Three dervishes met on a deserted road. The first was called the Wanderer, because he, honoring old customs, chose the longest routes for travel. The second was called Unusual because nothing seemed unusual to him, although what he did, or even what attracted his attention, seemed very unusual to other people. The name of the third was Hasty, because this dervish, thinking that he could save his time, always and in everything sought to find the shortest paths to his goal, although in reality these paths often turned out to be the longest.
The dervishes traveled together for some time, but soon separated. The Wanderer was the first to leave them: he noticed a sign at the crossroads of the road, which he had once heard about, and began to convince his companions to turn where the arrow was pointing. They did not agree, and he went alone. The road led him to a ruined city, the only inhabitants of which were ferocious lions. The civilization that once flourished here, about which the dervish had read, died hundreds of years ago. As soon as he entered the city, hungry animals attacked him and tore him to pieces.
After a day or two, Hasty decided to find a shorter route and parted with Unusual. Having gone straight, he got stuck in quicksand. True, the dervish did not die, but it took him several months to get out of there.
Meanwhile, Unusual, continuing his journey alone, soon met a man who said to him:
- Dervish, don’t go further. There is a caravanserai ahead, and wild animals from the jungle gather there at night.
-Where do these animals go during the day? - asked Unusual.
“I think they’re hunting during the day,” the man answered.
“That’s good,” said Unusual, “at this time I’ll rest there.”
At noon he approached the caravanserai and saw that all the land around was trampled by animals. There was still a lot of time until the evening, and Unusual decided to get some sleep for now. Waking up at dusk, he hid in a secluded place and began to wait for the animals to arrive: he wanted to know why they were gathering here.
Soon many animals entered the large hall, led by a lion, their king. The animals took turns greeting the lion and telling him what was known only to them and to no other people. One of them reported to the lion that not far from this place there was a cave where treasures were hidden - the treasury of Karatas, the legendary Black Stone. Another animal said that right here, in the caravanserai, under the floor there is a treasure of gold coins, which is guarded by a rat. She can neither spend them nor part with them, and every morning she brings them to the surface. The third story was about a certain mad princess, and this story, the strangest of all that was told there, surprised even the Unusual. The fact was that in the neighboring valley there lived a dog who guarded a flock of sheep. With the help of the hair growing behind her ears, it was possible to cure the princess of madness; it was the only thing in the world that could save her. But since not a single person knew either this remedy or the princess herself, who was soon to fall ill (as the dervish found out), there was no hope that anyone would cure the princess.
Before dawn, the animals dispersed, and the dervish began to wait for the rat to appear. In the morning, a rat actually ran out into the middle of the hall, carrying a gold coin in its teeth. She left it on the floor and ran for the next one. When the rat had thus carried out all the coins and began to count them, Unusual came out of his hiding place and took the money. He then went to Karatas' cave and found the hidden treasure. After this, the dervish found the dog and, tearing out a tuft of fur from behind its ears, set off again.
Following secret signs known only to him, he finally reached a very strange and unknown kingdom. Entering the capital, the Unusual Dervish saw people scurrying through the streets, sad and worried, and, turning to some passer-by, asked what misfortune had befallen their city. The man said that the daughter of their king had just fallen ill with some strange disease, and no one knew how to cure her. The unusual one thanked him and immediately headed towards the royal palace.
“If you cure my daughter,” said the king, “I will give you half the kingdom, and after my death you will rule the entire kingdom.” But if you deceive me, I will order you to be thrown from the highest minaret.
The dervish agreed to this condition, and he was taken to the princess. As soon as he brought the dog’s hair to her face, she immediately recovered. This is how Unusual became the crown prince. Many worthy people came to him and learned his way.
One day, having changed into rags, as was his custom, the Unusual One went out of the palace to wander, when he suddenly came across the Hasty Dervish. At first the hasty one did not even recognize his friend, because he chatted incessantly; then the Unusual simply brought him to his palace and began to wait patiently for him to ask him something. Finally Hasty asked:
- How did this all happen? Tell me in order, but only quickly.
Unusual began to tell his story and, watching Hasty, saw that he was ignoring many details. He was still impatient. Without even listening to the end, Hasty jumped up from his seat and declared:
“I need to go there and listen to what the animals are talking about, I want to follow your path.”
“I don’t advise you to rush,” said the Unusual, trying to reason with him, “find out first, in your own interests, the meaning of time and mysterious instructions.”
“Nonsense,” answered Hasty and, having borrowed one hundred gold pieces from his friend, he set off.
When he reached the caravanserai, it was already night. Not wanting to wait for the morning, Hasty walked straight into the main hall and was immediately torn to pieces by a lion and a tiger. As for the Unusual Dervish, he enjoyed a happy life until the end of his days.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru