The old man had a son named Ahmed. And boys in those days were shepherds. One day, his comrades decided to play a joke on Ahmed.
“Simple,” they tell him, “all your peers got married a long time ago, but you are still not married.” Go home, tell your father to take the padishah's daughter as your wife - he will immediately go to the padishah and take his daughter as your wife. Ahmed was small and trusting - he believed everything. He believed his comrades. In the evening, as soon as he came home, Ahmed said to his father:
“Father, go now to the padishah and take his daughter as my wife.”
“Son,” the old man replies, “you’re still young, it’s not time for you to get married, and then the padishah won’t give his daughter to poor people like us.”
“I don’t know anything,” Ahmed persisted, “send a matchmaker to the padishah.” If you don’t marry me, I’ll kill everything.
Out of fear, the old man sent a matchmaker to the padishah. He sat down on the matchmaking stone in front of the palace. The Padishah was informed that a man was sitting in front of the palace. He ordered the padishah to bring the petitioner to him.
- What do you want from us? - the padishah asked the matchmaker. “May the years of the padishah last,” the matchmaker said with a bow, “the son of a poor old man, Ahmed, wants to marry your daughter.”
The padishah thought for a moment, and then said:
- Great. Send me a groom and I’ll see if he suits my daughter.
The concerned matchmaker returned to the old man and conveyed the words of the padishah.
The old man's knees began to shake with fright. He called his son and said:
- Son, you brought trouble upon us, the padishah is calling you to him.
“Well, I’ll go now,” Akhmed answers, rejoicing.
The old man began to beg his son, persuading him to abandon his idea, because look who you want to become related to, the padishah himself: he will ask you for a lot of good, money, but we have nothing. But Ahmed didn’t want to hear anything - he went to the padishah.
“May the life of the padishah last,” Ahmed turned to the ruler with a bow. “I sent a matchmaker to you, and you invited me to your place to see if the groom is suitable for your daughter.” So I came.
The padishah glanced sideways at Ahmed and said:
- Okay, I will marry my daughter to you, but you must build a house of forty floors. If you don’t build it, I’ll order your head to be cut off.
Ahmed once again bowed to the padishah, said: “I listen and obey,” and returned home.
“Father,” he said, returning from the palace, “the padishah agrees to marry his daughter to me, but demands that I build a house of forty floors.”
“Son,” the old man groaned, “how can you build such a house?”
“Listen, father,” answered Ahmed, “is it difficult to build a house of forty floors?” I'll get it done in a month. Let's sell one of our two bulls and use the proceeds to build a house like this. That's all business.
The old man realized that his son did not understand anything and said:
“Well, son, we’ll do as you say.” Take the bull to the market and sell it, and with the proceeds we will build a house of forty floors.
Ahmed caught the bull and took it to the market to sell.
And now I’ll tell you about market swindlers. Seven swindlers were operating at the bazaar, buying food for next to nothing and dividing it among themselves. These swindlers conspired to deceive Akhmed, who was selling a bull.
One of the crooks approached Ahmed:
- Son, what are you asking for your little goat? he asked. Akhmed was indignant, saying, can’t you see, this is not a kid, but a bull!
Then the second crook came up.
“I’ll give three hryvnia for this kid,” he offered to Akhmed.
Ahmed also moved away from the second swindler. Thus, Ahmed left the six deceivers. Some offered three hryvnias, others one and a half, wanting to take the bull from Akhmed. The simpleton has reached the seventh swindler.
- Hey, guy, sell the goat for a dime. I'll buy it for the kids for fun.
But Ahmed knew nothing about the conspiracy of the swindlers. He sold the bull for one and a half hryvnia, and ate bread at the market for a nickel. He brought home a ten-kopeck piece.
At home, he also lashed out at his father for giving him a kid instead of a bull.
The old man immediately realized that his son had been tricked.
“It’s okay, son,” he said, “they deceived you and bought the bull cheaply, saying that it was a kid, but I will pay them back for this.”
The next morning the old man took the net and went hunting. Two birds were caught in the trap and he brought them home. He tied one of the hares in the yard, and took the other to the market. He instructed his wife to prepare dinner for the guests. “I’m going to the market,” said the old man, “I’ll return home with the guests and ask: “Have you prepared dinner, wife?” And you answer: “The hare came running and said that the owner will have guests today, he needs to prepare dinner. So I made some food.” After lunch, I’ll find fault with something and quarrel with you, then, getting angry, I’ll stab you on purpose, you’ll fall down as if you were dead. Here I’ll play the pipe - you get up as if nothing had happened.
The old man filled a long bowel with red paint and tied it, so that it would not be visible, around his wife’s neck, and he took the hare and left.
At the market the old man began trading:
- Who wants a snitch hare? Who wants a snitch hare? Immediately the old man was surrounded by swindlers. They asked if it was possible to test the hare's abilities.
- Why can’t it? - the old man was surprised. “I’ll give him an assignment now, and he’ll pass it on to my wife.”
“So let’s check it out,” suggested one of the crooks. The old man agreed and said, turning to the hare:
- Go home, hare, and tell your wife that I will have guests today - let her prepare us something to eat.
The old man released the hare, and it instantly disappeared. The old man came home.
- Wife, I brought guests. Have you prepared something to eat? - he asked his wife.
“Well,” the wife answers, “I prepared it.” The hare came running and said that the gentleman would have guests today, he needed to prepare dinner, and so I prepared it.
The crooks see that the hare is actually nibbling the grass in the yard. The old man invited guests into the house. The wife laid out the tablecloth and served the food. While eating, the crooks asked about the price of the hare.
“I gave two weights of gold for this hare, my children,” said the old man. But you are not strangers, so I’ll give you half the price.
The swindlers agreed and measured out the required amount of gold to the old man. And the old man instructed his wife to make tea. The wife hesitated a little, the owner pretended to be very angry, threw his wife to the floor and “cut off” her head.
- What have you done, old man? - the crooks shouted. - Why did you kill your wife?
“It’s no problem,” the old man said calmly. “I kill her several times a day, and then I revive her myself: it’s in my hands.” Do you see this pipe? As soon as I play it, my wife comes to life. She, this pipe, is magical - a resurrector.
The old man said so and began to play the pipe. The wife immediately rose to her feet. The swindlers were very surprised at the miracle. They paid in gold and for the pipe and left.
“Well, wife,” said the old man, seeing the guests off, “they will return tomorrow.” I'm going to the cemetery. You will tell them that as soon as they left us, my husband passed away.
The swindlers at the market released a hare, and that was the hare. They came home, but the hare was nowhere to be seen. Then they knocked down their wives and cut off their heads. No matter how much they blew the trumpet later, the wives never resurrected.
Angry at the old man, the crooks went to his house. And there the old man’s wife told them that immediately after they left, the old man gave his soul to Allah.
The swindlers immediately headed to the cemetery and saw the old man hiding between the graves. They told the old man what was in their hearts. And he responded:
- Well, kids, the debt is paid off. You, having deceived a child, bought a bull, passing it off as a kid, and I paid you for it.
The swindlers decided to kill the old man, and he said:
“Don’t do this, otherwise I’ll tell the Shah how you decided on your wives.” Then you will not escape the gallows.
The swindlers got scared and wandered away.
The next morning the old man called the masons and began to build the house. When the forty-story house was ready, Ahmed informed the Shah that his wish had been fulfilled and that now it was the Shah’s turn to fulfill his promise and give his daughter to Ahmed. The padishah arrived with his closest advisers to look at the house and approved the construction. The padishah could not fail to fulfill his word - he gave his daughter to Ahmed.
On the same day the people were called. The wedding of Ahmed and the Shah's daughter lasted forty days and forty nights. Ahmed's father called after the wedding and said:
“Son, until this day you behaved like a child, now you are already a man, so behave like a man.” Otherwise your wife will leave you.
Ahmed promised his father not to forget about this.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru