Once upon a time there lived an old soldier. He had to fight for a long time - so long that in the end he was completely worn out and did not know where to go to get some money. He climbed the heather hills, descended into the valleys, until he finally reached a farm. The farmer was away at that time - he went to the market - but his wife remained at home. She was a stupid fool. True, the farmer himself was also not very smart, so it’s hard to say which of them was stupider. Well, when you hear the whole story, you will decide for yourself.
So, leaving for the market, the farmer said to his wife: “I’ll give you ten pounds in gold.” Make sure you take care of them until I get home! If he hadn’t been a complete fool, he would never have left the money to his wife. As soon as he disappeared from sight, the wife said to herself: “I’ll bury this money from the thieves!” She tied all ten pounds in a bundle, went into the room and hid it above the fireplace. “No thief will find them here!” - thinks. And at this very time, the old soldier Jack Hanneford comes up to the house and knocks on the door. “Who’s there?” - asks the farmer. - Jack Hanneford. - Where are you coming from? - From heaven. - Lord have mercy! So you probably saw my late old man there?
And I must say that she married a farmer as a widow, so now she was asking about her first husband. “You see, I did,” the soldier answers. “Well, how is he doing there?” - asks the farmer, and she herself is already emotional. - Yes, so-so. Repairs old shoes. And he eats only cabbage. - Oh, poor thing! - says the farmer. - Didn’t he ask you to give me something? - Of course! says Jack Hanneford. “He said that all the leather needed to be repaired was gone and his pockets were empty.” So, it wouldn’t hurt you to send him a few shillings - it would be something to stock up on leather for. - I’ll send it, I’ll send it! God bless his sinful Soul... And so the farmer’s wife ran into the room, took out a bundle with ten pounds and gave it to the soldier. “Tell my old man,” he says, “to take as much as he needs from this money, and send the rest back.”
Jack took the money and did not think twice, but hurried to get out of the farm as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, the farmer returned home and asked his wife about the money. She told him that she had sent them with one servant to heaven, to paradise, for her late husband, so that he would buy leather for himself - to mend the shoes of saints and angels.
The farmer was very angry with his wife and said that he had never met such a fool in his life. And his wife said that he was even stupider for trusting her with money.
However, there was no time to argue; The farmer jumped on his horse and set off in pursuit of Jack Hanneford. The old soldier heard the sound of hooves and realized that the farmer was chasing him. He lay down on the ground, covered his eyes with one hand, pointed to the sky with the other and looked there himself. “What are you doing here?” - the farmer asked him, holding his horse. - Oh my God! What a miracle! - Jack exclaimed. - What kind of miracle? - Yes, there is a man flying straight into the sky, as if he were running on the ground. - Do you still see him? - I see. - Where is he? - Get off your horse and lie down on the ground! - Will you hold the horse? Jack readily agreed. The farmer lay down on the ground. “I don’t see anything,” he says. “Cover your eyes with your palm and you’ll immediately see a man flying at full speed.” Indeed, the farmer saw a man flying at full speed, only it was Jack Hanneford - he jumped on his horse and ran away.
The farmer returned home on foot, without a horse. “You see,” his wife told him, “it turns out that you are even stupider than me.” I only did one stupid thing, and you did two!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru