There lived two brothers: a rich one and a poor one. The rich man did nothing himself; he had many workers. And the poor man fished in the lake - that’s how he lived.
Once a rich man celebrated a wedding and married his son. He had many guests.
“I’ll go and visit my brother,” the poor man thinks. He borrowed a loaf of bread from his neighbors and went to the wedding.
He came and stood on the threshold with bread. The rich brother saw him:
- Why are you dragging yourself? The guests I have here are no match for you! Get out of here!
And drove him away
It was a shame for the poor brother. He took a fishing rod and went fishing. He got into an old shuttle and sailed out to the middle of the lake. Bit, bit, and all the little fish come across. And then the sun is already setting. “Well,” the poor fisherman thinks, “I’ll throw it one more time for luck.” He threw out a fishing rod and pulled out such a fish as he had never seen in his life: big and all silver.
He rejoiced at the marvelous fish and began to stuff it into the bag. And she suddenly says in a human voice:
“Don’t destroy me, good man, let me go back into the lake.”
The fisherman remembered his children and said:
“I can’t let you go - I’m hungry myself, and the children have been wanting to eat for a long time.” What will I return home with?
“Since you are so poor,” says the fish, “then put your hand in my mouth and pull out the golden ring.”
The fisherman thought and said:
“I’m afraid you’ll bite my hand off again.”
- Don't be afraid, I won't bite you!
The fisherman became bolder, put his hand into the fish’s mouth and pulled out a golden ring.
- What should I do with him? - asks the fisherman. - After all, he won’t feed me.
“It’s okay,” says the wonderful fish, “it’ll feed you!” Throw your little fish out of the boat and throw this ring in there.
That's what the fisherman did. And as soon as he threw the ring to the bottom of the shuttle, a whole heap of money suddenly appeared.
The fisherman released the fish into the lake, and quickly swam to the shore. He took off his shirt on the shore, put money in it and went home.
The poor brother has now healed in such a way that it couldn’t have been better. He built a new hut and invited guests for a housewarming party. But he didn’t call his brother - he couldn’t forgive him for the offense.
The rich man learned that his poor brother had built a new hut and was feasting with guests. He says to his son:
“Go and see what he’s doing there.” The son came, looked and ran back.
“Oh,” he says to his father, “you don’t have what your poor brother has—and the hut is new, and there’s plenty of cattle, and there’s plenty of everything on the table!”
The rich man turned black with envy. He sends his son again to call his poor brother.
A poor brother comes to a rich brother.
—Where do you get so much goodness? - asks the rich brother of the poor one. - They say you live better than me.
The poor man told everything as it happened.
When the rich man heard this, his hands began to itch.
“Let me go,” he thinks, “and I’ll catch that fish.”
He took the fishing rod more firmly, got into a new boat and swam to the middle of the lake. I caught and caught and finally caught a marvelous fish.
“Don’t destroy me,” the fish asks, “let me go back, I have small children there...
“No, my dear,” the rich man became stubborn. - I won’t let you in! Give me the same ring that you gave to my brother.
“So your brother was poor, he didn’t even have bread.” Why do you need it?
- How so why? I don’t want my brother to be richer than me! Give me a ring and that's it! If not, I’ll take you home and fry you.
“Well,” says the fish. - Take it, if you are so envious. What do I care?
She opened her mouth. And the greedy rich man stuck his hand into her mouth up to the elbow. Then the fish crushed it with its teeth - it bit off the hand and dived with it to the bottom of the lake.
The rich brother returned home without money and without an arm.
It serves him right!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru