The Enchanted Cup

In ancient times, there stood a wealthy house in a small village. Many generations had lived in it, but the most treasured possession of that house was always a cup. It was a very beautiful cup—made of green porcelain with a blue sheen. Sometimes in the evenings, the owner would take the cup out of a special box and admire it.

One day, the wealthy man went to a tavern to feast with his friends. It was a grand dinner! The rich man ate to his heart's content, and the tavern owner kept bringing more and more delicacies. And each dish was served in a beautiful cup.

The rich man became curious and decided to take a closer look at the tavern owner's cups. He picked up one—clicked his tongue in delight, picked up another—nodded approvingly. He picked up a third—and sat there with his mouth open in astonishment. That cup looked exactly like his own! It was also made of green porcelain with a blue sheen!

The rich man stared at the cup, unable to look away! And then his friends noticed the cup too. They began passing it from hand to hand, praising it:

- What a marvelous thing!
- I’ve never seen anything like it in my life!
- I’ll bet there’s no other cup like it in the world!

The rich man listened to his friends, listened, and soon he was so overcome with anger that he lost his senses. Finally, he came to his senses. He called the tavern owner and said:

- My good man, I want to buy this cup from you! I’ll pay whatever you want, I won’t spare anything! Name your price!

The tavern owner bowed respectfully and then said:
- Forgive me generously, but I cannot sell this cup. It was passed down to me by my father, and to him by his grandfather. Many generations of our family have kept it as our most treasured possession!

The rich man became furious:
- I don’t care about that! - he shouted. - I want to buy the cup, and I will buy it!
He shoved 30 gold coins into the tavern owner’s hand. Before anyone could blink, the rich man grabbed the green porcelain cup with the blue sheen, lifted it high above his head, and threw it to the floor! The cup shattered into tiny pieces!

The tavern owner cried out, the guests jumped up from their seats, and the rich man just smiled and rubbed his hands!

- I won’t tolerate it, - he said, - for anyone else in the world to have such a cup! The green porcelain cup with the blue sheen is the treasure of my house alone!

The rich man returned home that evening, joyful, and immediately went to the cherished box. “Now,” he thought, “I’ll look at my cup.” He opened the box and fainted on the spot. When he came to, he saw the shards of the broken green porcelain cup lying in the box, and among them—30 gold coins, the very same ones he had paid to the tavern owner.

More fairy tales

• The Monkey with the Cropped Tail
• Kuzma and the Fox
• The Monkey King and the Magic Coin
• Straw Hats for Jizo
• What the Birds Told About