In gratitude for his kind service, one parishioner gave the young priest from Dunfermline a pig.
At first the priest was delighted with the gift, but the pig grew quickly and it became more and more difficult to feed him. So the priest decided: “I’ll send it to my friend in Cairneyhill. Let him graze there in the wild: it won’t cost me anything.”
And the priest had a servant named Willie, a good guy, but a little stupid.
- Willie! - the owner called him. “Put the piglet in a sack and take it to Cairneyhill to my friend, I’ve already made an agreement with him.”
But the pig was cunning, and Willie had to fiddle around before he managed to catch it and put it in the bag.
On the way, the priest gave Willie a stern farewell. He knew that his faithful servant was not to be easily confused, which is why the most trivial matter often turned into the most difficult for Willy. So this is what he told him:
- Take care, Willie, don’t let anyone slip out anywhere who you’re going to and why. Just remember, you need to go to Cairneyhill. You give the pig there and then return it right away.
“Be calm, master,” answered Willie. - You know me! I'll do everything as you tell me.
“That’s just it, I know you well!” - said the priest.
And Willie, putting the precious burden on his back, set off. Halfway to Cairneyhill, he met three of his friends who called out to him from the threshold of the inn.
- Hello, Willie! - said one.
“Where are you going on such a fine day, Willie?” - asked the second.
- What are you carrying in your bag, Willie? - shouted the third.
Willie was very excited about this meeting.
- H-hello, friends! - he answered stammeringly. “I-I can’t tell you where I’m going.” The owner did not tell me to tell where I was going. And I can tell what’s in my bag: it’s not a cat or a dog!
The friends laughed and immediately rushed to assure Willie that they would not ask him anything. One of them tapped Willie on the shoulder and suggested:
- Come in, Willie, have a glass with us. You must be tired from a long journey, and with a heavy burden on your back.
“No, I can’t,” Willie refused, at the same time casting a greedy glance at the open door of the inn, behind which, apparently, it was so cool. - Since the owner entrusted me with his pig, I can’t drink!
The friends winked at each other, but did not show that they had realized about the pig.
- Why, Willie, come in! A sip of wine never hurts. Leave the bag here at the doorstep.
Willie didn't need any more persuasion. He put the sack with the pig on the ground and entered the inn. Then one of the friends, without wasting any time, untied the bag, released the pig and put in the first mongrel he came across in its place.
The unsuspecting honest servant drank a glass, put the sack back on his back and walked on cheerfully. Having reached Cairneyhill, he conveyed greetings from his master to his friend, as ordered, and handed him the bag.
“Thank you, Willie, thank you,” the owner’s friend thanked him. “Will you now help me untie the bag and take the piglet to the barn?”
Willie untied the bag, but instead of a pig with a pink snout, a black dog jumped out of it.
- Save me! Save! - poor Willie shouted. “It’s not like the devil himself played a cruel joke on me.”
The priest’s friend was very surprised, but did not really believe the devil’s joke. And knowing Willie well, he thought that most likely someone was playing a friendly joke on him.
“Don’t worry so much, Willie,” he said. “You can pick up your dog and take it to its owner.”
- This is not a dog, sir! - Willie exclaimed, trembling with fear. - It's a pig! I swear to you - pig! Only the devil changed his color: instead of white he made him black.
But there was nothing to do, and, putting the dog in the bag, Willie set off on the way back. Having reached the tavern, he again saw his three friends there, who, as if nothing had happened, were sitting at the table and sipping wine with an innocent look.
- No, it’s Willie! - said one. - And again with a bag on your back?
“Oh-oh-oh, such a misfortune happened to me,” Willie said as he entered. - The devil replaced my pig with a dog! What will I tell the owner now?
- That's the thing! - exclaimed the second, barely restraining himself from laughing. -Have you heard anything like that?
“Sit down, buddy, you need a drink after strong experiences,” said the third.
This time Willie didn’t have to be persuaded at all: he really didn’t mind drinking. He deserved it.
He left the bag on the ground at the entrance to the tavern and sat down at the table. They poured it for him and he drank it, and during this time one of the jokers quietly went out and replaced the dog with a pig.
An hour or two later, the unsuspecting Willie was already walking home with his burden. His head was in complete chaos from the drink and everything he had experienced. He immediately told his terrible story to the owner, but he didn’t really understand anything.
“I can’t understand what you’re talking about,” said the owner. - What devil? What dog? Quickly untie the bag and drive the pig into the barn. Tomorrow you will take it to Cairneyhill.
- This is not a pig, sir! - Willie exclaimed. - It's a dog! I swear to you - a dog! Here, look!
With these words, Willie untied the bag, and a pig jumped out. Willie simply screamed in horror:
- How? A pig and not a dog?!
And poor Willie decided that the devil had played a cruel joke on him again. And his owner...
And if the owner had previously doubted the mind of his honest servant, now he had no doubts left.
What about you?
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru