There lived one boy, his name was Bakhrom. One day he was playing on the street and found an apricot seed. He brought the bone to his mother and said:
“Mom, I’ll split this bone and eat the grain!”
“Don’t eat!” said the mother. “Go and plant an apricot seed in the ground.” Water it, dig it in - a tree will grow and there will be fruit on it. You will eat them and enjoy.
“Okay,” said Bakhrom. He went and planted an apricot seed in the ground, watered it and said: “If you don’t grow by the time I arrive, I’ll dig you up and eat you!”
One day Bakhrom came to a planted apricot and saw that a tree had grown from it. He ran to his mother and said:
“A tree has grown from a seed, I’ll break it, make myself a siskin with a stick and play!”
“Don’t break the tree,” said the mother. “Water it, dig it in, the tree will become big and bear fruit.”
Bakhrom went to the tree, did not break it, but watered it, dug it in and said:
“Oh little tree, if you don’t grow big by the time I arrive, I’ll uproot you and throw you away!”
One day Bakhrom came to a tree. He sees that the tree has become a large tree with many branches covered with thick leaves. Bakhrom watered this tree, dug it in and said:
“If you are not showered with fruit when I arrive, I will chop you for firewood, take you home and let your mother burn you!”
Here comes Bakhrom to the tree. He sees that the tree is covered with apricot fruits. Bakhrom was delighted, climbed the tree and began to eat apricots.
When he was sitting and eating apricots, Baba Yaga crept up to the tree in the form of a blind old woman, she was with a staff in her hand and a bag over her shoulders. Standing under a tree, the old woman thought:
“I’ll eat this boy, take over his tree and eat his apricots!”
Baba Yaga thought about this and said to Bakhrom:
- Boy, I came from afar, my throat is dry, give me some apricots, I’ll wet my throat!
“Okay!” said Bakhrom. He picked more apricots, threw them to the old woman and said:
- Here, take it and eat!
“Oh boy,” said Baba Yaga, “I’m unhappy, blind, I can’t see anything, give me the fruit yourself!”
Bakhrom climbed down from the tree, picked up the abandoned apricot and handed it to the old woman. As soon as he held out the apricot, Baba Yaga grabbed him by the hands, pushed him into her bag and, putting the bag on her shoulders, carried Bakhrom to her home.
Baba Yaga came home, put the bag aside, poured oil into the cauldron and began to light a fire under the cauldron.
While Baba Yaga was sitting and lighting a fire under the cauldron, Bakhrom tore through the bag and crawled out of it. He ran out of Baba Yaga's house, ran up to the poplar tree and climbed to its very top.
Baba Yaga lit a fire and looked at the bag. He sees that there is no boy in the bag. She looked here and there, but couldn’t find Bakhrom anywhere. Baba Yaga began to shout to him:
- Boy, where did you go? Bakhrom shouted from the tree:
- I'm here!
- Boy, how did you get up there?
“I heated an iron shovel red-hot, sat on it and flew up a tree!” Baba Yaga returned to the hearth, heated a shovel on the fire, sat down on it, and immediately
She was badly burned and died.
And Bakhrom saved himself and his tree.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru