The Master and the Dog
In a village, there lived a peasant, and not far away, a landowner resided in his estate. One day, the peasant happened to pass by the estate. The landowner had a vicious dog, which attacked the peasant. The peasant struck the dog with his staff and killed it.The landowner took the matter to court. The peasant was summoned to stand trial against the landowner. When they arrived in court, the judges asked the landowner:
- What do you want from this peasant? What punishment do you wish to impose on him?
- This is what I want: to strip him of his human status and voice, and let him become a dog, guarding my estate and living in my courtyard.
Of course, the court ruled in favor of this decision. The peasant was stripped of his human status and forced to live with the landowner, guarding his property.
The peasant had no choice but to go to the landowner and take the place of the dog: barking at night and protecting the landowner's belongings.
One day, the peasant conspired with thieves:
- Come, thieves, on such-and-such a night, rob the estate, and we'll divide the spoils.
And so, one night, the thieves arrived. When the landowner woke up in the morning, he saw that much of his property had been stolen. He took the "dog" to court, accusing it of failing to guard properly: thieves had come and robbed him. When they appeared in court, the judges asked the landowner:
- Well, landowner, tell us, did the dog bark that night?
- It barked very well, barked loudly that night when the robbery took place.
Then the judges replied to the landowner:
- So what more do you want from the dog? What else could it have done, since it has been deprived of a human voice?
The judges decided that the dog was in the right and restored the peasant's right to speak with a human voice.
The landowner was dissatisfied with the court's decision and took the peasant to the city for a retrial. They set off together. On the way, they entered a forest. It was already dark. The peasant said to the landowner:
- Look, landowner, there's a bear standing on the road!
- Well, peasant, scare it away!
- No, I won't bark now—I've regained my human voice. You bark, landowner, or the bear might eat us.
- Peasant, bark a little, at least teach me. The peasant barked a little and said:
- Now you bark, or the bear will eat us.
And so, the landowner began to bark. The peasant said to him:
- Bark, landowner, bark, the bear is getting closer! And he sat there, trying not to laugh. The landowner barked so much that dawn broke.
The peasant then said:
- Stop, landowner, stop barking! That's not a bear, it's just a stump we mistook for one.
The landowner then exclaimed:
- Ah, so you tricked me! Now I'll take you to court.
- Fine, landowner, take me, but I'll tell everyone how you barked like a dog all night.
- Listen, peasant, I'll let you go home and give you money and a cow. Go, live in peace, just don't tell anyone that I barked like a dog!
And so, they returned home. The landowner gave the peasant a cow and some money, and the peasant went home.
From then on, he lived comfortably, free from want, having outsmarted the landowner.
More fairy tales
- The Cat - Gray Forehead, the Goat, and the Ram
- Kuzma Skorobogaty
- For a Bast Shoe - a Hen, for a Hen - a Goose
- Ivan the Cow's Son
- About Need
