Once upon a time there lived, or perhaps not, a poor man and wife. There was no one poorer - their entire shack had collapsed and the roof was falling on their heads.
“I don’t have the strength to live like this anymore,” the peasant says to his wife. “I’ll work in another village in a minute.” On the bank of a river he met a fisherman.
“Take me as a worker, good man, I will serve you faithfully,” the poor man asked.
“I’ll take it,” the fisherman agreed. “At the end of the year, I’ll pay you, I’ll give you a cow, but not an ordinary one - she milks five times a day, calves once every two weeks.”
The poor man serves faithfully. He casts nets with a fisherman, grazes cattle, hills the vines in the vineyard, and waters the garden. A year has passed. The fisherman brought out the cow and said to the worker:
“Here’s a cow for your efforts, brother.” The cow is not an easy one: she milks five times a day and calves once every two weeks. But know, in three years, three months and three days I will come to you. I’ll say three words and ask three questions. If you don’t answer, I’ll take both the cow and all the offspring.
The poor man said goodbye to the fisherman and drove the cow to his home.
The wife met her husband with tears of joy.
They lived comfortably.
The cow was milked five times a day and calved once every two weeks. At the end of the year, their whole herd was divorced. The husband and wife live in prosperity, but the peasant has no peace—everything thinks about the fisherman and his questions.
Three years and three months have passed. There are three days left to wait. The peasant is sad, does not eat, does not drink.
“What’s wrong with you,” his wife asks. “Our house is full of good things, we know neither trouble nor sorrow, but you sit sadly.”
Then the peasant told her about the agreement with the fisherman.
“He’ll come tomorrow and take the whole herd—I can’t answer his questions.”
- I found something to worry about! I’ll answer the questions myself, just don’t let him into the house or the barn.
The night had not yet passed, the day had not yet come - a fisherman appeared. Knocks on the door.
“Who doesn’t let us sleep there,” the woman responds.
- Open it, it’s me, the fisherman. I came to say three words, ask three questions.
- Ask from there why you should enter the house!
- Yesterday I sent you a bird, where did you put it?
- What kind of bird is there! There was a fly, the rooster swallowed it!
- Your rooster is not small!
- How small it is! Then he crowed - he knocked my sister off her feet, nine mountains away!
- Your sister is sick!
- How sick she is! In nine years she gave birth to nine sons. Everyone has grown up to be a hero, they are tending and guarding our flock!
The fisherman understood that the cow was in good hands, he couldn’t steal the herd, and said:
- You are worthy of your goodness. May it do you good! Then the fisherman’s owners let him into the house and gave him a great treat.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru