Apparently, this happened once, and if it had not happened, then people in the world would not have said it.
Not in heaven, but on earth, in a certain valley, in the same village, there lived an old man and an old woman, so old that they could barely drag the weight of their years behind them. Their only son Alistair was their hope and support in those days. The old men were already living out their last days and, before saying goodbye to the world, they called their son to them and gave him the last command:
- Alistair, dear, as you see us off on our last journey, look for a green stalk in the bunch of basil behind the beam and smell it three times.
“Okay, father and mother, I will do it,” said Alistair. Wailing and crying, he accompanied his parents to the grave, and when he returned home, he found a green stalk in a bunch of basil. It was smaller and thinner than a needle, but as soon as Alistair sniffed it once, he instantly felt that the strength in him had increased threefold, he sniffed it a second time - the same amount of strength had increased, and he touched it for the third time - powerful blood began to beat in his veins. And no matter what the young man thought, everything immediately came to life and appeared before his eyes. Alistair worked tirelessly, but still could not exchange poverty
yours enough. And one fine day he decided to go around the world: maybe happiness would smile on him. And once he wandered, he wandered and wandered until he came to some mansions. How was he supposed to know what kind of mansion these were and who they belonged to? Delighted that he had finally found housing, he knocked on the gate and immediately saw in front of him a terrifying serpent-dragon.
“Good afternoon,” said the traveler.
“Hello,” the dragon answers.
- Isn’t there, snake, work in your domain, even in the yard? - asked Alistair.
- Well, I really need a servant. Come in.
Alistair entered the courtyard and saw here many barns, stables - everything that a rich gentleman should have. The snake immediately began to teach him how and what he should do, but kept thinking to himself: it would be early evening so he could finish off the traveler and eat him. Dusk quietly crept up behind the work. From somewhere across the fields the son of dragons returned; Having sat down at the table, everyone ate, and soon went to sleep in different corners. The dragon laid his son on one rubble, covering him with a red blanket and placing a lighted candle next to him, and laid Alistair on another rubble, covering him with a blanket as black as the earth itself. He didn't light a candle for him. The farmhand began to wonder to himself: “What is this monster dragon up to? It’s clear that he’s not trying in vain.” Alistair can’t sleep - he’s still thinking, and the snakes just lay down - they immediately started snoring so much that the windows shook. Our fellow is tossing and turning from side to side, but all in vain: he cannot close his eyes for a minute. “I’ll lie down in the place of the dragon’s son,” he decided. And, since he had already decided to do so, he quickly got up, approached the heap of the snake’s son, lifted him lightly into his arms - but he didn’t move - and laid him down on his heap, covering him with a black blanket. Then he lay down in the place of the serpent’s son, and immediately sleep overcame him.
The night hid the silver face of the moon behind the tops of the hills, as if it wanted the serpent’s sleep to be deeper and more peaceful. And when the moon completely sank behind the hill, the old dragon woke up from his sleep. He grabbed a heavy dagger and went out into the courtyard. Here is the rubble where he laid Alistair down. The dagger shot up in the air, and jiggly! jjik! — the head of the sleeping man flew off. The snake did not know that he had killed his son. And how could he have known, if it was so dark, he couldn’t even gouge out his eyes. Then the old dragon lit a hot fire in the stove and kept adding wood so that he could fry his prey before dawn. Alistair was petrified by the surmise that all this was supposed to happen to him. He quickly jumped to his feet, grabbed the candle and - phew! phew! - blows it out, but it doesn’t go out; then he throws it to the ground, but can neither throw it nor extinguish it. The candle does not leave the hand and does not go out, but flares up more and more brightly. Seeing this, Alistair ran away, only his heels sparkled. He runs and hurries, and the candle lights his way. When the serpent came to his senses and looked into the distance, he saw not a falling star, but a running candle, he became angry and shouted:
Hey, my candle, candle, Don’t get lost in the night, It’s better to come back into the house - Light up the guest brightly.
And the candle keeps getting removed and removed. Then the old dragon turned to the house and screamed in rage:
E-hey, son of dragons, throw off the shackles of heavy sleep and run, run quickly for your candle!
But how could his son answer him if he was killed? The dragon is looking for him in the house, in the yard, calling everywhere, but his efforts are in vain. “First I’ll put Alistair on a spit, and then I’ll bring a light-candle,” said the snake and, grabbing the dead man’s body, headed towards the stove. He walks in a hurry and suddenly recognizes the face of his son near the stove. It was finally revealed to him what he had done. Grabbing the dagger, he chased after the candle, after Alistair. He spun around like a werewolf, and everywhere he stepped, he crushed rocks with thunder, uprooted trees, plunged the earth into the abyss, and now he was getting closer and closer to the fugitive, as if the darkness of clouds was approaching Alistair. He managed to run to a large river, wide and deep, rushed into it and swam. Alistair was already on the other side, and the dragons were just running up to the water. Having run up, he stopped, since he did not know how to swim, and began to shout and curse Alistair:
Hey, hey, dog Alistair, it was you who stole the candle and killed my son! Alistair answered him from the other side:
Calm down, dragon dog! If you begin to remember evil, it will be bad for you too! He turned the snake back, and Alistair went and walked along the untrodden path, decorated with flowers, along the spiky grass. Walking like this, no, no, he looks at the candle and wants to blow it out, but it flares up more and more brightly; he tries to put out the flame with his hand - it glows and does not burn his hand; brings him closer to himself - the shirt does not catch fire - such was the flame of that candle: it did not burn, it did not light, but it was shining.
Alistair put the candle in his knapsack and moved on.
Walking along the paths and along the paths, Alistair reached the choir of a certain gentleman, where he found refuge. And the master, convinced that he was a hard-working and intelligent young man, made him senior over the grooms. He allocated a closet for him, like the rest of the servants, and the good fellow began to live there and work as a farm laborer. Everything went on as usual, but an evil man appeared among the grooms... One day he came to the master with these words:
“You probably don’t even know, master, what Alistair was boasting about the other day?”
“If you tell me, I’ll know.”
“He said... uh... uh... that if you wish, he will bring you a dragon horse.”
- Dragon horse? Call him to me... The groom ran, not remembering himself. out of joy, he found Alistair, and he appeared before the master...
- Bring me the dragon horse. If you don’t bring it, your head will be where your heels are now.
There is nothing to do, Alistair bowed low to the master and set off. He walks, he walks day after day, he walked most of the way and around midnight he reached the dragon mansion. He quietly approached the stable, went inside, and the horse, as he sensed him, neighed deafeningly three times. Soon after this I heard: top! top! top!..—then the dragon ran to the stable with fire in his hand. Alistair crouched down, spun around on one heel three times, turned into a fly and flew under the roof of the stable.
The dragon examined all the corners, rummaged under the manger, searched everything around
stables - no one. Having calmed down, he went into the house. Alistair flew out from under the roof and was about to grab the horse, but that was not the case - the stubborn horse did not give in and neighed louder and louder.
Again the snake came running with fire, looked everything around, searched every corner of the stable inside and out, and again - he couldn’t hear living breath.
- Ugh, so that the dogs will gnaw you, you damn horse, you're neighing in vain,
won't you let me sleep? - the snake became furious, grabbed a hefty club that came to hand, and well, count the ribs of the poor horse!
“Try to neigh again, and when I come back, I’ll skin you.”
The serpent went into his chambers, and when silence was established, Alistair flew out again from under the roof of the stable, turned into a man, approached the horse - and he no longer neighed - took him out into the yard, saddled him and... the serpent in the house heard the horse leaving with Alistair.
Enraged, he set off at full speed in pursuit of them. Alistair, well done, knows that he is driving his horse, urging him on, but the monster-dragon is not far behind. As soon as Alistair had time to swim across the large river, the snake reached the shore. Seeing that the horse under Alistair was already on the rise, the monster shouted with all his might:
Hey hey, dog Alistair! It was you who stole the candle, killed my son, and deprived me of my good horse!
Alistair responded to him:
Calm down, dragon dog! If you remember evil, your head will not be blown off either! He turned the snake back, biting his hands out of frustration and anger. Alistair flew faster than the wind to the owner’s possessions. At the threshold, he unharnessed the horse, handed it over to the owner, and he was so pleased and happy, as if he had caught God himself by the beard.
