Once upon a time, a husband and wife lived in the same village - Ko Che and Ma Yei. They lived in harmony and harmony, never quarreled, and the villagers, teaching the youth, always set this married couple as an example:
“Look how Ko Che and Ma Yei live,” they said. – They never quarrel, they give in to each other in everything. There is peace and quiet in their house - it’s both pleasant for them and not embarrassing for their neighbors!
The whole village never tired of admiring the exemplary spouses.
One day, Ko Che and Ma Yei, sitting over tea and chatting about this and that, suddenly remembered an old folk sign.
“Ma Yey,” Ko Che turned to his wife. “It seems that in the old days they believed that dawn comes only when the rooster crows, and if the hen crows first, dawn will not come.” Is it true what I say?
- You got it all wrong! – Ma Yei got angry. “They used to say: dawn won’t come if the rooster crows first.” And when the hen clucks first, dawn will surely come.
“I forgot something, so I asked you.” But it seems to me that you are wrong. Well, of course, as soon as the rooster crows, dawn immediately comes.
Barely restraining her anger, Ma Yei stubbornly repeated her thoughts:
- No, no. Dawn comes when a chicken cackles. Before, I gave in to you in everything, but now I can’t. I know for sure that the truth is on my side.
“Believe me, you’re wrong,” Ko Che tried to reason with his wife.
So, word by word, at first quietly, and then raising their voices more and more, the spouses, to the surprise of all their neighbors, quarreled.
But the compliant Ko Che could not stand it:
Ma Hey, what's the point of arguing? Neither you nor I can prove that we are right. Let's go to the abbot of the monastery, let him judge us!
So they did.
- What's happened? – the abbot of the monastery was surprised when he saw the couple. – What differences brought you to me?
- Listen to us, O teacher! I tell my wife that if the rooster crows first, dawn will come, but if the hen crows first, dawn will not come. She insists: dawn comes if the hen crows first, and if the rooster crows first, then it won’t dawn at all. Would you be so kind as to explain to us which of us is right?
- Both of you are far from the truth. No matter how hard both the rooster and the hen try, the dawn will not come. The fact is that they wake up at dawn and only then begin to voice.
Ko Che and Ma Ye listened to the abbot’s explanation, bowed to him and silently left.
When they had walked halfway, the husband said thoughtfully:
- But the teacher is probably right!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru