Once upon a time, there lived a poor fisherman named Abdallah. He could barely feed his wife and nine small children. On the day when his tenth child was born, the fisherman, as always, went to the sea and threw a net into the water. He pulled her ashore and found nothing there except some fragments and sea grass. The fisherman cast his net again, but he was no more lucky than the first time. He worked all day, throwing the net in and then pulling it back out, but he never caught a single fish. Sad, he went home empty-handed.
“Abdallah,” the baker called to him. — How many loaves of bread will you take today?
Abdallah couldn’t even raise his eyes to him. The baker saw an empty net and said:
- Come in, get yourself as much bread as you want. If you can't pay for it today, you'll pay tomorrow.
He thrust ten loaves of bread into Abdallah's hands. The fisherman’s heart immediately became lighter. “It’s good that there are still good people in the world,” he thought.
The next day, Abdallah went to the sea again, but it was as if someone had enchanted his net. Each time he pulled her ashore empty. On the way back, the fisherman wanted to quickly sneak past the baker's shop. Abdallah was ashamed that he had nothing to pay yesterday’s debt. But the baker seemed to be waiting for him. He ran out of the shop and shouted:
- You're out of luck again, poor fellow! Come in, get yourself as much bread as you want so that your children don’t die of hunger. When you have money, you will repay me.
The baker again gave Abdallah ten loaves, wished him good night and good luck the next day. Abdallah walked more cheerfully towards the house. But worries about tomorrow did not leave him. What happens if he doesn't catch anything again?
And the next day, and the third, the fisherman was unlucky. Every evening he returned home with an empty net, and each time he borrowed bread from the baker. For forty days he was haunted by failure. Abdallah almost lost his mind from grief.
On the forty-first day, he decided to try his luck one last time. And if he is unlucky this time, he will have to take up another craft in order to somehow feed his family. Abdallah came to the sea, cast a net and pulled it empty onto the shore. From early morning until lunch he worked in vain.
When the sun stood high above his head, a tired and desperate fisherman lay down in the shadow of a huge rock and began to think: “Should I go home now or try again? Or maybe I shouldn’t go home at all?”
But then Abdallah remembered his children, whom he loved so much, and began to scold himself for such sinful thoughts.
And then he saw slaves coming out of the city gates. They spread a carpet on the ground, and the king walked along this carpet, surrounded by viziers and guards. The warriors had golden swords in their hands, sparkling in the sun. Behind the king, with their heads modestly lowered, walked beautiful slave girls in veils studded with pearls and precious stones.
Abdallah thought that the king must have headed towards the sacred bath. And at that moment he wanted to become the vizier, friend and adviser of the king. Then he would not have to worry about how to feed his children, and he would repay his debt to the good baker a hundredfold.
But he was only a poor fisherman. Having looked enough at the magnificent procession, the fisherman stood up and decided to try his luck again: maybe he would be able to catch something.
He threw the net into the sea, began to pull it out and felt that something heavy had gotten into it. The fisherman fiddled with his net for a long time. He was afraid that his arms might twist from this weight. But still Abdallah did not let her go until he was half pulled out of the water. And then the fisherman got seriously scared: instead of a big fish, he saw a man in the net:
“Oh fisherman, help me get out of the net,” the man exclaimed. - I'll pay you well for this!
- Who threw you into the water? - asked Abdallah.
“Nobody threw me into the water,” answered the stranger. - I am a sea dweller. You live on land, and I live in the sea. If you help me get out of the network, I will wait for you in this place every day and bring you emeralds, rubies, and pearls. And you will give me grapes, figs, melons and peaches for this: we have none of these under water. For a basket of fruits you will receive from me a basket of precious stones.
Abdallah did not believe what this strange man was saying, but helped him get out of the network.
- What is your name? - asked the fisherman.
“Abdallah the Sea,” answered the stranger. - What's your name?
“Also Abdallah,” said the fisherman.
“So you are Abdallah of the Earth,” the sea dweller decided. - Wait here a minute. I will bring you a gift so that you will believe my words.
He disappeared under water and soon surfaced again. Abdallah the Sea handed the astonished fisherman a handful of pearls and large precious stones. He reminded Abdallah to wait for him at this place tomorrow with a basket of fruits, and disappeared into the depths of the sea.
Abdallah was confused by surprise: what should he do with such wealth? He hid the stones under his shirt, threw his net and went home. A fisherman stopped in front of the baker's shop and gave him half of his treasures.
- Take this for yourself. I repay my debt to you. The baker began to refuse:
“I only want to get what you really owe me.” But Abdallah forced him to take pearls and precious stones.
“You waited forty days,” he said. “And I probably would have waited even longer.” I give you these stones not only for bread, but also for your kindness. The baker took the stones that Abdallah gave him and said:
- From today I am your eternal debtor.
He put several loaves of bread on his head and took them home to Abdallah. Then he himself got vegetables and meat, prepared food and did not allow Abdallah to do anything.
Abdallah endured and endured, but finally could not stand it:
- I don't want you to serve me. If you agree, let's be better friends.
The baker did not object, and from that day they became fast friends. The next day at noon, Abdallah went to the seashore with a basket full of peaches, melons, oranges and other fruits. He put the basket on the sand and shouted:
“I’m here, Abdallah the Sea!”
Abdallah the Sea immediately emerged from the waves, took a basket of fruit from Abdallah the Earth and disappeared with it under the water. Soon he returned and handed the fisherman his basket, filled to the brim with pearls, rubies, emeralds and other rare stones.
- Goodbye until tomorrow! - said the sea dweller, and the waves closed over his head.
Abdallah returned home with a basket containing such wealth that he could buy an entire city with it. The fisherman went to his friend the baker and again gave him a handful of precious stones. The baker quickly selected the most delicious buns he had and took them to Abdallah's house.
The next day, Abdallah selected one precious stone from all that he had and went to the jeweler to sell them. As soon as the jeweler saw such rare stones in the hands of a poorly dressed man, he immediately thought that this was a thief. He quietly signaled to his servant, and he brought the guards. The guards grabbed Abdallah and brought him to the king.
The jeweler wanted to curry favor with the king. He went along with the guards and said to the king:
“O lord, I heard a rumor that precious stones have disappeared from your treasury. I caught the thief, here he is. - And the jeweler pointed to Abdallah. The king called the queen and placed in front of her the stones that had been taken from Abdallah. But the queen just looked at them and immediately said:
- These are not my stones. These stones are much more beautiful than the ones I had.
And she began to beg the king to buy them for the princess. The king immediately ordered the guards to release Abdallah and scolded the jeweler for suspecting an innocent man. Then he began to ask Abdallah how he obtained these treasures. Abdallah told him everything. The king listened to him and said:
- From today you will rule with me, Abdallah. Abdallah the Sea will constantly replenish the royal treasury, so that there will be nothing like it anywhere in the world. Go and bring your wife and children here.
Abdallah felt dizzy with happiness, because he did not even dare to dream of such mercy. He went home to fetch his family. Meanwhile, the king ordered luxurious clothes to be sewn for everyone. From that day Abdallah ruled with the king.
Every day at noon he went to the seashore with a basket of fruit and each time brought pearls and precious stones to the palace. The royal treasury was overflowing and had to be expanded. And since Abdallah could influence state affairs, people in that country began to live much better. Abdallah did not forget what hunger and need were, and began to take care of the poor. For those who did not have a roof over their heads, he ordered houses to be built. By his order, grain reserves were fairly divided among the poor. Abdallah introduced many innovations. The royal nobles did not like this, but they were powerless in their anger: the king considered Abdallah his best friend. And it could not be otherwise: after all, thanks to Abdallah, the royal treasury was filled with pearls and the rarest precious stones, which the world had never seen before.
Abdallah traveled throughout the country and did what he could for the benefit of his subjects. One day, while walking around the city, he stopped in front of a baker's shop and was surprised that it was locked. Abdallah began asking neighbors what happened to his friend. He was told that the baker once left the city and did not return. Abdallah began looking for him throughout the country. A week later the baker was brought to Abdallah; they found him in a distant village, where he opened a bakery and lived without knowing any need.
The baker fell to his knees in front of Abdallah and exclaimed:
“I didn’t do anything wrong, oh lord, have mercy on me, have pity on my children!”
- Don’t you recognize your friend? - asked Abdallah. - Get up, let's go to my chambers, there we will remember the old days.
The surprised baker rose to his feet and dared to look at Abdallah. Only then did he recognize the fisherman with whom he had once been friends. The baker told Abdallah how frightened he was when he saw his friend in custody. He thought that the poor man was taken to the king because of these precious stones. The baker was seriously afraid that he too would be called to trial for helping Abdallah. Out of fear, he ran away from the city. And now, when everything ended so well, there was no end to the joy of the friends. Abdallah made the baker his vizier, and since then the faithful friends have not been separated. Abdallah the Earth did not forget about Abdallah the Sea. Every day he went to the sea with a basket of fruit, and received a basket of precious stones and pearls for it. One day he came to the sea again, called his sea friend, and when he emerged from the waves, he handed him a basket of fruit. Abdallah the Sea took the basket and said:
“The time has come, Abdallah the Earthly, it’s time to show you our underground kingdom.”
- But I’ll die at sea! - Abdallah exclaimed. — A person cannot live in water like a fish.
“Don’t be afraid,” Abdallah the Sea reassured him. “I’ll smear you with a special ointment made from fish oil, and you’ll feel great underwater.”
He plunged into the water and soon surfaced ashore again.
“Take off your clothes, Abdallah,” said the sea dweller. - And he smeared his friend with some strange ointment. Then he took him by the hand, and together they went down into the sea.
Friends swam underwater, they came across schools of strange fish: some shone like stars, others shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow. Some were scary to look at - they were such monsters. But they all swam past and did not pay attention to their friends. It seemed to Abdallah the Earth that he was seeing all this in a dream. Wonderful plants were green all around, they opened their huge flowers and caught small fish with their petals, as if with their mouths.
Abdallah the Sea brought his friend to a city located at the bottom of the sea. There lived creatures similar to people, only from the waist down, instead of legs, they had tails, like fish. Abdallah the Earth could not refuse his sea friend when he invited him to his house, built of shells and mother-of-pearl. He did not want to let him go until he showed him everything in the underwater kingdom.
It seemed to Abdallah the Earth that he had spent only a few hours under water. “It would be nice to look at all these miracles,” he decided. “After all, not a single mortal before me had the chance to see this.”
Abdallah liked the fact that here under the water there were neither rich nor poor, everyone had beautiful houses made of shells and mother-of-pearl. The king of the underwater kingdom walked among his subjects, asked people about their needs, resolved their disputes, as if he were a mere mortal.
“I will establish all these orders on earth,” Abdallah decided. He no longer thought about how much time he spent under water, but only tried to learn and remember everything, so that he could later use it usefully at home.
There was neither night nor day at the bottom of the sea. The sun's rays did not penetrate there. Only the glow of luminous fish and plants illuminated the expanse of the sea. Soon it seemed to Abdallah that he had spent a week under water. He thought that his relatives were probably worried about him, and his friends, the king and the baker, were already looking for him throughout the country. And Abdallah himself was afraid that during the time that he spent under water, dissatisfied nobles would sneak into power and spoil all the good things he had done for his people.
“Let me, friend Abdallah,” he once said, “return to earth.” I have a lot to do there and my family and friends are worried about me.
At first, Abdallah the Sea begged Abdallah the Earth to stay, but when he saw that no persuasion was helping, he led his friend to the surface of the sea and said:
- Goodbye, we will never see each other again. It's a pity that you didn't stay with us. Nothing good awaits you on earth.
And before Abdallah the Earth could answer, his friend disappeared forever into the depths of the sea.
Abdallah went straight to the rock, under which he left his dress before descending into the underwater kingdom. But he found nothing there. In his heart he cursed the thief and did not know what to do now: he should not go into the city naked. And just then a fisherman was walking past. He looked at Abdallah and said:
- What are you looking for, buddy, yesterday? Come with me and help me fish.
“My name is Abdallah, I am a friend of the king, lend me some clothes, and tomorrow come to the palace for a reward.” The fisherman laughed:
“You would sooner pass for the royal jester.” I have not heard of any royal friend, and in general I doubt that he has friends. I readily believe that your name is Abdallah. There are a dime a dozen Abdallahs here, there would be a whole regiment of us. But I would not dare to go to the palace for a reward. It is a thousand miles from here to the royal capital.
- A thousand miles! - Abdallah exclaimed.
Only now he looked around and saw that where large gardens had previously been green, the walls of houses shone white and the towers of the royal palace sparkled under the blue sky, now stunted trees grew and poor huts huddled. Apparently the poor fellow had such an upset look that the fisherman stopped laughing, went up to Abdallah and invited him to have lunch with him. He thought that in front of him was a madman. Abdallah thanked him and, lowering his head, went to the places where his house had recently stood. He couldn’t get it all in his head.
Abdallah approached the first hut. An old man sat at the threshold and mended a fishing net.
“Oh old man, won’t you tell me how to get to the royal capital?” - asked Abdallah.
- To the capital? “You would have to go there for a long, long time, weeks and months,” answered the old man.
- How so? After all, the capital was here, in these places,” Abdallah was surprised.
“Yes, you’re right, but it was so long ago that even my great-grandfather’s grandfather doesn’t remember about it.” People say that Abdallah, a good and fair man, once ruled here. They say that he even made friends with the lord of the sea. But who knows which of this is true and which is fiction.
Abdallah almost went crazy when he heard this. He realized that he had spent iodine in water not for a week, but for a hundred years. Without saying a word to the old man, he went to the sea.
- Abdallah the Sea, Abdallah the Sea, help me! - he shouted with all his might.
The waves crashed noisily against the rocks, but no matter how much Abdallah called or begged, no one came to him.
And then Abdallah entered the sea, he went deeper and deeper, the water was already up to his waist, up to his neck, but he closed his eyes, took another step, and a salty wave washed over him. Abdallah felt dizzy; he wanted to open his eyes, but could not. His eyelids suddenly became so heavy, as if they were filled with lead. But some voice kept repeating: “Open your eyes, open!” Abdallah gathered all his strength and raised his eyelids.
And suddenly, instead of green water, he saw the sky above his head, white houses in green gardens were bathed in the sun's rays.
Abdallah lay covered with his old fishing net. And the clothes he was wearing were the same ones that he wore before he became the king’s friend. Abdallah shook his head, pinched himself, collected his thoughts and finally realized that he had only dreamed all this. He always remained a fisherman. The fisherman jumped to his feet and jumped with joy that he would soon see his children again and bring them beautiful shells instead of toys. But then Abdallah remembered his troubles. After all, he has been unable to repay the baker’s debt for forty days, and today he is already ashamed to walk past his shop. What will he feed his children?
“I’ll try again,” Abdallah thought and threw the net into the sea. As soon as the net disappeared under the water, the fisherman already felt that it had become heavy. He pulled and pulled, thinking that he couldn’t stand it, but still he didn’t let go of the net from his hands. He caught a whole bunch of large fat fish. He put the fish on his back and walked cheerfully towards the city. A fisherman stopped near the baker's shop, gave him two of the best fish, and took the rest to the market and sold it at a profit.
Abdallah repaid the debt to the baker, and since he bought an armful of vegetables and fruits for the children at the market, he could not take the bread from the baker. The baker put ten of the best loaves on his head, and no matter how much Abdallah persuaded him, he himself took them home to the fisherman. Only this came true from his dream. And also that he and the baker became friends. In the evenings they met at his shop, talked to each other, and the baker very often asked the fisherman to tell him about Abdallah the Sea.
“Oh, if only we could advise the king as we advised in a dream,” friends sighed more than once, “then people would live better.”
And the baker and the fisherman began to discuss again and again what they would change in their country. The children listened to them carefully and thought that they would probably be the lucky ones who would be able to give advice to the king.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru