In ancient times, a woman lived in one village, and she had two daughters - Big and Little. The sisters were completely different. The big one was rude and angry, and also greedy. And Little One treated everyone with kindness and was of a gentle disposition.
One day Little’s mother sent water to a well that was not close to the village. She left without protest.
She reached the well, began to draw water, and suddenly saw a beggar woman walking, all in rags. But in fact, she was not a beggar woman at all, but a sorceress. She wanted to find out if the girl had a kind soul, so she pretended to be a beggar.
- My child, I am very thirsty. Give the old lady at least a drop of water!
“Wait a little, grandma,” Little One responded. - I'll just pull out the bucket.
The girl collected water and gave the old woman a drink.
“You have a kind soul, girl,” said the woman, getting drunk. - For this I will give you a gift. From now on, when you laugh, pearls will fall out of your mouth!
The old lady said this and disappeared. And from then on, little pearls fell out of her mouth every time she laughed.
For this, people nicknamed her Ma Pale, which means “pearl.”
The elder sister, Big, asked Little how everything was, and she became very envious. She also decided to go to the well for water. Look, the old lady is a sorceress and will give her a gift.
Bolshaya went to the well, began scooping up water, and lo and behold, an old beggar woman approached and asked Bolshaya for a drink.
But in her heart the elder sister had no pity for people.
- Here’s another thing: I’ll serve water to every beggar! I won’t even think about it! Don't even come close to me!
- You are an evil and heartless girl! - said the sorceress. “Besides, you’re envious, you’re jealous of your sister.” So let toads jump out of your mouth every time you laugh!
Since then, the elder sister was no longer able to cope with the ridicule of her fellow villagers, and she was now called Ma Pha-pyow, which means “toad.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru