The Vilas' Spring

The Vilas' Spring

A wealthy farmer had two sons. The elder liked to count sacks of grain, coins, and other people’s mistakes. The younger paid more attention to people themselves: who needed help carrying a basket, whose fence was broken, and who had no bread for supper.

"You'll never be a good farmer," the elder scolded. "You'll give everything away."

"And a barn that never opens is of no use to anyone," the younger one replied calmly.

When their father died, his will called for the property to be divided equally. But the elder brother decided otherwise.

"Three gold coins and a horse will be enough for you," he said. "The rest of the farm needs a firm hand."

"That's unfair," the younger one replied.

"Justice is worthless without strength."

The younger one didn't want a quarrel. He took the three coins, mounted his horse, and set off to find his own way.

A few months later, the brothers met by chance on a wide road.

“You see?” the elder boasted. “I have fields, a house, and cattle. You are wandering about with three coins. That proves cunning is stronger than kindness.”

“No,” said the younger. “Evil may win today, but that does not mean it will always be stronger.”

The elder laughed.

“Let’s make a bet. We will ask the first person we meet.”

A man in a dark cloak was walking towards them. He was an evil spirit, but the brothers did not know about it.

“Which is stronger: good or evil?” asked the elder.

“Evil, of course,” answered the stranger.

The younger gave his brother one coin.

Over the hill they met an old peasant. But it was the same evil spirit in a different guise.

“Evil is stronger,” he declared.

The second coin went to the elder.

The third time they came across a merchant with a big hat. And again it was a spirit in disguise.

“In the world, the one who thinks only of himself wins,” he said.

The younger one gave the last coin.

“Well?” the elder asked.

“I still don’t believe that good is weaker.”

“Then wager your horse.”

And the horse went to the elder too.

The evil spirit, satisfied with the quarrel, threw a handful of black dust into the air. The dust swirled right in front of the younger one’s face. His eyes stung, the world became blurry, and in a moment he could no longer see anything.

The elder was frightened, but his pride did not allow him to show it.

“You brought yourself into trouble with your stupid arguments,” he grumbled.

“At least help me reach the spring beneath the great fir tree,” the younger begged. “I heard water nearby.”

The older one took him to the tree and rode off, taking both horses with him.

The younger one washed his eyes with cool water, but the darkness did not dissipate. He sat down under the fir tree and decided to wait for the morning.

At midnight he was awakened by voices. They were light, like the rustling of leaves over a stream.

Vilas had come to the spring, magical maidens of the mountains and forests.

“How beautifully the water shines tonight!” one said.

“If people knew its power,” another replied, “it could ease so many ailments.”

“It could even help the king’s daughter,” a third added. “No doctor has been able to make her well for months.”

When the voices had died down, the younger brother groped his way to the water and washed himself a second time.

A cold drop touched his eyelids.

The darkness turned gray.

Another drop, and he could make out the fir tree.

A third, and he saw the stars shining overhead.

“Thank you,” he whispered, though he did not know whether the vilas could hear him.

At dawn he filled a clean flask with water and set off for the capital.

There was a line of doctors, herbalists, and healers outside the palace. The king received everyone, because his daughter had been ill for a long time and hardly left her room.

“I am not a doctor,” the younger brother said honestly. “But I know a spring whose water restored my sight. Please let the princess decide for herself whether she wishes to try it.”

The princess agreed. She washed her face and hands, drank a few sips, and the doctors used the rest of the water for compresses.

The miracle came quietly. No trumpets sounded; no light blazed. The princess simply grew better day by day. After one week, she walked in the garden. After two, she came down the stairs to see the king on her own.

“Ask for any reward you wish,” the king told the younger brother.

“Give me land I can farm,” he replied. “And let me build a well beside the road, where travellers may drink without paying.”

The king was amazed.

“You could have asked for gold.”

“The water saved me without asking whether I was rich or poor.”

The princess often came to watch the well being built. She talked to the young farmer, listened to his stories, and saw how he treated workers, old people, and children. Their friendship slowly grew into love. Only when they both wished it did they decide to marry.

The news reached the elder brother.

“Well, well!” he exclaimed angrily. “I took everything he had, and he still has more than I do. The secret must be that spring.”

At night he went to the big fir tree. To repeat his brother's adventure, he blindfolded himself with a dark scarf and sat down by the water.

At midnight, the vilas came.

"There is someone here," said one.

"And he did not come for help," said the second. "He smells not of fear, but of greed."

The elder brother froze.

"I want magic water too!" he shouted. "I have the right!"

“Everyone who comes in need has a right to the water,” the eldest vila replied. “But no one has the right to claim the whole spring for himself.”

The vilas did him no harm. They merely enchanted the paths around the fir tree. Until dawn, the elder brother walked in circles, always returning to the same stone.

When the sun rose, the enchantment disappeared.

He removed his blindfold and saw his younger brother standing beside him with a cup of water.

“You?” he asked in surprise. “How did you know I was here?”

“I have known you all my life,” answered the younger one. “It was easy to guess.”

The older one lowered his eyes.

“I wanted the same thing as you.”

“Then begin with what you took, rather than with the spring.”

They were silent for a long time.

And then the elder said:

“I will return your share of our father’s estate. And your horse too, if you still want it.”

“I’ll take the horse,” the younger said with a smile. “And we will discuss the property honestly, without any tricks.”

And so they did.

The elder did not become good overnight. That does not happen. But he began to learn: first to repay debts, then to ask permission, then sometimes to share without benefit to himself.

And a large well appeared near the road. On the stone above it was carved only one phrase:

“Goodness does not always arrive first. But it needs no deceit to stay.”

They say the vilas’ spring still flows in those mountains. By day, its water looks ordinary and clear. On moonlit nights, it sometimes seems to shine from within.

But if you come there only for wealth, you will see only your own reflection in it.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