Three brothers were left orphans - no father, no mother. No stake, no yard. So they went to villages and farmsteads to hire themselves out as workers. They go and think: “Oh, if only I could hire myself to a good master!” Lo and behold, an old man is walking, old, old, with a white beard down to his waist. The old man caught up with the brothers and asked:
-Where are you going, kids?
And they answer:
- Let's go get hired.
- Don’t you have your own farm?
“No,” they answer. “If we found a good master, we would honestly work for him, obey him, and honor him like our own father.”
The old man thought and said:
- Well, you be my sons, and I will be your father. I will make people out of you - I will teach you to live according to honor, according to conscience, just listen to me.
The brothers agreed and followed that old man. They walk through dark forests and wide fields. They walk and walk and see - the hut is standing, so elegant, white, surrounded by colorful flowers. And near the hut there is a cherry orchard. And in the kindergarten there is a girl, pretty, cheerful, like those flowers. The elder brother looked at her and said:
- I wish I had this girl as my wife! Yes, more cows and more oxen!
And the old man told him:
- Well, let's go get married. If you have a wife, you will have oxen and cows - live happily, just don’t forget the truth.
They went, got married, and had a fun wedding. The elder brother became the owner and stayed with his young wife to live in that hut.
And the old man and his younger brothers moved on. They walk through dark forests and wide fields. They walk and walk and see that the hut is standing, nice and bright. And next to it is a pond, near the pond there is a mill. And a pretty girl near the hut is doing something - so hard-working. The middle brother looked at her and said:
- I wish I had this girl as my wife! And in addition a mill with a pond. If I were sitting at the mill, grinding bread, I would be full and satisfied.
And the old man told him:
- Well, son, have it your way!
They went to that hut, wooed the girl, and celebrated the wedding. Now the middle brother stayed with his young wife to live in the hut.
The old man tells him:
- Well, son, live happily, just don’t forget the truth.
And they moved on - the younger brother and the named father. They walk and look - the poor hut is standing, and the girl comes out of the hut, pretty, but poorly dressed - just a patch on a patch. So the younger brother says:
- If only I could have this girl as my wife! If we worked, we would have some bread. We would not forget about the poor people: we would eat ourselves and share with people.
Then the old man says:
- Okay, son, it will be so. Just make sure you don’t forget the truth.
He married this one too, and went his own way.
But the brothers live. The eldest has become so rich that he is already building houses for himself and saving chervonets - all he thinks about is how he can accumulate more of those chervonets. And to help a poor person, there is no question of this - he has become very stingy!
The middle one also got rich, farm laborers began to work for him, and he himself just lies there, eats, drinks and gives orders.
The younger one lives on the sly: if he has something at home, he shares it with people, but there is nothing, and so it’s fine - he doesn’t complain.
So the said father walked and walked around the world, and he wanted to see how his sons somehow lived and did not diverge from the truth. He pretended to be a poor old man, came to his eldest son, walked around the yard, bowed low, and said:
- Give the poor old man food from your generosity!
And the son answers:
“You’re not that old, don’t pretend to be!” If you want, you can earn it! I just recently got back on my feet. Get lost!
And his chests are bursting with goodness, new houses have been built, shops are full of goods, bins are full of bread, money is countless. But he didn’t give alms!
The old man left with nothing. He walked away, maybe a mile away, stood on a hillock, looked back at that farm and that property - so it all started to burn!
He went to his middle son. He comes, and he has a mill, a pond, and a good farm. He sits at the mill himself.
The grandfather bowed low and said:
- Give me, good man, at least a handful of flour! I am a poor wanderer, I have nothing to eat.
“Well, yes,” he replies, “I haven’t done much for myself yet!” There are so many of you hanging around here, you can’t get enough of them all!
The old man left with nothing. He walked away a little, stood on a hillock, looked back - and that mill was engulfed in smoke and flames!
The old man came to his youngest son. And he lives poorly, his hut is small, just clean.
“Give me,” says the old man, “good people, at least a crust of bread!”
And to the younger one:
- Go to the hut, grandfather, there they will feed you and give you some with you.
He comes to the hut. The hostess looked at him, saw that he was in rags, shabby, and took pity on him. I went to the cage, brought a shirt and pants, and gave it to him. He put it on. And as he began to put on this shirt, the hostess saw a large wound on his chest. She seated the old man at the table. fed and watered. And then the owner asks:
“Tell me, grandfather, why do you have such a wound on your chest?”
“Yes,” he says, “I have such a wound that I will soon die from it.” I have one day left to live.
- What a disaster! - says the hostess. - And there is no medicine for this wound?
“There is,” he says, “one thing, but no one will give it, although everyone can.”
Then the owner says:
- Why not give it? Tell me, what medicine?
- Difficult! If the owner sets fire to his hut with all its goods, and covers my wound with ashes from that fire, then the wound will close and heal.
The youngest son thought. He thought for a long time, and then he said to his wife:
- What do you think?
“Yes,” the wife answers, “we’ll buy another house, but a good man will die and suddenly no one will be born again.”
- Well, if that’s the case, take the children out of the house.
They carried the children out and went out themselves. The man looked at the hut - he felt sorry for his goods. I feel sorry for the old man. He took it and set it on fire. The hut got busy and... disappeared. And in her place stood another one - white, tall, elegant.
And the grandfather stands, grinning into his beard.
“I see,” he says, “son, that of the three of you, only you are the only one who has not missed the truth.” Live happily!
Then the youngest son recognized his adopted father, rushed to him, but there was no trace of him.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru