M39a6b. The Crooked Tower and the Master's Daughter-in-law .16.23.29.30.

The ruler, to whom the master builder went to work, is going to kill or maim him. The master asks to send a person to his house asking him to bring a forgotten instrument or something else. The daughter-in-law understands the true meaning of the request, captivates the messenger and saves her father-in-law.

Irish, Scottish, British, Nepalese, Ingush, Chechens, Georgians, Azerbaijanis, Sarykol residents.

Western Europe. Irish: Davies 1859 (County Clare) [Gobawn Saer {=Goban Saor: Legendary Old Irish Master Builder} and his son arrived in the country where the palace was being built; GS helped him the builders installed the beams and went on; the king sent messengers to pick him up - invited him to complete the construction and promised a reward; GS got to work with his son; before starting travels, GS found a smart wife for him; gave him sheepskin and told him to sell it in town; at the same time told him to go back with both the skin and the money for it; the son tried unsuccessfully to find a buyer; I met a girl who, after finding out what was going on, cut off her hair, returned the skin and gave money for the wool she had received; GS married her son to this girl; she gave her husband two tips: 1) on the way" shorten the road" for his father; 2) do not spend the night in any house for more than two nights without enlisting the favor of one of the women who live in it; while traveling, GS was tired, the son suggested that he "shorten the road" (but didn't know how to do it); GS asked him to tell a story; when they stayed with the king, GS's son secured the princess's favor; when construction was nearing completion , the king decided to kill GS and his son so that they would not build the same palace for another ruler; the princess informed GS's son and he told his father; GS told the king that it took to complete the work an instrument he forgot at home; the king forbade him to go after it, GS agreed that the prince should do so; told him to borrow an instrument called Cur-an-Aigh-an-Cuim from his daughter-in-law (" This sentence <... > has since become proverbial in Ireland"; no translation); the daughter-in-law was suspicious of this; she found out that her husband and father-in-law were in danger and imprisoned the prince; the king released GS and his son and provided them with expensive gifts; when they returned home, the prince was released]: 106-109; Greene 1909 (Kildare County) [Gubbawn Seer gave his son sheepskin and said he would not allow him to marry until he returns the same skin and the money for it; the son tried unsuccessfully to find a buyer; met a girl who, after finding out what was going on, cut off her hair, returned the skin and gave money for the wool received; GS married his son to this girl; when they went to work, GS told his son to shorten the road; he did not understand, they returned home; the son's wife explained: when the father repeats the request, start joke or sing; son did so, GS was pleased; the English king called on them to build a huge building; did not want a similar structure anywhere else in England, and decided to execute GS and his son when they finished the work; upon learning of this, GS told the king that a tool called "Twist against twist" was needed to complete the construction and that he should go after it; the king does not agreed, entrusted it to GS son and prince; the instrument allegedly lay in a large chest; GS son wanted to get it, his wife told him to remove his little short hands and give way to the prince with his with long, graceful hands; when the prince put his hands into the chest, grabbed it by the heels, threw it inside and closed the lid; then sent a message to the king: if he does not let GS go, the prince will be executed; the king released GS]: 172-174; Jacobs 2002 (the text was recorded in the second half of the 19th century in London - probably Irish) [Gobborn Seer had a son named Jack; Gobborn Seer once sent him to sell him sheepskin and ordered to bring back both the skin itself and the money for it; for two days, D tried to do so unsuccessfully; on the third, he met a girl who, having found out what was going on, cut off the wool from her skin, took her to himself, and D paid for her; he returned home, GS was happy, invited D to marry this girl; when they got married, GS and D went to the king, who wanted to build the best castle; in Ways GS asked, "Could you shorten the road for me?" ; D did not understand the request, GS sent him home; at home, D told his wife about the incident, who explained that she should have told his father a story; then told him what to tell his father; D caught up with him, did as his wife said; on her own advice, GS and D were polite to the court servants during the construction of the castle; when the construction was nearing completion, the domestic worker warned GS and D that the king is going to kill them so they don't build the same castle for another king; GS told the king that completing the construction requires a tool left at home; offered to send after him, D, the king refused, decided to send his son; GS sent a message with him to wife D: "Give him Curved and Straight!" (Give him Crooked and Straight!) ; wife D asked the royal son to help her get the tool out of the chest, and ended up locking it inside (so there he was, both "crooked and straight!") ; while sitting there, he wrote a letter to his father saying he would be released when GS and D returned home; GS and D eventually returned home]: 230-233; Kennedy 1866 [King Munster called Goban Saor for palace buildings; GS knew that the king had killed several architects to prevent them from building a palace like his, so talked to his wife alone before heading out with son; on the way, they stayed overnight at the house of a farmer who had two daughters; GS advised them to keep the old woman's head hooked above the hearth and warm themselves in the morning while working; also told them to take the sheepskin, go to the market, and go back with the skin and the money for it; on their way, GS and his son met carpenters who tried to obey the king's order - build a wooden bridge without stakes or nails; GS helped them do it; when they arrived at the king, GS and his son set about building the palace; when the work was nearing completion, one of the carpenters came to GS, whom he helped build the bridge; the carpenter warned that when the palace was ready, the king would kill GS; GS told the king that a tool was needed to complete the construction, which was kept in his house, and offered to send a prince to pick him up (otherwise he would have to go after him personally, because his son is said to be ill, and his wife would entrust the instrument only to a man of royal blood); the king entrusted this to the prince; GS told the name of the instrument ("The Goban told him some outlandish name in Irish, which his wife would find at his bed's head"); a few days later, two of those came to the king who accompanied the prince; said that the GS wife would not let the prince go until her husband returned home safe and sound; the king agreed; GS completed the palace and went back with his son; on the way visited the house of a farmer who had two daughters; asked them if they found his advice useful and what they did with sheep skin; the first brought a woman's skull into the house from the cemetery (he frightened everyone, returned them back), while combing the linen on a cold morning, she threw some of the flax into the fire (received a thrashing from her mother), went with her skin to the market and tried to sell it under these conditions (she was ridiculed there); the second girl sheltered an elderly relative, moved her arms and legs vigorously while working, so she warmed herself, took the skin to the market, sold her wool, and came back with the same skin; GS announced that he marries his son to this girl]: 68-72; Gregory 1905-1906 (Galway County) [the king called on Goban Saor to build a castle; daughter-in-law advised one of the women living in royal house; GS followed her advice; when the castle was almost ready, a woman with whom GS had a relationship said that the king was going to go to the trick and planned to kill him or put him in prison to prevent him from building another castle like this; the king told GS to make a cat with two tails; GS replied he could do it when he completed the castle, but to complete the construction, it takes an instrument he left at home; only a prince can be sent for it, as the instrument cannot be trusted by anyone else; before the prince set off, GS sent him a message for his daughter-in-law : the required tool is called "When you open it, shut it"; the daughter-in-law was surprised because there was no such tool in the house and regarded the name as an indication of action; invited the prince to take a look at a large chest and find the tool; then pushed it and slammed the lid shut; wrote to the king that she would only free the prince when her father-in-law and husband returned; they were sent home]: 75-76; Mac Gr& #233; ine 1930, No. 4 (Longford County) [the king called Gobán Saor to build the tower; GS appeared with his son; when construction was nearing completion, GS found out that the king was going to plant he and his son go to jail so that no one else would have such a tower; GS told the king that a special tool was required to complete the work and that his wife would not entrust this secret tool to anyone else, except himself or his son; the king offered to send a servant; GS said a prince could do it; the king agreed, GS told the prince to contact his wife and ask "The Crooked and the Straight "; the prince did so, the GS wife invited him to get the instrument out of the chest; when the prince put his head in there, shoved it inside and closed the lid; GS reported this, who told the king, his king let go]: 262-263; Kelly 1999 [Gobán Saor was looking for a smart wife for his son; told him to sell sheepskin and forbid him to return without the same skin and money for it; the son met a girl who skinned the wool and bought it from him; GS married her son to this girl; the English king called on GS to build a palace; he went to England with his son; on the way asked the son could not shorten the road; they returned home; the next day everything happened again; the son's wife explained: the father wants you to tell him a story and sing a song; on the third morning they went again, son he did so; when he arrived at the king, he wanted to check if GS was really in front of him; ordered the cat with the tail to be carved on a flat stone; GS carved a cat with two tails; during construction, the king asked GS whether it was true that every new palace he built was better than the previous one; GS confirmed his words; a woman working at the royal house told GS that as soon as the palace was ready, the king executes him along with his son; GS told the king that a tool called "Cor in aghaidh an chaim" was needed to complete the construction; the king ordered the translation, GS explained: "The twist against crookedness", and added that he had forgotten it at home; the king did not allow him to go after him, he instructed his son to do so; he came to his wife GS, she invited him to find the tool at the bottom of the chest, pushed and she closed it in it; said she would not let go until her husband and father-in-law returned home, and told her to write a letter; the prince agreed, his wife sent him a letter to GS, he returned soon]: 23-27; Larminie 1893 ( Achill Island off Ireland's west coast) []: 1-9; Ó Cianáin 1933 (1930? Mullahmore, Sligo County) [Gobán Saor sent his son to sell the sheep; ordered him to return with both skin and pay; the son tried to do so unsuccessfully for two days; on the third he met a girl , who, when she found out what was going on, bought a sheep, skinned it and returned it to her son GS; he came home, told his father; he advised her to marry the girl, the son did so; the English king commanded GS arrive to build the castle; during the journey, GS asked his son to shorten the road; the son replied that he could not do so; GS decided that both returned home; GS wife {wife, not daughter-in-law} explained to her son that a story should have been told; the next day we went again; GS asked for a short road, the son began to tell stories; when construction was nearing completion, the king asked GS , is there a better castle in the world; GS replied that if completed, it could be the most beautiful, but it requires a tool he forgot at home; the king sent his son to pick it up with GS son; GS told them the name of the thing they wanted (cam i n-aghaidh a' caim, agus an dighe i n-aghaidh an árda) and said his wife would give it to them; they came to GS house and passed GS words to his wife; she took the prince to the basement entrance and invited him to come in to pick up the instrument; when he came in, she slammed the doors shut and said he would remain in captivity until GS will return home; after the king let GS go, the prince was released; from the collector's comment: Asked what digh e mean, he {narrator} said: "Drink: Water". It is perhaps the genitive of deoch. Asked if the word might be uisce or struth, he said: "No: digh e was the word". He apparently makes árd a the genitive of árd. Dinnen gives (s.v. Cam) Cor i n- aghaidh an chaim, as meaning "trick for trick"]: 164-166; Kharitonov 2008 [master Gob-en-Shore's father chose a bride for him ; each girl was given three tasks; 1) to distinguish the lower end of the willow twig from the upper one if they are the same thickness; 2) take a herd of sheep to the fair and return both the herd and the cost; 3) get closer to chariot to the edge of the abyss without causing concern; girl: throw a twig into the river (the lower end is heavier, it will turn downstream); 2) shear sheep and sell wool; 3) stay away from the abyss; after G. went to build a palace in Spain; his wife advised him to be friends with women, they know all the secrets; G. found out that he would be killed when he finished the palace; G. told the king that the wall was slightly crooked, but he invented a tool to straighten it; the king does not let him in; then G. suggests that the king send his son; the tool is called "hook-and-rope" (hellish, a hint of bad ideas); the wife is all I got it; she asked the Spanish prince to get the instrument out of the chest, pushed it there, exchanged it for her husband]: 119-122; Scots (North Ouist Gales, Outer Hebrides) [{from an English resume to Gaelic audio recordings}; Boban Saor sent his son to the market with the sheep; ordered him to earn a shilling and return the sheep; a young man met a girl who cut off the sheep's hair and returned them to him; BS advised her to marry, her son did so; BS and his son went to Ireland to build a castle for the lord; the son, remembering his wife's advice, started a relationship with a local girl; she told him that he and they plan to kill his father instead of rewarding him; BS told the Lord that there is a crack in the wall that cannot be fixed without the special tool he has at home; the lord did not allow him for go to him, sent his son; BS's wife understood the message and held the Lord's son captive until BS and his son were paid off and they returned home]: MacDougall 1957; Scots (South Wist gals, Outer Hebrides) [{from English Gaelic audio resume}; Boban Saor told his son to sell the sheep and bring them back; the girl bought them, cut their hair off, gave them back to her son BS ; they got married; BS took on with his son to build a castle for the French king; when the work was almost done, the young man found out that the king would not pay them and would kill them; BS said that his son or the king's son must go to get an instrument he had left at home; the daughter-in-law realized that trouble had happened and locked the prince in her room; kept it there until BS and his son returned home, after receiving a payment for the work]: MacLellan 1959; [{from an English summary to an audio recording in Gaelic}; Boban Saor instructed his son to sell twelve sheep, each for a shilling; he could not find a buyer; met two girls, one of whom gave him money for the sheep, cut off their hair and then gave them back to him; BS told his son to marry her, he agreed; BS and his son went to Lochlann {probably meaning Norway} to build a castle; BS told her son to have a relationship with a local girl; she said they would be hanged after the work was completed; BS sent Laird's son to Ireland for a thing that required to complete the castle; the messenger was captured; remained in captivity until BS son was released]: MacIntyre 1966; Scots (Gaelic diaspora in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia) [Boban Saor and his son went to build a castle for the king; BS son, remembering his wife's advice, seduced one of the maids; she found out that the king was not going to pay the builders and that they might not be able to return home; told BS's son, who told his father; BS told the king that completing the construction required a tool that was kept in his house; the king offered to send a servant; BS: the wife would not trust tool for anyone, I have to go alone or with my son; king: I'll send my son; he got home BS, told his wife he told BS: I need a tool called "Turn alike and turn for turn, and the little tool will not come over here until the big tool goes over there"; his wife took him to the entrance to the room, offered to come in; when he did, she locked the door; losing her son, the king asked BS what was going on; BS: your son will be my wife's prisoner until I get home and until you pay us for our work; BS and his son got paid, came home]: MacNeil 1987, no. 15:58-60; [from commentary to text No. 15: "This is the most popular of many stories told in Scotland and Ireland concerning Boban (or Goban) Saor, a carpenter of legendary skill. In Cape Breton, versions were recorded from Joe Allan MacLean (70A1 28/4/78) of Rear Christmas Island, Cape Breton County, and Sandy William MacDonald (109A12-110A1 20/10/78)"]: MacNeil 1987:243-244; the British [Gobborn Seer ordered his son Jack to sell the sheep's skin and bring both the skin and what was paid for it; the girl who washed the clothes advised him to sell wool, return his father's leather and money; father married her son; the king tells them to build a castle; GS offers Jack to shorten the road; Jack does not know how to do it, the father sends him home; the wife explains that he should start a conversation; GS with the son has almost completed the castle; the servant said that the owner of the castle is going to kill them so that there will be no more locks like them; GS tells the king that he cannot finish the work; he must send his son to get the tool ; the king offers to send a servant; GS: he can't do it; and my son? GS agrees to this; tells her daughter-in-law to ask Crooked and straight; Jack's wife asked for help to get her "crooked straight", pushed her into the chest; the king's son had to write to his father that he would return if will let GS go with their son; they were released]: Jacobs 1894:60-64.

South Asia. Nepali [the carpenter has three sons, the youngest is stupid; the father orders to kill a sheep and bring food from the market; the son does not understand, falls asleep on the road, hears two girls talking; one knows him problem: the father meant to sell the sheep, buy food with this money; the father marries the son to this girl; the father and sons go to another area, tells them to cut down the mountain; the sons do not understand, they are returning home; the youngest's wife: he meant to tell stories so as not to notice the road; the sons went again, the father is happy with the youngest; the sons are building a pagoda, the king is happy, but tells the builders to cut off their hands, so that they cannot build anything like this; the father replies that they have already sent their hands home, their youngest daughter-in-law keeps them; the king sent his son to ask her for hand; his daughter-in-law locked him: if they will cut off the carpenters's hands, she will cut off the prince's hands; the king canceled the order]: Sakya, Griffith 1980:127-129.

Caucasus - Asia Minor. The Ingush [the master married his son; they went to build a tower; on the way he asks his son to shorten the road; he does not know how; then to bring a horse - we do not have a horse; the father tells his son to divorce; so several times; the last wife explains: shorten the road - start a conversation, bring a horse - give a staff; the father is happy with his daughter-in-law; they are building a tower at the prince; the father anticipates that they will want to kill them in order to not to pay; tells the son to meet the prince's daughter; the prince's daughter fell in love and warned of the father's intentions; the father deliberately lays out the top of the tower crooked; the prince sends the master son and servant to the house by the master's errand: everything is fine; let the daughter-in-law send a lever to straighten the towers; let the crow go from home and keep the falcon locked until we return; after finishing work, we will return home; daughter-in-law I understood: there is no such lever, there is no crow or falcon in the house; I tell you to tie the prince's son, and send the servant back: if you do not let the craftsmen go and pay them, we will kill our son; the tower is finished, we have received the money, the prince was released honorably]: Malsagov 1983, No. 58:208-210; Chechens [A.O. Malsagov's comment on Ingush text No. 58: "A similar version was published in an abbreviated form in the Chechen record writer X. Oshayev in Chechen under the same name" (Chechen folklore /Comp. C. Elmurzaev. Grozny, 1964. T. II. C. 121); father and son lived, tower builders; son got married; went on the road, the father said: "If you don't give me a horse and shorten the road, I won't be able to go any further"; "I don't have a horse and I can't go any further"; "I don't have a horse, and I can't shorten the road," answered the son; we returned home many times; my daughter-in-law found out about this and gave advice to her husband: "When you are on the road and your father gets tired, put {leather shoes} in his dudes straw will be a horse for your father; if you give him a staff in your hands and have good conversations, they will shorten the road"; my husband did so; they hired a rich man together with his father to build a tower for sixty cows; when they were finishing construction, my father heard that they wanted to be killed; then they began to build the tower at random; the prince became angry; "We have a lever at home that can straighten the crooked tower. Five men and forty oxen should be sent for this lever," said the father; the prince complied with the request; when these five arrived for the lever, the daughter-in-law realized that her husband and father-in-law were in trouble; with fellow villagers detained four, and sent the fifth back and said: "Here's a lever for you, prince, to straighten bad people"]: Malsagov 1983:345; Chechens [the prince contracted an old mason to build a tower ; the old man had a son; he married him to his neighbor's daughter before going to the prince; after the wedding he took his son and went to work; on the way he was tired, said to him: "Give me a horse or shorten the road"; the son replied: "Father, How can I give you a horse when I don't have one, and how can I shorten the road God created?" ; the old man got angry and returned home; the son told his wife everything, who said that his father was stupid in his old age; the next morning the old man asked his son which of them his wife considered right; the son told him the wife's answer; the old man drove her away and told her son to marry another; the same with the second wife; the third wife explained to her husband: "Instead of a horse, you would offer your father a stick, and shorten the road with an entertaining story"; the old man was pleased with his daughter-in-law's answer, went to the prince with his son; when the tower was half ready, the prince's employee told the old man that as soon as the construction was completed, the prince would kill him and him son, so as not to pay them money; the old man continued to work, but the tower began to come out crooked; prince: "The tower may collapse - your walls are crooked"; the old man: "This is because I forgot the weights at home. I will have to go get them"; the prince sent his son and his servant to the old man to go get weights; the old man to the princely son: "Please tell my daughter-in-law: let her be one of the two birds she has on tie, the falcon will tie it more tightly, and let the daw, a useless bird, go wild"; when she heard these words, the daughter-in-law understood what was going on; ordered her servants to seize the princely son, and sent the servant to the prince:" Tell the prince that if he does not let my husband and old father go home right away, I will kill the young prince"; the prince was frightened and sent the old mason and his son home]: Kharuzina 1898:247-248; Georgians (Kartli) [father wants to test his son: carry me (he told me a fairy tale); buy six-nickle horses (my son bought wine); find one friend for yourself and one for me (my son cut off two sticks make staffs); father: the field is good; son: it is eaten; we saw salt that the river does not melt, and the girl, she mows a little; father: the house is good, but the roof is slightly mowed; girl: but the smoke is going straight; your son is right - the owner of the field is in debt; water is wife, salt is husband, a good wife's salt does not melt; the father married his son to this girl; the father and son went to build a royal palace; he did not like something, he put both in prison; father to the king: I have a car at home, it will fix everything; send your son - my daughter-in-law will not give it to anyone else; let her tell me to send something to correct the lie; my daughter-in-law ordered to seize the prince; the king had to let go masters and pay them]: Chikovani 1954, No. 66:325-327 (=Kurdovanidze 1988 (2), No. 110:194-195); Georgians (Kartli?) [the carpenter built a house on a high pole; the house rotated from morning to evening, illuminated from all sides by the sun; the carpenter married his son a noble daughter; on the way he asked the son to bring an assistant from the forest; son left, returned with nothing; the carpenter ordered to ask the bride, who also did not understand the request; the carpenter said that she would be of no use, married his son for a princely daughter; sent him to the city, punished: "For two If you buy a penny for a horse and save it for him, it will be easier to overcome the way back"; the guy replied that this is impossible; the old man told me to ask the bride; she was angry; the carpenter said that such a bride was not for them he would come up, married the royal daughter; went with his son to harvest corn, offered to carry each other one by one; the son did not understand, kept silent; the corn grew good, the old man tanned: "Oh, how are we winter Shall we live? After all, we will not bring half of the harvest home"; the son did not understand, asked the bride to explain; she was angry; the father ordered her to be abandoned, the son agreed, went to look for a new one; met a peasant girl , she explained: "My father asked you to bring him an assistant from the woods. You would cut off a dogwood branch, make a staff, so be his assistant! Of course, you can't buy a horse for two kopecks. If you buy bread and wine, a long journey on a full stomach is much shorter, you will quickly overcome it like on a horse! And when my father wanted you to carry each other, he suggested telling fairy tales one by one - a long way to while away. And corn is not difficult to understand, because half of the harvest is used to pay debts"; the guy married her; the king told the carpenter and his son to build a house on a high pole; they built a house that from morning to morning the evenings were spinning, the sun was illuminated from all sides; the king was afraid that the carpenter and his son would build the same house for someone else; decided not to let them go, find an excuse and put them in prison; carpenter sensed trouble, made the house stop spinning; said to the king: "I can't fix the breakdown without a retaliation chisel... Let us go home for the tool; the king did not agree; the carpenter: "Then go get your son's thing I need, my daughter-in-law will not trust her to anyone else. And let her tell her that the house I built for the king stopped spinning because of an unrighteous unrighteous man, and therefore we cannot return home; the prince came to his daughter-in-law, said why he was sent; daughter-in-law realized that the carpenter and his son were in danger; invited the prince into the house, locked him; sent people to tell the king: "Let my father-in-law go now and pay him for the work of Khurjini gold, or bad Your son will have to. I locked the prince with nine locks, and no one can unlock those locks"; the king agreed, the carpenter and his son returned home with gold]: Chikovani 1985:221-223 {the comment on page 355 says that the entry made by T. Razikashvili in Kartli, and there is a reference to text No. 83 from [Razikashvili 1909] (in cargo); the same data and the same reference are provided in the commentary to text No. 110 in [Kurdovanidze 1988 (2): 194-195]; however it is less obvious that texts from [Kurdovanidze 1988 (2): 194-195, =Chikovani 1954, No. 66:325-327] and [Chikovani 1985:221-223] are two different versions}; Azerbaijanis [the Shah built fortresses on the border and towers; each was built by a new master, and then the shah killed him because he was afraid that enemies would visit the secrets of the fortifications; when he decided to build another tower, the servants could not find a single master; The message reached the Isfahan mason Abdullah; he told his wife that he would go to the Shah and warned: "If I'm not lucky, I won't be able to do the job on my own, I'll send it to you"; came to the Shah, took up construction; built a tower with 88 doors and an inscription on each of them about some Shah's vice; when the tower was ready, A. asked the Shah for a fee; the shah refused to pay, ordered the guards grab the master; A. said: "In the tower I built, all the underground passages are bewitched. And their secret is unknown to anyone but me. And you didn't even ask how or how to open eighty-eight doors..."; when the Shah offered to tell everything, Abdullah said: "Each door has its own key, eighty-eight in total. No master in the world will give you such keys for any money. I'm the only one who has them, but I've left them at home. Send someone to Isfahan, let them take my wife's keys and bring them to you"; the Shah's messenger arrived in Isfahan; A.'s wife took him into the house; went through 12 rooms; in front of the door, the 13th woman said: "Oh dear Guest, come in here and wait for me. I'll be back soon to find out how I can serve you"; the messenger crossed the threshold and fell into the dungeon because there was no floor in the room - ropes were stretched instead of boards and a carpet lay over them; when he woke up, told A.'s sons that he had come for the keys; the sons realized that the father was in danger; asked the messenger what he could do; he replied that he could spin threads; they brought him wool; the Shah lost the messenger; find out , what was the matter, the vizier volunteered; came to A.'s house, also fell into the dungeon; began to paint the threads that the messenger was spinning; the Shah went by himself, A.'s wife did to him the same as with the messenger and vizier; A.'s sons asked him, what he could do; he replied that he knew how to weave carpets, they brought him a loom; A. returned home, went down to the dungeon; saw that one prisoner was spinning, the other was painting, and the third, the Shah, was weaving the carpet; A. ordered the Shah to write to the treasurer to pay double the wives of the murdered craftsmen; when the Shah did this, A. took him, along with the vizier and messenger, to the roof, threatened to throw him off; the Shah promised that no one else will not destroy; A. took pity, let all three go; the Shah became a good ruler]: Seyidov 1983:139-144 (=Gabulov 1987:154-158).

Iran - Central Asia. Lura [Shah Abbas dressed as a dervish, walked along the road, met an old man and they went together; asked who would shorten their journey; when he saw a wheat field: what kind of wheat it was if the owner had already eaten ears; seeing the funeral procession: O dead, if you did not die, would you be dead? crossing the river: which one of us will be a bridge? In an old man's village: Where is your mosque? (the old man pointed out); began to tell his daughter that he was walking with some madman; the daughter explained: who would start a conversation? the owner sold green wheat; if a person has a decent son or brother, he did not die; who would carry someone across the river; by mosque, the satellite meant a house; the daughter guessed it was SHA and told give him 12 bread and 12 eggs; he ate 3 loaves and 3 eggs on the way; SHA: Is your year 9 months old? the daughter tells me to bring SHA and give it to him; after the wedding, SHA left 3 days later, giving his wife a bead; if a boy is born, put it in his hand and tell him that his father is SHA Isfahan, who buys cheaply and sells at a high price, buys at a high price and sells cheaply; the son grew up, went looking for his father; met a herb collector (ST), stayed with him, but called himself not the son of SHA, but simply Abbas; ST called himself his father; the young man is tired of collecting herbs, he wants to go hunting; ST: but come back before dark, otherwise the gate will be closed and you will be eaten by a dragon; the young man chased the gazelle, did not have time to return; let the dragon swallow himself, holding his sword with his teeth and holding its ends with his hands, ripped the dragon apart; Ali's gatekeeper saw a dead dragon and a unconscious young man, beat him, left him in some ruins; the young man was found by a shoemaker, brought him to for himself, went out; now he called himself the father of a young man; the young man began to work in a pastry shop; a maid (or daughter?) , then the vizier's wife saw him; his wife ordered him to dig an underground passage through which the young man began to come to her; SHA saw this, wanted to execute the young man; the shoemaker said that the young man was his son, took it out and showed that bead; feast; guard Ali wrapped in leather and burned at the stake]: Amanolahi, Thackston 1986, No. 3:18-24; Persians: Osmanov 1987 [the padishah saw the girl, sent the vizier to marry her; but the girl's father scolded the vizier; then a shepherd was sent; he teaches the vizier to ask the girl to cook cooked without cooking, unspun yarn, not woven fabric; on the way, the shepherd asks the vizier which of them will be the stairs; with a bridge; the girl explains: it was necessary to start a conversation; who would carry the other across the river; the girl cooked half of the lamb scrotum, and served the other raw (the same with yarn, etc.); after the wedding, the padishah did not get along with his wife, but left, leaving a sealed box: by his return, instead of gems, it should contain simple stones; she herself must give birth to a child with him; the mare should bring a foal from a stallion on whom the Shah will leave; a slave to give birth to a ghulam whom the Shah will take with her; the daughter of a shepherd in men's clothes came to the Shah under the guise of Padishah Maghreb's son; each time she wins chess, receives a horse, a gulam, etc., when she happens, returns; receives the Shah's seal for a while; she comes under the guise of a slave; all tasks are completed for the return of the Shah; the padishah made the shepherd's daughter the eldest wife]: 222 -228; Romaskevich 1934a, No. 15 (Jews of Isfahan) [on the way, the sage offers his companion to put up a ladder to walk; they meet the deceased; sage: is he alive or dead? wheat turned green: was it eaten or not? when the companion came to her place, the daughter explains the meaning of the sage's words (to start a conversation, whether the deceased had a son, whether the landlord had debts); the sage married the companion's daughter for his son]: 84-85; Sarykoltsy (village. Tung, People's Republic of China, 1956) [The carpenter sent his son to the city to choose a wife; the son met a woman who gave him a melon on the tablecloth, told him to take the melon to his father and treat the guests with it for seven days; the son took the melon to his father, it was enough for seven guests who came for seven days; the father asked his son who gave the melon; then married him to that woman; the king sent a letter to the carpenter, told him to come and build a castle; the wife gave to the carpenter's son, a rose: "If I cheat on you, this rose will wither. If I remain faithful before your arrival, this flower will not wither in forty years. Day by day it will flourish"; the carpenter and his son came to the king, began to build a castle; the rich man asked the carpenter's son about the rose, he talked about his wife; they agreed: if her rich man seduce, the carpenter's son will get the rich man's wife and all his possessions; the rich man came to town, met an old woman; she promised to help him in exchange for gold, put two chickens under her arms and came to to the wife of the carpenter's son; said that every woman who protects her husband's honor starts to make such a sound (cackling); the wife agreed to meet the rich man, but then changed her mind; the old woman stuffed into sheep bowls and came back to the carpenter's son's wife; she was afraid that this would happen to her, agreed to meet the rich man, but the dog dissuaded her; the rich man returned to his country, gave it to his son the carpenter, his wife and property; when the castle was completed, the king gathered all the Vezirs and asked if there was a castle like him in the world; the Vezirs replied that there was no such castle yet and advised him to kill the carpenter and his son, so that there would never be a better castle anywhere; the poor man heard this conversation, warned the carpenter; he carved a wooden wedge and hammered it into the middle of the castle's pillar; the castle squinted ; the king saw it, called the carpenter; the carpenter said that the castle was squinting because either the king or his malicious intent at night; the king began to repent, the carpenter said: "Now I need a knockout Klin, if I had known this would happen, I would have taken it with me and he would have stayed at home. You now choose forty men from your veziers, and we will send them to my country for a wedge." The king sent forty vezirs home to the carpenter; the carpenter handed them a note for his daughter-in-law: "Because you my daughter-in-law, then give these forty people a wedge!" ; she understood the meaning of the note and thought, "My father-in-law and my husband must have been in trouble"; she carried twenty drank, twenty large axes, twenty bits, and told them they cut down and cut off the poplar, and then stood with their feet on the resulting log and hollowed out each groove the size of a foot; when they completed the task, the daughter-in-law said: "I will now run over your legs With this iron bolt, and this log, which will serve as a wedge, will take you in three hours right to the city where the master carpenter built the king's castle"; she ran that bolt over their feet and She chained them all to a log; the captives had swollen legs, they scolded their king; their daughter-in-law cut off one ear at a time and let them go; they became dervishes; when the messengers did not return to his city, the carpenter thought that their daughter-in-law had probably not given them a wedge, and made it himself; told the king that the wedge had fallen into the corner of the bag; knocked out the wedge from which the castle squinted; The king was happy and said: "I will give you twenty men, forty pack animals, I will equip you to your city, and you have come here as soon as possible those forty daring men of mine!" ; the carpenter and his son returned home safely]: Grunberg, Steblin-Kamensky 1976, No. 48:405-413.