Once upon a time there lived a craftsman, and he had a son. The father decided to teach his son something and apprenticed him to another artisan. The son finished his studies and returned to his father. Father and son went to work in other people's places. We went through in order; The father wanted to test his son’s intelligence and knowledge and said: “I’m kind of tired.” Come on, then you carry me, then I’ll carry you.” “Okay,” said the son and began to tell his father a fairy tale.
The son finished his tale, now the father began; We both got so carried away that we forgot about fatigue. We walked a little more. The father gave his son six nickels and said: “Go buy horses with this money, we’ll sit on them and ride.”
The son went, bought a jug of wine, they drank, became merry, and it became even easier to walk. Let's go again, and the father says to his son: “Go, find one comrade for yourself and one for me.” The son entered the forest, cut off a stick for himself and one for his father, and they moved on. They walked and walked and saw - a cornfield. The father says: “Oh, how good the field is!” And the son says: “It’s all eaten, eaten!” “No, it’s good!” “No, it’s eaten!”
We never came to an agreement. The father said: “Let’s go ask someone who knows.” Let’s go look for a knowledgeable person. They go, they see a river, there is salt in the river, it does not melt. - What kind of salt is this that does not melt in the water? - asks the father. “I don’t know,” the son answers.
Let's go look for someone who knows. They showed them one girl. They came and stayed with her. And the girl was a beauty, such a beauty, you couldn’t find another like her in the world. Only one eye is a little squinty.
The father noticed this, but he still doesn’t want to offend the girl, so he says: “Your house is nice, very nice, only the roof is a little sloping (they say, you’re good, you just mow a little). “Well,” says the girl, “that it’s sloping, the smoke comes straight out (they say, well, if I mow a little, I can see everything straight.”)
The father liked this answer, and he said: “Judge me and my son.” I apprenticed him, but he didn’t learn anything: we went through the field, and we saw a field, and it was shining with gold. I say: “The field is good!”, and he says: “No, it’s eaten!” “Your son is right,” says the girl. “The owner of this field has big debts, they will take the entire harvest for the debts, and the owner will be left with nothing.”
And the father liked this answer, and he said: “The river was still dear, the salt lies in the water - it does not melt.” What kind of salt is this and what kind of water? “Water is the wife, and salt is the husband,” says the girl. “A bad wife’s husband melts like salt in water, but a good wife is like water where salt does not melt.”
My father really liked this girl and decided to marry his son to her. They got married that same night. Time passed. Father and son went to look for work. They came to one city and began to build a royal palace. The king set them the following condition: if he liked the palace, he would pay for the work; if he didn’t like it, he would not pay.
The father and son built a very nice palace, everyone liked it, but the king still found fault and ordered both masters, father and son, to be imprisoned. The father says: “I have one car at home, bring it and everything will be straightened out instantly according to your desire.” Only I have a daughter-in-law at home, she won’t trust this car to anyone, unless you send your son.
The king sent his son and his entire retinue with him, and this master-father instructed him to tell his daughter-in-law: “Send me something to correct the wrong.”
When the messengers arrived, the daughter-in-law grabbed the king’s son and locked him up, and said to the retinue: “Tell the king not to see his son until he releases my husband and father-in-law.” What should the king do? He settled accounts with the masters - father and son - and released them.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru