One king had horns on his head. But no one knew this, no one showed the king without a crown. The barbers who cut his hair were immediately beheaded by the king so that they would not spread the news of his shame. It was the turn of one poor barber. He knows that no one left the king alive, said goodbye to his family and prepared for death. He came, began to cut the king’s hair and saw horns. The barber was surprised, but did not show it and did not say anything. The king liked the behavior of the barber, he decided not to kill him and said:
“If you ever let anything slip about what you saw, I’ll take your head off right away!” - and let him go.
The barber comes home, everyone surrounds him and asks how he escaped. The barber is silent, does not make a sound, he is afraid. He began to swell, bursting with the desire to tell him that the king was growing horns. He was silent, silent, but he was so swollen that his stomach reached his chin, he couldn’t bear it any longer, he was about to die. The barber went into the swamp to the reeds, took one stalk, looked around to see if anyone was there, and shouted:
- Our king is growing horns!
He shouted, and immediately he felt better, his stomach dropped, and the barber recovered. It so happened that one traveler cut off that stem, made a pipe out of it and blew into it. The pipe sang:
- Our king is growing horns!
People gathered. Everyone learned about the tsar’s shame, they laugh, and the pipe sings to itself:
- Our king is growing horns!
It dawned on the king that in all the squares they were shouting about his horns. The king became furious and ordered the barber to be brought.
- Did you tell everyone about my horns?
“No,” says the barber, “I didn’t tell anyone.”
“Why is everyone blowing the whistle that I’m growing horns?”
“Okay,” says the barber, “call the one who plays the pipe, take the pipe from him and blow on it yourself, you will see whether I’m right or wrong.”
The king ordered - they brought a pipe. The king took it, blew into it, and she sang in front of all the honest people: “Our king is growing horns!”
The king was angry, but he could not execute the barber for what he himself publicly announced.
This is how the clever barber escaped.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru