Once upon a time, there lived two neighbors in the same state. One of them got rich by deception and dishonest means and became a merchant. Another neighbor, through honest labor, built himself a house, laid out a garden, and became a gardener. One day a dispute broke out between neighbors. Merchant says:
- Listen, neighbor, I see how you work day and night by the sweat of your brow. Let me teach you how to make money easily.
- How is that? - asked the gardener.
- Buy low, sell high, deceive people, try to grab more by any means. Then your wealth will increase, and your soul will become calmer,” the merchant taught.
“No, neighbor,” answered the gardener, “I don’t want such wealth.” A person should earn money only by honest work.
But the merchant did not agree with this. They argued like this for a long time. Finally the merchant suggested:
- Let's go out onto the road and ask the first three people we meet which of us is right. If they say that you are right, I will give you all my property, but if I am right, I will take everything that is yours. We decided on this.
We went out onto the road. How long or short they walked, they met a young man on the road.
The merchant said:
- Judge us, son. I say that it is better to accumulate wealth by robbery. But my neighbor claims that wealth must be acquired through honest labor. Which one of us is right?
“Of course, you’re right, Mr. Merchant,” answered the young man.
- Well, what did I tell you? - said the merchant, turning to his neighbor.
The gardener did not attach much importance to the young man’s words, thought to himself that he was still young, how could he know this, and suggested:
- Well, let's continue on our way. Allah loves a trinity - only two remain.
They walked further, reached the forest, and went deeper into it. They walked and walked and came out onto a green lawn, where a spring came out of the ground. They drank water from the spring, rested a little and set off again. Soon they met a hunter - it was clear from his face that he was a villain. The merchant approached him:
- Brother hunter, judge us. I say that it is better to accumulate wealth through cunning and dishonest means, but the gardener claims that the honest way is better. Tell me, which one of us is right?
“Mr. merchant,” answered the hunter, “you’re right.” The poor gardener said in surprise:
“Brother merchant, let’s go and look for the third one.” Let's see what he says.
Whether it was a long or short walk, we reached some kind of yurt. They see an old man sitting in front of the yurt. After greeting each other honorably, they told the old man about their dispute.
“I think the merchant is right,” said the old man, after listening to them.
The gardener, hearing the old man’s answer, almost lost his mind.
“I wonder if there is at least one honest and decent person in this region?” he thought to himself. “Whoever we meet, everyone approves of dishonor and untruth.”
- Tell me, old man, what do you do? - the gardener asked out loud.
“I was the Shah’s executioner,” answered the old man.
“Well, what kind of justice can you expect from the executioner?” - the gardener decided.
And so, having lost the argument, the gardener was forced to give all the goods he had acquired through honest labor to the merchant. Left without everything, the gardener decided: rather than live among such people, it would be better to move to other lands. Planned and done: packed up and hit the road. Soon the fairy tale is told, but not soon the deed is done, he walked and walked and reached a cave in a very deserted area, surrounded by steep rocks. It was raining heavily and there was nowhere to hide except in the cave, so he entered it. He looked around and saw that the cave was inhabited. There is so much goodness here that it makes your eyes wide open. In one corner there are jewelry, in another there are expensive fabrics, then there are sacks of wheat and rice. And what was not there! It was dusk. The rain poured incessantly. The gardener was about to leave the cave when he saw a group of people walking in his direction. He hid in the far corner of the cave. Those who came sat comfortably, laid out tablecloths, and began to eat and drink. From their conversation it became clear that these were forty robbers, and the cave was their home. The robbers began to discuss a plan to rob the Shah's treasury. The chieftain distributed responsibilities, and then, armed and equipped, the robbers set off. Following the robbers, the gardener also ran away from the cave.
The robbers very skillfully cleaned out the Shah's treasury. They loaded the loot onto camels and brought it to their cave. In the morning, rumors spread everywhere that the padishah's treasury had been robbed at night. The padishah summoned all the courtyard people and ordered to find the robbers.
