yellow-green fairy tale book

Chapter 29
A long time ago, in a certain city in India, there lived a poor oil seller named Dana, who was so poor that he had no money in his pocket.He borrowed one hundred rupees from a moneylender named Lina, who kept adding interest to him, and by the time the story began, he owed Lina three hundred rupees.Dana's business has been very bad, so he has no money to pay his debts.Lina was so angry at this that he would come to Dana's house every night and insult him, so that the poor creature could hardly survive.Lina usually came when Dana's wife was cooking dinner, which made the couple and their daughter lose their appetites and couldn't eat a bite of dinner.This went on for several weeks, until one day Dana decided he couldn't take it anymore and it was best to walk away.Since it is not always easy to go away with his wife and daughter, he thinks it is better to leave their mother and daughter behind and go away alone.So, this evening, after a busy day out, instead of going home as usual, he slipped out of town.However, he was not sure where to go.

About ten o'clock in the evening Dana came to a spring by the side of the road, near which stood a tall linden tree.At this time, he was very tired, so he decided to climb a tree to have a good rest, and get up early tomorrow morning to start his journey again.He climbed up the tree and found a big branch to curl up comfortably.Due to fatigue, he soon fell asleep.On this very night some Elves wandered here, and they uprooted the great tree, and carried it to a distant uninhabited shore, and planted it.At this time, it was still early in the morning, and the oil seller woke up.He saw that he was not in the woods, but on the deserted shore, with the vast sea beside him, and he was overwhelmed with fear and amazement.Just when he was sitting there trying to calm himself down, he saw light shining everywhere around him, like sparks flying around.What is this?When he was wondering what these things were, he found one so close to him that he reached out and grabbed it.It is a shiny red stone, slightly smaller than a walnut.He undid his belt and put it in.Then he took hold of a second, third, and fourth and wrapped them all carefully in his belt.Then, just before dawn, the tree rose, and flew quickly through the air, returning to take root at the spring where it had been the night before.

Dana was horrified by the strange behavior of the tree, and when he recovered from his panic, he thanked God for keeping him alive.At this time, his thought of leaving was also dispelled, and he returned to the city and his home.After seeing his wife, he was scolded.While scolding him, she kept asking this and that.When she stopped to catch her breath Dana said:
"I have only one thing to tell you, look, what did I bring back?" After carefully closing all the doors, he untied his belt and showed her four small stones, small stones Glittering under his rotation.

"Bah!" said his wife, "these silly little pebbles! If there's nothing else to eat. What's the use of them?" She snorted contemptuously and turned away.Last night Lina, as usual, wanted to come and yell at Dana, and when he found Dana gone, he was so disturbed that he took it out on the poor woman and frightened her with constant threats.Today, as soon as he heard that Dana was back, he came to his door and snarled at the top of his voice for a while.When he was tired of yelling, Dana said to him:
"If you are willing to do me the honor of coming to the cottage, I have something to tell you."

So Lina went into the house, and Dana closed all the doors as before, untied his belt, and showed him four small shining stones.

"That's all I have," said he, "and that's all I have to pay my debts. I don't have a penny, you know, but these stones are really beautiful!"

Lina could tell at a glance that these were very beautiful rubies, and his saliva was about to flow out, but he kept his composure and continued:
"What use do I want you stupid stones? What I want is my money, the debt you owe me, and you have to pay me back no matter what, otherwise I will make you miserable!"

Dana had nothing to say to these words of reproach, but sat there with folded hands, begging, pleading for mercy and forgiveness.Finally, Lina pretended that instead of letting the debt rot in his hands, it would be better to make up for it, lose a little, and use these stones to pay off the debt.Dana was almost weeping with gratitude.Lina wrote a receipt for three hundred rupees, wrapped the four stones in a cloth, put them in her arms, and went home.

"How can I turn these gems into money?" thought Lina as he walked, "they are too precious for me to keep them with me, in case the prince hears that I have them, He might find an excuse to put me in jail and take the gems and all my possessions. But what a bargain! Four priceless rubies only cost me a hundred rupees! Uh! Uh! I have to be careful not to divulge my secret." He pondered as he walked, and finally, he made up his mind.Putting on clean clothes, he came to the prime minister's house and asked to meet with the prime minister alone.The Prime Minister's name was Moose. As soon as he entered the house, Lina took out four gems and placed them in front of him.

Seeing such a beautiful gem, the prime minister's eyes lit up.

"Beautiful, really beautiful!" he murmured to himself. "At the real value of these four stones, I cannot afford them. But if you will accept it, I will pay ten thousand rupees for them." Download them."

The moneylenders were very pleased with the deal.So, he exchanged those gems for rupees.I hurried back home, thanking my lucky star for making such a wise transaction and obtaining such a huge profit.

After Lina left, the prime minister began to consider what he should do with the gems.Soon, he decided that the best way was to give these gems to the prince, whose name was Kohler.Without losing the opportunity, he went to the palace that day and asked to meet the prince alone.When he was sure that he was alone with the prince, he took out the four gems and placed them in front of the prince.

"Ah! ah!" exclaimed the prince, "these gems are priceless treasures. It is very kind of you to give them to this king. In return, this king will give you and yours the tax revenue of ten villages." Descendants."

The prime minister was ecstatic when he heard these words.However, he said nothing, but bowed deeply to the prince.When the king put away the jewels and put them in his turban, he hurried back, thinking that he could become the lord of ten villages for [-] rupees, and he was full of happiness and a smile on his face.The prince was also very happy, and he brought these newly purchased treasures to the harem to show the queen.The queen was almost mad with love.She turned it over in her hand, and said, "Ah! If I had eight more of these gems, I could make a very beautiful necklace! Give me eight more! Or I must die!"

"You woman, you are so unreasonable!" the prince exclaimed, "Where do you want me to get eight more gems like this? I bought these four gems with ten villages, and you still don't have them?" satisfy!"

"What does that matter?" said the queen, "do you want to watch me die? Where did you get these gems, and you can surely get some more from there." There was a lot of crying.The prince had no choice but to agree to find a way tomorrow morning. As long as she is patient, her wish will be fulfilled.

At daybreak, the prince called the prime minister and told him that he must find a way to get eight more rubies like yesterday. "If you don't get it, I will hang you!" cried the prince, because he was very angry.

The poor prime minister tried his best to argue that he didn't know where to look for it, but it was no use, the prince couldn't hear a word.

"You must get it," said he, "for the queen must not die for a few gems! Find those four where you got them!"

The prime minister left the palace very upset, and he sent his servants to fetch Lina.As soon as Lina entered the room, he immediately said to Lina: "Give me eight more rubies that are exactly the same as the four you sent yesterday. Eight, hurry up, or my life will be in danger."

"But how can I do it?" Lina wailed, "things like gems don't grow on trees!"

"Where did you get it?" asked the Prime Minister.

"Get it from the oil seller Langdner."

"Very well! Send for him, and ask him where he got it," said the Prime Minister. "I cannot be hanged for him, and twenty denas are not worth my life! ’ He immediately sent a servant to summon Dana.

When Dana arrived, they first questioned him carefully.Then the three went together to the prince, and Dana told him the whole story.

"Which night did you sleep on the bodhi tree?" the prince asked.

"I don't remember," Dana said, "but my wife should."

So they sent for Dana's wife to inquire, and Dana's wife said that it happened on the Sunday after the new moon.

Everyone knows that on the Sunday of the new moon, elves have a magical power to play tricks on mortals.Therefore, the prince ordered them that no one should speak out, and those who disobeyed the order would die.By Sunday of the next new moon, all four of them, Kohler, Moose, Lina, and Dana, went up to that linden tree and sat together to see what would happen.

The days passed day by day, and I finally looked forward to the appointed Sunday.At night, the four of them sneaked together and came into the forest.Not far away, they came to the Bodhi tree.As the prince had said, they climbed up the tree together.In the middle of the night, the tree began to shake, and then flew into the air.

"Look, gentlemen," whispered Dana, "the trees are flying!"

"Yes! Yes!" said the prince, "you are not lying. Now sit still, don't talk, and see what happens."

The tree flew farther and farther in the air, and the four people hugged the branches tightly.Finally, finally landed on the deserted coast.Huge waves were churning and crashing on the sand.Like what Dana saw last time, they also saw small bright spots, like fire, flickering around.At this moment, Dana thought to himself:

"Ah! Think about it! Last time I paid off all my debts with only the four gems that were with me. This time I can take as much as I can, and in this way I will be rich."

"If I can get ten thousand rupees for four stones," Lina thought, "this time I will get forty for myself, then I will be very rich, at least I can get a prime minister!"

"With four stones, I got ten villages," Moose thought silently, "This time, I must get enough gems to buy a kingdom, so that I can be a prince myself and hire A Prime Minister to serve me!"

The prince thought to himself: "What's the use of taking only eight gems! There are enough gems here for twenty necklaces; wealth means power!"

So, with their own greed, the four climbed down from the tree, untied their clothes, ran around, and began to pick up these gems.At the same time, I looked back at my companions from time to time, for fear that I had picked up less than others: they were so engrossed in thinking about getting rich that they didn't even notice that the dawn was coming.Suddenly, the tree was uprooted, flew into the air, and abandoned them on the beach. Everyone looked at the linden tree in the distance, and everyone was covered with heavy gems.

It's a new day in the capital.When the butler yelled that the prince had gone out the night before and hadn't returned all night, and hadn't come back yet, the palace was in a state of panic.

"Ah!" Someone said, "There is no need to worry. Prime Minister Moose will know where he is. He accompanied the king out of the palace yesterday."

So they came to the prime minister's house.They didn't know until they got there that the prime minister hadn't come back after going out the night before. "But," said one of the servants, "Lina the moneylender must know where he has gone, and the Prime Minister went with him."

They went to Lina's house again and learned that he too hadn't come back since he went out the night before.

The porter told them that Dana the oil seller had gone with Lina and that he must know where they were.

When they came to Dana's house, his wife greeted them weeping. She said that Dana had gone to Lina's house the night before and had not returned yet.

They searched and waited everywhere, but in vain.None of the four unfortunate people returned to their own homes.The fragmentary story told by Dana's wife became the only clue to their fate.

To this day, in this country, when a person ends up with nothing because of greed, people say:
"He's all gone!—Denner, Lena, Moose, and Kohler are all gone!" But how did that old saying come about, and what does it really mean? Five people know.

In the far east, there is a very hot country, where there is a beautiful small lake, where two wild ducks made their home.They swim and play in the clear water of the lake every day.Except for one turtle, the lake can be said to belong to them.This tortoise was much older than them and had come here before them.Fortunately, the two ducks didn't find the turtle annoying, but on the contrary, as is often the case, when there is only one person to talk to, you naturally become good friends.They are together most of the time.

Everything was so calm and happy until one summer, when there was no rain, the sun shone very strongly.Every morning, they noticed that there was less and less water in the lake and more and more mud on the shore.The lotus by the lake is listless, and the palm leaves on the bank hang their heads; the lake, where the ducks can dive deepest and is their favorite place, is now getting shallower and shallower.Finally, one morning, the two ducks looked at me anxiously, and I looked at you.When evening came, they muttered that if the rain did not come in two more days, they would have to leave here and make their homes elsewhere.If they stay in the home they love so much, they will die of thirst.

That night, for hours on end, they gazed eagerly at the sky, but there was not a single cloud in the sky, and the stars were scattered so low that it seemed as if one could pick them off with one's hand.Finally, exhausted at last, they tucked their heads in their wings and fell asleep.The next morning they made up their minds to go.

Before leaving, you have to tell the tortoise about their plan, and say goodbye to it by the way.

The duck saw that the tortoise was curled up comfortably on a pile of withered rushes, looking half asleep.It's old and can't go outside in hot weather like it used to.

"Ah! there you are," cried the Turtle. "I was just wondering if I should visit you. The lake is getting smaller and smaller, and I seem to be getting weaker and weaker. It’s lonely being alone like this.”

(End of this chapter)