The Tsar and the Peasant's Daughter

Do not seek justice from the king or the lords. I will tell you a tale, and in it, there will be neither truth nor lies.

Once, a poor man was plowing his field. He made ten furrows and turned the plow to make the eleventh. Suddenly, the plowshare caught on something. The man stopped his oxen. He looked and saw a golden mortar lying in the earth. The poor man rubbed his eyes—was he imagining things? He brushed the dirt off the mortar with the hem of his coat, and it shone even brighter. The poor man nearly lost his mind with joy. He stopped plowing and ran home.

"Why are you back so early, father?" his daughter asked in surprise.
"I couldn’t keep plowing, my dear. Fortune has smiled upon us! I found a golden mortar in the ground!"
"And what will we do with it?" the girl asked. "What use is it to us?"
"What do you mean? I’ll take it to the king and ask for three strips of land in return."
"What are you saying? Think again, father! The king will take the mortar and demand a golden pestle too!"

The daughter tried to dissuade her father for a long time, but he stubbornly refused to listen, as they say, he threw a stone and offered his head to be hit!

The poor man took the mortar to the king.
"Great sovereign," said the poor man, "accept this golden mortar from me and give me three strips of land in return."
"And where is the pestle?" asked the king.
"There was nothing but the mortar in the ground."
"What are you saying, fool! Where you found the mortar, there you must look for the pestle! If you don’t bring me the golden pestle, I’ll order your lying tongue to be torn out."

The poor man was saddened. He remembered how his daughter had tried to dissuade him from going to the king.
"This is what I deserve, old fool," he muttered bitterly. "Why didn’t I listen to her!"
"Who didn’t you listen to?" the king pressed.
"My daughter tried to talk me out of coming to you. She said, ‘The king will demand a golden pestle too.’ And that’s exactly what happened."
"How did she know I would demand a pestle?"
"Those who have wisdom always know what will come of things. It’s me, the brainless one, who understands nothing."
"If your daughter is so wise, send her to me at once."

The poor man walked home, scolding himself: "You foolish head, you bring trouble upon yourself! You’ve lost the golden mortar and doomed your daughter."

When he returned home, he told his daughter everything that had happened.
"I can’t send you to the king. He’ll ruin you!"
"Don’t grieve, father! The king probably wants to test my wisdom. I’ll go, and maybe I’ll get you out of trouble."

The girl went to the king.
"What do you command, great sovereign?"
"Let’s see how clever you are! Go home, and tomorrow come to me neither dressed nor undressed, neither on foot, nor on horseback, nor on wheels. If you complete the task, I’ll return the mortar to your father. If not, I’ll order your tongue to be torn out."

The next day, the girl took off her dress, wrapped herself in fishing nets, tied them to a donkey, and made her way to the king.

The king was amazed by the girl’s ingenuity. He returned the golden mortar to the poor man and kept the girl in the palace—she might give wise counsel when needed.

One day, on the outskirts of the city, shepherds stopped for the night while driving their cattle to mountain pastures. They unharnessed their horses, removed the heavy saddlebags, ate, and went to sleep.

During the night, one of the shepherds’ mares foaled. Another shepherd woke up and tied the foal to the leg of his ox.

In the morning, the owner of the mare saw the foal near the ox, was astonished, and went to untie it.
"This is my foal, my ox foaled!" shouted the shepherd who had stolen the foal.

They argued, nearly came to blows, but couldn’t resolve the dispute. They went to the king, asking him to judge them fairly and justly. The king listened to both and said:
"If the foal was found near the ox, then the ox must have birthed it."

The shepherd who owned the mare was struck dumb with amazement. He couldn’t utter a word. He left the palace furious, biting his lips in frustration.

The peasant’s daughter followed him and said quietly:
"Don’t grieve, your truth will not be lost. Go get some nets and cast them in the king’s courtyard. The king will be surprised and say, ‘Whoever heard of fishing on dry land?’ You stay silent, and I’ll answer him."

The shepherd did as she said. When the king saw the shepherd casting nets in the courtyard, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
"How can there be fish on dry land?"
"Why are you surprised, king?" the girl laughed. "If an ox can foal, why can’t fish swim on dry land?"

The king realized that the peasant’s daughter had advised the shepherd. He grew angry with the girl and sent her home before she could disgrace him in front of everyone. But that was exactly what the girl wanted.

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The Tsar and the Peasant's Daughter

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