The owner of one farm in the east of the country drove his cows out to summer pasture every summer. Now almost no one does this, but then it was accepted everywhere. His daughter was in charge of the pasture. One day, when she was cooking dinner, a guy of about seventeen, handsome and friendly, entered the house. The girl politely greeted him and asked who he was. The guy said that he was Aulv, and asked her to give him milk for his sick mother, because they didn’t have their own cow, and in return he would help her with the housework. The girl agreed. Aulv handed her a wooden jug, and she filled it with milk. Then she fed the guy and told him to come every day, although he had not yet finished milk. Aulv was delighted, thanked his master’s daughter heartily and left.
He brought milk to his mother and told him about the kind peasant girl. The mother considered that the owner’s daughter acted generously and was worthy of all praise.
“I’m only afraid,” she said, “that this meeting will not lead to good and we will not avoid grief.” However, come what may.
Every day Aulv came to the girl, and she gave him milk and fed him. And in the fall she returned to her home. He often visited her there, too, but no one had any idea about it. When the owner found out that his daughter was expecting a child, he was very angry and wanted to find out the name of her boyfriend, but the girl refused to name him. Neither the shepherd who grazed the cows in the pasture, nor the cowwoman who helped milk them, said anything to him either.
In the summer, the owner's daughter went to the pasture again, and Aulv again helped her with the housework. Now the time has come for her to give birth. Aulv did not leave her side for a minute, splashed water in her face and encouraged her in every possible way. She gave birth to a boy, and Aulf took the child to his mother.
“What happens, cannot be avoided,” she said and took the child,
And Aulv returned to his beloved and looked after her until she completely recovered.
Autumn has come, it's time to leave the summer pasture. The girl and Aulv spent a long time discussing what to do next. Aulv asked her not to marry for three years. The girl promised to do everything in her power.
“I’m only afraid that my father will not allow me to wait so long and will force me to marry against my will,” she said.
With this they said goodbye, and the girl went home. Her father met her sternly.
One winter, a peasant, a rich and worthy man, came to them. He wooed the girl, and the owner immediately gave his consent. Having learned about this, the daughter began to ask to be allowed to wait three years. The groom was ready to give in, but the father resisted. He didn’t want to postpone it, and they agreed to have the wedding in a month. The girl heard that there would be no delay, and said to her fiancé:
-Okay, let it be as father wants, but I have one request for you.
The groom promised to do whatever she wished, and she asked that he never take workers to them for the winter without her knowledge. He immediately agreed.
The wedding took place at the appointed time, and the owner’s daughter safely moved to her husband’s estate. The young people got along well with each other. The wife was hard-working, but she was very silent, and no one ever saw her laugh. The husband was a kind man and was ready to do a service for anyone.
So three years passed, the fourth began. Once a peasant was working in his yard and suddenly saw a pleasant-looking man walking with him, a boy of three or four years old. The stranger said hello, the owner answered and asked what his name was. It turned out that the alien’s nickname is Goremyk and he is looking for work to feed himself and his son.
“Take the boy and me with you for the winter,” he asked. “I heard that you and your wife are kind people.”
The peasant promised to take it if his wife did not mind. He went to his wife and told him that some poor man with a little boy was asking to take him in for the winter.
“If you don’t mind, I’d take them,” he said.
“Have you forgotten the word you gave me when I married you?” - asked the wife.
The owner remembered his word.
“That’s why I told him I’d talk to you first.” But I would really like your permission to take this man in for the winter. After all, he has a child.
The wife replied:
- Well, take it, although I don’t like it. Yes, apparently, you still can’t escape fate.
The owner returned to the stranger and said that he was leaving him with the boy for the whole winter, and he gave them a separate outbuilding for housing.
The stranger was a silent and meek man. He never addressed the hostess or even greeted her. But she made sure that she and the boy were always well-fed and did not suffer any need for anything. On Forgiveness Sunday, the host and hostess gathered for church. Before leaving, the owner asked his wife if she had asked everyone on the farm for forgiveness; perhaps she had ever offended someone. The wife replied that she asked.
— And our new employee?
“No,” she answered, “I didn’t offend him.”
The owner said:
- I don't like this. We won't go to church until you ask him for forgiveness.
“You shouldn’t be forcing me to do this, make sure you don’t repent later,” she said and went to the outbuilding where the worker lived with his little son.
The owner waited and waited for his wife, did not wait and went to see why she had been gone for so long. He enters the house and sees his wife and worker, both dead, lying in each other's arms, and a boy is crying over them. The owner almost lost his mind from grief when he realized that he himself was to blame for their death. However, he pulled himself together, called people, ordered them to take away the dead and bury them with honor. And he consoled the boy as best he could and left him with him as his son. When the boy grew up, he became a respected man, got married and had many children.
They say that last winter the housewife revealed to her maid that the man who came to them was Aulv and she knew him when she worked for her father in the summer pasture, and the boy was their son. She said that since they were not destined to get married, then they should not have lived next to each other, because their hearts were burning with love. Therefore, they did not dare to even say a word to each other.
But the maid told all this to the owner when his wife was no longer alive. And since then no one has ever seen him cheerful.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru