Translation:Collection of Slavic Folk Tales/XX
XX
THE GOSSIP
(UKRAINIAN TALE)
There was once a farmer and his wife. While plowing his field, the man found a treasure; he brought it home and said to his wife:
"Look! God has sent us fortune: but where to hide this find[1]?"
"Let's dig a hole under the floor; no one will steal it."
What was said was done.
The wife went out to fetch water. Left alone, the husband began to think: "My wife is terribly talkative; tomorrow the whole village will know our secret." He took the treasure from its hiding place and buried it in his barn under a pile of wheat, then smoothed out the cottage's floor.
The wife, as soon as she reached the fountain, couldn't help telling her neighbor about the marvelous find.
"Above all," she added, "keep my secret." But God knows if the gossip had a tight tongue.
It wasn't enough to change the hiding place; he had to throw off the curious.
When the wife returned, the husband said very seriously:
"Tomorrow, we'll go to the forest to catch fish: they say there are plenty right now."
"What! Fish in the forest?"
"Of course, you'll see."
"Fine; but I've never seen such a thing."
The next morning, the husband got up before dawn and took fish he had hidden in a basket; then he went to the grocer to buy a large supply of macaroons and headed to the forest. On the way, he met a sleeping hare, killed it, and took it. After staying in the woods for a while, he returned home before his wife woke up.
After breakfast, they set off for the forest. Barely entering, the wife found a pike, then a perch, then a roach. She had never been to such a feast. She filled a basket with these fish.
Leaving the forest, they passed a large pear tree. Macaroons hung from its branches.
"Look," cried the wife, "macaroons on a pear tree!"
"It's only natural," said the man; "it rained macaroons, and some stayed on the pear tree. Passersby ate the rest."
Continuing toward the village, they passed near a stream.
"Wait a bit," said the husband: "I set my net this morning; I'll see if I caught anything."
He pulled in his net: in it was a hare.
"What a marvel! A hare in the water!" cried the wife.
"Silly, didn't you know there are water hares just like water rats?"
"No, truly, I didn't know."
They returned home; the wife began preparing supper and went to fetch water from her neighbor. She stayed away a long time. Obviously, she was telling what she had seen that day. Within a few days, the whole village knew the couple had found a treasure. The farmer couldn't go out without someone mentioning it. He denied it in vain, nothing worked.
The next day, his wife arrived out of breath:
"Something's happening in the village: the peasants are chasing a man and beating him; he's screaming terribly."
"I know what it is: our lord stole sausages from the butcher; they're dragging him through the village and beating him with sausages."
"Well deserved," said the wife.
By the end of the next week, the farmer was called to the castle. The lord asked:
"Is it true you found a treasure?"
The man didn't want to admit it; he denied, he protested.
"Don't lie," said the lord, "your wife told me everything."
"Well! my lord, you know my wife is mad, she doesn't know what she's saying."
"Tell the truth, or you'll be beaten," shouted the lord. "Bring the rods!"
"It's the truth. He found a treasure and buried it under our cottage's floor."
"And when was this?"
"The day before we went to the forest to catch fish."
"What did you say?"
"Yes, it was the day it rained macaroons; we gathered a whole basket, and on the way back, my husband caught a fine hare in the river."
"Come now, you're mad; think carefully."
"Absolutely, my lord; it was a week before the day the villagers chased you, beating you with sausages, because you stole from the butcher."
This time the lord flew into a rage. He wanted to have the woman given twenty lashes; but the husband interceded, saying:
"You see, my lord, the poor woman is mad."
The lord calmed down; still, he had the floor searched. They found nothing at all, and the cunning fellow kept his treasure.
- ↑ Why hide it? Likely because the lord, who plays a quite ridiculous role in this tale, had the right to claim all treasures found by his peasants.