Once the Sultan conferred with his Grand Vizier and asked him the following question:
- Tell me, is there anyone in the world richer than me? I give everyone who comes under my windows to beg a gold ducat!
“There are richer ones,” answered the Grand Vizier. “The Queen of England is richer than you, because she gives a hundred ducats to everyone who comes to her windows and asks for alms!”
The Sultan was surprised and said:
—Where does the Queen of England get so much money?
The vizier said frankly that he did not know.
“Please find out and report to me,” exclaimed the Sultan, “otherwise I won’t blow your head off!”
The Grand Vizier immediately set out on the road to seek an answer to his master's question. First of all, he arrived at the palace of the English queen, stood under her window and shouted at the top of his lungs:
- For Christ's sake!
The queen threw him a hundred ducats out of the window. During the day, the Grand Vizier appeared at the queen’s windows ninety-nine times to ask for alms and received nine thousand nine hundred ducats. The queen noticed the vizier, called him to her and asked why he needed so much money, and he told her:
- To poverty!
“You don’t look like a beggar, and there’s no point in asking for alms.”
“You’re right, queen,” said the Grand Vizier, “but here’s the thing.” One day the Sultan, my master, held a council with me and asked: “Is there anyone in the world richer than me? After all, I give a ducat to every beggar!” I answered my master that the Queen of England is richer because she sacrifices Christ for a hundred ducats. The Sultan was surprised and asked me: “Where did the Queen of England get so much money?” I didn't know what to answer. “Please find out and report to me,” exclaimed the Sultan, “otherwise I won’t blow your head off!” I decided to find out where you got so much money from.
“Forty days’ journey from here,” the Queen of England said in response, “a guy is sitting in an empty shop.” There is a mortar in front of him, and in that mortar he crushes diamonds. He crushes it, pours the powder into his palm, blows - and there is nothing. Go there, let this guy explain to you why he is doing this, then I will tell you where I get so much money from.
The Grand Vizier immediately set off on the road. He walked for forty days and finally found in an empty shop the same guy who was sitting in front of the stupa. And just then the herald announced that the diamond was for sale; the guy gave a thousand ducats for the diamond, and he got the stone. He received a diamond, threw it into a mortar, ground it into powder, poured the powder into his palm, blew - and the powder was gone.
The Grand Vizier approached the guy and exclaimed:
- Where do you get so much money that you throw it away?
The guy answers him:
“Forty days’ walk from here, at the crossroads of all roads, a blind and decrepit old man sits and cries inconsolably. Everyone who passes by gives the grandfather two slaps in the face, and in return receives two pennies. Go to the old man, let him explain to you what all this means, then I will answer your question.
After forty days of travel, the Grand Vizier came to a crossroads and saw a blind old man.
- Give me two slaps! - his grandfather asked him.
“I didn’t come here to beat you,” the Grand Vizier tells him. “I came to find out why on earth you pay money for beaters?”
“Knock me twice, then I’ll tell you everything.”
What to do - the Grand Vizier slapped his grandfather twice, and his grandfather handed him two pennies with these words:
“Forty days’ journey from here you will find the muezzin.” He washes his clothes and runs up the minaret a hundred times a day and runs down again. Go find out from the muezzin why he is doing this, then I will answer your question.
The Grand Vizier set off on the road and after forty days found that same muezzin. The Grand Vizier asks the muezzin why he needed to run up to the minaret so many times a day, and the muezzin answers him:
“Forty days’ walk from here lives an old shoemaker. When the due date comes, he cries for two hours straight, and then laughs for four hours straight. Go find out what’s wrong with him, then I’ll tell you why I need to run up the minaret a hundred times a day.
The Grand Vizier walked for forty days and finally reached the old shoemaker. And then the time came, and the shoemaker cried for two hours straight, and then began to laugh and laughed for exactly four hours. The Grand Vizier asks him why he cried for two hours in a row, and then laughed for four hours in a row, and the old shoemaker answers him:
“You will walk forty days and come to the desert, and in that desert lives a hermit.” Two lions settled on his shoulders, but the hermit does not even think about getting rid of them. Go, let the hermit tell you what this means, then I will explain everything to you.
The Grand Vizier set off and soon found himself in the desert and found the hermit the old shoemaker had told him about. The Grand Vizier began to ask the hermit what he was doing in the desert, and he said:
- And don’t ask... I was in the service of one Khoja. That Khoja went to worship holy places. He left me to guard the house and punished me: “You won’t need anything, son, my house is a full cup. Use any room, but don’t open one door under any circumstances!” Khoja - over the threshold, but it was as if a demon had possessed me and was not giving me peace: I could not resist and opened the forbidden door; entered the room - and there was water! I took off my clothes and bathed in that water. And well, my brother, as soon as I took the plunge, I was transported to the desert, and now I have been living here for forty years, and besides you, I have never seen a single person here. Tell my story to the one who sent you here, and now go with God!
The Grand Vizier said goodbye to the hermit and hurried back. He returned to the old shoemaker, the same one who cries for two hours in a row, and then laughs for four hours. I told him what trouble had befallen the hermit, and the shoemaker said:
- In that case, I will open up to you too. Once, when I was young, I went to Istanbul, fell in love with the Sultan’s daughter, and the Sultan married me to her. My wife looked after me carefully, was meek and submissive. She would never sit at the table with me, and if I called her, she would only say: “I’m not worthy to eat at the same table with you!” A year later she gave birth to my child, and a year later - a second one. One day I went into a coffee shop and saw an old man there with a white beard down to his waist. I told him about my wife, and the elder gave me this advice: “Take good care to see if she goes out somewhere at night—you’ll tell me everything in the morning!” With that I went home. Evening came, I had dinner and went to bed. In the middle of the night, my wife got up and stabbed me in the thigh with an awl, she wanted, you see, to check if I was sleeping soundly. I pretended to be asleep and did not give myself away. Then the wife got out of bed, opened the door and slipped out of the room. I also slowly got up and quietly followed her. She took me to the grave. One young man was buried in it. My wife dug up the grave, pulled out the liver from the dead man, ate it and buried him again. And I quickly returned home and went to bed. After some time my wife appeared and lay down next to me. In the morning I went to the tavern to talk with the white-bearded old man, but I looked for him in vain - the old man was gone. It was approaching noon and I went home for lunch. I invited my wife to share a meal with me, but she refused: she was unworthy, they say, to eat at the same table with me. I tell her: “You’re full, you know, at night you ate the liver of the very young man who recently died!” My brothers, you should have seen what happened to her - she jumped up and rushed at me! Her nails became like steel hooks. I ran away, she followed me. I ran forty days and forty nights, and now I’m repairing shoes here. As soon as I remember my two children, I burst into tears for two hours straight, and it comes to mind how I ran away from my wife - I laugh tirelessly for four hours. Now go with God and give all this to the one who sent you to me.
Forty days later, the Grand Vizier came to the muezzin and told him everything that he had learned from the shoemaker.
“In that case, I’ll tell you about myself,” said the muezzin and this is what he told him: “One day at noon I went up to the minaret to call the believers to prayer, when suddenly a huge bird flew out of nowhere, grabbed me, took me to an unknown island, and left me there.” "Which way should I go?" - I think. Then my gaze fell on a house. I entered the house and saw two girls.
- What a joy! - one of them cried, rushed to me and took my hand. - Now I will have a husband! Just look,” she turned to me, “never remember about your native side, and then you will live here happily!”
I lived with this girl for a year on a distant island and was incredibly happy. But one day we were sitting by the window, and I sighed: “Oh, if only I could now find myself in my native land, and call the faithful to prayer from our minaret!” As soon as these words left my lips, a huge bird flew in again, grabbed me and carried me to our minaret. From then on, I run up to it a hundred times a day, still waiting for a huge bird to fly in and take me to the island to the beautiful girl who gave me such bliss. Now go and give all this to the one who sent you here!
The Grand Vizier ran as fast as he could to the crossroads where the blind old man was sitting, and told him everything he had heard from the muezzin.
