The Priest’s Worker

In a village, a priest had a large vegetable garden and a field outside the village. In spring the field needed ploughing. He hired a young worker named Fedya…

In a village, a priest had a large vegetable garden and a field outside the village. In spring the field needed ploughing. He hired a young worker named Fedya for the job, agreed a fair wage with him in advance and showed him a calm brown horse with a dark mane. In the morning the priest handed Fedya a large round loaf and set a condition: “By evening you must have eaten enough, the dog Druzhok must have eaten enough, and the loaf must still be whole.”

Fedya put the bread in a clean bag and set off for the field. Before noon he ploughed a long, straight strip. When the sun stood high, Druzhok appeared at the edge of the ploughed field. He sat down beside Fedya and wagged his tail. Fedya took out the loaf and remembered the unusual condition. He was not allowed to break the bread, yet both he and Druzhok needed to eat.

Fedya examined the loaf carefully. He gently lifted off the top crust like the lid of a round box, took out some of the soft bread inside and divided it equally. He put one share in a wooden bowl for Druzhok and ate the other himself, drinking spring water with it. Then Fedya put the crust back in place. From the outside the loaf looked whole, although it was noticeably lighter.

At sunset Fedya returned to the yard. The priest asked whether Fedya had eaten enough, whether the dog had eaten enough and whether the loaf was still whole. Fedya answered “yes” to each question, then handed him the loaf. The priest turned it over in his hands, noticed the neatly replaced crust and laughed good-naturedly. The condition had been a riddle, and Fedya had found a sensible solution.

The priest praised Fedya for his cleverness and for remembering Druzhok. He paid Fedya more than they had agreed and offered him work for the whole summer. From then on, they often turned everyday jobs into little riddles: how to water the garden beds gently, how to carry apples and how to share bread among guests. Fedya always thought of those around him first, and then looked for a solution.