Lilac Fairy Book

Chapter 31 The Poor Brother and the Rich Brother (2)
After hearing this answer, the wife was very angry.She cried and made a scene.Neighbors heard the cries and stuck their heads out of their windows to see what was going on. "It's ridiculous," she cried. "It's so unfair. Really, if you think about it, this gift doesn't count at all. When the gift was given, the husband was a bachelor, and after the gift he I just got married, and I never agreed to it." And so she wailed all day and all night, and the poor man was almost bored to death.In the end, he followed her wish and took his brother to the court, saying that those houses were only lent to him, and he asked his brother to hand over the houses.After hearing the testimony of both parties, the judge decided to support the poor brother, which made the rich woman even more angry, and she decided not to give up until she reached her goal.This judge won't award her the house, another judge will.In this way, the case was tried again and again, until at last it was brought before the supreme judge of the city of Evra.The husband is genuinely fed up and ashamed of the whole thing, he was too weak in the beginning to stop it, got him into trouble, and now he's just going to have to fight the lawsuit.

That same day, the two brothers set off for the city.The rich brother rode a horse with a large bag of food in his backpack, while the poor brother walked, taking only a piece of bread and four onions along the way.The road was rough, and neither of them could walk fast.When night fell, both were delighted to see a few lights coming from a window not far ahead.

The lamp was originally lit there by a farmer.It happened to be his wife's birthday that day, so the farmer prepared a special dinner.He asked his rich brother to come in and sit down, while he led the horse into the stable.The brother, who had no money, asked the farmer with embarrassment if he could spend the night in a corner, saying that he had food with him.The farmer didn't like poor people, but this time he didn't refuse. Instead, he let his brother into the house, pointed to a wooden chair, and asked him to sit down.

Supper was soon served, and my brother enjoyed himself, for his stomach was already hungry from the long ride.But the farmer's wife didn't want to touch anything, and at last she said that she only wanted to eat an onion that the poor brother was roasting over the fire.Needless to say, although he wanted to eat it himself, three onions were not too much after walking for a while, but he still gave them to her.Soon, everyone fell asleep, and the poor brother made himself as comfortable as possible in the corner.

Hours later, the farmer was awakened by his wife's cries and moans.

"Oh, I feel very sick, I think I must die," she cried, "It's all because of that onion, I know it must be. I wish I hadn't eaten it. It must be poisoned .”

"If that person poisons you, you have to pay for it," her husband said.He grabbed a big club, ran downstairs, and beat the poor sleeping man with his bare hands.Fortunately the noise woke the brother up, and he jumped up, snatched the stick from the farmer, and said:

"We all rushed to Evra to sue him. If he wants to take your money and kill you, go there and sue him too. Don't kill him now, or you will get in trouble of."

"Well, perhaps you're right," replied the farmer, "the sooner the fellow gets his due, the happier I am." Without another word, he went into the stable, brought out a horse for himself, and brought it to him. The black Andalusian mare that the rich man rode was also brought out.Worried about further abuse, the poor brother set off immediately on foot.

It rained heavily all night that night, and it looked like it would keep on raining.In some areas the mud is so deep that it is almost impossible to wade through.At one point the road was so bad that a mule laden with luggage got stuck in the mud and couldn't move.The mule's owner tried all his strength and couldn't pull it out.In desperation, he called for help to the two riders who were carefully skirting the edge of the mud not far away, but they ignored his cries for help.So he forced a smile on his face, encouraged the mule, hoped it would cheer up, and declared that if the poor beast would be patient, help would be sure to come.

This is true.The poor brother soon came to this place, splashed with mud from head to toe, but willing to help the mule and his master as much as he could.They first found some big sticks and put them in the mud so that they could walk up to the mule.At this time, the mule had already broken the rein in the frantic struggle, and sank even deeper.The poor man walked carefully over the stick, grabbed the mule by the tail, and gave it a hard pull so that the mule was back on dry ground, at the cost of leaving the tail in his hand.When the mule driver saw it, he was so annoyed that he forgot that without his help he would lose the mule.He yelled at the poor, insisting that he had ruined his cattle and that the law would make him pay.Then the ungrateful fellow jumped on the mule's back and rode away.The mule was so happy to get out of the mire that he didn't seem to mind the loss of his tail.That night the mule-drivers came to the hotel in Evra, where the rich and the peasants had already arrived, and were going to spend the night there.

At the same time, the poor brother was still walking forward wearily, not knowing what terrible things would happen to him.

"In either case, I shall surely be condemned," he thought sadly, "and since I have to die, I would rather die myself than fall into the hands of the enemy." As soon as he entered the city of Evra, Just looking around for a place suitable for realizing my plan.Finally, he found what he was looking for so hard.By this time it was too late and too dark for him to be sure of success, so he curled up in a doorway and slept until dawn.

Even though it was winter, when the poor man got up and pulled himself together, the sun rose in a clear sky, almost warming him.He intended to mark this day as his death anniversary, and nevertheless, despite the fact that he was leaving his wife and son, he felt somewhat happy.He has struggled for so long, and he is already very tired. He no longer cares about whether he can prove his innocence or defeat his opponent.For him, these opponents were too clever, and he had no strength to fight them any longer.So he climbed the stone stairs leading to the battlements, then stopped and looked around.

It so happened that a sick old man who lived nearby asked someone to lift him out and put him at the foot of the city wall, so that the rising sun could shine on him, and he could chat with his friends as they passed by on their way to work. A few words.Little did he imagine that there stood, on the battlement just above his head, a man looking at the same sun as he, but walking towards the death that awaited him.But it was true. The golden sun shone brightly on the steeple opposite, and the poor man closed his eyes and jumped forward.The city wall was very high, and he fell quickly from the air, but he did not fall to the ground, but fell on the patient.The sick man rolled over, and died without a whimper.As for the poor man, he was unscathed and slowly rose to his feet.At this moment, his arms were suddenly firmly grasped.

"You killed our father, do you understand? Do you understand?" cried the two lads. "You will follow us to the judge at once and be responsible for it."

"Your father? I don't know him. What do you mean?" asked the poor man, dazed by his rapid fall, wondering why he should be accused of such a new crime.They did not answer, but led him hastily across the street to the courthouse.His brother, the mule-driver, and the farmer, who had just arrived there, were as angry as ever, and all chided him.The judge walks in and orders them to be quiet.

"Tell me one by one," he said, and then motioned for his younger brother to speak first.

The younger brother finished his case in no time: the unfinished houses belonged to him, his father bequeathed them to him along with other property, and the older brother refused to return them to him.As a defense, the poor brother told the judge how he got the house from his younger brother in a few words, and showed the gift contract issued to him by the owner of the house.

The judge listened in silence, asked a few questions, and delivered his verdict.

"The houses are still owned by the giftee. They are his property. Because of you," he continued, turning to his brother, "you came to sue him knowing that this accusation was wrong and unfair. Therefore, I order In addition to losing those properties, you have to pay a thousand pounds compensation to your brother."

The rich man was very angry when he heard the verdict, but the poor brother was both surprised and grateful.But he still had no peace, for now it was the farmer's turn to sue him.The judge could hardly contain his laughter when he heard the story.He asked the farmer if his wife had died before he left home, and was told that he had come so hastily to get justice, that he had not had time to see if she was dead.The poor brother then told his story, and the judge again ruled in his favor, ordering the farmer to pay him £1200.As for the mule driver, the judge expressly told him that his conduct proved him not only mean but vengeful, and that as punishment he must pay the poor man a fine of fifty pounds and hand over the mule to him until its tail grew again. until.

Finally, it was the turn of the patient's two sons.

"This is the fellow who killed our father," they said, "and we demand his death."

"How did you kill him?" the judge asked, turning to the defendant.The poor man told the judge how he had jumped off the wall, not knowing that anyone was below.

"Well," answered the judge, when they had all said, "my verdict is as follows: Let the accused sit by the wall, and the son of the dead man throw himself from the wall, and beat him to death. If they do not beat him, they shall To be fined £800 for false accusation."

The two young men looked at each other, then shook their heads dejectedly.

"Let's pay the fine," they said.The judge nodded in agreement.

In this way, the poor man rode his mule home and brought back enough money for his family to live well for the rest of their lives.

(End of this chapter)