You Can't Be Satisfied with Stolen Goods
A man once had two sons. They grew up, and their father said to them:"It's time, sons, to take up real work. What do each of you want to do?"
The sons were silent, unsure of what work to choose.
"Well then, let's go," said the father, "we'll travel the world and see what people do."
They gathered their things and set off quietly. As they walked, the sons looked around and thought about what work they might choose.
They came to a village and saw a blacksmith's forge near the pasture. They entered the forge, greeted the blacksmith, and talked with him. The older son even took a hammer in his hands and helped the blacksmith forge a plowshare. Then they moved on.
They approached another village. The older son looked around but didn't see a forge in this village. So he said to his father:
"Why not set up a forge here? I could stay and be a blacksmith. I like this work."
The father was pleased: his older son had found a way to make a living!
"Very well," he said, "be a blacksmith in this village."
He set up a forge for his son, who began working as a blacksmith. People praised him, and he was satisfied with his work.
But the younger son, no matter how much he walked around, couldn't find work to his liking.
One day, he and his father were walking past a meadow. He saw an ox grazing there. The village was far away, and there was no shepherd in sight.
"Father, what if I started stealing oxen?" said the son. "It's easy work, and there'd be meat every day. I'd grow as fat as an ox."
"Go ahead and steal," said the father. "That's why I brought you here—so you could choose a steady occupation."
The son took the ox and drove it home. The father said:
"Wait for me near the forest—I need to visit this village; an acquaintance of mine lives there..."
The son drove the ox, constantly looking over his shoulder like a wolf, afraid someone might be chasing him. By the time he reached the forest, he was thoroughly frightened. He even felt sick from fear.
He waited at the edge of the forest until his father returned, and together they drove the ox home.
At home, they slaughtered the ox, skinned it, and began cooking the meat. When the meat was ready, the father said to his son:
"Here's what, son. Let's first take measurements and see which of us will grow fat from this ox."
He took a string, measured his own neck and his son's, and tied knots to mark the sizes.
They sat down to eat. The father ate calmly, but the son kept glancing at the door, afraid someone might come looking for the ox. If a dog barked or someone passed by the house, the son would grab the meat and hide in the pantry. His hands and legs trembled... And so it went, day after day.
Finally, they finished eating the ox. The father said to his son:
"Now let's measure our necks: who has grown fatter?"
They measured—the father's neck had grown twice as thick, while the son's had become twice as thin.
The son was surprised:
"Why is that?"
"Because you ate stolen ox," said the father.
"But you ate it too!"
"No, I paid the owner for the ox and ate it as if it were mine. That's why I grew fat. But every time you sat down to eat, fear jumped on your neck and choked you! That's why it grew thin. You can't be satisfied with stolen goods, brother!"
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