The fool
Once upon a time there lived a very rich man. But since he lived a very recklessly extravagant life, slowly he lost all his wealth and one day became as poor as a church mouse. With his eyes lowered, head bent , wailing he went about remembering his good old days.
One day his old acquaintances visited him, and one of them a very experienced man that he was, he said to the man:
- It seems that you have done some mischief, that’s why your fortune has left you. I will advice you to go after your fortune, maybe you will find it somewhere, and then you will be rich like in the past.
The man took his word and obeyed, he left in search of his fortune walking across the mountains and valleys. Once in his dream he saw that his fortune is hanging upside down from a cliff. When he woke up the next morning, without loosing any time he left in search of that cliff.
He went on and on the way he met a lion.
- Where are you going?- asked the lion.
- I am going in search of my fortune.
- Oh I know him- the lion answered. Your fortune is very intelligent, perhaps you can ask him , how can I cure myself. You see I am powerless and have become very weak in the last seven years. On your way back tell me what your fortune advised and in return, I will do for you whatever I can.
The man promised that he will fulfill the lion’s wish, and went on further.
While wandering he mistakenly went into a garden which was full of fruits of all kinds. But when he plucked one of them to taste them, he found out that the fruit was very bitter in taste. When the owner of the garden saw him, he first scolded him but the man narrated his problems and where he was going, then the owner said:
- If it’s like this then please ask your fortune how can I cure my garden, so that the fruits are not bitter. I planted new shoots, inoculated them, took care of them but all in vain without any result. If you bring the answer to my problems when you come back then in return I will do whatever I can for you.
The man promised the orchard owner that he will fulfill his wish and went on further where he came across a castle which was built on the peak of a mountain. He went in the castle’s courtyard and saw a beautiful girl. When the girl asked him what had brought him there, he narrated to her, everything that had happened with him.
- I – said the girl- have a lot of treasures, but I have only one problem that I am tormented by headache day and night. If you ask your fortune the remedy for this problem then I will do whatever you want.
- Alright , fine- said the man and continued with his journey and finally came across his fortune who was hanging from a high mountain.
He greeted his fortune as it was proper, and then complained about his problems and asked him whatever others had asked him on the way. When the man got all the answers from the fortune, he asked the fortune to return back with him.
- You go ahead, I will come after you- answered the fortune.
On his way back the man met the beautiful girl and told her:
- If you marry a youth you will recover from your illness.
To the fruit orchard owner he said: The water which irrigates your field flows through a golden meadow. The gold dust which floats on the water then goes into the plants which makes the fruit bitter. If you want that the fruits should not be bitter then change the river bed or filter away the gold from the water.
When he reached the lion, he narrated everything that he had experienced with his fortune.
- So what did the young girl offer you in return- the lion asked.
- She offered me that we should marry each other so we can enjoy together all the wealth and good things but I did not agree.
- And what did the orchard owner offer?
- The orchard owner filtered all the gold from the water and the orchard became allright. He offered me all the fruits of the orchards. But I told him that I did not want to drag all the load to my home.
- Now tell me what advice you got for my illness? – the lion asked.
- For you my fortune has sent the message that you can get well if you eat a foolish man’s head.
The lion though about what the man said, for a while and then slowly went towards the man’s head and pounced on him , tearing him away to pieces and ate him away.
- Well I bet- said the lion, where else on earth will I find a man more foolish than this one.
Translated from Hungarian by me
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