One merchant had three sons. When the merchant grew old and felt that his end was approaching, he divided all his goods into four parts. One part went to his wife, and the other three were divided between his sons. Everyone had the same amount of everything.
Soon the merchant died. The two eldest sons were dissatisfied with their father's division and began to sue their younger brother Jaudar over the inheritance. They sued and sued until all of their father’s property was wasted in the courts. And Jaudar also didn’t have a penny left. Then the older brothers took everything from their mother and drove her out of her home to collect alms.
But the youngest son Jaudar did not leave his mother. He took out a net and a boat and began to fish. He sold or exchanged his catch for bread and fruit, and so he and his mother subsisted from bread to water.
Meanwhile, the older brothers and mother's goods were thrown into the wind. They began to starve, so they came to the old woman to ask for bread.
The mother did not drive them away, gave them the last piece of bread, did not eat a crumb herself, and did not say a word to Jaudar. And Jaudar soon guessed about this, but remained silent: he was the kindest man in the world, he worked without bending his back to feed both his mother and brothers.
One day he was sitting in his boat and sadly looking at the water. He threw a net into the lake many times, but never caught a single fish. Just then a man rode past on a mule. He stopped and asked Jaudar:
“Aren’t you Jaudar, the son of a merchant from this city?” Jaudar was surprised that the stranger knew him and replied:
- Yes, it's me.
Then the stranger got off his mule and said:
— I am a Maghreb, a resident of the Maghreb. Fulfill my request, Jaudar, and you will not regret meeting me today.
With these words, he handed Jaudar a rope and asked him to tie him up and throw him into the water. Jaudar flatly refused, but the stranger continued to persuade and beg him:
“Tie me up, don’t be afraid,” he said. - And then throw me into the water. If I put my hands out of the water, cast a net and pull me out. If my legs appear above the water, know that I have drowned. Then don't think about me anymore and don't try to save me. But take this mule into the city to the market, there you will see a man who looks like me at the door of the warehouse. Give him the mule and he will give you a hundred dinars.
The foreigner persuaded Jaudar for a long time, and finally he agreed to fulfill his strange request. He tied up the Maghreb man and threw him into the water. Jaudar waited a little and then saw two legs emerge from the water. Jaudar realized that the stranger had drowned. He took the mule by the bridle, led him into the city to the market, and from the door of the warehouse a man was already walking towards him, very similar to the drowned man. Without saying a word, he took the mule and gave Jaudar a hundred dinars.
Jaudar came home and shared the money with his brothers. His heart was soft as wax, and his kindness knew no bounds! The next day he went fishing again. But no matter how hard he fought, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t even catch a loach.
He began to get ready for home, laid down his net and suddenly saw some foreigner riding on a mule, exactly like yesterday’s drowned man. He got off his mule and attacked Jaudar:
- Tell me what happened here yesterday!
Jaudar was frightened and at first did not want to say anything, but this man had such an imperious look that the poor fisherman was petrified with horror and told about everything.
The poor fellow, not remembering himself with fear, was waiting for reprisals for what he had done yesterday. But how surprised Jaudar was when the stranger made the same request as the Maghrebin: he wanted the fisherman to tie him up and throw him into the water. If hands appeared, Jaudar had to pull it out with a net, and if there were legs, do nothing, just take the mule to the market, where they would give a hundred dinars for it.
Jaudar finally agreed, tied up the stranger and threw him into the water. He waited a little, and when his legs appeared above the water, he took the mule and took it to the market. Jaudar again received one hundred dinars, divided them equally with his brothers and swore off fishing.
But the next morning he could not find peace; some force drove him out of the city to the lake. Jaudar could not stand it and went there again. He threw the net into the water just like that: he didn’t need the catch now, they had a lot of money. He sat and cursed himself in his heart for coming to the lake again.
And suddenly a man appeared on a mule, looking like those two drowned men. The stranger told Jaudar that he was from the Maghreb, and asked the fisherman if he was Jaudar, the son of a merchant from that city. Jaudar nodded and immediately told the stranger about everything that happened yesterday and the day before yesterday.
“O stranger,” Jaudar prayed, “don’t ask me for anything.” I will not tie you up and throw you into the water. I won't do this anymore.
