Once upon a time there lived a French king and queen, and they had a son as beautiful as the sun. Every morning, just before dawn, the young man went hunting, and with him one hundred hounds and seven hundred dogs. And he always returned before sunset.
But one evening the king's son's horse returned alone: its owner had gotten away from his servants and got lost in the forest. The night was dark, wolves howled.
The son of the French king climbed to the top of a huge oak tree and began to follow the four winds of heaven. Not a thing in sight.
Then the son of the French king descended from the top of a huge oak tree, lay down on the ground and fell asleep with a naked sword in his hand. When he woke up, the sun was already rising and the birds were singing.
The son of the French king walked all day, wandering through the forest. He drank from the stream, ate herbs and wild fruits. Then the dark night came. The wolves howled.
The son of the French king climbed to the top of a huge oak tree and began to follow the four winds of heaven. Not a thing in sight.
Then the son of the French king descended from the top of a huge oak tree, lay down on the ground and fell asleep with a naked sword in his hand. When he woke up, the sun was already rising and the birds were singing.
The whole day the son of the French king wandered in the thicket of the forest. He drank from the stream, ate herbs and wild fruits. Then the dark night came. The wolves howled.
The son of the French king again climbed to the top of the huge oak tree and began to follow the four winds of heaven. Finally, on the north side, far, far away, he noticed a small light.
Then the son of the French king descended from the top of a huge oak tree and walked north for a long, long time. An hour before midnight, he knocked at the door of a castle lost in the forest.
- Knock-knock!
A girl as beautiful as the sun opened it for him.
- Hello, beauty! I am the son of a French king. For three days and three nights now I have been wandering in the forest, dying of hunger and thirst. My legs can't carry me anymore. Give me food, beauty, and shelter until the morning.
- Son of the French king, come in, eat quickly and run away from here. This is my parents' castle, the castle of the Ogre and the Ogress. Both are very greedy for human flesh. They are now walking in the forest, but will return as soon as midnight begins to strike. I don't want them to eat you alive. Son of the French king, come in, eat quickly and run away from here.
“Beauty, my legs can’t carry me anymore.”
- Well, son of the French king, come in, eat quickly and hide under the tub.
No sooner said than done. The Ogre and the Ogre returned as soon as midnight began to strike. They were giants, tall as towers and black as soot. Cannibals and cannibals are unbaptized.
- Woo-hoo! Beautiful Janeton, it smells of baptized flesh here.
- No, father! No, no, mother! There is no baptized flesh here. Search and you will see that I am not deceiving you.
The Ogre and the Ogre began to search everywhere and found nothing.
- Woo-hoo! Beautiful Janeton, it smells of baptized flesh here. Go to bed. We'll have a better look tomorrow. If you lied to us, we will eat you alive.
The Ogre and the Ogre went to bed. But Beautiful Janeton was in no hurry to go to bed. From a handful of ash and a glass of her own blood, she molded a pie - a pie endowed with the miraculous power to speak for her until dawn.
Having molded the pie, the Beautiful Zhaneton took a stick and the seven-league boots of the Ogre and the Ogress. Then she raised the tub quietly and quietly:
- Son of the French king, let's quickly run away from here. Bad things are being prepared for us here.
And the two of them rushed off faster than the wind. But the Ogre and the Ogress did not believe the Beautiful Janeton and only pretended to be asleep.
- Woo-hoo! Beautiful Janeton, go to sleep.
The pie, made of ash and blood, answered:
“I’m coming, I’m coming, I’ll just take off my cap.”
The Ogre and the Ogre fell asleep for a moment.
- Woo-hoo! Beautiful Janeton, go to sleep.
The pie, made of ash and blood, answered:
“I’m going, I’m going, I’ll just take off my jacket.”
The Ogre and the Ogre fell asleep for a moment.
- Woo-hoo! Beautiful Janeton, go to sleep.
The pie, made of ash and blood, answered:
“I’m coming, I’m coming, I’ll just take off my skirt.”
The Ogre and the Ogre fell asleep for a moment.
- Woo-hoo! Beautiful Janeton, go to sleep.
The pie, made of ash and blood, answered:
“I’m going, I’m going, I’ll just brush my hair for the night.”
The Ogre and the Ogre fell asleep for a moment.
- Woo-hoo! Beautiful Janeton, go to sleep.
The pie, made of ash and blood, answered:
“I’m going, I’m going, I’ll just take off my shoes.”
The cannibal and the cannibal fell asleep for a moment.
- Woo-hoo! Beautiful Janeton, go to sleep.
But dawn has already arrived. The pie, molded from ash and blood, lost its miraculous power and could no longer be responsible for the Beautiful Janeton.
