The Tale of the Unprecedented Cucumber
Once upon a time, there was a gardener. One day, an extraordinary cucumber grew in his garden—huge, like a barrel. Everyone who asked the gardener to sell the cucumber was refused; he admired it himself.The royal prince heard about this extraordinary cucumber. "I'll go and try," he thought. "Surely, as the king's son, this man won't dare refuse me."
He went to the gardener and demanded the cucumber, pouring out a sack of gold coins as payment.
"Well," said the gardener, "you are the king's son, it's hard to refuse you, and you've paid royally. Take the cucumber, but as you leave the garden, don't look back. Walk straight until you reach that tall plane tree. Then you can rest."
The prince took the cucumber and walked away. Suddenly, he heard the sounds of a zurna and the rhythmic beat of dohol drums behind him. Someone shouted, "Hey, look back, look back!" But the prince kept walking without turning around. Only when he reached the tall plane tree did he stop to rest. "Let me cut the cucumber," he thought. "The whole world was after it, and it came to me alone. I'll see what's inside." He took out his knife, but as soon as he began to cut the cucumber, it split into two halves. Out stepped a girl—slender, beautiful, with golden hair.
"Who are you, beauty?" exclaimed the prince. "Be my bride!"
The girl replied, "Very well, I agree."
"But how can I simply bring my bride to the royal palace?" said the prince. "No, that's not the custom. Climb up this plane tree, no one will disturb you there. Wait for me, and I'll return with honor, with zurna and dohol, to take you to my father."
The girl agreed. The prince helped her climb the tree, and she hid in its thick foliage to wait. Time passed, and an old woman approached the plane tree. She saw a reflection in the spring beneath the tree, looked up, and called out, "Oh, dear girl, come down and show yourself!"
"No," replied the girl, "I won't come down, dear grandmother. I'm afraid of you. I'm waiting for my groom. He'll come for me soon."
The old woman said, "Move over, and I'll climb up to sit with you. We'll wait for him together."
"No," the girl replied, "that won't do."
"Very well," the old woman smirked slyly.
She thought, "I'll cast a spell on her, make myself look like her, and marry in her place." She began to chant and wave her hands, casting a spell that turned the girl into a bird. Then she transformed herself to look like the girl, climbed onto a branch, and waited.
The prince returned with his friends and musicians to fetch his bride. He took the witch, who looked like the girl, down from the tree. Meanwhile, a little bird fluttered around him, landing on his shoulder. He caught it and handed it to a friend, but the bird escaped and returned to his shoulder. He caught it again and gave it to another friend, but the bird flew back once more. Annoyed, the prince grabbed the bird, twisted off its head, and threw it into someone's garden. Where the head touched the ground, a tall, spreading mulberry tree grew.
"What use is this tree to me?" said the garden's owner. "It only blocks the light."
He began to chop it down. As he did, a chip the size of a spoon flew into the yard of a poor old woman, turned into a beautiful spoon, and lay in her spoon holder.
The next morning, when the old woman left the house, the spoon fell out of the holder, struck the ground, and turned into a golden-haired girl. The girl cleaned the old woman's room, swept the yard, arranged everything neatly, prepared tanabur, and then turned back into a spoon, hiding in the spoon holder.
When the old woman returned, she couldn't understand: "What is this? Who cleaned? Who swept? Who cooked the tanabur?"
She went to her neighbors and said, "Listen, women, strange things are happening in my house. Everything is clean, everything is swept, and dinner is ready, but I don't know who did it!"
A neighbor advised her, "Hide and watch, then maybe you'll find out."
The next day, the old woman hid behind a rug and saw the spoon fall out of the holder, turn into a girl, and begin tidying up, lighting the tonir, baking bread and lavash.
When the girl finished and was about to turn back into the spoon, the old woman grabbed her by the hem and wouldn't let go. The girl pleaded, "Let me go, dear grandmother, let me go. I don't want to stay human forever."
But the old woman said, "No, I won't let you. I have a son, and when he returns, he'll marry you."
"I can't marry your son, dear grandmother. I'm betrothed to another."
"Then be my daughter and my son's sister," said the old woman.
"Very well," said the girl. "I'll live with you for now, but don't ask me any questions."
And so the golden-haired girl stayed with the old woman.
Meanwhile, the prince lived unhappily with his witch wife. Time passed, and the king issued a decree: every household was to take in a horse from the royal stables for care and feeding. A horse was brought to the old woman's yard.
"How can I care for a royal horse?" she said to the king's servants. "I have no strength, and I have nothing to feed it."
"We don't know. Feed it however you can. It's the king's order," they replied.
The girl learned that the horse belonged to the prince.
"Don't worry, dear grandmother," she said. "I'll take care of the horse."
She tied the horse in the yard and whispered to it, "My dear horse, I'll rinse my hair with spring water and pour it on your hooves. Grass will grow, and you'll eat it and grow strong."
And so it happened. The horse grew strong, its coat gleamed, and its mane curled. When the time came to return the royal horses, the girl told the horse, "My dear horse, when they come to take you, lie down and don't get up, no matter how much they beat you."
The king's servants, along with the prince, came for the horse. They beat and urged it, but it wouldn't budge.
"How well you've fed this horse!" they said to the old woman. "We can't move it."
"It wasn't me, it was my daughter who cared for it," she replied.
"Then call her, let her handle it herself."
The girl came and scolded the horse, "Why won't you get up? Do you want to betray your master? It seems your master is also a traitor, unable to keep his word."
As soon as she said this, the horse stood up and walked away. The prince looked at her and saw she resembled the girl from the cucumber more than his wife. He lost sleep, peace, and appetite. The next day, he issued another decree: someone from every household must come to the royal court to comb wool.
The combing women gathered, and the golden-haired girl came too. They worked well and finished on time. The prince approached them and said, "Now, each of you, tell me what gift you'd like from me."
One asked for a shawl, another for beads, and another for a bracelet. When it was the golden-haired girl's turn, she said, "Give me a ripe pomegranate, a small doll, and a sharp razor."
The prince was surprised but bought everything she asked for.
With her gifts, she walked along a deserted mountain road, turned off it, and hid behind a rosehip bush. The prince followed her and hid on the other side. She sat under the bush and said,
"Oh, pomegranate, pomegranate, listen to my sorrow, then split and break into pieces.
Listen, doll, I'll tell you my sorrow, then dance for me.
Listen, razor, I'll tell you my sorrow, then sharpen yourself even more."
And she began to tell her story:
"I was enchanted and placed inside a cucumber. The prince freed me but left me in a tree. An evil witch found me, turned me into a bird, and my groom tore off my head. I became a shady tree, but I was chopped down. I turned into a spoon, came out of it, but wasn't allowed to return."
As she spoke, the pomegranate split into pieces, the doll danced, and the razor grew sharper.
When she finished, she wanted to cut herself with the razor. But the prince ran to her, embraced her, and took her to the palace. The king ordered the evil witch executed and held a grand wedding for his son and the golden-haired bride. Thus, their wishes came true. And may all your wishes come true too.
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