In one city there lived a merchant and a merchant’s wife, and the Lord gave them a son, smart beyond his years, named Vasily.
One day the three of them were having lunch; and a nightingale hung in a cage above the table and sang so pitifully that the merchant could not stand it and said:
“If I could find a person who could really tell me what the nightingale sings and what fate it portends, it seems that during his lifetime he would give him half of his estate, and even after his death he would give him a lot of goods.”
And the boy - he was six years old at the time - looked his father and mother in the eyes and said:
“I know that the nightingale is singing, but I’m afraid to say.”
- Speak without concealment! - his father and mother pestered him.
And Vasya said with tears:
“The nightingale foretells that the time will come when you will serve me: father will serve me water, and mother will give a towel to her face and wipe her hands.”
These words painfully upset the merchant and his wife, and they decided to sell their brainchild; They built a small boat, put a sleepy boy in it on a dark night and launched it into the open sea.
At that time, the prophetic nightingale flew out of its cage, flew into the boat and sat on the boy’s shoulder.
Here is a boat sailing on the sea, and a ship is flying towards it with full sails. The shipowner saw the boy, felt sorry for him, took him in, asked him about everything and promised to hold and love him like his own son.
The next day the boy says to his new father:
- The nightingale sings that a storm will rise, break the masts, tear the sails; we need to turn to the camp.
But the shipowner did not listen.
And indeed a storm arose, broke the masts, and tore the sails.
There is nothing to do, you can’t bring back the past; They put up new masts, adjusted the sails and sailed on. And Vasya says again:
“The Nightingale sings that twelve ships are coming towards us, all of them robbers, and they will take us in full!”
This time the shipmaster obeyed, turned towards the island and saw how those twelve ships, all robbers, ran past. The shipman waited as long as necessary and sailed on.
No little or much time passed, the ship landed at the city of Khvalynsk; and the local king has had a raven with a crow and a crow flying and screaming in front of the palace windows for several years now, neither day nor night they do not let anyone calm down.
No matter what they do, no amount of trickery can get them away from the windows; doesn't even take fractions! And the king was ordered to nail down the following letter at all crossroads and piers: if anyone can get rid of the raven and the raven from the palace windows, the king will give him half his kingdom and the youngest princess as a wife as a reward; and whoever takes on such a task and does not do it, his head will be cut off.
There were many who wanted to become related to the king, but they all put their heads under the ax.
Vasya found out about this and began to ask the shipowner.
“Let me go to the king and drive away the raven and the little crow.”
No matter how much the shipman tried to persuade him, he could not stop him.
“Well, go,” he says, “but if anything bad happens, blame yourself!”
Vasya came to the palace, told the king and ordered him to open the very window near which the crow was flying.
He listened to the bird's cry and said to the king:
“Your Majesty, you can see for yourself that there are three flying here: a raven, his wife, a little raven, and their son, a little raven; A raven and a crow argue about who the son belongs to - the father or the mother, and ask them to judge. Your Majesty! Tell me, who owns the son?
The King says:
- To my father.
As soon as the king uttered this word, the raven and the little crow flew to the right, and the little crow to the left.
After that, the king took the boy to himself, and he lived with him in great mercy and honor; He grew up and became a fine fellow, married the princess and took half the kingdom as a dowry.
He once decided to travel to different places in foreign lands, to see people and show himself off: he got ready and went on a journey.
In one city he stopped to spend the night; spent the night, got up in the morning and ordered them to give him a wash.
The owner brought him water, and the hostess handed him a towel; the prince got into conversation with them and found out that it was his father and mother, he cried with joy and fell at their parents’ feet; and then he took them with him to the city of Khvalynsk, and they all began to live together and make good things.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru