Consequently, the townspeople completed their town hall and began to hold council there every day. And somehow they started talking about supplies. Indeed, you had to put something aside for the future - no matter what, prices would rise, and you would immediately fall into the clutches of resellers and speculators.
The Schildburgers were especially concerned about salt. In those days, due to endless wars and civil strife, selling it, and therefore buying it, was a troublesome matter. For a long time the townspeople consulted with each other,
Is it possible to turn everything around so that Shilda has its own salt, because arable land without manure and a kitchen without salt are rubbish! In the end, the following guess prevailed: a grain of salt is like two drops of water similar to a grain of sugar, and sugar, everyone knows, grows in the field. Therefore, salt should grow in the field.
Having reasoned this way, the Schildburgers decided to select a large wedge from the communal lands, plow it, carefully select it, and then, according to all the rules, sow salt on it. And, by the way, there was much less salt in Shilda than there were clowns and fools!
“This must be accomplished,” stated the corresponding decree, “in the most urgent and careful manner. Sowing should be done with the Lord’s blessing.”
“Finally,” the Schildburgers realized, “we will have plenty of salt. You won’t have to bow down to anyone for every pinch.”
On the first fine day, the Schildburgers plowed the allocated wedge, harrowed it thoroughly and, as their clownish wisdom told them, thickly sowed it with salt.
And in order to protect the field from all sorts of enemies, they placed a guard at every corner. And each watchman was given a long branch, so that the birds would be driven away if they began to peck at the sowed salt.
Not much time passed before the field turned lushly green, and the Schildburgers ran en masse to admire how quickly their salt was growing. The higher the greenery rose, the more magnificently the hopes of the Schild burghers blossomed - they slept and saw how they would rake this very salt with shovels.
But then they remembered that not only birds, but also every other creature - horses, cows, sheep and especially the damned goat - are great hunters of licking salt. What to do? What should I do?
For greater safety and better preservation of their salt field, which they would willingly increase many times, they had to appoint one more, in addition to the four appointed guards, as the commander of the entire guard. This boss was strictly ordered: if, God forbid, a cow or any other animal wanders into the field, immediately drive it out of the field, pushing, beating and frightening it!
The chief of the guard swore to carry out everything exactly. And how he kept his oath, we will find out in the next chapter.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru