The wife of one poor man went to the bathhouse. The bath attendant did not let her in:
“Today the wife of the padishah’s chief fortuneteller is taking a bath; she ordered that no one be allowed into the bathhouse!”
The offended woman returned home and started a quarrel with her husband:
- Either start practicing fortune-telling and become the chief padishah fortune-teller, or give me a divorce!
The poor man thought in difficulty: “If I divorce this wife, then I will not have another, because to get married you need to have at least a thousand tanga, and I don’t even have a copper coin. Do fortune telling? But I don’t know anything about this matter. What should I do?
And the poor man sincerely expressed these thoughts to his wife. She said:
- Now go to the palace and call yourself a fortuneteller. Whatever the padishah asks you, take some time to think about it and come home. I will tell you the answers, and you will convey them to the padishah.
Scratching the back of his head, the poor man entered the palace and said to the padishah: “I am a fortuneteller and am ready to serve you!”
He had just lost a diamond, and even the most important palace fortuneteller could not identify the thief. Therefore, the padishah immediately ordered the poor man to find a diamond.
“Diamond?” and the poor man paused, wondering what it was.
“A diamond is a precious stone,” explained the padishah, “a wonderful decoration.” My diamond was of very high quality. If you find him, my reward will enrich you!
The poor man heard only one piece of jewelry from his wife. “Other wives have corals, but I don’t, buy them for me!” she said more than once, and therefore, remembering this, he exclaimed:
- Decoration! I know, I know... It's coral! Padishah said:
— Diamond is many times more expensive than coral...
“I know, I know, what could be better than coral?” said the poor man, interrupting the padishah’s words.
Not finding it necessary to continue the conversation with such a fool, he said:
- Okay! Whatever it is, will you find it or not?
- Give it until tomorrow - I’ll find it, I’ll find it!
At home, the poor man told his wife about everything. And when they began to consult what to do, there was a knock on the gate. A woman entered the room and pulled back the covers. The poor people saw in front of them a young beauty, whose head and neck were decorated with jewelry.
Looking around warily, she said:
“I beg you, don’t hand me over to the padishah, here’s a hundred gold pieces for you.” But so that you are not left in an awkward position, I will let the turkey eat the diamond. Tomorrow you will tell the padishah that the diamond was eaten by a turkey. When the turkey is slaughtered, you will receive good money from the padishah too!
The name of this woman, the padishah's servant who stole the diamond, was "Coral". The day before she listened at the door. And as soon as the poor man said the word “coral”, she thought that he had guessed the name of the thief. And so she ran to the fortuneteller, saving her honor and life.
The next morning the turkey was slaughtered, the diamond was found, and the new fortune teller received a large reward from the padishah.
A week later, the padishah's treasury was robbed. Unknown thieves stole a lot of gold, money and jewelry.
The padishah again called a new fortuneteller.
He found himself in a hopeless situation, but, telling himself: “The later, the better!” - I asked the padishah for forty days. At home, neither he nor his wife could come up with anything that could help them find the missing treasury.
“In forty days,” said the fortuneteller, “my deception will be revealed, and the padishah will demand the return of everything that I received from him: and I will not be surprised if he orders me to be executed for lies and deceit.” Your greed brought us to this. Our poverty was much better than restless wealth!..
Night has come. The fortuneteller said to his wife:
“Out of the forty days of my life left, one has passed!” The second night came, the sad fortuneteller said:
- Now there are thirty-eight days left!
On the third night:
- Thirty-seven left.
When thirty-nine days had passed, the fortuneteller said sadly:
- There are already thirty-nine, there is only one left, tomorrow it will be exactly forty - then the matter will be over!
Then a man came down from the roof into the yard. The wife screamed:
- Thief!..
“Don’t be afraid, I came for peace,” said the stranger.
-What world are you talking about? - the fortuneteller asked in awe.
“I’ll bring you a whole bag of gold.” And everything that we stole from the padishah’s treasury, without reducing it by a single needle, we took to the cave that we will show you. You will inform the padishah to send people there to move the jewelry. Don't betray us, don't destroy us!
That same night the man brought a whole bag of gold.
Everything turned out to be simple.
Forty thieves carried away the padishah's treasury. Fearing that the fortuneteller had deliberately assigned the padishah a forty-day period, they endured thirty-nine days and nights without spending the spoils. On the fortieth night, the leader of the gang climbed onto the roof of the fortune-teller's house to eavesdrop on how the fortune-telling was happening.
When he heard the words: “There are already thirty-nine, only one remains, tomorrow it will be exactly forty, then the matter will be over,” he thought that thirty-nine thieves had already been identified, by the morning the last one would be exposed, and the whole gang would be handed over to the Shah. And then he decided to offer the fortuneteller a bag of gold.
In the morning, the entire treasury was returned to the palace, and the padishah, in turn, generously rewarded the fortuneteller.
“Now I want to test you in my presence,” said the padishah. “If you pass this test, I will appoint you as my chief fortuneteller.” While I get ready, you wait outside the door.
The fortuneteller came out. The padishah wanted to hide something in his hand. “Something,” he decided, “that the thought wouldn’t even cross my mind!..”
Then locusts flew into the room. The padishah, deciding to catch and hide this locust in his hand, rushed to catch it; Once he rushed, he didn’t catch him, the second time, he didn’t catch him. The third time, the locusts got stuck between the fingers of the padishah’s hand. He called the fortuneteller and said:
- What's in my hand?
In complete hopelessness, sensing that the end of happy days had come, he muttered the words of the famous proverb: “The locust jumped once, the locust jumped twice, the locust was finally caught.” With this proverb he wanted to say: “Once you were lucky - you took the diamond out of the turkey, the second time you were lucky - you found the missing treasury, and the third time - you were certainly caught.”
But the padishah shouted: “I guessed it right!” I guessed it right!” he unclenched his hand, and locusts flew out of it.
And the wife of the poor man, now appointed the chief palace fortuneteller, achieved her goal: the next day she went to the bathhouse and did not let anyone else in, and began to wash herself.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru