A long time ago, in the country of Hindustan, in the city of Hamadan, a poor man and his wife lived on the seashore. The husband collected the wreckage of broken ships thrown out by the waves, sold them for fuel and fed himself and his wife with this.
But it was not poverty that bothered them... The husband and wife grieved that they had no children.
One day, when a poor man was collecting fuel on the shore, a mermaid swam out of the sea. Her head was like that of a woman, and her body was like that of a fish. She said to the poor man:
- Do you want me to make sure you have a son? But when he grows up and becomes a young man, it is not you, but I who will decide his fate. Agree?
– I agree with joy! - the poor man shouted. He agreed to everything, as long as his hearth did not go out.
Time has passed. This man's wife gave birth to a handsome, strong boy. The boy grew up and became a strong young man. Now, instead of his father, he collected fuel on the seashore.
Once, when he came to the shore, a sea mermaid swam up from the depths.
“It’s time to think about your fate,” she said. - I found a bride for you. Walk forward along the shore. There, near a high rock, you will meet your betrothed.
The young man obeyed. I went as the mermaid ordered, and saw that a white dove had flown up to a high rock.
The dove did not notice the young man. She sank to the ground and turned into a beautiful girl. The girl undressed and threw herself into the sea.
While the girl was bathing, the young man crept up and grabbed her clothes. Seeing this, the girl swam to the shore.
- Good man! Whoever you are, give me my dress! – she begged. “How can I return to my father’s house without him?!”
But the young man, as soon as he looked at the beauty, fell in love with her. He was in no hurry to give away his clothes.
“Take my heart,” he said in response. - Promise to become my wife. Then I'll give it to you!
The young man also fell in love with the girl. She agreed, he threw the dress and turned away while the beauty got dressed.
- How will I find you? - asked the young man.
“Come to this rock tonight.” The entrance to the dungeon will open under it. Go down the stone steps. On your way there will be three doors with golden bolts. Pass by the first one. Don't look at the second one. Open the third one. I'll be waiting for you behind it.
The girl said this, turned into a dove and flew away.
The young man did everything as ordered. He went down into the dungeon, pulled back the golden bolt, opened the third door, behind which the beauty was already waiting for him. She hugged the young man and said:
- I am Peri, daughter of the sea king. He rules the seas and the underworld. He has six daughters. Father allowed us to choose our own grooms. Go to him, bow down, ask me to be your wife.
The young man went to the sea king.
“I don’t mind you becoming my son-in-law,” said the king. - You just need to test whether you are dexterous and savvy. For the first time, I give you this job: in one night, plow a field, sow wheat on it and reap the harvest from it.
The young man was sad. Well, how can you grow wheat in one night? I went to the beautiful Peri.
- Don't worry! – the girl reassured him. - We, all sisters, will help you.
In the morning the young man woke up. He lies on the edge of a wheat field: the bread is compressed and stacked in heaps. He went to the sea king and reported: so, they say, so. Your order has been carried out!
The king was pleased. He praised the young man:
- Well done! And now, without dismantling the hay, thresh the grain and put it in the bins.
Then the young man himself realized what to answer.
“Give me,” he says, “thirty thousand mice.” They will select everything down to the grain and not move a single sheaf from its place.
The king liked the answer.
- Fine! - he exclaimed. - And now the last task! Hang thirty thousand bells on the roof of my palace overnight. Let their ringing wake me up in the morning!
“I’ll hang the bells,” the young man promised. “Just give me thirty thousand swallows to help me.”
And the king liked this answer. The king found that the groom was savvy enough for his daughter, and agreed to marry Peri to him.
They set a wedding day, called guests, and arranged a rich feast. The young people lived in love and harmony. But Peri saw that her husband was overcome by secret worries. She began to question him, and he confessed: he was bored without his father and mother, and he wanted to return to them. The princess became thoughtful.
“My father doesn’t let anyone out of his kingdom into the world.” But if that's what you want, we'll run away together.
Peri called her maids and ordered them:
- When they come to call me for breakfast in the morning, answer for me: “I haven’t gotten up yet!” When they come a second time, say: “I’m getting up!” And the third time they come, say: “I’m getting dressed!” And at night Peri and the young man left through an underground passage and emerged into the world.
In the morning the king of the sea sent to call his daughter for breakfast.
“I haven’t gotten up yet,” the maid answered for her. The king was waiting for his daughter, but he couldn’t wait, so he sent her a second time.
- I’m getting up! – the second maid answered for Peri.
And again the king waited, but he did not wait. I sent it a third time.
– I’m getting dressed! – the third maid shouted behind Peri. The king waited a long time in vain. He finally realized that his daughter and son-in-law had run away. He took a magic mirror and looked: the fugitives had already made it out into the world, they had gone far.
The king ordered a chase.
She saw Peri - the royal servants were catching up with them, and said:
- I will become a mosque, and you be a mullah!
And a mosque grew up in the place where they stood, and a mullah read the Koran in it.
The royal servants ran into the mosque and asked:
“Have you seen, mullah, Princess Peri and her husband?”
- Saw! - says the mullah. “They just disappeared behind the mountain.”
The chase took off on the wrong trail and returned with nothing.
– Who did you meet along the way? - asked the sea king.
“There’s only one mullah in the mosque,” the servants answered.
- Oh, you bastards! - the king got angry. - Call the vizier to me!
The king himself set off with the vizier in pursuit of his daughter. Peri looked around and saw that their father was catching up with them.
“You become a drake,” she said to her husband, “and I will be a lake.”
And the lake overflowed in the place where they stood, and a drake swam on the lake.
The king rushed to catch the drake, but that was not the case! As soon as it approaches the lake, the lake retreats and the drake swims away.
The sea king got tired, tired, waved his hand and turned back.
And Peri and the young man went further. Whether the walk was long or short, who knows, but the young man still returned to his father and mother. The parents were so happy! They played a wedding for their son. I was at that wedding. They gave me three rosy apples. I ate one myself, gave the other to the one who listened to the fairy tale, and the third to the one who remembered the fairy tale.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru