Hit, My Mallet, Hit!

Hit, My Mallet, Hit!

Once upon a time, in a certain country, there lived a very, very poor woman. This woman had a daughter and a bald son.

One day, the boy asked his mother: "Mother, what job did my father do? How did he earn a living? I want to do the same job."

His mother said: "My son, your father was a woodcutter. He would take a load of wood to the city and sell it. He would bring us that money, and we would use it for bread." "Then I will do the same, Mother," said the boy.

The boy went out to cut wood. He gathered the wood, sold it in the city, and was returning home. On the road, he saw some children had caught a little kitten (pisik). He gave the children his money, took the kitten, and brought it home.

The boy's mother asked: "Son, where is the money for bread?" "Mother, I gave the money and bought this kitten," he said. His mother was angry: "Son, you gave the money for this kitten?" The boy replied: "Mother, you may say that, but God will provide for this little one too."

The next day, the boy again gathered wood and went to the city to sell it. On the way home, he saw that the children had a puppy this time. The children were playing with the puppy. He gave them the money he had and took the puppy. He brought it home too. This time, his mother was very upset with her son. The boy said to his mother: "Mother, our Creator knows about us. It's okay. Should I have left the puppy in the children's hands?"

The next day, on the same road, the boy saw a baby Serpent (snake) caught among the children. He felt sorry for the animal and saved it from the children. He said to the children: "I will give you some money; give the baby snake to me."

The children agreed. The boy saved the snake. The snake suddenly began to speak: "You saved me, and I will save you. My father is the Shah (King) of the Serpents. He will help you. If my father asks you what you wish for, ask him for the Black Donkey."

Although the boy didn't want to go, the snake insisted. Finally, the boy and the baby snake went to the Shah of the Serpents.

The father asked his son: "What is it, my son? Who is this human? Why did you bring this young man here?" The baby snake told his father everything that had happened: "Father, I had fallen into the children's hands. This young man saved me from them. This human bought me from the children with money. He saved my life, now you save his life."

The Shah of the Serpents asked the young man: "Very well... What do you wish for from me, young man?" "I earn my living by woodcutting. If you give me a Black Donkey, it will be enough. I can carry my wood with it and earn money for bread," he said.

The Shah of the Serpents accepted the young man's wish. He gifted the donkey to the young man.

The baby snake quickly whispered to the young man: "Say 'Cho, cho, cho' to the donkey until you reach your house door, but never say 'Whoa' (Çüş)! If you say 'Whoa,' the donkey will pile up gold wherever it is."

The boy took the donkey and set off. He kept saying "Cho, cho, cho," but after a while, he couldn't wait any longer and suddenly said, "Whoa!" The donkey immediately piled up gold all around itself! The young man couldn't believe what he saw. He collected the gold and excitedly went home.

He told his mother what happened. His mother warned her son not to tell anyone the secret. Then she said: "Take the wheat we have to the mill to grind it so we can bake bread and eat. This gold will be enough for us for a while."

The boy loaded the wheat onto his donkey and took it to the mill. The miller ground the wheat into flour. The blowing flour landed on the black donkey. The black donkey turned into a gray donkey!

The boy looked at his donkey and said: "This is not my donkey! You have swapped my donkey!" The miller said: "No, brother, it is your donkey, but if you want, you can take this black donkey," and he swapped the donkey.

The miller had heard the secret of the boy's donkey. That is why he played a trick on the boy and took his magical black donkey.

The boy took the other donkey home, saying "Cho, cho, cho." Then he said "Whoa!" but the donkey did not give any gold.

The boy cried and went to the baby snake: "Brother, they took my donkey away from me!" "Don't worry, let's go to my father. This time, ask him for the Small Table," the snake said.

They both went to the Shah. The baby snake said to his father: "Father, my brother's donkey was taken from him. He is very sad. Can you make him happy?" The Shah said: "Ask for whatever you wish, my son, and I will grant your desire." "Can you give me your Small Table?" the boy asked.

The Shah of the Serpents agreed to the young man's wish. The baby snake told his friend: "This is no ordinary table. If you say, 'Open, my table, open, let all kinds of food appear,' it will bring any meal you wish for you and your family."

The boy was very happy with what he heard. He took his table and went home. He showed his family the table's magic. He gave feasts to his neighbors with this table. Finally, the table's magic reached the ears of the Sultan (King). The Sultan came to the boy's house and took the table from him.

The boy, crying again, immediately went to the baby snake. He told him what happened. The baby snake said to his friend: "Let's go to my father. If he says, 'Ask for whatever you wish, and I will grant your desire,' this time, ask my father for the Mallet (Tokmak)."

They told the Shah what happened, and he said to the boy: "Ask for whatever you wish, my son, and I will grant your desire." "I wish for your Mallet, my Shah," he said.

They brought the Mallet and gave it to the young man. This time, the boy's friend said: "Brother, now take this Mallet and go to the miller. When you get there, say, 'Give me my donkey.' If he doesn't give it back, throw the Mallet into the air and say, 'Hit, my Mallet, hit!' The Mallet will fly up, fly high, teach the miller a lesson, and you will get your donkey back. Then, go to the Sultan's palace... They won't let you in. Throw the Mallet through the window. Say, 'Hit, my Mallet, hit!' The Mallet will fly up, fly high, teach the Sultan a lesson, and you will get your table back."

When the boy heard this, he went straight to the miller. He said to him: "You made me poor and without bread. Miller, come, give me my donkey." The miller said: "What donkey? I don't have any donkey to give you."

So, the boy said to his Mallet, "Hit, my Mallet, hit!" and released the Mallet. The Mallet flew up and up and taught the miller a lesson. Finally, the miller shouted: "Your donkey is in the barn, in the barn! Take it, just stop this Mallet!"

The boy got his donkey back. Then, he went to the Sultan's palace. He took the Mallet and threw it through the Sultan's window. He shouted, "Hit, my Mallet, hit! If you do not give me my table, I will not tell my Mallet to stop, my Sultan!" The Mallet flew up and went to the Sultan. It taught him a lesson. The Sultan, terrified, threw the boy's table out the window.

The boy took the table, the Mallet, and the donkey and went to the baby snake: "The best earnings are those made with hard work. These gifts brought me enemies instead of money. Let your father take them back. I will earn money with my own hard work and provide for my family," he said.

The Shah of the Serpents was very pleased with what the boy said. He gave the boy a bag of gold and told him to start his own business with it.

The boy used the money to start his business and lived his whole life without being needy.