Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 6 1888.djvu/261

 Rh to you." He answered them: "If you're not wiser than another, go, and you will hear." But this he said to his elder brother, on account of the simpleton, that he, too, might go to his father to hear and see.

Then the simpleton, too, went by himself to his father, and asked him: "Father, my two brothers won't tell me what you have said to them. Tell me why your right eye always laughs and your left eye weeps?" His father immediately flew into a rage, seized a knife, and brandished the knife to pierce him through; but as he was standing so he remained standing where he was, and wasn't frightened in the least. When his father saw that, he came to him and said, "Well, you're my true son, I will tell you, but those two are cowards. The reason why my right eye laughs is, that I rejoice and am glad because you children obey and serve me well. And why my left eye weeps, it weeps on this account: I had in my garden a vine, which poured forth a bucket of wine every hour, thus producing me twenty-four buckets of wine every day and night. This wine has been stolen from me, and I have not been able to find it, nor do I know who has taken it or where it is. And for this reason my left eye weeps, and will weep till I die unless I find it." When the simpleton came out of doors his brothers asked him what his father had said, and he told them all in order.

Then they prepared a drinking-bout for their father and the domestics, and set out on their journey. On the journey they came to a cross-road, and three ways lay before them. The two elder consulted together, and said to their youngest brother, the simpleton: "Come, brother! let us each choose a road, and let each go by himself, and seek his fortune." "Yes, brothers!" answered the simpleton; "you choose each a road, I will take that which remains to me." The two elder took two roads which ran into each other, started on their way, and afterward met, came out into one road, and said: "Praise be to God that we're quit of that fool!" They then sat down to take their dinner. Scarcely had they sat down to eat, when up came a lame fox on three legs, approached them, fawning and begging to obtain something to eat. But as soon as they saw the fox: "Here's a fox," said they, "come, let us kill it." Then