Once upon a time there lived a man six feet tall with a waist-length blue beard. That's what his name was - Bluebeard. This man was rich, but he never gave alms to the poor. He never set foot in church. They said that Bluebeard was married seven times, but no one knew where his seven wives went.
In the end, bad rumors about Bluebeard reached the king of France himself. And the king immediately sent many soldiers and ordered them to seize this man. The chief judge in a red robe went with them to interrogate him. For seven years they searched for him through the forests and mountains, but Bluebeard was hiding from them somewhere.
The soldiers and the chief judge in a red robe returned to the king, and then Bluebeard appeared again. He became even more ferocious, even more terrible than before. It got to the point that not a single person dared to come closer than seven miles to his castle.
One morning Bluebeard was riding through the field on his mighty black horse, and his dogs were running behind him - three great Danes, huge and strong as bulls. At this time, a young and beautiful girl walked past.
Then the villain, without saying a word, grabbed her by the belt, picked her up and, putting her on a horse, took her to his castle.
- I want you to be my wife. You will never leave my castle again.
And the girl inevitably had to become Bluebeard’s wife. Since then, she lived as a prisoner in the castle, suffering mortal pain and shedding tears. Every morning, at dawn, Bluebeard mounted his horse and rode off with his three dogs, huge and strong as bulls. He returned home only for dinner. And his wife did not leave the window for days on end. She looked into the distance, at her native fields, and was sad.
Sometimes a shepherdess would sit next to her, meek as an angel and so beautiful that her beauty gladdened the heart.
“Madam,” she said, “I know what you are thinking.” You don't trust the servants and maids in the castle - and you're right. But I am not like them, I will not betray you. Madam, tell me about your grief.
The lady remained silent. But then one day she spoke:
“Shepherdess, beautiful shepherdess, if you betray me, God and the Blessed Virgin will punish you.” Listen. I'll tell you about my grief. Shepherdess, day and night I think about my poor father, about my poor mother. I think about my two brothers, who have been serving the King of France in a foreign land for seven years now. Shepherdess, beautiful shepherdess, if you betray me, God and the Blessed Virgin will punish you.
- Madam, I will not give you away. Listen. I have a talking jay bird, she does everything I tell her. If you want, she will fly to your two brothers, who have been serving the King of France in a foreign land for seven years, and will tell them everything.
- Thank you, shepherdess. Let's wait for an opportunity.
From that day on, Bluebeard's young wife and the pretty shepherdess became very good friends. But they never spoke again, fearing that the corrupt servants would betray them.
One day Bluebeard said to his wife:
“Tomorrow morning, at dawn, I’m leaving on a long journey. Here are seven keys for you. Six large ones open doors and cabinets in the castle. You can use these keys. And the seventh, the smallest key, opens the door to that closet over there. I forbid you to enter there. If you disobey, I will find out about it and then you will be in trouble.
The next morning, just before dawn, Bluebeard galloped away on his black horse, and his three great Danes, huge and strong as bulls, ran behind him.
For three whole months, Bluebeard's wife did not violate her husband's orders. She only opened the rooms and cabinets of the castle with six large keys, but a hundred times a day she thought: “I would like to know what is there in that closet.”
This couldn't go on for long.
- Oh, come what may! - she said one day. - I’ll see what’s there! Bluebeard won't know anything.
No sooner said than done. She called the pretty shepherdess, took out the key and unlocked the closed door.
Holy Virgin! Eight iron hooks! Seven of them have seven dead women hanging on them!
Bluebeard's wife tried to lock the door. But at the same time the key fell to the floor. The pretty shepherdess picked him up. And - oh woe! — the small key was stained with blood.
Having locked the door, the pretty shepherdess and her mistress erased the bloody stain from the key until sunset. They rubbed it with vinegar, horsetail and salt, and washed it off with hot water. Nothing helped. The more the poor thing scrubbed the stain, the redder it became and the more noticeable it appeared on the iron.
Finally the key spoke in a human voice:
- Rub, women. Rub as much as you want. The stain on me will never be erased. And in seven days Bluebeard will return.
Then the pretty shepherdess said to her mistress*
“Mistress, it’s time to send my talking jay.” Ha! Ha! Ha!
At her call, a jay flew into the window.
- Ha! Ha! Ha! Pretty cowgirl, what do you want from me?
- Jay, fly to foreign lands. Fly to where the army of the King of France is stationed. There, tell my mistress’s two brothers: “Hurry, quickly ride to the aid of your sister, a prisoner in Bluebeard’s castle.”
On a black night, the talking bird rushed faster than the wind and, with the rising of the sun, did what it was ordered.
Seven days later, Bluebeard returned to his castle on the same black horse and with three dogs, huge and strong as bulls.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru