Once upon a time there lived a young prince. His father died, and the people immediately put him on the throne. He was very young, loved hunting and began looking for a bride early.
Both for hunting and for searching for a bride, he went in disguise. He liked one girl the most. He sent his manager, the Mourav, to her father with a request to marry the girl to the young king. The parents were delighted, but the girl asked Mourav:
- What craft is the groom trained in?
- Yes, he is a king! - Morav answered with a laugh.
“A king is not a craft,” the girl objected. “I’m asking what he can do, what skills he has.”
Mourav laughed again and repeated:
“He knows how to rule a kingdom—that’s all his craft.” He is the king!
Then the girl said firmly:
- Being a king is not a craft at all. Since he can’t do anything else, I won’t marry such a man, even if he sits on the throne!
The girl’s parents were beside themselves with indignation: how dare this fool refuse the king, and even such a young and handsome one!
When the king was informed about this, he not only was not offended, but also became thoughtful. Indeed, what kind of a man is this if he doesn’t know any craft? Who knows what else life will be like! And he said to his mourav:
“I believe that craft will not prevent the king from ruling the kingdom.”
“Of course,” answered Morav, “the more a person knows, the better.” And, of course, knowledge of the craft would not hurt the king; it would help in many ways and help out in difficult times. We didn’t dare tell you what else your betrothed said to her angry parents: “And if the people overthrow the king, what craft will they use to earn food for themselves?”
- Right! My chosen one turned out to be wise, and I must certainly learn the craft. But which one? This is something we need to think about.
“It seems to me that silver and goldsmiths have an advantage over others.”
“No,” answered the young king, “it’s best to weave carpets.” What could be more beautiful than coloring silks with flowers and birds, so that my beloved’s bare feet would then touch the carpet. I must give the first fruit of my labor to my bride.
Mourav did not argue, and they called in the best carpet maker in the entire kingdom. He began to go to the palace and teach the king. The first carpet that the king-apprentice wove was all covered with love poems; they were woven so skillfully among flowers and birds that it was not easy to distinguish the letters and read the poems.
The king sent this carpet to his beloved as evidence of his skill. The king’s skill delighted the girl, and she not only agreed to become his wife, but also praised his talent and skill to the skies. The royal wedding took place.
After some time, the king, as was his custom, changed into simple clothes and went hunting. He did not kill any game and, getting hungry, went out onto the road and began looking for a dukhan where he could eat. Finally, he discovered a house in the thicket of the forest and hurried there.
— Is it possible to have lunch here? he asked.
“Of course,” they answered him. The baker looked at him approvingly, pointed to the place and said:
- Please sit down, we'll serve you lunch now. The king went to the room, which was very beautifully decorated, and a beautiful carpet was laid out at the very threshold. “This place is just right for me,” thought the king, and as soon as he stepped on the carpet, the floor collapsed under him, and he found himself in a deep hole.
After the sunlight in the pit, everything seemed pitch black to him. Having fallen to the bottom of the pit, he did not immediately understand what had happened to him. Gradually coming to his senses, he began to distinguish some people in the darkness. One of them approached him and asked:
- What sin brought you to this slaughterhouse?
- What other massacre?
- They threw you, me and that man here to kill...
- What are you saying? How to kill it?
- And like this: they feed the meat of “calves” like us to those who end up in their den.
- Do they feed you human meat?
- Yes, human; whoever suits them, they throw into this pit. They don’t even have to spend money on meat. Their greed is so great that they do not give up their terrible work, although they know that the jug, which got into the habit of walking on water, will eventually break at the spring, and then they will have to pay for the death of innocent people.
- How do you know that they kill people with their meat too...
- And you will soon find out... It’s now the turn for one of us. Armed people will come here and kill the victim like a bull. You can neither run nor resist. After all, they take away weapons upon entering this den.
The young king’s heart ached. While they were talking, armed robbers descended into the pit, knocked down the one who was speaking, tied his hands and cut his throat right in front of the king. He asked:
“Are you supposed to kill me too?”
-What kind of red egg are you?
- And if I master such a craft, what will bring you more profit than myself? Isn't this more profitable for you? Make me work, save my life and money will be the broom of revenge...
- What kind of craft do you know? - they asked the young king suspiciously.
“I will weave a carpet that will cost you six tomans, and you will sell it for five hundred.”
_Who will give us five hundred tomans for a carpet? These are the kind of nuts you throw to your pigs,” they laughed.
- You shouldn't laugh! I'm telling you the truth. I'll tell you who will give five hundred gold for the carpet. My skill is unparalleled - see for yourself.
“If we bring you the yarn here, will you do what you promised?”
- Anywhere, I don’t care.
“Don’t think we’re easy to fool.”
“My craft requires neither lies nor boasting.” It speaks for itself.
- What if they don’t give us five hundred tomans?
- I'm in your hands. All the same, you must kill me - then you will kill me.
- Maybe you want to gain time? Maybe he was up to something?
- You have no reason to suspect me. I have golden hands ~ take advantage of it. You will get a hundred times more benefits.
- Well, write what tool you need and what material.
- Based on this list, any carpet maker will determine what kind of master I am! - said the king and wrote what he needed for his work.
They realized that they were dealing with a real carpet maker, and they brought him everything.
The king began to weave the carpet by the light of the smokehouse. And before his eyes, the robbers continued to kill people.
Time has passed.
The work was completed, and the carpet turned out to be of rare beauty. When the villains saw him, their eyes widened. They never thought that the young hunter was capable of such a thing: the leaves, flowers and birds were distributed orderly, in the proper order, everything was in its place. It seemed that in front of them was a real garden with singing birds.
- Well, who will buy it? Who will give us five hundred gold pieces for the carpet? Where should I take it? The young man answers:
“Ordinary people don’t have enough money for such a carpet, so take it to the royal palace, only at night, secretly.” The one who comes to you - it doesn’t matter whether it’s a king or a queen - will immediately buy a carpet and immediately count out the gold for you.
The robbers went to the palace at night. The guards stopped them at the gate:
- What do you want here?
“We brought a freshly woven expensive carpet, such that no one except the king and queen would buy it.
They reported to the queen, she invited the “merchants” into her chambers, looked at the carpet and immediately realized that her husband had made it. “They probably forced him to work in captivity,” she thought, but remained silent, biting her tongue...
“Let’s bring the carpet into my bedchamber, spread it there, and see what it’s good for.”
- This minute, madam!
The servants carried the carpet into the royal bedchamber. The queen lingered there, because among the leaves and birds she read about all the misadventures of her husband.
"Disguised, I hunted as usual. I didn’t kill any game. Hungry, I went into the dukhan to have lunch. There they took me into a room, the floor collapsed under me, and I found myself in a deep hole. This hole is a slaughterhouse for innocent people. They are going to kill me too, so that my meat can be fed to those who come here. If anything will save me, it will be the craft of a carpet weaver. Give these people five hundred tomans of gold and order them to bring me to the palace to measure the darbazi to weave a carpet for it. Promise them a thousand tomans. Let my servants watch them quietly, but be careful, otherwise they will kill me.”
The carpet turned out to be a real letter. The queen brought five hundred tomans to the robbers and said:
— For this room I need a large carpet. I will pay you a thousand tomans, but the carpet must be woven exactly to size. If it turns out to be a little more or less, I will not accept it and you will be at a loss. Therefore, let the master himself measure the length and width. I warned you. Who would throw a thousand mists into the wind!
As soon as the villains heard about the thousand mists, they shouted with one voice:
- Tomorrow night we will bring a master so that he can measure everything accurately.
The queen released the very satisfied robbers, assigned servants to quietly watch them... The next night they brought the king disguised as a carpet maker to the palace...
They entered the darbazi hall. The king began to measure its length and width, then went to the bedchamber, supposedly to check whether the sold carpet was the right size. There he took off his simple clothes, put on the royal attire and returned to the hall:
-Have you brought the carpet?
- We, sir.
- Is it you who receives an order from the queen for a thousand tomans?
- We, sir!
- Who am I, do you know?
- We know, sir! You are the king.
“And you don’t know anything else about me?”
- What else can we know?
- And the fact that I am the same carpet maker who wove the carpet for you, and you are villains, cannibals, robbers!
The king ordered to seize them. The viziers and nobles gathered, gathered with the troops, caught all the intruders and decided to hang them. They freed the unfortunate prisoners doomed to death. And then the queen asked her husband:
“Did I do anything wrong by forcing you to learn a craft?”
- Thanks to you, I stayed alive. If I had not mastered the craft, the royal title would not have helped me, I would have died. You are my life, hello for many years! If it weren't for my craft, I would not be in the world long ago. The royal title did not help me, but my craft saved me.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru