In former times there was one king. Every day he sat by the window and watched what his people were doing. And then somehow he noticed that the people had gathered in one heap, and then dispersed. The king asked his vizier:
- Why were people gathering in that place? The vizier replied: “Every day one person comes there and sells his mind, and those gathered buy this mind from him.”
The king was puzzled. “If God did not give reason,” he thought, “then how can you buy it?” And so he came to the seller of reason and said:
- Do you have a mind suitable for me?
-Who will you be? - asked the seller.
- I am the king! - the master answered. Then the seller said:
“If you are a king, then I have a suitable moralizing word for you, but first you must give me a thousand dili.”
The king gave him a thousand dili. Then the seller said:
- Start every task by thinking; If you don't think so, you'll regret it.
The king ordered these words to be written on all the walls of his house so that everyone could read them.
One day the king called the barber to his place. When the barber went to the king, the vizier met him and asked:
- What razor will you use to shave the king? The barber showed his razor with a wooden handle.
“This one,” he said.
“There should be a razor like this for the king’s hair,” said the vizier and gave the barber a golden razor.
The barber tucked his razor into his belt and picked up the golden razor. When he entered the king, he noticed the inscription. The barber was competent. He read: “Begin everything you do by thinking; If you don’t think about it, you’ll regret it...” The barber took out his razor and began to shave the king, and placed the gold one on the table in front of him. The king asked him angrily:
- Listen, barber! You must have found the golden razor unsuitable for me? He put the gold one in front of my eyes, and shaved my hair with a razor with a wooden handle?
- Oh, takhsir! You yourself wrote: “Begin every task by thinking; If you don’t think about it, you’ll regret it...” So I decided to take my razor, since the vizier gave me a gold one and I’m not familiar with its secret.
The king demanded the vizier and said:
- Now shave your hair with this razor! The barber took a golden razor and began to shave the vizier's head. While he was shaving, the vizier gave his soul to God.
It turned out that this vizier hated the king. He dipped a golden razor in poison and gave it to the barber. If the barber had not read the inscription, he would have shaved the king's hair with a poisoned razor.
The king thanked the barber for his resourcefulness and intelligence, gave him gifts and sent him home.
When the king went to look for the seller of reason, he was no longer there: he disappeared somewhere without a trace.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru