Читать книгу Ossetian fairy tales in English онлайн
The Jinn King asked:
– “Well, have you found them?”
And they answered again:
– “We did not meet even local people on the way. Only in one place a priest and a deacon were performing divine service in a church, and we did not see anyone else.”
The Jinn King said:
– “It was them, but you did not recognize them. Now you won't be able to find them anymore! My daughter failed to recognize herself! She was a rascal and she ran away like a rascal! There's nothing we can do about her now, let's leave them.”
The daughter of the Jinn King recognized that the chase had turned back, and said to her husband:
– “Now let's go without fear!”
They came to his house. The old woman had already died, but her house under a thatched roof stood as before.
– “Here is our house for you!” – said the young man to his wife. “This is how poor I have lived!”
And his wife replied:
– “Property is a matter of time. Don't worry about that.”
She made a request to God:
– “Let there be tall houses on this spot before morning!”
And in the morning they woke up and saw tall houses. And the daughter of the Jinn King said again:
– “Let these houses be filled with gold ornaments as needed! Let there be garments for my husband of costly fabrics to dress himself from head to toe! And let the best of women's garments appear for myself, with two shifts!” And she also asked: “God, let there be a table the whole length of our house, filled with abundant food and drink!”
The husband and wife sat down at the table, partook of their food, and had heartfelt conversations with each other about their love. And they would not admire each other. Then she said again:
– “Let a guard stand at our doors, that we may be rid of idle visitors.”
So they made a life and live to this day.
As you have not seen them, so may you see no other misfortune, no other disease, and may God grant us a safe deliverance from this place.
The poor man and the rich khan
In ancient times, a certain man called his son to him and gave him three instructions: never take orphans into your home, but support them outside your family; never lend money to someone richer than you; never reveal your innermost thoughts to your wife.