Once upon a time there were two merchants, both married, and they lived together amicably and lovingly. Here is one merchant saying to another:
- Listen, brother! Let's do a test to see whose wife loves her husband better.
- Let's. How can I try it?
- Here’s how: let’s get ready and go to the fair, and the wife who starts crying the most will love her husband more.
When they got ready to set off, their wives began to accompany them. One cries and breaks down, and the other says goodbye and laughs.
The merchants went to the fair, drove off about fifty miles and started talking among themselves.
“Look how your wife loves you,” said one, “how she cried goodbye, and mine began to say goodbye, and she herself laughs!”
And the other replied:
- That's it, brother! Now the wives have seen us off, let’s go back, so let’s see what our wives are doing without us.
- Fine!
They returned to the night and entered the city on foot. We went ahead to the hut of that merchant whose wife was crying bitterly at parting. We looked out the window. She sat with her lover and walked. The lover poured a glass of vodka, drank it himself and brought it to her:
- Here, honey, have a drink!
She drank and said:
- You are my dear friend! Now I'm yours.
- These are the nonsense: all mine! There is something and it’s husband’s!
She turned her back to him and said:
- Here's to him - one ass!
Then the merchants went to the wife who did not cry, but laughed. They came under the window and saw: a lamp was burning in front of the icons, and she was kneeling, praying earnestly and saying:
- Grant, Lord, to my partner on the path of every return!
“Well,” said one merchant to another, “now let’s go trade.”
We went to the fair and traded very well: there was such a challenge in trade as never before! It's time to go home. They began to get ready and decided to buy their wives a gift. One merchant, whose wife prayed to God, bought her some nice brocade for her fur coat, and another bought his wife only brocade for her backside:
- After all, my only butt! So I only need half an arshin - I don’t want to insult my wife!
We arrived and gave gifts to the wives.
- Why did you buy such a small piece of paper? - asked the wife with a heart.
- And you remember... how you sat with your lover and said that you only had mine butt - well, I equipped my part. Put our brocade on it and wear it.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru