The Miser

In a village, there lived a wealthy peasant. He was such a miserly and greedy man that it was unpleasant even to think about him.

Every week, the miser would appear at the market, pushing a large cart filled with fruit. He had a huge garden, and his fruits were famous throughout the province.

One day, the miser brought an entire cart of pears to the market. The pears were flawless: not a single blemish, no bruises, none overripe, and none unripe.

The peasant looked at the neighboring carts and said to himself:
"My pears are the best. Today, I'll sell them for a good price!"

And as soon as he uttered these words, he saw an old beggar standing before him.

The poor man must have come from afar. His emaciated body was covered in rags, he was breathing heavily, and he leaned on a heavy spade.

The old man approached the seller and extended his hand. But the greedy merchant hummed some annoying tune in his unpleasant voice and pretended not to notice the beggar.

"Generous sir, you won't become poor if you give a poor man one pear," said the old man.

He asked politely, but not to the right person! The miser had never given anything away for free in his entire life, not even a shriveled cherry. Even his wife and children had never tasted apples, peaches, or pears. Judge for yourself: could such a man give a beautiful pear to some beggar for free?

The wanderer begged for a long time, but the miser's heart did not soften.

"Go beg from others!" he shouted angrily. "Why are you clinging to me like a bee to a flower!"

But the beggar did not leave.

Then the merchant began to curse loudly:
"Listen, you old cow! Go away and don't scare off my customers. I'll set the market dogs on you if you don't leave right now!"

The beggar said:
"Sir! Your cart has hundreds of pears. I only ask for one. Is it worth getting angry over such a trifle?"
"A trifle!" the miser yelled. "I get money for every pear!"

He shouted so loudly that people from all over the market came running to see what was happening.

One of the onlookers said to the merchant:
"Give him the worst pear, and he'll leave!"
"I don't have any bad pears!" the miser replied importantly. "Anyone who wants to eat pears from my garden must pay. No one gets anything from me for free."
"Alright," said the onlooker. "Here's the money. Give the poor old man the best pear."

The merchant handed the beggar the largest pear. The poor man bowed deeply to the man who had bought him the desired fruit and said, addressing the crowd:
"Gentlemen! I have several hundred excellent pears. Please, help yourselves without hesitation."

Everyone was surprised by these words.

"Why did you beg for one measly pear if you have hundreds yourself?"
"You'll soon understand why I needed this pear," replied the beggar.

And he quickly ate the pear, carefully collecting its seeds.

Then he dug a deep hole with his spade, threw the seeds into it, and covered them with soil. From a nearby stream, the poor man scooped a cup of cold water and watered the seeds.

The crowd stared at the beggar, eagerly waiting to see what would happen next. Only the miser continued to fume, because everyone was watching the old man and no one was tempted by the beautiful pears on his cart.

Suddenly, surprised exclamations arose from the crowd: a small sprout appeared. Before everyone's eyes, the sprout grew taller and taller.

Within a minute, the sprout turned into a large pear tree; within two minutes, the tree blossomed; and within three minutes, it was covered in juicy, large fruits.

Then the wanderer began to pluck the pears and distribute them to the crowd. The pears were so sweet and tender that everyone who tasted one reached for another.

The miser, who had never allowed himself to eat even a rotten pear from his own garden, greedily devoured the old man's fruits.

Soon, not a single pear remained on the tree, and the crowd began to disperse. Everyone went about their business.

The miser and the beggar were left alone. The merchant stood as if enchanted, waiting to see what the old man would do next.

And this is what happened next. The wanderer picked up his heavy spade again and began striking the tree. With each blow, the tree grew smaller and smaller. Soon, it turned into a tiny sapling, the sapling became a small sprout, and then the sprout disappeared altogether. In the place where the fruit-covered tree had stood, only a small hole remained.

When the pear seller snapped out of his astonishment, the wanderer was gone. He had disappeared around the nearest corner.

The miser stood still for a long time. He kept calculating how much the beggar could have earned if he had sold his pears instead of giving them away for free. But then the merchant approached his cart, looked at it—and in despair, clutched his head: there wasn't a single pear left in the cart.

Only then did the miser realize that the wanderer had been a sorcerer and had transferred the pears from the cart to his magical tree.

Oh, how furious the merchant was at the beggar, how he screeched and wailed! Blind with rage, the miser rushed off in pursuit. He ran, heavily pounding his feet on the ground, as if the earth itself were to blame for his misfortunes.

The merchant ran through many streets and alleys. But the beggar was nowhere to be found.

Only at sunset did the pear seller return to the market. And there, another unpleasant surprise awaited him. While he had been chasing the beggar, some thieves had stolen his cart.

The miser returned home without pears, without a cart, and without money. That's what he gets for being so greedy!

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The Miser

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