One man had two sons. They grew up, and their father said to them:
“It’s time, sons, to get down to real work.” Which one of you wants to do what?
The sons are silent, they don’t know what job to choose.
“Well, let’s go,” says the father, “we’ll give birth around the world and see what people do.”
We got ready and walked slowly. They go, the sons of the city look at everything, think about what kind of work they should choose.
We approached a village. They see a blacksmith shop standing by the pasture. They went into the forge. We greeted the blacksmith and talked. The eldest son even picked up a hammer and helped the blacksmith forge a ploughshare. Then we moved on.
We approached another village. The eldest son looked here and there: there was no blacksmith shop in this village. So he says to his father:
- Why not put a forge here too? I could have remained a blacksmith. I like this job.
The father was delighted: he thought the eldest son had found a means of livelihood!
“Okay,” he says, “be a blacksmith in this village.”
He set up a forge for his son, and he began to engage in blacksmithing. And people praise him, and he himself is pleased with his work.
And no matter how hard the youngest son works, he can’t find a job he likes.
One day he and his father were walking past a meadow. He sees an ox grazing in a meadow. But the village is far away, and the shepherd is not in sight.
- Shouldn’t I start stealing oxen, dad? - says the son. “This work is easy, and there will be meat every day.” And I’ll get fat like an ox myself.
“Steal,” says the father. “Then I take you so that you can choose a permanent occupation for yourself.”
The son took the ox and drove it home. And the father says:
- Wait for me near the forest - I still need to look into this village: an acquaintance of mine lives there...
The son is chasing an ox, and like a wolf, he looks around to see if anyone is running after him. By the time I got to the forest, I was pretty scared. I felt sick and tired of fear.
He waited at the edge of the forest until his father returned, and together they drove the ox home.
They slaughtered an ox at home, skinned it and began to cook the meat. They cooked it, and the father said to his son:
- That's it, son, let's first take the measurements and see which of us gets fatter from this ox.
He took the lace, measured his and his son’s necks and tied the knots.
We sat down at the table. The father eats calmly, but the son keeps looking at the door: is someone coming to look for the ox? A dog barks, someone walks or drives past the hut - the son grabs the meat and hides in the closet. And his hands and legs were trembling... And it went like this, day after day.
They finally ate the ox. So the father says to his son:
- Now let’s measure our necks: which of us has grown fat?
They tried it on - the father’s neck was twice as thick, and the son’s neck was twice as thin.
The son is surprised:
- Why is it like this?
“And because you ate stolen ox,” says the father.
- So you ate stolen goods too!
- No, I paid the owner for the ox and ate it as if it were my own. That's why I gained weight. And as soon as you sit down at the table, fear immediately jumps on your neck and strangles you! That's why she's losing weight. You won't be satisfied with stolen goods, brother!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru