Two men decided to leave their village where they barely earned a living and go to Constantinople. They hoped to work hard and return to their village with enough money to live comfortably for many years.

The wife of the first man said, “My dearest husband, you will leave me and your children alone for many years. I will not know if you will return. You must promise me one thing.” Her husband promised to do whatever she wanted.

“When you begin to work, you must promise not to refuse any job even one day, regardless of how hard or how little the pay. Give your solemn word and I will be satisfied to let you go.” He agreed.

The wife of the second man asked her husband to make a promise before leaving. “Husband, you are leaving me alone with the children and going far away. I want you to promise one thing.”

“What is it,” he asked.

“Promise you will not waste your energy doing very low paying jobs. You must earn at least one lira (Turkish money) a day. Then you will earn enough money to return quickly.” He promised.

Both men left their village for Constantinople. Once they arrived, they began to solicit work every
morning as day laborers in the marketplace. Businessmen would approach them with menial job offers. The pay was meager, but there were always offers of work. The first man accepted work everyday regardless of the pay. The second man hardly worked at all because the offers were so low.

After three long years, the first man was ready to return home. He had earned a considerable amount of money. He asked his friend to return with him.

“How can I return now.” said the second man. “I have not earned enough.”

“If I return alone, your family will feel discouraged that I have come and you haven’t. I consider you like a brother. I will share the money I have earned with you. Then we can both return with equal earnings,” the first man said.

“I cannot accept such an offer because you might tell everyone how you gave me half your money out of pity because I was incapable to earn like you,” said the second man. The discussion continued for some time until the first man was able to convince his friend that he would never reveal his generosity. The second man agreed to accept his friend’s offer.

They prepared to return to their far off village. They spent some of the money to purchase gifts for their families and began their return. After weeks of traveling, they were near the village. The second man had gradually become somber. The first man was very joyful to be so close to seeing his family. He asked his friend why he was so grave now that they were almost home.

“Brother, I am going to kill you,” said the second man.

“You must be joking. After so many years, we are about to see our families,” said the first man.

“I must kill you,” said the second man.

“I can’t understand. Why do you want to kill me?”

“After we arrive in our village, you will tell everyone about your generosity to me.” said the second man.

“I have already promised you. I will never betray your trust. This will remain a secret unto the grave.
I give you my word.”

The second man was so adamant and determined that the first man had no choice. He was genuinely a pious man. He realized that either he would be killed or, in a struggle, he would kill his friend. Not wanting to be sinful himself, he agreed to be killed. He, however, requested the second man to promise him one thing.

“Please promise me this. When you give the news to my wife that I am dead, say that my last wish was that she change the name of our son from Hagop to “There is law but no justice.”

The second man promised. He mercilessly killed the first man, buried him and took all the money for himself. When he arrived at the village, he was greeted joyfully. Everyone was impressed by how much money he earned in the big city. The first man’s wife, came running to him and asked where was her husband.

The second man said, “I am sorry to tell you that your husband died in Constantinople. He became very sick and gradually wasted away and died. I used my own money to bury him. He made me promise to convey his last wish to you. He wanted you change the name of your son to “There is law but no justice.”

The second man’s wife was devastated by the news. She returned home to lament. She changed her son’s name as her husband wished. She was a poor widow whose only means of living was cleaning houses, washing clothes and cooking.

The neighborhood children began to called the widow’s son “There is law but no justice.” One day, the village children were playing on the main road where travelers pass. There was a group of uniformed Turkish soldiers with their commander leading them. The children were searching for the first man’s son. They repeated called out his name loudly. The Turkish commander heard the strange name and became curious. He bean to inquire how a little boy received such a strange name.

He asked to see a responsible village leader. He was introduced to the second man who had become
prominent by virtue of his wealth.

The commander asked, “How is it that a boy in your village has such a name as “There is law, but no justice.” The second man said that he was with the boy’s father when he died. The last wish that he gave was that his son be renamed. The first man’s wife was called by the commander and she confirmed that this was true.

The commander had the second man arrested and held until he completed an investigation. He sent messengers to Constantinople to make an inquiry into the facts. He found out that the two workers from the village left Constantinople together. It was also confirmed that the first man earned a considerable amount of money by continual hard labor and the second man hardly earned anything.

The commander’s suspicion was confirmed. He interrogated the wealthy second man and forced him to confess the truth. The grave of the first man was uncovered and the money he earned rightfully returned to his widow. The second man was hanged for murder. The commander requested the widow to rename her son, “There is law and justice.” He also had a large stone carved with the same inscription. The stone was placed in a prominent place in the village.