One day a Turk and his wife were digging corn. At noon the husband went to water his horse. Waiting for his return, the wife lay down in the shade to rest. Suddenly, out of nowhere, along the road, whistling cheerfully, comes Ero in a tall hat, dressed askew.
- Good afternoon, khanum!
- Good afternoon, guy. Where are you heading from?
- I’m coming from the other world, khanum.
- Oh, Allah! Didn’t you meet our Muyo there? He died a few months ago.
- Of course, of course - I met you! We are neighbors in the next world.
- How does he live there?
“How can I tell you, it’s not very fun: he doesn’t have money for tobacco.” And when he gets together with his friends, he can’t afford a cup of coffee, but he loves coffee so much!
- Aren’t you thinking about going back? - asked the Turkish woman.
“That’s where I’m going,” Ero answered.
— Take poor Muyo some money.
- Why not help him? Give me money!
The Turkish woman ran to the tree on which her husband hung his caftan, pulled out a wallet from his pocket and gave it to Ero.
Ero took his wallet, put it in his bosom and hurriedly walked towards the river that flowed in the ravine. He had barely disappeared from sight when the Turkish woman’s husband arrived.
“You know, hubby,” said the Turkish woman, “a guy in a high hat just walked by here.” He said that he was coming from the other world and knew our Muyo. Life is bad for poor Muyo there; he doesn’t even have money for tobacco and coffee. I gave the guy your wallet so that he would give it to Muyo in the next world.
- Oh, you are so and so! - shouted the Turk. -Where is this swindler? Where did he go?
“Over there, to the river,” explained the Turkish woman, frightened by her husband’s anger.
The Turk quickly jumped on his horse and galloped after the deceiver.
Ero looked around and saw that a Turk was chasing him. He rushed to run to the mill.
He ran up, went inside and shouted to the miller:
- Run, brother, things are bad for you. Do you see the Turk galloping over there? He threatened to blow your head off. Give me your hat, and you put on mine. Run quickly into the forest, and I’ll deal with him somehow.
The miller saw that the Turk was really galloping towards the mill and waving a scimitar, he got scared and, without hesitation, gave Ero his hat covered in flour dust, took it and rushed into the forest as best he could.
And Ero put on a miller’s hat, sprinkled himself with flour - neither give nor take - a real miller!
A panting Turk galloped up, jumped off his horse and, like a hurricane, burst into the mill.
“Hey, miller,” he shouted, “where did that man go who just passed here?”
- Over there. Look at the hillock, you see him making his way through the bushes,” answered Ero.
“Hold my horse,” the Turk asked.
Ero took the horse by the bridle, and the Turk rushed to catch up with the miller. He caught up with him in the forest and shouted from afar:
- Hey, you rogue, return now the money that my wife gave you for Muyo from the other world!
- What are you saying, huh? “I haven’t seen your wife, and I haven’t heard of any Muyo, and I didn’t take any money,” answered the miller, trembling with fear.
They argued, the Turk waved his scimitar - and just in case it would come to murder. The miller swears and swears that he knows nothing.
- Why did you run into the forest? - asked the angry Turk.
“A guy came to me and said that you threatened to kill me.” I got scared and ran away.
- Is this hat yours?
- No, no! We swapped hats. The peasant took mine, and I took his.
- I don’t believe you, you rascal! - the Turk shouted and began to shake the stunned miller like a pear.
So they argued for an hour until they figured out what was what. The Turk rushed as fast as he could towards the mill. And for a long time there was no trace of Ero and the horse.
The Turk returned, furious and despising. So his wife asks him:
- Well, did you return the money? Where's your horse?
The Turk hit the ground with his fez and said:
“You sent poor Muyo money for tobacco and coffee, and I gave him a horse so that in the next world he wouldn’t have to walk.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru