Once, there lived two brothers, one rich and the other poor. One day, the poor brother went to the rich one to borrow a horse as he wanted to get wood from the forest. The rich brother gave him the horse but not the horse-collar. The poor brother tied the sledge to the horse’s tail and thus drove to the forest. He loaded so much wood that the horse was not able to draw it. When he reached home, the horse stumbled and lost his tail. When the rich brother saw his horse without the tail, he was very angry. He set out with the poor brother for Judge Shemyaka to make a complaint. On the way, they decided to spend the night at the merchant’s house. The merchant treated the rich brother well and also gave him dinner. The poor man got nothing to eat. Feeling hungry, he rolled over the bed throughout the night. Suddenly, he fell off the stove on to a cradle lying beside it. The merchant’s baby in the cradle died.
The Complaint
Now, the merchant was very angry. He wanted the poor man to be punished. So, he also went along with the brothers to Judge Shemyaka. On the way, all of them had to pass through a bridge. Th poor man was so scared that he decided to end his life and jumped over the bridge. The poor man was again unlucky. At that time, a son was carrying his sick father on a sledge to a bath-house. The poor man fell on the sledge and crushed the old man. Now, the son also joined the rich brother and the merchant to the Judge to make the poor man’s complaint. First, the rich brother appeared before Judge Shemyaka and complained. While he was complaining, the poor man took a stone and tied it in a towel. He stood behind his brother and held it up to the Judge, intending to kill him if he did not decide in his favour. The judge was keenly looking at the poor man and was feeling in his heart of hearts.
The Greedy Judge
The Judge thought that the towel was filled with rubles. The thought of rubles made him greedy. He ordered the rich man to give the horse back to the poor brother till the horse’s tail would grow again. Now, came the merchant with his complaint about the death of his baby. Hoping for more bribe, the judge said, “Send your wife to live in the poor man’s house till she has another baby.” Thereafter, the son came and accused the poor man. The poor man again held up the stone. The judge thought of getting hundred rubles more. So, the judge ordered, “Go and stand on the bridge while the poor man passes under it. Then, jump upon him in the same manner as he jumped on your father and crush him.” Back home, the poor brother went to the rich one to take the horse as per the Judge’s order.
The Poor Man Becomes Rich
The rich man was not willing to give his horse. Instead, he gave the poor man five rubles, three bushels of corn, and a milch goat. So, they settled their matter. Now, the poor man went to the merchant whose baby had died. The merchant offered him fifty rubles and a cow with her calf. The poor man was reluctant. So, the merchant also offered a mare with her foal, and five measures of grain. The poor man accepted and went away. Next, the poor man went to the son. He tried to make peace with the poor man, and gave him two hundred rubles, five measures of corn and a horse. Now, Judge Shemyaka sent his servant to the poor man to take three hundred rubles. The poor man showed him the stone and said, “If the judge had not decided in my favour, I would have killed him.” The servant went back to the judge and told him everything. The judge said, “Thank God, I decided in this man’s favour!”
