Russian Fairy Tales :: The Good Judge

The Good Judge

There was one an Algerian King called Baukas, and in one of the town he ruled over there lived a very wise judge. It was said that this judge could tell at once if a person was lying, and that no thief or crook could ever escape him. King Baukas decided to find out for himself if this were true. He dressed up as a merchant and rode to the town where the judge lived. As he got near the town, a cripple came up to him, begging. Baukas gave him some money and was riding on, when the cripple hung on to his cloak.
“What do you want?” asked Baukas. “Haven’t I crossed your palm?”
”You have,” said the cripple. “But please do me another favour, and help me on to your horse and take me to the square, for I am frightened of being trampled on by the horse and camels.”
Baukas helped the crippled on to the horse and brought him to the square. There he stopped. But the beggar did not dismount.
Baukas said to him: “Why don’t you get down? The horse is mine and if you are not going to let me have it, let’s go to the judge.”
A crowd gathered around them listening to their argument and shouted: “Go to the judge-he’ll give you justice.”
Baukas and the cripple went to the judge. There was a crowd there and the judge called out in turn those whose cases were going to be heard.
The judge listened to them, thought for a moment, and said”
”Leave the woman here, and come and see me tomorrow.”
When they had gone, in came a butcher and a dairyman. The butcher was covered in blood, the dairyman in butter. The butcher held some notes in his hand, the dairyman held the hand of the butcher.
The butcher said: “I bought some butter from this dairyman and took out my purse to pay him when he seized my hand and wanted to grab the money. That’s how we came to you; he holding my hand, and me holding the purse. But the money is mine and he is a thief.”
The dairyman said: “There’s not a word of truth in it. The butcher came to buy some butter. When I gave it to him, he asked me to change a gold piece. I took the money and put it on the counter, he grabbled it and made for the door. I caught him by the hand and brought him here.”
The judge remained silent for a time and the said:
”Leave the money here and come back tomorrow.”
When it came to Baukas and the cripple, Baukas told the judge what happened. The judge listened to him, and asked the cripple also to tell him what had happened.
The cripple replied: “It’s all a lie. I was riding through the town and he was sitting by the road and asked me to take him along. I got him on to my horse and brought him to the square, but he wouldn’t get down and said the horse was his. It is a lie.”
The judge thought for a while and said; “Leave the horse here and come back tomorrow.”
The next day a crowd gathered to hear the verdicts of the judge.
First came the scientist and the peasant.
”Take your wife,” the judge said to the scientist, “and I order fifty strokes to be given to the peasant,”
The scientist took his wife home and the peasant was punished then and there.
Then judge called the butcher.
”The money is yours,” he told him. And pointing to the dairyman he ordered that he should be given fifty strokes.
Then it was the turn of Baukas and the cripple.
”Will you know your horse among twenty others?” the judge asked Baukas.
“I will.”
”And you?”
”Certainly,” replied the cripple.
”Come with me,” said the judge to Baukas.
They went to the stables. Baukas at once pointed out his horse amidst the other twenty.
Then the judge called the cripple recognized the horse at once. Then the judge sat down at his table and said to Baukas: “The horse is yours-take it,” And he ordered fifty strokes to be given to the cripple.
After this verdict the judge went home and Baukas followed him.
”You look as if you weren’t satisfied with my verdict,” said the judge.
”No, I’m well satisfied,” said Baukas. “But I would like to know how you discovered that the woman was the scientist’s wife and not the peasant’s; that the money belonged to the butcher, not to the dairyman; and that it was my horse and not the cripple’s.”
”This is how I knew about the woman. I called her in the morning and asked her to pour ink in my inkpot. She took it, washed it very carefully, and poured in the ink. It proved that she was in the habit of doing it. Had she been the peasant’s wife, she wouldn’t have been so clever at it. So the scientist was right.
This is how I knew about the money. I put the notes in a bowl of water and looked this morning to see if any oil had come the surface. If the money had belonged to the dairyman the notes would have been greasy. There was no oil on the water, so the butcher was telling me the truth.
It was more difficult to find out about the horse. The cripple recognized the horse just as quickly as you did. But I hadn’t brought both of you to the stables to see whether you would recognize the horse, but to see which of you the horse would recognize. When you came up to it, it turned its head and moved towards you; when the cripple touched it, it drew back its ears and raised its leg. So I knew that you must be its master.”
Then Baukas said:
”I’m not a merchant, I’m King Baukas. I came here to find out whether what they said about you was the truth. I see now that you are a wise judge. You may ask what you like, and I’ll give it to you.”
But the judge replied: “I have no need for any reward.”