In ancient times, they say, there lived a hunter with his wife. They had a fat red bull. One day the husband says:
- Let's kill the red bull.
- Stab such a big bull! After all, we can’t eat all the meat! – the wife was surprised.
“If we can’t eat it ourselves, then the red paw* will help,” the husband laughed.
“If so, let’s stab him,” the wife agreed.
Their conversation was overheard by a guy who lived nearby.
One day my husband went hunting in the forest. As soon as he left, the same guy who overheard the conversation painted his hand with red clay and held it out the window. The hostess was getting ready to cook the meat at this time. I noticed a red hand and got scared.
- Who are you? she asks.
- Red paw. I need red ox meat.
The hostess served a piece of meat. And the guy hid the meat and again and again extended his red hand. So the hostess gave all the meat to the sly man.
The husband returned from hunting and said:
“Cook me some red bull meat.”
- It's all meat.
– Did it end so quickly? – the hunter was surprised.
“The red paw ate everything.” You yourself said when we were stabbing the bull that if we didn’t eat the meat, the red paw would help.
The hunter got angry.
“If I don’t find a person more stupid than you in this world, I won’t return home,” he said and went, not knowing where.
Our hunter comes to one ulus and sees: a rich man and his sons are building a house. They sit and beat a log with sticks.
-What are you doing? - asked the hunter.
“You see, this log is stubborn, it doesn’t fit: it’s long.” So we want to teach him a lesson to make it shorter.
The hunter was surprised at their stupidity, and cut off part of the log with an ax. Since then, they say, these people have become wiser and do not shorten logs with sticks.
The hunter went further and came to another ulus. There, one man, apparently a rich man, comes out of a hut without windows, puts down a small box, closes it and goes back into the hut.
- What are you doing?
- Yes, I just can’t bring the sun’s rays into the hut. I’ll lock them in a box and let them go into the hut, but it’s still dark there.
The hunter was even more surprised, took an ax, cut through a window and let sunlight into the hut. Since then, they say, the local residents began to cut down their huts with windows.
The hunter goes further and comes to the third ulus. There was a drought there, and skinny cattle licked the black soil. A lot of people have gathered at one hut, they are dragging the cow by the horns, they want to drag it into the hut.
- What are you doing? – asked the hunter. “We want the cow to eat the grass that grows in the hut.” Please help us.
The hunter was surprised again; he found a bent iron, sharpened it and cut the grass in the hut. Since then, they say, the local residents began to mow the grass with a bent sharp iron - a scythe. The hunter moved on. He sees a pig with twelve piglets walking in the yard of a rich man. Our hunter sat down and admired the piglets. The housewife comes out of the house and asks:
-What are you talking about with our pig?
The hunter looked at the hostess to see if she was joking.
“We had a heart-to-heart talk with her,” he replies, “after all, she happens to be my aunt.” I just came to invite my aunt to the wedding.
- My God, is this true? Well, what did your aunt tell you?
“She says: I could go to the wedding, but I have neither clothes nor jewelry.” And all my twelve sons are simply naked. “She’s offended by you,” says the hunter.
The hostess was delighted to have the opportunity to show herself.
– And we have everything: clothes, jewelry. We are rich! - she says. The owner dressed the pig in festive clothes and put a necklace around her neck. She also dressed twelve piglets and harnessed three horses to a tarantass. The hunter put “his aunt” with the piglets in the tarantass and left. He drove out onto the road, hid the horses, pigs and piglets in the forest, away from the road, and began to wait for the chase.
The pig's owner arrived home. His wife meets him.
– Our pig and her sons went to visit!
- What?! – the owner was taken aback.
– I went to my nephew’s wedding. I dressed the pig and her piglets in festive clothes, put a necklace around her neck, harnessed the troika, put her on a tarantass and escorted her out.
- Oh, what this fool is talking about! - the rich man yelled, mounted a fast horse and galloped off in pursuit. He galloped to the place where three roads diverged and saw: a man sitting, covering something on the ground with his hat, listening to something.
-Have you seen a man with a pig here? “Should I drive along this road,” asked the rich man.
- saw.
-Where did you go?
- In the middle of these three roads.
- Listen, little man, I rode very fast and was terribly tired. “Be kind, get on this horse, catch up with that man and bring him to me,” says the rich man.
- No time.
- Why?
“And you see, I covered the golden bird with my hat.” You can't watch it during the day, you can only watch it at night. Otherwise, she will turn into an ordinary bird.
- Come here! I'll hold you until you arrive.
- Well then! We'll have to help a good person. Just watch, if you open it before nightfall, there will be no golden bird. “The hunter mounted his master’s horse and rushed off. I found a tarantass with a pig and calmly drove home.
And the rich man sits, afraid to release the golden bird and lose his gold, sits, carefully pressing down his hat. The person he sent does not return. Night has fallen. “Okay,” the greedy rich man thinks, “let him not come back, I’ll take the golden bird for myself.” This will be much more expensive than a pig and a carriage!” He put his hand under his hat, and there was a piece of dry cow dung. The rich man almost died from shame and anger.
- Ugh, damn it! The bad head is deceived by the dog! – and walked back.
Meanwhile, our hunter arrived home and said to his wife:
“I shouldn’t have been angry with you.” It turns out that there are people in the world who are seven times stupider than you.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru