There once lived in the city of Basra a girl, beautiful and smart, who was famous for her ability to easily solve riddles and sometimes predict people’s actions better than they could do it themselves.
Her name was Fahima - “Understanding”. She received a huge inheritance, and all the young suitors in the city (as well as the old ones) were looking for her hand, mainly hoping to get their hands on her money. Women also sought her favor. Those who were not interested in her wealth were curious about where her intelligence came from, so she was constantly surrounded by admirers, well-wishers, those who tried to sell her something, and just idle people.
Fahima closed herself off from everyone, and it was very difficult to get an appointment with her. But one day, when she was standing on the balcony of the tower of her castle, in the rays of the setting sun, a passing prince noticed her and firmly decided to marry her.
The prince camped around the castle and besieged it. He sang songs to her to the sound of a lute, dressed in beautiful clothes, and sent her letters and poems. Between all these things, he did not forget to go hunting, practiced fencing, stopped by the city to check some goods, in general, did everything that princes do in that area.
As we know, Fahima was wise, and she liked both the fact that she saw and heard the prince, and the fact that she understood him better than he himself. So when she went out for a walk one day and was captured and taken to the prince's castle, she was not at all as surprised as you and I would have been. When he threw her into the dungeon without a word, she knew that he did it because he convinced himself that she would not marry him until he demonstrated his strength and determination. After all, as you will understand from what follows, he was accustomed to drawing conclusions from the current situation without putting much effort into thinking.
A few days later he went down to the dungeon and said through the bars:
- Know, Fahima, that I want to marry you. I have money, I am young, strong and handsome, and besides, you are completely in my power. On the other hand, if you marry me, I will become a good and faithful husband to you.
Fahima replied:
“Not by money, not by sweets, not by tricks, not by deception, not by boasting, not even by torture!”
Day after day the prince went down to the dungeon, but their conversation was repeated again and again. He gave her reasons why she should marry him, and she rejected them one by one. Over time, other problems began to concern him more. A few months later, he decided to go to Baghdad on business, and Fahima found out about this through the jailer.
Fahima was a hardworking girl, and all this time she was digging a tunnel. And now she had everything to escape. As soon as the prince rode out of the gates, she regained her freedom and, having hired the best horses in Basra, found herself in the capital long before the idle prince.
Arriving in Baghdad, the prince went falconry with his friends and spent his time in lavish entertainment, in general, he behaved as princes behaved at that time.
One day, driving past a luxurious estate, he noticed a beautiful girl in the window. “What a lovely creature! She is beautiful, almost like Fahima from Basra!” Naturally, it was Fahima herself, who settled in Baghdad specifically so that the prince would notice her.
The prince immediately achieved a meeting with her and asked for her hand. She agreed. Soon Fahima became a princess and after due time gave birth to a girl for the prince. The prince was beside himself with happiness.
After some time, however, he had to leave for Tripoli. Fahima, leaving her child with a faithful servant, went there and rented a luxurious house. The prince saw her again and decided to marry her, thinking that she was another woman. This time they had a boy, and the prince was again overwhelmed with joy.
When the prince's thirst for adventure awakened again, he raised the sails and departed for Alexandria, where, as there is no need to explain, Fahima was waiting for him. They had another child.
After a year or two, the prince wanted to return home to Basra, and he hired a ship, but his wife was faster, and by the time he arrived she was already waiting for him in the dungeon.
Entering the dungeon, the prince for the first time felt pity and remorse.
- Oh Fahima! - he cried. “I still want to marry you, and I treated you so badly, you spent so many years in prison!” But believe me, I'm not the same as before, I'm... much worse. I am guilty before you and those women about whom you know nothing!
Fahima replied:
“Are you ready to tell me the truth about what happened to you during your absence?”
“Of course, I could,” said the prince, “but it won’t improve anything.” Even you, with all your intelligence, are unlikely to be able to find an explanation for my situation, caused by stupidity and lack of intelligence.
Fahima said:
“If you tell me everything, without leaving out a single detail, I’ll be able to come up with something.”
The prince told Fahima how he had met and married three women in Baghdad, Tripoli and Alexandria, and had three children with them, and how he would like to correct this mistake.
“If it weren’t for me,” Fahima said when he finished, “the mistakes you made would have been irreparable.” You would not be able to reverse your mistakes, and many people would suffer from your pride. However, it so happened that I can unravel this tangle.
- You can’t undo what’s done! - the prince got excited, - I don’t understand what you mean.
“Go to your chambers and wait until someone appears whom you will accept without hesitation.”
The prince did so, and an hour or more later, dressed in her best clothes, Fahima entered the castle gates, leading her three children.
Quite a long time passed before the prince realized that the four women were actually one, and all three children were born from the same mother. But when he realized what Fahima did in response to what he did to her, he was shocked and became a completely different person. They lived happily and long.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru