Once upon a time there lived a great khan, famous for his power and wealth. He had seven sons, one more beautiful than the other. But the khan prayed day and night to almighty Allah for his daughter. And, turning his prayers to the Almighty, he said:
“If I have a daughter, I will make sure that no man sees her.” Anyone who dares to look at her will be executed. But if someone does get to my daughter and manages to please her, then I will give her as a wife to a daring...
Everything is in the hands of almighty Allah! The wife of the Great Khan conceived, and after nine months, nine days and nine hours, the khan had a daughter, who was named Shaho...
The khan was delighted, but strictly ordered his wife and maids not to show the baby to anyone. Khan threatened that if anyone saw her, he would order everyone executed. But the Great Khan did not rest on this. He ordered his servants to build a beautiful palace with high walls, so high that no one could climb over them.
And soon, not far from the city, the beautiful towers of the new palace rose to the sky.
Behind the wall of the palace, a wonderful garden was laid out, unknown fish were allowed into a quiet pond, and in an old, old willow tree, which twenty servants could hardly grasp, a bed was made - three for Shaho.
Forty peers were settled in the palace with the girl. The beautiful Shaho played happily with them, not knowing any worries.
The Khan firmly locked the palace gates with his own hands. He put the key to the gate in his chest, and hid the chest in a hiding place.
Time passed, Shaho grew prettier every day and soon became such a beauty that the birds admired her reflection in the mirror of the pond. Her skin was soft like rose petals. Her black eyes were like almonds, and her thin eyebrows above them were like the arches of a bow.
Every day, getting up from sleep, Shaho frolicked in the garden among the fragrant flowers, and then rested, listening to the singing of birds or the tales of the maids.
And at that time, in the glorious city of Kandahar, there lived a famous thief, handsome and cheerful Dilyai. It was about him that the old people said, laughing: “If Allah gave a cat wings, it would steal eggs from birds!” But lately, walking around the noisy bazaar, Dilyai thought sadly: “Sometimes I am rich, and sometimes I am poor. But I have neither home nor family.”
Even at night in his sleep he dreamed of his home and a quiet life. It’s not for nothing that they say that a thirsty person sees water in his dreams.
Dilyai was sad for a long time. But then a bold plan matured in his head. He heard that the Khan’s daughter is as beautiful as a rose in bloom! What if a palace guard gets to her?
A man is one who does not talk, but does. And so, under the cover of darkness, Dilyai crept up to the walls of the palace.
Dilyai walked, walked around the palace, but he saw that there was no way to get there. Then he went to Kandahar, procured a long rope and returned to the high walls of the palace at dawn, when the mountain tops were already beginning to turn red.
Dilyai threw the rope onto the battlement of the wall and carefully climbed up. Just as carefully, I went downstairs and found myself in a blooming garden. Dilyai looked around, saw a huge willow and decided to hide in its foliage.
Soon morning came. The girls woke up and, together with Shaho, sat down under the spreading branches of a willow, telling each other their dreams.
The whole day passed, and Dilyai, hiding in the willow branches, still could not stop admiring the beauty of Shaho.
When the girls separated and Shaho was left alone, Dilyai wrote her a note:
“When I saw you, the fire of love flared up in my heart. Without you, there is no life for me, just like a traveler has no life in the desert without water. I had to suffer a lot, and now I realized that it was better for me to die than to live without you. Answer me, the light of my eyes, oh beautiful Shaho, will you love me?” Dilyai wrote a note and threw it down at the feet of Shaho. Great was her surprise when she read the note!
“But how can I tell whether I will love him or not if I don’t see anyone?” – the girl thought in surprise and looked around. Suddenly her gaze fell on the mirror surface of the pond. Shaho screamed in surprise. The face of a stranger was reflected in the water, whose beautiful eyes were fixed directly on her.
A blush of embarrassment flooded Shaho’s tender cheeks. She lowered her gaze, not daring to look again at the handsome young man who smiled so tenderly at her. But suddenly Shaho heard a voice coming not from the water, but from somewhere above:
Beautiful Shaho, the flower of my soul, Like black bows - the arch of your eyebrows, Like stars - the clear shine of your eyes; Having recognized you, I lost peace.
If you are dear, whisper about it in silence, Don’t torment me, hurry up to answer, Beautiful Shaho, flower of my soul, Open your tender heart to me.
Shaho was confused and did not know what to answer to this beautiful stranger. Several minutes passed, and Shaho was still silent.
Dilyai's heart was filled with sadness. He jumped from the tree and, with his head down, walked towards the wall. He climbed up the rope and said quietly, turning to Shaho:
- Goodbye, dear Shaho! Goodbye forever. You lit a fire of love in my heart, and I can no longer live without you...
Frightened that the beautiful young man would leave and never return, Shaho looked at him and whispered barely audibly:
- I love you, oh stranger.
Hearing these words, Dilyai almost fell off the wall with joy. Forgetting everything, he shouted loudly:
- Wait for me, dear! I'll come for you, I'm sure!
And with these words, the joyful and excited Dilyai jumped down and walked along the road leading to Kandahar.
But after joy always come bitter thoughts.
“After all, I am a poor man!” Dilyai thought. “How will I come to her father, the great and powerful Khan?” And Dilyai decided to go to India and for the last time in his life, steal a lot of gold and jewelry in order to live comfortably and happily with Shaho.
Before reaching the city gates, Dilyai turned and headed in the other direction, to India.
Dilyai walked for a long time. Many kurukhs were left behind. before he came to the huge city - the capital of the great Akbar.
Dilyai mixed with the crowd of people, began to listen and take a closer look. His keen eyes noticed everything and remembered everything.
And at night, having outwitted the guards, Dilyai climbed into the royal palace. Finding a secret door bound with heavy iron, he entered the treasury. Here Dilyay stuffed into his pockets as many green emeralds, blood-red rubies and gold bars as he could carry. Now we had to get out of the palace.
But when Dilyai made his way to the exit, the guards noticed him. After a long chase, they grabbed Dilyai, wrapped his hands behind his back and brought him to the oldest vizier.
- Oh, you filthy brat! – the vizier shouted at Dilyai. – Did you want to rob the treasury, vile thief?
- The sieve told the jug that it was full of holes! – Dilyai answered with a smile. - I'm no more a thief than you!
These words sent the vizier into a frenzy. He immediately ordered Dilyai to be thrown into prison and executed with the most brutal execution three years later.
And the beautiful Shakho yearned for her beloved day and night, not realizing what terrible torment he was being subjected to.
And then one day, when the khan came to visit Shaho, she said to her father:
– Father, I grew up without seeing the white light. Let me out of here. My heart is sad.
Hearing his daughter’s impudent words, the khan became angry. He ordered an increase in the number of maids and hung even more heavy locks on the palace gates.
Shaho cried bitterly, but could not do anything. And so, in sadness, grief and anticipation, two whole years flew by.
One day Shaho climbed a willow tree to see where her lover was hiding. She climbed higher and higher along the trunk of a mighty tree, and finally an unknown beautiful picture was revealed to her gaze: in the distance, as far as the eye could see, a valley stretched out. Its edges were lost in a blue haze. And even further, in the distance, mountains piled up, raising their snowy peaks to the heavens. Nodding their heads to the setting sun, the camels walked proudly through the valley. Shaho looked after the caravan for a long time, sadly thinking that maybe one of the drivers would see her beloved.
Shaho came down from the tree all in tears. But among her maids there was one kind girl who was also sad, looking at the sadness of her beautiful mistress. This maid was famous for having a good voice. And so she sang Shakho:
Sometimes roses bloom like spring, sometimes tears dry like spring, Every living thing wakes up in spring, And the beloved returns in spring.
So why grieve in vain? It's better to greet the sun with joy!
To this Shaho answered her like this!
Summer flies by too quickly, Roses wither, leaves fall, The evil cold destroys all living things, Only tears flow down the cheeks but do not melt.
Then the girl smiled and sang to her mistress:
After winter, spring will come again, It will quickly dry the tears of grief. Believe, your beloved will come to you in the spring, Your soul will be full of joy!
And Shaho believed her maid, and her heart calmed down a little. Now she again began to patiently wait for the return of her beloved.
Meanwhile, Dilyai was already in prison for the third year under the powerful Akbar, and only a few months remained until the day of his execution.
Together with Dilyai, an old Malang from Kandahar languished in prison. Dilyai became friends with the old man.
The day came when the boy was released from prison, and he, drunk with joy, went home. And with him went Dilyai’s letter to Shaho.
Malyang, without going to Kandahar, found the Shaho Palace, pretended to be a decrepit cripple and knocked on the gate, asking for alms. A tiny eye opened slightly, and Shaho’s maid asked:
-Who are you, O traveler, and what do you want?
Looking around, the malang quietly handed her the letter.
“Give it to Shaho,” he said. – This is a letter from Dilyai.
The maid was delighted and ran to Shaho. She ordered to thank the malang and give him money. But after reading the letter, Shaho cried bitterly. The letter said this:
“Beloved Shaho! I am languishing in King Akbar’s dungeon. There is only a month and a half left until the day when I will be executed. I dreamed of happiness, of our happiness with you, but what happened! Forgive me, beloved, and know that my last thought will be about you!” Turning her prayers to almighty Allah, Shaho wrote a letter to her brother Amir, who reigned in place of the deceased khan:
“My brother, I beg you, release me from my prison. I don’t have the strength to sit here anymore.”
To this Amir replied:
“I cannot break the covenant of our beloved father.”
Then Shaho told everyone that she would kill herself if Amir did not let her out of the palace. Amir loved Shaho very much, although she was his half-sister. And he decided to release her from captivity.
Shaho came to Amir, fell on her knees in front of him and began to beg him to let her go to India. But Amir refused to let her go.
– What will people say about you if you go to India alone? - he said.
“My beloved brother, what will people say if I run away from your house?” – answered Shaho.
Amir thought. He thought for a long time, and finally his heart relented, and he allowed Shaho to go wherever she wanted.
Shaho was delighted, put on a veil so that no one would see her beauty, and hit the road. It took a long time
Shakho and came to a wide river. What to do, how to get to the other side? Suddenly, out of nowhere, a boatman arrives and offers to transport her. Shaho boldly entered the boat and they sailed away.
They reached the middle of the river safely. But then a strong gust of wind tore off Shaho’s veil, and the boatman froze, amazed by the beauty of the girl. A dark thought stirred in his head: he planned to disgrace the beautiful Shaho. The boatman turned and took the boat in a completely different direction.
Shaho noticed that the boatman was steering in the wrong direction and asked excitedly:
- Why did you turn? What do you want to do?
The boatman looked at her without looking away and did not answer.
Then Shaho took off the gold bracelet from her thin hand and handed it to the boatman.
Seeing the sparkling gold, the boatman seemed to wake up. “Wouldn’t it be better to take a bracelet?” - he thought.
The boatman hastily grabbed the bracelet and, without raising his eyes, transported Shaho to the other side.
Shaho went further - to look for her beloved Dilay.
Shaho walked for a long time and finally reached the capital of the king of kings Akbar. When she tried to get in. In the chambers of the great king, the guards, laughing at the defenseless girl, tore off her veil.
Shaho cried bitterly and turned to Almighty Allah for help.
Akbar heard her sobs and ordered the guards to let the girl in and give her a new blanket. They brought a blanket to Shaho, but instead of leaving the palace, she hid in Akbar’s chambers.
Shaho waited for a long time and finally saw how the guards led the exhausted Dilyai to Akbar for trial.
-What did this man do? – Akbar asked menacingly.
- O great of the great, he climbed into your treasury and wanted to steal the jewelry! - answered the vizier.
Akbar grinned menacingly and commanded:
- Throw him into the waterfall! May he find his death in the streams of muddy water, as muddy as his life as a tramp and thief was!
- We obey, oh lord! – the pike guards answered and dragged Dilyai to the waterfall.
Then Shaho fell to her knees, stretched out her beautiful hands to the sky and prayed to the all-merciful Allah:
- O Allah, there is no limit to your power! Make sure my beloved does not die! After all, he committed theft for me. Have mercy, O great Allah!
About an hour passed, and suddenly the surprised Akbar saw that the guards were returning, and Dilyai was walking among them, safe and sound.
- O lord! - said one of the guards. “We took him to the waterfall, but suddenly, as if by magic, the waterfall dried up.
Akbar was amazed and ordered the criminal to be thrown into the elephant enclosure so that the elephants would trample him underfoot. Shaho fell on her knees again and said this:
- About Allah, whose power is immeasurable. You already saved my beloved once. Do the miracle again!
Again, about an hour passed, and suddenly an even more surprised Akbar saw the frightened guards, among whom Dilyai walked unharmed and, as always, laughing.
- O lord! - said the guards. “We brought him to the elephant shed, opened the gate, but all your elephants lay dead!”
“There was some magic involved,” said Akbar.
And the oldest sage added:
- O lord! A woman is praying for him - believe me!
And, hearing such words, Shaho came out of her hiding place. She fell on her knees in front of Akbar and told him this:
- O glorious Akbar! I conjure you in the name of Allah, the almighty and merciful! Give life to my beloved Dilyai! For my sake, he decided to commit a crime. Forgive him!
Akbar was touched by the words of the young girl. And the great Akbar thought. And he thought about how great the power of love is and how rare such love is on earth. And these thoughts softened his harsh heart.
Akbar sighed, smiled and said:
“You, beautiful Shaho, were so faithful in your love that you defeated death. And you, thief Dilyai, wanted to steal my gold so that you could live happily with your beloved. You won't have to steal anymore. I give you as much gold and jewelry as a camel can carry. Go in peace and be happy!
And the happy lovers went to their homeland and began to live happily there and start a family.
This is the end of the true story about the beautiful Shaho and Dilyay.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru