One day the king dreamed that a fox was hanging over the head of his bed. He jumped up and ordered to call all the wise men of the country to the palace. So, they say, and so, here I am, here is my dream. Explain what this dream means. But not a single sage could interpret the king’s dream. And at this time a snake crawled out into the field towards one poor man and said:
“Listen, brother-man, I will tell you the meaning of the king’s dream.” Go and tell the king. He will give you money, and we will divide this money. “Well,” agreed the poor man, “speak, I’m listening.” And the money that the king gives me, I will share with you like a brother.
And the snake said:
- You will go and say this: “Sir, your dream means that this year is not good, it threatens with deception. So be careful, do not let yourself be deceived either by your nazir-viziers, or by your wife, or by your sons, keep your eyes open.”
A poor man went, interpreted the king’s dream and received a lot of money from the king. But he returned home by a roundabout route, so as not to meet the snake and not give it a share of the money received.
After some time, the king had another dream: as if a sword was hanging over his head... He jumped out of bed and shouted:
- Call that poor man now, let him interpret this dream too!
The servants ran after the poor man: so, they say, so, the king is calling you. The poor man went to the palace, and on the way he met a snake and whistled to him:
- Stop, brother-man, listen to what I tell you!
The poor man stopped, embarrassed and ashamed, and the snake said:
“You’ll go and tell the king: “Sir, your dream means that a lot of bloodshed is expected this year, so you need to prepare for war in advance. And you will win this war, so don’t be afraid!”
“Okay, I’ll say this,” the poor man agreed. - And I’ll give you your share. - Go ahead, God bless you! - said the snake, crawling away. “Even though you did something wrong in that you didn’t give me the share promised that time...
The poor man went to the king and interpreted his dream. And the king says to him:
- Well, since war is expected in the country, I give you a sword - maybe it will be useful to you when you encounter trouble or an enemy.
The poor man girded himself with the donated sword, sat on the donated horse, threw the khurjin with the donated gold over his hand and rode to his home.
A snake crawled out into the field to meet him and asked:
- Well, brother-man, did you bring me my share?
The poor man grabbed the royal sword, struck to kill the snake, but missed, cutting off only the tip of the tail. The snake dodged and crawled into its hole.
A whole year passed after that. Everything happened as the snake said: there was a bloody war, and the king won a victory over his enemies. And the king had another dream: as if a wolf and a lamb were hanging over his headboard. The king stood up and ordered the poor man to be summoned to the palace.
A poor man goes to the palace and thinks: “Eh, why did I offend the snake so much?.. After all, I won’t be able to interpret the dream without its help, and my head will fly off my shoulders...”.
He walks, does not look around from grief, and suddenly there she is, a snake, crawls out to meet him and says:
- Go, brother-man, tell the king: “Your dream means that after this there will be a year of peace and the lamb can graze peacefully next to the wolf.”
The poor man went to the king, interpreted his dream and received great gifts. He went with them to the snake’s hole, called her and said:
“Take yourself the royal gift, sister, and wait for me here - I’ll bring everything that I received from the king before, and we’ll divide it like brothers.” “No!” - the snake laughed. - Use it for your health, I don’t need anything! - Well, how does it work out, sister-snake, since I caused you so much harm, and you repay me with everything good? - the poor man was embarrassed.
“Go in peace,” says the snake. - It's not only your fault. The first year was foxy, deceitful, and so you deceived me. The second year was the year of the sword, bloody - so you shed my blood: you cut off my tail. And the third year is the year of security and peace, so you have made peace with me. So go in peace!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru