The Old Man Guest

It was a long, long time ago. In those days, peasants celebrated the beginning of the harvest. They dressed in their finest clothes and went out into the fields with sickles, but on the first day, people spent more time celebrating than working.

In one village, there lived three brothers, poor as could be. Even on the harvest festival, they had nothing to bring with them to eat or drink except a piece of stale bread and a jug of water.

So, the peasants went out to the field, worked a little, and then sat down to celebrate. They sang songs, joked, and made merry, but the brothers sat there gloomy. Suddenly, an unknown old man appeared in the field. He walked past the peasants, greeting them. Everyone responded, but no one offered him food or drink. The old man approached the brothers and greeted them.

"Sit down, father, and eat with us," said the youngest brother.

"And what are you going to offer him?" the older brothers asked in surprise.

"We'll give him what we have!"

The old man sat down with them and asked, "Everyone is singing and celebrating, but why are you so downcast?"

"What kind of joy is it to eat stale bread and drink water?"

"Never mind, pour us some water, and we'll drink it," the old man said cheerfully.

The youngest brother took the jug, and in it was thick red wine! They drank and began to eat the stale bread.

"Look over at that hill, is that a sheep there?" the old man asked.

"No, that's a big rock," replied the eldest brother.

"Go and take a look, maybe it's not a rock."

The youngest brother climbed the hill and saw a fattened sheep carcass and a loaf of white bread next to it, as if placed there just for him.

The brothers roasted the sheep, and a great feast began. They started singing a merry song. The reapers were surprised and laughed: why were these paupers singing and treating a guest when they themselves had nothing to eat?

When they finished feasting, the old man asked the eldest brother, "What do you want? What should I give you?"

"I wish for some land, so I could feed my family!"

"You shall have land and food as long as you remain hospitable."

Then the old man asked the middle brother, "And what do you dream of?"

"I wish to have some livestock!"

"Very well, you shall have fat herds as long as you remain hospitable."

Finally, the old man turned to the youngest brother, "Tell me, son, what do you desire?"

"A good wife for the house, one who welcomes guests and loves all kinds of work."

"You've given me a difficult task! There are only two suitable women in the world—one is already married, and the other is getting married tonight. But so be it, I'll try, maybe I can arrange for her to marry you."

The old man gave the eldest brother land and bread, the middle brother a large herd, and took the youngest to the royal palace, where a wedding was taking place.

The old man was a magician. He summoned rain and wind to give them a reason to seek shelter, and knocked on the door. The servants opened it, and the old man asked to be let in to wait out the bad weather. But the king refused to let strangers in, saying they could bring bad luck to the wedding.

The old man kicked the door and shattered it.

The uninvited guests entered the hall. It was full of people, with the bride and groom sitting at the wedding table.

"Go and chase away the groom and sit next to the bride," the old man told the young man.

He did so. The king became furious.

"You're angry for no reason!" the old man said. "This poor man is her true groom, not the prince. If you don't believe me, let's test it! Give them each a vine cutting. Whoever's cutting blossoms and bears grapes will get the bride."

The king thought the old man had gone mad, but he agreed.

They brought the cuttings and gave them to the prince and the poor man. The poor man's cutting filled with sap, grew leaves, and then bore clusters of grapes. The prince's cutting remained as it was.

The king frowned, but the old man laughed.

"I still won't give you the bride!" the king shouted.

"You will! How can you not? The poor man is her true groom, not the prince! If you don't believe me, you'll see now! Whoever is right, the roasted pheasant in their hands will come to life and fly."

The king took the pheasant from the dish—it didn't come to life. The old man took the roasted pheasant—the bird grew feathers, flapped its wings, and flew up to the ceiling.

"I still won't give you the bride!" the king shouted.

"The girl will go to whoever can dance on the edge of a dagger!" the old man replied.

The prince didn't want to lose the bride. He stepped out to dance. He stepped on the edge of the dagger and cut his foot.

The poor man stepped out to dance and twirled on the edge of the dagger.

The bride stood up, walked over to the poor man—no one dared to stop her.

The bride left the palace with the old man and the young man. They came to where the brothers lived. The old man built the young couple a new house on the edge of the village. He gathered them all and said goodbye:

"Be happy as long as you remain hospitable."

The brothers lived happily, knowing no more sorrow or need.

Time passed, maybe a little, maybe a lot. One day, the old man decided to visit the brothers to see how they were doing and if they were keeping his advice. He summoned rain and wind and knocked on the eldest brother's door:

"Please, let me stay the night."

"Go away, we don't have enough bread for strangers like you!"

"If that's the case, live as you did before!" the old man said and went to the middle brother's house.

The middle brother also didn't let the unexpected guest in.

"And you live as you did before!" the old man said and went to the youngest brother's house.

He knocked. The wife opened the door. She didn't recognize the old man.

"Let me in, kind woman, to stay the night."

"Come in, you're welcome," she invited, even though it was an inconvenient time—her husband was on his deathbed.

The woman seated the old man, then slaughtered a chicken, prepared dinner, and set the table.

"Where is the master of the house?" the old man asked.

"With his relatives," she lied—not wanting to spoil the guest's mood—and went to the cellar for wine.

The old man knew the master was lying sick in the next room and healed him.

The woman brought the wine and saw her husband sitting at the table, healthy! She was surprised but didn't show it and said, "It's good you're back, it's boring for a guest without the master."

"Thank you," the old man said. "You are good people, and you shall have a good fate."

From that day on, the youngest brother lived even better, while the older brothers remained as poor as before.

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The Old Man Guest

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