Once upon a time there lived a kind fellow named Jose. He was very inquisitive and dreamed of traveling to all countries. So one day, having mounted his faithful horse, he rode around the world to look for happiness and new adventures.
He rode and rode, and suddenly met a group of soldiers who immediately surrounded him and were about to arrest him.
“But I didn’t do anything wrong,” Jose objected.
“You look like a spy, and besides, we need people to build roads.”
“But I don’t want to build roads for free!”
“Prisoners do not receive money,” the soldiers said with dignity.
And when Jose tried to object again, they grabbed him and put him in prison. And since he continued to be indignant, they deprived him of food and drink.
And the king of the country where poor Jose ended up had a daughter. And she was irresistibly beautiful and extraordinarily kind. Having learned about the poor stranger imprisoned in prison, she took a basket full of tasty things and hurried to his aid. And the prison in that state was full of prisoners who were executed every day. The king of that country was very lazy. All day long he played ball and did crossword puzzles. Soon there was not a single unsolved puzzle left in the kingdom, and the king was very bored from idleness. To improve his mood, he amused himself by shooting some of the prisoners and ordering the soldiers to recruit new ones.
The princess brought Jose delicious food every day, and they fell in love. The soldiers were already accustomed to this and freely let her into the dungeon.
One day one of the soldiers remarked:
“It seems to me that our princess has fallen in love with Jose.”
“Yes,” answered the second, “they would be a good couple if tomorrow it wasn’t his turn to be shot.”
The princess heard this and said to her lover:
- Don't worry, I'll think of something.
The next day the king got up in a particularly bad mood and decided to amuse himself by shooting Jose.
The princess ran to her lover and whispered something in his ear.
The soldiers took the young man and brought him to the king.
“Wait, dad,” the princess intervened, “if he asks you a riddle that you can’t solve, will you spare his life?”
“Of course,” the king agreed, “why not?” - And he prepared to listen.
“What, Your Majesty,” asked Jose, “first walks on four legs, then on two and finally on three legs?”
The king thought about it, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not come up with an answer.
- OK then! - he gave up. - I will save your life, but answer me quickly, what is it?
- It's very simple: it's you. Your Majesty. When you were a baby, you crawled on your hands and feet; when you grew up, you began to walk on two legs. And when you become old, you will pick up a cane, and this will be your third leg. Well, am I right? First on four, then on two, and finally on three legs.
The king was amazed at the simplicity of the answer.
“You must be very smart,” he said to the young man, “since you managed to outwit me.” Take my daughter as your wife and live happily with her.
A magnificent feast was held in honor of the newlyweds, and all the prisoners were released from prison to celebrate.
Several months passed, and Jose again wanted to see the world. He put on his old clothes, led his piebald horse out of the stable and rode home. Arriving in his native village, he was very happy to see his father and mother. Day and night passed in conversation, and the next morning Jose and his brothers went to mow the field. By noon they were tired and sat down in the shade to have lunch. Suddenly they heard the sound of horns and saw a golden carriage rushing straight towards them. Behind the carriage walked a whole army of soldiers in ceremonial uniforms, with drums and bugles in their hands. Jose's relatives were very scared, but he just smiled and said:
- Don't worry, it was my wife who brought me breakfast!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru