Craft Above All, Serbian Folklore

In the far eastern corner of Europe, in the spectacular land of Serbia, once lived an emperor.

One day, he took his wife and daughter on a ship to admire his lands from the sea. When the weather changed bringing strong winds and high waves, it pushed the ship to an unknown land. The emperor was not prepared for such turn in events. He didn’t have any money with him or any skills to earn a living in order to support his family. The only job he was offered was as a herdsman. It was easy to watch the animals and it didn’t require much skills.

The years went by and the herdsman’s daughter grew into a beautiful young woman. One day, she caught an eye of the emperor’s young son from the unknown land. The parents were not happy with their son’s choice. But with his persistence, they agreed to the marriage. So they send a vizier, who upon meeting the herdsman said, “The emperor’s son wishes to marry your daughter.”

To the vizier’s surprise, the herdsman replied, “What kind of a craft does the emperor’s son know?”

Confused vizier continued, “Why should an emperor’s son need to know a craft? People learn crafts to support themselves, and the emperor’s son has his lands that bring him money.”

The herdsman insisted saying, “If the emperor’s son would like to marry my daughter, then he needs to know a craft.”

The royal court was startled by this. But the young prince wouldn’t give up so easily. So he went all over the town looking for a craft that he could learn fast. He came across a place where rush mats were made. This craft seemed as one he could master fast. And so he did. Then he made a special rush mat to be shown to the herdsman. The herdsman examined the mat carefully from all sides and asked, “How much is this worth?”

He was satisfied with the price he was told and added, “If I had learned that craft when I was young, I wouldn’t be tending the village oxen today.”

Then the herdsman told his story to the emperor and empress, how he happened to be living in their land and why he wanted the young prince to learn a craft. In return, after the young couple got married, the emperor and empress gave the bride’s father a ship, so he could return to his land.