Two people lived next door. One had sheep, the other had a vineyard.
One day, the owner of the vineyard saw that his neighbor’s sheep had eaten his vine. Then he went to the owner of the sheep and said:
“Your sheep got into my vineyard and ate my grapes.” You must compensate me for the loss. Give me the sheep and the lamb, and we'll be even.
But the owner of the sheep said:
“It’s not my fault that my sheep entered your vineyard.” I didn't send them there, so I won't give you anything.
“It’s unfair,” said the owner of the vineyard. - Let's go to the judge, let him judge us.
When they came to the judge, the owner of the vineyard said:
- O fair judge! Listen to us and judge according to your conscience! This person caused me a big loss and does not want to compensate for it. There was a vine in my vineyard that brought me a lot of grapes. But due to the fault of the person I brought here, I lost my wealth. His sheep got into my vineyard and ate all the vines. I want him to give me a sheep and a lamb for this. This will be fair, because just as the vine brought me grapes, so the sheep brings him lambs. But he did not want to compensate me for the loss. That's why I brought him to you for judgment.
The judge listened to the owner of the vineyard and turned to the owner of the sheep:
- Speak now!
The sheep owner said:
- Oh my lord! Is it my fault that my sheep wandered into someone else's vineyard? Did I allow them to eat someone else's grapes from someone else's vine? How can I be responsible for the sheep? I did not gain anything from the fact that my sheep grazed in this man’s vineyard. And he wants to profit from me and take away my sheep and lamb. Is this fair?
The judge said:
“Since you didn’t look after your sheep, it means you are to blame for the fact that they ate this man’s grapes.” How come you refuse to pay him?
Then he turned to the owner of the vineyard and said:
“You want too much for your grapes.” You say that the vine brought forth fruit just as a sheep bears lambs. That's true. But you only lost the grapes, but the vine remained. Therefore, my sentence will be this: let the owner of the sheep shorn the wool from one sheep and give it to you. You will be left with a vine without grapes, and he will have a sheep without wool. It will be fair.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru