Once upon a time there lived a kind teacher. He had no children, his wife died. The teacher was left alone.
“How much do I need alone,” he thought, “I will spend my money on good deeds.” He took disciples into his house - he fed, clothed and taught them.
One night, while the students were sleeping, three thieves entered the house and demanded that the owner give them all the money he had.
- Well, take everything. Just don't touch me! – And the teacher showed where the money was kept.
The thieves took everything to the last coin and wanted to leave. But the teacher stopped them:
- Wait, you must be hungry! Will I feed you?
- Yes, old man, aren’t you planning to poison us? - the thieves exclaimed.
– If you don’t believe me, cook the food yourself. Here's the meat, here's the rice.
The thieves were hungry and agreed.
“And while dinner is being prepared, tell us a story,” the thieves suggested.
And the teacher began:
- Once upon a time there lived a woodcutter. Every day he went to the forest, brought a bundle of firewood on his back, sold it at the market and fed his family.
One day a woodcutter met a young guy who was tending sheep.
- May your herd multiply, hey jash!
[Jash is a guy, a young man.]
- Thank you, good man!
-Are these your sheep?
“Mine,” the guy answered. – My father has a lot of all kinds of livestock. We are rich people!
“Yes, you have a lot of cattle,” the woodcutter agreed. - Tell me, boy, what kind of work can you do?
- I can only graze cattle.
- Uh, listen to my advice, learn some craft!
After some time, the woodcutter again met the guy with a flock of sheep.
- Well, have you learned any craft?
“No,” the guy answered. – Why should I study, I’m a rich man. Look how big my flock of sheep is!
“Uh, don’t rely on cattle, learn a craft,” the woodcutter advised.
- It’s not for you, old man, to lecture me! – the guy got angry.
- Well, look! Someday you will remember my words! - said the woodcutter.
Several years have passed. One day a woodcutter passed by a small, dilapidated house on the edge of the village. Children's crying could be heard from the house. A thin, poorly dressed man came out onto the porch. The woodcutter recognized him as the same guy who was tending the sheep.
– What’s wrong with you, jash, why do you look so bad? - asked the woodcutter.
- Oh, don’t ask! I remember your words all the time!
-What happened to you?
“A pestilence has attacked my sheep.” I became poor. “You advised me to learn some craft, but I didn’t listen to you, and now my children are crying from hunger,” the shepherd answered and began to cry himself.
“Don’t worry,” said the woodcutter. “It’s not for nothing that old people say: if you skillfully light it, then the snow will catch fire.” Take the belt and come with me to the forest for firewood.
The poor man gladly agreed; He took a long rawhide belt and they went into the forest together. The woodcutter chopped wood for two, made a bundle for himself and the shepherd, and they carried them to the market. And with the proceeds we bought corn cakes. The woodcutter divided the cakes into three parts - he gave two to the shepherd, and took one for himself.
“Let’s go to the forest tomorrow to get firewood,” the poor man asked him.
The woodcutter agreed. The next day it rained, but the woodcutter kept his promise. He took a belt and an ax and went to the house where the poor man lived. He was already waiting for him.
“Thanks to you, my children were fed yesterday,” he said.
The woodcutter and the shepherd went into the forest. On the way, they were caught in heavy rain, and they hid in a cave. The woodcutter accidentally hit the wall of the cave with his ax, and suddenly something rang in it. He knocked a stone out of the wall and stepped back in amazement: gold sparkled in the wall.
- Hey, jash, look, I found a treasure! - the woodcutter shouted.
The shepherd approached, and together they began to hammer into the wall with axes and rake out the gold.
The woodcutter divided all the gold into three parts.
“Take two parts for yourself,” he said to the shepherd, “you have many children, but one is enough for me.”
The poor man was very happy, thanked the woodcutter and put the gold in a bag. The woodcutter took his share of the gold and they went home. We got tired on the road and sat down to rest. And then greed flared up in the shepherd. He wanted even more wealth.
“If I kill the woodcutter and take all the gold for myself, I will be rich as before!” - he thought. He grabbed the ax and jumped up.
The woodcutter understood his intention and said:
- Wait, don’t kill me, I want to make a will. I don’t have children, but my wife is expecting a child. If I have a son, name him Bolushluk.
[Bolushluk means help in Karachay].
The shepherd killed the woodcutter, took all the gold for himself and became a rich man.
The woodcutter's wife gave birth to a boy. And the bai decided to fulfill the woodcutter’s will. He went to his wife and conveyed to her her husband’s request - to name the boy Bolushluk. But the rich man did not give her a penny of his wealth. And after the death of her husband, the poor woman had nothing to live on, and she hired out to herd geese.
One day a khan and his army were passing through the village. The woodcutter's wife was afraid that the horsemen might trample the boy who was running along the street, and called:
- Bolushluk! Bolushluk! The teacher shouted it very loudly.
The students woke up, heard a cry for help and rushed to their teacher.
- Tie them up! - the teacher ordered. “That’s how it is,” he said, turning to the thieves, “the eye sees far, but the mind sees even further!”
Then the thieves realized that the teacher had outwitted them. Yet they asked:
- Tell us the story, how it ended?
“Well, listen,” the teacher agreed. – When the woodcutter’s wife shouted: “Bolushluk!”, the khan approached her and asked:
-Are you asking for help? What do you need help with?
“Bolushluk is the name of my son,” said the poor woman. “I was afraid that he might get run over by a horse, so I called him.
-Where is the boy’s father? - asked the khan.
- He went into the forest for firewood and did not return.
-Who gave the boy this name?
– My husband’s acquaintance, a very rich man. The khan ordered to call the bai.
The servants ran and soon brought the man who killed the woodcutter.
– Did you name the boy Bolushluk? - the khan asked him.
“I am,” the bai answered.
- Why did you call him that? Tell the truth! - the khan ordered.
“That was his father’s will,” said the Bai, trembling with fear.
The Khan forced him to tell about everything, and when he found out the truth, he ordered the bai to be executed, and gave all his wealth to the woodcutter’s wife and her son.
That’s it,” the teacher told the thieves, “don’t be greedy, don’t be envious.” And remember: whoever mounts someone else’s horse may soon find himself on foot, for nothing is secret that would not become apparent.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru