The Clever Husband and Wife

The Clever Husband and Wife

Once there lived a man named Pedro who had worked for many years in a doctor's household. He helped in the garden, carried water, looked after the property, and did whatever errands were needed. The doctor treated him well, and one day he noticed that Pedro had become unusually gloomy. “What is troubling you?” he asked. “Has something happened?” Pedro sighed. “I would like to marry Marta. We have cared for each other for a long time. But I have no business of my own and no savings. I am afraid I will not be able to support a family.” The doctor considered this. “If both of you truly want to marry, poverty should not be allowed to make the decision for you. I will help you get started.” And so Pedro and Marta married. The doctor let them live in a small house nearby and gave them a generous amount of money to begin their life together. At first the newlyweds were delighted with everything. They bought dishes, fresh sleeping mats, fine clothes, and invited friends to visit. There was only one problem. Neither Pedro nor Marta knew how to manage money. “We will spend a little more now and figure things out later,” Pedro would say. “Of course,” Marta would answer. “We have our whole lives ahead of us.” Months passed, then years, and one day there was not a single coin left in their purse. “We have to do something,” Marta said, peering into a nearly empty pantry. Pedro went to his former employer. “Doctor, please help us once more. We hardly have enough money for food.” The doctor did not scold him. He gave Pedro twenty gold coins. “But think carefully about how you can make sure that next time you are able to manage on your own,” he advised. Pedro promised sincerely. A few weeks later, the money was gone again. That evening Pedro and Marta sat at an empty table. “I am ashamed to ask again,” Marta said. “It would be embarrassing simply to ask,” Pedro replied thoughtfully. “But what if we told a story that made him want to help?” Marta narrowed her eyes. “What sort of story?” The next morning Pedro peeled an onion, rubbed a little juice onto his fingertips, and cautiously touched his eyes. They watered immediately. “You look as though you have been crying for three nights,” Marta said. “Exactly.” Pedro went to the doctor, sighed heavily, and said, “Marta is gone. I am alone, and I do not even have enough money for everything that must be taken care of.” The doctor was deeply saddened. “How did this happen? Why did you not call me if she was ill?” Pedro lowered his eyes. “It happened very quickly.” The doctor felt sorry for him and gave him money. Pedro returned home, where a very much alive Marta was waiting at the door. “Did it work?” she whispered. Pedro showed her the purse. For a while, they lived comfortably again. But as before, they saved nothing and planned nothing. Soon the money was gone. Now Marta said, “If your story worked once, perhaps mine will work too.” The doctor's sister lived nearby. Pedro and Marta had sometimes helped her around the house, and she knew them well. Marta went to visit her with tears in her eyes. “What happened?” the woman asked anxiously. “Pedro is gone,” Marta said. “I am alone and have no money.” The doctor's sister felt sorry for her and gave her some help. The clever plan appeared to have worked again. But that same evening the doctor came to visit his sister. During their conversation he sighed. “Poor Pedro. It is sad that he lost Marta.” His sister raised an eyebrow. “Marta? Pedro is the one who died. Marta was here today.” “That cannot be. Pedro was standing in front of me himself.” “And Marta was standing in front of me.” They stared at one another. “Then one of us has heard a very strange story,” said the doctor. He sent an assistant to Pedro and Marta's house. When they saw someone approaching, Pedro whispered, “Quickly. Lie down and do not move.” Marta lay on the bed, closed her eyes, and became perfectly still. The assistant came inside, saw the solemn Pedro beside the motionless Marta, and returned. “Sir, it seems you were right. Marta is lying there without moving.” “You see?” said the doctor to his sister. “I do not believe it,” she replied. “Send someone else.” When the second assistant approached, Pedro and Marta switched places. Now Pedro lay with his eyes closed while Marta sat beside him wearing the saddest expression she could produce. The second assistant returned. “No. Pedro is the one who died. I saw him myself.” The doctor and his sister looked at each other in silence. “Remarkable,” said the doctor at last. “In a single day they have managed to lose each other one after the other.” The next morning the doctor and his sister went to the little house together. Pedro and Marta heard their footsteps too late. “What do we do?” Marta whispered. “There is only one thing left,” Pedro said. “Lie down.” “Both of us?” “Both.” They stretched out on the floor and became still. The doctor entered, looked at one “dead” wife, then at one “dead” husband, and came closer. He was a doctor. He knew very well what a person looked like when they were trying desperately not to laugh. “How strange,” he said loudly. “I have never seen two dead people work so hard at holding their breath.” Marta snorted. Pedro opened one eye. The doctor folded his arms. “Get up.” The couple slowly sat. The doctor's sister had meant to be angry, but the whole situation was so ridiculous that she began to laugh. “So which of you died first?” she asked. Marta turned red. “Neither.” “We had gathered that,” said the doctor. “Now tell us the truth.” Pedro confessed everything. He told them about the money, how quickly they had spent it, the onion, the tears, and the two invented tragedies. The doctor listened and shook his head. “You both have plenty of cleverness. It is a pity you have been using it to return yourselves to exactly the same trouble.” Pedro and Marta said nothing. “A trick may put a few coins in your hand,” the doctor continued, “but it will not teach you how to live so that tomorrow you do not need to ask again.” “We understand,” Marta said quietly. This time, the doctor did not hand them another bag of gold. Instead, he offered something different. Pedro began helping with the garden and keeping track of household purchases. Marta learned to sell dried fruit, herbs, and handmade goods at the market. The doctor's sister taught them to write down their expenses and save part of whatever they earned. At first this seemed much harder than inventing another trick. But a month passed, then another, then a third. For the first time, a small savings box appeared in their home. “Look,” Marta said one evening, giving it a little shake. “There is still money inside, and we did not have to fool anyone.” “Almost suspicious,” Pedro said with a grin. They both laughed. From then on, whenever someone praised their cleverness, Marta would say, “The best trick is the one that does not leave you hiding under a blanket pretending you do not exist.” And Pedro would add, “Better still is using your wits not only to escape trouble, but to keep from falling into the same trouble again.”

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