There lived a man and a woman in the same village. The man was good to everyone: hard-working and not lazy, but only one was offended by fate - he had little intelligence. Once a woman sends a man to the forest for firewood. “Go,” he says, “chop some wood, I’ll at least light the stove and cook some cabbage soup.”
The man harnessed his horse and rode off. He arrived in the forest, climbed a large pine tree, took an ax from his belt and wants to chop the branch on which he sat. It happened at that time that a peasant from a neighboring village passed by. He looked at the man and shouted: “What are you doing, stupid?” After all, you will kill yourself! The man looked at him and said: “How do you know that I will fall?” After all, he’s not a saint! Go on your way.
The peasant sees that there is no point in talking to a fool, and he moves on. Before he had even driven ten fathoms, the branch gave way and the man fell and hurt himself. He lay down for a while, groaned, got up and went to catch up with the peasant who said that he would fall.
I caught up with him and fell at his feet: “Dear Father!” I see that you are a saint, tell me now when the end of my life will be! The peasant decided to laugh at the fool - he said: -? Now go home, say goodbye to your family and come back here again: you will die by the pine tree that you wanted to chop for firewood.
The man got scared and asked: -? What, father, if I don’t go into the forest anymore, then maybe I won’t die? -? No, it’s better to listen to me, and if you don’t listen, it will be worse.
The man returned to his horse. He had no time for firewood, so he got on his horse and rode home. The woman had been waiting for her husband for a long time, and when she saw that he arrived without firewood, she began to scold him. But he did not listen to her and told her that he had met a holy man in the forest and that he had predicted his imminent death. The wife said: —? Stop lying! They laughed at you, and you listen!
But the man said goodbye to his family and rode into the forest. He arrived, got off his horse and went to look for the pine tree that he wanted to cut down for firewood. I walked around looking for a long time and suddenly stumbled and fell. “Well,” he thought, “now he’s obviously dead,” and he didn’t dare get up.
His horse stood, stood, and then went home. Although the man heard that the horse was leaving, he did not dare to open his eyes and get to his feet, but lay there and did not move. It got dark. A pack of wolves ran out and chased the horse. The man didn’t get up even here: what does he need a horse if he’s dead?
The woman waited for her husband for a long time, was worried, and in the morning she announced to the village elder that her husband had not returned from the forest. The headman gathered the peasants and they went to look for the man. We wandered through the forest for a long time, and finally one came across a fool. Everyone gathered around him, looking, thinking that he really died.
And he suddenly says: -?What do you want? “The elder took off his belt and let’s whip the fool.” The man jumped to his feet and began hugging everyone, thanking them for resurrecting them, and then running home.
Near his village he sees a dead man being carried to the graveyard. The man says: —? Take him to the forest, they will resurrect him there. I myself died yesterday, but today they resurrected me! They beat him off and drove him away. Since then they called the stupid man a dead man.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru