A long time ago there lived a man, and unfortunately for him, he had no sons.
One day he came to his house and looked - there was a baby lying on the threshold. He took the baby, brought it into the house, and began to raise it. And that baby, to everyone’s surprise, doesn’t drink milk, eats rice, and grows by leaps and bounds. The month became equal to him, and he asked his adoptive father to make him a chige, and went to the mountains to get firewood. The father wove a chige from corn stalks, his son won’t take it, it’s useless, he says, chige! The father made a wooden chige, but his son won’t pick it up again - he says it needs to be stronger. The father thought, thought and went to the blacksmith to make an iron chige for his son. The son rejoiced, put the chige on his back, and went off to the mountains. The father came out of the house and looked - some kind of mass was approaching. The mountain has probably moved out of its place, the father thinks. And this is his syndrova dragging him on his back.
So from that day on, the son began to go to the mountains for firewood. You can’t tell how many logs you moved. And he built a large, spacious house. He began carrying stone blocks and making gates from them. And the guy was so powerful, so strong. He wore shoes made of iron. And that’s why they called him Iron Boots.
One day a young man went on a journey. He walked and walked, got tired, and sat down to rest. Suddenly he sees a tree in a neighboring field either bending down or straightening up. What kind of miracle is this, the young man thinks. He went to the tree and looked - a guy was sleeping under the tree and snoring, and so loudly! If he inhales, the tree straightens; if he exhales, he bends down. He called out to the boy, Iron Boots, but he didn’t even blink. He clicked his nose and the boy opened his eyes, yawned sweetly, and scratched the back of his head. The boy's name was Windy Nose.
Iron Boots says to Windy Nose:
- Be my brother.
Windy Nose agreed, and they decided to measure their strength. He defeated Wind Nose and Iron Boots and therefore became an older brother.
They moved on. Suddenly a tall, tall mountain rose in front of them. And right before our eyes it began to shrink. She disappeared, and in its place a field appeared.
The brothers looked, and this guy was leveling the ground with a long iron rake. The guy's name was Long Rake. They say to the boy:
- Be our brother!
The boy agreed. They sat on a rake and asked to be dragged across the field. ADLong Rake can’t do it, he doesn’t have enough strength. And he became a younger brother.
They moved on. We reached the river, the water in it was stagnant and dirty.
Apparently it hasn't rained for a long time. The brothers went upstream and looked - the boy was throwing streams of water to the ground. His name was Waterfall. The brothers decided to test the boy, shook him lightly, water gushed out and flooded everything.
The brothers told him:
- Be our big brother.
Waterfall agreed.
And they moved on. Now there are four of us. We walked all day, until evening, all through the mountains. Suddenly they look - the house is under the tiles. They came up, knocked, and asked for shelter. An old woman came out, greeted them, and invited them into the house. And the walls in the house are strong, stone. She brought the old woman some meat for her brothers. The brothers look, it’s human meat. They didn’t eat, they were afraid.
Suddenly they hear the key in the lock turn - the door is locked.
The brothers went to bed. We woke up in the middle of the night. The conversation woke them up, so loud:
- I feel, mother, the human spirit. How many do you have?
- Four. One is more appetizing than the other. Who did you catch? - asks the old woman.
- Moose. And that's only two. And the brothers returned empty-handed. What will we cook dinner from, elk or people? There really is a hunt.
The brothers realized that they had fallen into the clutches of the werewolf-tigers. They lie there and do not move, fear overcomes them. And then the stone floor began to warm up. All hot, hot. The werewolves lit a fire under the floor and the brothers gathered to fry. Here Windy Nose let's blow. It blew and blew and blew all the heat out of the floor.
Werewolves can't believe their eyes. They showed up, and the brothers were alive and well, lying as if nothing had happened. The werewolves didn't have to feast on human flesh. They just licked their lips. They ate the moose - they calmed down. There's nothing you can do about it.
In the morning, the old woman appeared and invited the brothers and her sons to compete to see who could chop the most wood and saw it faster. He tells his brothers to go to the mountains and sleep, and he tells his sons to saw pine trees and stack firewood near the house. Whoever loses will die.
The brothers went to cut down trees. They don’t cut it down - they pull it out of the ground by the roots, down, and throw it straight towards the house. Werewolves cut down trees and stack them near the house. Only the werewolves can’t keep up with their brothers, and they’ll lose. The old woman sees that things are bad, she tells her sons to climb the mountain and her brothers to go down to the house. The brothers began to cut down trees. Yes, so quickly, quickly. Again the werewolves can't keep up with them. The old woman got scared and set fire to the wood. The werewolves were delighted and immediately rushed to see how the brothers would burn. They stand with the old woman, jumping for joy, having fun.
The brothers began to hold advice. How to save yourself and punish the werewolves.
Brother Waterfall put out the fire and flooded everything around with water. The brothers are standing piled high with firewood, and the pile almost reaches the sky, looking at the werewolves. And they took on their real appearance. Only tiger heads and paws stick out from the water.
The tigers ask, they pray:
“You’ll forgive us for wanting to eat you!” Don't ruin it!
The brothers did not listen to them. Windy Nose blew on the water, it turned into ice. The tigers froze and died.
Then Brother Iron Boots began to skate on the ice. And the tiger's paws and heads flew in different directions. Then the younger brother Long Rake took the iron rake in his hands, sawed the ice, and scattered it in all directions. It was as if he wasn't here. The brothers returned home safe and sound. And lived happily.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru