The Tale of the Woodcutter Sultanala

THE WOODCUTTER SULTANALY

Once upon a time, there was a woodcutter named Sultanaly. When the time came for him to marry, he took as his wife the daughter of a poor man, just like himself. Her name was Umsunay. They formed an ordinary young family, as they say, two poor people and one horse. Later, they had a son whom they named Myrza.

To feed his family, Sultanaly had to work twice as hard, but the money he earned was barely enough to survive. Sultanaly really wanted to save some money to organize at least a small feast in honor of his son's birth.

Oh, how he dreamed of throwing a feast and inviting guests! These dreams never left him for a moment—whether he was resting, working, or even sleeping.

One day, he stumbled upon a large clearing filled with thick dry grass. After chopping a huge bundle, he tied it tightly and tried to lift it onto his back, but he couldn't manage it; he lacked the strength. Sultanaly was sweating. At that moment, a passerby on the road curiously asked if he lacked the strength to lift the gathered grass.

Sultanaly got angry and shouted at the stranger:
— If you have such a compassionate heart, you should help me carry this grass to my home!

— Don't be angry, — the stranger replied calmly, — and don't take offense. I know all your innermost thoughts.

You dream of throwing a big feast in honor of your son, but you have no money for it, and you are suffering, worrying, and losing sleep over it. You have not seen anything good in life, and that's why you fear that you will leave this world with nothing. Listen to good advice. Do you see that big stone over there? Lift it and take out from the hole a tablecloth, a robe, and a magic coin. Take them for yourself, and everything you ask from the heavens, you will find here on earth.

— So, if I sell them at the market, will the money be enough to throw a feast for my son? — Sultanaly asked, not believing his ears.

— Never sell them for any money! — exclaimed the stranger. — The tablecloth will feed you with whatever your soul desires, and whenever you want. The robe, as soon as you put it on, will make you invisible. And the coin is needed for this: climb onto the roof and throw it, and in the place where it falls, you will find a secret door that will open a path underground. If you follow the road, you will see a beautiful garden with ripe fruits. Only pick the fruits that are on your right side, and do not touch those on the left. Be careful not to mix them up. You have worked hard in life, so I decided to help you. Now farewell.

And the stranger disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared. For a while, Sultanaly stood in thought—was this all real or just a figment of his excessive fatigue? Curiosity got the better of him. He approached the stone, strained himself, lifted it, and reached in up to his elbow, but found nothing. He was afraid to reach further: what if he couldn't hold the stone and it crushed him? He went home to call his wife for help.

They returned together. They lifted the stone. Umsunay held it, while Sultanaly crawled under it almost up to his waist until he felt the tablecloth, robe, and coin. Emerging from under the stone with his findings, Sultanaly looked questioningly at his wife, as if asking: should we test the magic of these things now?

— How I would love to eat a couple of pastries made from flaky dough, baked in butter, — Umsunay said.

— As you wish, — said Sultanaly and unfolded the tablecloth, saying: — I want pastries made from flaky dough, baked in butter!

And immediately, a mountain of pastries appeared on the tablecloth. Then Sultanaly asked for meat, fruits, hot tea...

From that day on, the family of Sultanaly lived well, without worrying about food. They were able to sell firewood and save part of the money they earned.

One day, Sultanaly decided to test the magic of the robe. He put it on and went to the city, to the market. First, he approached a seller of pastries. He lingered around him, and then, gathering his courage, he took one pastry, but the seller did not notice anything, as if Sultanaly was not standing next to him, as if his mountain of pastries had not decreased by one.

After eating the pastry, Sultanaly continued walking among the market stalls, where he took an apple and ate it, where he picked a bunch of grapes, remaining unnoticed all the while.

Suddenly, he saw a thief who had stolen money from someone, retreating to a secluded corner to count it. "Ah," thought Sultanaly, "if I take the stolen money from the thief, it won't be a great sin." Approaching the thief, he took the money from him, and the thief only frowned, trying to understand whether he had had any money or not. Sultanaly then went to the place where the beggars usually gathered, asking for alms, and shared all the money he had taken from the thief with them.

Later, he encountered an important qadi—a man who judged according to Sharia law. Snatching the silk scarf from his head, Sultanaly put a dirty rag on him, and he continued walking, not noticing anything, even as people rolled on the ground with laughter at such a strange sight.

Having had enough fun and returning many things to those who had lost them, Sultanaly returned home and told his wife everything.

Time passed, and Sultanaly decided to test the magic of his coin. He climbed onto the roof and threw the coin far away.

He approached the place where it fell and saw a door leading underground. After thinking for a moment, he followed the road that opened before him. As the stranger had said, a garden with many fruit trees appeared before him. After eating his fill of apples that grew to his right, Sultanaly saw figs on the left and remembered that Umsunay loved them very much, so on his way back, he picked a few.

But as soon as his wife ate one fruit, she turned to stone in an instant. Sultanaly was upset, almost losing his mind over the fact that Umsunay had turned to stone after eating just one fruit. Then, with the help of the coin, he returned to the magical garden, picked fruits from the right side, and put one in the mouth of his stone wife, and she regained her former appearance.

From that day on, Sultanaly and Umsunay lived in complete abundance. They had plenty of food. Sultanaly sold the firewood he had prepared at the market, and Umsunay sold the fruits gathered from the garden.

The time came, and Sultanaly finally threw a feast in honor of his son. Since he could feed countless people, he even decided to invite the khan to the feast.

The khan looked at the abundance of food and realized that the woodcutter had some kind of magic. To find out more about it, he suggested to Sultanaly that they become friends and visit each other more often.

Sultanaly gladly agreed. Over time, he could not help but rejoice as he watched his son play happily with the khan's daughter, Aizhamal.

One day, Sultanaly and Umsunay went out on errands, leaving the children alone. Myrza and Aizhamal decided to enjoy melons from someone else's garden. But as soon as they picked a melon, the owner came running and grabbed Aizhamal by the hand. To rescue her, Myrza ran home, took the magic robe, and, returning, covered himself and Aizhamal with it. After that, they not only enjoyed the ripe melons to their heart's content but also took as many as they could carry. When Aizhamal returned home in the evening, she told her father everything without hiding anything. After listening to his daughter, the khan said:
— If you bring me that robe, I will give you golden earrings.

The daughter did as her father asked, and he, having tested the robe, hid it away securely.

One day, Sultanaly and Umsunay went to visit a neighbor. The children, having played enough, became hungry. Myrza took out the magic tablecloth and fed Aizhamal.

She returned home in the evening and told her father everything. This time, he promised his daughter a golden ring, and soon the tablecloth ended up with the khan.

While Sultanaly did not worry much about the magic robe, he felt the loss of the tablecloth immediately. To make matters worse, the khan stopped visiting him and forbade his daughter from playing with Myrza. Sultanaly then realized who had stolen his magical items and decided to take revenge on the khan.

Taking a large bag with him, on one of the cold winter days, he headed to the magical garden. There, he picked the most exquisite fruits from the left side and came to the khan's palace with them.

The khan and his courtiers were astonished to see such beautiful fruits in the deep winter; they eagerly pounced on them and immediately turned to stone. Sultanaly then took the khan's throne and began to rule fairly and justly, thus living a long and happy life.

Kyrgyz Tales