There was a hut in the forest, and a woman and her son lived in this hut. They had no land, there was a dense forest all around, and they bought bread. They ran out of bread, so the woman sent her son for bread.
“On you,” he says, “son, go buy some bread.”
The son took the money and left. He walks and walks, suddenly he looks - a man is leading the dog to hang.
- Great, uncle!
- Great!
-Where are you taking the dog?
“I’ll take her,” he says, “to the forest and hang her, otherwise she’s already getting old, she’s no good for anything.”
- Don’t hang it, better sell it to me!
- Buy it!
- What do you want for her?
- What will you give me?
He gave the money that his mother gave him for bread, took the dog and took him home. He comes home, and his mother asks:
- What, son, did you buy bread?
- No, mom, I didn’t buy it.
- Why didn’t you buy it?
- Yes, I was walking, and suddenly I saw a man taking a dog to hang, so I took it and bought it.
His mother gave him money and sent him again for bread. He went, and suddenly he saw a man carrying a cat.
- Great, uncle!
- Great!
-Where are you going, uncle?
— I’m taking the cat to the forest.
- Why are you taking him into the forest?
- I'll hang it. Because of this, you can’t keep anything in the house: no matter what you put down, it all drags away.
“You should,” he says, “sell it to me!”
- Buy it!
- What should I give you for it?
“I won’t bargain: whatever you give me, I’ll sell it for.” He gave the money that his mother gave him for bread, took the cat and went home. He comes and his mother asks him:
- Where did you put the bread?
- Yes, I didn’t buy it.
- Why didn’t you buy it? Where are you going with the money? Maybe what the hell else did you buy?
“I bought it,” he says.
- Why did you buy it?
“The man was carrying the cat into the forest, he wanted to hang it, but I felt sorry for him, so I took it and bought it.”
“You still have money, but don’t buy anything: there’s no bread left in the house.”
Fuck him. He walks and walks, suddenly he sees: a man is beating a snake.
“Why are you,” he says, “beating the snake?” You better sell it to me!
“Buy,” he says, “I’ll sell.”
- What can I give you?
“Whatever you give, that’s what will happen.”
He gave him all the money. The man took them, went on his way, and the snake said:
- Thank you, kind man, for saving me from death. You are wearing a ring; if you need anything, throw it from hand to hand, and the servants will instantly come running to you. Whatever you order them, they will do everything for you.
He took this ring and went home. He approached the hut, threw it from hand to hand - and so many servants appeared that it was downright scary.
“So that I,” he tells them, “have bread.” As soon as he said this, they brought him so much bread that it was downright scary! He entered the hut and said:
“Well, mom, now we won’t go out and buy bread; The snake gave me such a ring that all I had to do was throw it from hand to hand, and the servants would instantly come running, and no matter what I told them, no matter what I punished, they would do everything.
- Why did she give it to you?
- Because I saved her from death. The man wanted to kill her, but I bought her from him for the money you gave me for bread.
This is how they live, and the dog and cat are with them. And as soon as he wants something, he will throw the ring from hand to hand, and the servants will instantly come running and do what is necessary.
So he wanted to get married. He says to his mother:
- Go, mother, and woo the princess for me.
She went to the princess, told what she came with, and the princess said:
“If your son sews shoes that fit my feet, then I’ll marry him.” She came home and said to her son:
“The princess said that as soon as you sew her such slippers that they fit on her feet, she will marry you.”
“Okay,” he says, “I’ll sew it.”
In the evening he went out into the courtyard, threw the ring from hand to hand - the servants instantly came running. So he tells them:
- So that by morning I would have shoes, embroidered with gold, lined with silver, and so that those shoes would just fit the princess’s feet.
The next day he gets up and the little slippers are already standing there. The mother took the little slips and brought them to the princess.
She tried it on and it fit just right. Here she says:
“Tell your son to sew me a wedding dress in one night, and so that the dress is not long, not short, not tight, not wide, so that it fits just right for me.”
A woman comes home and says:
“The princess said that you should sew her a wedding dress overnight and that this dress should not be long, not short, not tight, not wide, so that it would fit her just right.”
“Okay,” he says, “Mom, go to bed, I will do everything, no matter what she wishes for me.”
Went to bed; and he went out into the courtyard, threw the ring from hand to hand - so many servants suddenly appeared that it was downright scary.
“So that by morning,” he says, “I should have a dress made of such material that shines like the sun, and so that this dress will fit the princess just right.”
- Okay, everything will be done.
He went to bed. The next day he gets up and says to his mother:
- Well, go, mom, to the princess, bring her a dress. Anything else she'll say?
“What am I going to carry,” he asks, “son?” Where is this dress?
He walked up to the table, picked up his handkerchief, and the house began to shine, as if the sun had risen.
“Here, mom, the dress is on the table, under a handkerchief, bring it.”
She took the dress and carried it. He comes to the princess, and she asks:
- Well, what do you say, my dear?
“I brought,” he says, “a dress for your wedding.” As she unfolded her dress, everything in the chambers began to shine. The princess put it on, stood in front of the mirror, looked at it, and jumped up: she was so happy that she had become such a beauty. She walked through the bright room once, and walked another time, well, just like the sun: that’s how it shines from her.
“Well,” he says, “my dear, let him build me a bridge from my palace straight to the church where we will get married, and let that bridge be made of silver and gold.” As soon as the bridge is ready, we will go to the crown.
A woman comes home and says to her son:
— The princess said that there should be a bridge from the palace where she lives to the church. And she ordered that the bridge be made of gold and silver.
“Okay,” he says, “now you go to bed, mom, to rest.”
They went to bed in the evening, and he went out into the yard, threw the ring from hand to hand - and such a force came together that the yard was cramped. So he tells them:
“So that by morning a bridge of silver and gold will be made for me from the princess’s palace to the church, I will get married there; Yes, when I go there with the princess, so that apple trees, pears, cherries, and cherries bloom on both sides, and when I return back, so that everything is already in time.
“Okay,” they say, “by morning everything will be according to your wishes.”
The next day he gets up, leaves the hut, and sees a bridge standing, and gardens growing on the sides. He returned to the hut and said to his mother:
- Go, mother, and tell the princess that the bridge is already ready, let her go to the crown.
The mother went to the princess and told her, and she said:
- I’ve already seen the bridge - a very beautiful bridge. Tell your son to come and get married. A woman came home and said to her son:
“The princess said that you should go to get married tomorrow.” So he built himself a palace overnight, and the next day he went to church; They got married to the princess and returned back, and on the bridge everything was already ripening: apples and pears, cherries and cherries and all sorts of fruits that there were in the world.
They arrived at the palace, had a wedding, and live for themselves. And the dog and cat are with them. They lived like this for some time, and then one day the princess asked her husband:
“Tell me, my heart, how you sewed my slippers and dress for me: you didn’t take my measurements, did you?” How did you build such a bridge overnight and where did you get so much gold and silver?
“I have,” he says, “such a ring; As soon as I throw it from hand to hand, the yard will immediately come running to me, the courtyard is full of servants. And whatever I wish for them, they will do it. It was they who sewed the slippers, and the dress, and the bridge, and this palace where we live - they do everything for me.
So she waited until he was fast asleep, slowly took off the ring from him, threw it from hand to hand, and there were so many of them that it was almost scary to even look at them. So she tells them:
“So that there are horses and weeping here immediately, I will go to my palace, and from this palace make a pillar so that my husband can only stand and lie down, and so that this pillar is immediately transferred across the sea.” But be careful not to wake him up so that he wakes up already in the post.
“Okay,” they say, “everything will be as planned.” She came out and was sobbing. She sat down and drove off. And the palace instantly became a pillar, and so the servants dragged it across the sea.
The next day, the princess’s husband wakes up in the morning, and lo and behold, there is no wife, no palace, no ring—nothing, only one pillar standing. I wanted to go out, but there were no doors. He felt one wall, felt another - it was impossible to get out, only a small window had been made. He lives there, poor, no one gives him food. He would have disappeared there if it weren’t for the dog and the cat, they remained in the post, and they could climb out of this window. So a dog will run into the field, steal a piece of bread from some farmer’s bag, and drag it, and the cat will take it in its teeth, crawl through the window and give it to him. So they collected some bread, and the dog said to the cat:
“Well,” he says, “our master now has bread, we’ll go overseas, maybe somehow we’ll get a ring.”
“Let’s go,” says the cat.
So let's go. They run and run, resorting to the sea. The cat sat on the dog's back and swam away. They swam for a long time, but still reached the shore. We went ashore, dried ourselves a little in the sun, and the cat said:
“You,” he says, “stay by the sea, and I’ll run to the palace.” If I get the ring, I’ll run here with all my might to get back as quickly as possible, otherwise they won’t catch up with us!
“Okay,” says the dog. - Go to the palace! So the cat ran. He runs and runs, runs and runs, doesn’t rest, but keeps running. Suddenly he sees a palace standing and guards near it. The cat slipped into the yard and ran around. The princess came to the window, looked, and the cat was walking around the yard. She let him into the little room. The cat walks around all the rooms and keeps an eye on where the princess hides the ring. And when he saw it, he waited until everyone had gone to bed, grabbed the ring and ran. He runs to the sea and is in such a hurry - he jumped on the dog’s back, the dog rushed into the water, and swam.
We’ve almost crossed the sea, and soon we’ll reach the shore, and the dog asks the cat:
- Well, are you holding the ring? The cat is silent, because the ring is in his mouth. And the dog keeps pestering him:
“Tell me,” I ask you, are you holding the ring? If you don’t say so, I’ll throw you into the sea. The cat is silent, but the dog is so angry:
- Well, if you don’t say so, I’ll quit! The cat got scared and:
- I’ll hold it!
And the ring is splashed into the sea! Then the cat is silent and doesn’t say anything.
They swam across the sea, came out, and the cat attacked the dog.
- Oh, you are so and so! Because of you I lost my ring! Why did you ask me? Now go into the sea and look for it! As you wish, climb!
The dog climbed in, wandered and wandered, dangled and dangled - nope. She and the cat began to quarrel painfully. And then they say:
“Let’s walk by the sea and ask, maybe there’s someone who can get it out of the sea for us.”
So they basked in the sun a little, and then they went. Whoever they meet, whoever they see, everyone asks if he can get a ring from the sea, or if he knows anyone who could do this. There is no one like that. The cat says:
- You know what? Let's go along the shore and ask for frogs and crayfish.
“Okay,” says the dog, “let’s go!”
Here they go. How to find where the frog is, they ask:
“Won’t you get us a ring from the sea?” Get it, or we'll kill you.
Whichever one they catch, she answers them:
- I know where your ring is. Let me in, I'll bring it to you.
They will let her in, she will swim, but she won’t even think about the ring. At first the frogs were afraid of them, and then they stopped being afraid. Whichever one comes along immediately says: “I’ll bring you a ring,” and they let her go. They are walking along the seashore in the evening, and suddenly they see a little frog jumping. They caught him and asked:
- Do you know where the ring lies in the sea?
- I don’t know... qua-qua!
- If you don’t know, we’ll kill you!
And they began to strangle the little frog. An old frog saw this, climbed out of the water, and it was as big as a bucket, and said:
“Don’t kill my child, I’ll get you a ring from the sea!”
“Okay,” they say, “we’ll keep the frog until you bring it to us; and when you bring it, we'll let you in.
The frog dived into the sea, found the ring, and gave it to them. They took the ring, released the frog and ran to the post. They came to their owner, and he had already eaten all the bread; For two days now there wasn’t even a crumb in my mouth—he became as thin as a sliver. The cat quickly climbed into the window and gave him the ring. He threw it from hand to hand - and the servants appeared instantly. He tells them:
“Move this pillar back to where it was, and so that it becomes a palace again, and in it are my wife and mother.”
As soon as he said it, that’s how it all happened. But he drove away his wife and lives there alone with his mother, a cat and a dog.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru