Truth and Falsehood
Once upon a time, Falsehood and Truth were arguing about which way of life was better—to live by lies or by truth. Falsehood claimed that it was better to live by lies, while Truth insisted that it was better to live by truth. They argued and argued, but neither could convince the other.Falsehood then said:
"Let's go to the scribe, and he will judge us!"
"Let's go," replied Truth. So they went to the scribe.
"Resolve our dispute," said Falsehood. "Which is better—to live by lies or by truth?"
The scribe asked:
"What are you fighting over?"
"Over a hundred rubles."
"Well, Truth, you've lost the argument: in our time, it's better to live by lies."
Truth took a hundred rubles out of her pocket and gave it to Falsehood, but she still stood her ground, insisting that it was better to live by truth.
"Let's go to the judge and see what he decides," said Falsehood. "If he agrees with you, I'll pay you a thousand rubles, but if he agrees with me, you must give me both your eyes."
"Fine, let's go."
They went to the judge and asked him: which way of life is better?
The judge said the same thing:
"In our time, it's better to live by lies."
"Hand over your eyes!" said Falsehood to Truth. She gouged out Truth's eyes and went on her way.
Truth was left eyeless. She fell face down on the ground and crawled blindly. She crawled to a swamp and lay down in the grass. At midnight, an unholy gathering took place there. The leader began asking everyone: "What have you done?" Some said, "I've destroyed a soul," while others said, "I've led someone into sin." When it was Falsehood's turn, she boasted:
"I won a hundred rubles from Truth and gouged out her eyes!"
"Eyes? That's nothing!" said the leader. "If you rub them with the grass here, the eyes will grow back!"
Truth lay there and listened.
Suddenly, the roosters crowed, and the unholy gathering vanished. Truth picked some of the grass and began rubbing her eyes. She rubbed one, then the other, and her sight was restored. She took some of the grass with her and set off on her journey.
At that time, a king's daughter had gone blind, and he made a proclamation: whoever could heal the princess would marry her. Truth applied the grass to the princess's eyes, rubbed them, and healed her. The king was overjoyed. He married Truth to his daughter and brought her into his household...
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