Once upon a time there lived a poor merchant. He went to trade in a foreign country. He transferred all his property, which consisted of one hundred mana of iron, to a friend for safekeeping, since he had no relatives, and then left.
Some time later, returning home, he asked a friend to return the iron to him. He, however, sold it and tried to get rid of the merchant, telling him:
— Your iron was chewed off by mice.
To this the merchant calmly answered his friend, pretending that he believed him:
- Yes, it’s not for nothing that people say that none of the two-legged and four-legged animals have sharper teeth than mice. The most important thing is that I found you in good health. And I will somehow survive the damage done to me by mice.
He was very happy that the merchant believed him.
One day he invited his friend to dinner. When leaving, the merchant took his son with him and hid him. Having discovered his son’s disappearance, he asked:
“What happened to my boy whom you took away?”
The merchant replied:
“I didn’t lead him away, he followed me himself.” But at that time a falcon flew in and carried him away.
The child's father began to cry, scream, scream, beat his chest, wailing:
“Have you ever heard of a boy being carried away by a falcon?”
The merchant answered him:
“Where mice are capable of chewing off a hundred tons of iron, a falcon can even carry off an elephant—this should not be surprising.”
Then his friend said to him:
- I sold your iron, brother, and for this I was rewarded a hundredfold. Take from me as much money as it is worth, but return your son!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru