There was not a person in the city who did not know the merchant Mim. He was an honest man, always ready to serve people. He helped the poor out of trouble more than once, and the residents always paid Mim kindly. Who will help him transport the goods on his donkey, who will bring water home, who will prepare tea for him.
And only the petty thief Bianba hated Mim. Do you want to know why he hated Merchant Mim? And there is an answer to this in the fairy tale. Bianba looked exactly like Mim. And height, and gait, and face. Only Mim was loved and respected by everyone in the city, but how could good people respect a swindler? And Bianba decided to take revenge on his double.
One day Mima was going to a neighboring town to sell silk fabrics. Bianba noticed him, quickly changed into a robe - exactly like the merchant's - and followed him. And when the houses of the neighboring town appeared, Bianba ran up to Mima from behind and tore the basket with rolls of silk from his shoulder.
- Hold him, people, hold him! - Mima shouted with all his might.
But Bianba didn’t even think about running away. A crowd has gathered. People surrounded them, they looked and could not understand anything. One says:
- This is my basket. He wanted to take her away from me! I'm Merchant Mima!
Another says:
“Don’t believe him, he was the one who tore the basket off my shoulder!” An old man came out of the crowd and said:
- We don’t know you. You are like two drops of water in our river. And they are the same height, and the voices are the same, and the robes are indistinguishable from each other. We have a judge, let him decide which of you is right and which is wrong.
And they took them to the judge.
The old judge Mima and Bianba listened attentively and said:
— Place one roll of silk on the table. And when I swing this staff, you both grab it at the same time. Whoever captures more is the real Mima.
He said and waved his staff.
Bianba rushed to the silk, grabbed it tightly and pulled so hard that even the material crackled. And Mima only carefully put his hand on the silk - he was afraid to tear the beautiful material!
“Now I see which of you is the real Mima.” Silk was never yours,” the judge turned to Bianba, “you did not spare the material and tore it. So, you were never called Mima. And you, venerable merchant Mima, took pity on your goods and did not tear them. Take your basket and go in peace, trade in our city.
The judge called the guards and ordered them to put Bianba in a damp basement.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru