The Old Carpenter and His Daughter-in-Law

Once upon a time, there lived a carpenter. He was renowned throughout the land for his skill and wisdom. The carpenter built himself a house on a tall pillar. And it wasn’t just any house—it rotated from morning till evening, illuminated by the sun from all sides. The carpenter had a son. When the boy grew up, the master taught him his craft. Years passed. The carpenter grew old, and it was time to marry off his son.

"Listen, son, you need a wife, and I need a daughter-in-law," said the old carpenter. "But we must find a clever girl."

The father set out to find a bride for his son. Despite the difficulty, he arranged a match with a nobleman’s daughter. "She must be well-bred and educated," thought the old man.

The carpenter and his son went to the city to buy gifts for the bride. On their way home, they passed by a forest.

"Son, my legs are aching, I can barely walk," said the father. "Bring me a helper from the forest."

The son said nothing, turned off the road into the forest, wandered around, and returned empty-handed.

"You couldn’t handle such a simple task," laughed the carpenter. "Go ask your bride—she’ll know what kind of helper I need."

The young man went and asked the bride. But the nobleman’s daughter just gaped in surprise, unable to understand how one could look for a helper in the forest. The old man thought for a moment and said sadly:

"No, son, this bride isn’t right for us. She’ll be of no use." After that, the old man arranged for his son to marry a prince’s daughter. Then he sent his son to the city with these instructions:

"Go to the city and sell what we’ve made. With two kopecks, buy a horse and its harness—it’ll make the return journey easier."

The young man was offended:

"Don’t mock me, father. You can’t buy a horse and harness for two kopecks."

"Go ask your bride—she’ll tell you how to buy a horse for two kopecks." But the prince’s daughter got angry and scolded her fiancé:

"My father wouldn’t even look at such a mangy horse!"

"This bride isn’t right for us either—she’s arrogant and foolish," said the old man, and for the third time, he went to find a wife for his son.

He searched for a long time, put in much effort, and finally arranged for his son to marry a king’s daughter. They decided to harvest the crops and then hold the wedding.

One day, the old man and his son went to harvest corn, but the road kept climbing uphill.

"Son, our path is long and difficult," said the old man. "Let’s help each other. First, you carry me, then I’ll carry you."

The young man was stunned—he didn’t understand his father and felt offended, thinking he was being mocked again. He stayed silent and said nothing.

They reached the field. The corn had grown tall, with large, full ears.

"Ah, how will we survive the winter? We won’t even bring half the harvest home," lamented the old man.

"What are you talking about, father? Look at this corn—it’s a sight to behold!"

"Again, you didn’t understand my words. Go ask your bride—she’ll explain it to you."

The young man relayed his father’s words to the bride. The princess was furious:

"What riddles are you telling me? A princess isn’t supposed to think—it’ll give me a headache!"

The young man was heartbroken—he had already taken a liking to the princess, but his father insisted on rejecting her.

"We don’t need such an unreasonable and lazy girl," said the old man.

"Fine, let it be as you say," agreed the son. "But now I’ll go and find a bride myself, and I’ll marry her."

But no matter how much the young man searched, he couldn’t find a girl to his liking.

One evening, as he was passing through a village, it was dark all around, except for a small house with a light shining inside. He approached, knocked on the window, and asked to stay the night.

A girl opened the door and said:

"Come in, we’re always happy to have guests."

The girl fed the traveler and sat down at her spinning wheel. The young man couldn’t take his eyes off her. "Here," he thought, "is a good bride, but my father probably won’t like her either. He rejected a king’s daughter—would he really accept a peasant girl?" He sat there, gazing at the girl and sighing heavily.

"Why are you so downcast? What are you sighing about?" asked the girl.

"Ah, I’ve had no luck," he replied. "I can’t seem to find a bride who would please my father."

And he told her how three girls had failed to win his father’s approval. The girl laughed:

"I see—you’re not very bright yourself, and the brides you’ve met weren’t too clever either. But pleasing your father wasn’t so hard. Listen to me. When your father asked you to bring him a helper from the forest, you should have cut a cornel branch and made a walking stick—that would’ve been his helper! Of course, you can’t buy a horse and harness for two kopecks. You should’ve bought bread and wine—a full stomach makes a long journey much shorter, as if you were on horseback! And when your father wanted you to carry each other, he meant you should take turns telling stories to pass the time. And the corn—it’s not hard to understand that half the harvest goes to paying debts. How could you forget that?"

The young man fell to his knees before the girl, begging her to marry him.

"No one but you will do. You’re beautiful and wise." The girl agreed and married him. The son brought his wife to his father. The old man liked her too.

They lived happily, neither poor nor rich.

One day, the king summoned the old carpenter and his son and ordered them to build a house on a tall pillar—just like the master’s own, but bigger and taller.

They built the house splendidly—it rotated from morning till evening, illuminated by the sun from all sides. Everyone marveled and praised it. But the king was both delighted and afraid, worried that the carpenter and his son might build such a house for someone else. He decided not to let them go and later find an excuse to imprison them.

The carpenter sensed trouble and made the house stop rotating.

"Now our clever daughter-in-law will save us!" said the old man to his son. To the king, he said:

"I can’t fix the problem without a special chisel… Let us go home to fetch the tool."

"No, I won’t let you go," replied the king.

"As you wish! Then send your son to fetch what I need—my daughter-in-law won’t trust it to anyone else. And tell her that the house I built for the king has stopped rotating because of injustice, and that’s why we can’t return home."

The prince came to the carpenter’s daughter-in-law and told her what the master had sent him for.

"The house built for the king won’t rotate, and without the special chisel, we can’t fix the injustice. If you don’t help them, they won’t return home."

The clever daughter-in-law immediately understood that trouble was looming for the old master and his son, that the unjust king had treated them unfairly. She invited the prince into her home, locked him behind nine locks, and sent people to tell the king: "Release my father-in-law at once and pay him a chest of gold for his work, or your son will suffer. I’ve locked the prince behind nine locks, and no one can open them."

What could the king do? He released the master and gave him a chest of gold.

The old man returned home with his son and said:

"Now you understand, son, why I needed a clever daughter-in-law? As the wise say: 'A clever daughter-in-law will set the house on its feet, but a foolish one will bring it down.'"

1 *Khurjin*—a saddlebag made of carpet fabric.

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The Old Carpenter and His Daughter-in-Law

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