Keloglan and the White-Bearded Grandfather

Once upon a time, as Keloglan was coming back from the forest one winter morning, he saw a white-bearded grandfather sitting at the foot of a tree by the road. The old man wore a thin cardigan and torn sandals. Keloglan went up to him and asked, "Grandfather, aren't you cold?" The old man smiled: "I'm cold, my boy, and hungry too."

Keloglan took his half loaf out of his saddlebag and gave it to the old man, and he put his own cloak around the old man's shoulders. While the old man ate the bread, Keloglan told him where the road went and where the village was. When he had finished the bread, the old man stood up, and at that moment his face shone like light. "My boy, I am Hizir. I hurry to help those in need. You helped me. Make three wishes, and whatever you ask will come true."

Keloglan was astonished. He thought for a while. "Grandfather, our village fountain has dried up. The women carry water from two hours away. My first wish is that our village fountain flows again." Hizir smiled: "You didn't ask for anything for yourself. Never mind, it is done." When Keloglan got back to the village, he saw the fountain gushing. The villagers were dancing with joy.

The next day Keloglan went to the foot of that tree again. The old man was there. "My second wish: the oldest woman in the village, Granny Hatice, cannot see. She wants to see her grandchildren just once. Let her eyes be opened." Hizir nodded: "Again you didn't ask for yourself." When Keloglan got back to the village, he saw Granny Hatice hugging her grandchildren and crying. She was shouting: "I can see! I can see the sky and my grandchildren!"

On the third day, when Keloglan reached the tree, he thought for a long time. His mother at home was old, their storeroom was empty and their house was falling down. For a moment he thought, "Let me ask for a palace, let me ask for a treasure." But then he thought of the village children; there was no school in the village, and the children could not read or write. "Grandfather, my third wish is that our village has a school, so the children can learn to read."

This time Hizir laughed out loud: "Keloglan, you didn't ask for a single one of your three wishes for yourself. Now I will give you something, without a wish." Hizir put his hand on Keloglan's head and prayed: "May your hand be blessed, your tongue sweet and your door always open. From now on, may whatever you touch be blessed." Then a wind blew, and Hizir vanished.

When Keloglan got back to the village, he saw a new school with whitewashed walls rising in the middle of the village. The children were running inside with joy. When Keloglan got home, he saw that the storeroom was full of wheat and the crumbling walls were sound again. His mother was crying with happiness: "Son, what happened?" Keloglan told her. His mother hugged him: "God takes care of the troubles of the one who thinks of others."

That year Keloglan's field gave forty grains for every one. Keloglan again shared half his harvest with the villagers. But however much he gave away, his storeroom never emptied. Every winter he left a loaf of bread and a warm cloak at the foot of that tree, in case one day another traveller was cold.

Three apples fell from the sky: one for the one who told this tale, one for the one who listened, and one for Keloglan, who gave his three wishes to others.