‘Nonsense, indeed! Why, just look. Bless my soul, if there isn’t a fish,
a real pike I do believe, up in that tree.’
‘Gracious!’ cried his wife. ‘How did a pike get there? It IS a pike--you
needn’t attempt to say it’s not. Can people have said true----’
But the man only shook his head and shrugged his shoulders and opened
his mouth and gaped as if he really could not believe his own eyes.
‘What are you standing staring at there, stupid?’ said his wife. ‘Climb
up the tree quick and catch the pike, and we’ll cook it for dinner.’
The man climbed up the tree and brought down the pike, and they drove
on.
When they got near the stream he drew up.
‘What are you staring at again?’ asked his wife impatiently. ‘Drive on,
can’t you?’
‘Why, I seem to see something moving in that net I set. I must just go
and see what it is.’
He ran to it, and when he had looked in it he called to his wife:
‘Just look! Here is actually a four-footed creature caught in the net. I
do believe it’s a hare.’
‘Good heavens!’ cried his wife. ‘How did the hare get into your net? It
IS a hare, so you needn’t say it isn’t. After all, people must have said
the truth----’
But her husband only shook his head and shrugged his shoulders as if he
could not believe his own eyes.
‘Now what are you standing there for, stupid?’ cried his wife. ‘Take up
the hare. A nice fat hare is a dinner for a feast day.’
The old man caught up the hare, and they drove on to the place where the
treasure was buried. They swept the twigs away, dug up the earth, took
out the pot, and drove home again with it.
And now the old couple had plenty of money and were cheery and
comfortable. But the wife was very foolish. Every day she asked a lot
of people to dinner and feasted them, till her husband grew quite
impatient. He tried to reason with her, but she would not listen.
‘You’ve got no right to lecture me!’ said she. ‘We found the treasure
together, and together we will spend it.’
Her husband took patience, but at length he said to her: ‘You may do as
you please, but I sha’n’t give you another penny.’
The old woman was very angry. ‘Oh, what a good-for-nothing fellow to
want to spend all the money himself! But just wait a bit and see what I
shall do.’
Off she went to the governor to complain of her husband.
‘Oh, my lord, protect me from my husband! Ever since he found the
treasure there is no bearing him. He only eats and drinks, and won’t
work, and he keeps all the money to himself.’
The governor took pity on the woman, and ordered his chief secretary to
look into the matter.
The secretary called the elders of the village together, and went with
them to the man’s house.
‘The governor,’ said he, ‘desires you to give all that treasure you
found into my care.’
The man shrugged his shoulders and said: ‘What treasure? I know nothing
about a treasure.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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