The Tale of the Fortune Teller
THE FORTUNE TELLER
Once upon a time, there lived a poor man with a nagging wife. One day, his wife said to him:
— Are you a man or not? How long will I have to walk around in tattered rags and only dream of being full someday? Go and bring me money for food and new clothes!
— Who will give me money? — the husband was surprised,
— Well, I will teach you where to get money, — said the wife. — Here is a handkerchief and forty dry sheep droppings.
Go and sit at the fork of two roads, spread the handkerchief on the grass, and scatter the droppings on it. When someone approaches and asks what you are doing, tell them you are a great fortune teller and that you can determine where lost cattle are by these droppings. For your fortune telling, you will receive money, and just say whatever comes to your mind.
The poor man tried to refuse, but his wife was persistent, and he had to submit to her will. He sat at the fork of two roads, spread the handkerchief, and scattered the forty droppings on it. After a little while, one of the passersby stopped and was curious about what the poor man was doing.
— I can find anyone's lost cattle by these droppings, — the poor man replied.
— What luck! — exclaimed the traveler. — I just lost my donkey. Here is some money for you, just tell me how to find it.
The poor man thought for a moment, not knowing what to say to the traveler. For some reason, he remembered how once, when he was ill, a visiting doctor advised him to drink an infusion of a certain herb, and he advised the traveler to do the same.
— Am I sick with something, — the traveler was surprised, — to drink this herb? And what does it have to do with my lost donkey?
— First do what I told you, and then you will see, — the fortune teller replied importantly.
When the traveler left, the fortune teller grabbed the money, the handkerchief, and threw away the droppings. When he got home, he handed the money and the handkerchief to his wife and said that he would never engage in fortune telling again. But everything turned out differently.
The traveler, upon returning home, drank the infusion of the herb that the fortune teller had recommended. After a while, he felt sick to his stomach and ran deep into the reeds to recover. When he felt better, he heard a rustling, looked up, and saw his donkey. Overjoyed, he found the fortune teller and gave him more money for such an amazing fortune telling.
Since then, the poor man was known as a great fortune teller.
Kyrgyz Tales
