Two Sisters

Once upon a time, in a certain region, there lived two sisters. The elder sister was a beautiful and kind girl, while the younger one was mean and greedy.

One clear autumn day, the younger sister said to the elder one:
- Sister, let's go to the mountains to gather acorns.
- Alright, they must have ripened and fallen by now. Let's go and collect some, - replied the elder sister. They each took a sack and headed for the mountains. In the mountains, they found many cracked acorns. The sisters diligently gathered them and put them into their sacks. But the younger sister secretly made a hole in the elder sister's sack, and no matter how many acorns the elder sister gathered, her sack never filled up: the acorns fell out of the hole and dropped to the ground. Meanwhile, the younger sister walked behind, bending over to pick them up.

- I've already filled my sack, sister. Let's go home, - she said.
The elder sister replied:
- Oh, you've already gathered enough? How fast! My sack isn't full yet.
- Then take your time, keep gathering. I'll go home, - said the younger sister and quickly left.

The elder sister was left alone. While searching for acorns, she wandered deep into the mountains and soon lost her way.

- Oh, what should I do now?
She wandered through the mountains, crying. Meanwhile, it grew completely dark. Suddenly, the girl saw a small, dilapidated temple. Inside, there stood alone Jizosama (Jizosama is a deity who protects children). His face was gentle and kind. The elder sister knelt before Jizosama and bowed respectfully.

- Jizosama, Jizosama, it's dark in the mountains. I, a poor girl, don't know what to do. Please allow me to stay here for the night.

- Hmm, hmm! Stay, I don't mind. But lately, when night falls, many red and blue demons gather here from somewhere; they feast and make noise. Won't you be scared to spend the night here? - replied Jizosama.

- Oh! - exclaimed the elder sister. - But I have nowhere else to go!
And she began to cry. Jizosama pitied her:
- Alright, alright. For tonight, I'll hide you behind my back. But you must do something as well.

- What should I do?
- Behind my back, on the wall, there's a sedge hat. When midnight comes, the demons will gather, drink sake, and start dancing. You must hit the hat a few times and crow like a rooster: "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

- Alright, I understand, - said the elder sister and hid behind Jizosama.

At midnight, a multitude of red and blue demons appeared out of nowhere. They were truly terrifying demons with hideous faces and horns on their heads. Squealing and muttering incomprehensibly, they brought out a pile of gold and silver coins and began counting them. Then they started drinking sake. After getting drunk, they began to dance:
- Hop-skip, tram-tararam, hop-skip, tram-tararam! "Now is the time," thought the elder sister, and as Jizosama had instructed, she drummed her hand on the sedge hat and crowed like a rooster: "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

The demons, engrossed in their dance, jumped in surprise.
- Day is breaking! Trouble! Trouble! The rooster has crowed!
- It's dawn! Trouble! Trouble!
- Run! Run!
Shouting at the top of their lungs and pushing each other, they fled in a panic.

Soon, it really became light. The elder sister thanked Jizosama warmly and prepared to go home. But Jizosama called out to her:

- Hey, listen! You can't leave all this here for no one. The gold and silver are now yours. Take it all!

The elder sister filled her pockets with gold and silver coins, took as much money as she could carry, found a forest path, and returned home.

At home, her father and mother were very worried. When she told them about Jizosama and showed them the money, they were overjoyed and said:

- That's wonderful! This is a reward for your modest nature and kind heart.
Only one person wasn't happy about the elder sister's fortune - the mean and greedy younger sister. She had wanted to cause trouble for her sister, but instead, she had helped her gain wealth. And she felt unbearably envious.

One day, the younger sister took a sack with a hole in it and again called the elder sister to the mountains to gather acorns. This time, no matter how many acorns she gathered, they all fell out of the hole. Meanwhile, the elder sister quickly filled her sack with acorns.

- I've already filled mine! How about you? - she asked.
- Mine is still almost empty, - replied the younger sister.
- Then let's gather some together.
- No, mind your own business!
- Well, let's share mine.
- Don't be silly! If you've filled your sack, go home quickly, - said the younger sister, puffing out her lips angrily.

Having no choice, the elder sister went home.
- That's good! - said the younger sister, now alone, and quickly went further into the mountains, - If only it would get dark soon! Oh, this sun, how slowly it moves!

Soon, it began to grow dark. Arriving at the place the elder sister had told her about, the younger sister found the small, old temple.

- Here it is! Here it is! And Jizosama is here. Is the sedge hat still there?
She peeked behind Jizosama's back: the sedge hat was still there.
- It's here! It's here! I should hit it!
- Good evening, Jizosama. Why do you have such a strange face? Everyone says Jizosama is very friendly. By the way, let me stay here tonight. I'm not afraid of any demons, and I can imitate a rooster very well. It's really simple. If tonight goes well, I'll do you a small favor too, Jizosama.

Hearing this, Jizosama was very surprised and thought: "What kind of strange girl has come here?"

Ignoring everything, the younger sister quickly went behind Jizosama's back.

- Whether you like it or not, I'm staying here tonight. Oh, you're so dusty and dirty, Jizosama! It would be very unpleasant to spend even one night in such a dirty place and not get any reward. Oh well!

Grumbling, she took out some rice balls she had brought and began to eat them.
- It looks tasty! Won't you give me one? - asked Jizosama.
The younger sister made a face.
- What are you saying? Deities don't eat. You'd be called a glutton. And you're not as calm as you seem. Ugh, disgusting! - she said, glancing at Jizosama with a spiteful look.

After that, Jizosama said nothing more.
Midnight came, and the screeching of demons was heard.
- They're here! They're here! - the younger sister rejoiced.
That night, a large crowd of red and blue demons gathered again; they counted gold and silver coins and feasted.

The greedy younger sister, seeing the pile of money, couldn't resist. She hit the sedge hat behind Jizosama's back too early and crowed in a voice that didn't resemble a rooster's:

- Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo!
But the demons weren't drunk yet.
- Oh, is it already dawn?
- No, it shouldn't be dawn yet. It's too early. How strange!
- Yes, very strange! Let's see if anyone is here.
And the demons went behind Jizosama's back.
- Here! Here's a person! Some girl! They saw the younger sister trembling with fear and dragged her out of the corner.

- Stupid! Foolish! Trying to imitate a rooster! Let's tear her to pieces and eat her as a snack with sake!

- Forgive me! Oh-oh-oh! Help! I… I'll be good! Just don't… don't… don't kill me - the younger sister begged, drenched in tears.

She barely escaped and ran home, barely alive.

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Two Sisters

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