In a certain kingdom, in a distant state, there ruled a king who had seven daughters. One day he called them to him and asked:
- Tell me, my dear daughters, what comes to your mind when you think about me? The oldest one immediately replied:
“When I think about you, I always remember sweet grape juice.”
“And I have delicious milk,” said the second eldest daughter.
“And I want sweet honey,” responded the third. The fourth said:
— And I immediately think about butter. The fifth said:
“And you are as desirable to me as a piece of cane sugar.”
“And to me it’s like white, refined sugar,” said the sixth.
When the six eldest daughters answered, it was the turn of the youngest. The king turned to her and asked:
- Tell me what you compare me with.
The youngest daughter thought for a minute and answered:
“I imagine you as sweet as salt.”
Before she had time to finish her speech, the king’s face flushed with anger, his eyes became bloodshot. He hoped that his youngest daughter, like her sisters, would name something sweet and tasty.
“Okay, you will experience for yourself how sweet I can be, like salt!” he shouted and retired to his personal chambers.
Years have passed. And now the time has come to marry off the princesses. They handed over the elders, and then the king deigned to order:
“Send people to all corners of the country, let them find the leper and bring him to the palace.”
Having heard this extraordinary command, the courtiers were very surprised. But the royal command must be fulfilled, it cannot be postponed. No one had the courage to ask why the king gave such a strange order.
Messengers were sent in all directions, who searched all corners of the state, but nowhere could they find a single leper. Finally, near the border, the court servants saw: a leper was lying in the dust, with near death already hovering over him. They quickly picked up the sick man and, without delay, took him to the palace. Everyone was eagerly awaiting what the king would do with this leper. Soon a meeting of the darbar, the council of the most influential royal nobles, was convened. Each courtier took a place in accordance with his rank and position. And then the king announced his will:
- Marry my youngest daughter to this man. Hearing the king's command, the courtiers froze in place in great fear. Surprised, they looked at each other and did not understand anything. Marry the king's daughter to a leper? Nobody believed their ears. The viziers began to dissuade the king, but in vain. He stubbornly stood his ground.
“I’ll show her how sweet I am, like salt,” he repeated.
As the king ordered, so they did. The youngest princess was married off to a stranger disfigured by leprosy. The leper himself was surprised and worried no less than the others. Respectfully folding his hands in front of him, he dared to address the king:
- Guardian of the world! Why do you order that a priceless pearl be inserted into a rusty iron frame? I only have a few days left to be a guest in this world. I am riddled with leprosy, ugly and poor. Marry your daughter to someone else.
But the king did not listen to him either and deigned to command:
- Take the leper and the princess out of the city and leave them there alone.
This is what the king's servants did. They took the princess and the leper away from the city and left them in a dense forest. The princess was not only reasonable and kind, but also patient. So she thought: no one can prevent what is written in her fate. She was not afraid, did not let go of the bit of determination, and selflessly devoted herself to serving her wretched husband. The first day of their exile has passed. Even before going to bed they were unable to satisfy their hunger and thirst. And the next day she left her husband where he was, and she went to the city. Having grown up in the royal palace and accustomed to wearing silk, the princess was now forced to beg for alms with her outstretched hand. She collected some money, bought food, and with the remaining coins bought a large basket. And then every day she put her husband, withered from illness, in a basket, put the basket on his head and went to the city to beg. She ate herself and fed her husband with what she managed to collect during the day. And in the evening she returned to the jungle, to the place where they usually spent the night. She devoted all the time remaining after collecting alms to serving her husband.
One day the leper said to the princess:
- Why are you dragging me around with you? You're getting terribly tired with this basket. Leave me here in the jungle for a day. Who needs me to kidnap me?
To this the princess replied:
“It may happen that someone will offend you in my absence.” That's why I hesitate to leave you alone. After all, my life is forever connected with yours. How can I leave you, helpless?
The leper spent a long time convincing her, persuading her in every possible way. But she did not listen to her husband. Every day she took it with her in the morning and brought it back in the evening. But one day her courage failed her. That day she felt terrible fatigue, she was about to lift the basket, but immediately lowered it and sat powerlessly on the ground. Seeing this, the leper said again:
- Remember, there is a pond not far from here. Leave me on the shore and go to the city yourself. If I want to drink, then somehow I’ll crawl to the pond myself and drink.
The leper still insisted on his own, and the princess finally agreed. She carried her husband to the shore of the pond, and she went into the city. The leper lay silently on the shore of the pond. And suddenly he noticed: the crows that flew to the pond, after swimming in it, turned into white swans. He was very surprised by what he saw. What kind of magical power is hidden in this water? Among the crows that arrived there were many sick and weak ones, but after bathing they all turned into beautiful, strong swans. And the leper decided to swim in this water - what if Allah hears his prayer and heals him? But how do you get into the water? He decided to wait for the princess and ask her to bathe him. But a thought immediately flashed: wouldn’t the miraculous power of water disappear by then? And so he plucked up courage, somehow crawled to the water and rolled head over heels into the pond. He raised only one finger of his right hand above the water to keep it dry.
As soon as he emerged from the water, all his leprosy sores were healed and cleansed. Now he was again a beautiful, healthy young man. Joyful, he got out of the pond, sat down on the shore and began to eagerly wait for the princess.
In the evening she returned from the city, saw a beautiful young man in the place where her husband had left her, and was alarmed. After looking around, she found only an empty basket. And then the princess thought that this young man must have killed her husband, and she cried bitterly! Seeing her tears, the young man approached her and asked:
“Tell me, princess, why are you so upset?” What are you crying about?
And the princess said:
- How can I not cry? I left my husband here in the morning, who was sick with leprosy, but returned and did not find him. So I’m crying, cursing myself for agreeing to leave her alone. Hearing these words, the young man laughed and said joyfully:
- Don't cry. I am your missing husband.
- How can this be?
The princess could not believe such a miracle. But the young man told her everything in order, and then showed her the finger on his right hand, which he held above the water. He led the princess to the pond and dipped his finger into the water. Seeing that the finger was immediately healed, the princess believed the miracle. Her joy knew no bounds. The young man told the princess that he was also a prince from a neighboring country. But when he fell ill with leprosy, his father ordered him to be thrown into the jungle. The princess was even more delighted to learn about her husband’s noble origins and said:
“Your father ordered you to be banished to the jungle just because you contracted leprosy.” And mine married me to you only because you were a leper. Now your father is not your father, and mine is not my father. We will live here alone, we will build our own lives.
And so they built a small shack far from the city and began to live in it. The prince went to the city every morning and earned money for food with his own labor. The princess was, as already mentioned, very smart and quick-witted. So she punished the prince:
— When you go home from the city in the evening, never return empty-handed. Be sure to grab something, even if it is a completely useless thing.
And now, on the advice of the princess, every day he brought something home, even a dry branch for a fire or a brick. But one day it happened that, returning home in the evening, he became lost in thought and forgot about the princess’s order. He was already very close to their hut when he remembered that he was walking empty-handed. The prince began to frantically look around, but found nothing. And suddenly, nearby he saw a dead snake. And he thought: “The princess only asked that I not come home empty-handed. There was no requirement that I bring anything specific. Therefore, I’ll take a snake with me, since I didn’t come across anything else.” The princess saw a dead snake in the hands of her husband, took it and threw it onto the roof of the hut.
It so happened that just at this time the queen came out onto the flat roof of the royal palace to dry her washed hair in the sun. She took the precious necklace from her neck and placed it next to her. And then suddenly a flying kite grabbed the necklace and disappeared from sight. While flying over the hut of a young couple, the kite noticed a snake lying on the roof. He rushed down, grabbed the snake, and dropped the priceless necklace on the roof. When the princess climbed onto the roof, she was amazed to see the magnificent decoration. She happily picked up the necklace and said to her husband:
“From tomorrow you won’t have to do hard work.”
Then she took two pearls from the necklace, handed them to the prince and said:
- Tomorrow you will go and sell these pearls to the jeweler. The next morning the prince went to the city and sold the pearls to the jeweler. They turned out to be very expensive. The jeweler paid a huge sum for them, which the prince brought home. Now the princess took off two pearls every morning, handed them to her husband, and he went to the city and sold them. So gradually they sold all the necklaces. With the money raised, the princess built a beautiful palace on the very spot where the royal servants abandoned her and her leper husband.
Then she ordered the best royal outfits to be prepared for herself and the prince and said to her husband:
- Now you have to appear at the royal court every day. Don't talk to anyone there, don't ask anything. Attend the darbar silently. And if the king ever turns to you, ask him to visit our miserable hut.
As the princess said, so the prince did. Every day he appeared at the royal court, sat silently in the darbar and carefully observed everything. He didn’t talk to anyone, didn’t ask anyone about anything. The king also noticed a young man appearing in the darbar every day, and began to think: “This young man comes here every day and leaves without saying a word to anyone. No one even heard his voice.” And then one day the king himself turned to him:
- Oh young man! Every day you show up at the darbar, sit there silently, and then quietly leave. Tell me where do you live? And if you have any request, bring it to our ears.
The prince had long been waiting for such a favorable opportunity. And he said respectfully:
- Your Majesty! I am one of your humble servants and I kindly ask you to visit the home of your subject.
The king accepted the invitation and named the day of his arrival. When the darbar meeting ended, the young man returned home and informed his wife that the king had accepted his invitation and appointed a day on which he would deign to come to them. The princess was delighted with the long-awaited news and began to prepare to receive the distinguished guest. On the appointed day, the king, along with his ministers and closest courtiers, arrived at the princess’s palace. The prince greeted the king and the viziers with great dignity and respect, and then invited everyone into the dining room. The king was amazed by the rich decoration of the hall. Even his own palace was not decorated with such grace and taste. When the king, with his viziers and selected courtiers, was invited to the dastarkhan, the princess in luxurious clothes herself began to serve him. Seven ornate doors led to the dining hall located in the palace. The princess prepared seven special dishes and, serving each new dish, entered through a new door. When introducing a new dish, she appeared in new clothes. By changing her clothes, she skillfully changed her appearance. So, having changed her clothes seven times, she appeared from different doors seven times, serving the king delicious dishes.
The king never ceased to be surprised, but he felt some kind of anxiety in his soul.
“It seems to me that our master has seven young wives,” he said quietly to his chief vizier.
To which the vizier answered him:
- Guardian of the world! And according to your insignificant servant, it is the same beauty who changes clothes and appears before us in a new form.
The king did not believe the words of the vizier:
- This cannot be. Is it conceivable for a woman to change clothes in a matter of minutes!
The king and the vizier were still whispering about what was happening when the prince invited everyone to start the meal. The king extended his hand, took a piece from the first course, took a bite and winced - the food was completely bland, without salt. He tried another dish, but everything there was unsalted and cloyingly sweet. The same thing happened with the third and fourth dishes. One by one, the king tried all the dishes and, to his surprise, found that they were all equally tasteless. In confusion, he looked at his viziers and courtiers and noticed that they were no less confused than himself. Nobody could understand what was going on here. And it was inconvenient to say, because any reproach would turn against the royal dignity, the remark would offend the owners. But even without salt, the beautifully prepared dishes were impossible to swallow.
With difficulty the king ate several pieces, but could not stand it and asked the owner of the house:
- Do you have anything salty?
Before the prince could answer, the princess standing next to him said:
- Guardian of the world! We always do without salt.
“Why?” asked the king, intrigued by the princess’s words.
- Your Majesty! At the mere mention of this word, the father gave his daughter in marriage to a leper. So we have taught ourselves to never use salt.
As soon as the princess uttered these words, the king’s hand froze in the air and the piece fell out of it. He vaguely remembered something unpleasant that happened several years ago. Yes, his daughter and the leper! And suddenly a thought flashed like lightning in his head.
He turned sharply and looked attentively at the hostess. She understood her father's anxiety. And she said:
- Defender of the world! Yes, I am that same daughter of yours who said that you are as sweet as salt, and whom you ordered to marry off as a leper for this insolence. And now you yourself cannot do without salt even once.
The king was embarrassed when he heard these reproaches. He quickly stood up from behind the dastarkhan, hugged his daughter and asked her forgiveness for the injustice he had committed. Father and daughter met after several years of separation.
The princess spoke in detail about what happened in her life and added:
“This is the same leper you ordered me to marry.”
The king became even more embarrassed and, bowing his head low, said:
- Oh, if only I were as sweet as salt!
After this, the king took the princess and the prince to his palace. The prince's father was informed of everything, and then a great holiday was declared throughout the country. And when the king grew old, he handed over the reins of government to the prince. And everyone began to live in peace and harmony.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru