while his legs are shaking. “I’ll be guessing for a long time... Order me to be taken to an empty room for the night.”
“You will have an empty room, sit and wonder!” The prince waved his hand, and they took the old man into an empty room, and even locked him up.
You can't run away... All night the Grasshopper was thinking about how to save his poor head... Before dawn he hears a knock on the window.
- Who is this?
“It’s me!” someone’s voice answers in a whisper, “I’m the prince’s bird-keeper, a miserable old woman, I’ve been following other people’s geese all my life... The princess dropped the ring while walking in the meadow, and I picked it up. Take the ring, but don’t destroy me, fortune teller!
“That’s it!” the Grasshopper whispered in response. “But I’m not sleeping here and thinking about you.” Why do I think she’s so late? After all, it will soon begin to get light... Now listen! Give this ring to some conspicuous goose to swallow along with the food. And I’ll point this goose out to the prince.
The old bird-keeper was delighted.
“There is,” he whispers, “such a noticeable gray goose.” His wing is broken... Thank you, kind man!
The next morning the whole village gathered to listen to what the fortune teller had to say. The door was opened. The Grasshopper was released.
“How?” asks the prince. “Did you guess?”
“Since the evening!” the Grasshopper boasts. “Order, prince, to slaughter the gray goose with a broken wing.” He swallowed the ring.
“What an amazing master of fortune-telling this Grasshopper is!” said the prince when a ring with diamonds was found in the goose’s goose.
The Grasshopper returned home again with rich gifts, and the prince went to visit his neighbor prince and there began to brag about his famous fortune teller.
The princes argued among themselves. The prince-owner shouts:
- Your fortune teller is a rogue and a swindler!
And the guest prince answers: “Let’s try it!” I'm telling you, nothing compares to his bean reading! They called the Grasshopper.
“Now, old man,” said the guest prince, “you will tell fortunes not for me, but for my friend.” We argued with him. If you guess what he orders, I will reward you like a prince. If you don’t guess, you’ll be without a head!
The Grasshopper was stunned: “Oh, you,” he thinks, “curse the day when I acquired this fame for myself!”
The prince-owner shows a clenched fist and asks:
- What's in this hand, old man?
The Grasshopper sees that death has come, spreads the beans and mutters to himself:
- Poor Grasshopper jumped! The first time you jumped, you galloped away... The second time you jumped, you galloped away... The third time you won’t jump out... They squeezed you in a fist...
“This is a real devil!” shouted the prince-owner. “How did he know?” He unclenched his fist, and from there a small grasshopper jumped to the floor.
Then the old man wiped the sweat from his forehead and said:
“I am destined to guess only three times: now my strength is over.” I won’t guess anymore for anyone!
The Grasshopper received a generous reward and lived after that for a long time in contentment and happiness.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru