Once upon a time there lived a powerful Raja. One day he went to swim in a large pond. The water in the pond was clean, and many beautiful flowers grew around. Before entering the water, the Raja took the ring off his finger and placed it on the shore. While swimming, he did not notice how a boy came up and took the ring. “The rajah will start looking for his jewel,” thought this boy, “and then I will meet him.”
And it’s true: when the Raja got out of the water and saw that the ring was missing, he ordered his subjects to look for it and promised to generously reward the one who would return what was lost to him. Hearing about the Raja's promise, the boy hurried to him and said:
“My lord, your slave knows where the ring is.”
“Bring it, and if it turns out that it is really mine, I will definitely reward you,” said the Raja.
The boy brought the ring, the Raja was very happy and gave the boy many expensive things and delicious food.
Some time passed, and an unknown ship stopped not far from the capital. The shipowner went ashore, carrying with him two ducklings and a stump of ebony. He went straight to the Raja, greeted him and said:
“If the master can tell his slave which of these ducklings is a drake and which is a duck, and where the top and bottom of this tree stump are, I am ready to give the master my ship.”
I looked at the Raja's ducklings for a long time, but still couldn't understand which of them was a drake and which was a duck. Then he ordered to call the boy who found his ring, and said to him:
- Hey, boy, now I'll test your mind. Here are two ducklings. You have to tell me which one is the drake. But here is a stump of an ebony tree trunk - you have to guess which of its ends is the lower one and which is the upper one. If you say it correctly, you will become a rajah in my place; if you say it wrong, you will be executed.
The boy was very scared and asked for a few days to think about it. He went to the sea, sat down on the shore and began to think which of the ducklings was the drake. But how can you find out if they look exactly the same? And how to distinguish the upper end of the stump from the lower? He thought for so long that he even felt dizzy. He remembered how he had deceived the Raja. “No other way than the Raja found out that it was I who hid his ring, and decided to kill me. Apparently I cannot escape death. It’s better for me to drown myself,” the boy decided and threw himself into the sea.
But, probably, his time had not yet struck, because he did not drown. The waves caught him, and when he came to his senses, he saw a ship lying at anchor nearby. The sailors were talking on deck.
“Where is our boss now?” asked one.
“The Raja: he said that he wanted to compete with him in intelligence,” answered the other.
— Stretch your mind? “What?” asked the third.
“He took two ducklings to the rajah and said that except him, no one could guess which duckling was the drake.
- Oh, I can guess that too. It is necessary to bring them both to the water - the one who enters the water first is the drake.
“But that’s not all: did you see a stump of an ebony tree trunk with identical ends?” So: the captain says that no one except him will ever know which end is the bottom and which is the top.
“Oh, that’s easy too—you just need to lower the log into the water.” The upper end is lighter and will be above the water, while the lower end will immediately disappear under the water.
The boy was very happy; now he had nothing to fear. He immediately returned to the palace to the Raja and said:
“Your slave is ready to fulfill the master’s command; call the shipman here and let him bring ducklings and a stump of an ebony tree trunk.”
The Raja ordered the shipman to be called immediately and when he arrived, he asked the boy:
- Well, which drake is it?
“Sir, I ask that these ducklings be taken to the water,” said the boy.
The Raja agreed and they went to the water. The boy released both ducklings, and one of them immediately jumped into the water, and the other followed a little later. And then the boy said to the Raja:
- Sir, that duckling who first entered the water is the drake.
The shipowner was forced to confirm the boy’s words. Then the Raja ordered:
“Now show me where the top and bottom ends of the ebony stump are.”
The boy took the stump, looked at it from all sides, held it in his hands and lowered it into the water.
“Sir, the upper end is the one that is above the water,” he said to the rajah.
And again the shipman confirmed the boy’s words. The rajah had to fulfill his promise and give up his throne to the boy.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru