Tale of the Sultan and the loaf of bread

(1) once upon a time there was a Sultan (2) that Sultan was thinking what to do in order to
see the people of the city (3) he took off the clothes of sultan and put on what all the people
wear (4) and he went down to the town to see how they live, what they think, what they do,
how they work, how they live (5) and went and started from the new city and saw rich people,
they sell and buy and live well (6) then he went to the old town and was going around (7) and
he saw a blind-alley in which houses were old, they are going to fall down, and they live hard
life, they do not have anything to eat or to drink (8) and he knocked on one of the doors of
the building and entered (9) and the woman and man who lived in that house took him inside,
and showed him respect and said: we are very much inviting you, and we would like to pay
you respect, and they took out whatever they had, and gave him job and gave him everything
(10) and he left (11) when he was leaving he said: what should I do to help them so they live
happily with a lot of children, in a big family, how should I help them so they live happy life
(12) days were passing by after two or three months he sent one of his helpers to call that
man whom he visited (13) two of his helpers went, they knocked on the door, and told the
man: the Sultan is calling you (14) he feared great fear and said: what the Sultan wants from
me? What have I done? I have not done anything (15) and he went, the Sultan called me, he
said, so I must go (16) he went with them, the man first and the two helpers behind him,
scarred what the Sultan wants from him (17) he arrived at Sultan’s house, the entourage of
the Sultan received him (18) the Sultan greeted him and sat down next to him and said:
today you are my guest (19) and he threw for him great dinner, and he sat down next to him
at the table and was eating with him, and after he dinned with him, he went to his baker, the

Sultan’s baker, and told him: bake for me big bread and fill it with coins, gold (20) he put
inside the coins in the bread, put it in a bad and gave it to him (21) the man left, put the bag
with the bread under the armpit and got on the road (22) on the road he encountered his
friend (23) the friend told him: where have you been? Why are you wearing so festive and
clean clothes? (24) he told his mate, his friend: the Sultan called me and invited me inside
and dressed me up and cleaned me and I ate at his place and he gave me this bread to take
it home (25) he said: will you sell me this bread? (26) he said: yes, I will sell it to you (27) I
will give you ten francs (28) the poor man told him: ten francs? I will be able to buy bread for
the whole week and give it to my children to eat (29) he said: all right, take it (30) he gave
him the bread and took ten francs (31) he went home and told his wife what a treatment he
received from the Sultan and that he took ten francs so they can buy food for their children all
week (32) the days passed by and the Sultan called him, he sent for him his people and they
brought him (33) he was not afraid of the Sultan, because he knew what the Sultan is going
to do (34) he went with them and the Sultan did what he did the first time (35) I forgot to tell
you that before he called him up, the Sultan had sent someone to see what he did with the
money, I mean if his house looks better, if the children are well dressed and how his wife is
doing (36) and he saw that nothing has happened, as it has been before he was leading poor
life (37) so the sultan took pity on him for the second time in order to see what he will do if he
gives them money again (38) again he sat down and ate with him and again he gave him that
bread filled with coins, gold, and he put it in a bag and gave him and he put it under the
armpit and left (39) and he met his friend, like the first time (40) he told him: oh, the Sultan
called you again? (41) he said: yes (42) he told him: what do you have under your armpit?
(43) the bread that the Sultan gave me (44) he said: will you sell it to me? (45) he told him:
yes, I will sell it to you (46) he said: I will give you in return fifty francs (47) for fifty francs I will
put food on the table for my children, my family (48) he took from him fifty francs and went
home (49) he told his wife what happened, he ate and drunk for one month or two for those
fifty francs and then came back to be poor again (50) the days passed by and the Sultan
said: we will go to see, we will send him people so we can learn how he lives after I gave him
twice money and gold (51) the Sultan send his people, and they went and saw that he lives
in poverty as he used to live before, and his children wear dirty clothes, poor life (52) they
went to the Sultan and told him: he lives as he lived before, nothing helped (53) the sultan
said: let’s check for the third time (54) he called him again and he came to his house (55) the
Sultan again received him like the first time, he made for him big bread full of gold and gave
it to him (56) while he was going down the Sultan’s stairs, he slipped and a big blow
happened and blood started dipping from him and from this blood came out an inscription on
the wall: if I made him poor - try to make him rich, if I killed him – try to make him alive (57) it
means everything comes from the God (58) the God wanted his man to be poor, without anything, without food, the money that the Sultan gave him was not for him, but for the friend
that he met on the way (59) and when the God killed him, the Sultan could not make him
alive, wake him, I mean try to make him alive, you are not able to resurrect him.