The stepmother had a stepdaughter, her name was Anichka, and her own daughter Kachenka. Whatever her own daughter does, everything is fine, but no matter how she pleases her stepdaughter, everything is wrong, everything is bad, so the stepmother tried to drive her out of the yard. Anichka sees that she is a burden to her stepmother, and she decided to go into public service. The stepmother was only happy.
She baked a bun for Anichka and saw her off on her way. Anichka walked and walked and came to a crossroad. She took out a bun from the bundle, threw it on the road and said:
Kolobok, Kolobok,
tell me where to go, show me the way!
The bun rolled and reached the plum tree. Anichka looks, all the branches and leaves are covered with caterpillars and cobwebs. Anichka bent down to pick up the bun and heard the tree asking her:
- Cleanse me, girl, cleanse me, darling!
Anichka took off her shoes, took off her shoes and stockings, climbed onto the plum tree and soon picked off all the caterpillars and removed the cobwebs. Plum thanked Anichka and said:
- When you need help, remember me, I will be useful to you.
Anichka climbed down from the tree, put on her stockings, put on her shoes and walked on. She threw the bun on the road again and said:
Kolobok, Kolobok,
tell me where to go, show me the way!
The bun rolled and reached the apple tree. Anichka looks, the whole trunk of the apple tree is overgrown with moss. Anichka bent down to pick up the bun and heard the apple tree asking her:
- Cleanse me, girl, cleanse me, darling!
Anichka got down to business and quickly cleared the moss from the trunk. The apple tree was delighted, began to thank her, and then said:
- When you need help, remember me, I will be useful to you.
Again Anichka threw the bun on the road and said:
Kolobok, Kolobok,
tell me where to go, show me the way!
The bun rolled for a long, long time and rolled up to the forest spring. Anichka looks, the spring is covered with mud and mud, the water doesn’t gurgle, it barely flows. Anichka stopped next to her, and the spring asked her:
- Cleanse me, girl, cleanse me, darling!
Without hesitation, Anichka took off her shoes and stockings, cleaned the spring, and water flowed, gurgled merrily, and sang:
- Thank you, girl! When you need help, remember me, I will be useful to you!
Anichka put on her shoes, took the bun and rolled it further:
Kolobok, Kolobok,
tell me where to go, show me the way!
The bun rolled through the forest and reached the stove. Anichka looks, the stove is full of soot and soot. Anichka stands, and the stove asks her:
- Cleanse me, girl, cleanse me, darling!
Anichka quickly got to work, cleaned the stove - take it and put the pies in it! Anichka got ready to continue on her journey, and the stove thanked her and said:
- When you need help, remember me, I will be useful to you!
Anichka rolled the bun further:
Kolobok, Kolobok,
tell me where to go, show me the way!
The bun rolled, rolled, rolled over a high mountain and descended into a valley onto a green meadow. And in that meadow there stands a black horse, not grazing, not galloping, covered all over with mud. Anichka saw how sadly he looked, as if asking to clean him, she ran up, cleaned him, took the golden bridle and led him along. Voronoi neighed joyfully and said:
- Thank you, Anichka, for your concern, when you need help, just remember me.
She rolled the bun in front of her and followed it, and the bun rolled and rolled and rolled up to the hut. Anichka knocked quietly on the door, an old woman came out of the hut and asked:
-Where are you from, girl, what are you looking for?
Anichka said where she was coming from and that she would be glad to be hired as a servant. The old lady says:
- Then stay with me, you will be the mistress of the house.
Anichka happily agreed. She immediately liked the old lady. The old lady told Anichka to clean the house, run the house, and first of all, take care of the dog and cat. And she left.
Anichka remained as the mistress of the house, tidied up everywhere, shared all sorts of food with the dog and cat, and they fell in love with Anichka. When the old woman returned home, the cat and the dog told her everything.
Some time passed, the old woman said:
“It’s time for you, Anichka, to get ready to go home.” Come with me to the attic.
She took her to the attic. There were different chests there, simple and painted, many chests. The old woman told Anichka to choose a chest for herself, but did not order her to open it home. A dog and a cat ran up to Anichka and whispered that she should take the worst one. Anichka listened to them, took an unsightly chest without any patterns, threw it over her shoulder, said goodbye to the cat and dog, to the old woman and went home. She walked a little way - the chest became heavy, it became impossible to carry it, Anichka lowered it to the ground and just thought: “If only my black horse was here, he would help me bring the chest home,” when a storm blew in and a black horse rushed in. He ordered Anichka to sit on it and take the chest. Anichka mounted her horse and they rode off. We drove and drove, we were tired and hungry. Anichka remembered about the stove and said:
“If only we could bake some bread here, how nice it would be!”
And he sees an oven standing by the road, full of golden brown bread. Anichka herself ate her fill and fed the horse. They drove on. They drive and drive, it’s hot outside, they’re thirsty, but there’s no river or well anywhere around.
- Oh, if only there was an apple tree or a plum tree along the way, they would be refreshed!
And Anichka sees, to the side of the road, an apple tree and a plum tree are growing, all covered with fruits, and under them is a transparent spring. She drank cold water, ate plums and apples, fed and watered the horse, and they rode on.
As they began to approach the house, the rooster flew onto the roof and crowed:
- Ku-ka-re-ku! Our daughter is on her way home, carrying a chest full of silver and gold!
Anichka jumped off the horse, took off the chest, and thanked the horse. The horse neighed cheerfully and galloped away. She opened the chest, and in it were gold, silver, and expensive stones. Anichka was happy, but Kachenka and her stepmother were angry.
Anichka, a generous soul, always shared with everyone and now she gave a lot of gold and other good things to her stepmother and Kachenka and told where she was and what happened to her.
The stepmother and daughter pretended to be happy, but they themselves turned green with envy.
And the stepmother wanted her beloved daughter to also go to serve the old woman. She baked her a bun and prepared it for the long journey.
Kachenka went the way that Anichka showed her. She came to a crossroads, took out a bun and rolled it in front of her:
Kolobok, Kolobok,
tell me where to go, show me the way!
The bun rolled up to the plum. The plum was again covered in caterpillars and cobwebs, and the tree asked Kachenka to clear the leaves and branches. Only Kachenka regretted getting her dress dirty, and besides, she was lazy. She grimaced, turned away from the tree, took the bun and rolled it in front of her:
Kolobok, Kolobok,
tell me where to go, show me the way!
The bun rolled up to the apple tree, its trunk was completely overgrown with moss, and the apple tree asked Kachenka to clean the trunk. But Kachenka just grimaced, turned away, took the bun and rolled it in front of her:
Kolobok, Kolobok,
tell me where to go, show me the way!
And the bun rolled towards the spring, then towards the stove, towards the black horse, but the lazy and arrogant girl seemed to be deaf, she turned up her nose at everything, and did not want to help anyone. Finally she reached the hut where Anichka lived with a kind old woman, and knocked. An old woman came out to the door and asked what she wanted. Kachenka asked to serve the old woman.
“Of course, come in, you’ll be running the house for me all spring, and if you try hard, I’ll reward you.”
The old woman took Kachenka to the upper room and showed her where everything was and was. She entrusted the cat and dog to her care and left. “Here,” Kachenka thought, “now I’m my own boss,” and she did whatever she wanted. She cooked the best food for herself, and threw leftovers to the cat and dog.
Spring has faded, summer has passed, and early in the morning the old woman returned. She looked around the entire household, said nothing and took Kachenka to the attic, where there were different chests, and told Kachenka to choose one for herself. Kachenka asked the cat and the dog for advice, and they answered her:
Without us, you drank and ate, and without us, seek advice!
Kachenka chose the most beautiful painted chest for herself, put it on her shoulder, without saying goodbye to the old woman, nor to the cat and dog, she went home. And she thought: “Well, Anichka, you saw my chest, it will be better than yours!” She walked and walked, but the chest was heavy, the sun was hot, and every step Kachenka took, she took the chest off her shoulder and rested. She passed by the stove - there was no heat in the stove, she walked past the spring, past the apple and plum trees, nowhere could she refresh herself or refresh herself.
Kachenka began to approach the house, her mother ran out to meet her and was so happy, so happy that her daughter was walking with a big chest, carrying a lot of good things, not like Anichka in a small and inferior chest.
And the rooster flew up to the roof and crowed:
- Ku-ka-re-ku! Our daughter is coming, carrying a chest full of viper snakes!
The stepmother and daughter entered the hut, carried the chest into the attic, and barely dragged it. They waited until Anichka left the house and quickly ran to see the expensive stones and look at the silk dresses, but they were greatly deceived! They lifted the lid, and there was no gold or precious stone in the chest - only snakes and all sorts of reptiles were swarming around! And then they climbed out of the chest and bit the evil stepmother and her daughter.
Kind Anichka felt very sorry for them and with tears said goodbye to them forever.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru