One day a man was walking through the forest, returning home from work. The road is not close, he walks, thinks in thought and suddenly sees ahead - a tree is on fire. The flames are raging, engulfing it from top to bottom, only the branches are cracking. And at the very top, a very long snake writhes, wriggles in fierce fire, thrashes and hisses as loud as it can from terrible pain. The snake noticed the man and began to lament pitifully: “Help, good man, save me from cruel death.” The man felt ashamed to pass by, not to rescue the snake from trouble: and she, tea, a living creature, also does not want to die. He held out his long staff, and the snake quietly and lightly descended, crawled along the man’s hand, and unexpectedly, unexpectedly, wrapped itself around him. The poor fellow was dumbfounded with amazement.
He was about to grab the snake, twist it, tear it to get rid of it, but that was not the case! The snake only became furious and squeezed his neck even more, almost strangling him.
“Ugh, attack,” the man rushes about. “I wanted to do good to the snake, but it turned evil against me.”
- This is how it always happens. - How is this?
- Don’t you know that good is always repaid with evil?
- Where did you find this rule from?
- How is it, where is it from? This is how it is, if you ask anyone, no one will tell you to repay good with good; and if there is at least one creature who thinks differently, I will crawl off your neck.
The man walked further, his eyes darkened from grief, he could barely see the road. He walks and walks and suddenly meets a horse.
- Hello, horse.
- Hello, passerby.
“Listen to the trouble I got into.” I was walking through the forest and now I took pity on this snake, pulled it out of the fire, and it wrapped itself around my neck, and now I carry it on myself, like a heavy cross. Judge us whether it is right that I am paid with evil for good.
- Eh, poor fellow, I understand your grief, because I can barely stand on my feet.
from bitter grief. When I was young, my master fed me selected grain, gave me water and care, and then he would jump up on horseback and I would carry him across the world far and wide. But as soon as I grew old, he drove me in all four directions. There is no need for me anymore. This is how it happens in the world! Woe to us, unfortunate ones, they pay us evil for good.
- Well, am I wrong? Do you hear what the horse says? - the snake hissed maliciously.
The man went further, and he saw an old, skinny and mangy dog.
- Hello, dog!
- Hello.
“Come closer and listen to my grief.” This and that happened to me.” And he told the dog everything that happened.
- Eh, good man, I can only sympathize with you, because a great misfortune has befallen me too. In my youth I served my master, and he fed me well; I caught hares, foxes, and drove wolves for him; but as I grew older and weaker, the owner drove me away, and now I wander around like a restless person, rummaging through trash heaps and chewing on my thoughts, the owner forgot all my services. Hey, needless to say, they pay for good with evil.
- Do you hear, man, what everyone is saying?
“I hear you, yes, I hear you, but let’s ask someone else.”
They went their way, moving forward until they reached another forest.
Then they met a good fellow, a handsome young man with a clear gaze, with a club on his shoulder and a sword at his side.
“Hello, good fellow,” says the man.
- Hello, poor fellow.
- Listen to me about my sorrows.
-Tell me it hurts.
“I was returning from work, and in one of the forests I pulled out this underwater snake from the fire, and now it wrapped itself around my neck, trying to strangle me. Judge us, good fellow, tell us whether it is possible to pay for good with evil.
- Good man, I can’t judge you when one is sitting astride the other.
- What should we do?
- Disperse one on this side of the road, the other on that, then I will judge between you.
Snake - not at all. Sits on a person’s neck, as if under a spell.
“Get off, you damned snake, let the good fellow judge us,” the man shouted at her.
The snake crawled down and headed to the side of the road. Then the good fellow whistled as hard as he could, and suddenly a detachment of mighty knights appeared out of the ground, and they began to trample the snake, beat it, chop it into pieces until it was mixed with the ground.
This is the verdict when good is paid for with evil.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru