Once upon a time there lived a peasant. In his youth he worked as a farm laborer. Only in his old age did he put together some kind of farm and live well with his wife and three sons. From an early age, the eldest sons helped their father in everything, and they grew up to be good workers. But the youngest son was still walking around with nothing to do.
“I haven’t known rest all my life,” thought my father. “At least let my son live for his own pleasure!” And he didn't force him to work. The mother sighed, “I didn’t eat enough bread as a girl. At least let my son have some fun!” And she slipped him the best pieces. So they passed day after day, year after year. And the youngest son grew up to be a lazy slacker, he only loved to eat and sleep.
The peasant endured, endured, finally called his son and said:
“Isn’t it time to get down to business?” Do you want to be a leatherworker?
“No, I don’t want to,” the son answers. “I’ll tan my skin all my life and crush my hands to the bone.”
- Well, be a tailor.
- What are you talking about, father! Bend your back over vests and camisoles, and your hump will grow.
- Okay, son. I'm not captivating you. But what can you say about blacksmithing? You won’t find anyone stronger and tougher than a good blacksmith.
“Well,” the son answers. “I’ll probably go to blacksmiths.”
The father found the most skilled blacksmith in the area, paid him in advance for his apprenticeship and took his son to the forge.
- Well, son, watch how good people work, and you will learn yourself.
And the mother secretly brought a bed with a feather bed and pillows from the house on a cart and said:
- You, son, are used to sleeping on soft things with me. When you get tired of your work, lie down on the feather bed that I sewed for you myself, lay your head on the pillow that I filled you with soft fluff myself.
Well, the father and mother went home, and the son stayed with the blacksmith.
He put his bed in the corner of the forge, lay down on it and began to watch how the blacksmith and his students hit the anvil with a hammer. ‘
“What are you looking at?” asks the blacksmith. “Take the hammer in your hands.”
- Why? - answers the peasant's son.
The father said: watch how people work, you will learn yourself.
The blacksmith shook his head and went about his work.
The youngest son is lying on a soft bed, only turning left and right, keeping his eyes on the blacksmith.
The blacksmith could not stand it and said again:
- Why are you still lying around! You'll lie down on your sides.
“No, I won’t lie down,” answers the peasant’s son, “the feather bed is soft.” My head hurts from your roar, but my mother told me: you’ll get tired, son, rest, lay your head on the down pillow.
The blacksmith completely waved his hand at him: why talk to him, lazy fellow! So days after days passed, months after months.
Your hands don't hurt from someone else's work. So the youngest son says to himself:
“There is not much wisdom. Once you hit the anvil, you hit it with a hammer again, and that’s the end of the matter. That way, I can forge whatever you want, no worse than the owner himself!”
So three years have passed.
A peasant came for his son.
- Well, did my boyfriend learn blacksmithing? - the peasant asks the blacksmith.
“Who knows!” answers the blacksmith. “I watched, but didn’t show us what I learned.”
- And you, son, what do you say?
- What can I say, it will come to the point, I’m sure, I’m not entirely sure.
The father was delighted. He adapted an old barn into a forge, stocked up with all sorts of tools and said:
-Well, son, now show your art, forge me a new coulter for the plow.
The young blacksmith went to the barn. And the father followed him, along with his eldest sons. The young blacksmith assigned one brother to light the coals, another to blow the bellows, rolled up his sleeves and took a large hammer in his hands. And when the iron got hot, there was such a knocking sound in the forge that you could almost cover your ears.
The young blacksmith forged and forged, waved all his hands away, but he saw that he could not forge a ploughshare. Here he says:
- Why do you need a new opener, father? After all, the old one is still good. I'd better give you a sharp axe.
“Okay, son,” the peasant answers, “forge an ax.” Mine is completely dull.
The young blacksmith began to forge. He hit and hit with a hammer, he saw - and the ax did not come out.
- Eh, father! - he says again. “I don’t want to forge an ax.” This is rough work. But I’ll forge you a dozen nails, thin as your mother’s needle.
“Well,” the peasant answers, “even nails are needed on the farm.”
The blacksmith got to work again. He knocked, knocked, forged, forged, but forged nothing. I transferred all the hardware, only a small piece remained.
Then the father saw that his son had not learned anything. He took this piece of iron and threw it into a vat of water. The iron hisses - psh! psh!
“Do you hear, son,” said the father, “what came out of your teaching.” It turned out to be one zilch. But I’ll tell you this: there were no quitters in our family and there never will be. Go out of the house wherever you look and don’t come back until you learn at least some craft.
The youngest son lowered his head and walked away from his home. He went outside the outskirts, sat down on a stump and thought: “What should I do now? What should I do?” He thought and thought and decided to go back to the blacksmith.
The blacksmith laughed at him, but still took him back as an apprentice.
“Only now I’ll teach you in my own way!” - he said.
And he began to teach. The guy forgot to think about the soft feather bed. I would like to sleep on hard straw - but where is it! The blacksmith doesn’t let him breathe or gasp. As soon as the guy lowers the hammer, he just straightens his back, and the owner is right there - hissing in his ear:
"Pshi-pshik!" The guy will feel ashamed, he will shake himself up and get back to work.
Again he lived with the blacksmith for three years. And three years ended - the owner told him:
- Now go wherever you want and boldly get down to business.
The guy said goodbye to the blacksmith and left. He walked and walked and came to a big city. There he hired himself as an apprentice at a forge. On the same day, an important gentleman appeared at this forge.
“Hey, master,” said the master. - Fix my carriage. Yes, so that it is like new. I have married a young bride, and I will take her to the wedding in this carriage.
-Where is the carriage? - asks the owner.
- Yes, here, at the gate.
The owner and the apprentice came out of the gate. They look - what a carriage! The doors hang on one hinge, the springs are bent like a screw, the rims on the wheels are corkscrewed. And as soon as such a ruin reached the forge!
The owner scratched behind his ear.
- I don’t know what to say! - he says to the master. “It will take three months to repair it, and even then, perhaps, you won’t be able to fix it.”
- Like three months! - the master shouted. “So that it’s ready in three days!” If you don’t fix it in time, I’ll order my servants to tear your forge down log by log.
What are you going to do here? You can't really argue with the master.
The master shouted again and left.
The owner says to the young blacksmith:
- Well, apprentice, help out as you wish.
“Okay,” the apprentice answers, “send two students to me, and go and rest.”
The owner went home, and work was in full swing in the forge. The apprentice instantly dismantled the entire carriage into pieces, set the students to fan the fire in the forge, and took up the hammer himself.
Once you hit the anvil, one rim is ready. He hits again - another one is ready. I forged the rims and set to work on the springs. It will straighten there, bend here. And not an hour had passed - the job was done.
The students were amazed, but the young blacksmith cleaned it up, screwed it together, adjusted it where necessary and ordered the finished carriage to be rolled out under the canopy.
Then all three went to the meadow behind the forge and lay down there on the grass.
At noon the blacksmith owner went to see how the work was progressing. Enters the forge... What is it! Quiet, empty, no apprentices, no students... Even the fire went out in the forge.
Oh, the owner got angry! He rushed to look for his workers. He sees the apprentice lying on the grass, and both apprentices are right there next to him.
- Oh, lazy people! Ah, slackers! - the owner shouted. “That’s how you work!”
The apprentice turned over on his other side, yawned and said:
- Well, why are you angry, master?
- What is this? - the old blacksmith shouted even louder. “The carriage should be ready in three days, and you’re messing around here!” The master will take my head off my shoulders because of you.
- Nothing, master. “Don’t get scared ahead of time,” the apprentice answers. “While your head is still on your shoulders, turn it back and take a good look.”
The owner turned and opened his mouth: a ready-made carriage stood under the canopy.
The owner ran closer to her, looked at her from all sides - everything was in order, everything was in place, even now harness the horses and go wherever you want.
“Well, guy,” said the old blacksmith to the young one, “I have never seen such work before.” There is no need for you to become an apprentice; remain the master of my forge.
“No, good man,” answered the young blacksmith, “I won’t stay in this city for long.” If you want to reward me, give me a piece of the best iron and let me work in your forge for three days.
“Well,” said the old blacksmith, “be it your way.”
The apprentice worked for three days and three nights. He didn’t let anyone get close to the forge. And then he walked out of the door with a bag over his shoulders and walked away from the city.
We don’t know how long he walked along the roads, but he came to his home. He crossed the threshold, threw his bag on the table and said to his father:
- Look, father, maybe your son has learned something.
Then he untied the bag and pulled out a forged box.
- This is for you, mother.
The mother opened the box, and in the box there was a patterned comb and a needle case with such thin needles that even the beads could be lowered.
- This is for you, brothers. “Sew on the holiday clothes,” said the young blacksmith and poured out a pile of shiny buttons in front of the brothers. And then he turned to his father:
- And you, father, please take this cup. If you like my gift, fill it and raise it so that there are no lazy people in our family.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru