The Boys from Mayen

Once upon a time, Mayan boys—boys from the village of Mayen—were walking along the road. And they found three gold coins. What luck!

But how to divide them? There were two boys, but three coins. What a problem!

They thought and pondered, racked their brains, but couldn’t come up with anything. So they decided to count it out:

"One—mine!"
"Two—yours!"

But whose is the third one? No, that won’t work.

"You and I—that’s two!"
"I and you—that’s three!"

But where’s the first one? It didn’t work out again. So the Mayan boys decided to go ask Uncle Erbinak for advice.

Uncle Erbinak, without thinking too long, gave one coin to one boy, another to the second boy, and kept the third one for himself. Clever, huh?

And the Mayan boys went back home very pleased.

What a golden head Uncle Erbinak has!

Shh, not a head—a chest. "The Golden Chest"—that’s what they called him in the village. And why do you think that is?

More fairy tales

• The Fox and the Rooster
• The Carpenter from Arles
• Night Dancers
• The Tale of the Clever Shepherd Boy
• The Tale of the Father, Mother, and Daughter