An evil sorcerer came down from the mountains to one village, about whom they said that death itself lived on the tips of his nails. The bewitched inhabitants brought him gifts every full moon so that he would not make the moon disappear from the sky.
One day, a very old man with a plow passed through the village, and when he learned about the shaman, he advised the villagers to wait and see if the luminary would actually disappear. To be convincing, he sat down to wait in the main square, and sat there for several days and nights with his eyes closed. When the month became very thin, many were seized with fear. Some even thought of turning to the shaman, but the old man sat calmly in the square, inspiring absolute confidence. When the residents did not see the moon the entire next night, they went out to the square to take revenge on the old man and shake the crap out of him. But the old man raised his palm, stopping the villagers with this movement, and said quietly:
- Wait until nightfall.
And the residents decided to give the old man one more day. And yet, more gifts appeared near the shaman's hut than ever before. And no one knew that, having not found any gifts last night, he had already fled the village, because he was afraid that no one believed in his strength anymore. And when at sunset a thin moon appeared in the sky, the old man opened his eyes, stood up, collected the shaman’s gifts and, under the amazed gaze of the inhabitants, left the village.
This is how the old sage freed the inhabitants, teaching them patience, and earned wealth while sitting in the main square.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru