The Tale of Good and Envy

THE GOOD MAN AND THE ENVIOUS MAN

Once upon a time, a good man and an envious man set off together on a long journey. They traveled and traveled, and soon ran out of food.

Then the envious man said to the good man:
— Kill your horse, and the next time I need to, I will kill mine.

The good man agreed and immediately killed his horse. And when that meat was finished, the envious man again said to his companion:
— Hey, good man, now I will kill my horse, but you close your eyes!

The good man closed his eyes, and the envious man struck the horse and rode away.

The good man opened his eyes and realized that the envious man had deceived him. Now the good man set off on the road alone. He walked and walked and soon reached a huge cave on the steep bank of a river. He climbed into the cave and lay down to rest. Suddenly, he saw a tiger and a wolf enter the cave. They sat down and began to tell each other what they had heard and seen.

The wolf said:
— I heard that not far from here lives a khan, and he has a daughter who is very ill. And in the mountains, the khan's sheep are grazing, and among that flock, there is a white sheep. If you cut out the liver of that sheep and feed it to the khan's daughter, she will recover immediately.

— And I know of an abandoned house not far from this cave,— said the tiger,— where there is a gold ingot the size of a horse's head. I often go into that house and admire the shine of the gold. I look at it and become stronger!

Soon the animals left.

The good man climbed out of the cave and continued on his way. He soon reached the abandoned house. He entered it and saw the gold ingot the size of a horse's head. The good man took it and carried it to the shepherd who was tending the khan's sheep.

He bought the white sheep from the shepherd for the ingot. The good man killed the sheep, took out its liver, and dried it. Then he went to the khan's palace. There he heard the voice of a herald.

— The khan's daughter is seriously ill! Who will heal her?

— I will try to heal the khan's daughter,— said the good man.

They brought him to the sick girl. The good man crushed the dried liver in a bowl and fed the khan's daughter with this powder.

She ate the sheep's liver and immediately recovered.

The khan was so pleased that he not only gave his daughter to the good man but also made him khan in his place.

And one day, the envious man came to the good man and asked:
— Hey, good man, how did you manage to become khan? The good man told him everything that had happened to him.

And the envious man wanted to achieve the same.

He also went to the steep bank of the river and hid in the same large cave. Soon the tiger and the wolf came there. The wolf said:
— Someone has learned about the white sheep, and now it is no longer in the flock.

The tiger added:
— My gold ingot has also disappeared, and I don't know who took it.

"Apparently, someone is hiding in this cave and eavesdropping on our conversations,"— the animals decided.

And they began to search. Soon the tiger and the wolf found the envious man and immediately tore him apart.

Kyrgyz Tales