There once lived a people who knew one magic word. But one day, the word was lost…
High in the mountains there lived a village with wonderful and cheerful people. Brave men hunted in the forests and fished in the lakes around them, whilst beautiful women filled their homes with warmth, sang songs and planted flowers in their gardens.
One day a strange visitor arrived in the village wearing a richly decorated coat and a hat pulled down over his eyes. There was something sinister about his appearance. However, the elders welcomed him warmly. The entire village came to the feast held in the guest's honour. The elders asked the visitor: what had brought him to them? The stranger smirked.
I've come to make a profitable deal.
The guest clapped his hands: suddenly a chest appeared before him and opened by itself. The guest announced that each villager could take one item from it. The women and children rushed to the chest and simply gasped: what treasures it contained! Jewellery, ornaments, toys made of pure gold. The men couldn't take their eyes off the eastern sabres and silver daggers. As rich as the forests and lakes around the village were, such gifts couldn't be found there! The astonished elders asked the guest what he wanted in exchange for this wealth.
Oh, a trifle! In return I'll take just one word from you. I'll clap my hands — and you'll forget it forever. But what's one word! Just look at how the stones on this dagger shimmer!
The offer seemed perfect. Everyone agreed — and the stranger clapped his hands.
Immediately everything around was shrouded in smoke, and when the smoke cleared, he was gone. However, the chest remained — the guests immediately rushed to divide the gifts. It turned out there wasn't enough gold and jewels for everyone.
Gradually the lively conversations turned into arguments; insults and shouts followed — it would have come to bloodshed if not for the elders' intervention. Everyone's mood was ruined. The guests left the house in silence.
From that day on, the villagers seemed like different people. The men became nervous and sullen. The women — angry and quarrelsome. Best mates fell out forever, sweethearts — broke up.
Songs and jokes fell silent, giving way to constant bickering. No longer did songs ring out over the village, no longer did a lively stream of visitors come from other lands. Young people left the village, hoping that far from their homeland the uninvited guest's curse would lift.
It seemed the stranger had taken not just one word from the people, but all their happiness and their entire way of life.
The desperate elders announced a bag of gold as a reward for whoever could return the cherished word to the people. Now brave souls, wise men and adventurers gathered in the elders' house and spent days going through options.
Perhaps happiness? Or health? Or harmony?
But none of the options — from the simplest to the most exotic — could lift the invisible curse.
One day a little boy came to the elders' house, the son of local farmers. He was a quiet and thoughtful child — instead of playing with other children he preferred to spend time with books. The boy announced that he could find the answer to the riddle in the ancient books left by the villagers' ancestors, and asked to be let into the library. The men laughed, the elders shook their heads — but they had nothing to lose, and the boy was allowed to try.
For three days no one saw him — the farmer's son studied the old books, not coming down for food or drink. On the fourth day he came to the elders and announced that he'd found the solution. From the strange gleam in the boy's eyes, the wisest men understood: he wasn't joking, and they themselves were filled with hope. Surrounding the lad, the elders demanded he tell them the magic word.
The boy shook his head and asked to be given some food first: after three days in the library he'd grown quite weak from hunger. One of the elders had some food: bread and a bit of cheese. Taking the plate from his hands, the boy said
Thank you, grandfather!
And suddenly a miracle happened. On the grim, sleepless face of the old man appeared the first smile in many days. He raised his eyes to the others and then everyone understood: the magic word had been found! The word 'thank you' — that's what the stranger had taken from the people. Along with the ability to give thanks and receive gratitude. To give love and feel needed. The gazes of all the elders were fixed on the farmer's son, whose name they didn't even know.
Thank you, young hero! Your gift is worth more than any gold.
From that day on, joy, peace and harmony returned to the village. The air was once again filled with songs and the scent of flowers, and from distant lands trading caravans began to arrive again. The guards at the gates anxiously looked into the distance each morning: would the uninvited guest appear again? But he, as if sensing that the reception wouldn't be warm, never showed his face.
And what of our boy? He received his reward — a bag of gold — and gave it to his parents. They were able to expand their modest farm, buy livestock and hire helpers, but continued to work just as hard. Their prosperity only multiplied — and soon the family became one of the most respected in the village. The young hero grew up and matured, but didn't lose his love of books: now he was to enter university. The long journey didn't frighten him at all: because the boy carried with him the power of the magic word. The word that opens all doors in the world!