“Okay,” exclaimed the blind man, “if he revealed himself to you, I will reveal myself.” I was engaged in the resale of livestock, and I had twenty-four horses. One day I met a dervish on the way and asked: “Hey, merchant! Would you undertake to transport some luggage?” I agreed and turned after him. We arrived at a cave, and a gate led into it. The dervish pulled a book out of his pocket and read it until the gate swung open of its own accord. "Give me the bags here!" - the dervish then shouted. I brought forty-eight bags, and we filled them with money, and the dervish also grabbed a small mirror from the cave. We loaded the bags onto the horses and moved on. We got out onto the road, and then I demanded two bags of money from the dervish, and he gave them to me very willingly. But it seemed to me that such payment was not enough, and I began to ask for another pack of money - and here the dervish gave in. But everything was not enough for me, and I kept pulling and pulling money from the dervish, until finally all twenty-four bales loaded on horses came to me.
Then the thought came into my head, why did the dervish take a small mirror with him? It was probably worth more than twenty-four bales of money, and I told the dervish that I wanted to get a mirror in addition. The dervish replied that he would be happy to give me a mirror, but I would regret it. “Let me immediately repent of accepting the mirror as a gift from you, but still give it to me, dervish!” - I asked. Dervish handed me a mirror. I looked into it - I was blind in my right eye, I looked again - I was blind in my left eye. Suddenly some unknown force lifted me and, together with all the packs, carried me here to the crossroads. And now I give two pennies to everyone who passes by me and reward them with two slaps in the face. And I will give until the money runs out, because before I did not know how to curb my greed, and I also demanded a mirror from the dervish. So tell the one who sent you, and now go with God!
The Grand Vizier hurried on and soon reached the guy who crushes diamonds in a mortar, and told him the story of the blind old man.
- Well, if the old man told you his story, why not tell me too! - the guy exclaimed. — My father was a dervish. One day he became seriously ill and, sensing that death was near, he called me to him and said: “Son, I am leaving you plenty of every good thing, so be a zealous owner. And if you squander all the wealth that I have accumulated, it is better for you to hang yourself, take your own life. I have prepared a noose for you in the old house.” Then my father said goodbye to me and breathed his last. I took him to the cemetery and buried him. I felt sorry for my father, and I burst into tears, and when I looked around, I saw that twenty of my friends were also crying. “My God! Is there really no way to forget myself and dry my tears?” - I exclaimed. “There is! A bottle of that water that is called intoxicating brandy. It consoles the suffering, even though it costs fifty-one ducats.”
I immediately pulled out my wallet, counted out fifty-one ducats, and the bottle of brandy was immediately delivered. We drained it all to the last drop. The sadness immediately disappeared, and the tears disappeared. We forgot about everything in the world. They started singing songs right there at my father’s grave. I ordered to bring us another bottle for my brother. Everyone emptied their bottle, and the fun began to boil. They called musicians with tambours, violins, zurna and drum. And until that time they danced and sang on my father’s grave, until the night drove us home. In the morning I met my friends again and drank rakia again. And so it happened day after day, I kept drinking with friends, having fun, not working and squandering all my fortune. Then, to my great surprise, I discovered that my friends had opened their own shops, started trading, and turned their backs on me.
I became sad and often repeated to myself: “The money is gone, the friends are gone!” Do you know how my friends got rich? They bought a bottle of fire brandy for thirty ducats, and they told me that they paid fifty-one - therefore, they made twenty-one ducats on each bottle.
I was sick of life, and I went to the old house to hang myself, as my late father ordered me. I entered the house, opened the door to one room and saw a rope noose hanging from the rafters. I pulled myself up, put the noose around my neck and hung. Suddenly the rafters broke off, I fell to the floor, and diamonds fell from the rafters. I took one diamond, took it to the city and sold it. I bought myself various clothes, and I had money in my pocket again. My friends saw that I had become rich and began to invite me to visit them, but I didn’t even want to look at them. And now every day I call the herald and give him a diamond to sell. As soon as the price jumps to a thousand, I take the stone for myself and grind it into powder. Then I’ll pour the powder into my palm, blow it, and the powder will fly away. I will do this until my last two friends die of envy and torment, following the example of the others. Now go with God and give all this to the one who sent you to me.
The Grand Vizier said goodbye to the guy and soon reached the palace of the English queen. He told her everything he heard from the guy. Then the Queen of England said to the Grand Vizier:
- Go to your Sultan and tell him that I have the secret of Solomon, and in it is the source of my wealth!
And the Grand Vizier, after a long absence, returned to the Sultan and brought an answer, for which he almost paid with his life.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru