Once the men were sitting under the willows, sucking on their pipes, and scribbled about the master. He is angry and stingy; They say, you can’t ask him for a ladle of water. And one guy says:
- Oh, you! Yes, if I want, I’ll not only ask for water, but I’ll have lunch with the gentleman.
The men shouted and argued:
“If you’re not lying, you’ll have lunch with our gentleman, we’ll give you a couple of oxen.”
We've already bet honor on honor.
A man came to the master, bowed low and said in a whisper:
“Dear sir, I didn’t tell anyone anything, I immediately came running to you to ask: do me a favor, sir, tell me what such a piece of gold would be worth?”
And he shows the gentleman his good peasant fist.
The master's eyes lit up like gold.
“Come in,” he says, “come in, little man.” And a man came into the room and kept repeating his own words:
- Tell me, Mr. Gracious, and if there was such a piece, what would the price be for it?
He makes two fists and shows. The gentleman trembled with greed and said:
- Sit down, little man, sit down, have a glass. And the man told him:
- But, my dear sir, they drink a glass with a snack. Tell me, sir, if there was such a piece?.. Yes, he points to his head. The gentleman turned white, clapped his hands, and shouted to the servants:
- Bring vodka and liqueur, and borscht, and dumplings! Sit down, man, let's have lunch. The man sat down with the gentleman and was having lunch. Pan is already on fire, he wants to know where that piece of gold is.
And the guy eats the master’s food, smacks his lips, he hasn’t tasted anything like this in ages.
Just chewed, - sir for his cap:
- Well, lead the way, man. Where is this gold?
And the man lit a pipe and shook his head:
- So, my dear sir, I don’t have it, this gold... I asked what it would be worth if it were.
The gentleman got angry and shouted at the man:
- Get out, you fool! Fool in shreds! And the man answered him:
“Eh, my dear gentleman, I’m not so stupid, I’m not so stupid, if I got a pair of cool-horned oxen.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru