“The Peasant and the Sheep” is one of the fairy tales told to the girl Alice. This tale is written in the Ukrainian language and is part of Chapter 5 in the collection titled “Tales for Future Generations.”

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THE PEASANT AND THE SHEEP

*Attention! All rights to the texts and illustrations are protected by copyright. Author of the work: Olga-Maria.

A peasant walked across the plain. He pondered the fact that today he had lost his flock of sheep and what he should do next. He understood that getting upset about it wouldn’t change anything. So, he decided to pray. The peasant prayed for a long time, raising his hands to the sky. Gradually, the darkness began to change with the dawn. In the morning, the peasant hoped to see his lost sheep. After a sleepless night of prayer, the man’s eyes closed, and he fell asleep. He slept for a long time. When he woke up, the sun was already shining brightly.

The peasant looked around, hoping with all his heart to see his lost flock of sheep. But they were nowhere to be found. The man felt sad, hanging his head. However, he quickly gathered his spiritual strength because he didn’t allow himself to feel sorry or get angry. The peasant began to call his sheep, but they did not respond. Once again, the man started praying.

He prayed and walked. He walked wherever his feet took him. He walked a considerable distance and saw a settlement ahead. So, he decided to enter it. To his great joy, he saw a large flock of sheep. However, it was much larger than his own. What happened was that his sheep had joined the nobleman’s sheepfold. The peasant wanted to make sure he wasn’t mistaken. He sang and played his flute, and immediately his sheep began to turn around, bleating and baaing.

The peasant approached the landlord:

– Give back my flock of sheep, – he says.

And the landlord replies:

– Go graze your flock and my sheep. Do your best, and then I’ll give you 5 gold coins for it. You’ll work for a month.

The peasant agreed. So, the month passed. All the sheep were safe and well-fed. The peasant came to the landlord, who gave him 5 gold coins and said:

– Stay a little longer. This time I’ll pay you 7 gold coins. You work hard.

The peasant thought for a moment and agreed to work a bit more.

Time passed. Each time after the term ended, the landlord paid him in full and asked him to stay. The sheep were well taken care of, and the flock began to grow. Young lambs were born soon. Three years went by.

The next time the peasant approached the landlord:

– Thank you, sir. You have always generously paid me for my work, but now it’s time for me to go to my homeland, to my ancestors’ land.

The landlord didn’t insist on him staying any longer and let the peasant go with his sheep. During this time, the peasant had earned quite a bit of money. With joy and great hope, he set out on the road.

Whether he walked for a long time or a short time, soon he saw his native land. Everything here was familiar to him. The peasant rejoiced but not for long. He saw that there was hunger in this land, and his sheep lacked food.

– What to do? – the peasant pondered. – Go to a foreign land again so that his sheep could be well-fed, or stay here where his heart found sweetness. But there is not enough food here to feed my sheep.

The choice was not easy. The peasant did not rush, carefully considering everything. Finally, he decided:

– I will stay here and sow green meadows for my sheep.

And so he did. Spending some of his money, he planted a field with succulent grass – alfalfa. This became the food for the sheep. However, the peasant could no longer handle everything on his own. He needed to fence his land, build a winter pen for the sheep. The peasant hired a few workers. Then he plowed and planted another field. Gradually, his native land began to flourish. People became more friendly; they smiled, laughed, and sang songs again.

Everything would have been fine, but there was a lack of water in this settlement. The peasant turned to the leaders of the village, but they didn’t want to hear anything about it. In response, the peasant told them that no matter how well he felt in his homeland, he might have to leave it again, take his flock and go to foreign lands. He couldn’t leave his flock without water.

But the officials didn’t want the peasant to leave the area. He had done a lot of good in this time. The village had never been so green before. And how could they let go of an entire flock of sheep? There were many discussions on what to do, but gradually, they agreed and allocated funds to drill a well and lay a water channel.

So, one peasant was able to restore order in his homeland and make the people well-fed, happy, and comforted.

People developed a desire to work and labor for the common good. And the peasant’s sheep were happily bleating and playing in the green pastures.

~THE END~

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