But it has long been known that a greyhound lies in wait for a hare, a kite flies in the sky over a gopher, and evil squeezes good from the light.
There was no rest for Alistair, again the groom-earphone went to the master and said:
- Master, you are rich, strong and know a lot, but what is going on around you and what is being done does not reach your ears.
- What do you want to say, say it more clearly.
“The other day Alistair boasted: if you wish, he will bring you dragon bush.”
- Call him here.
They called Alistair, and the master ordered him:
“Bring me the dragon kushma, otherwise your head will be where your feet are now.”
Alistair remained silent and set off on the road again, for he knew: if you don’t hesitate to set off, the master will get so angry that you can’t handle it, and you’ll forget where you come from.
He walked, walked, and as he began to approach the dragon's courtyard, he saw above him
the clouds were black and menacing, a terrible storm arose, and such rain poured down as he had never seen before or since. Above, thunder and lightning pierced and shredded the clouds; below, water furrowed the earth.
But the fellow made it through both the hurricane and the rain, and near the dragon
the yard spun around three times, turned into a cat and began to meow
and ask to come into the house. Dracon's wife shouts to her husband:
- Get up, wake up, go open the door, otherwise the rain will drown the poor cat.
The snake got up reluctantly, as soon as it opened the doors, the cat shuffled! I slipped into the house and to the stove. The snake returned, looked into the cat’s eyes and screamed:
- This is Alistair! Aha, I finally got you!
“What’s wrong with you, hubby, you must be completely crazy, did you even think of killing such a beautiful cat?!”
- I recognize him by his eyes. It was Alistair who turned into a cat.
- Lie down and get rid of the obsession from your head.
When the snake fell asleep, the cat quietly crept up to him, as cats can sneak up, and pulled the bush from under his head. It pulls and pulls, but can’t move it. Then the cat turned into a human, but accidentally touched the snake, which woke up instantly and immediately grabbed it.
“I told you it was Alistair.” Get up, snake, light the stove, today we have something to fry for dinner.
The snake flooded the stove, and then they examined Alistair and saw that he was so thin - skin and bones.
“Uh, well, there’s nothing to fry here,” says the snake. - Put out the fire, we’ll fatten him up first.
And they began to feed. its flatbreads made from selected grains, nuts and sweet milk. Alistair got better, became a man, and a month later he became so fat that instead of eyes, only slits were visible.
“Now is the time to put him on the spit,” the snake rejoiced. -Snake, turn up the fire in the copper stove, and I’ll go and call the guests. No sooner said than done. The snake lit the copper stove, heated it red-hot, put a shovel on the stove, called Alistair and said to him:
Get up on a shovel, climb into the oven! Alistair took it and stood on the shovel with his feet.
- Get down! - the snake shouts to him.
Then Alistair sits on the edge of the shovel, dangling his legs.
- Ugh, klutz, he doesn’t know how to lie down on a shovel.
- How can I know if my eyes have never seen a shovel or a stove? Show me how to lie down.
- Get down! - the snake screamed, climbed onto the shovel, lay down on its back, stretched out its legs, arms along its body, and that’s all Alistair needed. As soon as the snake settled down more comfortably, he grabbed a shovel! - and in an instant he threw the snake into the very depths of the oven, with a pet - bang! - Covered it well with the flap.
Alistair grabbed the serpent's bush and went home. Walking
hums to himself, and at this time the serpent, satisfied, returns home with the guests, seats them at the table and heads to the copper stove. When he opened the shutter and saw the snake, he almost had a blow. He took the dagger and chased after Alistair. He rushed with the speed of lightning, sparks fell from his eyes, steam came from his nostrils, smoke poured from his ears, and everywhere he stepped, he plunged mountains into the abyss.
When the dragon reached the river, Alistair was already hiding in the distance. Angry
the snake shouted:
Hey hey, dog Alistair! It was you who stole the candle, deprived me of my good horse, killed my son, dragged Kushma away and baked the snake in the oven! Alistair turned around and answered him:
Calm down, dragon dog, You will begin to remember evil, - Don’t blow your head off either!
Then he slowly walked to the master's mansions. He gave the master the kushma, but did not have time to rest from the road when the master called again:
“He brought me a horse, he brought me some bushma, and now I want the snake itself.”
Before setting off, Alistair found a hatchet, a hacksaw, a chisel, a staple, and plugs in the master's yard, put it all in a bag and wandered off. Near the serpents, the choir turned around, he was an old man with a beard down to his knees, with a gray head. As he approached the serpentine gate, he began to call people:
“The owners are respectable and noble people who need barrels, let them come to me.” I make tubs and barrels for wine, and I have large barrels.
The snake, as he heard it, called him into his yard, and they agreed that the cooper would make him several new barrels and fix the rest. The master began to cooper and in a few days made such an oak barrel that it was impossible to take his eyes off it. The serpent's heart jumped with joy in his chest when he saw the barrels coming out from under the master's hands.
“Well, now my barrels won’t leak,” he says to the cooper.
“They won’t leak if you help me with something, because I’m old, my vision has become poor and I can’t see all the holes to clog them with cattails.”
- What should I do, grandfather?
- Get into this barrel, look at it: is there any gap between the rivets? The snake climbed into the barrel, examined all the rivets from the first morning to the last, but did not find a single gap.
- No, grandfather, the stave fits into the stave - they are so well laid and planed.
- Wait a minute, now I’ll attach the bottom again, you’ll see if it fits well. Alistair attached one bottom, attached another.
- Can you see anything?
- Not a single hole.
- Pout, apply some force, let’s check if the barrel is strong! ka. — The snake inflates, bursting the barrel.
- Stronger! - the master shouts.
“Ugh, uh, uh…” is heard from the barrel.
- Puff up as much as you can, apply pressure! “Not a single hoop shook, not a single rivet moved from its place on the barrel.” And the snake is already screaming:
- No more of my urine!
- Well, then take the job to your health.
The snake realized that it had fallen into the hands of Alistair, but it could not get out of the barrel. And Alistair rolled the barrel, and in it, like a squirrel in a wheel, the snake was spinning, knocking off its sides, then hitting its head on the bottom. So Alistair rolled the snake all the way to the threshold of his master’s house.
When the master heard that Alistair had returned, he went out into the yard, worried and surprised, because since he lived, he had heard about dragons, but had never seen them.
- Alistair, quickly knock out the bottom, I want to look at it.
- No, master, if I open the barrel, he will finish us all off.
“Then make a hole, I can’t wait to look at it with at least one eye.”
Alistair took a drill, drilled a hole, and as soon as the master laid his eye on it, the snake pulled the air into itself, and with it the master into the hole, like a thread, so that not a trace remained of it.
“Here you go,” said Alistair, “I wanted a snake and flew into death.” Alistair picked up the barrel and threw it on a pile of wood that was found in the yard, set it on fire and the snake and the master burned, not even ashes remained from them. Alistair finally got rid of the snake, got rid of the master, and, tired as he was, went to his closet to rest. As soon as he opened the door, the candle that had been burning all the time suddenly swayed from side to side, flared brightly and, as if in a fairy tale, turned into a girl, young and so beautiful that you could stand all day and look at her.
- Tell me, dear, who you are and why this is so. you are tormented: you don’t walk, you don’t talk, you just burn all the time, probably without knowing why.
- Dear Alistair Fat-Frumos, my suffering is now over, you saved me from it by killing the hated dragon dog.
And the girl began to tell how the snake stole her, wanting to make her his son’s wife, but she did not give in, and then the snake cursed her: as long as he lives, she will be a candle that burns incessantly, but does not warm anyone and does not light anything.
“And so it would have been for many years, if you had not been in the world, and you had not disenchanted me from the snake’s spell.”
Alistair hugged her, kissed her, called all the people in the area, and they had a wedding, and what a wedding!
A lot of people gathered there - they were feasting and having fun, I was among them, drinking and eating, I don’t remember how much. Maybe today I would celebrate a wedding with them if I didn’t have to tell you a fairy tale about what happened to Alistair Fat-Frumos.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru