How to Correct a Falsehood

Once upon a time, there was a craftsman who had a son. The father decided to teach his son a trade and sent him to apprentice with another craftsman. After completing his apprenticeship, the son returned to his father. The father and son then went to work in distant lands. After traveling for a while, the father wanted to test his son's wit and knowledge and said:

"I'm feeling a bit tired. Let's take turns carrying each other."

"Alright," said the son, and he began to tell his father a fairy tale.

When the son finished his tale, the father started his own. They became so engrossed in their stories that they forgot about their fatigue.

They walked a little further. The father gave his son six coins and said:

"Go buy some horses with this money so we can ride."

The son went, bought a jug of wine, they drank it, cheered up, and felt lighter on their feet. They walked some more, and the father said to his son:

"Go find a companion for yourself and one for me."

The son entered the forest, cut a stick for himself and one for his father, and they continued on their way. As they walked, they saw a field. The father said:

"Ah, what a beautiful field!"

But the son replied:

"It's all eaten up, all eaten up!"

"No, it's beautiful!"

"No, it's eaten up!"

They couldn't agree. The father said:

"Let's go ask someone who knows."

They went to find a knowledgeable person. As they walked, they saw a river with salt lying in it, not melting.

"What kind of salt is this that doesn't melt in water?" asked the father.

"I don't know," replied the son.

They continued to search for a knowledgeable person. They were directed to a young woman. They approached her and stopped.

The young woman was a beauty, such a beauty that there was no other like her in the world. Only one of her eyes was slightly crossed.

The father noticed this but didn't want to offend her, so he said:

"Your house is very nice, only the roof is a bit slanted (implying, you're beautiful, but your eye is a bit crossed)."

"Well," said the young woman, "even if it's slanted, the smoke goes straight up (implying, even if my eye is a bit crossed, I see everything clearly)."

The father liked her answer and said:

"Judge between me and my son. I sent him to apprentice, but he learned nothing: we walked through a field, saw a field shining like gold. I said, 'What a beautiful field!' but he said, 'No, it's all eaten up!'"

"Your son is right," said the young woman. "The owner of this field has large debts, and the entire harvest will be taken to pay them. The owner will be left with nothing."

The father liked this answer as well and said:

"On our way, we saw a river with salt lying in it, not melting. What kind of salt is this, and what kind of water?"

"The water is the wife, and the salt is the husband," said the young woman. "With a bad wife, the husband melts like salt in water, but with a good wife, like this water, even the salt doesn't melt."

The father was very impressed with the young woman and decided to marry his son to her. They held the wedding that very night.

Time passed. The father and son went to look for work. They came to a city and took on the task of building a royal palace. The king set a condition: if he liked the palace, he would pay them; if not, he wouldn't.

The father and son built a very fine palace that everyone admired, but the king found fault and ordered both craftsmen, the father and son, to be imprisoned. The father said:

"I have a machine at home. If you bring it, it will fix everything according to your wishes. But I have a daughter-in-law at home, and she won't trust the machine to anyone except my son."

The king sent his son and his entire retinue with him, and the craftsman-father instructed them to tell his daughter-in-law:

"Send me what will fix the injustice."

When the messengers arrived, the daughter-in-law seized the king's son and locked him up, then told the retinue:

"Tell the king he won't see his son until he releases my husband and father-in-law."

What could the king do? He settled accounts with the craftsmen—the father and son—and let them go.

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How to Correct a Falsehood

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