Once upon a time two sons lived with their father. The eldest son was sighted, and the youngest son was blind. And now his death hour came to his father. He called his eldest son and said:
“I’m dying, son, and apart from debts, I’m leaving you nothing as an inheritance.” That’s why I ask you, my son, no matter how difficult it may be for you, do not abandon your blind brother to the mercy of fate.
The eldest son listened to his father's parting words and swore with tears in his eyes that he would fulfill his last wish.
“Now I’m calm,” the father sighed with relief, closed his eyes and died.
His brothers buried him, locked the windows and doors of their miserable shack and set off on their journey. After all, people took pity on them and some gave them bread, some meat, and some money. However, this was of little use to the blind man, because the sighted brother turned out to be a hard-hearted man and took all the best for himself.
A little time passed, and the elder brother completely forgot about his sacred oath to his father. Having saved up some money, he decided to completely get rid of his younger brother. He led him into a deep forest and, saying that he would return soon, left.
Suspecting nothing, the brother lay down on the grass under a tree and fell fast asleep. When he woke up and began to call his older brother, no one responded to his call. What was to be done? He waited and waited, but all in vain. It was then that he, poor thing, realized that his brother had abandoned him and would never return. I understood and cried bitterly.
Meanwhile, dark night fell. Only he didn’t care whether it was night or day: after all, he was blind and couldn’t see it. Suddenly he heard an animal howl nearby and, out of fear, climbed to the very top of a mighty oak tree.
And just in time! He barely had time to hide up there when a lion's roar was heard under the oak tree. Following the lion, a wolf appeared, followed by a bear, and then a boar, a fox and, finally, a hare. The animals sat down in a row and began asking each other about various news.
The lion spoke first:
-Where have you been, wolf? What's new with you?
- Oh, brother lion, I was in distant lands. And there I learned about one great secret. Now I know a healing remedy that will make the blind see.
- What kind of remedy is this? - asked the dev.
- The remedy is simple. If a person or animal was born blind, he needs to apply the bark of this very oak tree to his eyes, and he will immediately see.
- What a miracle! - the animals made noise.
“It’s a miracle, a miracle,” the lion agreed. “But I also have news no worse than yours.” Once I was wandering around France and accidentally came to a city where there was no water and people were suffering from thirst. But no one knows that in the main square of the city there is a huge stone, and if you move it and dig into the ground in this place, a clean spring will gush there. And then there will be enough water for everyone!
- The news is good! - all the animals roared at once. - But how to use it? What do you think, clubfoot? - they asked the bear.
“I don’t know that yet,” answered the bear. - But listen to my news! I have just returned from the distant city of Troyes. The count rules there. And he has one and only daughter. One day she went for a walk with her friends, and suddenly a terrible beast jumped out of the forest. She was so scared that she fell to the ground dead. Since then she has been sick, does not get out of bed and is losing weight day by day. The Count has summoned all the famous doctors, but not one can cure her. And the secret is simple: you need to pull out the green toad from under her pillow. That's all! And the count promised the one who would cure his daughter any reward!
- This is news! - the animals cheered up. — We should visit the city of Troyes. There will be glorious booty there!
The animals talked for a long time about their secrets, and when the morning dawned, they scattered in all directions. Then the blind brother finally came down from the oak tree and quickly cut off a piece of oak bark. He rubbed his eyes with it. And - oh, a miracle! - he saw the blue sky, and the golden sun, and the green forest expanses, and the mighty oak tree, in whose branches he had been hiding all night.
He stroked the mighty oak trunk with tenderness and, happy, went quickly to the very city where people suffered from thirst. He searched for this city for a long time, but finally found it.
He knocked on the window of one poor house. An old woman leaned out of the window and asked:
- Explain to me, grandma, what happened here? Why haven't I met a soul on your streets?
- Oh, woe to us, wanderer! There is not a drop of water in the city. So the pestilence has begun among us: the inhabitants are dying like flies. And what kind of sins does fate punish us for?
- For what sins, of course, I don’t know... But I can save your city from this disaster.
- What should we do for this? - asks the old lady.
“We need to call all the townspeople to the main square, then I’ll tell you what to do.”
The old woman hurried to her neighbors, and they to their neighbors, and finally they headed together to the very stone that stood in the middle of the main square of the city. Everyone joined together and moved the stone. Then the young man asked for a shovel, dug in that place, and at the same moment a stream of clear water splashed upward. The townspeople came running - some with a bucket, some with a tub, some with a jug - and carried home cold, clear water. The whole city rejoiced! And how could one not rejoice, if the city was saved from a terrible misfortune, it means that no one will suffer from thirst anymore.
And the young man, as soon as the source filled up, disappeared unnoticed and hid in the shack of an old woman he knew. He was not used to being praised and congratulated, and was very embarrassed.
The townspeople searched for a long time for their savior and finally found him in a miserable shack. They offered him a whole bag of gold. The young man looked at the bag, pushed it aside with his foot and said:
“I didn’t give you water out of self-interest, but I sympathized with your misfortune.” And I don't need gold. But if you want to give me something, give me a carriage with six fast horses.
The townspeople were surprised that he refused the gold, but they did not contradict the stranger and, as he asked, gave him a carriage drawn by fast horses.
The young man said goodbye to the townspeople, thanked them for the gift and quickly galloped off to the very city of Troyes, where the count’s daughter was suffering from an unknown illness.
He arrived in Troyes and stayed in a run-down hotel. And at dinner I asked the owner what news they had in the city. The owner immediately told the young man a story about the count’s daughter and said that everyone felt sorry for her because she was a kind and beautiful girl.
- Why did she get sick? — the young man asked.
“This is something no one knows,” the owner spread his hands. “The Count invited many famous doctors, but all to no avail.” His daughter is getting worse and worse. They say she might die any moment, poor thing.
“Well, no,” said the young man, “this is unfair.” I think I know how to save her. Go, friend, to the count and tell him that a famous doctor has come to the city and can, supposedly, cure his daughter of a fatal illness.
Of course, the owner ran quickly to the count to convey the good news. The inconsolable father never hoped to see his daughter healthy again, but here is such happy news!
He invited the young man to his place and introduced him to all the famous doctors who tried to treat his daughter, but never achieved anything. The doctors greeted the young man unkindly.
“Why did you come here, you ragamuffin?” - they asked.
“Yes, I want to cure the count’s daughter from inevitable death.”
- Heal?! But do you know, unfortunate one, that even we are not able to save her!
The young man did not answer them, silently bowed to the count and entered the chambers of the count’s daughter. And when the doors closed behind him, the young man approached the bed, lifted the pillow and pulled out a green toad from under it.
And then the girl opened her eyes, sat up and, as if nothing had happened, asked:
- Why am I lying here?
“Because I was sick,” the young man answers. “But now the danger has passed, so you can get up and go for a walk.”
And the young man told her everything as it happened.
- Oh, this is a magical story! - the girl exclaimed. - And you are probably a magical prince.
“No,” answered the young man, “I am the poorest of the poor, and until quite recently I was a wandering blind man.” And he told her his story.
- Oh, this is so interesting that I definitely have to marry you!
And she took the young man to his father. When the count saw his daughter healthy and cheerful, he beamed with happiness. Of course, he didn’t really like the news that his daughter was going to marry some stranger. But he didn’t argue, and what was the point? And soon they had a magnificent wedding.
The young man began to live in the count's house and one day, while walking in the forest, he met some beggar. He took a closer look at the beggar and recognized him as his older brother. He called him over and asked:
- How long have you been begging?
- It's been a while, sir. Previously, my brother and I used to beg, but then he left me.
- Why?
- Yes, he was, he was a greedy and envious person and, apparently, he was afraid that I would get an extra piece, and he would get less. So one day he took me into a dense forest and left me there...
- Was it really all that happened? Isn’t it the other way around, remember? Take a closer look at me, don't you recognize it?
The beggar took a closer look at the richly dressed gentleman and suddenly recognized him as his own brother. He found out and backed away in fear:
- It can’t be! You were blind, and even a beggar...
- True, he was, but by your grace he became different.
Here the beggar fell to his knees and let’s ask his brother for forgiveness. Well, he received forgiveness, and even a sincere one, because the youngest of the brothers was a kind, easy-going man. And that would have been the end of the matter, to everyone’s joy, if the former beggar had not been tormented by one mystery: how did his brother regain his sight? No, not even that, but how did he get rich? He thought about this riddle for a long time, but never came up with anything. And when it became unbearable for him, he one day approached his brother and asked:
“Can you tell me how you acquired your sight and wealth?”
The brother did not want to tell him everything, but the elder begged him so much that he gave in and told him the whole story. But then he gave a stern warning:
- Don’t you dare, fool, to go to that oak tree! After all
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Is your life bad now? So don't tempt fate in vain!
For a long time he tried to dissuade his older brother from his stupid idea, but, apparently, his brother was consumed by envy. And envy, as you know, is a bad adviser! So the elder brother set off on a long journey. I found a familiar forest, and in it the treasured oak tree. He climbed to the very top and hid under the branches. At midnight he heard the howl and roar of an animal, and soon all the familiar animals gathered under the oak tree and had a conversation.
“Tell me, lion,” the wolf began, “what new things have you learned during this time?”
“Eh, no, friends,” the lion grumbled, “I won’t tell you anything today.” After all, what we talked about last time became known to someone, because someone had already cured the count’s daughter, and in that city where people were suffering from thirst, a clean spring suddenly began to flow.
“It’s no different, someone gave our secrets to people!” - the bear got angry.
- In any case, it’s not me! - The wolf bared his teeth.
- And not me! - said the boar.
- And it’s not me! - the fox responded.
“Well, not me,” whispered the hare.
“Hush, hush,” the lion reassured them. “Someone must have been sitting in a tree and overheard us.”
Then the hare raised his head and noticed a man among the dark oak leaves.
- Ay! - he drawled. “He’s still eavesdropping on us.” Climb up, Misha, and throw the thief to the ground.
- There’s no way I’ll get in! - said the bear. - After all, by the time I throw him from the tree, by the time I go down to the ground, all that will remain is his horns and legs.
- Shame on you! - the animals were indignant. - Don’t you really believe in our honesty? We will, of course, wait for you.
- Well, if that’s the case, I’ll climb...
The bear climbed onto the oak tree, grabbed his greedy brother by the belt and threw him to the ground. And when I went down, lo and behold, there were no people, no animals. The bear was offended by his friends and disappeared into the forest thicket.
So since then he has not left the forest.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru