Once upon a time there lived a certain khan, and he had his only daughter. Hard-hearted, this khan hated the poor and never gave alms. And his daughter was kind-hearted and generous. She cried when those begging for alms were driven out of the khan’s court, and said to her father:
“Will your treasury really become scarce if we give the poor a penny and the hungry a piece of bread?” Will our mouths become empty if we give food to the poor?
Father did not like such speeches. He listened and listened, and then he became angry and said:
“If you dare to contradict me again, I will marry you off to the first beggar I come across.” Let's see then: your mouth will be empty or not.
Soon after this, a young beggar entered the khan's courtyard. As soon as the khan saw him, he grabbed his stick. But the daughter, forgetting about her father’s threat, asked him:
- Father, don’t drive the poor man away! If we give him a crumb from our table, we will not become poor!
Khan finally lost his patience.
- Hey! - he shouted. - Bring the donkey!
They brought the donkey, and the khan ordered his daughter to be placed on it and driven out along with the beggar youth.
“Let’s see now,” he admonished his daughter, “whether your mouth will be thick or empty!”
The young beggar and the khan's daughter fell in love with each other at first sight. They decided to get married.
“Everything would be fine, but I have one grief,” said the young man. – My mother hasn’t gotten out of bed for many years, her legs have become paralyzed... That’s why I walk around, begging, because I can’t leave her, go to work...
The young man brought the khan's daughter to the mountains, to a small cave...
- This is where we live! – he showed.
The cave had bare walls, and on the ground, on a poor mat, lay a sick old woman.
The young man told his mother how he got the khan’s daughter as his wife.
“Well, son,” the old woman sighed, “we weren’t always poor.” Your father was a rich merchant. The robbers killed him, robbed him, left you and me penniless... Don't worry, children, you would be happy!
Now the young man could leave his mother with his young wife. His mother sent him to his father's friend, a merchant.
“Ask,” she advised, “let him take you as a camel driver in his caravan and give you some money in advance.”
And the young man did just that. He hired himself out to a merchant as a camel driver, and the merchant gave him money for his mother and wife.
“Be ready,” the merchant ordered, “my comrades and I will finish equipping the caravans in three days.”
And three days later the young man and the merchants left on a long journey. They walked for so long that they lost count of the days, and then one day they saw yellow sands ahead. It was a desert - a terrible place for travelers.
The merchants stopped at a deep well on the edge of the desert to stock up on water. They spread a carpet on the ground, and everyone threw a purse of gold on it. This was the payment for the one who climbed into the well and extracted water. But all the drivers refused. It turns out that the well was not simple. It was possible to get water from it only by going deep down. And of those who went down, not a single one came back up.
The young man thought and thought and made up his mind.
- I'll climb! - he said. - Come what may!
- No need! – his father’s friend persuaded the young man. - You will die! Think about your mother...
“And without water we will all die,” answered the young man and, taking the wineskins, he went down into the well.
When they had collected enough water for all the caravans, they threw the end of the rope down to lift the young man.
But they had barely lifted him halfway when a gap opened in the wall of the well, and someone pulled the young man by the hand into the depths of the dungeon.
It was light in the dungeon. There stood a gloomy, thin - skin and bones - man, in front of him was a turtle; The bodies of lifeless people lay along the walls.
- Let me go! – the young man begged. - What bad have I done?! Let me go, my old mother and young wife are waiting for me at home.
The skinny man looked him in the eye and said:
- I will ask you three riddles. If you guess it, I’ll let you go with a reward. If you don’t guess, you’ll remain lying like those who got here before you.
- I'll try my luck! – the young man agreed. - Give me your riddles!
-What is the sweetest thing in the world? - asked the thin man.
– There is nothing sweeter than the lips of your beloved! – without hesitation, the young man exclaimed.
The skinny man’s face brightened, and he himself seemed to look a little fatter. And a crack appeared on the turtle's shell.
– What is the most pleasant thing in the world? - the skinny man asked a second riddle.
– Sleep next to your beloved! – the young man responded without hesitation.
The skinny man's body gained a little more weight, and a smile began to play on his lips. And the shell from the turtle’s back fell to the ground.
– What is the most beautiful thing in the world? - this was the third riddle.
- The one you love! – the young man said firmly. “Her face is more beautiful than anything in the world!”
Then the turtle perked up and turned into a beautiful girl. There was no more skinny person. In his place stood a stately, tall horseman.
“We love each other,” he told the young man. “On the night after the wedding, an evil sorcerer bewitched us. With your devotion to your beloved, you broke his spell. Let everyone now take water from the well without fear! And we will return to our native places... Hey, prisoners, wake up! You are free! - he shouted, and the people who were lying lifeless came to life and stood up.
“We have a different path with them than you,” the horseman turned to the young man. - And you go upstairs. “And he gave the young man two large pomegranates as a parting gift.
They pulled the young man out of the well into the world. He told his companions about the miracles in the dungeon and showed them the grenades. The merchants were amazed a lot... They gave the young man wallets with gold and were about to set off when another caravan came out of the desert to meet them, exhausted by thirst in the sultry sands.
– Share water with us! - the people they met begged.
“Now anyone can take water from this well!” – the young man assured them.
But those merchants did not believe it. They gave him wallets full of gold so that only the young man could get water for them.
Now he was no longer a beggar. He entrusted all his gold and two garnets to the caravan-bashi (Karavan-bashi - head of the caravan) of the oncoming caravan and asked to give it to his mother and wife.
That caravan bashi returned home and honestly brought money and grenades to two poor women. They were happy! The Khan's daughter broke a pomegranate and thought of giving it to her mother-in-law, but the pomegranate was not full of grains - it was full of choice pearls.
Now that they had gold and pearls, the khan’s daughter invited the most skilled doctors, and they cured her mother-in-law. And then the khan’s daughter decided to build a palace for her husband’s return. Yes, such as no one has ever seen: so that one brick in it was silver, the other was gold, and so on all the bricks!
She built her palace on the mountain, opposite her father’s windows. The khan looked and marveled: who is building such a miracle? But no matter how much his envoys scoured, they could not find out whose hands it was.
A year has passed. Three flew by. The young man returned home with a caravan. His mother and wife came out to meet him - everyone in the city already knew that the caravan was coming! - They took him to a new house. And he is surprised:
- We're going the wrong way! - speaks. – Our cave is on the other side.
Well, the young man also returned from distant countries not empty-handed. They lived happily and richly. Time passed, and the wife asked:
- Invite my father to visit!
The young man took the gifts and went to the khan.
“Just be careful,” the khan’s daughter told him, “be sure to return home by the shortest route.” My father has a habit: he’ll say, “I’ll be there tomorrow,” and then he’ll go ahead and welcome him.
The young man presented gifts to the khan. Khan was pleased: he had never seen such large pearls. Said:
- I’ll come the day after tomorrow!
And as soon as the young man left, he immediately ordered the horse to be saddled and rode after him. But the young man got ahead of him. He returned by the closest route and was already at home by the time the khan arrived.
He and his wife met their guest on the threshold of the palace, laid an expensive carpet under his feet, and showed him honor. The khan did not recognize his daughter; she covered her face with a thin veil.
-Where did you get such wealth? – the khan marveled, looking at the palace.
“He who is generous never has an empty mouth!” - answered the daughter.
The Khan was saddened.
“That’s what my daughter always told me,” he sighed. “And I drove her away under hot hands for this.” Where is she now, I wish I could find out!
Then the khan’s daughter threw back the veil and confessed everything to her father. The delighted khan ordered a magnificent wedding to be held. For seven days all the people walked at that wedding.
And I was there, dancing and drinking. They saw me off with gifts, but it’s a pity, my donkey went lame on the way... The halva from the khurdzhins poured out little by little, the buza from the jug was poured out to a drop. There was also a leg of lamb and half a chicken - their hungry dogs took them away...
However, I saved one pearl from those that were in the pomegranate... I give it to you! Take it - this is my fairy tale!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru