دوک و وزیر

The Duke and the Minister

A mean duke grew tobacco. The duke’s top minister was his twin brother. They resembled each other.

One day, the tobacco plants started to die. The duke hired men to watch the fields. So they could see who was damaging the plants. Soon, the men brought a woman to him and said, “We captured a witch!”

The Duke asked, “How do you know?”

“She sang magic words. I can’t pronounce them. She has cursed us. The death of the plants is a symptom of her curse,” the men said.

“I am just an ordinary woman. I was singing a song in a different language,” the woman said.

The duke didn’t listen. “You are guilty. You will go to jail,” he said. The minister thought that she was innocent. He needed to expose the truth.

The minister went to find out what was happening to the plants. He saw hundreds of small bugs eating them! Then the minister went to the jail and did something bold.

“Let this woman go,” he said.

The guards thought he was the duke. They let her go. The minister said to the woman, “I owe you an apology.”

“Thank you. I thought my stay in jail would be permanent,” the woman answered.

The minister thought the duke would punish him. But he didn’t. The duke was too busy trying to preserve his plants.