The Greedy Rich Man
There were two brothers: one rich and one poor. The rich brother did nothing himself; he had many workers. The poor brother fished in the lake—that’s how he made a living.One day, the rich brother held a wedding—he married off his son. Many guests gathered at his place.
“I’ll go visit my brother too,” thought the poor man. He borrowed a loaf of bread from his neighbors and went to the wedding.
He arrived and stood at the doorstep with the bread. The rich brother saw him:
“What are you doing here? My guests are not the likes of you! Get out of here!”
And he chased him away.
The poor brother felt hurt. He took his fishing rod and went to catch fish. He got into his old boat and rowed to the middle of the lake. He fished and fished, but only small fish were biting. The sun was already setting. “Well,” thought the poor fisherman, “I’ll cast my line one more time for luck.” He cast his line and pulled out a fish like he had never seen before: big and all silvery.
He was delighted with the marvelous fish and started to put it in his bag. But suddenly, the fish spoke in a human voice:
“Don’t kill me, kind man, let me go back into the lake.”
The fisherman thought of his children and said:
“I can’t let you go—I’m hungry myself, and my children have been wanting to eat for a long time. What will I bring home?”
“If you’re so poor,” said the fish, “then put your hand in my mouth and pull out a golden ring.”
The fisherman thought and said:
“I’m afraid you might bite my hand off.”
“Don’t be afraid, I won’t bite!”
The fisherman gathered his courage, put his hand in the fish’s mouth, and pulled out a golden ring.
“What should I do with it?” asked the fisherman. “It won’t feed me.”
“Don’t worry,” said the marvelous fish, “it will feed you indeed! Throw out the small fish from your boat and toss this ring in there.”
The fisherman did just that. As soon as he threw the ring into the bottom of the boat, a whole pile of money appeared.
The fisherman released the fish back into the lake and quickly rowed to shore. He took off his shirt, wrapped the money in it, and went home.
Now the poor brother lived better than ever. He built a new house and invited guests for a housewarming party. But he didn’t invite his brother—he couldn’t forgive him for the insult.
The rich brother found out that his poor brother had built a new house and was feasting with guests. He said to his son:
“Go and see what’s going on there.” The son went, looked around, and ran back.
“Oh,” he said to his father, “you don’t have what your poor brother has—a new house, plenty of livestock, and more than enough food on the table!”
The rich brother turned green with envy. He sent his son again to invite the poor brother.
The poor brother came to the rich one.
“Where did you get so much wealth?” asked the rich brother. “They say you live better than I do.”
The poor man told him everything that had happened.
When the rich brother heard this, his hands began to itch.
“I’ll go catch that fish too,” he thought.
He took a stronger fishing rod, got into a new boat, and rowed to the middle of the lake. He fished and fished and finally caught the marvelous fish.
“Don’t kill me,” begged the fish, “let me go back, I have little children there…”
“No, my dear,” the rich man stubbornly refused. “I won’t let you go! Give me the same ring you gave my brother.”
“But your brother was poor, he didn’t even have bread. Why do you need it?”
“What do you mean, why? I don’t want my brother to be richer than me! Give me the ring, and that’s it! If not, I’ll take you home and fry you.”
“Well, then,” said the fish. “Take it, since you’re so envious. It doesn’t matter to me.”
She opened her mouth. And the greedy rich man shoved his hand in up to the elbow. Then the fish clamped down with her teeth—bit off his hand and dove to the bottom of the lake with it.
The rich brother returned home with no money and no hand.
Serves him right!
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