There was a cottage in the village with a thatched roof and all kinds of plants, and in it lived a very poor elderly couple whose horse was their only source of livelihood. They would lend it to merchants in exchange for some grain or clothing and asked for nothing more. They were happy with what they had.
One day, the wife said to her husband, “There is an opening in the roof, and something has fallen into the house.” He said to her, “That is good because the house windows are rusted and closed. Through the opening in the roof we will get light and air without having to repair it.” She said to him, “You are right, but what about winter and rain?” He said to her, “We will need a way to collect money.” She said to him, “There is a market fair, why don’t we sell the horse? We will get a good amount.” He said, “Perhaps. I hope I succeed.” She said, “You will succeed because my old man is always right.”
The old man departed with the horse. On the way to the fair, he met a milk seller who said to him, “There is a lot of milk.” The man said, “Yes.” The milk seller said to him, “You don’t look happy.” He said to him, “Don’t understand this. Your horse is wonderful, I wish I had one like it.” The man said to him, “If the horse makes you happy, why don’t we trade?” “All right then, I agree.” The old man went to the fair happy with the trade.
While he was standing in the entrance line, he found a grumpy friend. He said to him, “Why are you grumpy?” He said, “Do you remember my old cow? My wife asked me to replace it with something better, so I replaced it with a sheep, but she wasn’t happy with it and sent me to replace it with something better.” He said to him, “Do you want to exchange your sheep for a cow? A sheep for a cow? Are you sure?” He said, “Yes, certainly.” The trade was made. The old man kept thinking about how happy his wife would be.
He found a sad lady. He said to her, “Are you alright?” She said, “A difficult day.” She said to him, “What do you want from me?” He said to her, “What makes you sad?” She said, “My goose laid three eggs, and I wanted to exchange them for a dozen apples, but they said it’s not enough. Since when are three eggs not enough?” He said to her, “Wait, will this sheep make you happy? I can trade it with you for the goose.” She said to him, “What’s wrong with you? Are you making fun of me?”
He said to her, “I didn’t mean to make fun of you. My wife will love this goose. Please, think about it.” She said, “A strange trade.” The trade was made, and the old man was happier than the angry lady.
Darkness fell, and the old man decided to return home. On the way, he saw a man talking rudely to his chickens. He said to him, “Do the chickens understand what you say?” He said to him, “I’m sad because of the chicken. Would a goose make you happy? I can trade it with you for the chicken.” The old man took the chicken and gave him the goose.
He found a small child dragging a bag. He said to him, “What is in the bag?” He said, “Rotten apples, and I’m going to throw them away.” He said, “I remember we used to have an apple tree, but it withered, and we were left with one rotten apple. My wife took it. See how happy she will be with a bag of apples. Take my chicken and I’ll take the bag of apples.”
He bet with a man walking in the street that the bag of rotten apples would bring happiness to his wife rather than money. He said, “I’ll bet you a hundred gold coins. We’ll come to your house and tell your wife everything that happened in detail. If she kisses your forehead and says the old man is always right, you’ll get the hundred coins.” He said, “I have nothing to pay with.” The man said, “It doesn’t matter. We have no chance of losing. If you lose, you’ll take the bag of rotten apples.”
The old man returned to his home with the two gentlemen. The old woman invited them inside. He told her everything that had happened to him. He said, “I exchanged the horse for a cow.” She said, “Wonderful.” He said, “I exchanged it for a sheep.” She said, “Wonderful, its wool will warm us in winter.” He said, “No, I exchanged the sheep for a goose.” She said, “She’s better than it, I’ll get her food from the neighbors.” He said, “We won’t need that, I exchanged the goose for a chicken.” She said, “I love eggs.” He said, “I exchanged it for a bag of rotten apples.”
The gentleman prepared to laugh at the old man, knowing the wife would be angry with him. She said, “A bag of rotten apples! I remembered the apple tree, true.” The lady was very happy with it. She kissed her husband’s head and said to him, “I told you my old man is always right.” The two gentlemen fulfilled their promise and gave a hundred gold pieces to the couple and left immediately.
The man said to his friend, “These two are very wise. They taught us a very important lesson. They didn’t weep over what they missed, and they taught us to be happy with what we have. It is the key to life.