In ancient times, there was a poor farmer living with his daughter in a small house. The city’s ruler had granted them a small piece of land to farm and live from its produce. One day, while the farmer was plowing the land, he found a beautiful golden box. When he opened it, he found it empty. He told his daughter that he intended to give it to the ruler as a gift.
His daughter said to him not to do that because if the ruler found the box empty, he would think they had taken what was inside it. But he didn’t listen to her advice and went quickly to the ruler’s palace. He gave him the box and said to him that he had found it in the land the ruler had granted him. The ruler asked him what was inside the box. When the farmer showed him that the box was empty, the king didn’t believe him and thought he was lying to him, so he ordered his imprisonment.
While he was in prison, he talked to his guard and told him his story and that he felt regret because he hadn’t listened to his daughter’s wise words. The guard went to the king and told him about the farmer’s daughter, saying she was wise. This sparked the king’s curiosity, and he wanted to see if the girl was truly wise or if the farmer was lying again.
The ruler sent for the girl. When she entered his council, she pleaded with him to release her father. The king told her that he would release her father and marry her if she solved the riddle he would ask her, which was to come to him without clothes but not naked, without riding a horse or a cart, and without walking in the street.
The farmer’s daughter agreed and said to him that she would come to him the next day after solving the riddle. She went and wrapped her whole body with ropes. She tied her hand to the horse’s bridle and walked on the edge of the land separating the field and the road. When she reached the ruler, he realized she was indeed wise and was quickly impressed by her clever solution. He married her immediately and released her father.
One day, the king was walking in the street to check on the subjects when he found a small child crying. He asked him the reason for his crying. The child said to him, “This man is taking my foal.” The man said to him, “The foal is under his cow, and thus it’s his property.” The ruler believed him and decided to take the cow owner’s foal.
The child decided to seek the help of the ruler’s wise wife. The next day, while the king was checking on the subjects’ condition, he found the child holding a net and fishing in the middle of the road. The ruler was amazed by the child’s action and asked him, “What are you doing with the net on dry land?” The child said to him, “If a cow can give birth to a foal, then I can catch fish from the middle of the road.”
The ruler was amazed by the child’s cunning but thought that someone had guided him to this trick. He said to him, “I’ll return the foal to you on the condition that you tell me who guided you to this trick.” The child told him that the ruler’s wife herself was the one who guided him to this idea. The ruler became angry with his wife because she interfered in the affairs of rule and asked her to take what she held most dear and leave the palace.
She asked his permission to spend one last night with him, then leave. He agreed to that. In the evening, she prepared a drink for him and put a drug in it. When he fell asleep, she placed him in a box and carried him with her to her father the poor farmer’s home. When the king woke up, he found himself in this humble house with his wife beside him.
He asked her why she had done that. She said to him that she had been asked to take with her what she held most dear, and that he was what she held most dear. The ruler was impressed by his wife’s wisdom and intelligence. He returned her with him to the palace and made her a minister and advisor to him.