The Wise Maiden

The Wise Maiden

Once there lived a young man who had lost his parents early. His uncle took him in. He fed the boy and taught him how to manage a household. When the boy grew older, his uncle asked him to tend the sheep.

The young man was kind and hardworking, but he was not always quick to answer a tricky question. His uncle liked to test whether he could think with his head as well as work with his hands.

One morning, his uncle called him and said:

“Take the flock to market. Bring every sheep safely home, but sell something from each one so that we earn money without harming the animals. With the money, buy yourself lunch and some feed for the sheep.”

The young man scratched his head.

“How can I do that? If I sell the sheep, I can’t bring them home. But if I bring them home, what can I sell?”

He led the flock along the road, reached a broad meadow, and sat beside the path to think.

Soon a young maiden came by. She saw the gloomy shepherd and asked:

“Why are you frowning? You look as if you’re carrying clouds over your head.”

The young man told her about his uncle’s task.

The maiden smiled.

“That’s easy to do without hurting anything. The sheep have grown thick wool over the summer. Shear them carefully and sell the wool at market, then bring the sheep home. Spend some of the money on lunch and the rest on their feed. You’ll have done everything your uncle asked.”

“Why didn’t I think of that!” the young man said happily. “Thank you.”

And that is what he did. The sheep were shorn gently, people at the market were glad to buy the wool, and in the evening the whole flock returned home, fed and peaceful.

His uncle counted the money and narrowed his eyes.

“Nicely done. But tell me honestly: did you think of it yourself?”

“No,” the young man answered. “A maiden I met beside the road gave me the idea.”

“Then she really is clever,” said his uncle. “Remember: there is no shame in not knowing. The shame is in refusing to listen to good advice.”

Some time passed. One day, the uncle sent his nephew to the city to sell grain. On the road, the young man met a wealthy miller. The miller rode in a light wagon drawn by a well-fed bay horse, while the young man traveled in a simple cart with a gray mare.

Toward evening, they stopped in a field to rest. They let the horses graze beside each other and lay down to sleep.

During the night, the gray mare gave birth to a foal.

The miller woke first in the morning. He saw the little one and thought, “What a fine foal. I’d like to keep it for myself.” So he quietly moved the foal closer to his wagon.

The young man woke and immediately knew whose foal it was.

“That foal belongs to my mare.”

“Oh no, it doesn’t,” the miller argued. “I found it beside my wagon, so it is mine.”

“A wagon can’t be its mother,” the young man said in surprise.

But the miller would not change his mind. At last, they decided to ask a judge in the city.

The judge listened to them both and said:

“I will settle your dispute. But first, I want to hear how you think. Answer four riddles. What is the fastest and strongest thing in the world? What feeds us most generously? What is the softest thing? And what is the sweetest?”

He gave them three days to answer.

The miller went home and talked it over with his family. One person said the fastest thing was a horse. Another said the softest was a feather pillow. A third praised the most filling dish.

The young man went outside the city again and sat beside the road. He was thinking so hard that he did not hear anyone approach.

“Another riddle?” came a familiar voice.

The same maiden stood before him.

The young man was glad to see her and told her everything from beginning to end.

The maiden was quiet for a moment, watching a light breeze run through the grass.

“The fastest and strongest is the wind,” she said. “You cannot outrun it or hold it in your hands. The earth feeds us most generously: it nourishes grass, trees, people, and animals. The softest thing is a human palm, because even on the softest pillow, we often tuck our hand beneath our cheek. And the sweetest thing is sleep—especially after honest work.”

The young man laughed.

“When you explain it, everything seems so simple!”

Three days later, they both stood before the judge again.

The miller named his horse, a well-fed boar, a feather pillow, and the sweetest dish in his house.

The young man answered:

“The wind. The earth. The palm of the hand. Sleep.”

The room fell silent.

The ruler of the land was present that day to hear cases. He listened carefully to the answers and said:

“Those words show not only cleverness but careful observation. Now, about the foal: if it was born to the gray mare, it belongs to her owner. Moving it beside someone else’s wagon does not change that.”

The miller had to give in, and the young man took the mare and her foal home.

The ruler, however, asked:

“Did you solve my riddles yourself?”

The young man did not claim someone else’s wisdom as his own.

“No. A maiden helped me.”

“Then I would like to meet her,” said the ruler. “Give her this task: tomorrow, she must come to the palace neither on foot nor riding, neither dressed nor undressed, and bring a gift she will not be able to keep.”

The young man’s eyes grew wide.

“How can anyone do that?”

When the maiden heard the task, she only laughed.

“Lend me a little goat, a large fishing net, and find me two sparrows. You’ll see the rest tomorrow.”

The next morning, she wrapped the broad net over her light dress, then sat on the little goat so that her feet still touched the ground and helped it walk. She held two sparrows in her palms.

That was how she arrived at the palace.

The ruler came out to greet her and laughed in amazement.

“So you came neither on foot nor riding?”

“That’s right. The goat is carrying me, but I’m walking along with it.”

“And you are neither dressed nor undressed?”

“I am wearing clothes, but over them I have neither a cloak nor a dress—only a net.”

“And where is the gift you cannot keep?”

The maiden opened her hands.

“Here it is.”

The ruler bent down to take the sparrows, but the maiden opened her palms. The birds spread their wings and flew out through an open window.

“The gift was in my hands,” she said, “but no one can keep it. A free bird belongs not in a cage, but in the sky.”

The ruler nodded with approval.

“You truly are wise. Stay at court. We need someone who can see more than what lies on the surface.”

The maiden replied:

“Thank you. But the young man helped me with your task, and I do not want to forget his part in it.”

“That is another wise answer,” said the ruler. “Cleverness is worth little without gratitude.”

From then on, the maiden often helped settle difficult matters, and the young man learned from her to ask questions, look more carefully, and not rush to conclusions. He was never ashamed to say, “I don’t know, but I can learn.”

The maiden valued his honesty: not once did he claim her ideas as his own.

In time, they realized they were happy together. They chose for themselves to start a family and lived in harmony: one had a keen mind, the other a kind heart and a wish to learn, and together they both grew wiser.

And from then on, people in that land liked to say: the best answer does not come to someone who pretends to know everything, but to someone who can listen, think, and be grateful for good advice.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