How the Animals Failed to Keep Their Secrets

Once upon a time, there lived a father with his two sons. The elder son was sighted, while the younger one was blind. And so, the father's time of death approached. He called his elder son and said:

"I am dying, my son, and I leave you nothing but debts as your inheritance. That is why I ask you, my son, no matter how difficult it may be for you, do not abandon your blind brother to the whims of fate."

The elder son listened to his father's parting words and, with tears in his eyes, swore to fulfill his last wish.

"Now I am at peace," the father sighed with relief, closed his eyes, and passed away.

The brothers buried him, locked the windows and doors of their wretched hut, and set off on their journey. People pitied them and gave them bread, meat, or even money. However, the blind brother benefited little from this, as his sighted brother turned out to be cruel-hearted and took all the best for himself.

A short time passed, and the elder brother completely forgot his sacred oath to his father. Having saved up a bit of money, he decided to rid himself of his younger brother altogether. He led him into a remote forest, told him he would return soon, and left.

Suspecting nothing, the younger brother lay down on the grass under a tree and fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up and began calling for his elder brother, no one answered his calls. What was he to do? He waited and waited, but all in vain. It was then that he realized, poor soul, that his brother had abandoned him and would never return. He understood this and wept bitterly.

Meanwhile, the dark night fell. But it made no difference to him whether it was night or day, for he was blind and could not see. Suddenly, he heard the howling of beasts nearby and, out of fear, climbed to the very top of a mighty oak tree.

And just in time! He had barely hidden himself up there when a lion's roar sounded beneath the oak. Following the lion, a wolf appeared, then a bear limped in, followed by a boar, a fox, and finally, a hare. The animals sat down in a row and began to share news with each other.

The lion was the first to speak:

"Where have you been, wolf? What news do you have?"

"Oh, brother lion, I have been to distant lands. And there I learned of a great secret. Now I know of a remedy that can make the blind see."

"What is this remedy?" asked the lion.

"It is simple. If a person or animal is born blind, they must apply the bark of this very oak tree to their eyes, and they will immediately regain their sight."

"What a miracle!" the animals exclaimed.

"A miracle indeed," agreed the lion. "But I have news no less remarkable than yours. Once, I wandered through France and happened upon a city where there is no water, and the people suffer from thirst. No one knows that on the main square of the city stands a huge stone, and if it is moved and the ground beneath it is dug, a pure spring will gush forth. Then there will be enough water for everyone!"

"Good news!" roared all the animals in unison. "But how can we make use of it? What do you think, clumsy one?" they asked the bear.

"I don't know yet," replied the bear. "But listen to my news! I have just returned from the distant city of Troyes. A count rules there, and he has an only daughter. One day, she went for a walk with her friends, and suddenly a fearsome beast leaped out of the forest. She was so frightened that she fell to the ground as if dead. Since then, she has been ill, bedridden, and growing weaker by the day. The count summoned all the famous doctors, but none could cure her. And the secret is simple: a green toad must be removed from under her pillow. That's all there is to it! And the count has promised any reward to whoever cures his daughter!"

"Now that's news!" the animals cheered. "We must visit Troyes. There will be a fine bounty there!"

The animals continued to talk about their secrets for a long time, and when dawn broke, they scattered in all directions. It was then that the blind brother finally climbed down from the oak tree and quickly cut off a piece of the oak bark. He rubbed it on his eyes. And—oh, miracle!—he saw the blue sky, the golden sun, the green forest expanses, and the mighty oak tree in whose branches he had hidden all night.

He tenderly stroked the mighty trunk of the oak and, filled with happiness, hurried to the very city where people suffered from thirst. He searched for the city for a long time but eventually found it.

He knocked on the window of a poor house. An old woman leaned out and asked:

"Tell me, grandmother, what has happened here? Why did I not meet a soul on your streets?"

"Oh, woe to us, stranger! There is not a drop of water in the city. A plague has begun: people are dying like flies. And for what sins is fate punishing us?"

"For what sins, I do not know... But I can save your city from this calamity."

"And what must be done?" asked the old woman.

"Gather all the townsfolk in the main square, and then I will tell you what to do."

The old woman hurried to her neighbors, and they to theirs, and finally, they all gathered around the stone that stood in the middle of the main square. They all joined forces and moved the stone. Then the young man asked for a shovel, dug in that spot, and at that very moment, a stream of clear water gushed forth. The townspeople rushed over—some with buckets, some with basins, some with jugs—and carried the cold, clear water home. The entire city rejoiced! And how could they not, when the city had been saved from a terrible disaster—no one would suffer from thirst anymore.

As soon as the spring began to flow, the young man quietly slipped away and hid in the hut of the old woman he knew. He was not used to being praised and congratulated and was very embarrassed.

The townspeople searched for their savior for a long time and finally found him in the wretched hut. They offered him a whole sack of gold. The young man looked at the sack, pushed it away with his foot, and said:

"I did not give you water out of greed but out of sympathy for your plight. I do not need gold. But if you wish to give me something, give me a carriage with six swift horses instead."

The townspeople were surprised that he refused the gold, but they did not argue with the stranger and, as he requested, gave him a carriage drawn by swift horses.

The young man bid farewell to the townspeople, thanked them for the gift, and rode off quickly to the city of Troyes, where the count's daughter was suffering from an unknown illness.

He arrived in Troyes and stopped at a shabby inn. At dinner, he asked the innkeeper for news in the city. The innkeeper immediately told the young man the story of the count's daughter and said that everyone pitied her because she was a kind and beautiful girl.

"Why did she fall ill?" the young man asked.

"That's what no one knows," the innkeeper shrugged. "The count has invited many famous doctors, but all to no avail. His daughter is getting worse and worse. They say she may die any moment, poor thing."

"No," said the young man, "that is not fair. I think I know how to save her. Go, friend, to the count and tell him that a famous doctor has arrived in the city and can cure his daughter of her fatal illness."

Of course, the innkeeper hurried to the count to deliver the good news. The grief-stricken father had already lost hope of seeing his daughter healthy again, and now such happy news!

He invited the young man to his home and introduced him to all the famous doctors who had tried to cure his daughter but achieved nothing. The doctors greeted the young man with hostility.

"Why have you come here, ragamuffin?" they asked.

"I want to save the count's daughter from certain death."
- Cure her?! Do you even realize, you wretch, that even we are powerless to save her!

The young man said nothing in reply, silently bowed to the count, and entered the chambers of the count's daughter. When the doors closed behind him, he approached the bed, lifted the pillow, and pulled out a green toad from underneath it.

At once, the girl opened her eyes, sat up, and asked as if nothing had happened:

- Why am I lying here?

- Because you were ill, - replied the young man. - But now the danger has passed, so you can get up and go for a walk.

And the young man told her everything that had happened.

- Oh, what a magical story! - exclaimed the girl. - You must be a magical prince.

- No, - replied the young man, - I am the poorest of the poor, and not long ago, I was a wandering blind beggar. - And he told her his story.

- Oh, this is so fascinating that I simply must marry you!

And she led the young man to her father. When the count saw his daughter healthy and cheerful, he beamed with happiness. Of course, the news that his daughter intended to marry some stranger didn't sit well with him. But he didn't argue, and what good would it have done? Soon, a grand wedding was held.

The young man began living in the count's house, and one day, while walking in the forest, he encountered a beggar. He looked closely at the beggar and recognized his older brother. He called him over and asked:

- How long have you been begging?

- Quite a while, sir. My brother and I used to beg together, but then he abandoned me.

- Why?

- He was a greedy and envious man, and apparently feared that I might get an extra morsel while he got less. So one day, he led me into a dense forest and left me there...

- Is that really how it happened? Or was it the other way around? Think carefully. Look at me, don't you recognize me?

The beggar looked more closely at the well-dressed gentleman and suddenly recognized his own brother. He stepped back in fear:

- It can't be! You were blind, and a beggar...

- That's right, I was, but thanks to you, I became someone else.

The beggar fell to his knees and began begging his brother for forgiveness. Well, he received forgiveness, and it was sincere, for the younger brother was a kind and forgiving man. And that would have been the end of it, to everyone's joy, if not for one secret that tormented the former beggar: how had his brother regained his sight? No, not just that—how had he become rich? He pondered this mystery for a long time but couldn't figure it out. When it became unbearable, he approached his brother one day and asked:

- Can you tell me how you regained your sight and became wealthy?

The brother didn't want to tell him everything, but the older brother pleaded so much that he relented and told him the whole story. But he sternly warned him:

- Don't you dare, fool, go to that oak tree! Such a chance happens only once in a lifetime. Isn't your life good enough now? So don't tempt fate for no reason!

He tried to dissuade his older brother from his foolish plan for a long time, but it seemed envy had consumed him. And envy, as we know, is a poor advisor! So the older brother set off on a long journey. He found the familiar forest and within it, the sacred oak. He climbed to the very top and hid among the branches. At midnight, he heard the howling and roaring of beasts, and soon all the familiar animals gathered under the oak and began their conversation.

- Tell us, lion, - began the wolf, - what news have you learned lately?

- Ah, no, friends, - growled the lion, - I won't tell you anything today. What we discussed last time became known to someone, for someone has already cured the count's daughter, and in that town where people suffered from thirst, a pure spring suddenly appeared.

- Someone must have revealed our secrets to the people! - the bear growled angrily.

- It certainly wasn't me! - snarled the wolf.

- Nor me! - said the boar.

- And definitely not me! - chimed in the fox.

- Well, it wasn't me, - whispered the hare.

- Quiet, quiet, - the lion calmed them. - Someone must have been sitting in the tree, eavesdropping on us.

At that moment, the hare looked up and spotted a man among the dark oak leaves.

- Oh! - he cried. - He's still listening to us now. Climb up, bear, and throw the thief down to the ground.

- I won't climb up! - said the bear. - By the time I throw him down and climb back, there'll be nothing left of him but horns and hooves.

- Aren't you ashamed! - the animals exclaimed. - Don't you trust our honor? We'll wait for you, of course.

- Well, if that's the case, I'll climb...

The bear climbed the oak, grabbed the greedy brother by the belt, and threw him to the ground. When he climbed down himself, he looked—no man, no animals. The bear was offended by his friends and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

And so, from that day on, he never left the forest.

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How the Animals Failed to Keep Their Secrets

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