Three Brothers and the Bald Trickster

Once upon a time, or perhaps not, there lived three brothers. The elder two were simpletons, while the youngest was clever. Their father left them a great deal of gold and all sorts of wealth. Before his death, he warned his sons never to deal with bald people or buy anything from them. They never went to the city and had never seen a bald person in their lives. But one day, they ran out of salt.

The eldest brother decided to go to the city to buy salt. He loaded a donkey with a sack of gold—having no idea how much salt cost—and set off on his journey.

On the way, he met a bald rogue.

"Hello there!"

"Hello!"

"Where are you headed, brother?"

"To the city, to trade gold for salt."

"Why not trade with me? I have as much as you need."

"No, I can't. My father told me never to deal with bald people."

"Fine, if you don't want to, I won't force you," said the bald man.

The simpleton continued on his way. But the rogue took a shortcut and appeared before him again. He greeted him once more.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To the city for salt."

"Buy it from me."

"No, I can't. My father forbade me from buying from bald people."

"Who else will you buy it from? Everyone around here is bald!"

Still, the simpleton refused to buy salt from him.

"Alright, have it your way. If you don't want to buy, you don't have to. Let me give you a riddle," said the bald man. "If you solve it, I'll give you salt and a camel as a bonus. If you don't, you'll have to give me your donkey and the sack of gold."

The simpleton agreed.

"I have a guinea fowl. In the morning, it goes into the forest, lays an egg, and in the evening, I see it return with the egg, and both the guinea fowl and the egg are clucking. What does this mean?"

The simpleton thought long and hard but couldn't solve the riddle. He ended up with nothing, though the bald man took pity on him and gave him a pound of salt.

The eldest brother returned home saddened and told his brothers nothing.

Next, the middle brother set off for the city to buy salt. He loaded a donkey with a sack of gold and headed out. On the way, he met the same bald rogue.

"Hello, brother! Where are you headed?"

"To the city, to trade gold for salt."

"Why go to the city? I can trade with you."

"No," said the middle brother. "I can't disobey my father's command. He told me never to deal with bald people."

"If you don't want to, that's fine. I won't force you."

The rogue walked away, took a shortcut, and appeared before the middle brother again. He greeted him once more.

"Where are you going, brother?"

"To the city for salt."

"Buy it from me."

"I can't. My father forbade me from buying from bald people."

"Who else will you buy it from? Everyone around here is bald!"

Still, the simpleton refused to buy salt from him.

"Alright, have it your way. If you don't want to buy, you don't have to. Let me give you a riddle," said the bald man. "If you solve it, I'll give you salt and a camel as a bonus. If you don't, your donkey and the sack of gold will be mine."

The simpleton agreed, and the bald man gave him the same riddle.

The simpleton couldn't solve it and had to give the rogue his donkey and gold. However, the rogue took pity on him and gave him a pound of salt.

The middle brother returned home and told his brothers nothing.

The youngest brother was puzzled as to why his elder brothers brought back so little salt. He loaded a donkey with a sack of precious stones and set off for the city.

On the way, he too met the same bald rogue. They greeted each other.

"Where are you headed?"

The youngest brother answered just as his elder brothers had. He refused to trade with the bald man.

The rogue fell behind, took a shortcut, and appeared before the traveler once more. He greeted him again.

"Where are you headed?"

"To the city for salt."

"Why go so far? Let me give you a riddle. If you solve it, I'll give you a whole pood of salt and a camel as a bonus. If you don't, I'll take your donkey and the sack of stones."

The young man agreed.

"I have a guinea fowl. In the morning, it goes into the forest, lays an egg, and in the evening, I see it return with the egg, and both the guinea fowl and the egg are clucking. What does this mean?"

"That's just like what happens at our place!" laughed the clever brother. "Our guinea fowl goes into the forest every day and returns with an egg. As for what they're clucking about, let's go ask our bees—they guard both your guinea fowl and mine in the forest."

The rogue realized he couldn't fool this traveler with his tall tales. He had to go home and bring back a camel loaded with a sack of salt.

The bald man gave the young man everything he had promised, but whispered to the camel:

"When you come to a muddy spot, lie down and don't get up. If he forces you to stand, don't go into the stable—puff up your sides so you can't fit through. If he drives you away, come back to me."

The youngest brother led the camel and the donkey home. Along the way, they came to a muddy spot. The camel lay down in the mud and refused to move. The clever brother said nothing. He calmly sat on a fence by the road and lit his pipe.

A traveler passed by.

The youngest brother greeted him and said:

"Do me a favor. When you pass through our village, tell my wife this: 'Maybe I'll be lucky, and you'll give birth to a child. Maybe I'll be lucky, and it will be a son. Maybe I'll be lucky, and my son will grow up. And when my son grows up, send him to me with a cart—my camel is stuck in the mud. I'll load the camel onto the cart and bring it home.'"

The camel panicked: "I'll starve to death before his son comes for me with a cart, if he even has a son!" The camel jumped up and started moving forward.

When the youngest brother got home, he tried to lead the camel into the stable. The camel puffed up its sides and wouldn't fit.

"Bring me an axe, brothers!" shouted the young man. "This camel's belly is too big—I'll chop a bit off the sides."

The camel saw that this master was not to be trifled with. It exhaled and obediently walked into the stable.

Sorrow there, joy here, and sweet dreams to you and to us.

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Three Brothers and the Bald Trickster

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