Nerso

There were three brothers: the big brother, the middle brother and the little brother. The little brother was called Nercès, we called him Nerso. The father died, leaving them a lot of property and merchandise as an inheritance.

The big brother and the middle brother agreed to deprive Nerso of his share of the inheritance:

Big brother says:

What do you mean, isn’t that a sin? said the middle brother.

Listen to me, no objection! said the big brother.

As you wish, said the middle brother.

They call Nerso:

Nerso, you're the smallest of us, right? Little ones have to listen to big ones, right?

It's just, Nerso said.

You are the smallest of us, you have not worked with the sweat of your brow, you are not entitled to the inheritance.

And why ? Am I not our father's son?

Yes you are, intervened the middle brother, but our big brother told you, you didn't work with the sweat of your brow, why would you inherit?

And yet…said Nerso

And yet, say the two brothers, go earn your living!

It's as if they had stuck a knife in Nerso's heart, as if they had slit his throat, thrown him in a corner. He reflects, he reflects, he has to earn a living, he spits on his brothers and sets off.

He walks, he walks, he arrives in the city of the Sultan of Turkey, by the sea. He wanders here and there, he finds a khan, he settles in a corner. In this underground khan lived many porters, originally from Mouch, Van, Sivas, Erzeroum; driven from a thousand places by poverty. They had come to work, to collect a little money, to save up to be able to return home.

Among these porters, there was a man from Mouch, whose name was Boghos. He seemed wise and experienced. He saw Nerso, called him close and asked him:

Where do you come from ?

From the countryside, around Mouch, Nerso replied.

From which village?

From Pil.

Ah! Pill? I know, I know, I have been there several times. We were going to harvest the fields. It's a nice village.

Since you've been there, do you know any people?

No, nobody, that's in the past.

Nerso sighs deeply.

Well ! tell ! Who did you leave in the village? Father, mother, brothers, sisters?

My father and my mother are dead, I have no sister, I have two brothers, they did not keep me, they deprived me of my share of inheritance, they told me: "go , go live as you please. I left them, I left.

Oh oh ! the old man is astonished, this is not in accordance with the customs of the inhabitants of Mouch. They acted towards you like you were dead.

Nerso heaves a deep sigh again.

Do not be upset, my child. God closes a door and opens a thousand. I will be your father and you will be my son.

Nerso is heartbroken. He is crying.

Don't cry, my little one. The peasants do not cry easily. God who created us will make you live. It is said that fortune is blind, but every now and then it opens its eyes. A day will come when your brothers will throw themselves at your feet. You will climb mountains, you will cross rivers, your share of the inheritance will always be yours, your brothers will beg you.

Do not say anything. I will die; you will remain valid, you will see!

Nerso becomes porter. Every morning, early, he goes to the market to offer his services; he works. In the evening, he returns, he sees his friend the old man who arrived before him, who has prepared bread for him, who has cooked him some beans.

Welcome ! sit down, my child. How tired you are!

I have walked all over town, Nerso said.

Cursed be the city! you don't regret your campaign?

• you haven't had dinner?
• Oh ! do I want to eat alone?

The more time passes, the more the old man and Nerso become attached to each other, they walk together, they make sure not to disturb each other, they work together, they come home in the evening, they eat what God gave them.

One or two years pass. Nerso becomes more and more familiar with the city, he knows all the streets, and he has so much work that he even refuses some. One evening, at sunset, a lady approached him and said:

• Carry my bags, young man!
• I'm sorry, I'm exhausted, I'll go home.

This lady was a Turkish Levantine, Greek or Jewish, who knows? When she revealed her face, Nerso took his breath away: a luminous forehead, large black eyes like Halvarentz grapes, a small partridge mouth, so young and so cute that Nerso lost his mind.

• So, you don't want to wear them?
• Oh yes ! I wear them, Madam, I wear them, and I don't want any money!

The lady gave him a lovely smile.

She in front, him behind, they walk, they walk. They arrive in a street, they enter a large house with a gate, the lady takes off her veil, she looks tenderly at Nerso.

• Young man, she says, I haven't seen a pretty boy like you in the whole city. My husband died a few months ago, I was left a widow, won't you marry me?
• I, a peasant, porter, and you, a great lady of the city, said Nerso, is this conceivable?
• My God, said the lady, why would a boy like you act as a porter? I have great riches, many goods of which you will be the master, let's be husband and wife!

Nerso's heart jumps, but he doesn't show it. He says :

Madam, I promise you nothing; I'm going to go to the khan where my father is waiting for me. If he agrees, I will also completely agree.

- Go, said the lady.

While the woman sits and cries, Nerso runs at full speed to the khan.

• My child, where have you lost yourself? asks the old man.

Nerso tells the whole story.

No, said the old man, a hen can't marry a gander, a rich lady can't be your wife. His world is not the same as yours.

Good, said Nerso, If I don't listen to you, who will I listen to?

The night is ending. In the morning, they get up to go to work, they hear the town crier:

 " It's the war ! it's the war ! The king of Greeks has thrown himself at us, he wants a battle. The Sultan ordered all those who know how to use a weapon to gather in front of his palace to go and fight. It's the war ! it's the war !

• What are the Greeks? Nerso asks
• It is a people, said the old man.
• They are Turks or Christians?
• They are Christians, their cross is like ours, but a little twisted.

What to do ? Order of the Sultan! Nerso goes to the front of the palace, they give him a saber, they put him with the others, they put him in a boat, they take him near the country of the Greeks, he enters the battle.

What a battle! It looks like two mountains colliding; the cannon thunders, the sabers wave, blood flows, the corpses are removed.

Nerso is lucky. After the battle, with many others, he was taken prisoner, the Greeks saw that he was a Armenian, a Christian, they do not torture him, they do not kill him; they tell him:Why are you fighting against us? Take your sword, kill the unfaithful Turk!

 "I will fight, I will fight well, if I have the chance" Nerso said.

Nerso launches into battle, he accomplishes feats.

When the war ends, he is taken to the king of the Greeks. The king hangs a few medals on his chest, takes him to his palace, he appoints him head of the guards.

Nerso is not happy. He only thinks of his old porter. Is he still alive, or is he dead? He had to return to the village, did he leave? did he stay? where is he ?

The country of the Greeks is far away, beyond the seas, far from the great Turkish city and the village of Mouch. What are his brothers doing? Don't they regret having deprived him of his goods? Who knows ?

Nerso was thinking, thinking, and couldn't sleep.

Finally, one morning, Nerso opens his eyes; he learns that the king is dead, that the high dignitaries are gathered to choose a new king.

Who to elect? Who not to elect?

Finally, they decide that the first to enter the palace will be named king.

Luckily, it's Nerso who enters.

Immediately, the dignitaries stand up:

Well ! Nerso, you are our king! they say.

Nerso becomes king. They put a crown on her head, they sit her on a throne.

Immediately, the dignitaries enter, leave, return. They say sweet words to him, they flatter him, they elevate him to heaven, everyone would like to extract something from him, land, money, medals... Doesn't the king have access to all these things ?

All this did not put Nerso in a good mood, him who already had his own pain and grief. A king, a king, he says to him, should he also govern his country?

He thinks for a long time. Suddenly he claps his hands. Immediately, a few men enter.

 " My children, said Nerso, go quickly to the Mouch region, to the village of Til. I have an adoptive father there named Boghos. Tell him that the king of your country, Nerso, would like to know how to govern it. Come on !

These men ride horses, they trot, they trot, they go, they go, they arrive in the countryside around Mouch, they stop at the village of Til and ask:

 " Take us to Boghos, the adoptive father of our king ”.

The peasants lead them to the old man who had just returned from his city of misery.

 " Uncle Boghos, the king of our country, Nerso, wants to ask you how to govern it.”

The old man mutters, he takes them to the plain, he kicks the weeds, makes the heads fly, the egrets fly here and there (I say ten heads, you say ten thousand), he turns to the king's men and says:

 " Tell the king what you saw! “ 

The horsemen return to the Greek city, they enter the palace, they kneel before the king, they relate what they have seen.

Nerso said to himself: If you want to govern the country well and be peaceful, make the heads of your enemies fly like weeds.

This is what Nerso will do.

Time passes, and Nerso does not see his pain easing. Day and night, he thinks of his old man and his brothers. He sits sadly in front of the window, he thinks, he thinks, so long as he loses sleep.

 " I am king, I am king, he says to him, but as long as I don't go to my village to see my old man and my brothers, things won't work. I want to know how they're doing, then I'll come back. Death reigns in this world. “ 

He gets on his horse, he takes two bags of gold, a few riders accompany him. Till, where are you? I'm coming ! He gallops, at full speed, he arrives, he arrives, he arrives; finally here is Til! He stops in front of his door, he sees his big brother and his middle brother, their faces thin, their eyes somber, sitting opposite each other.

The brothers see a young man, dressed as a king, like Saint Sarkis (Sergius), standing in front of them. His horse plays with the clouds. The brothers do not recognize Nerso. He says “hello” to them. They also say “hello”. Nerso asks them:

• Are you not the sons of So-and-So?
• Yes, they say
• Where is your father?
• Our father is long dead.
• Don't you have a little brother?
• Yes, we have a little brother.
• What's his name ?
• Nerso
• Call him !
• What to call him, friend, he left us a long time ago, we don't know if he's dead or alive.

Nerso turns to his riders:

 » Go get my old friend Boghos! “ 

He turns to his brothers:

•  » Let's see, what is your situation? “ 
• What a situation ? After our father died, said the middle brother, we have both lived together, we have not found a wife, we have quarreled, we have separated, we have become poor, we are in misery.
•  » Is your brother not helping you? “ 
• Which brother?
•  “Your little brother”.
• Which little brother? The devil has entered into us, we have deprived him of his share of inheritance, he has gone God knows where, we do not know if he is still alive, nor where he is, we should never have done such a thing !

Nerso turns away; he wipes his eyes.

The horsemen arrive with the old man.

 » Hello, little father! How are you ? “ 

 " Hello young man ! you see, I live. “ 

While speaking, the old man puts his hand in a visor. He looks, he looks, suddenly he recognizes Nerso.

• Ah! Nerso! I dream ! it's you ?
• It's me, dear little father.
• I am surprised by your appearance, my child, would you not have become king?
• But yes, I became king!

Nerso gets off his horse, he hugs his old friend, the old man says:

 " When I told you that God closes one door and opens a thousand, you didn't believe me. You see ? now you have become king. What happiness! Come, let's go to my house together, my brave wife will make you finger-licking keuftés. “ 

• Yes, yes, we will go, but wait a minute, I have a little work to do.

Nerso gives the order to bring down the two bags of gold, he turns to the old man: » My dear little father, I would like you to share these two bags of gold in front of me between you and my brothers. They contain a hundred gold coins, you will take ninety for yourself, you will give five to my big brother and five to my middle brother. It's an order from the king. “ 

The old man shares the gold as the king ordered, then takes it to his home.

The big brother and the middle brother look at each other, they can't find a word to say.

Everyone returns home with their heads bowed. They wonder why they played such a nasty trick on their little brother.

They finally understand that when a man dies, his name remains. When the ox dies, its skin remains.