Anya Outwits the King

Bratislav was a poor shoemaker. He was very proud of his daughter Anya. He boasted about her all of the time.

“My daughter is wiser than the king’s advisers. Perhaps even wiser than the king,” he told all who would listen.

Eventually, the king heard about Bratislav’s boasting. He ordered him to the palace.

“You dare say such a thing!” the king roared angrily. “A girl who is wiser than my advisers? Wiser than me?”

“It is true,” Bratislav said, trembling.

The king whispered to a servant. The servant left and returned with thirty eggs.

“If your daughter is as wise as you say,” the king said, “tell her to hatch chicks from these eggs. I’ll give you a bag of gold if she succeeds. But come back without the chicks and you will be banished for a year!”

The terrified shoemaker took the eggs to his daughter. Anya looked at them and laughed. “These eggs could never be hatched, father. They are boiled.”

“Then I will be banished,” Bratislav moaned.

“Don’t worry,” Anya said. She boiled some beans and took them to her father.