The chief vizier of the padishah stepped forward and, bowing, said:
- May the life of the padishah last, this is not a new thing. For several years now, these robbers have been robbing people, no one can catch them, it is not even known where they live.
“I don’t want to know anything,” said the padishah. Let the army search the entire city and find the robbers, even underground.
It was impossible to disobey the padishah, so the vizier, advisers, and all the courtiers, taking a detachment of soldiers, went off in search of the robbers. The search continued for seven days and seven nights, but there was no trace of the robbers. Everyone, having sipped lightly, returned to the palace.
And the poor gardener, on the way to the city, only heard about the robbery of the Shah's treasury. Knowing well what had happened, the gardener came to the palace and asked to be taken to the Shah. Bowing, he said: “May the life of the padishah last, I know where the robbers who robbed your treasury are hiding.” The Shah exclaimed:
- If this is true, half of the treasure is yours.
“May the life of the Shah last,” answered the gardener, “I don’t need any treasures.” There is a cave not far from your city. Forty robbers live in it. They took your treasures and hid them in this cave.
The Shah immediately sent nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine horsemen armed with swords to the cave. The Shah's soldiers found in the cave, in addition to the Shah's treasury, a lot of other goods, but not a single living soul was there. They set up an ambush, but the robbers never showed up. Then they loaded everything that was in the cave onto camels and brought it to the palace. The padishah was infinitely happy.
“Well, wanderer,” the padishah said to the gardener, “I keep my word—half of this goodness is yours.”
“May the life of the Shah last,” answered the gardener. “I, like these robbers, was treacherously robbed by a certain merchant some time ago and completely ruined.” So a handful of gold is enough for me to live.
“That’s not enough,” the padishah objected, “ask for something else, don’t be shy.”
The gardener replied:
- May the ruler of the world remain in eternal health, in the cave of robbers, in addition to your treasures, there is a lot of loot from the people. It would be nice to return all this to the owners.
The padishah agreed with the gardener. The heralds announced the will of the ruler throughout the city. Everyone took their goods. The gardener took the gold given to him by the Shah and set off on the way back. He walked for three days and three nights and reached his hometown. Using the Shah's gold, he began to slowly build himself a new house and plant a garden. In a short time he restored his former wealth. The gardener's neighbor, a merchant, seeing this, came to him, greeted him and asked:
- Neighbor, you're broke. Where did you get this wealth from? The gardener knew how greedy the merchant was. He sees that even now he is planning another trick, and answers:
— In such and such a city, forty robbers operated for several years. They robbed the people. It got to the point that they also cleaned out the Shah's treasury. By chance I found out where the robbers were hiding and informed the padishah about it. The Shah's servants, having destroyed the robbers, returned their goods to the people. And people gave me gifts as a sign of gratitude. If you want, go to this city and tell everyone you meet that it was you who reported the location of the robbers. People will also give you gold and silver. This way you will multiply your wealth without lifting a finger. The greedy merchant, believing the gardener, returned home, grabbed his khurjun and moved to that very city. I met three people near the city walls. He approached them and said:
- Do you know who I am?
“No, we don’t know,” the people answered.
“I am the one who showed the padishah the cave of the forty thieves,” says the merchant.
It turns out that these three were from the forty thieves.
- Oh, what joy! - exclaimed the robbers, not wanting to miss the opportunity. - Yes, we are looking for you everywhere. Show us your house, we will bring you so many gifts that there will be nowhere to put them. The merchant said where he lived. And the robbers called all their comrades and headed straight to the merchant’s house. They took away everything that could be carried away from the merchant's house. And the owner himself was beaten half to death. The merchant lay lifeless for three days and three nights, almost giving his soul to God. But he gradually recovered. The gardener came to visit the merchant.
- Do you see what happened to me? - the merchant exclaimed, seeing his neighbor.
“I’ve known for a long time that this would happen, Mr. Merchant,” answered the gardener. “What they gain dishonestly is how they lose it.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru