The Tale of the Poor Man and the Pomegranates of the Knight's Sin
Whether it happened or not, there once lived a poor man. The poor man had nothing—no house, no yard. What was he to do? He went into the forest, built himself a hut out of branches, and settled there. He would gather a bundle of dry branches, take it to the city, sell it, buy some bread, and that’s how he lived.One day, he went to the city to sell firewood. He sold it, bought some bread, and was on his way back. He tucked the bread under his coat, shivering from the cold, trudging back to his hut. The road passed by the king’s palace. The king’s daughter saw him and said to her father:
"Look, father, a devil is walking by!"
The father looked and saw that it wasn’t a devil but a poor man. He got angry with his daughter:
"That’s not a devil, it’s a man!"
"No, what kind of man is that—so black and ragged? It’s a devil, a devil!" insisted the daughter.
The father and daughter began to argue. The father grew furious and shouted:
"Then marry him right now, if that’s how you see it, or I’ll have your head cut off immediately!"
She was frightened. Deciding that it was better to marry the poor man than to die, she packed a few belongings into a bundle, ran after him, and called out:
"Wait, man!"
The poor man turned around but couldn’t believe that such a beauty was calling him. He kept walking without looking back. He entered his hut, and she followed him inside. The poor man asked:
"Why have you come here?"
She replied:
"Because you must marry me."
The poor man was terrified—how could he feed such a wife? He said:
"Look how I live: I sell firewood to buy a crust of bread. How can I feed you?"
But she said:
"Don’t worry, I’ll take care of both of us." Then she added:
"Here, I have a handwoven scarf worth five hundred rubles, and the price is woven into it. Take this scarf to the fair, and if someone shows interest, tell them the price is woven into it. Sell it and bring back the money."
The poor man took the scarf and went to the fair. A merchant examined the scarf, and the poor man said:
"The price is woven into it."
The merchant liked the scarf and said:
"Come, I’ll count out the money at home."
He took the poor man to his house, counted out five hundred rubles, fed him, and sent him on his way. The poor man brought the money home.
His wife wove another scarf, marked it with the same price, and gave it to her husband, saying:
"Take this one to the market as well."
He went and carried it around, but no one wanted to buy it. One man examined the scarf and said:
"I don’t have money, but if you want, I’ll tell you three words in exchange for it."
"No," said the poor man, "I don’t sell for words." He took the scarf and brought it home. His wife asked:
"Did anyone want to buy it?"
"One man offered three words, but I didn’t give it to him," replied the husband.
His wife was angry:
"Go back right now, find that man, and give him the scarf for those three words."
He went back to the fair, searched for the man, found him, and said:
"I’ll give you the scarf for those three words."
"Come with me," said the man. He led the poor man to his home and said:
"First, never say anything without thinking. Think first, then speak. Second, if someone tells you something bad about another person—even if they say that person wants to kill you—don’t rush to act. Find out the truth first. Third, if you’re by a river and someone asks if there’s a ford, don’t just wave them off and say there is. If they go and drown, it’s not good. Instead, say, ‘I don’t know, brother, check for yourself.’ Those are my three words."
The man then gave the poor man gifts and sent him on his way.
The poor man returned home and told his wife the three words. She said:
"Remember them well; they’ll come in handy. Now it would be good for you to go find work somewhere. Earn some money, bring it back, and we’ll buy a team of oxen and live well."
The poor man set off for the city. On the way, he met three merchants.
"Hello," said the merchants.
"Hello," replied the poor man.
"Would you like to work for us?"
"Why not? I’ll work."
"How much do you want for a year?"
"Sixty rubles."
The merchants gave him the money for the year in advance.
"Here, send it home."
The poor man sent the money home with a fellow villager and went with the merchants. They walked for three days and three nights without finding any water. They came to a mountain path, and only beyond the mountain, in a gorge, was there water. The merchants gave their worker a jug and said:
"There’s water in the gorge. Go fetch it."
They were sending him to his death, for the poor man was sure to perish for that single jug of water. He approached the water and saw a handsome knight, fully armed, playing with a frog, amusing himself.
The knight saw the poor man and said:
"Well, brother, tell me, who is more beautiful—me or this frog?" The frog was jumping on his shoulder, playing.
The poor man was about to blurt out the first thing that came to mind, but he remembered the advice—not to speak without thinking—and hesitated, even stepping back three steps. He thought and grew afraid—what if the knight didn’t like his answer? If he said the knight was more beautiful, the knight might kill him! No, there must be something to this.
The knight urged him:
"Speak, why are you silent?"
The poor man thought—no, it’s better to say the frog is more beautiful—and said:
"The frog is more beautiful!"
That was exactly what the knight wanted to hear. As soon as the poor man said the frog was more beautiful, the frog’s skin burst, and out came a beauty of unparalleled radiance. The handsome knight was overjoyed, kissing and embracing the poor man.
"How many people have I killed by this water, waiting for such an answer to free the enchanted beauty from the spell! Now go and tell everyone: the water is free, and I’m leaving."
The knight gave the poor man three magical pomegranates and a golden belt for his wife as a farewell gift, saying:
"Take these pomegranates; they’ll be useful to you. And if you have a wife, let her wear this belt, and she’ll give birth to a golden-haired son."
The knight bid farewell to the poor man and left with his beauty.
The poor man wrapped the pomegranates and the golden belt in rags and sent them home with a fellow villager. He filled the jug with water and brought it to the merchants. The merchants were amazed that he had returned alive and asked:
"Was anyone by the water?"
"There was, but he’s gone now," said the poor man. "The water is free now."
They all embraced the poor man, marveling at him.
— What did you say to him that made him open the water? We've been suffering without water for so many years.
And the fellow villager brought the poor man's wife all the wealth wrapped in rags.
The wife unwrapped one pomegranate—and from just one half of it, a beautiful city with palaces and gardens grew.
She released herds of horses, flocks of sheep, and herds of buffalo into the fields, hired shepherds, and now lives, waiting for her husband.
Meanwhile, the poor man served his year. The merchants gave him more money for his good service and let him go.
They no longer needed a servant: the water was free, and it was because of that water that they had hired laborers in the first place.
The poor man set off for home, searching for his woven hut.
As he walked, he saw herds of buffalo grazing. He asked the shepherds:
— Whose herds are these?
The shepherds named his own name.
He felt offended, even angry, thinking they were mocking him, but he said nothing and walked on.
On the way, he encountered flocks of sheep and asked whose they were, and again, they named his name.
When he reached the forest, he looked—his woven hut was gone, and in its place stood a huge palace.
The poor man was puzzled. He entered the courtyard.
— Where does such-and-such a woman live? he asked about his wife.
— Our mistress? Over there, on the hill, in the palace, they told him. The poor man was amazed, not understanding anything.
Servants rushed out from all sides, asking what he needed, whether he was looking for work, if he would hire himself out as a laborer.
— Yes, he said, I will. Everyone began talking and arguing. Some said:
— We don’t need him. Others said:
— We do.
Then an old gooseherd spoke up:
— I’ll take him to tend the geese. So they hired him.
A month passed. The poor man worked, herding geese.
One day, he said to the old man:
— I want to see the mistress.
— I dare not go to her, the old man said, but perhaps we could send a girl? They sent a girl and said:
— Tell the mistress that a man has been working here for a month and wishes to see her. The girl went and reported.
The mistress stepped out onto the balcony, thinking perhaps her husband had returned, and ordered the servants to bring him to her.
He walked, wondering what would happen.
She saw him from above, recognized him, and ordered the servants:
— Carry him in your arms so that his feet do not touch the ground. The servants ran, lifted him up, shouted cheers, but pinched him in anger—why was a simple gooseherd being honored so?
They set him before the mistress.
She dismissed all the servants, dressed him up, and adorned him.
Then she took him by the arm and walked with him.
The servants were terrified when they learned he was the master, thinking he would dismiss them all. But he did not get angry or dismiss anyone. He went to inspect the rooms.
In one room, he saw a cradle with a golden-haired boy. Enraged, he grabbed a dagger, ready to kill his wife, but then he remembered the man’s words—to think before committing murder. He paused and recalled how he had sent her a golden belt and what the knight had said.
He remembered and realized that the golden-haired boy must have been born from that belt.
His wife came and said:
— All this is what you earned: remember how you sent me three pomegranates and a golden belt. This entire city and palace—I built it all from just half of one of those miraculous pomegranates. The other two and a half pomegranates are still intact: they are so precious that no one can exchange them.
He rejoiced. They lived happily ever after. His wife said:
— Invite my father.
— Very well, said the husband.
They brought out a white horse from the herd, saddled it with a silver saddle, adorned it with silver harness, dressed a servant in a white cherkeska, and sent him to invite the king, her father, as a guest. They instructed the servant:
— Do not tell anyone on the way, nor even the king himself, that you are our servant. Simply say that your son-in-law asked me to invite you as a guest.
The servant arrived at the king and said:
— Your son-in-law asks you to come as a guest. The king only laughed and said to the servant:
— Aren’t you ashamed, such a fine young man, to deliver a message from that wretched beggar? How did he dare to invite me, the king, as a guest?!
The servant returned and reported how the king had received him.
The next day, they took a red horse from the herd, saddled it with a golden saddle, dressed the servant in golden robes, and sent him to the king. The servant arrived and said:
— Great king! Your son-in-law asks you to come as a guest. The queen said to the king:
— Let’s go, take our servants and food, call him to the field, give him money—after all, he is our son-in-law.
The servant went and reported to his masters:
— So and so, the king is coming with his food.
The king rode out and saw flocks of sheep. He asked:
— Whose are these?
They named his son-in-law.
He rode further and saw herds of horses grazing. He asked:
— Whose herds are these?
And again, they named his son-in-law.
The king looked at the herds, ordered all the food they had brought for the journey to be thrown away, and sent the servants back, saying:
— It seems my son-in-law has grown rich. It would be shameful to come to him with our own food and servants.
When he arrived, he saw a marvelous city, and in the center of it, a palace. His daughter and her husband were strolling on the balcony.
The king and queen went up, embraced their daughter and son-in-law, and kissed them. The daughter said:
— Why didn’t you come to us before—did you think it beneath you? They entered the hall.
The table was laden with dishes the likes of which the king had never seen. After the meal, the daughter said to her father:
— Exchange some money for us. She brought out two and a half pomegranates and said:
— Here, if you can, exchange these.
The king managed to exchange two pomegranates somehow, but he couldn’t exchange the half—he didn’t have enough money. The king blessed his son-in-law, placed his chain on him, and made him king.
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