There lived one kind and fair man. He was a skilled gardener and throughout his life he cultivated a large and beautiful garden. When this man grew old and could no longer work in the garden himself, he entrusted it to his son Hamdam, who inherited kindness and justice from his father, as well as a love for flowers and trees.
Hamdam was married and already had two handsome sons.
Feeling the approach of death, Hamdam's father one day called his son and, in the presence of friends and neighbors, gave him the following instruction:
- Dear son Hamdam! I will die soon, but don’t give up the work I started, don’t put out the lighted lamp... Work honestly, be kind and fair. Never take what belongs to someone else. Here is my promise to you. As far as I remember, I didn’t take anything from anyone and don’t owe anyone anything. But memory can fail a person: maybe I took something from someone and forgot... If someone asks you to pay my debt, do not refuse, do not disgrace me, do not disturb my ashes in the grave.
Having said this, the patient fell silent and fell into oblivion. The visitors quietly left him.
- Hey, Hamdam, remember what your father told you! Especially his last words! - one merchant said to Hamdam, stopping at the gate.
That same night the old man died. Hamdam buried his father with great honor and mourned him for a long time.
He tried to be what his father bequeathed to him to be. From morning to night he worked diligently in the garden, was hospitable and accepted everyone who needed shelter and help.
One evening, the merchant who was present at his father’s will came into Hamdam’s garden.
- Hello, Hamdam! I came to you on business. Your late father borrowed money from me. He promised to return it soon, but apparently forgot. Much time has passed since then. I did not remind you of this, expecting that you yourself would repay my fatherly debt to me. Didn't your father tell you about his duty?
“No... my father didn’t tell me anything,” said the surprised Hamdam. “And how much money did he take from you?”
- Five hundred tanga.
“Wait here a little,” Hamdam said to the merchant, entered the house, quickly returned with the money and gave it back.
- Thank you! Now your father will lie peacefully in his grave - his son has not desecrated his memory!
A few days later a bai came to Hamdam. He hesitated for a long time, as if not daring to start a conversation, and finally said meaningfully:
“Hamdam, didn’t your father tell you about his debts before he died?”
- No... What? - Hamdam asked timidly.
— He borrowed grain from me. First, he took ten measures of wheat for your wedding. I did not remind him of the debt, but he never repaid it... Then, on the occasion of the birth of your sons, he borrowed from me another twelve measures of wheat and five measures of rice.
“It’s strange that my father didn’t tell me about such a big debt,” Hamdam was perplexed.
“Memory sometimes fails a person,” said the Bai.
Hamdam had nothing to object to. He remembered his father's dying instructions and was forced to admit his debt.
But in order to pay his father’s “debt”, he had to sell part of the garden.
After these “debts” were paid, other people came to Hamdam and demanded that their father’s debts be returned. Hamdam no longer worked in the garden, but only sold off the property left by his father, and finally remained with his family, even homeless. Now his father's friends and acquaintances have left him.
“We are ashamed to be beggars in our hometown,” Hamdam’s wife said. - All your friends have turned their backs on you and don’t want to help you. Let's take the children and go to a foreign land - no one knows us there and no one will judge us if we live in poverty.
Hamdam liked his wife's advice. A few days later, he left his city with his wife and sons.
They walked for a long time through the steppes and deserts. Finally, we reached the seashore. At the pier, Hamdam begged the ship's owner to take them somewhere far away for free.
At night a strong storm broke out at sea. The ship was thrown from side to side
side. In the darkness, he ran into another ship coming towards him. Both ships crashed, leaving only splinters. Many people drowned, and the few survivors rushed through the waves, clinging to the wreckage of ships.
So for several days and nights the waves carried Hamdam across the sea. From hunger and thirst, he almost lost consciousness, but did not let go of the board he was holding on to.
The storm has subsided. Sprawled on the board, tired Hamdam dozed off. He was washed ashore, and when the board hit the ground, he woke up and saw an immense bare desert. It seemed that neither man nor beast passed here, nor a bird flew past.
On the shore he noticed a tree, with difficulty he reached it, but, to his chagrin, there were no fruits or leaves on it. The tree has dried up. Exhausted, Hamdam lay down under this tree and fell fast asleep.
In a dream he saw his wife and both sons. They cried and called him, but terrible sea monsters did not let him come to them. Suddenly everything disappeared, and a gray-haired old man, with a turban on his head, in a yellow robe, approached him and said:
- Hello, alien! Misfortune has thrown you into this desert, but don’t worry, don’t sit idle. This land belongs to you. Work hard and make this desert bloom! Go to the sea, put your hands in the water and take out what you grab. This will help you achieve your goal.
The old man left, and Hamdam woke up and saw the tracks of a lion near him. Hamdam went to the sea, put his hands into the water, grabbed what he came across, and pulled out sea grass and colorful stones. He began throwing them ashore until he got tired. Then he went to rest under a tree and saw a green branch with fruit on it. He picked the fruit, satisfied his hunger and fell asleep.
In a few days, Hamdam brought a large pile of wonderful, sparkling stones from the sea. At night, these stones burned so brightly that it became completely light in the desert.
Far from the seashore, a caravan road ran through this desert. The caravanners were amazed to see the light in the desert, and several people ventured to see where the light came from.
Approaching the seashore, they saw a man sitting under a tree, and not far away - a pile of shiny, beautiful stones.
- Who are you - a man or a diva? - they asked Hamdam. —Where did you get these wonderful stones?
- I'm a man. Misfortune brought me, alone, here to the shore of the desert. And these precious stones were mined by my hands.
—Will you sell them to us?
- I will sell, but not for money. Bring me seeds of bread plants, fruit trees and everything a person needs for life.
The caravan leaders agreed. In exchange for seeds and various goods, Hamdam gave them precious stones - one khurjin for each camel. The caravanners, satisfied, continued on their way and told everyone about the successful exchange.
Soon all the caravan drivers began to stop by Hamdam and give him their goods in exchange for precious stones.
The caravans also brought him building materials and skilled craftsmen.
Gardens bloomed on the bare plain, beautiful houses appeared, and a whole city grew up. A luxurious palace was built in the middle of the city. Its walls were decorated with wonderful precious stones that Hamdam obtained from the bottom of the sea. The palace shone like the sun and was visible far out to sea. Hamdam told everyone who came to the city:
- All widows, poor people, homeless people can come to the city of Navobod and work with me. Here they will receive everything they need for life.
At the request of the townspeople, Hamdam was elected head of the city of Navobod. And the tree under which Hamdam first rested when the sea washed him up on a deserted shore now stood in the middle of a large garden and was all covered with leaves and fruits. And often, looking at him, Hamdam remembered his former garden, and house, and family, which he considered dead.
The fame of the wonderful city of Navobod grew, and people from different countries came to see it.
Once a merchant and his betrothed sister sailed on a ship to see this city. In the evening, the merchant went to visit Hamdam, and asked to place a guard at the door of his sister’s room.
Two young men were sitting at the door of the room opposite each other. They didn't know each other and that's why they didn't talk at first.
“I’ll get tired of sitting silently all night,” said one. “Let’s tell you something!”
“It seems you’ve worn one more shirt than me—you should know more than I do, so tell me something.”
- Okay, I'll tell you about myself. I had a younger brother. Our parents became poor and decided to leave their city with the whole family. I remember we all boarded a ship and sailed somewhere. At night a storm broke out. In the impenetrable darkness, two ships collided and were smashed into pieces. Most people drowned. The same fate apparently befell both my parents and my brother. And I was thrown ashore. A kind person picked me up and I worked for him for several years. And when I heard about the wonderful city of Navobod, I hurried here to try my luck. The ruler of the city here is good, caring, like a father. And his name is Hamdam, like my father.
-What's your name? - asked the amazed interlocutor.
- My name is Rafi.
-What was your brother's name?
- Hafiz!
- Brother Rafi! I am Hafiz, your younger brother!
This is how the brothers got to know each other. They hugged and kissed.
The merchant's betrothed sister listened to the conversation between the two brothers outside the door and cried bitter tears. But the guards did not hear her crying.
It was already morning, and the merchant came for his betrothed sister to take her to explore the city. The guards went home.
- What happened to you? - asked the merchant. - You're all in tears.
“This is the fault of my guards,” she answered. The angry merchant immediately ran and complained to Hamdam.
“We swear we didn’t offend this woman with a word!” “We were talking only about ourselves,” the guards told Hamdam.
“Call the woman and in her presence repeat everything you said at night,” Hamdam said to the guards.
And Rafi, in the presence of the woman, repeated everything that he had told at night.
- My dear sons! I'm your father! - Hamdam exclaimed and embraced his sons.
Then the woman pulled back the veil from her face.
- My children! My husband! - she exclaimed.
Hamdam recognized his wife. There was no end to the joy of all four. Thus, happiness returned to Hamdam in the beautiful city of Navobod.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru