Whether it happened or not, they say that in one large village there lived a miller. He was very fond of fresh chicken and always kept five or six birds in his chicken coop.
One day a cunning fox snuck into the chicken coop and ate all the chickens. The miller again bought some chickens and put them in a chicken coop. But the fox soon reached them. The miller began to think day and night how he could catch the thief. He thought and thought and finally decided to dig a hole and hide the chickens in it.
At night the fox came again. Finding that the chicken coop was empty, she began to search and saw that the chickens were hidden in the hole. She jumped into the hole and immediately realized that she could not get out of here on her own. Therefore, fearing the wrath of the miller, this time she did not even touch the chickens.
In the morning the miller came to the pit.
- Oh, don't kill me! - the fox began to ask him. - Help me get up, and I will thank you!
The miller got angry:
- Cunning creature! - he shouted. “You destroyed so much of my property, and now you dare to talk about gratitude!”
But the fox continued to beg him, and the kind-hearted miller succumbed to persuasion. He pulled the fox out of the hole, and together they walked to the mill.
“Now give me a few silver coins,” said the fox, “and wait for me here.”
The miller gave her money, and the fox went straight to the palace of the Indian padishah. She knocked on the gate until one of the servants opened it for her.
“The flour padishah sends greetings to your padishah,” said the fox. “Our padishah intends to test all his silver money with a yardstick.” Would your padishah agree to lend him a measure for silver coins? As soon as this matter is completed, I will immediately return the measurement to you.
The servant went and brought her a measure for silver coins. The fox took the measure, wandered around the area for several days and again came to the palace of the Indian padishah. She put the coins that the miller gave her into the measure, and, handing the measure to the servant, said:
- Please take your measurements. I am very grateful to the flour padishah.
- Why is this silver money here? - asked the servant.
“My lord has whole mountains of silver coins,” answered the sly fox, “it doesn’t matter if a few pieces accidentally stuck to the bottom.”
The fox returned to the miller and, after resting with him for a couple of days, said:
-Will you give me five or six gold lire?
- You probably want to ruin me! - exclaimed the miller. “I won’t give you more than five copper coins!”
“Don’t be stingy, my flour padishah,” the fox began to persuade him, “after all, you can’t even imagine what I want to do for you!” Give me a few golden liras!
The miller gave the fox golden lyres, and she again went to the palace of the Indian padishah. The servants came out to meet her.
“This time I came to ask for a measure for the golden lire,” said the fox. “Our flour padishah will measure the gold himself.” As soon as he finishes, I immediately bring the measure back.
Having taken the measure, the fox walked through the forests for several days, and then returned to the palace. At the bottom of the measure she put the golden lyres that the miller gave her.
- Why is this gold here? - asked the servants.
“Our padishah has a whole barn of gold coins,” answered the fox, “it doesn’t matter if a few pieces stuck to the bottom of the measure!”
When the fox returned to the miller, he shouted angrily:
-Where are the silver and gold coins that I gave you?
“Be patient a little,” the fox calmly answered, “after all, first the lightning flashes, and then the thunder thunders.”
A few days later the fox went to the city and found the town crier there.
“Announce everywhere that we are going to the daughter of an Indian padishah to taste aromatic sherbet,” she asked him. “Whoever wants to come with us, let him prepare for the journey.”
And the herald announced:
“Everyone who wants to go with the flour padishah must gather there in three days!”
On the appointed day, fifty thousand horsemen, who wished to taste the padishah's sherbet, set off. A fox stood up ahead, showing the way.
Five days later the procession approached a large lake. The day was cloudy, and suddenly such heavy rain poured down that it immediately washed away the ground. The horses began to stumble on the steep bank, and some riders could not resist, fell into the water and drowned.
The fox gathered all the survivors and finally led them to the palace of the Indian padishah. Then she immediately rushed to the padishah himself and exclaimed:
“Oh, your Majesty, we ourselves were not affected by the terrible rain, but all the luggage that was on the horses was lost, so many valuable things were lost that it is impossible to describe!”
The Indian padishah did not immediately understand what was going on and said:
- Go to the palace tailors immediately! Let them sew new dresses for the victims!
The tailors went to work, and many of the arrivals received new clothes.
By order of the fox, a dress was made from precious material for the flour king.
While the tailors were working, all those who arrived pitched tents in the padishah’s garden and settled down in them. It was only then that the padishah thought to ask:
-What kind of people are these?
The fox respectfully approached him and said:
- This is the retinue of the flour padishah.
Then she approached the newcomers and whispered:
- Go, ask for the hand of the padishah’s daughter, as I taught you!
Five or six respectable people stepped forward.
“We came to ask your daughter to marry the flour padishah.” Do you give your consent? - they said.
The Indian padishah was confused.
“As heaven wishes, so it will be.” What can I say? - he answered.
Then the padishah ordered everyone to be treated to aromatic sherbet.
Having tasted the treats, the guests began to prepare for the return journey.
“We would like to have a rich wedding,” the fox said to the padishah, “but when we were coming here, as I already told you, we lost a lot of valuable things...
The Indian padishah interrupted her:
- No problem! We, of course, are poorer than the flour padishah, but you can have a good wedding here too!
And then preparations for the wedding began. It lasted for forty days and forty nights. The Indian padishah paid for everything. He ordered the distribution of clothes woven with gold and silver to thousands of people.
Finally the flour padishah arrived.
- Well, what's it like? Do you like it all? — the fox approached him and asked quietly.
- Very correct! Very! - answered the miller.
The wedding was celebrated, and a few days later the miller, the padishah's daughter, the Shah's large retinue and everyone who had arrived with the fox set off on their return journey. Again the long procession stretched along the road.
And the sly fox, running forward, saw a large herd of camels in the meadow and approached the shepherds.
— Do you see people walking along the road? she asked.
“We see, we just don’t know who they are,” answered the shepherds.
“These people are coming to attack you,” said the fox, “but if they ask: “Whose camels are these?”, and you answer: “Our master, the flour padishah,” then nothing will happen to you.
Soon the procession approached the shepherds.
- Whose camels are these? - they asked the shepherds.
“These camels belong to our master, the flour padishah,” the shepherds answered in one voice.
The procession moved on. And the fox ran forward again and, seeing a herd of cows and sheep, approached the shepherds:
— Do you see people walking along the road? They want to attack you. But if they ask you who owns the herd, answer: “To our master, the flour padishah,” and then they will not do anything bad to you.
Everything happened the way the fox wanted. And the procession moved on again. The fox ran ahead again. This time she saw the palace of the divas in the distance. The divas were just at home and fast asleep. The sly fox quietly walked around the palace and set it on fire from all sides. All the divas burned, and the fox returned to the procession and, pointing to the burning palace, said:
- Don't be scared! It’s good that the disaster happened while we weren’t there! The only pity is that almost all of our wealth burned down along with the palace!
Then everyone accompanying the padishah’s daughter saw that only ashes remained from the palace where they were going.
And the Indian padishah built another palace on this site for his son-in-law and daughter. The palace was decorated with precious utensils purchased from foreign merchants, and the guests lived in it for fourteen days. Then they said goodbye to their owners, and each went to his own country. And the miller remained in the palace - the flour padishah, the daughter of the Indian padishah and, of course, the sly fox.
Time passed. One day the fox said in a weak voice:
“I just can’t help but die.”
The next morning she was found dead. The servants reported to the padishah:
- Our lord, the fox has died!
“Take her and throw her out of the palace,” the flour padishah said calmly.
The servants rushed to carry out his orders. Then the fox jumped to his feet and shouted:
“I did so much good to you, and you ordered me to be thrown out!”
The flour padishah burst out laughing:
“I knew you weren’t dead,” he said. And a few days later the fox actually gave up the ghost. The padishah thought that she was pretending again, went up to her and quietly called:
- My fox, little fox!
But the fox did not answer, and she was buried with great honor.
And the miller lived with the daughter of the padishah in the new palace until the end of his days. And this was the gratitude he received from the fox.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru