Once upon a time, a king of Persia had a son who fell deeply in love with a shepherd’s daughter. The prince wanted to marry her, but the king was concerned. He said, “I am the king, and you are my son. One day I will pass, and you will inherit the throne. How can you marry a shepherd’s daughter?” The prince replied firmly, “Father, I love her, and I want her to be my queen.” The king realized he could not change his son’s mind, so he sent a messenger to the shepherd’s daughter to ask for her hand in marriage.
When the messenger arrived, he told the girl, “The prince loves you and wishes to marry you.” She asked simply, “What is his occupation?” The messenger was surprised. “He is the prince, the king’s son. He does not need to work.” The girl insisted, “He must learn a skill before I can marry him.” When the messenger reported this to the king, the king asked the prince, “Do you still want to marry her if she demands you learn a craft?” The prince did not hesitate and said, “Yes, father. I will learn how to weave straw mats.”
The prince devoted himself to learning the craft. He practiced weaving intricate straw mats with detailed patterns, colors, and decorations. Within a few days, he created mats of remarkable beauty. The messenger presented them to the shepherd’s daughter, who was impressed. She agreed to marry the prince, and their union was celebrated.
One day, while walking through the streets of Baghdad, the prince noticed a clean, well-maintained restaurant and decided to enter, unaware that it was a hideout for thieves. The thieves captured him and threw him into a dungeon full of prisoners. They killed the strong and well-fed, but spared the weak. The prince, being the thinnest, was unnoticed and survived.
To protect himself, he told the thieves he was a straw mat weaver, since straw mats were valuable in the market. The thieves provided him with straw, and within three days, he completed three beautiful mats and instructed them to sell them at the palace, promising that each would earn one hundred gold coins from the king.
When the thieves presented the mats, the king immediately recognized them as his missing son’s work. He returned the mats to the prince’s wife. She carefully examined each mat and found a hidden letter written by her husband in Persian. She took the letter to the king, who immediately sent soldiers to the thieves’ hideout, rescued all the captives, and defeated the thieves.
The prince returned safely to the palace. Overjoyed, he knelt at his wife’s feet, embraced her, and said, “Thank you, my beloved wife. Because of you, I survived.” Their love and cleverness had saved him, proving that courage, skill, and devotion could overcome even the greatest dangers.