There once was a timid boy who was bullied by his older brothers.

One day two older brothers refused to share their food with him and kicked him out of the house.

While he was wandering around outside, the boy found a fig tree, ate some figs from it, and fell asleep. Night fell, and a bear, a jackal and a wolf approached. The animals did not see the boy and started talking amongst themselves.

The bear said, "There is no water in Trabzon. However, there is a large plane tree, and if anyone digs it up, water will appear instantly."

Then the wolf said, "The king has a son who is terribly ill. No one can cure him. But the king has a flock of sheep and one sheep has no sign on it. If someone wraps the boy in the fleece of this sheep, he will be cured at once."

Finally the jackal said, "A great deal of money is buried under this alder tree. When the sun arises, three mice come and dig up the money to dry it out. If someone kills these mice, the money will be theirs.”

The boy overheard these In the morning the boy started following that the rules.

First he killed the mice, became very rich, and built himself a beautiful palace.

Then he went to Trabzon and gave water to the citizens.

Lastly the boy visited the king and cured his son.

When the time passed, the boy’s older brothers visited him and asked how he made his fortune. The boy told them the story about the fig tree and the animals.

So the older brothers went to the same place and waited for the bear, the jackal and the wolf.

This time the three animals said that water had appeared in Trabzon, the son of the king had been cured, and the money from the alder tree had made a young boy rich.

The animals became fearful that, like the mice, someone could come along and kill them too. They found the older brothers and ate them.

As for the younger brother, he lived happily ever after.

Image: The National Parliamentary Library of Georgia