A long time ago in our city of Travnik there lived a poor man. Someone told him that in Constantinople you could earn money by becoming a porter, and he decided to try his luck. And I was not mistaken. The capital of the padishah was bustling with people, and ships from near and far countries, loaded with overseas goods, entered the harbor every day. Work as much as you like, just don’t be lazy. And our fellow countryman was strong and hardworking. Through labor and frugality, he managed to accumulate as many as one hundred ducats in a few years.
“With this money,” the porter thought, “I can open a shop in Travnik. I will live like a human being and people will respect me. I've had enough of the goods that I've still been carrying on my back and that's making me hunched over like a camel. I’ll work as a porter for some more time until I save up money for the return trip, and I’ll give these hundred ducats for safekeeping to some honest person.”
He began to look closely at people, looking for a person who could be trusted with money. In the end, he chose one pilgrim, the owner of a large shop full of expensive goods.
“Surely this is a respectable man. He is not only rich, but also went to Mecca to worship. “I can calmly give into his hands the money I have accumulated with such difficulty, at the cost of so many hardships and a half-starved life,” the porter thought and entered the shop.”
A merchant pilgrim asked him why he came, and our fellow countryman told what brought him to him:
“I earned these hundred ducats through honest labor.” I want to give them to you to keep until I pack a little more for the trip back. And for the service I will pay you what is due.
The merchant happily agreed to take the money, promising not to take a penny for the service from such a poor man.
The porter emptied his shabby wallet, kissed the hand of the venerable pilgrim and again went to the pier to carry bales and boxes.
A little time passed. The porter did not eat enough, did not get enough sleep, lived in a dirty shack, and in the end he saved up the money he needed for the journey. He went to the merchant.
“I came for my hundred ducats, it’s time for me to return to my hometown,” he said with a bow.
- What hundred ducats? – the merchant jumped up. - Drive away this madman! - he shouted to the servants, and they pushed the poor man out into the street.
So the porter was left empty-handed. He went wherever his eyes looked. He walked and walked and stopped at the corner of the street.
- Oh, what a disaster! So much work, so much hardship and everything went down the drain! - the unfortunate man began to lament.
A Turkish woman noticed him from the window of one house and sent her maid to fetch him. The porter decided that he was called to carry something and wandered after the woman.
“It seemed to me that you were upset about something, so I wanted to know what happened to you?” - said the Turkish woman.
- Get lost, woman, with your questions! - the deceived poor man got angry. “You can’t help me anyway.”
“You better tell me what your trouble is, and I’ll think of something.”
He told her everything in order: how he came to Constantinople, how he worked tirelessly until he saved a hundred ducats, how he gave them to the merchant for safekeeping and how he paid for his gullibility.
The woman listened to him carefully and said:
– Your grief can be helped. I can guess what kind of person we are talking about. He deceived many people while he became rich. So that Allah would forgive him his sins, he went as a pilgrim to Mecca, but, apparently, he remained the same as he was. Just wait, I'll change my clothes now. We will go out together, you will go ahead of me, and as soon as we approach the shop of this rip-off, give me a secret sign. I’ll go into the shop, and you stand outside for a bit, and then go in and demand your hundred ducats. Just pretend you don't know me. You will see that he will return your money.
So they did as the Turkish woman advised. The porter showed her the shop and remained waiting on the street, and the Turkish woman came in and said hello:
- Selam alaikum!
- Aleikum selam! – the merchant bowed. - Please, madam, sit down! - He pointed to a chair.
The woman sat down and spoke in a mysterious whisper:
- I want you to do me a favor. Just swear that you won't say a word to anyone.
The merchant promised to keep the secret and do everything in his power to serve his mistress.
“I was the wife of a rich man,” she began to tell. “My husband recently died and left me a lot of jewelry and about four to five thousand ducats. However, after his death a lot of heirs appeared, and I don’t want to share my husband’s wealth with them. So I decided to ask you to hide this money and jewelry until the authorities divide my husband’s property. For this service I will pay you what is due when I come for my wealth.
From her very first words, it became clear to the merchant that he could profit from other people’s goods. He barely listened to the Turkish woman and assured her that he would gladly serve her, and would not take a penny for storing her wealth. At this time the porter came in and asked for his money back.
“Just a minute, son,” the merchant hurried. - How much money did you give me?
- One hundred ducats!
The merchant counted out the money to him, and the porter asked:
- How much do I owe you for this service?
- Not at all. It’s a sin to take money from a poor person for such an insignificant service,” the merchant replied.
The porter thanked him and left. The Turkish woman promised that she would send money and jewelry with the maid and immediately hurried home. The merchant saw her off with low bows and began to wait for the maid, stroking his beard, the cunning one, and dreaming of enormous wealth that would fall on him straight from the sky. He waits for an hour, then waits for another - no one appears. The merchant finally realized that the woman had deceived him. Him, who fooled so many people! He got angry with himself for returning the money to the porter and closed the shop ahead of time. However, instead of going to the mosque and praying to Allah, as every believer does, he went home and began to walk back and forth like a lion in a cage, muttering to himself:
“I chased two hares, but I didn’t catch either.”
- Why are you so gloomy, my lord? – his wife asked him.
He told her everything, holding nothing back. And she listened to him and said:
“I think it’s easy to help your grief.” Just promise that you won’t scold me later. Tomorrow morning I will take the money from the porter.
The husband promised that he would not be angry with her, no matter what she did, as long as she returned the money that he lost due to his own stupidity.
In the morning, the merchant went to the pier, and his wife and two children followed him. He showed her the porter and hid behind the boxes to see what would happen. And his wife rushed, as if mad, to our fellow countryman, hung on his neck and screamed in good obscenities:
- This is my hubby! Two years ago, Our man took the children to a Turkish woman. The kind woman washed them, fed them, and told the porter to come the next day.
The merchant's wife had not yet had time to cross the threshold of her house when her husband ran out to meet her with the words:
- Well, did you take the money back from him?
- She took the money, but lost the children! - and she told everything that happened at the judge’s.
The merchant groaned and gasped, but there was nothing to do.
- Okay, let’s be patient a little and see what this poor man will do with two children. How will he feed them? - he said.
In the morning, the porter came to the Turkish woman at the appointed hour.
“Take the children, take them to the slave market, and tell the herald that you are selling them at auction.” The initial price is one hundred ducats, and whoever gives more will receive them. Just make sure that the herald definitely passes by the merchant’s shop,” she punished.
The porter did just that. The herald led the children through the streets of Constantinople and shouted at the top of his voice that the children were being sold at auction, and the original price was one hundred ducats. When he passed by the merchant's shop, the father immediately recognized his children and shouted:
– I’ll give you one more ducat!
- One hundred and one ducats! - the herald shouted and turned towards the slave market. And there a Turkish woman was waiting for them.
– Who dares to mock these nice kids? – she was indignant. - I give five hundred ducats for them!
Again the herald went through the streets, shouting at the top of his lungs:
- Five hundred ducats for two children! Who will give more!
As he passed by the shop, the merchant shouted:
– I’ll give you one more ducat! The herald returned to the marketplace and shouted again:
- Five hundred and one ducats!
- A thousand ducats! – the Turkish woman interrupted him.
The herald realized that the bargaining was going on between the Turkish woman and the merchant, and hurried to his shop. And the father of the children again added only one ducat and sent for his wife, because he was sure that no one would give more money for his own children. However, he was wrong. The Turkish woman heard that the greedy merchant was adding only one ducat at a time, and said:
- I give you one thousand five hundred! Reluctantly, the merchant added another ducat.
- One thousand five hundred and one ducats are given for these two children! - shouted the herald.
-Who dares to mock the unfortunate? – came the voice of a Turkish woman. “I’ll give you two thousand ducats for them!”
The herald announced a new price. The stunned merchant raised his hands to the sky and exclaimed:
- Allah, Allah, how long will this bargaining continue? Because I will go broke because of these children. Let those who need them take them. I won't add another penny!
However, his wife, who ran to the shop for her beloved children, hearing these words, began to tear out her hair and, throwing herself at the feet of her greedy husband, shouted:
- Give me, give me more! Give everything for your children! Maybe Allah will forgive us for our greed!
What to do here! Can a person abandon his children? Gritting his teeth, the merchant increased the price by another ducat.
The herald returned to the market and announced a new price.
“And I give two thousand five hundred ducats for these dear children, because I don’t have any of my own.”
The merchant heard the price jump, began to tear out his beard, beat himself in the chest, and even tore his robe out of anger. What to do here! Is it possible to abandon your children? He gave me another ducat.
Only then did the Turkish woman tell the porter to stop bargaining. They ordered the herald to hand over the children to the one who gave more for them. The herald took the children to their parents, received two thousand five hundred and one ducats from the merchant and handed them to the porter. Our fellow countryman went to the Turkish woman’s house, poured out all the money at her feet and said:
- Virtuous woman, take this money. You deserve them because you are not only kind, but also smart and reasonable. And I ask you, give me only those hundred ducats that I earned by honest labor!
The Turkish woman was surprised and said:
- This money is yours. Take them as a reward for all your hardships and suffering. Take the ducats and, without delay, leave Constantinople while you are safe.
The porter kissed the toe of the Turkish woman’s shoe, thanked her for everything, and that same day went to his hometown of Travnik. There he opened a large shop, got married and lived in peace and contentment. Every year, on the biggest Muslim holiday, he invited friends to visit him and told them about his ordeals in the glorious city of the padishah. My great-great-great-grandfather was also among the guests. Returning from visiting, he told his children and grandchildren about what he had heard, and they, in turn, told this story to their children and grandchildren, so this story reached my ears.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru