River of fairy tales. Unprofessional translation from Russian. Viktor Gitin
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upon a time there was a ship which sailed in the sea. But the storm blew up and the ship sunk. Only two people got saved, two castaways, the farmer and the merchant. They found themselves on a desert island. Nobody to be seen for miles and miles around… only a thick forest grows, and the fields spread. How to survive in such unpopulated place? The only luck it happened in the beginning of summer. There were mushrooms and berries in the forest, all kinds of fruits ripened on the trees. They were glad to find food for the first time and rejoiced they would not die of hunger.
Thus, they looked around, sat on an old log and started to think how they would survive on this island. Suddenly an old raven appeared as if from nowhere. He sat on a branch, bowed his head slightly on the side, and stared at the people. The merchant wanted to drive the bird away with a stick. He was so very angry and frustrated because of the shipwreck and the fact that all his merchandise sank in the sea. He flourished a stick at the raven when the bird croaked and then said with a clear human voice:
«I am the owner of this island. You are my guests now, so I will help you a bit. In the very center of the island there is a big tree stump. There is a casket on it. It holds two magic seeds. One seed is common, the other one is gold. Go and plant them in the field. As man sows, so he shall reap!»
Upon having spoken these words the raven flew away. The Farmer and the Merchant were surprised at what happened but went to where the raven had shown. There they found the tree stump and the casket.
The Merchant said:
«I will take the gold seed! I will plant it and will grow the gold wheat. I will be rich again. Gold is always useful; one can live everywhere if one has gold. I know this from my own experience. One can buy everything with gold.»
«I don’t know how to live with gold. I have never chased riches in my life,» the Farmer retorted. «All my life I’ve been growing wheat. I think I will take the ordinary seed and plant it.»
«You are a fool,» the Merchant scolded him. «You understand nothing in life that is why you are so poor. Take your ordinary seed. And don’t even look at my gold one!»
The Merchant grabbed the gold seed and ran away before the Farmer changed his mind. He was hoping for the future but forget about the present, as many people do. The most intolerable thing for him was other people’s wealth.
Thus, they went every which way. On the opposite sides of the island, they have built huts where they lived. Near each hut each one of them spotted a good lot to plant their seeds.
The Merchant dug a hole in the field and planted his gold seed. He tried to hide and cover where he did it so that the Farmer wouldn’t see it so well that instantly forgot where he planted his seed. First, he was worried, and then calmed down. «That was a smart idea of mine,» he thought. «The seed is magic; it’s made of gold, so one doesn’t need to take care of it. It doesn’t need any work. The only thing I have to do is to wait till the gold wheat grows.»
Usually, the more stupid is the person the cleverer he thinks he is. In fact, everybody has some human stupidity but not everybody shows it and boasts it.
So, by day the Merchant went to the forest to gather mushrooms, berries, and fruits – to have something to eat. The rest of the day he just slept, lounged away, and basked in the sun. He was dreaming how he would get rich with his harvest of gold wheat, how he would live rich and wealthy doing nothing. He was so happy thinking this he even envied himself.
The ordinary seed was magic, too, but still required a lot of work. To grow wheat in the field one has to plow it, drag it, fertilize it, weed it away, water it… Everything what a farmer does when he grows normal wheat.
Thus, the Farmer started to plow and drag his field. It was a difficult task for one person. He had neither horses nor oxen. Food he had to gather in the wood took much time, too. He’s been working night and day fearing he would be late with preparing the land.
So, he came to the Merchant.
«Please, help me to plow the field. I won’t be able to do it myself,» he said.
«What for?» the Merchant was indignant. «I have a lot of things to do, too!»
Meanwhile he was only basking in the sun, eating the sweet berries heartily. The Farmer only sighed sadly and went to his field – to go on working. He went on working on his land without any sleep or rest.
The Merchant only looked at him and thought: «I don’t believe this beggar. I have to hide my field from him. When my gold wheat grows, he’ll get envious and will most definitely coma and try to steal it!»
Thus, the Merchant started to make a fence around his hut and his field, trying to hide his crops from the Farmer.
The time passed, the Farmer planted his seed. Now the land should be fertilized to get a good harvest from it afterwards. Again, he came to the Merchant.
«Please, neighbor, could you help me to fertilize my field,» he asked. «It’s so difficult to do it alone, and you just lay behind your fence doing nothing.»
«Don’t be stupid,» the Merchant snapped back. «I work just as hard. I protect my field from birds and wild animals. Can’t you see I’ve built a fence? Go away and do everything yourself!»
The Farmer went away. He gathered some manure and bird droppings and threw it evenly in the field. It was quite difficult, but he did fertilize the entire field by himself.
The Merchant spied on him from behind his fence and thought: «My fence is too small. The Farmer could easily get over it. I will gather more pricks and burrs in the forest tomorrow and will throw them around my fence. Thus, he will never steal my crops.»
The Merchant went to the forest, gathered big burrs, and laid his fence with the sharpest pricks. The pricks stuck out like true daggers – nobody could approach the fence.
Some more time passed. Now the season of weeding the field away came. The Farmer went to the Merchant’s hut and shouted from outside the fence:
«Maybe you could help me to weed away my field? I’ve got too much of them!»
«No way!» the Merchant got really mad behind his thorny fence. «My gold fears no weeds. And you have to deal with yours yourself.»
Again, the Farmer turned around and went away. The Merchant was nervous when watching him go. «I think I have to dig a ditch around my fence, or the farmer would really come and steal my gold.»
Thus, he went on digging a ditch around his hut and the field in the night. The ditch was so deep the one falling into it would definitely break his neck and never get out alive.
Meanwhile the Farmer’s wheat came into head. It required to be watered now, and there were no rains on the island. The Farmer had to bring water in buckets from the nearby spring. But it was so difficult to do just by himself. Again, he came to the Merchant and started asking him for help.
«Dear neighbor, please, come to me, help me to water the field. I will share my crops with you afterwards.»
The Merchant got very scared. «The Farmer wants to share his crops! It means he wants some part of my gold harvest, too! Who would share just like that? I would never do such a stupid thing!» The Merchant was so greedy he didn’t want to part even with the things he didn’t need anymore. As for sharing, the Merchant considered it a true crime against himself.
So, he stood behind his thorny fence and deep ditch and shouted to the Farmer:
«It was a nice idea with the water, thank you! I have a lot of things to do, too. I have no time to help you. Go away!»
The Farmer returned to his field to work further. And