In ancient times there lived a poor woman; she had two sons - Jean and Pierre. Seeing his mother's need, Pierre went to be hired as a worker by a peasant.
- How much salary are you asking for? - asked the peasant.
“One hundred crowns,” answered Pierre.
-Have it your way. But this is the agreement we will have: at the first quarrel, the one of us who gets angry will have the other one hurt his sides.
“I’m never angry, master.”
Less than a week had passed before Pierre argued with the owner, got angry, and the peasant kneaded his sides. Pierre returned to his mother and told his brother Jean about what had happened to him. Jean asked his brother to show him where the owner lived, and went to get hired. However, Jean did not say that he was Pierre's brother.
- How much do you want?
- Give me a hundred crowns, master.
-Have it your way. But this is the agreement we will have: at the first quarrel, the one of us who gets angry will have the other one hurt his sides.
“I’m never angry, master.”
The next day the owner told Jean to take the grain to the market. Jean sold the cart and four horses and took the money to his brother. When he returned to the owner, he asked him:
-Where is the cart with horses?
“Owner,” answered Jean, “I sold them to a man I met on the road.”
- What did you do with the money?
“I gave the money to my brother, whose sides you hurt.”
- Do you want to ruin me?
- Master, aren't you angry?
- Now, I’ll get angry over such trifles!
“You know, the one of us who gets angry will get his sides hurt by the other one.”
- Yes, I don’t even think about being angry.
The next day the owner said to the hostess:
“I’ll send Jean to cut down the biggest oak tree in the forest, he won’t be able to drag it, and when I start scolding him, he’ll get angry.”
Jean went into the forest with a cart drawn by four horses, sold the cart and horses, as before, and then returned home.
“What is this,” asked his owner, “where is the cart?”
- Cart? I left her in the forest, she got stuck there.
- Ay! You want to ruin us completely! And the hostess shouted even louder:
- You will ruin us completely!
“Master,” said Jean, “aren’t you angry?”
- Well, now I’m going to get angry over such trifles!
“You know, the one of us who gets angry will get his sides hurt by the other one.”
- Yes, I don’t even think about being angry!
One day, when Jean was threshing bread at the threshing floor, the owner and his wife went to have breakfast, but he was not invited. Jean didn’t even show that he noticed this; he went to the market, sold the threshed bread, had a hearty breakfast at the inn and went home.
“Jean,” said the owner, “what did you do with the grain?”
“You didn’t invite me to breakfast.” I sold the grain and had breakfast with the money.
“You’ll ruin us, Jean, ruin us completely!”
- Master, aren't you angry?
- Well, now I’m going to get angry over such trifles!
“You know, the one of us who gets angry will get his sides hurt by the other one.”
- Yes, I don’t even think about being angry! The hostess said to her husband:
- Let's send him to guard the piglets in the distant pasture; the cannibal will devour him, and we will get rid of him.
And so Jean went with the herd to the pasture. Finding himself near the cannibal's dwelling, he entered it. In his hand he held a sparrow.
“Well,” he asked the cannibal and showed him the sparrow, “probably you can’t fly as high as this bird flies?”
“No, it won’t take off,” answered the cannibal.
“I’m hungry,” said Jean.
- Me too. What will we cook for breakfast?
“Come on,” said Jean, “let’s cook some porridge.”
When the porridge was cooked, they sat down at the table. Jean had previously fitted a voluminous pocket to his stomach and slowly put a good share there while the cannibal devoured the porridge on both cheeks. When the pocket was full, Jean ripped it open with a knife and the porridge fell out onto the floor; then he started eating again.
“Look,” said the cannibal. - I, too, would like to relieve myself like this! Rip my belly open too!
Jean didn’t have to ask himself twice: he ripped open the cannibal’s belly so deftly that he immediately gave up the ghost.
After this, Jean returned to his piglets and, having cut off their tails, sold the piglets, and then stuck the tails into the mud that completely covered the nearby swamp, and returned to the owner.
-Where are the piglets? - he asked.
- They ended up in a swamp.
- How so? We need to get them out of there!
- Master, there is no way to get there.
The owner nevertheless went to see how things were going; but when he grabbed one of the tails, thinking to pull out the pig, the tail remained in his hand, and he himself fell into the mud with a flourish.
“You’ll ruin us, Jean, ruin us completely!”
- Master, aren't you angry?
- Well, now I’m going to get angry over such trifles!
“You know, the one of us who gets angry will get his sides hurt by the other one.”
- Yes, I don’t even think about being angry! The hostess said to the owner:
“We must send him to guard the geese in the pasture.”
Jean drove the geese to pasture. In the evening, a shortage was discovered - he sold two or three geese.
“Jean,” said the owner, “I was missing a few geese.”
“Master, it’s not my fault, they were dragged away by some animal.”
“You’ll ruin us, Jean, ruin us completely!”
- Master, aren't you angry?
- Now, I’ll get angry over such trifles!
“You know, the one of us who gets angry will get his sides hurt by the other one.”
- Yes, I don’t even think about being angry!
“We have a strange servant,” the mistress said the next day, “he will ruin us.” I'll go hide in the bushes and see where he puts the geese.
Jean heard these words; before going to the pasture, he told the owner.
- I'll take your gun with me; if that beast comes again, I will kill him.
Seeing a woman in the bushes, he shot and killed her outright.
“Master,” he said, “count the geese, they’re all safe; I killed the beast that was carrying them.
- Ay! What have you done, you scoundrel! You killed my wife!
- Well, I don’t know. Be that as it may, I killed a large animal. And you, it seems to me, are really angry?
- Of course, how can I not be angry!
Here Jean kneaded his sides, and then went to his home, and so did I.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru