There once lived a merchant, and he had his only son. Every day the merchant gave his son fifty dinars and said:
- Take it, my child, buy whatever you want. And if you still need it, come.
So the young man lived, not knowing any worries. Drank, ate, had fun. But one day I thought deeply: “It’s not good for me to ask my father for money every day, I have to go to distant countries myself, to become a merchant.” He went to his father and said:
- Give me, father, one hundred dinars. I’ll go around the world, look at people, learn how to trade.
- What are you talking about, son! - exclaimed the merchant. “Is life really bad for you in your father’s house?” But the young man insisted:
- I want to become a merchant.
There was nothing to do, the merchant gathered his son for the journey, and the mother brought out her necklace and said:
- And this is from me to you. If you need money, you can sell the necklace.
With that the young man left. He spent his father's money in one day - not on pampering and entertainment, but on helping poor people. He has one necklace left. He felt ashamed that he had spent everything without starting to trade, and he went wherever his eyes led him.
No matter how long or how short the young man walked, he sees: a fisherman is sitting, catching fish with a net. He approached him and said:
- Fisherman, cast your net and see how lucky I am?
The fisherman cast his net and pulled out a small box.
- Give me my happiness! - the young man asked the fisherman.
“I swear by Allah, I will give you this box, pay one hundred dinars first.”
— One hundred dinars for one box?
- Yes, a hundred dinars!
“But I have nothing except the necklace.”
- Then give me the necklace.
The young man handed the fisherman a necklace, and he went his way.
He walked and walked until he found himself in the desert. Thirst torments him, hunger torments him. “I’ll open the box and see what’s there,” thought the young man. He opened the box and before he could blink an eye, a little man jumped out.
- I listen and obey, oh young man! What do you need? Ask for whatever you want.
- I'm hungry.
- Close your eyes, then open them.
The young man did as the little man told him, and lo and behold, in front of him was a tablecloth with various dishes. The young man ate, took the box and continued on his way. He walked and walked until he came to another country. He sees: there is a palace, all made of human skulls. And whoever the young man asked about that palace, no one answered him. Only one poor woman said:
- Our king has a daughter. She has everything her heart desires, but she never laughs, never smiles, and doesn’t want to say a word. “Let them,” says the king, “get my daughter talking in three days. Whoever succeeds, I will give her as a wife. And whoever fails, I will order him to be executed.”
“Now I understand whose heads these are,” said the young man.
He took out a box, opened it and said:
- Your time has come. Will you talk to the king's daughter?
“I listen and obey,” answered the little man. “When you come to the palace, hide me under the candlestick.”
A young man came to the king and said that he wanted to try his luck.
“My son, you are too young,” the king answers. “Traces of a good life still lie on you.” Look at these skulls.
- I am not afraid of such a fate.
- In this case, sign the terms in the presence of a qadi (Muslim judge) and witnesses.
The young man signed the condition, and the king sealed it and said:
- Take him to the princess.
They brought the young man to the princess's chambers and left him alone. It was then that he put the box under the candlestick. Sits, waits. Suddenly he sees the princess enter.
“Oh lady, daughter of the king, I greet you,” he said.
Not a word in response.
- Peace be with you, princess! Silence.
- Well, have it your way. If you don't want to talk to me, maybe the candlestick will agree? “The young man turned to the candlestick and said: “Peace be with you, royal candlestick!”
- And the peace and blessings of Allah be with you.
- Tell us a story to brighten up the sad times we live in.
- So listen.
“In ancient times, there lived three brothers,” the candlestick began. “And they had a cousin.” Each of the brothers wanted to marry her. They argued and argued, but nothing was decided. Then the people of that country said: let everyone go on a journey, and whoever returns with the most valuable gift will take the girl as his wife.
The brothers were driving, driving, and lo and behold, there was a fork in three roads. They went in different directions, and everyone found what they wanted. The younger brother is the source of living water, the middle one is the flying carpet, and the older one is the all-seeing mirror. They gathered at a fork in the road, the elder brother looked in his mirror and said:
“Brothers, our sister is dying.”
“We’re flying,” said the middle one.
They boarded the magic carpet and in the blink of an eye found themselves in their country. Their sister was already barely breathing. Then the younger brother took the living water and poured a few drops into her mouth, and the girl immediately came to life, as if nothing had happened to her.
The candlestick finished the story, and then asked:
- Which of the three brothers should marry the girl? If the elder had not had a mirror, they would not have known that she was dying. If the middle magic carpet hadn't been there, we wouldn't have made it on time. And if the younger one did not have living water, it would not have been possible to revive her.
“Of course, younger brother,” exclaimed the young man. “If he had not found living water, it would not have come to life.”
And suddenly the silent princess spoke, and her speech was distinguished by eloquence.
“I swear to Allah, young man, your reasoning is incomprehensible to me.” If it weren't for the older brother who found the mirror, they would never have known that the girl was dying, they would never have gotten to her, they would never have revived her. No, it should only go to the older brother who found the mirror.
At that same moment the young man threw a blanket over the princess and said:
- Shut up, your breath smells bad. The qadi and the witnesses who secretly watched them were
very surprised: you see, the silent princess just spoke like a real chatterbox. “We'll see what happens tomorrow,” they said to themselves.
They all left, and the young man pretended to be asleep. The princess crept up to the candlestick and said:
- Peace be with you, O royal candlestick!
There was no answer. The princess became angry with great anger and broke it. The next morning the young man pulled out a box from under a broken candlestick and asked:
- Now where should we put you?
- Put me under the chair.
At night everything happened all over again. No matter how the young man tried to get the princess to talk, nothing came of it. Finally he said:
- If you don’t want to talk, don’t. Maybe the chair will talk to me. Peace be with you, O royal chair!
- Peace be with you! - the chair answered.
- Tell us a story, help pass the night.
- Okay, I'll tell you a story.
Three people were once traveling: a carpenter, a tailor and a sheikh. One night they found them in the desert. They decided to sleep in turns: the carpenter stayed awake for the first third of the night, the tailor for the second, and the sheikh for the last. And so, while the others were sleeping, the carpenter whittled a doll out of a log. A tailor replaced him and sewed a dress for the doll. The sheikh woke up and saw a doll in the image and likeness of a person, but without a soul. He turned his prayers to Allah, so that he would breathe a living soul into the doll. Allah heeded the sheikh's prayers - and the doll became a living girl. The next morning the travelers argued over who should own it. What do you think?
“Sheikh, of course,” answered the young man.
Suddenly, like last time, the princess spoke:
“I swear to Allah, it’s strange for me to listen to you.” Who else but a carpenter should marry her? If he hadn't made the doll, there wouldn't have been a girl. The carpenter should marry her.
Then the young man turned to the princess and said:
- Shut up! Your breath smells bad! The qadis and witnesses came running to the king:
“Your daughter has been talking for two nights now, O king!”
- My daughter?
- Yes!
- Okay, go, let's see what happens on the third night.
Meanwhile, the young man pretended to be asleep. The princess came up to the chair and said:
- The royal chair! But the chair was silent.
- How dare you, our property, not answer me! — the princess got angry and broke the chair.
The next morning the young man took out a box from under the broken chair and asked:
- Now where should I hide you?
- Put it under your turban. The princess cannot harm her.
On the third night the young man turned to the princess with these words:
- Dear princess, you have been talking for two nights. Say a word now. Silence.
“On the first night,” the young man continued, “you broke the candlestick, on the second, the chair.” These things belonged to you, and you had the right to do with them as you pleased. Now I will talk to my turban. Peace be with you, O turban,” he greeted the turban.
-Peace be with you, oh master! What do you need? Why don't you put on a fun show for us? We want songs and dances.
And immediately seven beautiful girls came out of the turban. One danced with a tambourine, five sang, the seventh beat a drum. The young man had fun all night. The princess became jealous, she rushed to him, and he said to her:
- Go away! Can't you see these girls are better than you. And the qadi and the witnesses went to the king and said:
- O king of time! Your daughter spoke for two nights, and now she loudly scolds the young man, as she was overcome by jealousy.
- This can’t be! - exclaimed the king. “I must see this with my own eyes.”
The king entered the women's quarters and saw: the princess was sitting offended, there was no face on her.
- What's wrong with you, my daughter? - he asked perplexedly.
“How unfair the world is, father,” answered the princess. “I fell in love with this young man, and he drives me away.”
“You really don’t like my daughter?” - the king asked the young man menacingly.
- O king of time! I fell in love with her at first sight! - he answered.
And the king ordered to prepare for the wedding. For many years, until old age, the couple lived in love and joy.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru