The Peddler and the Three Words of Advice

🍇 The Peddler and the Three Words of Advice

Once upon a time, there was a traveler and a Peddler (Çerçi—a traveling merchant). The Peddler traveled from village to village selling his goods.

One day, the Traveler met the Peddler on the road. After greetings, the Traveler asked the Peddler: "Where are you headed?" "I am going to visit the villages ahead," replied the Peddler.

They walked and talked for a while. The Traveler turned to the Peddler and said: "If you give me a bunch of grapes, I will give you a piece of advice."

The Peddler thought to himself: "The man probably just wants grapes and has no money. That's why he says this." He then gave the Traveler a bunch of grapes from the box on his donkey.

After taking the grapes, the Traveler said to the Peddler: "When you make friends with someone, ask for their name."

The Peddler got annoyed and thought: "I knew he wouldn't say anything important! I know that already!"

They walked and talked for a while longer. After some time, the Traveler said to the Peddler again: "If you give me one more bunch of grapes, I will give you another piece of advice."

The Peddler thought: "What a greedy man! He just ate one bunch and is still not satisfied." But he gave the man one more bunch of grapes.

Taking the grapes, the Traveler said: "When you enter a gathering, know your place (where you should sit)."

The Peddler was again angry inside: "As if I am a child and don't know where to sit!"

They continued their journey. After traveling quite a distance, the Traveler turned to the Peddler again: "If you give me one more bunch of grapes, I will give you a third piece of advice."

The Peddler thought: "Oh no! We've run into trouble! What a hungry man! He will finish all my grapes. I need to part ways with him." He gave the man one more bunch of grapes.

Taking the grapes, the Traveler said: "Do not interfere in things that are not asked of you."

The Peddler made a face and thought: "I thought he would say something important. He just said, 'Don't interfere in things not asked of you!'."

Then, they came to a fork in the road. The Peddler was happy to find a way to get rid of the man. He said: "I will go this way. Goodbye to you," and he turned his donkey in the other direction.

The Traveler took the other road.

The Peddler had walked only fifty or a hundred steps when his donkey stumbled and dropped its heavy load. No matter how hard the Peddler tried, he could not lift the heavy load.

It occurred to him to call the Traveler for help, but he realized he had not asked the man's name! He shouted: "Hey, Friend!"

The Traveler paid no attention. The Peddler shouted louder, thinking the man hadn't heard him. The man still didn't turn around. The Peddler shouted every name he could think of: "Hey! Psst! Traveler! Old man!" but he couldn't get the man's attention.

He tried to lift the load again but failed. The Traveler had moved quite far away. The Peddler realized it was no use, so he ran after the man. He ran and shouted. The Traveler didn't hear.

The Peddler finally reached the man, sweating heavily under the hot sun. He grabbed the man's arm and pulled: "Hey man, are you deaf? I am shouting and yelling, but you don't turn around for God's sake! Didn't you hear my voice?"

"I heard you, but you were shouting 'Friend,' 'Old man,' and so on. I thought you were shouting at someone else," said the Traveler.

"Oh, fear God! Is there any other person here besides us?" "No, but you didn't call me by my name," said the man.

The Peddler said: "Let's forget all that. My donkey stumbled and dropped its load. The load is too heavy, and I can't lift it. Please lend a hand, and let's put the load back on."

The man turned back, and they reloaded the donkey. The Peddler still did not ask the man's name, and they parted ways again.

The Peddler visited the villages and sold his goods. When evening came, he was invited to stay in a village guesthouse. They welcomed the Peddler. The room was not very crowded. The Peddler immediately sat in the best spot on the cushion (the başköşe).

The Traveler also finished his business. When evening came, he became a guest in the same village. He went to the guesthouse, and they invited him in. The Traveler immediately sat near the door. Although they called the Traveler to sit in the best spot, he said his spot was good and did not move.

As the night went on, more villagers started coming to the room. They welcomed every newcomer, and every newcomer went and sat in the best spot. With every guest, the Peddler slowly began to slide toward the door. Finally, the Peddler found himself standing behind the door. There was no place left to sit in the room.

The Traveler was watching the Peddler. Near midnight, the Agha's (Village Head's) son returned from the city and came to the room. Everyone stood up and made space for him. The Peddler was squeezed tightly behind the door.

The villagers brought a large watermelon to offer to the Agha's son. They asked for a knife to cut the watermelon. The Peddler thought, "Maybe I will get attention, and they will give me a better place to sit," so he took out his dagger decorated with gold and silver from his belt and gave it.

The Agha's son liked the dagger very much. He wanted to own it. He looked at the dagger, then at the Peddler. Then he said: "Where did you get this dagger?"

The Peddler replied: "It is a relic from my father, Agha."

The Agha's son saw that he could not get the dagger by asking nicely, so he immediately thought of a wicked plan: "This dagger was among the jewels stolen when our house was robbed last year. We searched and searched but couldn't find the thief. It seems our fate brought us here today. Seize this man! He is the thief!"

The men immediately grabbed the Peddler and tied his hands and feet. They stretched the Peddler out in the middle of the room. The Peddler was shocked by what was happening to him.

The Agha's son said: "Friends, you saw it, this Peddler turned out to be a thief. I say we should throw this man into the dungeon tomorrow morning so that it will be a lesson to everyone."

The villagers approved of the Agha's idea. The Peddler's travel companion (the Traveler) watched everything in silence from where he was sitting. The Peddler lay in the middle of the room, looking sad. At one point, their eyes met. The Peddler looked at the Traveler with pleading eyes.

The Agha's son said: "It is late, let's go to bed. Keep this man in a room, and you can take him to the dungeon in the morning."

The Traveler said to the Agha's son: "This Peddler is my travel companion. We are like salt and bread together. If you permit, let us stay together tonight. You can take him tomorrow."

The Agha's son said: "No, you will talk during the night." The man replied: "I give my word of honor that I will not speak a single word to him."

When the Agha's son received the word of honor, he agreed to let the Peddler and the man stay in the same room. The villagers went to their homes. They locked the Peddler and the man in a room.

The man said to the homeowner: "Excuse me, do you have a cat in your house? I cannot sleep without a cat in my bed at night. When it purrs, I fall asleep."

The homeowner brought a kitten. The man put the cat in his bed and lay down.

When it was midnight, the man sat up and looked at the Peddler, who was snoring loudly. The man hit the Peddler to wake him up. The Peddler jumped out of bed in a panic: "What is going on? Why are you hitting me?"

The man had promised the Agha's son that he would not talk to the Peddler, so he took the cat from his bed and said to the cat: "Oh, Cat! You will be thrown into the dungeon tomorrow morning."

The Peddler understood that the words were meant for him. He perked up his ears and listened.

"You are a cat who doesn't listen to advice. On the road, I said to you, 'Give me a bunch of grapes, and I will give you a piece of advice.' You thought to yourself, 'He just wants grapes, he is making up an excuse.' I told you to ask your travel companion's name, and you did not. When your load fell, you had to run after me because you didn't know my name."

"I told you, when you enter a gathering, know your place, but you came and sat in the best spot. In the end, you were standing behind the door. I told you not to interfere in things that are not asked of you, but you gave your dagger to cut the watermelon. You did not listen to me. Now, if you do not listen to me, you will be thrown into the dungeon tomorrow. It is up to you."

"When they take you to the village square tomorrow, you will say to the villagers: 'I stayed silent until this hour, hoping you would realize your mistake. I now see that this dagger truly belonged to the Agha's son. My father was a merchant. While bringing goods from Aleppo, his caravan was robbed by bandits, and my father was killed. This dagger was stuck in my father's back. His murderers were never found. I take this dagger out in every gathering and coffee house, hoping that perhaps the owner will come forward and say 'This dagger is mine,' so I can find my father's killer. That is why I took it out among the crowd last night. The Agha's son said this dagger was his. You are all witnesses to this. This means the murderer of my father is your Agha's son!'"

"Oh, Cat, this is my last word to you. Get a grip," the man said.

The man let the cat out the window, pulled the blanket over his head, and went to sleep.

The Peddler realized what was going on and lost all sleep. He started thinking sadly. The man slept, but the Peddler was awake until morning.

The villagers came, and the man handed the Peddler over to them.

The Agha's son asked: "You didn't talk at all, right?" The man said: "I kept my word. My tongue did not touch his tongue."

They took the Peddler to the village square. The man left the village. They handed the Peddler over to the soldiers. They said the Peddler had stolen the Agha's son's dagger.

The Peddler said: "Stop!"

He repeated exactly what the Traveler had told him. The villagers were shocked. They looked at the Agha's son. The Agha's son saw that the situation was serious and not going as planned. He realized he risked being branded a murderer, so he immediately gave the order: "Release the Peddler! I was just joking. This dagger is not mine. The villagers know me; I have nothing to do with robbery or murder. We just wanted to have some fun. We weren't going to put you in the dungeon anyway; we were going to give you your dagger and send you off."

The Peddler saw that the Agha's son was scared and pressed his advantage: "That's not true! You said the dagger was yours! The whole village is a witness. I have been looking for my father's murderer for years. My father's blood and his goods are involved. I have found him now. We will settle this in court before the judge!"

The Agha's son was panicking. He sent people to the Peddler and promised to give him wealth and property. He begged the Peddler to drop the case. With much pleading, the Peddler dropped his claim. They gave the Peddler money, and they loaded his donkey with goods that were light but expensive, and sent the Peddler away from the village.

The Peddler left the village happily. As he sang songs on the road, he saw his friend sitting under a tree, waiting for him. He went to him and greeted him. He emptied his donkey's load under the tree. Then he turned to his friend: "See how I tricked them? I saved myself from death and gained wealth and property! What innocent people there are in this world! You were even angry with me last night!"

The man got up and set off on the road, saying: "Don't laugh at the innocence of others! Worry about yourself."

When the man reached the top of the hill, five or six people surrounded the Peddler, took all his goods, and ran away. The Peddler started shouting after the man: "Hey, Friend! Hey, Old man!"

The man did not turn around or go to help. When he passed behind the hill, the Peddler was still shouting at him. The man turned back, smiled sadly, and said:

"The greatest foolishness is when a person is unaware of his own foolishness and thinks others are foolish. You did not fully keep the advice I gave you. I know you will not keep this one either, but I will not keep it inside me, hoping you might become wise. Learn thoroughly before you assume, and think carefully before you speak. Know your friend and your enemy. Do not forget the one who lifted you up when you fell, and do not be ungrateful for what you achieve. Wisdom is a person's greatest asset. Think a thousand times, speak once."

This time, the Peddler realized his mistakes. He regretted his actions very much. He was also very sad that he had lost such a good friend. From that day on, he lived his life never forgetting his friend or the advice he gave him.