One day Afandi accidentally pleased the padishah.
- Ask me for anything you want! - came out of the padishah’s tongue.
Having thought about the extraordinary mercy of the ruler, Afandi said:
- Since you want to give me a gift, then give me a bag of gold so that I can live the rest of my life comfortably with my wife and children!
But the padishah had already come to his senses and therefore, ordering the treasurer to give Afandi a sealed bag, he winked slightly.
Having said: “I obey, sir,” the treasurer left. Having received the heavy bag, Afandi, joyful, carried it home.
“Rejoice, wife,” he said. “Now we have a fat pot and a fat spoon; if you want, dress ten times a day in different dresses, buy yourself ten varieties of usma and antimony, powder and carmine, go to the bathhouse at least ten times a day - I’ll give you money for everything. In the meantime, come here and let’s count this gold together—I can’t handle the counting alone!
Afandi cut off the seal on the bag with a knife and overturned it, but instead of gold small pebbles fell out.
Stunned, Afandi looked at the sky, then at the ground and, lowering his head, fell into deep thought.
“What does all this mean?” asked the alarmed wife. “Who gave you these stones, and why did you bring them?”
“This means that the padishah fulfilled my request and gave me a bag of gold.” And I carried him here. After all, I’m not a fool to bring a bag of stones! - Afandi replied indignantly.
“And the padishah is not a fool to give you a bag of gold,” said the wife reproachfully. “You are not asking the padishah for gold, but from God!”
- What you say is true, wife!
After ablution, turning his face to Mecca, Afandi knelt down and raised his hands: “Oh God, O Almighty, send me a bag of gold from your hidden treasury!”
Evening came, the time for the last evening prayer passed, midnight came, and Afandi continued to pray, but the gold did not appear from the secret treasury.
“Maybe I’m praying quietly, and God didn’t hear my prayer? Maybe we should pray louder?” - thought Afandi and began to shout out the words of his prayer at the top of his voice.
The neighbor, sleeping in the sleep of a righteous man, was awakened by Afandi’s wild cry and, muttering: “What is this?”, climbed onto the roof of his house. From there he saw Afandi loudly asking God for gold. The neighbor stood for a while, watched Afandi, but could not stand it and, plucking half a brick from the wall, threw it at Afandi.
Hearing the sound of something falling nearby, Afandi joyfully exclaimed:
- Wife! Bring a lamp quickly, God sent us gold from his hidden treasury!
The wife brought a lamp, Afandi saw a piece of burnt brick and, thinking: “It’s good that God didn’t hit me in the head with this brick!”, he turned to his wife:
- Now it’s clear - God and the padishah are at the same time!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru