Once upon a time there was a guy. He just got married. So his relatives began to invite him to visit. He says to his father:
- Send someone with me. I'm ashamed to go alone.
The father invited the barber to go with him. The barber began to refuse - he supposedly had enough to do without it. And the son keeps asking his father. Then the father goes back to the barber:
– Maybe you’ll still agree to go?
- OK. Only with condition. Sew me the same dress as your son.
The father agreed. The same dress was made for both of them. The guy and the barber got ready and hit the road. When they approached the place itself, the barber said:
“I’ll go ahead and tell you that you’re coming.” Wait here with your things.
The guy was simple-minded - he believed the barber. And the barber went straight to his father-in-law's house. They had been waiting for a guest there for a long time. They saw the barber and thought that this was the young son-in-law. They greeted him kindly and began to ask him kindly how and what. The barber told them everything, and then said:
- That's it! Our barber's son came with me. He is waiting by the road with his things. Send someone for him. Let them help him.
Relatives accepted all this as the pure truth. They sent a servant, He brought things and brought the guy. So it turned out that the barber was mistaken for the son-in-law, and the son-in-law was mistaken for the barber. They laid out a soft bed for the barber, and left the son-in-law to grieve and languish on an old broken bed. No one even wants to look at the son-in-law, and everyone is vying to look after the barber. Whoever comes, everyone comes to him with questions and conversation. The poor son-in-law was burning with shame, but did not dare say anything.
But this was not enough for the barber. Here's what else he came up with.
“The barber is unwell,” he says. - Un doesn’t eat anything - just porridge.
The food arrived. The barber is fed with all sorts of pickles, and the son-in-law was given only thin gruel. This made the son-in-law even more saddened, but out of shame he again said nothing.
The next day they began to cook dinner, but the wood was damp, and the whole house was filled with smoke. When the smoke reached the barber, he said:
- Why are you heating the stove with raw wood! Tell the barber. He'll pick up some dry ones in no time.
The family liked it. So they sent their son-in-law to fetch firewood. The poor son-in-law did not say a word and went into the forest.
He gathered an armful of firewood and wanted to knit it, but then he realized that out of anger and resentment he had forgotten to take the rope from the house. He began to think about how to get the firewood to him, and became completely upset. I even cried.
Luckily for him, Shiva and Parvati walked past. Parvati saw that the young man was crying and said to Shiva:
- Lord! Who is this young man? Why is he crying?
- Leave it, Parvati! It's none of our business. Here on earth, one always cries, the other laughs. What do you care?
- No, sir! It is immediately obvious that someone offended him.
For a long time Shiva tried to persuade his wife not to interfere in earthly affairs, but she did not listen. Then Shiva approached his son-in-law, asked him about everything, and then said to him:
– Tell your wood: “Stick!” They stick together and can be carried. Now, if you want someone to stick to something, just say this word - he will stick. And when you need to release it, say: “Unstick!”
Shiva said this and left with Parvati.
The son-in-law was very happy and said to the firewood: “Stick!” The firewood stuck together into a bundle. The son-in-law put her on his head and carried her home.
Now he began to think about how to get even with the barber. In the evening, their sister-in-law came to them and brought the barber a mug of milk. As soon as he raised the mug to his lips, the son-in-law took it and said quietly: “Stick!” The mug stuck. The sister-in-law did not give, waited, then asked:
- Son-in-law! Haven't you had a drink yet?
But the barber doesn’t answer. The sister-in-law waited a little longer, and thought: “I’ll see what happened to him.” I looked and the man had a mug stuck to his lips. She wanted to tear it off. As soon as she extended her hand, her son-in-law whispered: “Stick to it!” My hand stuck to the mug. The sister-in-law is standing next to the barber, she can’t tear herself away.
The mother-in-law is waiting for her daughter, but she is not there. He thinks: “She’s been giving her son-in-law water for a long time. Did something happen? We must go and have a look.” The mother-in-law came and looked - it seemed like her daughter and son-in-law had gotten into a fight over milk. She doesn't let him drink. The mother-in-law got angry and wanted to take her daughter’s hand away from the mug, but then her son-in-law took it and whispered: “Stick to it!” The mother-in-law stuck to it, and when she screamed, the whole house came running, even people came from the street. They look and are amazed - the mother and daughter do not allow their son-in-law to drink milk. When my father-in-law saw this, he became angry:
- Why don’t you give him something to drink? Let go now! He rushed to tear his wife and daughter away from the mug, and the son-in-law said: “Stick to it!” And the father-in-law also stuck. People tried to help, but they just got stuck.
The neighbors got scared and ran away, but that was not the case. The son-in-law said: “Stick!” - everyone froze in place. Some are on the threshold, some are in the middle of the street - some are running and still standing. The young neighbors could not resist, they came to look at the scandal and, out of embarrassment, hid behind each other against the wall - and so they all stuck to the wall. It was strange to watch. People are like people, they can talk, but they can’t move. If someone doesn’t stick, it’s only the son-in-law.
People began to consult among themselves. We remembered the holy hermit who lived not far from the village. He could deliver from all witchcraft. We decided to call him. But who will go after him? Everyone is stuck. Involuntarily I had to ask my son-in-law:
- Brother barber! Take the camel and go to such and such a place. Do whatever you want, just bring us the holy hermit.
The unfortunate son-in-law got up, took the camel and went to the hermit. He told the hermit what had happened in the village. He agreed to help.
When they had driven halfway, the hermit got down to drink. He drank water and went back to the camel, and then the son-in-law pulled the reins so hard that the camel jumped up and ran away. The son-in-law pretends that he cannot cope with her and shouts at the top of his voice:
- Help! Help!
The hermit rushed to help his son-in-law. He caught up with the camel and grabbed the tail. Then the son-in-law quietly said: “Stick!” The hermit is stuck to his tail. The camel runs as fast as she can, and the hermit trails behind her on her tail. The hermit is banging against her hind legs, and this makes her still move.
So they got there. When the people saw the camel, they were delighted. Well, when she ran closer, everyone was saddened - the hermit-savior himself stuck to the camel’s tail and could barely keep up with her.
People wondered: what is going on? Then someone looked at the son-in-law and was surprised - everyone around him was stuck, he was walking alone as if nothing had happened. “These are his tricks,” he thinks. “He brought firewood without a rope.” He shared his guess with others. Everyone began to beg their son-in-law:
- Let us go! I'm sorry if we did something wrong to you.
Then the son-in-law told how the barber treated him. Everyone got very angry and shouted:
“Just free us, and then you’ll see how we’ll give him a hard time!”
The son-in-law said: “Unstick!” and everyone freed themselves. The barber realized that he was in trouble and took off running. But he was immediately captured and treated in such a way that he remembered it for the rest of his life.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru