Three Clever Sons
A poor man had three sons. When the sons grew up, their father said to them:"Go and learn a trade, for without a craft or skill, life will be hard for you."
The sons left home, studied for a long time, and when they returned to their homeland, they said to their father:
"Now we have become skilled men and can earn our own living."
The father was delighted with his sons and hurried to treat them. He took some eggs and began to cook an omelet. But the eldest son said to him:
"Don't trouble yourself, father. I am now a cook; I'll fry the omelet in an instant. You go stand by the gate and wait."
The eldest son lit a hot fire with grape leaves, and when the omelet was ready, he struck the handle of the frying pan with his fist: the omelet flew up the chimney and landed right on the father's plate with a plop!
The father marveled at such dexterity and couldn't stop admiring it.
They sat down at the table. Suddenly, a rider stopped at the gate and asked for his horse to be shoed.
"That's my job, father," said the middle son. "I am a blacksmith."
He took a horseshoe, thrust it into the fire, and said to the rider:
"Take a step back and then gallop full speed toward the gate."
The rider rushed toward the gate, and the middle son threw the horseshoe so skillfully that it landed right on the horse's hoof.
The father marveled at such dexterity and couldn't stop admiring it.
Then, suddenly, hail began to fall. The father was frightened, thinking it would destroy all the crops.
The youngest son said:
"Now, father, it's my turn to show what I've learned."
He grabbed a stick and began to fight the hail. He smashed every hailstone in mid-air. Not a single hailstone reached the ground, and the harvest was saved.
The father rejoiced, seeing how skilled and capable his sons had become!
More fairy tales
- The Sun
- How the Donkey Swallowed the Moon
- The Tale of the Rooster
- Three Violinists in Paradise
- The Pecked-Out Heart
