There lived a padishah and he had an only son named Muhammad, whom the padishah loved very much. Muhammad was a slender, handsome boy, but with one drawback: if he didn’t wake him, he could sleep from the evening until noon the next day.
When Muhammad was twenty years old, he came to his father and said:
- Father, I haven’t gone anywhere for a long time, I’m bored, let me travel around the country.
At first the father did not agree, but then, heeding his son’s pleas, he relented, assigned him a guard of three hundred soldiers and instructed the vizier to accompany his son, keep an eye on him, and not let him leave the borders of the khanate.
Having prepared properly, they set off. We drove and drove, resting there, resting there, through the mountains, through the valleys, hunting animals and birds, getting to know unknown corners of the country. Whether it's long or short, it's time to go back. On the way home I met Mohammed Jeyran. He sent his horse after him, wanting to take the prey alive. Jeyran runs, Mohammed follows him. And the security rushes after him. Jeyran ran to the fence of some garden and jumped over it. Muhammad got off his horse and wanted to enter the garden, but the vizier did not allow it.
“Muhammad, your father entrusted you to me,” said the vizier. “Know that the border of our state lies here.” This garden belongs to the Samarkand padishah. Don't enter it.
Muhammad began to ask the vizier to allow him to take a walk in the garden, while he himself waited for him behind the fence.
“Okay,” the vizier agreed, “but on one condition: not a word to the padishah.”
Muhammad, promising to remain silent, entered the garden. He froze, enchanted: he had never seen such a beautiful garden. Every conceivable and inconceivable fruit and flower grew here. Bird hubbub and chirping sounded like wonderful music everywhere.
After eating raspberries and strawberries, Muhammad lay down on the green lawn and fell asleep.
While he sleeps, we will tell you about the owner of the garden. It was the apple orchard of the Samarkand padishah. The padishah's youngest daughter often came to the garden for a walk. Coming for a walk that day, the princess saw a sleeping young man on the lawn by the pool and fell in love with him at first sight.
No matter how much the princess sang, made noise, or walked past, the young man never woke up. Having lost patience and fearing that she might be caught near the young man, the girl put a piece of sugar, a bundle of hay, a mirror, a ring and a scarf in her handkerchief, folded the handkerchief and put it in the young man’s pocket, and she left.
Waking up, Muhammad washed his face with water from the pool, ate apples and pears and returned to his companions. The vizier was delighted at the safe return of the prince. They mounted their horses and rode home.
After greeting and kissing his father, Muhammad began his story about the journey. At dinner, Muhammad sneezed, put his hand in his pocket for a handkerchief, and a package fell onto the tablecloth. He unfolded it and saw: sugar, straw, a mirror, a ring and a scarf. “What is this?” - asks the father. The amazed son could not answer. The padishah called the vizier:
- What does this mean, Vizier? What are these things, and what is the meaning behind them?
The vizier, realizing that a lie could ruin him, told the padishah everything as it happened.
“As soon as you allowed my son to enter the garden, vizier,” the padishah announced, “you yourself will guess this riddle.” I give you a period of forty days. If you don't make it, I'll order you to hang it.
The vizier returned home sad, said goodbye to his wife and children and went wherever he looked. The vizier wandered for a long time, consulted with the sages, with the elders who had seen the world, but no one could guess the riddle of the objects from the scarf. A certain Bald Gamza served as a groom for the vizier. Seeing that the owner is sad, Bald and asks: “Why so sad, sir?”
“Why do you need to know this, Hamza,” the vizier answers, “you still can’t help my grief.”
And Bald Hamza does not lag behind, asking the vizier to tell him his sadness.
The vizier told Baldy everything.
“Don’t think about anything, sir,” says Baldy, “I’ll explain the meaning of the objects.” Just go to the padishah and tell him to send a two-legged horse for me. I will come to the padishah and explain the riddle to him.
The vizier went to the padishah, told him that he had a groom, Bald Gamza, and he was asking for a two-legged horse to come to the shah and explain the meaning of the objects wrapped in a scarf.
The Padishah realized that Bald One was asking to send a man for him. He sent one of his advisers for the vizier's groom. The bald man came to the palace with his adviser.
When Baldy arrived, they laid out tablecloths and filled them with all kinds of dishes. When the groom had eaten his fill, he was shown the contents of the handkerchief.
- May the life of the padishah last! The woman, putting sugar and hay in the scarf, wants to say that she is the daughter of the Samarkand padishah, the ring means that she wants to get engaged to the prince, the mirror says that the one who gave these signs is innocent and pure, like this mirror, and with the scarf she says that if, they say, you don’t marry me, you can tie yourself with this scarf, because you are not a man.
The padishah realized that Bald Hamza had correctly guessed the meaning of the objects.
“Whoever is faithful to me will give him a gift,” he said. Everyone tried to bring Baldy a gift. Then the padishah turned to the groom:
- What must be done, Gamza, to marry that girl to Muhammad?
“Well, that’s no big deal for me,” Gamza answered. - Give me the prince for a month, and we will bring the bride.
The padishah, appreciating Hamza's intelligence and realizing that he was not a coward, agreed.
Having provided them with a full sum of money, the padishah saw Hamza and his son off on their way.
So, Mohammed and Bald Gamza, having jumped over the mountains, rushed through gorges and valleys, without knowing sleep or rest, arrived in Samarkand. They stopped on the outskirts of the city, in the house of an old woman, to whom they gave a handful of gold coins.
We rested a bit from the road. Hamza says:
“Grandma, tell us what you know about the daughter of the ruler of this city.”
“Son,” answered the old woman, “in the old days I was the nanny of the youngest princess.” I saw her every day. A year ago, the padishah became very angry with his youngest daughter and ordered me not to appear in the palace anymore, because he believed that I could not raise the princess properly. And I'm afraid to appear in the palace now.
- Grandma, why was the padishah angry with his daughter? - asked Bald Gamza.
At first the old woman hesitated, did not want to speak, but, having received another handful of gold from Gamza, she said:
- Well, if so, listen, son. Our padishah has three daughters. One day he called all three to him and asked: “Daughters, do you love me?” All three answer that, of course, we love you, father.
“Okay,” says the padishah, “how do you love me?”
“Like honey,” answers the eldest daughter.
“Like a date,” answered the middle one.
The padishah was very pleased with these answers. Then he turned to his youngest daughter:
- And you, daughter, how do you love me? The princess answers:
- Father, I love you like salt.
The answer of the youngest daughter greatly offended the padishah. He frowned and said to the vizier:
“Vizir, I will give my eldest daughter in marriage to your son, my middle daughter to the son of an adviser, and you will give my youngest daughter to the first person you meet who wants to marry her—she is not my daughter from this day forward.”
“From that time on, I stopped going to see my pupil,” the old woman finished her story.
“Grandmother,” Hamza turned to the old woman, handing her another handful of gold, “I will give you a bouquet of flowers, you will take it to the princess, and you will convey her answer to me.”
At the sight of gold, the old woman’s eyes sparkled. The bald Hamza tied the bouquet with the princess’s own scarf and put a ring in the flowers. The old woman set off. She came to the palace, and the princess was having fun surrounded by forty young girls.
The princess, seeing the nanny, called her to her. I took the bouquet from her and looked inside. She saw the ring and realized that Mohammed had sent her the bouquet. So that the girls would not understand anything, she ordered them to cut forty rods in the pomegranate garden and beat the old woman to death with them. And to the old woman, as soon as the girls went into the garden, she said: “Run, hide from trouble!”
The old woman, stumbling, ran to the house. The bald Hamza is right there and asks what the princess said.
“Yes, I ordered the girls to cut forty rods in the pomegranate garden and beat me to death with them,” answered the old woman.
“Well, Mohammed, today the princess will go for a walk in the pomegranate garden,” Gamza explained. - Get ready, you'll go there. But don't try to fall asleep in the garden.
The bald Gamza and Muhammad moved towards the pomegranate garden of the padishah. Muhammad entered the garden and Hamza returned home. Muhammad walked for a long time in the garden. But the princess still did not appear. He lay down on the grass and fell asleep. The daughter of the padishah appeared and no matter how much noise she made, Muhammad did not wake up. The princess put two alchiks and two walnuts in his pocket and left. In the morning Muhammad woke up and saw: no one was there. Sad, he returned home. Bald Hamza asks if the princess came?
“No, I didn’t come,” Mohammed answers, and then he just found alchiki and nuts in his pocket.
- Oh, sleepyhead, but you say “I didn’t come.” That’s what she put there: it hints that you’re still a child - go outside and play alchiki,” explained Baldy.
Hamza again began to persuade the old woman to go to the princess. I barely persuaded her. Again he handed the old woman a bouquet of flowers and instructed her to remember everything the princess said. The old woman took the bouquet and set off with fear. He sees the princess again, surrounded by forty girls, having fun.
-Have you come again? - the princess exclaimed, seeing the old woman. She took the bouquet and ordered the girls to cut forty twigs from the quince orchard and beat the old woman to death. As soon as the girls left to carry out the order, the old woman slipped away and ran home.
- What is it this time, grandma? - asked Bald Gamza.
- And what? This time I ordered the girls to cut forty twigs in the quince orchard and whip me with them,” the old woman answered.
“That’s what I need,” Gamza exclaimed. “So this time she’ll go for a walk in the quince garden.” Having scolded Muhammad, Bald Hamza said to him:
- Oh, you lazy one, son of a lazy person, will you die if you don’t sleep for one night? This time the princess invites you to the quince garden. Go, but don't try to fall asleep!
Muhammad came to the quince garden and waited, but the princess was still not there. He thinks to himself: “Oh, I can barely stand on my feet. I’ll lie down for a while, sleep a little, and then wake up.” He lay down on the grass and fell asleep. Late at night, the princess appeared, saw Muhammad asleep, and became very angry. She put a piece of bread and a knife in his pocket and left. Waking up from sleep, Muhammad first checked his pockets and, having found bread and a knife, realized that this time the princess had come. Saddened, he returned home.
“Well, Mohammed, the princess swears on this bread that, if she finds you sleeping again, she will cut off your head with this knife,” Gamza explained.
The bald man, having scolded Mohammed thoroughly, again began to persuade the old woman, pouring her another handful of gold, to go to the girl. After much persuasion, he handed the old woman a bouquet of flowers and sent her to the palace. The princess, as soon as she saw the old woman, snatched the bouquet from her and said:
- Listen, grandma, you have no conscience. How dare you show up again? - and ordered the girls to bring forty thorny rods from the rose garden and beat the old woman with them. Having sent the girls away, the princess turned to the old woman:
- Grandma, let this be the last time. If you come “ever again, consider yourself dead!”
The old woman, returning home, told Hamza everything as it happened.
“Well, Mohammed, listen,” said Bald Gamza, “this is the last opportunity.” This time the princess invites you to the royal flower garden.
Muhammad dressed up and went to the rose garden. And this garden was of indescribable beauty, the aroma of flowers made my head spin. Mohammed waited for a long time, he felt that it was too much for him to stay awake. He cut his finger with a knife and sprinkled salt on the wound. Because of the pain, he forgot about sleep.
Early in the morning, when the sun had just touched the earth with its rays, Muhammad saw a dressed princess appear in the distance. He almost lost consciousness at the sight of her indescribable beauty. What kind of girl, what kind of beauty, says to the moon - don’t come out, I’ll rise, says to the sun - don’t come out, I’ll rise. If you see one like this, you will die of happiness. Black eyebrows, black eyes, a thin figure, the posture of a cypress, the gait of a goitered gazelle, the look of a deer, lips like rose petals, cheeks like rubies, as if blood had been sprinkled on white snow, teeth like pearls. Muhammad fell madly in love with the princess.
And the girl says to Muhammad:
“If I had caught you sleeping this time, I wouldn’t have blown your head off.” What kind of hero are you if you can’t help but sleep for one night?
After scolding Muhammad some more, the princess started a conversation with him. They talked so much about everything that they did not notice how sleep had overtaken them. Among the rose bushes, on the green grass, Muhammad laid his head on the lap of his beloved, and both fell asleep.
While they are sleeping here, let me tell you about the girl’s uncle’s son. The cousin wanted to marry the princess, but she did not agree. For a long time now, the cousin had been following the princess like a shadow, thinking of persuading her. So now he went out in search and wandered into a flower garden. And what does he see? Some young man put his head on his sister’s lap and is sleeping. Without hesitation, he tied them both hand and foot and threw them into prison. And he reported everything he saw to the padishah. The padishah became angry and ordered the criminals to be hanged. The princess sees that things are bad and asks: “Mohammed, who solved the mystery of the things wrapped in a scarf?”
Muhammad said that he had a friend, Bald Gamza, who revealed the meaning of things.
“He is apparently a very smart and brave man,” says the princess, “we need to find him.” He's the only one who can get us out of here.
Muhammad replied that Hamza was now in the house of such and such an old woman on the outskirts of the city.
The princess gave the guard, taking off her gold bracelet and rings, and instructed him to go to the house of her former nanny, hit the gate with a stone once, twice on the mulberry tree that grows in front of the house, climb to the roof of the house and throw two stones into the chimney, and then return back. Seeing the gold, the guard agreed to carry out the order. He found the old woman's house and hit the gate with a stone. The old woman says:
- Hamza, someone hit the goal with a stone, look who it is? Hamza answers:
- Grandma, someone brought news from Muhammad.
They go out and see a man. The stranger, as the princess instructed, hit the mulberry tree in front of the house twice with a stone. Hamza also understood this sign:
- Grandma, the princess and Muhammad have been captured. The stranger then climbed onto the roof and threw two stones down the chimney.
- Grandmother, Muhammad and the princess are thrown into prison and call me for help.
The bald Hamza, taking a handful of gold, went to the city bazaar, bought himself a merchant's outfit embroidered with gold and, having found out about the whereabouts of the merchant elder, went to him.
He came to the merchant elder and said:
- Brother, I came from Yemen, I myself am a merchant, I heard that you have many slaves and concubines. I need one concubine for a few days, so that while I’m here she can do the laundry and cook. And when I leave, I will return it to you.
The headman agreed and sold one of his concubines to Gamza. And he brought her home and dressed her in royal clothes. He warned the slave so that she would confirm everything he said. Together with the slave, Hamza went straight to the guard in the dungeon. He promised him a lot of gold and said:
- You let us into prison, and release those who are there into freedom.
The guard's greed prevailed over all other feelings. He released Muhammad with the princess and locked Hamza and the slave in prison.
So, Hamza and the slave ended up in prison. What did the princess do? She went to her chambers and wrote a letter to her father: she does not know about her father’s dislike for her after she declared that she loved him like salt. But is it really possible because of this to spread rumors around the city that tomorrow the daughter will be executed? Is it possible to needlessly disgrace one’s own daughter?
The padishah, having received the letter, could not understand what was the matter. The daughter doesn’t seem to know anything. Therefore, taking the vizier, the padishah went to the dungeon and saw some merchant with a girl in it.
- Who are you? - asked the padishah.
Bald Hamza replied:
- May the life of the padishah last, what kind of country is this, what kind of laws are these? They threw me and my slave into prison for no reason, and they even say that this girl is the daughter of a padishah? I swear by all the saints that I bought this slave yesterday from the merchant elder of this city. If you don't believe me, you can call him and ask him.
The padishah immediately called the merchant elder and asked him about what had happened.
The headman confirmed that in fact he sold this slave to the merchant yesterday. The padishah believed that his daughter had been slandered. He ordered Hamza and the slave girl to be released from prison, and expelled his nephew from his possessions. Hamza, having changed his clothes and appearance, went to the palace and sat down in front of it on a matchmaking stone. Hamza was taken to the padishah. Bowing before the padishah, Hamza said:
- O ruler of the world! The purpose of my visit is to ask for the hand of your youngest daughter. I have a friend named Muhammad, the son of a padishah. He's in love with your daughter. If you allow, we will marry them.
The padishah remembered that he had promised to marry his youngest daughter to the first person he met, and there were bad rumors about her, so, he decided, I’ll agree and get rid of the scoundrel.
The bald man, guessing the thoughts of the padishah, suggested:
- May the life of the Shah last, allow the wedding to take place in our homeland.
The padishah immediately agreed to this proposal. Hamza came home joyful and told everything to Muhammad. Without noise they took the princess to her native land. Muhammad's father met his son and girl and led them to the palace. The wedding took seven days and seven nights.
Months passed. A year later, the princess wrote a letter to her father, in which she said that no one in these parts believed in her royal origin, that everyone said that if she had a father, he would have visited her at least once during this time. Therefore, she asks the priest to come and visit her: “Take your vizier and perhaps come to my house.”
I received a letter from the padishah and my father’s heart softened. He went with the vizier to visit his daughter. He arrived to her and froze in amazement - there was so much gold and silver here that there would not have been enough in his entire treasury. The daughter received her father with respect and honor. After long conversations, food was served. Dishes from all over the world appeared on the tablecloth. But all the dishes were salted.
After the meal, the daughter asked her father if he liked the dishes she had prepared, was everything tasty?
“Not bad, my daughter,” answered the padishah. “Only everything is without salt.”
- So what if there is no salt? - asked the daughter.
- What does food taste like without salt? — the padishah was surprised. “There is nothing better in the world than salt.”
And the hostess, taking the father at his word, says:
- Father, why were you angry with me when I said that I love you like salt?
The padishah realized that his daughter had pressed him against the wall. He thought a little and, looking down, said:
- Yes, you were right then, daughter. I was wrong, I didn’t understand you.
The padishah, admiring his daughter's intelligence, forgave her.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru