Once upon a time there lived a man who had three sons, and he had little wealth (only the house in which he lived). I tak po jego śmierci każdy chętnie posiadłbydom (Each of the sons would like to inherit that house after his death), dla ojcazaś każdy był tak kochany kako pozostali (but they were all equally dear to the father), więc nie wiedział, co począć (so he did not know what to do), by żadnego nie urazić (so as not to offend anyone). He didn’t want to sell the house (he didn’t want to sell it), he didn’t want to share it with his grandparents (because he inherited the house from his great-grandfathers), and he wanted to sell the house and divide the money between them. At last a good thought occurred to him and he said to his children: “Go out into the world and try yourselves, and let each of you choose some craft to learn, where upon your return home, whoever proves himself to be the most skilled in his craft will inherit the house from me.”
The sons were pleased with their father's decision and chose crafts to their liking. The eldest decided to become a blacksmith, the second one – a hairdresser, and the third one – a fencing teacher. Then they set a time, when they were to meet again at their father's house. And they went their separate ways.
It happened so that each of them found an excellent teacher in his field, from whom he could properly learn his craft. The blacksmith was entrusted with shoeing the royal horses and thought: Nic ci jużnie brak (Well, now, it seems, I can say without a doubt that I will get the house). Golibroda golił tylko wytwornych lordów (The barber had to shave only noble lords) and he also thought: że dom jest już jego (that the house would go to no one else but him). Szermierz dostał nie jeden cios (The fencer had to receive more than one blow), jednak zaciskał zęby i nie zrażał się (And he still reluctantly), ponieważ myślałsobie (Thought to himself): Boisz się ciosów, tak nigdy nie dostaniesz domu (There is no need to be afraid of these blows, otherwise, perhaps, the house will slip out of my hands).
When the appointed time had finally passed, they all gathered together at their father's house. But they did not know how they could find an opportunity to show their skill to their father. They sat down and deliberated among themselves. While they were deliberating, they saw a hare running towards them from the field.
"Ej," said the barber, "he's come at the right time! As if he'd been invited," he immediately took the basin and soap, whipped up the lather so long that the hare ran closer, lathered his face as he ran, and shaved his beard as he ran, and didn't cut him. I didn't hurt a single hair (and I didn't damage a single one of them).
"Not bad," said the father, "and unless the other two greatly surpass you in their skill, the house will remain yours."
Soon after they saw that some man was racing at full speed in his carriage.
"Please take a look at my skill, father," said the blacksmith, ran after the carriage, tore off all four horseshoes from one horse while galloping, and also put four new ones on it.
"Jesteś chłop, co się zowie," rzekł ojciec (You are simply a fine fellow! - his father told him), "robisz swe rzeczy tak dobrze jak twój brat (You do your job just as well as your brother); nie wiem, komu powinienem dać dom (Really, I don’t even know to whom of the two of you I should give my house)."
Then the third son said: "Father, allow me to show you my skill," and just at that moment it began to drizzle, and the fencer drew his sword and began to swing it quickly over his head, so that not a single drop fell on him. A kiedy deszcz był mocniejszy (The rain began to pour harder) and finally turned into a downpour, że lało się z neba jak z cebra (it poured like a bucket), wymachiwał szpadą coraz szybciej (and the fencer swung his sword faster and faster over his head) and pozostał tak suchy (and remained dry), jakby siedział pod dachem (as if he were standing under a roof).
When the father saw this, he was amazed and said: "You have surpassed your brothers in your skill, the house is yours."
The two remaining brothers became happy with each other (by prior agreement they were quite happy), because they loved each other so much (with their father's decision), and because they loved each other so much (and because they loved each other so much), they began to live together in their father's house and continued to practice their crafts; and because they were so happy and skilled (and with their knowledge and skills), they earned a lot of money. So they lived to a ripe old age in complete contentment, and when one of them fell ill and died, the other two mourned him so much, and they soon fell ill and died. And because of their mutual love and close friendship, they were buried in one common grave.
