Once upon a time, Tsar Peter the Great traveled to our northern regions. He heard that in one village a blacksmith had a horse that had no equal in agility and strength. The king wanted to look at this horse and, if what they say about him was true, then buy it.
The king arrived in the village, went into the forge, and asked to shoe the horse. The blacksmith forged a horseshoe and left it to cool. And Tsar Peter took the horseshoe, turned it over in his hands and straightened it out. Says to the blacksmith:
- There is a rumor that you are a good blacksmith, and your horseshoes are like clay.
The blacksmith says nothing, makes new horseshoes and shoes the horse. The Tsar gave him a silver ruble for his work. The blacksmith takes the ruble, twirls it in his hands and breaks the coin in half, and says:
- What is this king - your money is like it’s made of chaff. Whether the king liked the blacksmith’s courage or not is unknown. He asked as if nothing had happened:
- They say you have a good horse?
“There are some,” the blacksmith answers.
—Will you take me to the city in it? Just look, it takes an hour to get there.
And it will be fifty miles to the city. The blacksmith thought and agreed.
“Just remember,” continues Tsar Peter, “if you don’t deliver on time, blame yourself.” That will be my will.
“Okay,” says the blacksmith, “I’ll take it.” Just give me time to forge three iron rods and harness the horse.
The blacksmith forged three iron rods, harnessed the horse and loaded fifteen pounds of iron into the sleigh. The king was surprised and asked:
- Why the cargo? We won't even make it until the evening.
- And this is so that the horse does not run too fast.
The king just shook his head. They got into the sleigh and drove off. The horse is slowly shaking. The king says:
- Apparently, you, blacksmith, are a whole head shorter for showing off your horse.
“Did I really boast?” said the blacksmith and hit the horse with another rod.
The horse took off and ran off. The riders only have the wind whistling in their ears! We passed the second copse. But the king is still dissatisfied:
- Remember our agreement: if we don’t arrive on time, blame yourself!
The blacksmith hit the horse with the third rod. The horse took off and flew like a bird! The sleigh barely touches the ground.
“I understand now, Tsar,” the blacksmith shouted in Tsar Peter’s ear, “why did I put the blanks in?”
You can no longer tell where the fields are and where the forests are. The king had never seen such a fast ride. Their horse brought them to the city half an hour earlier than the agreed time.
The king gets up from his sleigh and asks:
- How much is your horse worth? Blacksmith says:
— The horse is not for sale. The king asks for the second time. The blacksmith again:
— The horse is not for sale. The king asks for the third time:
- Is there really no price for a horse? Ask for him whatever you want. I'll give everything.
And the blacksmith stands his ground:
“It’s already been said that the horse is not for sale.”
The king became seriously angry and shot the horse.
Out of grief, the blacksmith went to wander around the city. I wandered until the evening and came to the inn. And there sits the old clerk. He asks the blacksmith:
- Who, good man, offended you?
- Eh, old man, they offended me greatly. But I can’t find the truth, because my offender is the king himself.
And he told how it happened. The clerk says:
- There will be justice for the king too. I will write a petition to the court in such a way that they will judge it fairly. When the king asks what you want for the killed horse, tell him your deepest desire.
And he wrote a petition to the blacksmith.
The next day they look for the blacksmith and call him to court. And the court decided that the blacksmith was right, that the king should pay the blacksmith for the horse, no matter how much he asked.
“What will you take?” asks the king. The blacksmith answers:
“I already told you, king, that the horse is not for sale.” I’ll say the same thing now. But because you killed my horse, O king, free my entire family from royal taxes.
“So be it!” said the king. Apparently, he liked the brave blacksmith.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru