Polski / A2
Malarze
Dawno temu żyli dwaj znani malarze: Piotr i Jan. Obaj malowali portrety, czyli obrazy ludzi.
Piotr malował bardzo dobrze, ale był biedny i nie miał co jeść. Jan malował mało i źle, ale miał dużo pieniędzy.
Dlaczego tak było? Na obrazach Piotra ludzie wyglądali tak jak naprawdę. Jan malował ich inaczej: na jego obrazach ich twarze były piękniejsze niż w życiu. I to on zarabiał więcej.
English summary · includes the ending
Two portrait painters, Piotr and Jan, were famous long ago. Piotr paints very well, but he is poor and suffers from hunger. Jan produces few paintings, and his work is poor, yet he is rich. He earns more than the artist whose pictures are much better.
The fable asks why the two painters have such different fortunes. Its answer comes at the end: Piotr paints faces that resemble the real people, while Jan paints faces that are more beautiful than the originals.
The contrast explains the surprising result. Accurate portraits bring Piotr less money than flattering portraits bring Jan. Skill and financial success do not go together in this example.
There is no later change in either man's situation. The ending simply reveals the difference between their pictures, allowing the reader to understand why the less capable painter has earned more money than his more talented fellow artist.
Adapted for Lejrbål from the credited source.
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