Whether it happened or not, I won’t say. One day the mighty padchakh gathered his army and set off on a campaign. On the seventh day of the journey, one of the riders ran into an anthill. A menacing shout came from the anthill:
- What a fool leads troops without clearing out the roads!
The padchakh heard the impudent words, became very angry and ordered to seize the one who uttered them.
They brought an ant to the paddchakh. Padchakh looked at him and was surprised:
- So small, and so angry!
“It’s better to be small and distant than big but stupid,” answered the ant.
- And your head is so big!
- So, there is room for the mind to fit in.
- Why is your waist the size of a hair?
— A real horseman must have a thin belt. I don’t live for my belly, I always eat in moderation.
- What do you eat in a year?
“One grain of wheat is enough for me for a year.”
- I will never believe this. You are telling lies!
- Would a real horseman tell a lie? - the ant was offended.
“And I can easily check whether you are telling the truth or deceiving,” the padchakh frowned. “I’ll tell you to close the box and put one grain of wheat in it.” And then we'll see what happens to you in a year.
The warriors caught the ant, locked it in a box and put one grain of wheat in it.
And now a year has passed. Padchakh completely forgot about the ant. Finally one of the warriors reminded him. Then the padchah ordered the box to be opened. He was very surprised: for the whole year the ant ate only half of the grain. The other half of it was intact.
- Why did you only eat half the grain? - asked the padchah.
“Because the fool who put me here might not remember me for another year.” “And I saved the second half of the grain just in case,” answered the ant.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru