During the Crusades, the tsar was taken prisoner by the Turks. He wrote at once to his wife, asking her to pay the ransom demanded for his freedom, but he heard nothing.
One day, sometime later, a lute-player arrived at the sultan’s palace. He played so brilliantly that the sultan insisted he stay at the palace as a quest, and the finally offered him anything in his kingdom as payment. The lute-player asked to take away the tsar as his leave, and the sultan kept his promise.
They journeyed a long way, and when at last they were near the capital city of the whole of Russia, the lute-player suddenly freed his new slave and, without saying another word, disappeared.
At court, the unexpected return of the tsar caused great joy and excitement. The only unhappy aspect was that the tsar refused to see his wife. ‘She didn’t even bother to pay the ransom to free me from captivity.’ He sighed.
The tsar was about to condemn his uncaring queen to death, when he heard the gentle strains of a lute and the mysterious musician reappeared. At last, the tsar recognised his queen in her disguise, and realised that her cunning had freed him. Thus it was a day of great rejoicing for everyone.
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