Samund the Wise had one worker who was very fond of swearing. Samund often reprimanded him for this. He explained to the worker that blasphemy and foul language are food for the devil and his devils.
“But would I have blasphemed if I knew about this,” said the worker.
“But I’ll check if you’re telling the truth,” said Samund.
And he let the little devil into the worker's barn. The worker did not like such a guest, and the little devil, as if on purpose, played dirty tricks on him and teased him so much that it was difficult to refrain from scolding. The worker stood strong for a long time and suddenly saw that the little devil was getting thinner day by day. The worker was delighted and stopped scolding altogether. But then one morning he comes to the barn, and everything there is broken, broken, and all the cows are tied with their tails. The worker turned to the sick little devil, who was lying in an empty stall and moaning pitifully, and attacked him with choice abuse. And suddenly he noticed with horror how the little devil began to come to life and grow fat before his eyes. Then he restrained himself and stopped scolding. He was convinced that Samund the Wise was right, and from then on he never cursed again.
This is the end of the tale of the little imp, for whom the scolding of Samund's worker served as food. And it doesn’t stop you and me from following the example of this worker.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru