When the daughter-in-law served a tray of food, Shyamu could hardly restrain himself from swearing. The flatbreads were thick, poorly baked, and burnt. There were no vegetables in sight. And instead of seasoning - just a cup of whey.
The unleavened flatbread did not fit into my throat.
“At least give me some salt, daughter-in-law,” he said.
- Where will I get it from? – she jumped up. - Did you earn money for salt? Everyone here knows how to make demands, but whether there are supplies or pets in the house is no one’s business.
- Well, you can cook it in different ways. And even a donkey would refuse such food!
“The donkey may refuse, but you eat every day.” Just think, what a noble prince he turned out to be. Maybe you can bring the princess to the house?
- And here I will bring you! – Shyamu got angry. “And until I marry the princess, I won’t set foot here!”
Shyamu jumped up and ran out of the house.
It was the dead of night. He set off along the deserted road, seeing nothing in front of him, hungry and tired after a whole day of work.
Morning came, and he saw in front of him four guys who looked like wrestlers. They were playing tug of war. Shyamu sat under a tree and began to watch them. But it must be said that he had no equal in tug-of-war. He sees that the same ones win every time, but two always lose. He looked and looked, and then stood up and invited them to measure their strength with him. The wrestlers looked and saw a village boy standing in front of them in a torn, oily shirt.
“Well,” they say, “try it.”
Shyamu took hold of the rope, forgot about hunger and fatigue, and one by one he defeated all four wrestlers. Those two who were weaker were especially happy that there was a person stronger than their winners. They hugged Shyama like brothers and gave him rich gifts: an ointment that made a person invisible, a flying bed that could take him anywhere, a magic blanket from which treasures fell, and two wonderful roots. The smell of one root turned a man into a monkey, and the smell of another made him a man again.
Shyamu said goodbye to the fighters and went his way. He remembered that he was hungry and decided to try the gifts. He approached the village and shouted:
- Hey, people, get ready! I'll show you a great trick!
A crowd gathered around him. He gave the root to one boy to smell, and he turned into a monkey. He gave it another sniff, and the monkey turned into a boy. People were surprised; they had never seen such miracles. They brought the magician all kinds of food and clothes.
I ate Shyama, dressed up and continued on my way. Now I had to try other gifts. He rubbed himself with the magic ointment and soon realized that no one could see him. He then sat down on the flying bed and said: “Carry me to where the beautiful princess lives!”
The flying bed immediately rose up and flew across rivers, mountains and seas. Two days later she landed in the country where the beautiful princess Rushm lived.
Unnoticed by anyone, Shyama walked into the royal palace, saw the princess and almost fainted at the sight of her beauty. She looked like a heavenly maiden who descended to earth from the paradise gardens of the god Indra. Still invisible, he approached the princess and gave her the magic root to smell. At that same moment, a nasty monkey appeared in the place where the princess was sitting. All the courtiers were numb, they didn’t know what to think. And the poor king is barely alive from grief. Before his eyes, his only beloved daughter turned into a monkey.
Shyamu came out of the palace and, dressed as an ascetic, sat down on the edge of the road. And then he heard the heralds announce the royal decree: “Whoever returns the princess to her human form, the king will give her as a wife and will also grant a lot of lands and money from his treasury.”
About a week has passed. Shyama headed towards the royal palace with a bag over his shoulder, like a wandering doctor, and just know he shouted:
– Who to treat, who to heal? I can turn a monkey into a human!
They heard him in the palace, reported to the king, and the king immediately ordered the doctor to be brought to him.
The doctor demanded treatment for a whole month and that he be with the princess all the time, and that the servants not disturb him. The king ordered that everything be done as the doctor desired and that the servants carry out all his orders. However, the king also told the doctor that he would not cut off his head if the princess did not return to human form in a month.
Shyama took his magic blanket, took out luxurious outfits and unprecedented jewelry from it. He got dressed, decorated himself and entered the princess’s chambers. I let her smell the root and she turned from a monkey back into a beautiful princess. She saw an unfamiliar young man in front of her and was frightened. And he calms her down:
- Don't be afraid, princess. I came to you with goodness. Love me.
The princess looked at him and could not take her eyes off.
Before dawn, Shyamu gave the princess a sniff of the root and again she turned into a monkey.
It went on like this for a month. In the evenings, Shyamu came to the princess and returned her to her human form. All night long they kissed each other, made love speeches, and the next morning he again turned her into a monkey.
But now the appointed time has arrived. The king entered the princess’s chambers, saw his beloved daughter in human form and shed tears of joy. He gave the order to prepare for the wedding.
The wedding was celebrated at an auspicious hour. The king gave a rich dowry for his daughter. After the wedding, the newlyweds sat down on a flying bed and flew to Shyamu’s native place, where he had already built a palace for himself. They flew to the palace and looked around. Then Shyamu says to his young wife:
- Wait for me, I'll be back soon.
He walked straight up to his sister-in-law, bowed low at her feet and said:
- Bride-in-law, I brought the princess to the house! Come see!
The daughter-in-law heard this, and out of shame she wanted to fall into the ground.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru