Once upon a time, in Warsaw, there lived a young man named Jacob, he was liked by everyone. He was often invited into society to entertain everyone with beautiful stories.
Such people were especially appreciated, because they provided entertainment, especially on long, winter evenings. As soon as it got dark, people sat in taverns where Cuba was always welcome. He gained loyal listeners very easily, because his stories surprised with the richness of details. One evening, however, it was Jacob who heard the story that engulfed him completely and ignited his imagination.
The old man told him a strange, fairy-tale story, which, it is not known whether he made it up or whether it was true. The old man swore that it was not his inventions, but the true story told to him in his youth. According to the story – in Warsaw, in the basement of one of the palaces, there was an unusual, magic lake, and on its surface there was a strange, mysterious, golden bird, which was probably a duck, although no one was sure of it. The man who told the story had never seen the lake himself, nor did he know anyone who would dare to look for the Golden Duck. This trip may have been dangerous, but countless treasures await the daredevil.
Cuba, although he was known and liked, was not a rich man and he could not afford much in his life. He was still thinking about the Golden Duck, the lake under the palace and the treasures there. Mysterious images appeared in his dreams, day and night he thought about a trip to the Warsaw underground. In the end, he decided to try and see if the story told by the old man was true! He found the old man in the inn without any problems and asked again for the golden bird. The old man looked with admiration and concern at the young man full of enthusiasm and audacity and told him everything he knew about the Golden Duck, giving him the smallest details. Jacob thanked the old man for his good advice and without delay, he followed his directions to the place where he expected to find a lake and a beautiful bird.
After many hours of searching, he found a crack in the basement wall of the palace described by the old man from the inn. It was large enough to fit easily, he began to descend steep old stairs, lower and lower, he walked through wet, dark, rot-smelling corridors, he could see little in front of him, but he felt the moisture of the air more and more clearly. He descended deeper and deeper through the winding corridors of the cellar. Although Jacob was not a fearful one, he wanted to turn back and be afloat as quickly as possible a few times, but the mystery drew him even more and, not turning back to avoid feeling the urge to run away, he continued. He no longer counted the turns he was taking, he was already very tired when suddenly a beautiful, bright, colorful glow appeared in his eyes. Jacob, enchanted by the beauty of this phenomenon, ran as fast as he could towards this wonderful light, ignoring the slippery stones.
He already knew that this was the end of his journey, and when he found himself in a colorful, magical glow, he saw a lake in front of him and a Golden Duck in the mists! The old man’s story did not reflect the beauty of this bird, it was all gold, and the tips of its wings glistened with diamonds, on the long neck of the Golden Duck, precious stones sparkled with all the colors of the rainbow, and a crown of pure gold shone on its head!
As if that were not enough, the bird spoke to Cuba in a human voice.
– The treasures you have heard are real and you will receive them just like the legends tell about it, but you must pass the test! Here you have one hundred gold ducats and all you have to do is spend them all for your own needs and pleasures.
It seemed to Cuba that what the Golden Duck asked him to do was not at all difficult. Overjoyed, he quickly found his way back and, wasting no time, he began to spend money, as he had only one day for it. If he spends money, then, according to the underground bird’s promises, all the treasures he has been guarding for years will become his property! Jacob bought new clothes from the best tailor in the city, from whom the king himself and the queen ordered the clothes, from the shoemaker he bought the most expensive and beautiful shoes, drank the most expensive wine all day and ate the best delicacies in the city. At the end of the day, there was not a single ducat left in the purse. But he didn’t notice the tiny coin that was lost in the pocket of his fancy new vest. The sun was already setting over the city and it was time to go back to the Golden Duck Lake. When Cuba walked quickly towards the old palace, he heard the clink of a coin, took it out of his pocket and was about to buy something from the old seller, when he saw a poor, old, ailing beggar by the wall, who asked him for alms in a low voice.
The old man’s hands stretched out towards the boy, and he, without thinking much, gave the money back to the beggar! He knew that he would lose the treasure , which he was to receive, but his good heart won. As soon as the gold coin was in the hands of the beggar, the boy was shown the Golden Duck, which reminded him of the failure to meet the condition, because he did not spend all the money on himself but helped the poor in need! In an instant, the beautiful vest, shoes and everything that Jacob bought that day was left in his old, worn clothes. But the real treasure was in his chest, a good heart that was sensitive to the needs of other people. An old beggar predicted a happy life for Cuba, and so it happened, Jacob lived on his own hard work, found a good job with a shoemaker, then he became a real master in his trade and never complained about the lack of money. Even the king sent his courtiers to the shoemaker Jakob, who could repair shoes like no other in the whole of Warsaw.
