A poor and greedy merchant
Long time ago, Once upon a time there lived a merchant. Once he called a poor man to him and said:
– I want to go to Khiva* for some salable stuff. If you're going to help me, then i will take you with me. You won't look back, how will you get rich.
– I agree – replied the poor man. – But what salary will I receive for my service?
– Be calm, I will not hurt you. Now go, get on the road.
Or it takes a poor man a long time to assemble himself? They left
on a trip the next day. They were walking, they went, until they got tired. They sat down by the road, to eat a little. The poor man takes out his food, and the merchant does not open his little box.
– help yourself – says the poor man.
And the next day was the same, and the third one too. Until the poor man ran out of supplies. He saw the merchant, that in the pouch of the poor man of emptiness, Then he opened his little chest and began to eat.
He ate and spoke:
– Let's go!
– Blouse**, I'm out of food – says the poor man – and the road ahead is long. And cool. It will be better, when I get back home.
– As you think – replied the merchant. – I can't feed you, because I don't know, is it enough for me.
The hungry poor man returned home, and the merchant went on his way.
In the evening the weather deteriorated, heavy snow fell. The poor guy is warming up by walking, and the stomach is empty. Suddenly he looks, and here is something black in front of him. He comes closer – tower. And inside there are stairs leading up. He decided to spend the night in this tower. Anyway – a roof over the head. And here you want to eat. Sleep doesn't come. Suddenly he hears, the snow crunches nearby. The poor man arrived, not panting. And here the fox comes in. She sat down in the corner. The snow crunched again and the jackal appeared, sat down next to the fox. Then came the wolf, and after him – lew. The animals were scattered downstairs, and the poor over them, under the roof.
The lion yawned and spoke:
– When fate brought us together, and that it would be more cheerful to endure this bad weather, let's talk about what we saw and heard.
The animals agreed. The fox was the first to speak.
– As soon as it starts to snow, we always take shelter in this tower. The sun will rise tomorrow, the sky will clear and everyone will go their own way. And I will stay here again. A rat lives by the wall of this tower. When the snow stops falling, he clears the entrance to the mink and spreads gold coins around it. I really like to watch, how gold glitters. If I were human, I would definitely take them.
It's the wolf's turn.
– Not far away from here – he started – a shepherd with a helper have been grazing a flock of sheep for one year in a row. The number of sheep is not decreasing, but it does not increase. It doesn't decrease, because the shepherd's black dog won't let me near. But the sheep are not coming, for a cursed black dog eats more of them than ten wolves.
– Friends – the jackal began his story – what like what, but there are many diseases in this world, but there is a cure for everything. Sheep owner, the wolf was talking about, he has only one son. His joints hurt. If I were human, I would slaughter a black dog. It is enough to wrap the boy in a still smoking one, skin that has just been peeled off this dog, and immediately the sick will recover. But no one knows about it. I steal a hen from this farmer every night, and I don't even notice it in my misery.
Finally, the lion spoke.
– Behind the village, where a sick boy lives, there is an elevation among the old ruins. Five huge jugs are buried under it, po brzegi wypełnionych złotem. I've known about it for a long time, but why do i need gold?, since I'm not human.
The poor man listened to the speech of the animals and was amazed.
The next day it cleared up, the animals ran away, and the poor man decided:
– Let there, I will check, what was true in those late night stories, and what I imagine.
He walked over to the rat's hole, and here a handful of gold sparkles and shimmers in the sun. The poor man collected gold and went in search of a flock of sheep.
He walked a long time, and maybe briefly, when he saw the sheep, shepherd with a shepherd, and the black dog pounced on him. He drove the shepherd dog away and invited the wanderer to stay.
– Whose flock is this?? – asked the poor man.
– our story.
– You will sell the dog?
– If we get along. The shepherd next door has a lot of puppies.
– How much do you want for him?
– Ten gold coins – said the shepherd.
The poor man counted his coins, he had fifteen. He gave them all to the shepherd, he put a string around the black dog's neck and talks:
– Now your herd will grow.
And he told everything, what he heard from the wolf. The shepherd rejoiced, and the poor man with his dog went to Baia, the owner of the flock.
He invited the wanderer to his home, fed, he drank tea. Poor guy has eaten and is talking:
– Blouse, I brought you a black dog. His skin will heal your only son.
– Wanderers, heal my child, and I will give you everything, whatever you want.
He cured the poor boy, he keeps his word:
– speak, what to reward you with, I will refuse nothing.
– if so, have the old ruins fenced off and give the place back to me.
Baj granted the poor man's wish. And he brought his family, he dug up pitchers and they lived well. He gave the poor man gold, he supported those in need.
And the merchant, who once treated him so badly, arrived in Chiwa, bought a camel, loaded him with carrots and onions and set off on his way back. But the camel was stolen. The owners of the animal caught up with the buyer, they beat him severely, and they scattered the goods across the steppe. And the impostor staggered home, barely dragging his feet.
* Cage – a city in the Uzbek SSR located on the Amudarya River.
** Charm – a wealthy cattle rancher in Central Asia.