Once upon a time there lived a hunter. The hunter had no children yet, only his wife was heavy. So one day he went hunting and stayed in the forest for three days. On the fourth day, the hunter killed a chamois and takes it home. Dear meets one person. And this is not a person, but a kaji. The Kaji takes away the chamois from the hunter. The hunter says: “Don’t take it away!” “Okay,” says the Kaji, “if you give me something you haven’t seen, I won’t take the chamois away, but if you don’t give it, I’ll take it away!”
The hunter was delighted - what was in it for him that he had never seen. He agreed and went home. He arrived and his newborn son was waiting at home. A year passed, and the Kaji came to the hunter. The hunter looked up and greeted him.
The kajji asks: “How’s the promise?” Are you doing it or not? - Whatever you require, I’ll give it to you! - says the hunter. - So give me your only son. It became very difficult for the hunter, but what to do? He asked to leave his son for another year. The kaji agreed and left.
A year passed, the Kaji appeared again and demanded that the promise be fulfilled. The hunter could not say anything and gave him his son.
They went, walked a little, and the kaji said to the hunter’s son: “You won’t keep up with me.” Follow the tracks of the mule on which I sit, and this road will lead you where you need to go.
He said and left. The boy followed this path. He walked and walked and came to one river. He sees that he cannot cross the river, but he must go. He sat down by the river. He sits and waits.
Three pigeons flew to the river and began to swim. The hunter's son looks at them and rejoices at how easily they swim back and forth along the river. He thinks that he won’t be able to swim across it so easily. He looked and looked at the pigeons, then got up, crept up, took the dress of one pigeon and hid it.
The pigeons bathed and began to dress. Two got dressed and flew away, and the third was looking for his dress but couldn’t find it. The dove searched and searched, did not find it, and said to the hunter’s son: “I know that you have my dress, return it to me, I will give you happiness for that.” The hunter's son said: - Take me across this river, I will give you a dress.
The hunter's son gave the dress to the dove. The dove got dressed and took the boy to the other side. He translated and said: “I am the daughter of the one to whom you are going. If you trust me and will not give me away to him, I will help you and give you happiness.” Go there, don't be afraid. True, my father will give you tasks that you cannot complete, but come to me - I will help you with everything.
The dove flew away, and the boy went his way. In the evening he reached one house. The house has an entrance from the back. The boy walked around the house, went inside and saw the Kaji there, and his daughter, and two more sisters, who were bathing.
“Yeah, come in,” the Kaji told him, “now I’ll give you a task: here is a river flowing, build a bridge across it made of only gold, such that there is no such bridge in our entire kingdom.” And so that everything would be ready by morning.
The hunter's son agreed, although he knew that he would never do this. He went to the pigeon that led him across the river. He comes and sees that it’s not a dove at all, but a girl. “Come here, adopted son of the Kaji,” the girl tells him, “tell me what task you were given.” The hunter’s son told her everything. The girl said: “There is a palace of the devas nearby, go to them, tell them to build a golden bridge on this river by morning.”
The devas got to work. The next morning the Kaji looked out and saw a bridge standing on the river, it glittered and hurt his eyes. The Kaji was very surprised, but what should I tell him? He called the hunter's son again and gave him a new task: “You see, a black horse is grazing in the yard - catch him and set him on fire!” The hunter's son went again to the dove girl. She said: “This black horse is my mother.” It is a very dangerous thing to go around it. If you can do this, you won’t be afraid of anything.
She gave him a whip with steel teeth and said: “Just try to jump on him, and then hit him with this whip as hard as you can.” The hunter's son came out and walked around the horse. The horse wants to grab him with its teeth, but only the young man managed to jump and jump on the horse. The horse rushed, flew, hit the sky, wants to kill the boy, but the boy turned up under the horse’s stomach. The horse flew down and hit the ground, and the boy turned out from under his stomach and was already sitting on his back. The horse flew like that, but it couldn’t hurt the hunter’s son. Thus the boy completed all the tasks of this kaji. He marvels:
- How does he do everything, does anyone help him? It’s probably my daughter who teaches him everything! - the Kaji decided and went to his daughter to find out the truth from her. He approached the room where his daughter lives and heard: “I’m sick, I can’t talk to anyone.” The Kaji left. And the dove girl called the young man to her and said to him: “Apparently, father has found out about everything.” Bad luck for you and me. We need to run away from here, to save ourselves. Come, sit on my magic carpet, and we'll fly away.
They flew away, and in the room they set up such a machine that it itself said: “I’m sick, I’m sick!” No matter how many times the Kaji comes to the door, everyone hears that her daughter is sick and sick. After drinking for three days, the Kaji broke down the door and went in to see his daughter. He comes in and sees that she is not there. He came out immediately and asked his wife: what should I do? The wife said: “Get on the boar that we have and rush in pursuit.”
The Kaji jumped onto the boar and rushed after the fugitives. I chased all day, and in the evening I saw that they were flying on the carpet. The girl also noticed her father and said to the young man: “Our business is bad!” But it’s okay, let’s go down to earth, I’ll turn this carpet into a vegetable garden, I’ll become an old woman myself, I’ll turn you into an old man, he won’t recognize us.
The Kaji rushed in and saw only a vegetable garden, and in the garden an old man and an old woman were working. He asks them: “Did anything fly here?” “No,” they say.
The Kaji returned home and his wife said to him: “That vegetable garden is our carpet, the old man is that young man, and the old woman is our daughter.” Run now - catch them! The Kaji again chased the fugitives. And the girl and the boy are already flying on the carpet. When a girl saw her father, she turned the carpet into a temple, the young man into a monk, and became a nun herself. The Kaji rushed up and asked: “Did anyone fly here?” “No,” they tell him.
The Kaji returned home again, and his wife said to him: “This nun is our daughter, the monk is that young man!” She herself sat on that boar and rushed after the fugitives. The girl saw her and said to the young man: “My mother is chasing us.” Now we cannot escape! I will still turn you into a fish, I will become the foam of the sea myself, it will not collect all the foam, it will not destroy us. She’ll just curse me, but don’t forget me, don’t leave me.
And so it happened. The young man became a fish, and the girl became foam of the sea. The mother rushed over and shouted: “You can’t hide from me!” You are this sea foam, and your fiance is hiding like a fish in the sand. Be like sea foam for three years, three months, three weeks and three days, then you will only become a girl again.
She said and left. The hunter's son felt sad when he heard this. He came out of the sea, pitched a tent for himself and began to plow and sow. He lives and waits for his bride.
For three years, three months, three weeks he waited for her like this. Only three days remained before the due date, when three girls came to him and said: “Choose any of us as your wife.”
The hunter's son thought. He did not forget his oath, but still chose one of the girls. She took him to her house and celebrated the wedding.
Meanwhile, the period of the spell passed. A girl who was sea foam came out of the sea. She looks - her fiancé is not there. She went, caught two birds, gave them to the children and said: “Take these birds and put them on the table of the bride and groom.”
The children took the birds and carried them away. The birds soon began to make noise, began to argue, and one of them said: “Leave me alone, I don’t trust men!” “Why?” - says another. “Because this man,” the bird pointed to the groom, “was waiting for the bride for three years, three months, three weeks, but didn’t wait three days and forgot her.”
When the hunter’s son heard this, he jumped up and ran to where he had left his bride, and she already met him at the gate. They were delighted with each other and celebrated their wedding.
They had a great feast, and they lived happily together. Yesterday I was there, and today I’m already here, in our village council.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru