The Dwarves Controversy

Once a man was walking through a forest and came across a small one Clearing where three dwarves were engaged in a heated argument. They hit, pushed, bit each other, kicked each other and grabbed each other's hair so that it was horrible to look at. The man kicked closer and asked what their argument was about. »Very good, farmer, that you have come," shouted the dwarves - "you can be a judge and settle our dispute!" The man said: "First tell me Cause your dispute so that I can do justice. But screams not all at once, but one speaking at the same time and clearly, so that I from what you say." "Very well," replied One of the dwarves. »I want you the origin of our dispute explain. Look! Yesterday our father died and we three brothers wanted now divide his inheritance among themselves; and that's where it came from Quarrel." The man asked: "What kind of inheritance did he leave you? Father?" "Here is all his inheritance," he replied speaking dwarf, and showed the man an old felt hat, a pair Bast shoes and a good club.

“Don’t be unreasonable,” said the man, “they are useless things worthy of strife? A smarter person would put them all together throw on a dung heap. But since you don't want that, share because. There are three of you, and the Father has left three things, So one take the hat, another the bast shoes and the third that Stick, that's all right." "That's not possible!" they shouted Dwarves. »No one is allowed to share these things, otherwise the secret will disappear power from it; "Things must remain undivided." The man inquired Now let's move on to why we shouldn't separate these useless things, and One of the dwarves gave him the following information:

"That old, plain, wrinkled hat you see there is for him, who carries it, the greatest treasure. When he has his hat on, look He Everything that happens in the world, be it near or far, visible or invisible; -- yes, the owner of the hat even recognizes the thoughts the human. He then puts on the bast shoes and says: I want to Courland or Poland, he doesn't need to do anything other than that He lifts his foot: he immediately arrives at the desired location. The wearer of the hat and bast shoes then takes the stick in his hand and hits the air with it, everything must melt in front of him, no matter what Friend or foe. Yes, rigid rocks, mountains and even evil spirits must shrink before this stick, because it is even more powerful than that Thunderbolt, Pikne's Arrow. You can now see for yourself that these three Things cannot be separated, but we must deal with them one after the other serve, one today, another tomorrow and the third the day after."

"The matter seems fun enough," said the man who listened to it A good thought arose from this story. »But if I were yours If I want to settle the inheritance dispute, I first have to try and see if that can happen Everything you say is true." "You can do that," they shouted Dwarves as one, “but hurry up. Today will be in Courland just celebrated a magnificent wedding, and our entire friendship and the clan has gathered there. We want to go there too.” That Mann replied: “You can do that easily if the vaunted one There really is magic in things.” Then he took that first I picked up an old, wrinkled hat and saw that it wasn't made of felt was made, but rather from scraps of human nails duration. When he put on the hat, he became the magnificent wedding Courland and everything else that was happening in the wide world. Then he said to the dwarves: “Now put the bast shoes on me and give give me the stick, then all three of you stand in a row, with your backs to it me and your face turned towards the morning, but don't look around, as until I give you the information as to how you can do your magical things to him "You have to share according to your father's will." -- The simple dwarves fulfilled the judge's orders without objection and turned their faces morning and turned their backs on him. When the man had the hat on his head and had the bast shoes on his feet, he swung the club a few times He flipped it in the air and then let it fall hard onto the dwarves. In an instant they were swept away and there was no trace of them of them remained as three drops of water on the Lady's mantle leaf on which the little men had stood.

Since the first test piece had worked so well for him, the man made up his mind to go to Courland for the wedding. With this wish he raised his foot and shouted: "To the Curonian wedding!" and was there at the same moment arrived at the festival. There he found a large crowd of people gathered together, high and low, for the giver of the wedding was one much-named rich innkeeper. Because the man with the magic hat has hidden things He saw what was just as well perceived as what was revealed when he closed his eyes The ceiling was raised so that there was a ceiling on it and on the drying rods. There was a swarm of small guests whose crowd seemed to be much larger, than those of the invited guests below. But no one could do that except him see small people. The little ones whispered: “Look! the old Ohm is also came to the wedding." -- "No!" shouted others, -- "that one Strange man probably has the uncle's hat, bast shoes and stick, but the uncle "I'm not here myself." In the meantime the bowls with the food were applied, with lids lying on top. Then the all-seeing one saw something None of the others noticed that she had a wonderful thing Speed ​​the good food out of the bowls and worse ones were put in for it. That's exactly how it went with them Jugs and bottles. Now the all-seeing one asked for the master of the house, came to him with a proper greeting and said: “Don’t take it offended that I came to your party unexpectedly as an unknown stranger. “You are welcome,” replied the innkeeper. “We have food and drink enough so that one or another uninvited guest does not become a nuisance to us can." The all-seeing one replied: "I want to believe that a guest more or less not annoying here, but if the number of Uninvited guests exceed those invited, but he can do that too "I don't understand what you're saying," said the landlord. The stranger gave him his hat and said: “Put on my hat "Open up and lift your eyes up to the ceiling and you'll see." Wirth did so, and when he saw what kind of pranks the little guests were doing As he finished the meal he became deathly pale and cried out with a trembling voice Voice: “Oh, friend! my soul has nothing of these guests known; and when I take off your hat again, they have disappeared. How Could I get rid of them?" The owner of the hat replied: "I I'll get the little guests away from you soon if you can Lead invited guests out for a short time, doors and windows You want to close it carefully and make sure that there are no knotholes anywhere or a gap in the wall remains unblocked." Although the fixer Although he didn't really trust what was going on, he did what the stranger asked and asked him to chase the little cream puffs out.

After a little while the room was cleared of the invited guests cleared, doors, windows and other openings carefully closed, and the All-Seeing One was alone with the little guests. Then he started to swing his club against the ceiling and in the corners of the room, that it was a pleasure to see! In a few moments the whole crowd was there of the little guests were destroyed, and there were so many lying in the hall Drops of water as if it had rained heavily. There was only one drill hole By chance it remained unclogged, one of the dwarfs hatched out of it, although the club still grazed the fugitive. He groaned in the yard: “Ai, ai, what pain! Many a time I have I tasted old Papa Pikne's arrows, but that was nothing against it this stick.”

When the innkeeper, with the help of the miracle hat, convinced himself that... After the room had been cleaned of the little dwarves, he invited the guests back to enter. At the table the all-seeing one saw through the secret ones Thoughts of the wedding guests, and learned some things that the others didn't know about punished. The bridegroom was more desirous of his possessions father-in-law, than his young wife; these, which as girls had had to do with the squire of the estate, hoped through her husband and her hood to cover her shame. -- It's a shame that in our country These days hats like this can no longer be found anywhere.