ARMENIAN STORY/JOKE TIME

Once upon a time there was a poor man who worked for a fisherman to earn his living.
The payment was a few fish a day and this was all he and his wife had to live on.

One day the fisherman caught a very pretty little fish, and telling his carrier to put it away, waded back out into the river.
"Poor little fish! After all, it's a living creature too. It must have parents and friends, and it surely has its joys and its sorrows, like we humans do."

Suddenly the fish spoke to him, in a human voice,
“See here, brother Man!
I was playing with my companions so happy that I forgot to be careful and got caught in your net. Now my parents and my playmates are probably searching for me and grieving and here I am suffering, and dying on land"

"All right, my pretty little fish, go along and play again - I don't want your parents to grieve any more!"

The man pitied the little fish, and threw it back into the water,

The fisherman was furious.
"You fool," he cried, "How could you let that fish get away? Begone with you, I don't ever want to see you again. You can die of hunger for all I care."
"What shall I do now?"

lamented the poor man, as he trudged sadly homewards.

"See here, my friend," said the Monster. "You see this cow? I'll let you have her for three years. She'll give you a lot of good milk every day, and you and your wife will never go hungry. But only on this condition when three years have passed I will come and ask yon some questions. If you can answer them, the cow will be yours. But if you can't, then I'll take both of you along with the cow, and do whatever I want you. Do you agree?"

He was walking along the road plunged in his unhappy thoughts, when suddenly he saw a Monster in human shape coming towards him.
The Monster was driving a very fine cow before him.
"Good day, brother." Said the Monster. "Why do you look so sad?"
The man told him his story, and lamented that he didn't know how he was going to earn a living or how he was doing to break the news to his wife.
The man thought a bit. "Better to take the cow than go hungry. We'll be able to live for three years, and be able to answer those questions." He agreed, took the cow and went home happily.
The three years passed quickly. The cow gave enough milk to feed the poor man and his wife. Yet they would both sit at their door in the evenings, thinking that soon the Monster would come for them.
They sighed and worried about it, while the fateful night came closer and closer.
One evening, as they sat there, a very handsome youth came up to them,

"Good evening," he said. "I'm very tired and it's getting late. May I spend the night under your roof?"
Of course you may, only tonight something terrible is going to happen to us! We took a cow from a Monster, on the condition that if we used its milk for three years, he could come and ask us questions at the end of that time, which is tonight. If we answer those questions, then the cow is to be ours, but if we can't then we will become the Monster's prisoners. So take care that no harm comes to you."
"That doesn't matter. Whatever happens to you, will happen to me too," said the youth, and stayed there with them.
But the youth said to them, "Don't worry, I'll answer for you," and he went to the door.
"I'm here, waiting." Growled the Monster outside.
"And I'm here too," the youth answered calmly from behind the door.
"Where are you from?"
"From over the Sea!"
"How did you get here?"
"Then the Sea must have been very small?"
"Riding a lame flea!"
"Not at all. Even an eagle couldn't fly across it,"
" Then that eagle must have been a fledgling?"
"Not at all. The shadow of his wings covers a whole city!"
Then the city must be very small?"
"Not at all. A hare couldn't run from one end of it to the other!"
"Then that hare must be a very small one?"
"Not at all. Its hide would be large enough to make a fur coat for a grown-up man, and a warm cap as well."
"Then the man must he a dwarf?"
"Not at all. If a cock were to crow at his feet, the sound of the cock's crowing would not reach the man's ears, he is so tall!"
"The man must he deaf?"
"Not at all. He could hear a deer grazing on a blade of grass, far away in the mountains."
The Monster was taken aback. He didn't know what other questions to ask. He stood there silently at the door for some time, then disappeared into the darkness. The poor man and his wife were overjoyed. When dawn was breaking, the youth prepared to take his leave.
"No, no, we can't let you go," cried couple. You've saved our lives. Tell us what we can do to thank you."
"You don't have to thank me. Well, I must be on my way," replied the youth.
"Then at least tell us who you are," begged the man.
"Do you remember the proverb that says,
"Do good, and even if you throw it into the water, it will return to you some day'?
I am that little talking fish that you pitied and threw back into the river!" said the youth.
And before the couple had time to recover from their amazement, he had vanished.
I am that little talking fish that you pitied and threw back into the river!" said the youth.
And before the couple had time to recover from their amazement, he had vanished.
Do good, and even if you throw it into the water, it will return to you some day

There is an Armenian proverb which says, “Do good deed and throw it into the water.’’ We think this tale reveals the meaning of the proverb. Do good deed without any expectation and it will return to you.
Mariamik Stepanyan
There is another Armenian proverb which also matches this tale very well: “As you sow, so shall you reap.”
Erik Arakelyan
And another Armenian proverb says ”As you make your bed, so must you lie on it.”
He who can not pray at home will celebrate mass somewhere else.
He who looks for a friend without a fault will never find one.
He who speaks a lot learns little.
He's looking for the donkey while sitting on it.
If a rich man dies, all the world is moved; if a poor man dies, nobody knows it.
If a woman hears that something unusual is going on in heaven, she would find a ladder to go and look.
If you cannot become rich, be the neighbor of a rich man.
It is better to carry stones with a wise man than accept the meal of a madman.
Love did not grow any garlic.
No one will give a pauper bread, but everybody will give him advice.
On a rainy day many offer to water the chickens.
Quiet horses kick the hardest.
Tears have meaning but only he who sheds them understands.
The bee gets honey from the same flower where the snake sucks her poison.
The butterfly who settles on a branch is afraid that he will break it.
The friend who helps me and the enemy who does me no harm, make a pair of earrings.
The gravity of the earth is so strong that the old grey man walks crooked.
The stones of my native country are warmer than the ovens of Babylon.

1. When asked, "What news from the sea?" The fish replied "I have a lot to say, but my mouth is full of water."
Armenian Proverb ( - )

= Found in: NA.htm

2. When the cart breaks down, advice abounds.
Armenian Proverb ( - )

= Found in: NA.htm

3. When the thief has stolen from a thief, God laughs in heaven.
Armenian Proverb ( - )

= Found in: NA.htm

4. When they gave the donkey flowers to smell, he ate them.
Armenian Proverb ( - )

= Found in: NA.htm

5. When your fortune improves, the columns of your house appear to be crooked.
Armenian Proverb ( - )