As the sun set, the woodcutter cast his thoughts over all that had happened to him in the past weeks. Some people were kinder, though, and even threw him scraps of food. The woodcutter had to suffer the taunts and jeers of the passersby. Then they locked his feet in the stocks and left him there. They arrested the woodcutter and carried him off to a public square in front of the prison. But an hour later, soldiers came to the door. ![]() The woodcutter’s daughter ran home in tears. “You’re a thief and a liar too! I’ll show you what happens to people of your kind! Get out of my sight!” “You stole my necklace! You must have taken it when we went for our swim!” She turned angrily to the woodcutter’s daughter. But when she came out, she forgot all about it.Ī few days later at the palace, the princess looked for the necklace but couldn’t find it. The princess took off her necklace and hung it on a branch overlooking the water. There was a small lake there, so they decided to go for a swim. One day, the princess went on a picnic to one of her father’s private gardens, and she brought along the woodcutter’s daughter. He bought a nice house, and he didn’t have to gather thorn bushes anymore.īut somehow he forgot what the dervish told him.Ī month went by. With the gifts the princess gave her, she and her father became quite rich. ![]() So the woodcutter’s daughter became a handmaiden of the princess. “Yes, Your Highness,” the girl said, blushing. “What a pretty little girl!” said a royal young lady. She was strolling down a broad path when a carriage stopped beside her. Then one morning, when the woodcutter had gone to the desert and his daughter had finished her housework, she decided to go walking in a public park. “Father, where have you been? Oh, please come inside! I was so worried!”Ī few days passed, while the woodcutter and his daughter enjoyed the many date cakes he bought after selling his wood. That way, you both will be helped.”Īs the woodcutter stared at the empty spot, the door to his house swung open. Then share what you have, and tell a tale of Mushkil Gusha. If you want your good fortune to continue, here’s what you must do: Every Friday eve, find someone in need. “You may not know it,” the dervish went on, “but Mushkil Gusha is already helping you. The holy man took some roasted chickpeas and raisins from his pouch and handed them to the woodcutter. “That’s right, old man-the ‘Remover of Difficulties.’” The woodcutter said, “Why, Friday eve, of course.” And in all that time, I’ve had nothing to eat.” “Holy sir, for three days I have gone out to gather thorn bushes, and for three days I have come home too late to get into my house. He looked up to see a dervish in a long green robe and a tall green cap. The woodcutter sank to the doorstep and wept. How many date cakes we’ll have then!”īut yet again he took too long, and yet again the door was bolted when he got back. “There’s no sense wasting a day,” he said. So again he had to sleep on the doorstep. But again he took longer than he meant to, and when he got back, it was dark and the door was bolted. So he left his load and went back to the desert to gather more bushes. Then I can sell twice as much and buy even more date cakes.” He told himself, “I might as well go out right now and get another big load of wood. Next morning, the woodcutter awoke while it was still dark. So he had to sleep outside on the doorstep. ![]() What’s more, when he reached his house, he found that his daughter had already bolted the front door and gone to bed. It was too late to go to the marketplace. But he took longer than he meant to.īy the time he got back with the wood, darkness had fallen. So the woodcutter walked farther that day to gather more thorn bushes. “I’ll just gather some extra wood today.” “I think I could do that, my dear,” said the woodcutter. ![]() Do you think you could buy us some date cakes?” But just once, it would be nice to have something special. One morning, the woodcutter’s daughter said, “Father, we always have enough to eat. In this way, he earned barely enough for the two of them. Every day, the woodcutter went out to the desert to gather camel‑thorn bushes, then sold them in the marketplace as firewood. Once in the royal city of Isfahan, there was an old woodcutter who lived alone with his young daughter.
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