There were once two neighbors Stoyan and Petar. The first looked after his donkey and the other did not breed any animals. That is why he often envied his neighbour for the livestock.
And while in the beginning, he felt envious only from time to time at first, then dark thoughts were permanently embedded in his mind. The idea that his neighbor had a donkey and he did not, did not give him peace and darkened every moment of his life.
He did not enjoy the good weather, nor the songs of the birds, nor his achievements in his craft. He was tormented by the thought of the donkey, which was even appearing in his dreams.
Even though the poor animal, was nothing special. It was old, barely creaking and struggling to cope with the load it had to carry. However, Peter looked at him with a special spark in his eyes and could not find his peace every time he saw Stoyan lead him outside.
Once something unexpected happened. While engaged in the work in the shop, Peter was visited by an unknown woman dressed in black clothes. After greeting the man, the stranger admitted that she was Fate and had come to fulfill one of his wishes. As soon as he heard this, the craftsman jumped out of joy and without being at all surprised, snapped:
– I want my neighbor's donkey to die. Only then will I find peace and be happy!
Even before he had said all his words, Peter saw his wish come true. The donkey, which was passing by him at that very moment, collapsed at the feet of its master, and Stoyan was horrified and wailed.
- Ha, here you are now ! I don't have one, but you won't either! Peter shouted triumphantly.
After his initial euphoria wore off, however, he finally came to his senses and realized the huge mistake he had made. What had he gained by his neighbor's livestock dying? And he could have asked Fate to give him a donkey as well, so that now he and Stoyan would be happy. But this insight came to Peter very late. When he repented and looked for the woman in black to say he had changed his mind, she was gone. Therefore, he had no choice but to watch Stoyan suffering.