“The two who drowned here were my brothers,” said the Maghrebian.
— My father had four of us. Our father taught us to do miracles and cast magic, and when he died, he left us many treasures and a book of wisdom. We quarreled over this book. We argued for a long time about who would get it, and finally we went to the sheikh. The sheikh said: “The book will go to the one who brings me the mirror of the universe, the ring of all roads and the sword of lightning. The one who becomes the owner of the sword will defeat any army: if he only raises the sword, lightning will fly out of it and destroy everything. The one who owns the mirror can look into all corners of the world. He will find every person, no matter where he is hiding. The one who has the ring will go wherever he wants: he only needs to turn once ring on your finger." The sheikh also added that only Jaudar, the son of a merchant from such and such a city, would help us get these things. “You will find him by the lake, outside the city, where he is fishing,” said the sheikh.
“And when you find him, ask him to tie you up and throw you into the lake.” At the bottom of the lake you must fight the two sons of the wizard alMalik, defeat them and take them prisoner. The one who copes with them will then go with Jaudar to look for three magical things." When the sheikh finished, we consulted with each other, and one of us, the one who bought two mules from you at the market, refused the book. We asked him to find you and let us know. And so the three of us, one after the other, went to you. What happened to my two brothers, you yourself know well. Today I will try my luck for the last time. Tie me up, Jaudar, and throw him into the water. Jaudar felt dizzy when he finished listening to this long story. In his heart he cursed himself for getting involved in this story with the sorcerers. But he could not refuse anyone, he could not stand it this time either - he tied up the stranger and threw him into the water.
The Maghreb disappeared under the water, and Jaudar already thought that the stranger had suffered the same fate as his brothers. But suddenly the lake became covered with ripples, and a minute later two hands emerged from the water, each holding a red fish. Jaudar quickly threw the net and pulled the Maghreb man out of the water.
The Maghrebian shook himself off, opened the bags tied on both sides to the saddle, put one fish in each and said:
- Thank you, Jaudar! But I still need you. Here's a thousand dinars for you. Give them to your mother so that she will not need anything without you. Tell her that you are going to travel around the world. Don't tell her about what happened here and what you heard from me. We will go with you to the city of Fas, where you will help me get three magical things. You won't regret coming with me. I will make you a sultan.
Jaudar took a thousand dinars from the Maghreb man and took them to his mother.
“I’ll go wander the world,” he told her. - Don't worry about me, I'll be back soon.
Jaudar bid a warm farewell to his brothers and asked them to take care of their mother while he was away.
The next day the Maghrebi man and Jaudar were already on their way. At noon the Maghreb asked Jaudar:
- Would you like to eat, Jaudar?
“Oh, of course I do,” replied Jaudar.
-What would you like?
Jaudar asked for a piece of bread with cheese.
“You deserve the best lunch,” the Maghreb man said and tapped the bag tied to the saddle. — Would you like some fried chicken? Or rice with honey, or maybe you prefer candied grapes?
And he listed more than forty dishes to Jaudar.
- But this bag won’t fit so much food! - exclaimed Jaudar. “You’d be hard pressed to fit two chickens in there.”
“Look,” said the Maghribian.
He opened the bag and took out a golden plate of fried chicken. Then he pulled out another dish - with rice, followed by a third, fourth, fifth - in short, soon there were forty golden dishes in front of Jaudar. Each one had different dishes on it, one better than the other.
The amazed Jaudar could not squeeze out a word.
“Eat,” the Maghreb man told him. “The fish that I pulled out of the lake and put into the bags are the children of the wizard al-Malik. Now they serve me.
Jaudar did not say a word; for the fourth day miracles were happening before his eyes. He sat down on the ground and began to eat.
Then they continued on their way and a week later they came to the city of Fas. A Maghribian found a dilapidated palace. There they stopped. The Maghrebian left Jaudar to guard the mule, while he climbed all the ruins. I haven't found what I was looking for yet. The wizard called Jaudar, and they went down the ruined stairs to the copper gate.
“And now, Jaudar,” said the Maghreb, “you will enter through this gate into a dark passage.” Don't look back, go forward until you reach the golden curtain. Pull it back and enter the room. There you will see your mother on a silver chest. Don't be scared when she tells you to hit her in the face. This is not your mother. The treasure keeper took on her appearance. When you hit her, she will turn into a snake and crawl away. Don't be afraid, she won't do anything to you. Then you will open the chest, take out from it the mirror of the universe, the ring of all paths and the sword of lightning. Bring it all to me. I will not demand anything more from you. Dzhaudar trembled with fear. He knew that now he would not be able to get out of all these mysterious cases. But it was too late to retreat. He shouldn’t have gotten involved with that first Maghrebin citizen.
And his companion had already knocked on the copper gate three times. Finally they opened, and the Maghrebi man pushed Jaudar into the dark passage. Jaudar walked forward, his knees buckling with fear. But he walked and walked, did not look around, until finally he saw a golden curtain in front of him. He pulled it aside and entered the room. There was a chest in the room, and a woman was sitting on it. She lifted the veil from her face, and Jaudar recognized his own mother. He stopped as if struck by thunder.
“Jaudar,” the woman exclaimed, “it’s good that you came.” Hit me, my son!
And although Jaudar was a timid man, he would rather fight a dragon than hit his mother.
“Hit me, Jaudar,” the woman said again. “It would not be difficult for your brothers to do this.”
She stood up from the chest and offered Jaudar her face. In vain did Jaudar remember the words of the Maghreb man, as if this was not his mother, but a treasure keeper who had taken on her appearance in order to confuse Jaudar. Tears flowed from his eyes, his throat became sore, and instead of hitting the woman, he kissed her wrinkled face. The room immediately became dark. The woman disappeared. And when everything became clear again, Jaudar saw that the chest was opening on its own. Without hesitation, he grabbed the mirror of the universe, the ring of all paths and the sword of lightning, turned and ran back.
The Maghribian thanked Jaudar and rejoiced at magical things like a little child. Dzhaudar was afraid to tell him what happened in the room, but the Maghrebin began asking questions, and Dzhaudar had to confess everything. The Maghribian smiled when he heard his story and said:
“You are a good son, Jaudar.” If you hit a woman, you and I would both pay dearly for it. The whole point is that no one but you could stand this test. But for you, respect and love for your mother is more valuable than all treasures.
Then the Maghrebin untied both bags from the saddle, released the mule in all four directions, turned the ring of all paths and wished to himself that they would find themselves in Jaudar’s hometown. In a moment they were already there.
The travelers entered the city, and immediately at the city gates Jaudar saw his mother. The unfortunate old woman asked for alms. She said with tears that as soon as Jaudar left home, her older sons took her money and kicked her out into the street. Jaudar consoled his mother as best he could.
“Now until your death you will know neither sadness nor need.”
He invited the Maghrebian to his place so that he could be his guest for at least a day. But the Maghrebi said:
“I have to take some magical things to the sheikh.” That's why every day is precious to me. Take yourself a magic bag and remember my words: the time will come and you will become a sultan as a reward for helping me.
The Maghribian gave Jaudar a magic bag, said goodbye to him and left the city. And Jaudar and his mother went to their house. When they got there, the brothers were not at home. The mother was afraid to stay there, but Jaudar told her:
- Mother, don’t be afraid of anything. I myself will agree on everything with the brothers. Soon the brothers returned home and attacked Jaudar with abuse:
- How dare you, you slacker, enter our house? But Jaudar immediately told them about the magic bag, showed what miracles it could do, and began to take out dish after dish of rare dishes from it. The brothers took advantage of Jaudar's kindness and pretended to love him more than their own lives.
They lived like this for a week, then another, until the brothers finally agreed on how they could get rid of Jaudar forever and take the magic bag from him. They went to the pier and found a man there who hired sailors. They lied to him that they had an evil brother who hurt both their mother and them.
“Help us get rid of him,” the insidious brothers asked. This man agreed and said:
“Well, bring your brother, I’ll deal with him somehow.”
That same evening, the brothers lured Jaudar out of the house, invited him to take a walk along the embankment, and there, at the appointed place, the sailors pounced on the poor fellow, tied him up and dragged him onto the ship.
The satisfied brothers returned home, immediately kicked out their mother and never left the magic bag. They ate, drank and thought about nothing else.
But after a few days, the brothers began to quarrel over the bag. Finally, they told the judge about their dispute and, getting heated, let it slip about what miracles this bag does. When the judge heard about this, he ordered the bag to be taken away from them and thrown into prison. Then the judge took the magic bag and ordered him to report to the Sultan. He told the Sultan about the magic bag and presented it to him as a gift. The Sultan promoted the judge to the rank. Since then, the bag has been preparing dishes for the Sultan day and night, and the food in it has not diminished.
Meanwhile, Jaudar became a sailor, sailed the seas in heat and storm, suffered from thirst, and went hungry. One day a terrible storm arose, the ship was wrecked and almost all the sailors died. But among those who survived was Jaudar.
He begged in a foreign country until he came to a big city. Jaudar wandered the streets, exhausted from the heat and completely weakened from hunger. Suddenly he heard someone shout:
Jaudar turned around and recognized the Maghrebin man, the same one whom he had helped get three magical things. The Maghribian immediately hugged him and took him to his home. There Jaudar told him how he walked with his brothers along the embankment, how the sailors dragged him onto the ship, about everything that he experienced during the voyage, and about how he came to this country.
The Maghribian ordered a bath of refreshing water to be prepared for Jaudar. Jaudar bathed, the Maghreb dressed him in a beautiful dress and fed him delicious food. When the guest was satisfied, the owner said to him:
- This is the city of Maghreb. Come with me to the sheikh, and you will find out what is happening in your home.
The Maghrebin introduced Sheikh Jaudar and said that this was the same man with whose help he got the mirror of the universe, the ring of all paths and the sword of lightning. Then he asked the sheikh to allow them to look into the mirror of the universe. The sheikh led them into another room and pulled the cover off the wall; below it hung a mirror, which Jaudar knew well: the mirror was the size of a dish. The sheikh rubbed it with his fingers, and shadows darted across the glass, and a noise came from the mirror, as if someone was talking in the distance. Suddenly the shadows began to take on the shapes of people, and Jaudar recognized his brothers. He heard how they were conspiring to get rid of Jaudar and persuading a stranger on the pier, in a word, he learned about everything. Finally, he saw how the judge took the bag from the brothers and ordered them to be thrown into prison, and how the bag ended up with the Sultan, who organizes rich feasts every day. Jaudar's heart sank with pity when he saw his mother begging at the city gates. But he also felt sorry for his brothers: after all, life was not sweet for them in prison.
When they knew everything they wanted to know, the sheikh again covered the mirror with a veil, and the Maghrebin and Jaudar returned home. The Maghribian persuaded Jaudar to stay, but he wanted to return to his homeland as soon as possible to help his mother and brothers.
The Maghrebi citizen did not hold back Jaudar. But before parting with him, he hung a chain around his neck, and on that chain there was a copper ball.
“I promised that I would make you a sultan,” said the Maghrebian. “The time has come for me to fulfill my promise.” The sheikh, with the help of the ring, will take you home in every way. At night you will find yourself on the outskirts of your hometown. Take the ball that hangs around your neck in your hand, rub it with your fingers and say out loud the wish that in the place where you stand, a palace will grow a hundred times more beautiful than the Sultan’s palace. And then wish that the magic bag would be in your possession again. The Sultan will send his army against you, but with the help of this ball you will survive the battle and become the Sultan yourself.
That same night, Jaudar was on the outskirts of his hometown, which he had not seen for so long. Jaudar rubbed the ball with his fingers, as the Maghreb man told him, and wished that in the place where it stood a palace would grow a hundred times more beautiful than the Sultan’s palace. And immediately a wonderful palace appeared with a golden roof, with golden towers and balconies.
Servants surrounded Jaudar and led him to luxurious chambers, where music played and dancers twirled, such beauties as Jaudar had never seen in his life.
Then Jaudar rubbed the ball again and wished that his mother was here. Immediately his wish came true. Jaudar's mother did not want to believe her eyes when she suddenly found herself in this magnificent palace. At first, she did not even recognize her son Jaudar, dressed in expensive clothes. And Jaudar hugged her and said that now they would never part. He set aside luxurious chambers for her and ordered the servants to treat her mother like a queen. Then Jaudar rubbed the copper ball for the third time and wished that he would have the magic bag again. And this wish was fulfilled without delay. The magic bag seemed to fall from the sky at his feet.
Just at that moment the alarm was sounded in the Sultan’s palace. The Sultan treated his entourage at a feast, and the cooks did not have time to take dishes with rare dishes out of the magic bag - and suddenly the bag disappeared, as if it had fallen through the ground. The frightened servants called the Sultan and searched the entire palace, but the bag was never found. Here the Sultan had no time for fun.
He became even more angry early in the morning when he saw a huge palace at the other end of the city. Next to him, his own castle seemed just a miserable fisherman's hut. The Sultan sent his ambassador to the palace to immediately bring to him the insolent person who dared to rise above the Sultan. A cruel reprisal awaited the daring offender. But as soon as the Sultan’s ambassador approached the gates of Jaudar’s palace, two hefty guards pounced on him and beat him so hard that he could barely drag his feet.
The Sultan was beside himself with anger when he learned about what had happened. He sent a whole regiment of warriors to capture the palace and capture the daring owner. But as soon as the Sultan’s warriors found themselves in front of the palace, they stopped dead in their tracks. No one could move an arm or a leg, the horses did not move, everyone seemed petrified. And Jaudar did all this with the help of a copper ball. The angry Sultan looked from the window of his palace and almost burst with anger. Here the vizier advised him that he himself should go to the palace.
“Oh, my lord,” said the cunning nobleman. “Apparently, the one who owns this palace is stronger than you.” There is nothing else left to do but to obey him, so as not to incur his wrath.
So the Sultan and his vizier went to the palace to Jaudar. He received the Sultan with all honors and arranged a luxurious feast. The Sultan liked the kind Jaudar at first sight.
At the feast, seeing such wealth around him, the Sultan said to Jaudar:
- I see that your power is great. Would you like to be my ally? Jaudar agreed, and before the feast was over, the Sultan offered him his daughter as a wife. The princess was as beautiful as day, her skin was whiter than sugar, and her slender figure could compete with a cypress tree.
When the next day the Sultan brought his daughter to Jaudar to introduce them to each other, Jaudar fell in love with her at first sight, and the princess immediately gave him her heart. After that there was no longer any reason to postpone the wedding. And at the wedding feast, the cooks did not have time to take dishes with rare dishes out of the magic bag.
The magic bag has never rested since then. Jaudar remembered well how hard it was to live in poverty. Therefore, he ordered that food from the bag be distributed not only to the residents of this city, but also to people from all corners of his kingdom. Every day crowds of people came for rice, grain, fruits, and since then no one in that country suffered from hunger.
Finally the Sultan handed over power to Jaudar, and he could do nothing better. There was no such wise ruler in any state in the world. The Jaudar brothers had long been released from prison, but they had to leave their homeland. This time Jaudar did not forgive them for treating their mother so cruelly. He equipped a ship for them and advised them to earn their living by transporting goods somewhere in a foreign country.
“You don’t dare appear here,” he said to the brothers at parting. And since then he has not heard anything about them.
Soon after the wedding, Jaudar went with his beautiful wife for a walk outside the city to show her the lake where he met his happiness. When they bent over the water and, laughing, watched the dancing silver fish, something suddenly gurgled, as if a pebble had fallen into the water.
Jaudar grabbed his chest and saw that the copper ball had disappeared, only the broken chain hung around his neck.
But what did he need the magic ball for now? Jaudar did not even regret it and was only glad that all miracles had come to an end. He treasured only one magical thing - his bag. After all, she served not only him, but all the people in that country, so that they would live in abundance and never know hunger and need.
For this, people glorified Jaudar and loved him with all their hearts, and since his people lived well, Jaudar was at ease in his soul.
For many, many years he ruled wisely and was happy, and
What happened next, only the moon knows,
What rises in the sky every night,
She sees everything, but she is silent,
Keeping all the secrets in the sky.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru