They say that three friends lived in the same village. And they were always inseparable - they lived next door, drank and ate together, walked and had fun together.
One day, friends went to hunt deer in a remote area. We left very early. And when noon came, we settled down under the crown of a shady tree to have lunch and rest a little. Their friendly conversation flowed slowly and calmly in the cool shade.
By chance, one of the friends noticed that something was shining in the hollow of the tree. He told his friends about this. They jumped up, went to the tree and saw three shiny bricks in the hollow. The eldest of the friends, the most experienced and smart, said:
- My friends! God knows, but it seems to me that these bricks are golden.
The others doubted it at first, but when they looked closely, they shouted joyfully:
- That's right, that's right! These bricks are made of gold. What a blessing that God led us to this treasure!
But then one of the friends shouted:
- Be careful! What a fear - a huge cobra is guarding this gold.
Having gathered their courage, they killed the cobra, pulled out the gold from the hollow and decided that everyone would take one golden brick. So they did. But by this time the friends were very hungry. And then they sent one to the nearest village to get something for dinner. And then, they say, we’ll go hunting.
So, the youngest of them went to the village to get food. Along the way, he began to think about how he could take possession of all the gold alone. After some thought, he had lunch in the village and mixed poison into the food for his friends. Let them die after tasting this food, he thought, and the gold will go to him entirely.
Meanwhile, his friends also decided not to share the treasure they found. They agreed to kill their friend as soon as he brought food and divide the gold in half.
The youngest of his friends returned from the village and said: “I was so hungry that I couldn’t stand it any longer, so I ate there.” And this is your share. Eat and enjoy.
Before he could finish his speech, his friends pounced on him and beat him until he gave up his soul to God.
The friends dug a hole and buried the corpse of the unfortunate man in it, and they happily pounced on the food. But they soon lost consciousness and died in terrible agony.
And three golden bricks shone brightly under the rays of the sun. But there was no one there to see them and say that they belonged to him.
Greed is one of the gravest vices. Greed for wealth destroyed three people who had previously been heartfelt friends.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru