It was or wasn’t, because Allah has many slaves... A long time ago, when the genies were throwing darts in an old bathhouse, there lived an old man nicknamed Nalji. Maybe because he was raised by an honest mother, but he didn’t put anything forbidden in his mouth. He never tried to remove a horseshoe from a dead horse for luck, did not pursue the protection of the powerful, and did not lose his pride.
He himself looked after his house, he himself, shedding sweat, got his own bread. He had neither a stake nor a yard, but had three sons, slender as young shoots. I don’t know the names of the elders, but the youngest was called Mysdyk, it seems. The older ones were simple in mind, but the younger ones were sharper than a saber! If you believe people's rumors, then it was so. Although the elders were not inferior in appearance to their brother, they were only very simple, so simple, as if a river that flows lazily, as if a person who does not lift his eyes from the ground will walk through the snow and leave no traces. And the younger one, this one, will figure everything out, achieve everything, deceive the devil himself, outwit him, that’s why Mysdyk was even compared with Keloglan...
The hour came, the father said goodbye to this world, and the children had to decide their own fate. What could Nalji Baba leave them as a legacy? Not a handful of earth in the mountains, not a green leaf in the vineyard. They had nothing to do but harness themselves to the Kara-Sapan3. After all, their kingdom was as big as the palm of your hand... They thought about this, pondered about this, and so, when dark thoughts were wandering in the heads of the brothers, Mysdyk said to them:
[Djinn—in the folklore of the Middle East—an evil spirit.
Keloglan - literally, "bald man" - is a hero of Turkish fairy tales, an unlucky, but smart and noble guy from the people.
Karasapan is a primitive plow.]
“My elder brothers, it is not proper for me to speak in front of you, but if we catch crows, we will not earn our own bread.” Whether it will be good, I don’t know, but let’s look for our happiness in other lands - after all, the earth does not end in these places!
His words resonated with the brothers:
“You’re telling the truth, Mysdyk, let’s all harness ourselves to the cart, you’re younger than us, it’s up to you to go ahead.”
They put on iron charms1, took iron staffs in their hands and set off on the road. You never know, you walked a lot, you walked a lot, you crossed the mountains, you left the valleys behind. One day they approached the field and what do they see: the bread stands as tall as a man, shaking their heads and bending down as if they wanted to reach the scythe. But the scythe turned away from them! The three brothers looked at each other, the two older ones said nothing, but the youngest, rolling like a small wheel in front, said:
“My elder brothers, these breads are waiting for the scythe to come to them, and the scythe needs a person’s hand, human labor.” Who knows if the owner didn’t get around to it, if he didn’t have enough strength? He abandoned his crops. Let’s not leave them to the birds and animals, let’s mow the field together! If the owner is an honest person, he will pay us for our efforts.
They said it and did it. We started at one end and finished at the other. Suddenly a diva appeared. The brothers were frightened, one more than the other, the other more than the third. And the div says:
- O children of men, I climbed all the mountains, carried all the stones, but this field bent my back. For many days I looked with all my eyes, waiting for someone like you. Didn't Allah send you? I don’t even know how I can pay you...
He said that and laughed. The brothers immediately felt relieved. Mysdyk answered the diva:
- O marvel, you called us people, and a person is a friend on a rainy day and will always do what he can. May our work bring you happiness as great as the road from earth to heaven! We wish you to always see smiling faces and hear sweet speeches.
“Wah, son,” says the diva, “let’s not remember smiles and sweet speeches, let my wealth be happiness for you... Of course, there is nothing human in me, but I also know life a little.” I know both the roads and the people. Behind this mountain stands my house, near the house there is a lamb, and my three daughters are watching the lamb. One is more beautiful than the other. If any of them has been judged for you by the great Allah,
Charyki - peasant shoes made of rawhide.
D and v is a fantastic creature, an evil spirit, a common character in Eastern folklore.
then may your path be strewn with roses. Let's just eat the meat of this lamb first, and the rest will work out on its own.
He said this, looked into Mysdyk’s eyes and told him to give the note to his wife so that she would fry and send them a lamb. Here Mysdyk looked at the diva, and the young man didn’t like something in his eyes. He took the piece of paper, and while walking along the road, he unfolded it and read it. And what was written there: it turns out that Mysdyk walked towards death with his own feet.
“Black woman, I send you a child, a human child! Don’t waste time, take it, but don’t eat it raw, put it on a spit, twirl it over the fire so that it cooks!” This is what was written on the diva's paper.
Repay good with evil!.. What else can you expect from such a bloodthirsty creature!
Mysdyk thought:
“Yes, yes! Well, wait, I’ll play a cruel joke on him, he’ll recognize me.” He took it with the tip of a knife and corrected the note. The diva came to his wife and started telling her about this and that. He told me how they worked on the field. And the wife bled not Mysdyk, but the lamb.
While the diva's wife was roasting the lamb, Mysdyk got clever and climbed into his daughters' chambers. He saw three girls. To say “beautiful” is to say nothing. One is like a blossoming branch, the other is like honey, filled with the smell of thyme, and the third is as fresh as a child, saturated with the delicate smell of milk...
Mysdyk saw them, and thousands of arrows pierced him.
“You are the roses of which mountain, the hyacinths of which garden?” - he asked them finally.
The girls' eyes are full of tears, like a spring with water, they answer him:
- Don’t ask, well done, don’t ask, we are the daughters of the padishah. One day we walked, as if Shaitan was leading us, and wandered into an abandoned vineyard, which is called “Viran-bagh”. We wandered through the vineyard and heard the speech of two branches. At first they didn’t believe their ears. Closer, closer, very close. They saw it and couldn’t believe it... It was a marvelous tree: two trees grow from one root, one is a mulberry, the other is a pear... the mulberry tree plays and sings, and the pear tree, bowing its head, listens. We were amazed! And they themselves listened. We don’t remember what happened next. Maybe the songs of the tree flowed through our veins, maybe our heads were spinning, we just lost our senses...
[Viran-bagh - literally: “abandoned garden”]
knowledge. And when they came to their senses, they found themselves in some kind of cave. From that day on, the divas want to destroy us. If they drink three handfuls of our blood, their life will be extended, and they will bring troubles to people for another three thousand years. During the day, the hoop lies in front of us, we weave our own shroud. At night, the basin of death stands next to us, until the morning we pour tears into it. On what day, at what hour will the basin be filled, on that day, at what hour will the shroud be ready. The Almighty has prepared grief for us, this is our fate... And you, good fellow, what are you looking for here, did the wind bring you, or did it flow? Mysdyk answered them:
“It wasn’t the wind that brought me, it wasn’t the stream... The miracle sent me so that I could pay with my blood for my own labor, but my time has not come, and instead of me a lamb is roasting on the brazier...
And he told them everything from beginning to end:
“If Allah wants to save us from misfortune, then we will escape from the clutches of the divas, and you will also be saved... At night, I will choose a convenient moment, I will give you a sign, you come down immediately!”
Having warned the girls, Mysdyk headed to the tandoor! The lamb was so fried that it became the color of a pomegranate, and the smell from it was so delicious... Mysdyk grabbed the lamb and carried it to the field.
Div was very surprised to see Mysdyk alive:
- Just think what this fellow has done! We wanted to confuse him, but he deceived us. If I forgive him for this, I won’t be a wonder!
For a long time the div muttered something, who knows what... They greedily tore the lamb and ate it.
In the evening, when it got dark, the diva smiled evilly and led the three brothers to his house, and Mysdyk, whose lamb was still burning in his mouth and pleasantly growling in his stomach, no longer wanted to step on the road, which was watered with tears. He listened carefully to the speeches of the divas. And they conspired like this:
- As soon as the brothers fall asleep, let's bleed them! Let's not think about tomorrow! Allah is omnipotent, there is something in his well! Either we drink the blood of the girls, or some other victim will come to us with his own feet...
Mysdyk heard this, and the sleep immediately flew away from his eyes. As soon as the divas began to sharpen their black knives on the black stone, Mysdyk whispered to himself: “Here is an opportunity for you!” - He signaled to the brothers with his eyes and eyebrows, and to the girls with his hand. They all jumped out of the door like arrows shot from a bow. They came di-
[Chandir - oven dug in the ground]
you see that instead of three brothers and three sisters, only the wind whistles. By the time the divas realized what had happened and set off in pursuit, they had already crossed the enchanted river and their hearts no longer pounded with fear.
The black diva, burning with anger, turned towards Mysdyka and shouted:
- Well, wait, boy Keloglan, you deprived me of a lamb, and that’s not enough for you, you also took three girls from me! But the matter will not end there. I am the owner of the caravanserai, and you are a traveler, someday the road will lead you to me!
Mysdyk answered him from the other bank:
“If you had not decided to take our lives, you would not have lost the lamb, if you had not kept the basin of death near the girls and did not force them to weave shrouds, you would not have lost the daughters of the padishah.” What you sowed is what you reaped! Get off our road, you won’t catch up anyway, better hold the knife in your hands tightly, otherwise it will catch your neck.
He said so, and they moved on.
Let them go their own way, and we will tell you something else.
The padishah was simply distraught when he learned that his daughters had disappeared. And how not to lose your mind: after all, all three are cleaner than the sky, brighter than the day; not a single one has a speck on their hearts, until now no one has even seen the edges of their dresses. And whose hands is this? They thought and guessed, but could not guess. “If they died in the mountains or on a pass, could the earth close their eyes; if they became food for birds or worms, could leaves cover their faces?”
And the padishah firmans began to rain:
“Whoever finds and brings my daughters to me, let him ask me for everything his heart desires, everything his soul desires!”
Thousands of people rushed to search! They turned everything upside down. But not a word, not a breath. The earth is iron, the sky is copper, and snow has fallen in the mountains.
The last ray of hope went out, and the whole world became a gloomy dungeon for the padishah.
And so, when the mountains and valleys were painted in the color of mourning, his three daughters and three sons of Nalji Baba suddenly appeared hand in hand before the eyes of the padishah! The padishah could not believe his eyes. Not knowing what to do to celebrate, he kissed the three young men on the forehead and placed them on his right, kissed the three daughters in the eyes and placed them on his left. The brothers told the padishah about their
[Firman - Shah or Sultan's decree]
misadventures and became very fond of him, especially the younger one. The padishah was ready to give even part of his heart to him!
- Demand from me what you want! - he commanded, and the three brothers answered:
- Your health is our wish!
They answered and bowed their heads low. Then the padishah
said:
“On that day when my daughters disappeared, I promised myself to give them as wives to those who would find them... Apparently, Allah the great has judged them for you!” If I follow the advice of the viziers and renounce my oath, then I will disgrace myself before the people, and if I fall in the eyes of the people, then I will break the law, with my own hands I will destroy my happiness both on earth and in heaven. Consider me your father. And as soon as you say “yes,” we’ll have a wedding right away. Maybe the day will come when one of you will become a ruler too!
The padishah said so and gave the brothers three days and three nights to think...
It’s not for nothing that people say: a person, having received a lot, wants even more. Believe it or not, only the elder brother began to look at the youngest daughter, while the eyes of the middle one turned away from the one, and from the other, and from the third and rushed to the throne of the padishah. The brothers here should have said to themselves: “We didn’t do anything, but we were so lucky, we now have such grace that a cauldron boils without a lid, and food cooks without steam, and we owe all this to our younger brother,” but the elders did not thank Mysdyk, who brought them happiness, on the contrary, they decided to dig a hole for him.
When three days later the padishah, calling his elder brother to him, asked what they had decided, he replied:
- O my padishah, I am ready to carry your daughter in my arms, but I have neither green nor scarlet, I have neither sugar nor honey for her... If I cannot give her some pleasant gift, then how will I look her in the eyes!
The padishah laughed and replied:
- Oh, Allah is merciful! Don’t worry about such trifles: gold is flowing like a stream in my palace, take and take to your betrothed whatever you like!
And the elder brother says to him:
[Vezir - minister, adviser to the padishah.
Sheikhulislam is the highest cleric of Muslims.]
- O my padishah, both your name and your honor order that your daughter should receive as a gift a thing that no one has seen or touched before, there is such a thing in the cave of the divas - this is a blanket embroidered with pearls... Gold is the key to the doors of the palace, but it will not open any other door. Only our Mysdyk will be able to find the key to the doors of the cave of divas; He alone will take the blanket from the hands of the divas. Who else is as smart as him? He is waiting for your command!
What could the padishah do, he called Mysdyk and asked him to get a blanket embroidered with pearls...
Mysdyk understood which direction the wind was blowing, but did not want to be branded a coward and answered like this:
“Well, of course, I’ll get a blanket embroidered with pearls, because my brother wants to give it to your eldest daughter!”
He said so and went on his way. He walked a little, walked a lot, walked through fields, walked through meadows, picked tulips and hyacinths along the way, crossed mountains and valleys and finally reached the cave of the divas. What he did, how he did it, Allah knows, but he only deceived the divas again. I took the blanket and instantly found myself on the other side of the enchanted river.
Div, panting, ran after him, but could not catch up. Mysdyk had long been standing on the other side, chuckling.
“Oh, you cunning one,” cried the diva, “you deprived me of a lamb, took away three girls, and now you have found out our secrets, stolen a blanket!” I pray to Allah that whoever covers himself with it will never wake up again! - this is how the div cursed the one who would become the owner of the blanket.
But Mysdyk didn’t listen to him! Everyone should mind their own business. Before he could blink, he found himself in the palace. Everyone who saw the embroidered blanket gasped:
- O great Allah, may the hands that embroidered this blanket never grow old!
They said so and took the blanket to the room where the eldest princess’s dowry was kept. The elder brother’s face turned black when he learned that Mysdyk had accomplished the impossible and returned safely. Then it was the turn of the middle brother to plot intrigues.
The padishah also called him to his place. To the padishah’s question, the middle brother answered:
“Oh my padishah, I love your daughter very much and I am ready to do everything for her, but I have neither a wedding ring nor a diamond that would be worth her beauty.” If I, like my elder brother, do not get something unusual for her, what will I feel like in front of the Sultana?
The padishah smiled:
- My treasury is filled to the brim with jewelry, take everything you like and give it to my daughter...
- O my padishah, there is honor, there is also a people before whom it is not proper to demean yourself. You need to give not a simple thing, but a special one, like a luminous stone that is kept in the cave of the divas... Pearls, diamonds, which you spoke about, my padishah, are the key only to the doors of the palaces of the viziers. And only our Mysdyk can open the door of the cave. Only he will take the stone from the divas. Who else can deceive them so cleverly? Please, issue a firman!
The padishah realized that nothing could be done. He called Mysdyk to him and asked him to get a luminous stone.
Mysdyk realized whose ax was cutting off his branch, but did not want to be branded a coward and answered like this:
- May disgrace not fall on my brother, may sadness not fall on his face; Let your middle daughter's gift be a glowing stone!
He said so and went on the road. He walked a little, walked a lot, drank cold water, walked for six months and one autumn, and finally reached the cave of the divas. What he did, how he did it - what do we need to know - got a luminous stone and crossed the enchanted river. Div, raising dust, rushed after Mysdyk, but he was already sitting calmly on the other bank.
- Oh, you cunning one, you deprived me of a lamb, took three girls from me, and that wasn’t enough for you? He took away my embroidered blanket—and he didn’t stop there, he also took away the luminous stone! I pray to Allah that whoever admires this stone will never be able to fall asleep! - the diva shouted and sent such curses that if they come true, the head of the middle brother will disappear.
Mysdyk said:
- Those who are not content with good cannot avoid evil. Don’t ask me why I did this, better find out what else I’m going to do... - And he went to the palace.
Those who saw the glowing stone became completely blind:
“Allah, Allah, does not smoke like a torch, does not burn out like a candle, but day and night it shines with a bright light, like a star that has fallen from the sky...
They said so and took the stone to the room where the middle daughter’s dowry was kept.
The middle brother was very angry when he saw Mysdyk alive and well. How can I harm him? Well, let the brothers think their dark thoughts!
Then the padishah called Mysdyk to him. And Mysdyk said:
- My padishah, love must be mutual. If the beginning of love is in my heart, then its end must be sought in the heart of a girl. I’m all dried up, I’ve lost my mind, but what do I know about the heart of the youngest?
“You’re right, my son, in every heart there is one sultan.” But I have long ago extorted from her that in her heart you are a master, you are a master. What do you say now?
Mysdyk replied:
“Now I’m ready to carry her in my arms all my life.” Only I don’t have an embroidered blanket like my older brother, or a glowing stone like my middle brother! If I go into the bridal room empty-handed, won’t they reproach your youngest daughter? Well, what to do... I’ll look around that cave again. Maybe I'll come back with pine resin or some other shepherd's gift.
He said and went on his way. He walked a little, walked a lot, sweated on the descents, broke his nails on the steeps, walked the road no wider than a grain of barley and finally entered the cave of the divas.
Div, seeing Mysdyk, began to sharpen his teeth:
“You jump once, flea, you jump twice, and the third time you fall into my clutches, then don’t expect mercy, I’ll drink your blood drop by drop!”
Mysdyk bowed and answered him:
“You’re right, father of divas, you’re right.” In the past I did a lot of stupid things, but now I realized that sooner or later the day will come when you swallow me... Fearing this day, I lost sleep! Like a candle in a candlestick, like sand in a river, I melted and melted until I was completely melted. Then I said to myself: rather than live every hour with the thought of death, it would be better for me, like a ram, to sacrifice myself! If you want to eat me, eat me! But just write here on the edge of the wall that everything you did was not done with your mind! This is not the mind of the padishah, and not the mind of my brothers. I won't say anything more. Everything was confused in my head. Either the genies throw darts, or they toss balls - I don’t know what, I don’t know. And when I was walking along the road, something jumped at my feet like a kid, then, turning into a fly, landed on my shoulders, and finally disappeared completely from my eyes... Maybe it merged with my soul, dissolved in my blood. Allah protect you, father of divas, make sure when you eat me, don’t let it get stuck in your throat. Do you understand me?
I heard his speeches from the divas, and his eyes darkened:
[Peri - good spirit, fantastic creature]
— Довольно слов, хитрец, недаром в твоих глазах шайтаны бегают, не приведи Аллах оказаться во власти их зла, пусть не случается с нами того же, что с тобой приключилось. Take seven steps away from me and ask us for what you want!
Открыли тогда двери большой пещеры, а джинны, которые караулили вход, отошли подальше, испугались, что молодец может их похитить… Мысдык же, улыбаясь в усы, осмотрел всю пещеру, приметил, где что лежит, но не взял ни зеркала, ни иголки дивов. Nothing pleased him. Suddenly he noticed a green bird in a green cage: its feathers were shining, its eyes were sparkling. What a bird!
- Oh, you are my bird of paradise, and how could I forget about you! — Вынул он из клетки птицу и хотел попрощаться с дивами, но от них и следа не осталось!
“Who knows where they went, because their road stretches all the way to hell. It’s good that you saved this poor bird!” — подумал Мысдык, переплыл заколдованную реку и пошел по дороге, которая привела его во дворец.
Но во дворце никто не дивился на райскую птичку: ведь ее не сравнишь ни со светящимся камнем, который всех ослепил, ни с расшитым одеялом, на которое смотрели, закусив палец от удивления. The siblings were the most annoyed:
— Ты опозорил наше имя: рискуя жизнью, доставал птицу, но разве это достойный подарок! The price is expensive, the weight is light, there was nothing better there, or what?
Этими словами хотели они опять послать его на смерть, но Мысдык пропустил их слова мимо ушей и сказал:
“I don’t want to force anyone to be nice.” Anyone who doesn’t like me shouldn’t give me a daughter, but I saved another life! - He said so and turned away.
Well, what could we do, they brought the green bird into the youngest daughter’s room. They beat the drums and played the wedding for forty days and forty nights.
Mysdyk and the youngest daughter woke up to the singing of a green bird. They got dressed, washed and went to kiss the hands and hem of the padishah’s robe. Падишах, увидев свою дочь, обрадовался, а увидев своего зятя, вспомнил жалкий подарок, которым тот одарил его дочь, но все же, сдержав досаду, сказал им:
— Дети мои, мир наш похож на лохань с четырьмя ручками: за две ручки держатся женщины, за две другие —мужчины…
The day will come when you will become complete masters here. Then I will tell you two cherished words so that you remember them firmly! Until then, try to spend your days in your room listening to the green bird sing!
This was his father's instruction.
He began to wait for his other daughters and sons-in-law, but that day the doors did not open either in the bedroom with the embroidered blanket or in the bedroom with the glowing stone! Fear gripped the padishah:
“Did any of the envious people put poison in their food?” The padishah was saddened, but the viziers began to calm him down:
- O our padishah, don’t let the dark thought bother you, have you forgotten that there was a wedding! In forty days and forty nights a person can be as tired as a beaten dog. And can every young man raise his head the morning after his wedding night?
But the next day the bedroom doors did not open either.
“No, something is wrong here, and who, except Mysdyk, can explain all this,” thought the padishah and called him to him.
Mysdyk told the padishah what a cruel joke his older brothers played on him:
“Believe me, my padishah, I can’t even dare say it, but now there’s nothing to hide.” Allah is my witness, my brothers must have been touched by the curse of the divas. Woe to them, the unfortunate ones! Those who sleep covered with an embroidered blanket will not be able to wake up, and those who are awake near the luminous stone will not be able to fall asleep. I wanted to give them advice, but they are older brothers, and my tongue was numb. But when I laid my head on the block for them, they dug a hole for me, and all because of the throne!
The padishah scratched his beard and made the following speech:
- This means that their gaze did not strive either for the embroidered blanket or for the luminous stone, but only for my crown, for my throne! May the great Allah satisfy their greedy eyes with earth. Yes, they got what they deserved, but why are my tender daughters enduring torment? I doomed them to suffering with my own hands. One will be strangled by an embroidered blanket, the other will be destroyed by the shine of a luminous stone!.. What to do, how to help them - my mind is helpless!
He said and looked at the viziers with hope. But without receiving the saving balm, he turned to Mysdyk:
“Oh, my son, they say that even good grapes spoil if they lie next to bad ones for a long time, but you grew up next to bad ones, but their dirt did not stick to you, there is not a speck in it.” Allah has rewarded you with a sharp mind and a kind heart. Be a statesman for you! And if you find a way to correct the misfortune that has befallen my palace, then, I swear by Allah, I will give you my crown and throne!
What could Mysdyk answer? He won’t lie like those who try to please.
“Oh, my padishah,” said Mysdyk, “your every word is firman for me, but if I immediately follow all the advice that my head is giving me now, then all my work will go to the wind, and my desires will be carried away by the water.” Give me two hours of time, I’ll think carefully about it, maybe it will be good. If I can find a way out, then I will come and tell you. Let your viziers think about it, then we will say “bismillah”1 and get down to business!
What can be said about the right thing? I thought, Mysdyk thought, cleared his mind and went to the padishah, stood in front of him, crossed his arms, and said:
- O my padishah, divas are also slaves of Allah. Their curse came true, but they didn’t curse them for the tears of the orphans. That is why their spell does not have full power. I think so, if we take an embroidered blanket and a luminous stone and give it to those who need them, then those sleeping will wake up, but it will be difficult to put those awake to sleep. Well, nothing, do what I told you for now, and leave the rest to me. Somehow we will speak to them and send them to sleep.
They told all this to the viziers, and, as ordered, the embroidered blanket was given to the poor girl who was asking for alms at the door, and the luminous stone was given to the sage, who did not take his head off a large black-bound book... Then Mysdyk pronounced his spell. Those who could not wake up woke up, and those who could not sleep fell asleep. They began to live, while away the days in fun and joy, only the older and middle brothers became so ashamed of their actions that they were ready to fall through the earth, of course, if it opened up. They fell at the feet of the padishah and Mysdyk, but it was too late, they themselves fell in the eyes of people! And again the padishah, out of his kindness, said to them:
“Let me have only one pair of all my money, as long as my daughters are not widows!” - and then added: - Are you simpletons, simpletons, or have you never looked in the mirror of fate? With what face did you want to become padishahs, on what shoulders did you want to bear all the sin? After all, you are looking for a stream without rain! There are five commandments in Islam, and the sixth is to know everything.
[Bismillah are the initial words of the Muslim prayer, with which, according to custom, you need to begin any business.
A pair is a small copper coin, a penny.]
measure! Let what sticks to your foot stay there. And from now on, know what you are worth, I will never again interfere in your troubles and will not take your younger brother’s sword away from your head!
He said so and gave each one a principality. And Mysdyk was made padishah and settled in the palace...
Everyone has achieved the desired goal, but now we will go home. Three more apples fell from the sky. This is for those who do not demand for themselves more than what is due to them.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru