Three Testaments

A man, on his deathbed, called his only son to him and said:

"I am dying, my son. Take my place in the shop, trade, and remember my three commandments: first, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, if you hear a child crying, go and find out why the child is crying; second, never cross a river if you do not know the ford; and finally, do not travel at night. Stay wherever darkness finds you." Having said this, the father passed away.

The son buried him with honor and began to trade in the shop in his place. A week passed, then two, then three weeks, a month, two, three months. One day, the young merchant's friends said to him:

"Get ready, let's go to Tiflis for goods."

"Alright." They gathered and set off. They walked for a day, two, three days, a week, two, three weeks, and reached Tiflis. The young merchant stayed in Tiflis longer than the others, bought goods, loaded the mules, hired helpers, and set off on the return journey. They walked for a day, two, three days, a week, and reached a turbulent river.

The helpers said:

"Let's cross the river by wading through it." But the merchant said:

"No, let's find someone to guide us across—we don't know this river."

Then one of the helpers said:

"You're all cowards! I'll show you where the ford is."

He entered the river with his horse, the water swirled around him, and he drowned.

"My father was right," thought the young merchant. He found a local peasant, promised him payment and a good gift, and the peasant guided his caravan across at the ford. They continued on their way.

On the road, they met a wealthy merchant who was heading to Ganja. The wealthy merchant took a liking to the young merchant and said to him:

"Will you come with me to Ganja if I make you a partner in my trade?"

"Why not?" said the young merchant. They began to count the goods. The young merchant had fewer goods.

"Well," said the wealthy merchant, "you will be my junior partner. Go ahead, ride to my wife, give her my ring. She will recognize it and take you in. Prepare the shop, set everything up, and when I arrive with the caravan, we will start trading."

The young merchant set off for Ganja, found his partner's house, came to his wife, and gave her the ring. The wife welcomed him into the house, and she liked him so much that she began to subtly persuade him to kill her old husband and marry her instead.

"What are you saying, woman!" said the young merchant. "Are you out of your mind? I have befriended your husband, and he has made me his partner. How could I do such an evil thing against him?"

The woman fell silent but harbored resentment. "Just wait," she thought, "when my husband returns, I will know how to take revenge on you."

A day passed, then two, three days, and the merchant arrived with the goods. He saw that his young partner had prepared the shop, cleaned and arranged everything. They laid out the goods and began to trade. The trade went well: every day brought profit.

A month passed, then two, three months. One day, the old merchant's wife said to him:

"Drive this young man away; I don't want to see him anymore."

"Why, wife, what has he done to you?"

"When he came here without you, he tried to persuade me to kill you and marry him instead."

The merchant believed his deceitful wife and decided to take revenge on the young man. The merchant had a bakery. He went to the baker and said:

"Baker, I must tell you something, listen to me."

"Please, speak, master," replied the baker.

"Tomorrow morning, a man will come to you and ask: 'Have you done what the master ordered?' As soon as he says this, push him into the oven and let him burn."

"Alright," said the baker. "If you order it, I will do it."

In the evening, the junior merchant came from the shop, and they sat down to dinner as if nothing had happened. They prepared to sleep. The old merchant said to the young one:

"Tomorrow morning, go to our baker and ask him if he has done as the master ordered."

"Alright," said the young man, "I will go and ask." The next morning, the young merchant got up and, unaware of anything, headed to the bakery. Suddenly, he heard a child crying bitterly nearby. He turned the corner and saw a small child lying on the ground, having hurt his knee and unable to get up.

"Don't cry," he said, "it's not a big deal, your knee will heal."

He picked up the child and carried him to his mother.

Meanwhile, the merchant's wife got up, dressed up, and went to the bakery to find out if the baker had already dealt with the young merchant. She left the house, reached the bakery, and knocked.

"Who's there?" asked the baker.

"It's me, the mistress. Open the door."

The baker opened the door, and the mistress entered and asked:

- Have you done what your master ordered you to do? And the baker, without thinking twice, grabbed her and threw her into the oven.

The young merchant carried the child and went to the baker.

- Have you done what your master ordered you to do? - he asks the baker.
- Yes, - says the baker, - I have done it. The young merchant went to his senior partner and said:
- The baker has done what you ordered him to do. The merchant, seeing the young man alive and well, almost bit his tongue in shock. He went to the baker and asked him:
- Who did you throw into the oven?
- Master, - says the baker, - didn’t you tell me to throw into the oven whoever comes in the morning and asks if I’ve carried out your order?
- Yes, - says the merchant.
- Well, in the morning your wife came and asked me. So, I burned her in the oven.

The merchant began to cry and tear his hair out. But there was nothing he could do—he returned home. The merchant called the young merchant to him and began to question him:

- Tell me honestly, what happened with my wife?

The young man told the merchant how his wife had conspired to have him killed.

- Alright, - said the merchant, - I believe you, but I cannot keep you here. Take your share and your pay until the end of the year and leave.
- As you wish, - said the young man.

He returned the key to the shop to the merchant, took his share, hired an assistant, and headed to his native village. They were almost at the village when it began to get dark.

- Let’s set up a tent, - said the young merchant to his assistant.
- What are you talking about! - replied the assistant. - It’s just a couple of steps away.
- No, I won’t go, - said the young merchant, - my father told me never to travel at night.

They set up the tent and went to sleep. In the middle of the night, the young merchant woke up. Let me, he thought, check if everything is in order, if thieves are not approaching us.

He began to look around to see if all their belongings were in place. Suddenly, he saw someone running from the village, carrying something heavy. He began to follow this person. The man with his burden turned toward the cemetery. He reached a large stone, moved it aside, buried what he had brought, and then placed the heavy stone back. Then he hurried back to the village. Now I’ll dig up his treasure! - the merchant thought joyfully. - And I’ll become rich!

He wanted to call his assistant, but the assistant was sleeping so soundly that even if you grabbed him by the legs and threw him to the ground, he wouldn’t wake up. Carefully, the merchant made his way to the cemetery. He moved the stone and quietly dug up the bundle. He hoisted it onto his shoulders, brought it to his tent, and unwrapped it. And what did he see! A girl, as beautiful as a mermaid, dressed like a princess, lay unconscious, covered in wounds and bleeding. Her heart was barely beating. The young merchant fell in love with her at first sight and decided to heal her.

At dawn, they loaded the horses and set off. Not to the village, but wherever their eyes led them. They traveled for a day, two, three days, a week, two, three weeks. They reached a city. There, the young merchant dismissed his assistant and rented a room. He settled there with the girl and summoned various healers and doctors, saying:

- Take whatever you want, but heal this girl.

The healers and doctors began to treat her. They treated her for a month, two, three months, and finally, they healed her. When the girl fully recovered, he began to ask her what had happened to her and how she ended up in the cemetery. This is what she told him.

- I am the king’s daughter. My father has a treasurer. The treasurer’s son, a very evil and unpleasant man, decided to marry me. He pursued me, begged me to marry him, but I refused him every time. And he harbored a grudge against me. One day, I was walking in the field with my maids. Suddenly, we saw five horsemen galloping straight toward us. The maids scattered in fear, and someone grabbed me. His companions tied me up and took me away. I lost consciousness and only woke up in your tent.

- I saved you, - said the merchant, - and I want to marry you.
- Very well, - said the princess, - I agree. Go fetch a priest, and we’ll get married.

They got married, and the wife began to ask her husband to settle in her hometown. She wanted to take revenge on the treasurer’s son for his bloody crime. They gathered all their belongings and set off. They traveled for a day, two, three days, a week, two, three weeks, and reached the city. They rented a room far from the royal chambers and began to live there.

They lived and lived, and gradually spent all their money.

- My husband, - said the king’s daughter, - why are you so sad? Maybe you’ve run out of money, and we have nothing to live on?
- Yes, - said the husband. - Why hide it? If I hide it from you, I can’t hide it from God. We have no money left.

Hearing this, the wife took a precious stone from her hair and said:

- Take this stone and go to the market, straight to the treasurer’s son. Show him the stone and ask how much it’s worth. The treasurer’s son will tell you:

Twelve hundred rubles. You say: Give me half, and keep the rest for yourself. If he invites you to his home—go, and the next day invite him to our place. Alright?

- Alright, - replied the husband, - I’ll do as you say.

He took the stone and went to the market. He gave the stone to the treasurer’s son for half the price. The treasurer’s son was so pleased that he invited him to his home—to drink and dine together, secretly hoping that he could somehow take advantage of such a simpleton.

They arrived at the treasurer’s house. They talked about this and that, sat until lunch. Then the servants set the table, and the treasurer’s son and the merchant ate and drank until evening. The next day, as they had agreed, the treasurer’s son came to visit the merchant’s home. They spent the whole day together, eating and drinking, feasting, and at midnight, completely drunk, they fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, the king's daughter rose, took a dagger, and with all her strength plunged it into the stomach of her offender. He immediately breathed his last. She woke her husband.

"I have finally avenged myself," she said. "Now take the corpse to the cemetery and bury it where that scoundrel wanted to bury me."

Her husband saw there was nothing to be done and did as his wife commanded.

"Now we must flee," said the wife. "We must go to another country, or else the royal executioners will have us killed. Let's go to Istanbul and live there. We'll see how things turn out."

"Alright," said the husband. "Let it be as you say. We'll see what happens."

The husband bought two good horses at the market, they gathered their belongings, and set off for Istanbul. They traveled for one day, two days, three days. The king's daughter grew very tired, completely exhausted.

"Let's stop here," she said to her husband. "There's a spring here. We'll drink some water, rest a little, and then continue."

After breakfast, the king's daughter fell asleep, while her husband stayed to guard their belongings. As he sat there, he thought: "I wonder if my wife still has any jewels, or if we're completely destitute?" He looked and saw that in her hair was woven a red ribbon, on which was sewn a dozen precious stones. Overjoyed, the husband took the ribbon, placed it on the grass, and admired the sparkle of the gems.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a crow swooped down. Mistaking the red ribbon for a piece of meat, it snatched it and flew away in an instant. The young husband chased after it but couldn't catch it. He began to cry, tearing at his hair, but there was no way to get it back. He didn't know how he could face his wife. He decided: "I'll go alone, earn a lot of money, and support my wife myself." And before his wife woke up, he mounted his horse and rode away. He rode for one day, two days, three days, a week, two weeks, three weeks, until he reached Tiflis. He began looking for work, asking everyone he met, and eventually encountered a wealthy man.

"Brother," said the man, "I have a position for a gardener. If you want, I'll hire you, and you can work for me."

"Very well," said the young merchant. "I'd be happy to."

He was hired as a gardener and worked from dawn till dusk, tending the garden and helping around the house, sparing no effort and not counting the hours. The merchant lived like this for several years and earned a decent amount of money.

"Give me my wages, master," he said one fine day.

The master tried to persuade him to stay. He was reluctant to let go of such a good worker. But the merchant insisted.

"Alright," said the master. "You've worked well, and I'll pay you well. But before you go, cut down that dried-up poplar in the garden so it doesn't spoil the view. Chop it up for firewood, and then you may go in peace."

The merchant cut down the poplar, sawed the trunk, chopped it into logs, loaded them onto a cart, and then began gathering the wood chips. He saw: lying on the ground was his wife's ribbon, and all the precious stones were still intact. Just imagine: in that poplar tree was a crow's nest, and the crow had brought the stolen item there! The husband of the king's daughter was utterly stunned with joy and set off for Istanbul to find his wife.

What had happened to his wife? When she woke up by the spring, she saw: neither her husband, nor his horse, nor the precious stones were there. She thought that robbers had attacked them, tied up her husband, and taken him away. Saddened, she mounted her horse and set off alone for the city of Istanbul. With her last money, she opened a caravanserai there and began charging a very low fee for lodging so that all poor people could stay there. She thought: "Perhaps my husband will make it to Istanbul and come to my inn?" And indeed, her husband arrived in Istanbul a few years later. He didn't want to sell the precious stones, so he found the cheapest caravanserai in the city. He came in, asked for the cheapest room, and settled there.

Upon seeing the new guest, the king's daughter immediately recognized him as her husband, but for the time being, she said nothing and kept hiding from him.

And what of the king? All these years, he had been searching for his daughter. It seemed there was no place on earth where he hadn't sent people, but no one could find her. One day, he summoned his treasurer and said to him:

"My daughter is missing, and your son is missing. And no one can find them. Let's disguise ourselves as poor people and go out into the world ourselves to search for our children."

"Long live the king," said the treasurer. "You're right. Let's go."

The king and the treasurer dressed as poor men, took some food with them, and set off. They walked and walked, traveled the whole world, but couldn't find either their son or daughter. Finally, they decided: "Let's go to the city of Istanbul. There are many people there; we'll ask around." They came to Istanbul and asked:

"We are poor people. Is there a caravanserai here for poor foreigners?"

"Of course there is," they were told, and they were directed to the caravanserai run by the king's daughter.

Upon seeing her father and the treasurer, she recognized them at once but gave no sign. She set the table for them, laid out all the food she had, and seated all the guests of the caravanserai. When the guests had drunk a little, the hostess asked them:

"My guests, who are you, and where are you from? Tell me. You start," she said, turning to her husband.

He recounted all his adventures. But as soon as he mentioned that the wounded girl turned out to be the king's daughter, the poorly dressed guest jumped up and shouted:

"I am that king! Find my daughter! No one else can do it!"

At this point, the hostess of the caravanserai intervened.

"Treasurer," she said to one of the guests, "your son tried to kill the king's daughter! Don't look for him; he got what he deserved. And as for your daughter, I will bring her to you now," she said to the king.

She went into another room, dressed in her former attire, fixed her hair, and came out to the guests. Her father and husband both rushed to her. They embraced her and wept with joy. And then began a feast and celebration the likes of which the world had never seen. Three apples fell from the sky: one for me, one for you, and one for all good people. Fairy girl