There lived a famous merchant. He was rich and had a large shop. One morning, when he opened it, he discovered that the wooden elbow he was using was broken. He immediately closed his shop, lamenting:
- Misfortune! Misfortune has befallen me! Everything is gone!
He returned home to his wife and told her:
- My wife! I am leaving you for seven whole years: I am leaving for a foreign land. If I come back, good. But if after seven years I do not return, all my money, goods, warehouses, houses - all my property will go to you. And you, if you want, can get married again.
The merchant said goodbye to everyone and left his home.
He came to a big city and headed to the market. There he met a man who asked him:
-Who are you?
The merchant replied:
- I'm a foreigner.
—Where are you going and what are you doing?
“I would like to enter the service,” answered the merchant.
His interlocutor said:
- I am a well-known person in our area. I have a vineyard, mills and many other things. Come to me, I will hire you for seven years.
And the merchant stayed with this man. He began to look after the vineyard.
- Oh, lord of the universe! - he said. “I will take care of this vineyard for seven years.” And if the grapes grow well, it means that happiness has returned to me again.
What did he do? He took seven dried bushes, planted them near the water and said:
- Lord of the Universe! If after seven years these dead branches take root, I will return home to my wife.
In short, in the seventh year these bushes took root, and flowers and leaves appeared on them.
Seeing this, the merchant was very happy. He cleaned his clothes, performed ablution, praised God and went to his owner.
“Let me return to my homeland,” he said.
- Why are you leaving? If you want, I'll pay you more. Don't go!
“No,” he answered, “I have to leave.” Give me some money for the trip.
The owner, apparently, really did not want to part with a good worker, but he firmly stood his ground.
“Well, it’s your will,” said the owner. – If you decide to go, then go in peace. I won't hold you by force.
In short, the owner settled with his servant, and the servant said goodbye to the owner, his wife and all the household.
His path lay through the bazaar. Then he saw a man shouting:
- Who wants to buy three wise sayings? Who wants to buy? Come!
The merchant approached this man and asked him:
- What are you selling?
“I’m selling three wise sayings,” he replied.
- How much do you want per piece?
- Every saying is worth gold.
- Sell me one saying.
- Give me the money in advance.
And the merchant gave him one gold piece, and the seller of sayings said:
- Long-suffering saves you from many troubles.
The merchant stopped disappointed. He thought: “Where can I apply this saying?” – and couldn’t find an answer.
Having gone some distance, the merchant again returned to the seller of wise sayings and asked him:
- What does your second saying say?
- Give me another gold one, then I’ll tell you.
The merchant reluctantly gave the gold and asked:
- What is the essence of the second saying?
“Never let anger take over you,” he replied.
The merchant left, but could not resist and returned again to the man shouting that he was selling three wise sayings.
“I’ve already thrown away two gold coins,” he thought, “so I’ll throw away the third one, but I’ll satisfy my curiosity.”
In short, the merchant approached this man and asked him:
- What are you going to tell me now? What is the meaning of your third saying?
- Give me the gold first, then I’ll tell you.
Having received the money, the man said:
— Everyone suits what he likes. So goes my third saying. Now don’t be sorry that you gave me three gold pieces. Believe that these sayings, if you apply them in life, will benefit you. Go in peace.
The merchant bought a horse, bladed weapons and firearms, food supplies and rode home on horseback.
In short, he reached his city. And he began to think: “If I return home before dark, then perhaps there will be urgent business for me, but I’m tired. I’d better go home at night.”
He turned into one of the shops and rested there with a friend. And when it got dark, the merchant mounted his horse and at midnight found himself at the gates of his own house.
“If I knock on the door now,” he thought, “then the people at home might be scared. I’d rather tie my horse to the gate and go up to the roof to see what’s going on in the house.”
So he did. Going upstairs and looking out the window, the merchant saw that everything was in order at home. The night lamp is burning, his wife is sleeping, but... who is it sleeping next to his wife? Her lover or new husband?.. But seven years have not passed yet!
When the merchant left his house, his wife was pregnant, but he did not know about it. In his absence, she gave birth to two twins, but he knew nothing about that either. The children were very beautiful and slept with their mother. And he, looking through the window, thought that some man was sleeping with her. And he exclaimed:
- Creator of the universe! What does it mean? My wife has never been slutty. What happened to her?
The merchant grabbed his gun to kill his unfaithful wife and her lover with one shot. And at that moment he remembered that he had bought three wise sayings, having spent a lot of money on it. “Long-suffering saves you from many troubles,” he repeated the first saying to himself and lowered the gun.
But a minute later he exclaimed again:
- No! I will shoot and kill them!
He took the gun and took aim. But at that time I thought: “Oh, how much money I spent on sayings! What does the second saying say? “Never let anger take over you.” It’s probably worth thinking about it.”
He calmed down a little and mentally said to himself: “I’ll go down from the roof, go into the house and call out to them. They are sleepy, unarmed, half dressed. If my wife cheated on me with someone else, I will kill her and go wherever I can.”
Long story short, he knocked on the door. The servants stood up and asked:
-Who's there?
He replied:
- The owner of this house.
They reported this good news to his wife:
- Our master has returned!
The wife and twins woke up immediately. The boys stood up, held hands and approached their father, and their mother sat on a chair and looked anxiously at her husband.
- My husband, why do you look so worried? – she asked. -What's bothering you? Thank God that you returned home in good health and everything is fine at home. You should rejoice that the Almighty gave you two sons, equal in beauty to princes.
Hearing this, the merchant rejoiced and hugged his wife.
Long story short, in the morning he went to his old shop and saw that the broken wooden elbow was whole again. And he returned home in an excellent mood.
A few days later, the merchant went to visit his friends and noticed that everyone on the street was fussing and running somewhere. He asked a passerby:
- What's going on here? Where is everyone going?
A passerby said:
“Don’t you know what happened to the Sultan during your absence?”
“No, I don’t know,” answered the merchant, “but I definitely want to find out.”
He returned home and said to his wife:
“I want to go to the Sultan and find out what happened there during my absence.”
His wife told him:
“I’m very upset that you want to go to the Sultan.” Many young people went to him, but not a single one returned, they all laid down their heads. You have a lot of good things, you are happy, rich, what else do you need?
She continued talking for a long time, but he did not listen to her.
“Even if they take my head off, I won’t change my decision,” said the merchant.
In short, he went to the Sultan.
Halfway there he saw an old man sitting.
-Where are you going, my son? - asked the old man.
- To the Sultan.
- Oh my son, don’t do this! Your father was a worthy man; dozens of poor people fed at his table. And you, thank God, have a fair amount of property. Why do you go to the Sultan and risk your neck? Why bring trouble on yourself? Why waste your life in vain?
- Grandfather, why should I lose my life? - asked the merchant.
The old man replied:
- My son, do you see a tower in the distance? Know that it is made of human skulls. These are all the heads of poor losers who were looking for happiness. They were unable to give a quick and correct answer to the Sultan’s son’s questions, and at that very moment their heads were cut off. “You are a worthy and pious person, why would you needlessly ruin yourself?” - In short, the old man tried to persuade the merchant for a long time, but he did not listen.
In general, he didn’t want to listen to anyone. His wife cried, his children cried, all his relatives and friends cried, but he went to the Sultan.
At the entrance to the palace he saw a large crowd. Having learned that he wanted to go to the Sultan’s son, the people told him:
- This thing will end badly. Don't take your head off on your shoulders.
And he insisted:
- And yet I will go.
Then they told him:
- When you enter, write a letter to the Sultan’s son and give it to the servant. You will be called and asked questions.
The merchant wrote a letter and gave it to the servant. The servant took the letter to the Sultan’s son, and he, having received it, immediately ordered:
- Let this man come to me.
The servant returned and said:
- Come in. The Sultan's son wants to see you.
In short, the merchant entered the Sultan and bowed. The Sultan's son invited him to sit down. He sat down, looked around and saw that a beautiful girl was sitting to his right, and an ugly frog to his left.
The Sultan's son said:
- I want to ask you just one question. If you answer it for me, I will make you vizier and you will be the richest and most noble person in my state. And if you don’t answer, I’ll order you to be beheaded.
- My lord! “May your will be fulfilled,” said the merchant.
“Look,” continued the Sultan’s son, “how many people died before you.” Look how many good fellows have laid down their lives here. And your head, if you don’t give me the right answer, will soon be there.
And he pointed to a tower made of skulls.
The merchant replied:
- My lord! I do not consider my life more valuable than the lives of those people who have disappeared forever.
And the Sultan's son asked him:
- Tell me, who is more beautiful - this girl or this frog?
The merchant immediately remembered the third saying and answered:
- My lord! What suits everyone is what they like. What you like more is more beautiful.
At that moment the frog turned into the beautiful girl she once was. The merchant's answer lifted the evil spell that had been hanging over her.
The Sultan's son was extremely happy. He exclaimed:
- All my power, all my property, all my riches now belong to you!
He made this merchant his vizier. He then held a great wedding feast and married the beauty, whom the merchant saved with his correct answer.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru