The Girl with the Golden Hair

Many, many years ago, in a time when sultans lived in palaces, arrows were shot in the squares, and markets buzzed with transactions made with gold coins, there stood a pure white house right in the middle of a beautiful garden. In this house lived a young maiden named Gülnar with her mother. Gülnar was lovely and charming, with hair the color of gold, rosy cheeks, rose-red lips, and a tall, fine stature.

Beautiful Gülnar loved to comb her soft, silky hair every morning with a bone comb inherited from her grandmother. Day after day, she would comb her hair tirelessly for one hour, then two hours. Afterward, she would meticulously collect the strands of hair caught in the comb's teeth or fallen on the floor. She would wrap them carefully in her pink silk handkerchief and store them in a drawer.

The garden of their white house was adorned with such beautiful flowers that their fragrance spread, you might say ten neighborhoods away, or even twenty. Their colors were so vibrant and unique that everyone who passed by the garden stopped to look at the flowers, marveling at their beauty. Gülnar's mother, Hatice, loved these beautiful flowers like her own child. She would pet them, kiss them, and every evening as the sun set behind the mountains, she would water them one by one under the moonlight. The tulips would try to stand taller when they saw her, the violets would spread their scents everywhere, and the roses would open their large petals, entering a beauty contest.

Yet, living with flowers was not easy. They would quickly take offense, quickly wilt, and quickly droop their heads. They were very sensitive, very delicate, very fragile, very tender, and easily hurt. What truly nourished and grew them was love. Once a week, as soon as darkness fell, Hatice would take a single golden strand of Gülnar's hair and gently place it inside one of the most beautiful flowers she chose in the garden. The next morning, that flower would give Hatice a piece of gold. This was a secret the mother and daughter wished to keep from everyone.

The mother and daughter continued to live happily like this. However, people are diverse. There are many good people, but also many bad ones. It was very difficult to know who was good and who was bad. One day, somehow, a woman standing in a corner happened to see Hatice collecting gold from a flower. She was astonished, couldn't believe her eyes, and turned to look again.

"Can what I saw possibly be true?" she wondered.

Immediately, various ideas began swirling in her mind, gnawing at her like a worm. Finally, she succumbed to these thoughts and prepared a plan of her own. Dressing herself in tattered, worn-out clothes and smearing her hands and face with dirt and grime, she made her way to the door of the beautiful-gardened white house.

Hatice and Gülnar came to the door and faced the miserable-looking woman. "Please, come in," they said, smiling.

The woman, bent double, spoke in a faint voice, "Could you perhaps host me for a few days, for the sake of God?" and collapsed in front of the door.

Hatice felt great pity for the woman and was very saddened by her condition. Immediately, mother and daughter carried the woman inside. They laid her on a bed and covered her. They waited anxiously by her side. After a while, the woman opened her eyes.

"I need water," she said. Gülnar immediately ran and brought her water.

"I'm hungry," the woman added. This time, Gülnar ran to the kitchen and brought hot soup. They lovingly fed the woman until she was full. After the meal, the woman opened her hands and prayed for a long time for Gülnar and her mother. The woman offered such beautiful prayers that Gülnar and Hatice were very happy.

Saddened by the woman's situation, Hatice offered, "If you have no home, stay with us; you will be our companion." The woman immediately jumped at the chance. "Yes, yes, I will stay!" she cried out in delight.

How was Hatice to know what anyone was thinking? How could she know anyone's intentions? From that day on, they began living together in the white house. They gave the woman nice, clean clothes. They quickly got used to eating, drinking, strolling, sitting, and rising together.

Every morning, the woman began to comb Gülnar's golden hair. She collected every strand with care, secretly setting aside and hiding a portion without anyone seeing. Whenever she found an opportunity, she would go out into the garden and gently place the hidden strands of hair inside the flowers. The next morning, she would secretly collect the gold pieces from the flowers, one by one.

Days passed, weeks passed, and months passed. The woman grew very tired of this work. "Enough is enough," she thought. Late one midnight, while Gülnar was sleeping deeply and peacefully, the woman took a pair of scissors. In one quick motion, she cut Gülnar's golden hair right from the root.

That was the moment it all happened! Each strand of the golden hair transformed into a colossal snake. The woman was utterly stunned with fear. Gülnar, awakened by the commotion, commanded the snakes, "Stop!"

She saved the woman, but the woman could never speak again. From that day forward, whomever she met, she would show strands of her hair sticking out from the corner of her headscarf, mumbling and trying to tell them something. However, no one could ever understand what the woman was saying. Out of pity, they would hand her some money for bread and continue on their way.

One day, as the woman sat cross-legged on a street corner, she encountered an old man with a white beard. The white-bearded old man looked intently into the eyes of the woman who was trying to tell him something. Then he said, "There was a man who lived around here. He was a farrier. Everyone loved him, respected him, and trusted him deeply. One morning, just like you, he saw the gold given by the flowers. Once the eye sees something, once the mind registers it, a person cannot cast aside what the eye has seen; they cannot restrain themselves."

"For days, he couldn't take any work. People who came and went kept asking him, 'Why aren't you working? Are you sick?' The farrier didn't speak a single word to anyone. The shining gold pieces would not leave his sight. Not a drop of sleep entered his eyes. Then he saw that this wouldn't do; he wouldn't be able to control his hands, his arms, his tongue, his ears, or his mind. He left everything he had, whatever he owned, and walked away from these places. No one ever heard from that farrier again. They neither learned where he went nor heard what he did. Shall I tell you what happened to that farrier?"

As the woman looked at the old man as if her eyes were about to pop out of their sockets, the white-bearded old man continued speaking: "The farrier is now the Sultan's right-hand man. He became the vizier of the country. If he hadn't controlled himself like you failed to do, he would be wandering the streets of this city, and his name would be known as the mad farrier," he finished.

After saying these words, the white-bearded old man slowly walked away from the woman. The woman, watching after him, let out a scream so loud that those who heard it thought the sky had split open. Children cried in fear so intensely that no one could quiet them for three days and three nights. Terrified cats jumped from roof to roof, meowing their way to other cities.

Gülnar's hair, however, grew back quickly, becoming long enough to be combed again. She and her mother learned even better how destructive greed, lying, and evil thoughts can be. The mother and daughter continued to live happily for many years in their white house, surrounded by their beautiful flowers. They never trusted anyone immediately again. They helped people who were truly in need. They only trusted others after getting to know them well and observing them.

Three apples fell from the sky: one for the teller of the tale, one for the listener, and one for all the helpful children. Do not let it fall to the ground; keep it safe your whole life long.