Once upon a time there lived an old man and his grandson in the same village. The boy's parents died when he was very young, and until he was twenty he was inseparable from his grandfather. The grandfather idolized his grandson so much that he was afraid to even send him to a monastery school. So the grandson remained ignorant. However, time passed, and the boy turned into a handsome and kind young man. In addition, he learned to play the shepherd's pipe well, for which he became famous throughout the village.
And in the same village there lived a rich man who had a daughter of marriageable age. And it so happened that she fell in love with an orphan youth. The father was very angry when he learned about his daughter’s choice. He disliked the young man both because he did not want to work and because he was ignorant. But at the same time he felt very sorry for his beloved daughter. In addition, the rich man was afraid that his daughter might get a bad reputation, and agreed to the marriage. But even after the wedding, the rich man continued to hate his son-in-law and refused to live with the young couple under the same roof. He gave his daughter money to start a household and kicked them out of the house.
The young people settled on the edge of the village and lived together. The rich man's daughter was also not accustomed to work; she did not know how to do anything. They quickly squandered their father's money and found themselves broke. And since the young woman was not used to denying herself anything, there was nothing to do - she went to her father with an outstretched hand.
And so it was from that time on: as long as there was money, the couple lived happily ever after, and when they ran out, the daughter again went to her father for alms.
The years passed, but nothing changed in the lives of the young people.
“This can’t go on any longer,” the rich man once decided, “they’ll ruin me.” He invited his daughter to his place and said to her:
“My daughter, it’s no good living the way you live.” Your husband needs to get involved in some business, at least trade. I give you three thousand ja, and you yourself find a way to increase it.
Having taken the money, cheerful and satisfied, the young wife returned home and told her husband about everything.
“That’s great,” he rejoiced. - With these three thousand I will buy all sorts of goods, then sell them at a profit.
Having said this, he put the money in his pocket and set off. On the way he met a gray-haired old man and asked:
-Where are you going, son?
“I decided to start trading and now I’m going to buy goods.
– What are you going to trade?
“I don’t know yet, father.” I want to buy something that I could make good money on.
The old man immediately realized that the young man had never been involved in trade and did not understand anything about it.
“If that’s the case, then you don’t need to go far.” I have such a product. For every thousand ja you will get a thousand ja in profit.
- I'm so lucky! – the young man was delighted. - Give me your goods here!
– My product is unusual. These are just words, but the words are not simple, but special. I can sell you three truths. For each of them you must pay one thousand ja. And when you put them into business, you will receive the same amount of net profit.
By giving the old man three thousand ja, the young man acquired three truths. Here they are: “Don’t do anything in a fit of anger, otherwise you might make a mistake,” “You will not die when you want, but when God wants you to,” “Let hatred of your neighbor not blind you.” The young man returned home with this product.
- Well, what did you buy? Show me,” his wife rushed to him.
“I bought three truths,” the husband answered cheerfully.
-What could this mean? – the wife was perplexed, but did not dare ask again.
And the rich man found out that his son-in-law had returned, and called his daughter to ask her how he managed the money.
“My husband bought three truths with the money you gave us,” she told her father. “For each of them he can get a thousand ja of profit.”
“I’ve never heard anything like it before!” – the rich man was surprised. - Tell him not to offer them to anyone, I myself want to become their owner.
The rich man was waiting impatiently for his hated son-in-law, he really wanted to know what he had bought for three thousand ja, and when the young man came to his father-in-law, he, having laid out the money, said:
- Well, tell your truths!
“I’m ready to tell them to you, father, but for this we must be alone.”
They went into a room where no one could hear them. When the young man spoke three truths, the rich man became indescribably furious:
– Get out of my house immediately. If you stay here even one more second, I can't vouch for myself!
The son-in-law and daughter hastily grabbed six thousand ja and ran away. But the rich man could not calm down, he was so angry with his son-in-law.
- Impudent brute! - he yelled. “You dared to deceive me in my own home!” And the daughter is good - she acts in concert with this ungrateful scoundrel. What a shame! You can tolerate being fooled by a stranger, but here I was left out in the cold by my own son-in-law! What if he also brags about his trick everywhere? It would be better for me to die than to endure such humiliation!
And unable to control himself, the rich man ran out of the house and threw himself into the river. The fishermen who were nearby thought that someone was in trouble and rushed to help. The fishermen pulled the unfortunate rich man ashore and began to revive him, and when he completely came to his senses, they took him home.
Lying on the bed, having cooled down somewhat, the rich man began to think about what had happened: “Anger blinded me. I almost made a mistake that could have cost me my life. I wanted to die to get rid of the shame. However, I didn't die. Buddha sent me saviors, and they rescued me from trouble. But these are precisely the truths that I bought from my son-in-law! These are truly wise truths! Apparently, it was not in vain that I paid money for two of them, but what about the third? And, in fact, she suits me! It talks about me and my son-in-law. Although I hate my son-in-law, I cannot deny that he is modest and honest, that he sincerely loves my daughter, that he has finally made me the owner of wise truths. There is a lot to love about my son-in-law! Nothing bad will happen if there is one more eater in my house! Let the children live with me. I'll keep an eye on them. Otherwise, the son-in-law will get away with it, and then the daughter will be unhappy. Although I have an aversion to him, I’ll probably try to love him.”
And the rich man sent a servant for his daughter and son-in-law.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru