Once upon a time there lived a king. And he had his only daughter, whom he doted on. The princess had already reached adulthood, and everyone around never tired of being amazed at her rare beauty and charm. But with age, as we know, daughters cause more and more trouble for their parents.
It was the same this time.
The time came, and the queen, who loved her daughter no less than the king, told him that the time had come to look for a suitable groom for the princess. The king could not believe it: had this tiny bud really already turned into a blossoming flower and its delicate aroma had penetrated beyond the palace?
“Yes,” the king said thoughtfully, “time flies inexorably.”
The king could not even imagine that he would have to part with his daughter, although he understood that the hour would come and she would leave her home.
The next day, heralds spread the news throughout the kingdom that the king intended to give his daughter in marriage, but to someone who fulfilled two conditions. Two large drums were placed outside the palace fence so that those wishing to win the princess’s hand could notify its inhabitants of their arrival.
And then the drums began to sound. Dozens of noble young people from different countries came to try their luck, but failed and returned home in disgrace, having lost all their wealth.
Time passed, but no one was able to win the princess’s hand. The king was not very sad about this, because his beloved daughter remained with him.
The more failures the young men suffered, the wider the rumor about the beauty of the young princess spread. The news of this came to a distant country. The local prince, having never seen the princess, immediately fell in love with her (yes, yes, this happened in those days!) and began to think about how to quickly unite with his beloved.
The prince was the only son of his parents and understood that they would not let him go so far. But love is blind, it obeys only its own laws. And then one fine night the prince slipped out of the palace and, loading a bag of gold and jewelry onto a magic horse, set off towards his dream.
After long wanderings, he finally arrived at the place. I stopped at a caravanserai and went to wander around the city, taking a closer look at what was what. And a few days later, having gotten used to it, he dressed up in rich clothes, mounted a magic horse and headed to the royal palace.
[Caravanserai is an inn in Asian countries.]
There-there-there - the drum sounded. The king looked out of the window in surprise - after all, no one had touched the drum for a long time. He sees a richly dressed young man standing near the miracle horse. The king ordered his servant to invite the prince to his chambers. He entered, bowed low and laid a bag of gold at the king’s feet. This endeared him to the king.
“What brings you here, young man?” - the king asked affably.
- Oh, sir! - said the prince. “I came here from afar to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage.” She became famous throughout the world for her beauty. So give me the opportunity to try my luck. Maybe I will be able to fulfill your conditions.
“Oh, young man,” answered the king, “you touched my heart, but I want to warn you that many noble young people have already tried to fulfill my conditions, but returned home in disgrace, leaving their jewelry in the royal treasury.” Don't rush, think again, you have time. But if you don’t change your mind, come.
“I’ve thought about everything for a long time,” said the prince, “and I ask, oh sir, if you wish, announce your conditions right now.”
The king realized that this young man would not back down from his decision.
“Well,” he said, “the first of my two conditions is quite simple: at the wedding, among the groom’s relatives there should not be a single person, be it a man or a woman, who would have even one gray hair.”
- And the second?
- Do the first one first, and then I’ll tell you what the second one is. It's much more complicated. - With these words, the king got up and went into the inner chambers.
It may seem to many that the king’s first condition is quite simple. But, alas, this is not at all true. Almost all of his relatives were supposed to be present at the wedding ceremony. And among them there simply could not be people with gray hair. However, the prince did not lose heart. He rushed home to return with his relatives.
The prince's father and mother, alarmed by the sudden disappearance of their son, were overjoyed to see him alive and well. The prince told them everything, and preparations for the trip began.
The prince warned about the difficulties of the long journey ahead and insisted that only young people go with him. But a serious obstacle arose: you can’t go to the wedding without your father and mother! And they were elderly people.
The king, of course, immediately guessed that his son was hiding something from him, and a couple of days later he carefully asked him about it. And when he told about his difficulties, the smart king easily found a way out of the situation.
“My son,” he said, “the ruler of that country, it seems to me, is a rather cunning man and will try to trick you around his finger.” Therefore, your mother and I need to go there with you so that, if necessary, we can come to your aid. But no one should see us.
And so they began to prepare all kinds of boxes and boxes with clothes, provisions, gifts and all sorts of things for the long journey. Two large chests were also ordered, in which the king and queen hid.
After a long journey, the guests stopped on the outskirts of the royal capital, and the prince sent notice of his arrival. The next day the king himself and his retinue arrived to them. Having made sure that the prince fulfilled the first condition, the king announced his second condition.
“Tomorrow before sunrise, my people will deliver here one toi of rice and a large jug of thick sherbet for each guest who came with you.” You must make sure that by sunset all this is eaten, so that not a single grain of rice, not a single drop of sherbet falls to the ground. If this condition is not met, all your valuables will be taken away and your people will leave here barefoot.
[Toya is a measure of weight, more than five kilograms.]
It was a really difficult task and no one knew how to handle it. When night fell, the prince opened two large chests in which his parents were hiding and asked them for advice.
“Do this,” said the father. - Do not cook all the rice at once, cook it in parts so that each time the eater gets no more than two or three handfuls. It may take a whole day, but by sunset all the rice will be eaten - and not a single grain will fall to the ground.
“Do the same with sherbet,” the mother advised. “Pour one cup at a time and treat your people all day long.” By the end of the day, all the sherbet will be drunk.
The next day, before the sun had time to disappear behind the horizon, the king arrived at the camp, confident that this condition of his had not been fulfilled and he would finally be able to lay his hand on the goods of those who had arrived. But to his great disappointment, all the rice was eaten down to the grain and all the sherbet jugs lay empty on the ground.
So the young prince won the hand of the royal daughter.
The king hugged him, announced his agreement to marry his daughter to him, and instructed the court astrologers to determine the most favorable day for the wedding.
“Well,” said the king, turning to the prince, “you fulfilled my conditions, and I, as you see, announced that I would give my daughter for you.” You can rest assured that I will keep my promise. But explain to me how you managed to cope with my second condition without consulting old, wise people? Surely he took advice. But among those who arrived here, I did not see a single elderly person!
The prince with a smile led the king to two large chests, opened them and introduced him to his parents. To celebrate, both kings hugged each other and, together with all the guests, headed to the palace. The celebration and fun lasted for several days. And then the time for the wedding, determined by astrologers, came, and the kings joined the hands of their children.
Thus the intelligence and perseverance of the young groom prevailed.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru