In ancient times, there lived a rich man named Abdullah. He had a handsome only son. The time has come for the young man to get married, he went to look for a wife. The young man traveled for three years through different lands and could not meet a woman anywhere that he liked. Having lost all hope, he was already returning to his native village, when suddenly on the way he met a girl who amazed him with her beauty. The young man fell passionately in love with her and did not hesitate to marry. He lived the first years with his young wife very happily. But then he began to quickly wither away and turned into a skeleton. His face turned yellow as saffron.
The young man had everything, but he had no health. He decided to send people in all directions to find an experienced tabib or magician.
After some time, his people brought the magician.
The young man addressed him with these words:
- Oh magician! I am in the grip of an evil illness. Heal and save me!..
The magician opened his book, peered at it for a long time, then said:
- Oh my young man! I read about your illness in this book. You are suffering from your wife. Although your wife bears a human likeness, she is not a person, but a snake-boa constrictor. You can be sure of this. When you go to bed, remove all the water from the yurt, don’t leave a drop, and don’t close your eyes all night. You will see miracles.
The young man fulfilled the magician’s request exactly. It was deep into the night. The young man's wife lay there, lay there, suddenly carefully raised her head, began to stretch out and gradually turned into a snake. The snake crawled around the yurt, looking for water. There was no water. Then the snake began to quickly lengthen and crawl out of the yurt towards the river that flowed not far from the village. Leaving her tail in the yurt and reaching the shore with her head, she got drunk, turned into a beauty again and lay down next to her husband.
The young man was overcome with horror. He would either break out in a cold sweat or feel hot. Finally the night passed and it began to get light.
In the morning he called the magician and told him what he saw at night. The magician advised to gather all the craftsmen and immediately build an iron house with seven walls, providing it with strong locks. When everything is ready, lure the wife there and lock her, and then, having bought straw from all the farmers, surround the house and set it on fire. The fire must burn until the walls become red hot and the boa constrictor dies in the fire. At the same time, the magician warned that if the young man did not follow his advice, then in two years his wife would finally turn into a boa constrictor and swallow all the inhabitants of the village.
“The young man gathered numerous craftsmen, and soon the iron house was ready.
- Oh my dear! - the young man said to his wife. - What a mansion I built for you! Would you like to admire them?
He took his wife to the rebuilt house. And as soon as his wife entered it, he quickly locked the doors and ordered that the house be covered with straw. An hour later, the iron house was in flames, and after this, such a terrible hissing was heard that the earth shook. This was the last gasp of the boa constrictor.
So the young man saved himself and the inhabitants of the village from the boa constrictor.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru