There lived two poor brothers. When they became very poor, then they decided: the younger one will stay at home, the elder one will go to work as a servant and will send his earnings home. As they thought, they acted accordingly. The younger one remained at home to look after the fields, the elder one went to a foreign land, and started working as a servant to a rich man. According to the contract his term would end when the cuckoo bird sings in the spring. But the rich farmer made some conditions to the servant:
- If within the contract period, anyone of us becomes angry, then he will have to pay a fine; if you become angry then you pay me thousand gold coins, while if I become angry then I pay you the same amount.
- But, I don’t have thousand gold coins.
- No problem, in place of that you can serve me for free for ten years.
The servant first became frightened, he did not want to enter into such contract, then he though and agreed. “Whatever happens, I will not become angry, if the master becomes angry, he will pay me according to the contract”- he thought and started to work.
The farmer sent him to work in field the next day early morning:
- Come on- he said, you have to reap in the fields till its bright, and when it gets dark, come home.
The servant worked the whole day in the fields and when he came home tired the master asked him:
- Well, why have you come home?
- Why? The sun has set, so I came back home,- answered the servant.
- Well, we did not agree like this! I said that you have to work till its bright , you have to reap in the fields. The sun has set, but its elder sister, the moon has risen. Well, the moon also gives bright light.
- Can’t I even take rest?- the servant said astonished.
- Are you not angry?-asked the master.
- No, I am not… just I am very tired, I will take rest a bit- answered the servant with a stumbling tongue, nervously and again went to the fields to work.
The man worked till the moon set, but then the sun rose. The servant became irritated as he was tired and collapsed on the ground:
- Damn on your fields, your bread, and damn on your money also!- he started cursing the master.
Well from somewhere appeared the master and he had heard what the servant had said.
- Are you not angry? Don’t forget the contract: either you pay me thousand gold coins or serve me for free for ten years.
The servant found himself in a difficult situation: he did not have thousand gold coins, and he would not like to work under such man.
He thought and thought , finally signed a document that he will pay thousand gold coins and returned home with empty hands
- What’s the news?- asked the younger brother.
The elder brother narrated everything in detail to him.
- Don’t worry, don’t regret now- said the younger brother-, now you stay at home and I will go to work.
And he went to work at the same master.
The rich farmer again told the conditions: if the servant becomes angry then he has pay to the master thousand gold coins or serve for free for ten years; if the master becomes angry then he pays to the servant the same amount.
- No, that’s not enough: if you become angry, then you pay me two thousand gold coins, if I become angry then I will give you two thousand gold coins or work for free for twenty years- the boy said.
- Alright- the rich farmer happily agreed to this. And the younger brother started working there.
The next day long after the sunrise, the servant remained asleep. The master asked him:
- wake up, soon it will be noon and you are still sleeping.
- Are you not angry?- the servant asked opening his eyes.
- I am not angry- answered the master-, just I wanted to say that now its time to go to the fields to reap it.
- Alright, we have lots of time- answered the servant lazily.
Finally he got up and very slowly started to get ready.
- hurry up, brother!
- Are you not angry?
- No, I don’t have anger in my mind, just I want to say that you are getting late for work.
- that’s different then. Take care otherwise you will have to pay the fine!
When the servant finally got ready, it was already noon.
- Well, is it useful to start the work now?- he says to the master- You see everyone is having lunch now and we must also eat now.
They sat down to have lunch. After lunch the servant says to the master:
- We are workers , so we must sleep a bit to get energy- saying that he went to sleep and slept till the evening.
- Do you listen, its already dark! Everyone has reaped their fields, just ours is lying like that! What a damn you are! – he woke up the servant.
- Are you not angry?- asked the servant getting up.
- Oh, I am not angry at all, I just wanted to say, that its dark now, so we must go home.
- Oh, that’s different then, let’s go!
When the master came back home he saw that he had some guests. He sent the servant to go and kill a sheep.
- Which one?- asked the servant.
- whichever comes in front of you.
The servant went away to kill the sheep.
After some time, the neighbors come running to the master:
- your servant has gone mad: he is killing one sheep after the other.
Then the master ran out of the home. Oh my God, he has killed the whole flock of sheep. He ran out of patience and started cursing the servant:
- What the devil have you done, you damn!
- Well you told me to kill those sheep which come in front of me, so I killed them- answered the servant- are you not angry?
- No, I am not angry, just I am sad that you have wiped out my whole flock.
-Alright then if you are not angry, then I will work.
The younger brother worked for some months till the master became very despaired. He just wanted to get rid of the servant anyway. According to the contract, the servant had to go away after the cuckoo bird sings for the first time in the spring. But it was winter now and spring was still far away.
The master thought for a long time how to get rid of the servant. He then took his wife to the forest and told her to climb up a tree and asked her to make sounds like the cuckoo bird. Then he himself came back home, and asked the servant to get ready as they were going to the forests for hunting.
When the reached the forest, the master’s wife started to sing like the cuckoo bird:
- Kakukk, kakukk!...
- Oh wow, the cuckoo bird sang, so now your time is over- said the master to the servant.
The boy understood the farmer’s trick.
- Oh, not now- who has ever heard a cuckoo bird sing in winter! I will kill this cuckoo bird and see what kind of a bird is this.
With these words the servant targeted the tree with his gun, where the master’s wife was cuckooing. The master shouted at the servant to not to shoot but he did.
- Damn on you idiot. You have brought grief to me.
- I see you are angry- said the servant.
- Sure, I am angry- answered the master- come , I will pay you two thousand gold coins and just leave me in peace! Now I have understood what the proverb means: “Those who dig trenches for others, they themselves fall into it”
The younger brother took the two thousand gold coins and went home happily.
Translated from Hungarian by me
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