The old woman and the purchased old man

Бабата и купениот дед

There was an old woman who had a son and a daughter-in-law. The woman was very old already. She had even become blind and couldn't see anything. However, she began to argue with her son about marrying her off, about finding her an old man:

"Hey, son, as long as you’re going to the market, buy me an old man, too. Let me have an old man. He will bring me water in the morning, he'll chop wood for me, this and that. I need an old man!"

And the son joked with her:

"Sure, mother, if I go to the market, they have old men, they sell them, and I will buy one for you. After all, I wouldn't leave you without an old man."

However, that day he lied to her, the following day he lied, and again the next day he lied to her, every day he lied. And the woman kept waiting for her old man. With all her soul, she waited for them to buy her an old man. Sometime later the son set off for the market and returned. He knew that his mother waited at home for the old man, and she would start to get angry with him if he didn't buy her one. And so when he returned, he said:

"Hey, mother, I really did get a good man for you. Beautiful! Beautiful! Beautiful! But, the thing is, I put him up on the horse, and he fell from the horse into the river, and he drowned and, well, what could I do?"

"Oh, son, why did you do that, you didn’t watch him, that’s why he drowned?"

"But what could I do! I brought his pants, I undressed him so that you would believe me that I really did buy you an old man. I took his pants from him so that you could see that I wasn't lying to you."

But he was lying. He had taken them from his father, who had died, several old pairs of pants, and he gave these to his mother to show her. She couldn't see and so didn't recognize them. He brought her the pants and she took them. She looked and looked and looked and looked:

"Alas, my golden, dear old man! Oh, such a one he was, he was so worthy! Ah, my son, my son," she started to curse him, "you weren't paying attention, and you drowned my old man! You bought me an old man and you drowned him!"

And so, the old woman was left again without an old man.