River of fairy tales. Unprofessional translation from Russian. Viktor Gitin
his favorite wine which sustained his power in revelries.
The younger brother smiled and said that he did not need anything. He had no great wishes, and as for those he has, he will fulfill them himself. And he started to persuade his brothers to leave the cave as soon as possible. He did not like it here; his heart felt that something was wrong.
This elder brother’s life was the first to fall on the scales. Wonderful balloons started to fly down from the sky. Each balloon contained a story from his life. The white balloons which fell on the light scale contained a good story from life, some good deed, or a well-meant initiative. And the dark balloons that fell on the black scale displayed bad deeds and evil thoughts of the elder brother.
He had few kind and good deeds in his life. Several times he donated some money to the temple. But during the next three years he mentioned how much he was donating to church. He wanted to convince everybody that it is only thanks to him that there is holiness and faith in their town. He gave a few coins to the poor, but he boasted everybody long after that and claimed to have spent a whole fortune on the poor and the needy.
As for evil deeds, he had ten times more of them. He cheated people while selling, replaced good products with bad ones. He dismissed a servant who had five children, and she nearly avoided starvation to death. He scolded his workers for no reason or fault. He told lies and cheated every day. In the end, the scales lopsided to the side of sins and evil ten times more than to the side of good.
And the brothers saw through the walls, in a magic mist, that their caravan and all the goods disappeared. They looked on the other side and were terrified: the elder brother’s house and the shop with all his possessions were burning in the town where they lived. In an instant, all his wealth disappeared. And even his clothes turned into rags. He was standing in the middle of the cave in wretched rags, poor and penniless. The elder brother burst into tears, started to yell, and tremble. He sniveled and fell to the ground, helpless and paralyzed.
The middle brother came to the scales and started to enumerate his good deeds. Brave and impudent though he was, he became more tense and serious when he saw what happened to his elder brother. But there was no backing space. And he really wanted to become the strongest person in the world.
It was difficult for him to remember good deeds. He remembered that once he defended an old lady from a drunkard. He helped a girl to carry a heavy pitcher to the house. He liked the young beauty and wanted to get acquainted with her, so he helped her. He hardly remembered a couple of other good deeds, and he could recollect no more. But he had four times as many evil deeds. He fought, stirred up trouble wishing to make a parade of his strength, and offended people who were weaker than him. And he spoiled so many other people’s things when he was drunk that it would take long to enumerate them. Dark balloons were falling and falling from the sky. In the end, the scale with bad deeds became much heavier than the light scale.
The middle brother instantly turned into an infirm old man. A bonny and strong young man became feeble, humped, and miserable. His legs failed and grew weak. He sat down on the ground, put his head into his hands and burst into bitter tears.
The Wish Fulfillment Spirit looked at the younger brother and said:
«Everybody who comes here must have a wish. You cannot leave without making a wish. Because even leaving this place is a wish. Think well and say – what do you want? But don’t make a mistake. And I will weigh your life while you are thinking.»
The good and evil deeds of the younger brother started to fall down on the scales. But a surprise was awaiting them there. When all his deeds were put on the scales, they were of equal weight, and the scales stopped in balance.
«So, what is your wish?» The Spirit smiled thoughtfully.
«I told you the truth – I have no wishes. We came here and not only gained nothing, but also lost everything. And I’ve lost more than others. I’ve lost my brothers. Return my brothers and restore everything as it was before. Let them become as they were before. And I personally don’t need anything from you! This is my only wish.»
And as soon as the younger brother said these words, one more balloon fell down to the scale of good deeds. It became heavier than the black scale. His brothers were restored to their previous condition. The elder brother became a rich merchant and a respected man. And the middle brother became younger, and his strength and power returned to him.
The younger brother was surprised and asked the Wish Fulfillment Spirit:
«Why did it happen so? The scales showed an equal amount of good and evil in my life.»
The Spirit replied:
«As soon as you made your wish and it was not for you personally, but for your nearest and dearest, you made one more good thing. You refused your personal benefit for other people’s sake. And the scales moved to the side of the good. Now you can go in peace. But remember what happened in the cave. And don’t forget about these scales of life. You will encounter them once again at the end of your life.»
The stone wall of the cave opened and let the travelers out.
Since that time the three brothers never forgot that time would come, and they would have to answer for all their deeds on the earth. You cannot cheat the scales of life. So, you should hurry to do good things in order to somehow make up for the bad things we all do in the course of our life.
White Dove
It happened a long time ago. An old man lived somewhere, and he had three daughters. When his time came, he died. He left to his daughters as their dowry three things – a house, a pavilion, and an old dove house with a white dove.
The elder daughters quickly took charge of the dowry. The eldest daughter got the house. She took fancy to the beautiful building and said she would never move from there. The second daughter got to the pavilion and declared she was quite satisfied with this dwelling. As for the youngest daughter, the two elders decided to give her the ruined dove house and the white dove. Moreover, they said this pile of junk spoils their beautiful yard, so the youngest daughter should take her kennel with her and live somewhere else. Thus, they planned to get rid of the small old, ruined dove house as well as of their own sister. Sometimes it happens in life that the closest relatives become the bitterest enemies when it comes to sharing something.
The youngest daughter had nobody to seek help from. When the father was alive, he protected her from reproaches and mockery of the sisters. But he died and she was left all alone in the world.
«This ugly dove house will scare all the wooers off our houses!» the eldest sister considered.
She was already in her middle years and was very worried she could stay an old maid. As she became the mistress of a large house, she hoped to marry quickly. If not by love, then by dowry.
«Also, this old barn brings only problems. Down and droppings are everywhere in the yard!» the second sister agreed.
She «loved’ her elder sister so much she wished her secretly not only to never marry but also to get old, dry up and die as soon as possible. Then she thought to take over the house and to become the only mistress of the whole father’s legacy. That is why she didn’t need the youngest sister who was nothing but impediment to her wicked plans. She only wanted to chase the youngest one as soon and as far as possible.
Thus, the youngest sister has nothing left to do but to take the white dove from the dove house, put her in a cage and walk-up hill and down dale.
The elder sisters happy to get rid of the nuisance instantly chopped the old dove house to splinters and laughed over the youngest sister’s fate. They were glad to witness other people’s hardships more than to be happy for themselves.
The youngest daughter, the poor orphan, said goodbye to her