Then the Ogress jumped out of bed.
- Woo-hoo! A thousand devils! Ten thousand devils! The beautiful Janeton and the baptized flesh ran away with a stick and seven-league boots. Hurry up, hubby, catch up with them! You should catch them in an hour. We will eat them alive.
The ogre took another stick and hundred-year-old boots and flew after the fugitives faster than lightning, so that the Beautiful Janeton and the son of the French king almost got caught.
- Woo-hoo! - shouted the Ogre. - Wait, robbers! Wait, rascals!
But the Beautiful Janeton could help out of any trouble. By the power of her spell, she and the son of the French king immediately turned into birds singing in the bushes on the road:
- Riu-chiu-chiu! Riu-chiu-chiu! Riu-chiu-chiu!
The cannibal stopped and began to question them:
- Woo-hoo!
A small bird, waiting for an answer: Are there no boys and girls here?
- Riu-chiu-chiu! Riu-chiu-chiu! Riu-chiu-chiu!
The Ogre got nothing more from them and returned to his castle. Meanwhile, the Beautiful Janeton and the son of the French king rushed on like the wind.
- Woo-hoo! Well, hubby,” asked the Ogress, “did you catch the Beautiful Janeton and the baptized flesh?”
- Woo-hoo! I only found two birds singing in the bushes on the road. I began to question them. They only answered me: “Riu-chiu-chiu! Riu-chiu-chiu!” I got nothing more from them.
- Uh-huh, fool, it was them!
Run after them quickly, hubby. You should catch them in an hour. We will eat them alive.
The ogre rushed faster than lightning, so that the Beautiful Janeton and the son of the French king were almost caught.
- Woo-hoo! - shouted the Ogre. - Wait, robbers! Wait, rascals!
But the Beautiful Janeton could help out of any trouble. By the power of her spell, she and the son of the French king immediately turned into a drake and a duck, splashing and quacking in a ditch by the road:
- Quack, quack, quack!
The cannibal stopped and began to question them:
- Woo-hoo!
Drake and duck, waiting for an answer: Are the boy and girl not here?
- Quack, quack, quack!
The Ogre got nothing more from them and returned to his castle. Meanwhile, the Beautiful Janeton and the son of the French king rushed on like the wind.
- Woo-hoo! How's it going, hubby? - asked the Ogre. - Have you caught the Beautiful Janeton and the baptized flesh?
- Woo-hoo! I found only a drake and a duck splashing and quacking in a ditch by the road. I began to question them. They only answered me: “Quack, quack, quack!” I got nothing more from them.
- Uh-huh, fool, it was them! Run after them quickly, hubby. You should catch them in an hour. We will eat them alive.
The ogre rushed faster than lightning, so that the Beautiful Janeton and the son of the French king almost got caught.
- Woo-hoo! - shouted the Ogre. - Wait, robbers! Wait, rascals!
But the Beautiful Janeton could help out of any trouble. By the power of her spell, she and the son of the French king immediately turned into a shepherdess, as beautiful as the sun, the shepherdess Berna-dette, guarding her flock on the road.
- Be, be, be!
The cannibal stopped and began to question her and the sheep:
- Woo-hoo! Sweetie, shepherdess Bernadette! White sheep, waiting for an answer: Are there no boys and girls here?
- Be, be, be!
The Ogre got nothing more from them and returned to his castle. Meanwhile, the Beautiful Janeton and the son of the French king rushed on like the wind.
- Woo-hoo! Well, hubby,” asked the Ogress, “did you catch the Beautiful Janeton and the baptized flesh?”
- Woo-hoo! I found only a shepherdess, as beautiful as the sun, the shepherdess Bernadette, guarding her sheep on the road. I began to question them. They only answered me: “Be, be, be!” I got nothing more from them.
- Woo-hoo! Fool, that was them! Run after them quickly, hubby, you should catch them in an hour. We will eat them alive.
The ogre rushed faster than lightning, but this time the Beautiful Janeton and the son of the French king were so ahead of him that he could no longer catch up with them.
A week later they arrived at the Louvre, to the court of the French king.
- Hello, dear parents!
- Hello, our dear son, we mourned you as if you were dead.
- Dear parents, I ended up with the Ogre and the Ogress, who are greedy for baptized flesh. I would be lost without this beauty, without the Beautiful Janeton. Dear parents, I love her so much that no words can describe. Let me take her as my wife, otherwise I will go to the ends of the world and never, never return.
- Our dear son, you will not go to the ends of the world. Take the Beautiful Janeton as your wife.
No sooner said than done. And for a long, long time the son of the French king and the Beautiful Janeton lived happily and richly.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru