Lilac Fairy Book

Chapter 30 The Poor Brother and the Rich Brother (1)
Once upon a time there was a rich old man who had two sons. His wife had died, so the eldest son lived with him and helped him take care of his property.For a long time, everything went smoothly.The young man got up early in the morning and worked hard all day.Every weekend, my father has to count the money he earns.Seeing that the gold coins in the sturdy iron box had turned into a huge pile, he rubbed his hands happily. "It won't be long before the iron box is full, and then I have to buy a bigger one." He said to himself.He was so preoccupied with his money that he didn't notice the joy on his son's face, or how often he would startle when he was talking to him, as if lost in thought.

One day, the old man went to the city to do business. He hadn't been to the city for three years.That day coincided with the fair, and he met many acquaintances.It was late when he walked into the hotel compound.He ordered the groom to saddle the horse and bring it over immediately.While he was waiting in the lobby, the proprietress came over to chat with him.After talking about the weather and the vineyards, she asked him how he felt about his new daughter-in-law, and whether he was surprised by the marriage.

When the old man heard this, his eyes widened. "Daughter-in-law? Marriage?" he said. "I don't understand what you're talking about! I don't have any daughter-in-law, and I haven't heard of anyone getting married lately."

That's what the curious landlady wanted to know, but she put on a look of great dismay, and exclaimed, "Oh, my God! I hope I'm right. I don't know, my dear, of course, I shouldn't have said it, but..." At this point, she stopped talking, and fumbled her hands on the apron, as if she was very embarrassed.

"Now that you've said so much, there's no harm in saying a little more," retorted the old man, who suddenly guessed what she meant.Then the woman replied, as before, without the slightest reluctance: "Well, your handsome son has been coming to town every week for months, and not all for business. And not on the nearest road." By the way! By the way, he came from the other side of the river on horseback, over the hillside, and passed by Miguel’s house who was looking at the vineyard. Although I think his daughter is too white, but everyone They say she is the most handsome girl in the whole village." At this point, the proprietress stopped again.She glanced at the old man to see how he reacted, but she didn't see much tricks.His face was expressionless, his eyes staring straight ahead.When she stopped talking, he said calmly, "Go on."

"There's nothing more to say." The proprietress replied.It occurred to her that she had to prepare supper for the hungry guests before the market-goers went home, "But one fine morning they both went into that little church on the top of the hill and were married. My cousin A servant to the parson, she found out and told me. Good-bye, sir, here's your horse, and I must hurry to the kitchen."

Fortunately the horse walked steadily and knew the way, for the reins hung loosely around his neck, and his master paid no attention to which way he was going.As soon as they got back to the farmhouse, the old man led the horse into the stable, and went off to find his son.

"I know everything, you lied to me. Get the hell out of me immediately, I want to break up with you." He was so excited that he couldn't breathe, and said incoherently.Meanwhile his son was whistling merrily and chopping wood at the door.

"But, Dad—"

"You are not my son, now I only have one son. Go away, or I will make you look good." He said, raising his whip.

The young man stepped back quickly.He was afraid that his father would faint, seeing how red his face was, and his eyes seemed to be about to burst out of his head.It was useless to stay there any longer: perhaps the old man would be able to listen to his explanation the next morning, but the son felt in his heart that he would never take back what he had said.So he walked away slowly, plodding along a path.The path leads to a cave in the hillside next to their house.All night he sat in the cave, thinking about everything that had happened.

Yes, he was wrong, there was no doubt about it, and he himself did not quite know how it happened.He had intended to tell his father all about it, and believed, strongly believed, that if the old man had seen his daughter-in-law, he would have put up with her poverty because of her extraordinary beauty and kindness.He put this matter back day by day, always hoping to wait for a better time, but now he ended up like this!

If the son didn't close his eyes that night, the father also stayed up all night.As soon as the sun rose, he sent someone to the city to call his youngest son back.As soon as the younger son came home, the farmer told him without saying a word, that he was now his sole heir, and would inherit all the land and money, and that he would come back to live at home and help him manage the property .

The relationship between the two brothers is very weak.The younger brother, although he was very happy at the thought of becoming a rich man, preferred to stay where he had been.He soon tires of country life and longs to return to the city.Even so, he didn't say it, but went with the situation and worked as hard as his brother used to.

Year after year passed like this, but the harvest was not as good as before, so the old man stopped work on the big house the family built in the city, fearing that all his savings would be spent.As for the eldest son, he didn't even want to hear his name mentioned by others. In the end, he passed away without even seeing him face to face.As previously promised, he left all his estates and money to his youngest son.

Meanwhile, his disinherited eldest son grew poorer.He and his wife were always looking for work, and saving every penny they could, but they had bad luck, and when his father died they were barely fed and clothed.If he was alone, he might still be able to manage to live on, but it was unbearable for him to see his children losing weight day by day. At last, he condescended to endure the humiliation and went over the mountains and mountains to return to the old home where his brothers lived. .

This is the first time the two have been together face to face in a long time.They looked at each other silently.Then, tears welled up in my elder brother's eyes, and he blinked quickly to hold back the tears and said:

"Brother, I don't need to tell you how poor I am, you can see for yourself. I didn't come to ask for money, but to ask if I could give me the half-built houses in the city. I figured out how to make them stop leaking, so the wife and kids would have a place to live and save on rent. That half-baked house isn't going to bring you any money anyway."

After hearing this, the younger brother felt sorry for him, so he gave him the houses that his elder brother wanted.The elder brother left happily.

In this way, after a few more years, the rich younger brother began to feel lonely, thinking that he was getting older day by day, and it was time to start a family.His fancy wife is very rich, but she is also very greedy. No matter how much family property she has, she always wants more.Besides, she was one of those unfortunates who always think that other people's property is more than their own.The poor husband often regretted that he had just met her in this life, and her pettiness often made him lose face.But he didn't have the guts to control her, so she intensified her efforts.

A few months into their wedding, the bride thought of going into town to buy herself some new clothes.She had never been to the city before.After shopping, she wanted to visit her sister-in-law whom she hadn't met yet, and rest at her house.The house stood on a broad street.It should have been a very grand house, but there was a simple log door on the exquisitely carved stone colonnade, and there was nothing at the end of the row of beautiful pillars.The houses on both sides of the colonnade were not completed, and the water trickled down the walls drop by drop.Most people would think that this is a dilapidated place and avoid it, but this lady found that with a little money, these houses can be repaired to be as magnificent as the original design, so she immediately made up her mind to make the house The house is his own.

Preoccupied with this matter, she went up the marble stairs, and into a small room, where she saw her sister-in-law sitting sewing clothes for the child.The bride seemed to be very interested in the house and asked a lot of questions, making the two new relatives unexpectedly fall in love with her and hope that everyone can become good friends.However, as soon as she got home, she immediately went to her husband and asked him to take the houses back from her brother, because they were so well suited to her liking, that she could easily make them as beautiful as a palace.The husband said nothing, but told her that she could buy houses elsewhere in the city, that she could not get them, that they had been given to her brother long ago, and that he had lived there for many years.

(End of this chapter)