The groom bird sits on the top of a thin birch tree. The mouse-bride is walking around the door of her earthen tent. The metal jewelry on her braid jingles, the mouse’s head is pulled back.
— The little birdie groom flew into his tent. He put his hand on his arm, lowered his head and was grieving. The mother bird asked her son:
- What's wrong with you, my dear? Are you sick or what? The little birdie groom answered:
“I just saw a mouse-bride.” She is very beautiful, I want to marry her. The mother bird said:
-Can you marry a mouse? Mice live in the earthen plague. They stay in these places for the winter. If you live here in winter, your tail will freeze; mice have a plague of doors covered in snow.
The little birdie-groom doesn’t listen to his mother’s words, he repeats one thing:
"I want to marry a mouse." Filled my mother's ears with my words.
In the evening, the old birdie returned from hunting. The old birdie said:
“My husband, we need to marry our son.” The old birdie thought for a moment, then began to ask:
-Who will we marry our son to?
- He saw a mouse-bride today. He wants to marry a mouse.
The old birdie said:
- I saw a mouse girl. She's beautiful. But how can our son marry her?
The old birdies thought and thought, and finally decided: they would have to marry their son to a mouse.
The old birdie said:
“In that case, I’ll go and make a match.” The old birdie flew away. Flew to the mouse plague. I entered the chum.
Seeing the unexpected guest, the old mouse began to say:
- Old birdie, what need do you have? You haven't come before.
The old birdie asked:
“Did I find your daughter’s mouse or not?” After being silent for a while, the old mouse said:
“It seems you found my daughter.” As soon as summer passes, autumn will come, and you will go to a warm country.
My daughter doesn’t know how to fly, she walks on the ground. How will she get across the seas?
The old birdie said again:
- How can this be? Apparently, we will have to leave our son with you for one year.
Hearing this, the old mouse did not say a word:
- If you are telling the truth, how can I not give my only daughter for your son?
When they agreed on this, the old birdie flew to her tent. As soon as she reached the chum, the old birdie began to ask her:
- Wife, what kind of speech were you making? The old birdie said:
“If we leave our son with them for one winter, only then will they give up their daughter for him.” At these words, the old birdie lowered his head.
- Well, so it will be.
After some time, the camp of little birds and the camp of mice celebrated a big wedding. The birdie-groom took the mouse-bride as his wife.
The sky has already become autumn. The old birdie and his wife are going to warm countries.
The old birdie said to his son:
- My dear, you will stay here until next year. Next year we will fly back as soon as thawed patches appear.
Having said this, the old birdie flew away along with the other little birds.
After the father and mother flew away, the son of the little birds climbed into the mouse hole. So he lives in a mouse hole for two dark months. It's very cold outside. A northern blizzard is raging. So the strong wind howls.
The birdie-husband once said:
- Mouse-wife, it’s smoky in the plague. Open the door to the street, let the smoke out into the street. I want to see daylight.
The mouse opened the door. The little birdie-husband came out to see the daylight - his tail was frozen to the door. Seeing this, the sons of the mouse jumped up. They ate their son-in-law birdie instantly.
After some time, spring came. Thaws appeared on the ground. The old mouse went out into the street, and from the threshold of the door directed his gaze towards the sun. Then he looked at the ground. He looks and sees an old bird running over the hummocks.
The old birdie also saw his mouse matchmaker. The speech was given by:
- Mouse matchmaker! My son didn't come out. Where did my son go? Hearing these words, the old mouse said:
- Your poor son died. His tail is frozen to the door.
The old birdie began to ask his matchmaker:
- If my son died, where is his grave? The old mouse could not answer this; he could not find a single word.
Then the old birdie raised his voice and began speaking:
- Mouse, my matchmaker, you seem to want to be at enmity with me? If you consider yourself so strong, I will gather an army for myself. Then you will see both my good and my evil.
When the old birdie flew away, the old mouse thought:
“It seems like it’s going to be bad. I’ll have to gather an army too.”
An old mouse went somewhere.
After some time, the old mouse went out into the street. From its doors the plague looks around. Something dark is rising from the south side. The old mouse woman thought: “It’s probably a thundercloud.”
I took a good look and it turned out not to be a thundercloud. It was an army of an old birdie. Ahead of everyone is the old birdie himself.
The old mouse looked towards the north. All sorts of little animals are running across the land from the north. Ahead of everyone is an old mouse.
The two armies came together and began to fight. We fought for a long time, no one else can overcome. Here the old owl grabbed the old mouse and carried him away in his claws, carried him far away.
After this, both large troops dispersed in different directions.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru