Amarapura was once ruled by a treacherous and greedy king. All his loyal subjects were very afraid of him.
And the more they trembled before the king, the more arrogant he became, he thought that his power was limitless.
At that time, bad weather happened, crops were destroyed, and many residents of Amarapura were left without food. And on the outskirts of the kingdom, in a small village, there lived a poor, poor old man. The old man struggled with his last strength to raise his orphan grandson. But that grandson was a lazy man and a slacker and fully lived up to his name. His grandfather used to ask him:
- Ngapyin, will you eat a banana?
[Ngepyin – translated as “lazy person.”]
“If you peel the peel,” Ngepyin answered him.
That's how lazy he was!
Grandfather was getting old, his strength was declining, and besides, there was a famine in the country. The old man could not cope with the work alone and asked Ngepyin to help him. But no matter how much he persuaded his grandson, no matter how much he called him for help, the grandson did not heed his grandfather’s pleas. The old man finally couldn’t stand it anymore and kicked Ngepyin out of the house.
So Ngepyin found himself homeless. “What to do, where to go?” - he thought. And I decided to go wherever my eyes lead me.
He walked for an hour, then walked for another, and a strong hunger overcame him. He went into one house and asked for food:
“Why should I feed you?” they answered him. “You haven’t earned anything yet.” Nowadays we have nothing to eat ourselves.
Ngepyin went around all the houses, but no one fed him. And how could the peasants feel sorry for the sloth? They themselves worked hard and lived from hand to mouth!
Ngepyin left the village without a meal, and on the way he began to be overcome by bitter thoughts:
“In the whole village there was not a person who would give me food. But my old grandfather worked tirelessly all his life and fed me, a slacker. That's why I should be grateful to him! We need to come up with something to alleviate his plight.”
Ngepyin had good intentions, but he did not know how to implement them. But it’s good that Ngepyin repented and wanted to improve.
He walked for a long time to an unknown destination, and finally the road led him to a high mountain. And at the foot of that mountain there was the dwelling of a poor ascetic. Bowing to the ascetic, Ngapyin said:
- O great sage! I haven't had a crumb in my mouth all day. Do you have anything to eat?
The ascetic Ngepyin fed him and asked:
-Where are you from?
“I am from a village that is one day’s journey from your hut.” My parents died when I was little, and my grandfather raised me.
And the young man told the ascetic his sad story: how his grandfather saw him out of the house, and how everyone he met refused him affection and shelter. He did not hide his repentance, nor his intentions to ease his grandfather’s old age, to repay him with gratitude for all his worries.
The ascetic looked the young man from head to toe and thought that he was probably telling the truth, and since Ngepyin seemed to the ascetic to be a kind and honest fellow, he set out to help him.
“Stay with me for now,” he suggested to the young man. “The morning is wiser than the evening, maybe we’ll come up with something.”
In the morning, the ascetic brought two baskets: one with ripe mangoes, the other with green ones.
“These are not simple, but magical fruits,” explained the ascetic. “Whoever eats the ripe fruit will turn from an old man into a young man.” And unripe fruits turn a person into a monkey.
Having gratefully accepted the ascetic’s gifts, he left Ngepyin’s home and moved on. He met a decrepit old man on the road and said to him:
– Do you want to become young again?
– Do you know at least one old person who would not like to look younger? - the old man answered him.
Then Ngapyin took a ripe mango from the basket and treated it to the old man. As soon as the old man ate a mango, before the eyes of the young man he turned into a twenty-year-old young man. The young man was delighted, ran home and brought his old woman to Ngepyin. The old woman ate a ripe mango and immediately turned into a sixteen-year-old girl.
As a token of gratitude, the old man and the old woman gave Ngepyin a pot of silver.
“Please, don’t tell anyone about the magic fruits,” Ngepyin addressed his new friends at parting. “Otherwise I cannot escape the royal wrath.”
And Ngepyin walked to his native village.
“Grandfather, here’s my gift for you.” – Ngepyin handed his grandfather a pot of silver. “You won’t have to work from dawn to dusk anymore.” From now on you will have plenty of everything.
Meanwhile, the old man and the old woman, who turned into young people, immediately started chatting about the miracles that Ngepyin was doing, and the rich old men flocked to his house. And Ngapyin gave everyone a taste of ripe mango. And the rejuvenated old men and women gave Ngepyin generous gifts.
Ngapyin's fame grew by leaps and bounds. It’s not without reason that they say that it’s easier to hide a thousand pumpkins in your mouth than to keep one secret. Word of Ngapyin's miraculous deeds reached the king. The king did not believe the stories about Ngepyin and considered him a cunning and deceiver.
“Take all the money from Ngepyin, and arrest him himself and bring him to the palace,” he ordered his guards.
The guards immediately carried out the highest order. laziness.
When Ngapyin appeared before the royal eyes, the king commanded:
“It’s better to repent, Ngapyin, of your sins.” Tell me how you manage to fool my subjects.
Ngepyin told the king about the miraculous power of ripe mangoes, and volunteered to show it in action.
Accompanied by guards, Ngepyin went home and, taking both baskets with him, returned to the palace.
The king invited his elder sister and gave her a ripe mango.
The royal sister tasted the magic fruit and in front of everyone turned into a young girl.
- Well, now I am convinced of the miraculous power of your fruits! Would you like to treat me, the queen and the courtiers with them?
“Okay,” Ngapyin agreed. “Gather everyone together and I will fulfill your will.”
The king gathered his entourage, and Ngepyi cut the unripe mangoes into pieces and distributed them to everyone present in the hall. And they all immediately turned into monkeys, jumped up from their seats and ran into the forest.
The grateful people chose Ngapyin as king. After becoming king, Ngapyin did not change his name. He was a kind and caring ruler, and his country prospered more and more day by day.
And Ngepyin took his grandfather to the palace, where he lived carefree until a ripe old age.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru