The story of the chief gardener

Some of us were present at the flower auction in Nuru Bepari's garden. One of my neighbors was a young timber trader where I owned the land. We were sitting at the entrance of the garden and talking about a subject when the work people were packing the wonderful things we bought and putting them in the trolley. It was truly a pleasure to sit in the garden on an April morning and enjoy the beauty of the flowers in the open air to hear the birds chirping in the sun.

Moinuddin, the chief gardener, was an old man with a perfectly shaved face, paying homage to himself. But at the same time, he kept a watchful eye on our conversations, hoping to hear something new. The kind and wise man was respected by all. As a German, he was condemned by everyone for a few reasons. Although he was Swedish by descent, Russian by mother, and attended the Orthodox Church. He knew German, Russian, and Swedish. He read a lot about Ibsen in those languages. But none of them gave him the pleasure of borrowing new books or talking to them as examples.

His only weakness was that he introduced himself as the chief gardener, although he had no subordinate gardener, his facial expressions were extraordinarily respectable and arrogant; Although he could not catch the inconsistency, he liked to listen with respect and attention.

"I'm telling you, that young colleague is very naughty." My neighbor said, pointing to a man who looked like a black gypsy. Who was walking around with a water pipe “survived a burglary in town last week? The palm leaves look like sepia and left the head saying bad. The fact that all these scoundrels and number two people in the country are being saved by the smoke of abnormality is also a clear proof of a kind of criminal tendency, which is not good leadership. They are teaching people depravity, blunting justice, inculcating a stigma of impunity, and you know, in our time, one could fearlessly say Shakespeare's words that we should seek forgiveness for the sins of a corrupt age.

"It's very true," said the dealer, "much more horrific than the rest of the released people, killed and set on fire. You can call the farmers and ask. ”

Moinuddin turned to us and said,

"Gentlemen, as much as my mind allows, I am happy to meet people who have been acquitted by the court. I have no fear of morality and justice when they say ‘not guilty.’ On the other hand, I feel satisfied in this country. When my conscience says the jury has done something wrong by acquitting the offender, I still feel victorious. They are for yourself. If judges and juries have faith in people, then isn't the belief in human beings better than the common sense of the signs, the elements of evidence, the way people talk in court? Only those who believe in God deserve that faithfulness. ”

"A wonderful thought," I said.

“But this is nothing new. I remember hearing a legend about this a long time ago. Very funny legend! 'Said the gardener. “I heard it from my grandmother, my father's mother, who was a very old woman. He said it in Swedish, which was not elegant or beautiful, Classical Russian. "

But we asked him to say it in plain Russian. He happily grabbed his pipe and looked at the busy people with a slightly angry look and started again,

“In a certain small secluded town, there lived a gentleman named Thomson or Wilson. But that doesn't matter, his name is not so important. His profession was respectable, doctor. He was a little rude and anti-social. He only spoke for the needs of his profession. He did not meet anyone. Acquaintances would not go out of their way to bow their heads silently to anyone. He lived like a humble devotee. In fact, he was an educated man. 

The educated people of that time did not like others. He used to spend day and night studying, thinking deeply, and curing diseases. Everything else was trivial. Not an extra word was a waste of time. The townspeople understood this and did not want to bother him with their meetings and gossip. They were happy that God had finally sent them a man who could heal. They were proud that such an extraordinary man was in their city. They used to say about him, he knows everything.

"But what they said was not enough. He lived well with everyone. A wonderful heart was beating like an angel in his chest. Although the people of the city were strangers, none of his own, he loved them like a child, never dissociating himself from them. Coughing was killing him, but when he heard about someone's illness, he forgot about his own illness. He could not think of himself as different from them. Panting, he would climb the mountain, no matter how high it was. Winter-summer, hunger-thirst did not care for any of them. He did not expect money from anyone. He used to say in a strange way that when any of his patients dies, he will go with his coffin crying because of the relationship.

“And soon he became vital to his people. They wondered how they had been without this man before. Their gratitude was boundless. From old to young, good and bad, honest and dishonest, everyone respected him in the same way. Understood his appreciation. As many people as there were around the small town, there was no one among them who would do anything different with him. They never even dreamed about it. When he went out of the house, he never closed the doors and windows. He was convinced that nothing could be stolen from him. He often saw some hungry and refugees wandering in the woods on the streets, outside of his medical duties. But in his own case, he felt real security.

“One night when he was returning from seeing a patient, he was caught by robbers. But the robbers recognized him, took off their hats to show respect, and invited him to eat with them. When he said he was not hungry, they gave him a warm sheet. Having the opportunity to express a little gratitude for the good fortune of that kind man, he also made some progress towards the city. Oh well, that's for sure Grandma Amma said that even the cows, horses, and dogs knew her and would be happy to meet her.

“And this man protected himself from all evil by his righteousness, even robbers and drunken men for whom he wished nothing but evil, and was found dead one fine morning. There was an expression of deep astonishment on his pale face, covered in blood and with his head cracked. Yeah Al that sounds pretty crap to me, Looks like Al that sounds pretty crap to me, Looks like Al that sounds pretty crap to me, Looks like Al that sounds pretty crap to me, Looks like Al that sounds pretty crap to me. 

You can imagine how devastating that grief was for the people in and around the city. People were so frustrated that they could not believe their eyes. They had no idea who could kill such a man. "Here we see all the signs of murder, but there is no one in the world who can afford to kill our doctor," said the judge who examined the doctor's body. Although there is an easy opportunity with the help of evidence, it can be said that it is not a case like murder. We can assume that he fell into a terrible gorge in the dark and was seriously injured.

“The whole city agreed. When the doctor was buried, there was nothing left but a horrific death. It is unbelievable to kill a doctor out of human misfortune. Duration also has a limit, doesn't it? ”

"Do you believe, suddenly there was an opportunity to catch the killer under their leadership. A vagabond who was notorious for his filthy life and was convicted many times. He was seen trying to sell a snuff box for alcohol, which belonged to a doctor. When he was asked, he panicked, and the answer he gave was a clear lie. A search revealed a shirt on his bed with bloodstains on his sleeves and gold knives used in the doctor's operation. What more proof do you want? They put the criminal in jail. People got hot and then said, “This is incredible! That can't happen! Make sure you don't make a mistake, you know the evidence is telling a false story! ”

"During the trial, the stubborn murderer denied all the charges against him. Everything was against him. It was as easy to convict him as it was to convince him that the world was black, But the judges seemed to have lost their minds. He checked every evidence ten times and saw the witnesses with disbelief. With red eyes, he took a sip of water. The trial started in the morning and ended in the afternoon.

"The judge said to the killer, 'Accused! The court found you guilty of killing the doctor. And you were punished. "

"The judge wanted to say, 'He is from the death penalty,' but he threw away the words on the paper, wiped the sweat from his face, and shouted: 'No! God will punish me if I judge wrong. But I can swear that the man is innocent. I can't tolerate the thought that anyone here would dare to kill our friend the doctor! A man cannot kneel in water.

"It simply came to our notice then. The other judges agreed.

"No." The crowd roared, "Let him go!"

"No animal can say that the killer can go free wherever he wants and the court verdict is not fair. At the same time, my grandmother used to say that God would forgive all the sins of the townspeople for that human faith. He is happy that when people believe that they are a reflection of his joys and sufferings, that human dignity is forgotten, that man is inferior to dogs. The real words are painful for the townspeople, but on the other hand, the beneficial effect of thought on people's faith - you know, that faith does not die. Such a great feeling has developed among us, and it will always inspire us to give love and respect to every human being. All people! And so important.

Moinuddin finished speaking. My neighbor objected a little, but the chief gardener hinted that he did not like the objection. Then, with a dignified attitude, he proceeded towards the trolley and began to supervise the work of tying-roofing.