It was a long time ago, when behind bars they went to the threshing floor, when a camel was literate and a mouse was a barber, when I was a young man rocking my mother and father in the cradle. Whoever walks far, who wanders far, whoever enters someone else’s garden without permission, this will happen to him...
And we took it and went, walked a thousand steps, wandered through the mountains and valleys, walked for six months and a half, looked back - here’s what you need to know: we’ve walked no more than a grain of barley. They went again, they walked for a long, long time. And while we wandered, the gardens of the Chinmachi padishah appeared. We took it and entered. Lo and behold, some miller is turning the millstones. And a cat sits next to him. And the cat has eyes like bowls. Everything is in place: eyebrows, nose, mouth, paws, tail, and belly.
In former times, one padishah had a daughter. He loved her very much and was not separated from her even for a minute. The padishah had no other children. And this daughter was so beautiful that it was impossible to find another such beauty in the whole world. Many wanted to look at her, but no one succeeded, since the padishah did not let her out of his room.
The son of the Yemeni padishah wanted to see this beauty so much that he left his country and set off on a journey, deciding to achieve his goal at all costs. To get to the city where the girl lived, it took seven years to walk.
“I’ll go try my luck,” said the young man.
And for two years now he has been wandering along the roads. His clothes were torn and he ran out of money. In order not to die of hunger, he begged for alms. Sometimes he managed to eat something, and other days he didn’t even have a crumb in his mouth. And he didn’t have to visit anywhere!
One day he came to a place where there were many gardens and vineyards. It was summer time, hot, the young man was very hungry; he rushed into the gardens, began hastily picking fruits from the trees and eating them.
He wandered through the gardens for a long time. In one of them there was a palace.
He was guarded by an old diva. She always slept soundly and only woke up once every three days, walked around the gardens and went to bed again. And just when the young man was eating the fruit, the diva woke up and walked through the garden. Seeing her, the young man forgot about food out of fear and hid behind a tree.
"Trouble! If she sees me, she will tear me to pieces. What should I do?" - he thought.
And the diva immediately sensed that there was someone in the garden and headed towards him. The young man was mortally afraid:
“Well, now she will definitely notice me!”
Twitching her nose, the diva came very close to the place where the young man was hiding.
"Come what may!" - he thought and came out from behind the tree to meet the old woman.
- Mother, I am in your power. Have mercy on me, don't harm me!
The old woman looked at him and felt pity.
- How did you get here, human? What if I eat you now? she asked.
- What to do, eat! “It means that Allah sent me to be eaten by you,” the young man said and cried bitterly.
-Are you apparently in trouble? Why did you come here?
Still trembling with fear, the young man decided to tell her the whole truth. What if she helps him?
“The girl you are looking for is nine months away from here,” said the old woman. “But even if you get there, you still won’t be able to see her.” Many wanted to look at her, but no one succeeded. They all died, even those who fell in love with her without ever seeing her. Better give up your intention. Even if you reach it, you will still disappear later. After all, you won’t be able to see her, but you will love her more and more.
“No, I came all this long way because of my love for her and I will find her at all costs,” said the young man.
- Well, go, now that you have decided. But know that there is a witch in the world who has bewitched the girl and is vigilantly guarding her, not allowing her to go anywhere. Son of a padishah
somehow he was inflamed with passion for this girl, but the witch disliked him, and for several years now this young man has been bedridden with a serious illness. If you want to see your beloved, you must break the evil spell of the witch. Only after this will you perhaps see your beauty, and your love will be crowned with happiness.
- How can I break the witch’s spell?! - exclaimed the young man.
- My son! I haven't told anyone this yet. But you have suffered a lot, and I want to help you. Go your own way. In one unknown place there is a magical garden. There is a white rose growing in this garden. If you manage to get it and attach it to the girl’s hair, the witch’s spell will dissipate, and the girl will say: “I want to marry the man who brought this flower.” And then, even if you don’t want to go, they will find you and lead you to your beloved. That's when you'll stop looking at her.
The young man immediately set off. Much time passed before he found the magic garden.
In front of the entrance sat a big cat - the eldest daughter of the sorceress.
“What kind of animal is this - either a lion or a tiger?” thought the young man. “Should I go or not? Eh, whatever happens, I’ll go up to her.” And he approached the cat. The sorceress's daughter sympathized with the young man and showed him the way.
The prince entered the garden and wandered along the paths for a long time. Finally he saw the rose bush that the diva had told him about. Having admired the flowers, he stopped at a loss, not knowing which rose to choose. After much hesitation, he picked one flower. And then a groan was heard in the garden.
“It would be better if I didn’t touch anything, now I’ll be in trouble. What if I get caught?” the young man thought and rushed to the gate through which he entered the garden.
And two cats were already sitting at the gate. Their eyes were bulging, their muzzles covered with foam. It seemed that they were about to rush at the alien.
- Young man, run away from here without looking back! - the cats shouted. - If the witch sees you, she will tear you to pieces.
The young man rushed headlong out of the garden. He ran so fast that even an arrow could not have reached him.
Finally feeling safe, he hid the obtained flower and headed to the city where the padishah’s beautiful daughter lived.
The young man came to the city, tired of endless hardships; his clothes hung in rags. To refresh his strength, he went to a coffee shop. There were many young men there who had gathered in the city to see the daughter of the padishah. The young people asked the newcomer where he was from and where he was going.
“I was the guide of the caravan,” he answered, “but on the way I was attacked by robbers and took away all my property and money.” I spent six months on the road and now I came here.
Everyone took pity on him and accepted him as a guest. The young man ate, drank and lay down to rest, and the young people gathered in a circle and began to whisper about something. The young man listened and realized that they were talking about his beloved. The young people decided to achieve their goal by deceiving the nanny who was raising the girl, but they did not know how to approach the intractable old woman.
It's morning. The young man left the house and went to wander the streets. Suddenly he saw an old woman dressed in a lush silk dress.
“This is probably the girl’s nanny. If I start a conversation with her, maybe I’ll be able to find out who she is,” the young man thought and approached the old woman.
-Where are you from, son? - she asked, realizing that a stranger was standing in front of her.
- Oh mother! I am a poor wanderer. I live by going and selling the roses that grow in my garden every year. I came to your city too. I've already sold everything, I only have one rose left.
“Let me look at her,” said the old woman.
The young man showed her a flower.
- Oh, how beautiful! How much do you want for this rose? - asked the old woman.
- Why do you, an old woman, need such a flower? Its freshness matches only the face of a young beauty,” answered the young man.
“My son, if I buy a rose, it won’t be for myself.” Although I do not have my own daughter, I serve the daughter of the padishah.
So I want to bring her this flower as a gift. But I probably won't have enough money to buy it.
- Oh mother! You want to give a gift, but I only have one flower left. I'll give it to you. Take it and take it to the padishah’s daughter.
And he gave the flower to the old woman. She was glad that she could give it to her mistress, and took the rose to the girl.
- Oh mother! What a wonderful flower you brought me! - the beauty exclaimed and pinned it to her hair.
While the old woman repeated her usual instructions to her pupil, the passion of the young man was transferred to the girl, and the flame of love flared up in her heart. But the girl did not understand the reason for her excitement and said:
- I don’t feel well! Tell my father to let me walk around the garden a little. Some kind of sadness consumes me.
The old woman immediately went to the padishah and told him everything.
- Oh my God! What happened to my daughter? - the padishah exclaimed when he saw the girl. “Before, she never expressed a desire to go out somewhere.” Is this good?
And he allowed his daughter to go to the garden with the nanny.
- Oh mother! “Where did you get this rose?” the girl asked, walking along the paths with the nanny. “As soon as I pinned it to my hair, it was as if some kind of fire lit up in me.”
“My child, a poor young man gave it to me.” But I'm old and I don't need a rose. So I brought it to you.
- Oh my dear! Can you, at least from a distance, show me the person who gave you this flower?
- My child, where will I find him? He met me on the street. Who knows where he is now?
“Do what you want,” the padishah’s daughter said angrily, “but you must show me this young man!” Otherwise, I will complain to my father, and he will order you to be killed.
“I’ll go look for him, my beauty,” the old woman hastily answered.
And the young man, beside himself with impatience, was already waiting for the nanny near the garden. Seeing him, the old woman said:
- Oh my son! What kind of flower did you give me? I brought it to my mistress, she pinned the flower to her hair and immediately fell ill. Now she wants to see you. Are you probably poor? If you come with me, I'll pay you for your time.
The young man pretended to hesitate, but in his heart he was very happy at her words and said:
- For your sake, I will go without money.
The old woman was also happy, took him to the palace and showed him to the girl.
Seeing the young man, the daughter of the padishah immediately became inflamed with love for him and wrote him a note: “Oh my lord! I love you with all my heart. If you want to see me, enter the garden through the fence this night. We will see you there.”
The young man’s happiness knew no bounds. He stepped aside and began to wait for the old woman. She soon left the palace.
- Be careful, my son! Don't tell anyone anything. If the padishah finds out about this, he will execute us all. Do everything as the note says. But be careful not to get caught,” she said and left.
In the evening, barely waiting for darkness to set in, the young man went to the palace fence and entered the garden. The daughter of the padishah was already waiting for him there; When she saw the young man, she immediately hugged him and led him to the hauz (H a u z - pond, pool). They tasted various dishes and, hugging each other, lay down and fell asleep.
It's morning. The padishah, alarmed by the absence of his daughter, ordered to look for her everywhere. And suddenly he saw that she was sleeping in the garden, hugging some young man. The padishah became angry.
- How did a stranger get into my palace? How did he manage to seduce my daughter, who had never gone out before?
At this time, the lovers woke up and, seeing the padishah, trembled with fear. The padishah called the young man and began to question him. He told everything, and the padishah said:
- My son! You rescued my daughter from great trouble. Don't be afraid of anything. I'll give it for you.
He led them both to the palace, called the vizier to him and ordered:
- Marry them before anyone else finds out about anything.
“Okay,” said the vizier.
And the marriage was concluded.
The wedding feast lasted for forty days and forty nights. The newlyweds were placed in special chambers. They achieved their goal.
It's time for us to go home.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru