In ancient times, there lived in a small village a poor widow. She lived with her son, who I don’t know how old he was - maybe thirteen, maybe fifteen. He helped her in the field, but, admittedly, he worked with lukewarmness.
And then one day the widow said to her son:
“Son, you should work harder in the field, otherwise you’ll be known as a quitter.”
“I’m not a quitter, mother.” I just want to do something else.
- What is it like?
“I’ll be a cunning one at first.” Apparently, I was born this way.
- By whom? Sly?
- Well, yes, a cunning fellow... I really want to laugh at all our rich people.
- Oh my God, my God! – the widow clasped her hands. “I’d better go to church and ask the Lord God for advice.”
She said so and in fact went to church. And her son, without wasting time, also ran to the church, but only along a different road. He came running first, hid behind the altar and began to wait and wait for his mother. A minute later the widow approached the altar. She came up, knelt down and let’s cry out to God:
- Tell me. Lord, who should my dear son become?
“A sly fellow,” came from behind the altar. The widow couldn’t believe her ears, she asked again and received the same answer. Although she was surprised, she did not contradict God and, hitting her forehead on the stone slabs, whispered:
- Thank you. Lord, for the advice!
Then she rose from her knees and walked towards the house, saying:
- Oh my God, my God! Well done cunning! But while she was wandering along the road, her son overtook her and, meeting his mother on the threshold, asks as if nothing had happened:
- How are you, mother? What did the Lord God say?
- Oh, son, don’t ask! He told me that you should be a cunning fellow.
– Well, that’s right... That’s what I thought. I'll get down to business today.
And he really got down to business.
Not far from their shack lived a rich and greedy peasant. The boy snuck into his yard, caught all his chickens and hid them in the forest.
In the morning the rich man burst into the widow’s hut and shouted:
- It was your son who stole all my chickens! There is no one else but him!
- Ah... ah... ah..
- There’s no need for you to gasp. I’ll call the gendarmes, then you’ll find out how much a pound is worth!
- Gendarmes? Well, no, the gendarmes have nothing to do with this. After all, my son is not some kind of thief, but a cunning fellow! Just know that.
- What? – The rich man widened his eyes in surprise. - Well done cunning guy? If so, let him try to take my horses from the stables at night. Let's see what a cunning fellow he is!
- Okay, neighbor, I’ll tell him your words. The rich man went home, called three stable boys to him and said to them:
“Tonight you will go to the stable, sit astride my horses and sit like that all night.” And don't you dare get off! Then no cunning fellow will lead them away.
In the evening, the boys climbed onto the master's horses and listened: is the cunning fellow sneaking away? They sat like that for a long time, but did not hear anything. It was quiet all around, only the dogs were barking. Suddenly, around midnight, a cheerful voice was heard nearby:
- Hey, guys, what are you doing here in the stables?
- Oh, it's you! - the scared boys were delighted when they recognized the widow’s son. “Yes, the owner told us to keep an eye on the horses, otherwise, he says, some cunning fellow will suddenly come and steal the horses.”
- Ha-ha-ha! – he burst out laughing. - I wish I could take a look at this sly fellow!
– If you want to take a look, stay with us.
- Why, I guess I’ll sit... After all, I’m in no hurry.
The cunning one remains. He sat, sat for a while, yawned and said to the guys:
“I’m dying to sleep, and it’s boring here.” I’ll go get some water and bring it for you at the same time.
The widow's son came out of the stable and soon brought a flask of water, and not plain water, but sleepy water.
“Drink up, friends, otherwise you’ll actually fall asleep from idleness.”
The boys drank the water and immediately fell asleep. And the cunning fellow carefully removed them from the saddles, laid them on the straw, led the horses out of the stable and hid them in the forest: let them, they say, look for the owner of his horses.
And in the morning, while the boy was still in the forest, the angry rich man ran to the widow again:
“It was your son who stole my horses at night!” I'll go call the gendarmes and let them put him in prison!
- Yes, I told you even earlier that the gendarmes have nothing to do with it, if my son is not a thief, but a cunning fellow. And among other things, you offered to test it yourself.
Have you forgotten?
– But that’s true... Well, okay. Since he is a cunning fellow, let him show me his art once again - let him remove the sheet from my bed on which I sleep.
The widow conveyed to her son the words of the rich man. He smiled and said:
- Okay.
In the evening, he made a large man-sized doll out of straw, tied a long rope to it, and at night, climbing onto the rich man’s roof, he stuck this straw effigy into the chimney. He himself hid behind the house and began to pull the scarecrow by the rope.
The scarecrow rustled in the chimney. The rich man heard a rustling sound and thought that it was the clever fellow climbing through the pipe. He grabbed the gun and fired right at the scarecrow!
Bang!.. The bullet broke the rope, and the scarecrow fell straight into the kitchen fireplace. The rich man ran out of the bedroom and to the fireplace.
- Gotcha, swindler! Gotcha, well done sly fellow! – he shouted at the top of his voice.
When he saw the straw effigy in the fireplace, he almost burst from frustration. And while the rich man was looking at the scarecrow in the kitchen, the cunning fellow slipped into the bedroom through the window, grabbed a sheet and instantly disappeared.
The rich man returned to the bedroom, looked at the bed and opened his mouth in amazement: the sheets were gone!
But I must tell you that the rich man had a brother, and not just any commoner, but Mr. Curé himself. By the way, you probably know that these gentlemen are much more cunning than their parishioners?
So, when the rich man told him about the tricks of the widow’s son, the curate was extremely amazed, burst out laughing and, being a gambling man, immediately ordered him to convey to the cunning fellow his urgent desire: let him try to steal his personal money.
- Tell him so! – he repeated several times to his brother. - But warn me: if his trick fails, I will give him a good beating!
“Okay, I’ll tell you,” the rich man agreed and that same evening conveyed his brother’s words to the boy.
“Well, we’ll see... The morning is wiser than the evening,” responded the widow’s son and went to bed.
The next day the priest came to church and began to celebrate morning mass.
Meanwhile, the widow's son hid behind the altar - at least there were few people in the church - and, as soon as the curé began the service, he said in an ominous whisper:
– If you do not give all your savings to me, the Lord God, then you will be cursed and excommunicated!
- Oh God! – the priest froze with fear. “If that’s what you want, I’ll run home to get my savings.”
And indeed Mister curé ran home. However, the priest did not notice that the widow’s son ran after him.
The boy crept up to the priest's house, put his ear to the door and heard the maid ask the priest:
-What happened to you, your reverence? What are you doing?
“Get away from me, you despicable one!” The Lord God blessed me! So I give him all my money.
- How do you give it away? What about me? You owe me a whole month!
“Don’t be afraid, I have another hundred gold crowns hidden under the mattress.”
“Yeah, what a scammer! - thought the widow's son, listening to their conversation - Well, wait a minute!
And, having found out what he needed, he rushed back to the church, hid behind the altar and began to wait for the priest. The priest came, placed a tightly stuffed bag of gold crowns on the altar and said in a low voice:
Here is my money, O Lord, accept it from a pure heart and grant me heavenly bliss!
The priest bowed his head humbly and suddenly heard:
- Oh, you wicked man! Have you decided to hide some of the good things from me? You have another hundred crowns hidden under your mattress!
- Oh holy father! - The priest fell to his knees. - I forgot about them. Truly, nothing can hide from your all-seeing eye!
Like it or not, Monsieur curé had to run home one more time and bring the forgotten hundred crowns. Well, while he was running, the boy put another bag, large and strong, next to the bag full of money, and when the priest brought the hidden hundred crowns, he said in a guttural voice:
“You did the right thing, my son.” For this I will take you to heaven alive. Get into the bag head first.
The priest was delighted and climbed into the bag, and the boy grabbed the money into his pocket, tied the bag tightly, threw it over his shoulder and set off.
On the way, the priest says:
- Can't you be more careful? Because you broke off all my sides, Lord.
- Be patient, my son. You are not going for a walk, but to heaven. The road there is difficult and thorny. So be patient.
The cunning fellow dragged the bag to the rich man’s chicken coop, lowered it to the ground near the door and said sternly:
– When you hear the door open, shout as loud as you can: I’m in heaven! I'm in heaven!
He said so, put a bag of money on the ground - you know, they say, it’s ours! – and went home, laughing.
And the poor curé listened all night to the cooing of the pigeons hiding under the roof of the chicken coop, and from time to time he sighed blissfully:
- Oh my God. My God, these are the angels in heaven who are interpreting!
Early in the morning the rich man opened the door of the chicken coop, and his brother curé screamed:
- I'm in heaven! I'm in heaven!
The rich man's eyes bulged in amazement, his mouth gaped open, and he froze in his tracks.
Meanwhile, people came running to the chicken coop, and the priest kept shouting and shouting:
- I'm in heaven! I'm in heaven!
The peasants untied the bag and almost burst with laughter - Mr. Curé himself crawled out of the bag. The priest looks around and understands nothing. And when he understood, he picked up his bag of money and rushed home to cheerful hoots.
You see what a joke the crafty boy played. It's not about the money - he didn't need it. He just wanted to show the priest and his brother which of them was more stupid. And he showed it. What a clever guy he is! All in me.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru