Many years ago, I can't tell you the day, Truth, well armed, set out to travel the world. He went, he went through hill and valley, village and city. He went until he found the Ashes.
- Good day, earthling! - greets the Truth - where are you going, for how long?
- "I'm going to travel the world," said the Ashes.
- "Just as well," says Truth, "I am on my way there; let us go together!
- So be it!" says the Ashes. "But do you know, travellers must live in good harmony. So let us share the spoils of our journey!
Here they agreed to eat one of his scones first, then the other. That they are hungry, Hamishness tells Truth:
- Eat yours first, you'll travel easier. The Truth will let his tips come in, and they will spend them together.
When that was gone, the ash was to be spent together. Says the Truth to the Ashes:
- Friend, give me some of yours now!
Says the Ashes:
- Let me gouge out one of your eyes, and I'll give you some!
They go on, the Truth asks again. But the other would not give it to the outside world unless it allowed one of its eyes to be gouged out.
One day, poor Truth was so hungry that he couldn't walk a step. Poor Truth had no choice but to let him gouge out one of his eyes. Then Ashes gave him a piece of cake.
They go on, poor Truth is hungry again. He asks for a scone from the Ashes, but the Ashes says he won't give it unless he lets him gouge out the other's eye. What could he do, he was forced to allow that too, for he was almost starving to death.
They go, they all go, once again the Truth asks for the scone of Ashes. This time, Hades said he wouldn't give until he let him cut off both his hands and feet. Poor Truth, it happened to him! But what could he do? A man gives his all for life. He even allowed it, just so he wouldn't starve to death.
Now that he had done all this, the Ashes wanted to leave him there. But poor Truth begged him not to leave her so helpless, but to make her so friendly as to lead her to the gate of the nearest town, there to beg alms from the merchants.
And he did lead it, but not to the gate of the town, but there was a gallows on a hill not far away, and he led it to that. There he set him down and left him. Poor Truth gropes to see if the gate of the city is there. There he waited for the people, but not a soul passed by, only the wind whistled.
Suddenly, at midnight, three crows, an old man and his two sons, come. The old man asks:
- Tell us what you heard, what you saw?
Says one:
- I have heard that tonight there falls such dew, that if a man washes his stumpy hands and blind eyes with it, he is even fresher than if he had been born again. All this poor Truth heard.
So says the other boy:
- I found out what this city should do so that people would not die so badly from thirst all the time. In the meadow there is a willow tree, and under the willow tree a millstone. If someone were to take it out, the water would come as wide as the mill wheel. With that, all three crows flew away from there as fast as the wind.
Poor Truth sets to work, on the dewy ground she rolls, and her arms are outstretched for joy. Then he searched, and groped everywhere, And rubbed the dew from all the burial he could find Into the place of his eyes. When the dawn came, he saw the light. He gave thanks to his God of Truth, that he, being true, had not forsaken him.
Now the Truth takes hold, hurries to the nearby town. Soon he arrived there, and saw that all the people were in mourning. He goes straight to the king and tells him why he has come. The king was very glad. He immediately proclaims in the town that he has a man who can give the town plenty of water.
Let Truth take some of you down to the meadow. There, from under the willow tree, he digs out the great millstone, and the water rises up from the same place as the millstone had been. The king was greatly rejoiced, and all the people feasted with great merriment.
The king did not even let Justice go, but took him. In all things, he regarded him as his most trustworthy man, and placed him in great wealth and happiness.
Time is running out for the Ashes to run out of tips. He began to beg for food. But he managed with few houses and almost died without food.
Then he accidentally finds his companion, Truth, who was now so rich. Ashes asks:
- So how did you acquire all this untold wealth? - The Truth, as it were, told him.
The Ashes also take you, take a man, gouge out his two eyes, cut off his two arms, and lead him to the gallows. And the man shall cut off his two arms, and gouge out his two eyes, and lead him to the gallows, and leave him there.
Waiting, waiting for the three crows. At midnight they come and land on the gallows. Once they sense that someone is there, the crows land on it - and they all eat the Ashes to a spark.
(Vilmos Radó: Hungarian Children's and Folk Tales, First Collection - Singer and Wolfner Publishing; Budapest, Andrássy út 10, VI.)
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