One winter evening an old man sat with an old woman in his dilapidated house and complained about his fate.
- Oh, if only I had money! - the old man sighed. – I would open a shop and trade on the sly.
- No! - the old woman objected. - I don’t want any shop! I would rather buy a big house with a garden... If only the good fairy appeared to us!
And as soon as the old woman said this, a beautiful woman appeared at the threshold and said:
- I'm here.
Hearing her gentle voice, the old man and the old woman shuddered and opened their mouths in surprise. And the good fairy said:
– Make three wishes, and everything will be fulfilled in that very moment.
Having said this, her smile disappeared.
The old man and the old woman could not recover from amazement for a long time. Finally, dreamily closing her eyes, the old woman mumbled:
- Oh, I have one wish! Shouldn't I become young and beautiful again, like a blooming rose?
“The rose will soon fade,” the old man objected. “And besides, it’s easy to get sick and die when you’re young.” Better to ask for a long life!
– Why do I need a long life without money? - the wife screamed. “We’d better think before asking!”
The old woman glanced sideways at the corner where the fairy had just stood, went up to the hearth and began stirring the wood. The fire burned brightly in the empty hearth.
- Eh, the chicken should come here! – the old woman said dreamily.
And before she had time to close her toothless mouth, a plucked chicken appeared right in front of her.
- Uh, witch! – the old man got angry. - I wish this chicken stuck to your forehead!
And at that very moment the chicken seemed to have grown to the old woman’s forehead. No matter how hard she tried to tear it off, nothing worked.
- Old fool! - the old woman shouted. - There is rotten straw in your head instead of reason! If you don’t tell the chicken to get off me right now, I’ll throw myself off the roof!
And when they asked the fairy to remove the chicken from the old woman’s forehead, all three of their wishes were fulfilled.
So they remained in their old house with a plucked chicken on the fire...
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru