Fortune Meets Reason
One bright sunny day, Reason met Fortune on a footbridge.
"Let me pass," said Fortune.
Reason, who was inexperienced, did not now who should go first and said, "Why should I? You are no better than me."
"The one who manages to do more," replied Fortune, "is better. See that young furre who ploughs the fields? Get inside him and if he is better with you than with me, I will let you pass anytime and anywhere we meet."
Reason agreed, and when the young furre felt reason in his head, he began to think, 'Why should I plow fields all day?' He stopped plowing and went home.
"Father," he said. I do not like farming. I want to be a gardener."
His father was quite upset. "Have you become a fool?" he roared.
But when the father thought about it, he said, "If that's what you want, very well. May the Primes be with you."
The young furre lost his inheritance but did not mind at all. He went away to learn at the royal gardener. He learnt quickly and soon he learned on his own and did not need the gardener.
The royal garden became nicer and nicer and the king was very pleased and often walked in it with the queen and their only daughter. The daughter was very beautiful, but had stopped speaking when she was 12, which troubled the king greatly. He announced that the one who would teach her to speak would marry her. Many tried, but the princess remained silent.
The young furre decided that he should try as well and went to the palace where he was led to the princess. She had a pet bird which she liked very much because it understood everything she wanted. When the young furre entered her room, he did not so much as look at the princess, but began speaking to the bird.
"I heard you are very smart, and I need advice. You see, we were threee journeyfurres - a carver, a tailor, and me. We were sleeping in the forest, and each of us had a watch that night. First, the carver watched, but was bored and carved a girl out of wood. Then the tailor woke, and he made a dress for the wooden girl. When I awoke, I taught her her to speak. In the morning, everybody wanted to have the girl. The carver said, "I made her" and the tailor said, "I mad a dress for her" Tell me little bird, who should have the girl?"
The bird was silent, but the princess answered instead. "Who else than you should have her? What is the carvers girl without life? What is the tailors dress without speech? You gave the best gift - life and speech."
"You decided about yourself!" cried the young furre. "I gave speech and new life to you."
Now, the king grew angry with this for he did not want his daughter marrying a gardener. "You cannot marry her, but I will give you a good reward."
The young furre did not want to hear this and said. "You promised. The king's word is law and if you want people to behave according to law, the king must behave that way as well."
"Bind him up!" shouted the king's counsellor.
"Cut off his head!" shouted the king.
The young furre was bound and led to the place of execution, and Fortune said to Reason, "You see, he is not very well with you. Get out so I can get into you place."
When Fortune got inside the young furre, the headsman's axe broke and before they could get a new one, the royal crier came and after him the royal coach. The princess stepped out and made her father keep his word.
"You are right," he said, and made the young furre a duke.
When there was the wedding reception, Reason came there but seeing he would meet Fortune, he ran away. And ever since that time, when Reason meets Fortune, Reason gets away so Fortune can pass.