The Obedient Student

A pharmacist had an apprentice. No matter what the apprentice did, the master was always dissatisfied and scolded him for his stupidity. One day, after yet another mistake by the apprentice, the pharmacist angrily began to lecture him:

— From now on, when you do something, use your chicken brain, don’t wait to be told everything, learn to understand things halfway. If you see some task left undone — do it; if you see some food left uneaten — eat it, don’t dawdle! That’s how you’ll set an example for others.

One day, the master left the pharmacy, and the apprentice began to sweep the shop. Suddenly, he noticed a board on which the pharmacist had written down his customers' debts in chalk, and on the sacrificial table, in front of the image of Yao Wangye — the god of medicine, there was food and wine. Remembering the pharmacist’s teachings, the apprentice, without hesitation, wiped all the characters off the debt board and polished it until it shone, then ate the food and drank the wine.

By noon, the master returned. Seeing the sacrificial table empty, he asked the apprentice:

— Where did you put the offerings to the god?
— I ate them, — the apprentice calmly replied.
— Who gave you permission to do that, you turtle spawn? — the pharmacist roared in anger.
— Didn’t you tell me: “If you see some food left uneaten — eat it, don’t dawdle”? I remembered that Yao Wangye’s food had been sitting here since yesterday, so I ate it!

The master’s eyes nearly popped out of his head in rage. For a moment, he was even speechless. But then his gaze fell on the debt board, polished to a shine, and he shouted again:

— Who dared to erase my records?
— I did, — the apprentice replied just as calmly. — Didn’t you tell me: “If you see some task left undone — do it”? This board hasn’t been cleaned for a month, so I followed your advice.

The pharmacist nearly burst with anger:

— Ah, you stupid beast, whatever you touch, you ruin! Your brain doesn’t work at all! It’s like you’re sleeping with your eyes open. I can think better in my sleep than you can when you’re awake!

The apprentice just smirked slyly and said nothing.

The next day around noon, while the pharmacist was sleeping, someone brought him an invitation to dinner. The apprentice accepted the letter and promised to deliver it to his master immediately. The person left, and the apprentice went to the bedroom, holding the letter up to the pharmacist’s face twice. But the master was sound asleep; he only woke up at dusk and leisurely came out of the bedroom.

— At noon, someone brought you an invitation to dinner, — the apprentice told him.

Seeing that it was already dark outside, the master got angry again:

— What a fool you are! Couldn’t you have given me the letter earlier?
— But you yourself said that you think better in your sleep than I do when I’m awake! — the apprentice replied. — While you were sleeping, I showed you this invitation twice, but for some reason, you didn’t want to get up. Is it my fault?

↑ To the top

The Obedient Student

More fairy tales