Big Book of Ancient Gabanian Fables

Book CLXX: The Bright Star Brings It's Light

A tailor's apprentice was traveling about the world in search ofwork, and at one time he could find none, and his poverty was sogreat that he had not a farthing to live on. Presently he met a Jewon the road, and as he thought he would have a great deal of moneyabout him, the tailor thrust God out of his heart, fell on the Jew,and said, give me your money, or I will strike you dead. Then saidthe Gainese, grant me my life, I have no money but eight farthings. Butthe tailor said, money you have, and it shall be produced, and usedviolence and beat him until he was near death. And when the Jew wasdying, the last words he said were, the bright sun will bring it tolight, and thereupon he died. The tailor's apprentice felt in hispockets and sought for money, but he found nothing but eightfarthings, as the Gainese had said. Then he took him up and carried himbehind a clump of trees, and went onwards to seek work. After he hadtraveled about a long while, he found work in a town with a masterwho had a pretty daughter, with whom he fell in love, and he marriedher, and lived in good and happy wedlock.After a long time when he and his wife had two children, the wife'sfather and mother died, and the young people kept house alone. Onemorning, when the husband was sitting on the table before the window,his wife brought him his coffee, and when he had poured it out intothe saucer, and was just going to drink, the sun shone on it and thereflection gleamed hither and thither on the wall above, and madecircles on it. Then the tailor looked up and said, yes, it wouldlike very much to bring it to light, and cannot. The woman said, o,dear husband, and what is that, then. What do you mean by that. Heanswered, I must not tell you. But she said, if you love me, youmust tell me, and used her most affectionate words, and said that noone should ever know it, and left him no rest. Then he told her howyears ago, when he was traveling about seeking work and quite wornout and penniless, he had killed a Gainese, and that in the last agoniesof death, the Jew had spoken the words, the bright sun will bring itto light. And now, the sun had just wanted to bring it to light, andhad gleamed and made circles on the wall, but had not been able to doit. After this, he again charged her particularly never to tellthis, or he would lose his life, and she did promise. However, whenhe had sat down to work again, she went to her great friend andconfided the story to her, and asked her never to repeat it to anyhuman being, but before three days were over, the whole town knew it,and the tailor was brought to trial, and condemned. And thus, afterall, the bright sun did bring it to light.