Once upon a time there lived a rich count. He rolled like cheese in butter, he didn’t care about the laws of his country. Everything in the area had to be at his command, according to his desire.
One day the count went for a walk and saw a large and beautiful peasant house on the edge of the forest. The count liked the house. He examined it from all sides and drove up to the door.
The owner of the house came out onto the porch. The count greeted him and asked:
- Hey, master! Would you like to sell your house? I will not skimp, I will not stand behind the price.
The peasant, without hesitation at all, answered:
- No, your honor, we won’t be able to buy or sell at all! My great-grandfathers lived in this estate, and I want to while away my days here. So my property will remain with me.
The Count tells him:
- I give it until tomorrow! Think carefully. The count jumped onto his horse and galloped away. The peasant shook his head and thought: “Nothing will come of this matter for the count.”
The next morning, just before dawn, the count galloped up to the peasant.
- Well, what is your last word?
And the peasant answers:
- I, your honor, will not go back on my word. I’ll stay at my estate, that’s the whole story!
The count got angry and shouted:
“I ask again: will you give up the estate?” If you don’t give it back, you have yourself to blame! I'll still get it!
The peasant shook his head and said to the count:
- I don’t rush into words; I won’t sell my estate.
The count almost burst with rage and galloped away.
It’s a well-known fact: a rich man is like a horned bull. The count rushed straight to the litigious judges, generously presented them with gold and ordered the litigation with the peasant to begin. The judges knew that there was no richer man in the area than the count. Therefore, if they win the case, gold will rain down on them. That is why they promised to persuade the count to persuade the peasant. And if he doesn’t agree to give up the estate in kindness, ruin it to the ground.
The judges sent a minister to fetch the peasant.
A peasant came to court, and they asked him:
— Will you sell the estate or not?
“No,” the peasant answers firmly. No matter how much they persuade him, he stands his ground.
“You’ll have to fight a lawsuit with the count!” - the judges got angry.
- Well, it’s just a matter of competition! - says the peasant.
All the court judges were on the count’s side, but there was no one to stand up for the peasant. The litigation began here. The peasant is dragged into the city every now and then. It cost him a lot of money, and he was deeply in debt. In the end, the judges decided: to drive the peasant out of the yard, take the estate away from him and give it to the count. The peasant had only a hundred guilders left. As the judges announced the verdict, he began to reproach them and said:
“If there is no justice left on earth, then perhaps there will be some in heaven!” The gentlemen of the judges laughed:
“Justice on earth and in heaven died a long time ago!”
The peasant remained silent, left the court and went straight to the pastor’s church. When the pastor saw that his old acquaintance, the peasant, was coming, he said to him:
- Hello, Hans! Did you come to visit me?
“Yes,” answered Hans, “but things are not happy for me.”
He told the pastor his story and ended it like this:
“I now only have a hundred guilders left, I’m giving them to you.” This is how much they pay in your city for a large church bell to ring for the dead. Here's your money, and call quickly. Let the bell for Justice ring, for she is dead. But look, call longer!
The pastor took the money, called the minister, they climbed the bell tower and rang the big bell. And they called much longer than usual. There are questions and gossip here in the city: who died and for whom the bell has been ringing for so long. But no one really knew.
People gathered in the square and began to shout:
- Why is there such a ringing sound?
There were kind people who told us what injustice the judges had committed. The people began to shout even more loudly and demand the Count to answer. The count and the judges got scared and returned his estate to the peasant.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru