Once upon a time there lived a king. He was a master of all sorts of inventions. Once it occurred to him to have some fun. So he ordered to announce: “Whoever decides to climb into a pond at night and sit in the water until the morning will receive half a kingdom as a reward.” It was winter time, the nights were cold. Many heard about the king's promise, but no one dared to do what he demanded. Finally one poor Brahman was found. The need completely overcame him - it was time to lay hands on himself. So he decided to try his luck. The brahman sat up to his neck in the cold water all night, and the next morning, alive and well, he came for his reward.
The king was very surprised and asked:
- Tell me what you saw when you were sitting in the pond.
The Brahman answers him:
“I was surrounded by pitch darkness on all sides, only a light flickered in the temple. I couldn't take my eyes off him.
- That's it! - says the king. - This light warmed you - that’s why you managed to endure the cold. If there were no lamp in the temple, you would not be able to sit in the water. Why should you be rewarded?
The brahmana heard this and became depressed. He began to cry out for justice, but no one wanted to stand up for him and contradict the king. The brahmana went to ask for protection from neighboring kings, but did not receive help from them either. Only one young princess heeded his pleas and agreed to stand up for justice.
She took it and invited the king to visit her. The king has arrived. The princess began to treat him, brought him various dishes, and put water on the side. The king asks her to drink water.
The princess says:
- There's water nearby. You're looking at her. Aren't you drunk yet?
The king was surprised:
– Have you ever seen how you can get drunk when you’re just looking at the water?
“But they say that a poor Brahmin, who was sitting in a pond on a cold night, managed to warm himself up by looking at a light flickering in the distance,” the princess answers. - So, can’t the king quench his thirst by looking at the water?
The king understood the mockery and became very angry. He began to threaten her:
- Look! You should not be a girl and not a husband's wife!
The princess answers:
“If so, you will be beaten by your own son.”
The king did not want to stay any longer and returned home.
Several days passed, and the king sent matchmakers to the princess’s father. They tried and argued for a long time, and finally persuaded the father to give his daughter in marriage. They chose a happy day and scheduled a wedding. The groom arrived, followed by the guests. The bride and groom began to get married. So they led them around the fire. Three and a half laps passed; there was still as much left to go around, and then the groom suddenly stopped, pulled out a saber, cut the knot that tied his wedding scarf to the bride’s veil, jumped on his horse and rode off. The guests left for the groom. The wedding was upset.
Then the princess realized that the king had fulfilled his threat. “Now I have to keep my promise,” he thinks. The princess gathered singers and musicians and set off to travel with them around the world - to sing and dance in front of the people. Soon her fame spread everywhere. How long or short does it take the princess to come to the capital to see that same king? The most distinguished people gathered to see her. The king also came, but he did not recognize the princess. The princess captivated him with her unprecedented beauty. As soon as the performance ended, the king called her and began to talk with her. This is where they started falling in love.
A few days later, the princess left. And in due course, she gave birth to a boy. The princess raised him properly and began to prepare him to fulfill her promise.
When he grew up, she told him everything. The son listened to her obediently and decided to immediately fulfill his mother’s behest. So he went straight to the kingdom to his father. I came there and started doing different things.
He goes to the king in the garden. He looks and sees an old gardener watering flowers. As soon as she scooped up water from the tub, he approached her and said:
Pour out the water quickly! Der-sayl has arrived. He'll pick you up.
The old woman was frightened and asked how she could avoid this misfortune.
The princess's son says:
“I’ll tie you to a tree, and I’ll scoop up some water and start watering the flowers.” That's all it will be.
The old woman believed him. The princess’s son tied her to a tree, and then drowned the tub in a well until he screamed:
- Ram! Ram! I am Der-sayl! I'm leaving!
He left, and the old woman screamed and cried until the palace guards untied her.
The old woman went with a complaint to the king:
- Some mischievous guy - he calls himself Der-sile - is playing tricks with us.
The next day, in the evening, this Der-sail comes to the river and throws his net right into the pool. And he had gold coins tied to his network. The fishermen saw the gold and asked:
- Are you really catching gold with a net? Der-sail answers:
– I always throw the net into the deepest place. Sometimes I come across gold ones. Try it yourself – you’ll probably strike gold too.
Der-sail said this and left.
The fishermen believed and began to throw their nets where Der-sail showed them. Meanwhile, he went to the village where they lived. He goes from house to house and says everywhere:
- Tonight the spirit Brr-brr will appear in your house, you beware of it.
The fishermen get scared and ask how they can protect themselves from this spirit. Der-sayl and says:
- As soon as Brr-brr comes to the door, grab a burning firebrand and stick it right in his nose. So you'll be protected. So Der-sayl tells you.
He went around all the houses and said the same thing to every fisherman.
Late at night the fishermen returned home. They didn't catch any gold, but they caught a lot more fish than usual. They were all so chilled that their teeth were chattering and muttering: “Brrr-brrr.” The wives did not recognize their husbands in the darkness - they thought it was spirits who had come. So they met them with firebrands, as Der-sayl ordered. Soon everything became clear, and the next morning the fishermen petitioned the king to save them from Der-sail’s tricks.
The king began to think about how to catch him more cunningly. He ordered gold coins to be scattered throughout the streets, called the guards and said to them:
- Let no one dare pick up these coins. If someone bends down behind them, it means it’s Der-sayl. Grab it without delay.
But Der-sail himself was not simple: he made himself shoes with wax soles and went out into the street in them. If he steps on a coin, it will stick to his sole. So he picked up all the gold ones and took them with him. No one knows how it happened, and Der-sail was not caught.
The king marveled for a long time, then decided to take up the matter himself. In the evening he mounted his horse and rode off to look for Der-sail. And Der-sail disguised himself as an old woman and sat down at the doorstep to grind grain. The king passes by and asks:
- No one passed here?
- He walks back and forth alone. What do you want from him?
- This is Der-sayl. I want to catch him.
“Then put on my dress and sit here.” He will pass by - you will grab him. If you don’t like my advice, go and chase it.
The king liked the advice. He took off his royal dress, dressed as an old woman and sat down in Der-sail’s place. And Der-sail put on the king's dress, jumped on his horse and rode to the palace. The guards thought it was the king himself and let him through with honor. Der-sail entered the palace, called the guards and said:
“Soon Der-sail will come, dressed as an old woman, and begin to say that he is a king.” Give him a good beating, but don't let him into the palace.
The guards left, and Der-sail calmly went to bed.
The king sat on the street for a long time, but no one appeared. It was getting light. The king was plagued by doubts. He began to guess that he himself had fallen into Der-sail’s network - apparently he was pretending to be an old woman. The king became worried that people would see him and laugh at him, and he hurried to the palace. He approaches the gate, and the guards think that it is Der-sayl. They stopped him and asked:
- Who are you?
The king in an old woman's dress replies:
- I am your king!
Then the guards were convinced that it was indeed Der-sayl. They began to beat him, but did not let him into the palace. That's when it dawned. The guards recognized the king, trembled with fear and began to ask him to have mercy on them.
And then Der-sail woke up and went to the gate. The king angrily demanded an explanation from him. Der-sayl tells him:
- I am your son. I was born from you to that same princess whom you left neither as a maiden nor as a husband’s wife. Today what she predicted for you has come true.
Then the king repented. He called the princess to his capital, and made Der-sayla his heir. The poor brahmana received the promised half of the kingdom. From then on, the king’s life flowed calmly and happily, and his neighbors began to respect him more than ever.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru