A certain boy stole a chicken somewhere and brought it home. The father praised his son. The boy liked stealing. Not even a year had passed before the son brought someone else’s cow. And then the father praised his son in every possible way. Years passed, the son became a real thief. Having become insolent, he decided to take away the treasury of the eminent prince and was caught. The court sentenced him to beheading. The judge gave the thief the last word, and then the thief said:
“Here sits my father, who instilled in me a taste for theft, who encouraged me to do it, who did not stop me in time. He has as much to blame as I do. If you chop off my head, then do the same to him.
- Is all this true? - the judge asked, got to the bottom of it and found out that the young man was telling the truth, and added:
- In this case, there is no fault on you, and all the blame lies with your father.
Then the judge changed his decision: having ordered his son not to steal anymore, he released him, and sentenced his father to death.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru