How the King Was Fooled

Once upon a time, there lived a woman. She lived a long life, grew old, and completely lost her mind from old age. She had three sons: one was a peasant, another was a gardener, and the third was a weaver. A terrible famine struck the land, and there was nowhere to find even a morsel of bread.

One day, a camel broke away from the royal caravan. The sons of the senile old woman caught it and brought it home. They slaughtered it, cooked the meat, packed it into clay jars, and hid it.

"Why are you hiding the meat?" asked their mother. The sons laughed at her and said, "For your wedding, Mother."

The king sent his servants to search for the camel. They went everywhere, looking, but couldn’t find it. They saw one of the brothers plowing the field.

The servants called out to him, "Hey, have you seen the king’s camel?" He pretended to be deaf and replied, "Can’t you see I’m plowing?"

"We’re asking you: where is the king’s camel?" the servants shouted.

"No," he said, "it’s not always the same. Sometimes I plow a lot, sometimes a little."

"Camel!" the servants yelled. "Camel, understand? Head, neck, four legs, a tail."

"Not all the time," replied the old woman’s son. "After I plow, I’ll sow. And then I’ll harrow."

The servants spat in frustration and moved on. They saw the second brother, the gardener, shaking nuts from a tree.

"Hey!" the royal servants called to him. "Have you seen the king’s camel?" He also decided to deceive them, pretending to be a fool.

"Well," he said, "I’m shaking the tree."

"Camel, we’re talking about a camel!" the servants shouted.

"Sometimes I sell for one ruble, sometimes for two," replied the old woman’s son.

"Where’s the camel?" the servants yelled.

"This little tree here," he answered. "But the big one is over there, on the hill."

"Ugh," said the servants. "This fool answers everything with nonsense."

They went further and came to the third brother, who was sitting at his loom.

"Where is the king’s camel?" they asked him. "If you know, tell us, and we’ll reward you."

"Can’t you see I’m working?" he replied. "Why are you asking?"

"We’re asking you about the camel!"

"Sometimes a whole piece, sometimes just half," he said.

"This one’s completely lost his mind," said the servants. "Over there, an old woman is sitting by the house. Let’s go ask her."

They went to the senile old woman and asked, "Listen, granny, have you seen the king’s camel?"

"Of course, I have. My sons slaughtered it, made kavurma, packed it into jars, and hid it."

"When was this?"

"When they were planning my wedding."

"Well, well," said the servants. "Everyone here is crazy." And they went back to the king, having failed to find his camel.

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How the King Was Fooled

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