Whether it happened or not, only husband and wife lived in the world. They were very poor. One day my wife went to the neighbors to ask for wheat. They gave me a handful of everything, and she took a lot.
“Go sow,” the wife said to her husband. “Maybe something will happen and we won’t starve so much.”
My husband went and worked all day. And he plowed the field and sowed it. The field came up to everyone's surprise. When the harvest time came, the poor man took a sickle and went to reap.
He approached the field and saw: birds from all over the world had flown in, covered the entire field and were eating the bread. He got angry and began to scold and curse the birds.
Suddenly one black raven separated from the birds, flew up to him and said:
- These birds are my guests. I invited them, and if you do not disgrace me in front of them, I will fulfill any three of your requests and give you everything you ask.
The peasant agreed and went home. The wife asks:
-Where is the bread?
“Not ripe yet,” the husband deceived his wife. Time has passed.
- Why don’t you go and reap? - the wife pesters her husband.
Then the husband of the black raven remembered and decided to go ask him for something in return for his bread.
He walks and doesn’t know where to go, doesn’t know where the black raven’s house is. He walks, and the grandmother deva (evil fantastic creatures, half-humans) meets him. The grandmother dropped the spindle and said:
- Lift it up, son, I can’t bend over. He picked up the spindle and gave it to her.
-Where are you going, son? - asked the grandmother. He told about everything that happened to him. Grandma said:
“You’re lucky, son, that you met me, otherwise you would never have found your way to the black raven.” Go straight, go until evening comes. And when evening comes, stop, and the black raven will find you. He will take you home, bring you a lot of gold, silver, precious stones and say: Take as much as you can. And you say: I don’t want anything except your hand mill.
“Okay,” he said, “I’ll do everything according to your advice.”
Let's go. It goes on and on, evening has come. A poor man stopped and waited. Black crows came out to meet him, led him into the house, sat him down on the carpet, laid out gold, silver, pearls, precious stones in front of him and said:
- Take as much as you can.
“I don’t want gold, silver, pearls, or precious stones,” said the poor man, “give me your hand mill.”
The black crows were upset, but what to do, you can’t break your word - they gave him a hand mill.
The poor man took the mill and carried it away. He drags, but she is so heavy that sweat rolls off him like a hail.
- What did the damned grandmother do to me, why did she destroy me! They gave me so much gold and silver, and I took the mill, it made me sweat! Why do I need her? Do we have many of them in our village?
He walks, drags the mill, grumbles, and a grandmother meets him.
“Put the mill up and turn it,” she says.
The poor man spun it, and all the best food in the world fell out of the mill. They sat down and had a good meal. The poor man thanked his grandmother and took the mill home. He comes and says to his wife:
- Well, tidy everything up properly. My wife swept and tidied everything up.
He turned the mill, and food began to fall. The wife was delighted, they sat down at the table: what they ate, they ate; what they didn’t eat, they threw away.
The husband and wife lived without need.
The husband rejoices: The hand mill will feed us, we won’t have to bother the black crows a second time.
A lot of time has passed.
“It won’t be that I don’t invite the king,” said the man.
The wife said:
- Why should we invite the king? But the husband still invited the king. The king said:
“I’ll accept the invitation, but woe to you if you don’t receive me well.”
The king came with all his troops and servants.
The table is set and they serve the most varied dishes that your heart could desire.
The king sent his advisors to find out who cooks such dishes. The advisers returned and reported that an old woman was sitting alone, turning the mill, and all the food was coming out ready.
The king stopped eating and didn’t touch anything.
The poor man got scared and asked his advisors:
- Why doesn’t the king deign to eat?
They said that the king demanded his mill, otherwise he would not eat.
What could he do? The poor man agreed: “Let him have dinner, I’ll give him the mill.”
The king took away the mill, and the poor man began to starve again.
His wife was so angry that she almost strangled her husband. The poor man remembered the raven's promise. After all, he promised to fulfill three of my requests, but I was with him only once. I’ll go to him again, and off he goes. On the way, I met my grandmother again:
-Where are you going, son? - asked the grandmother. He told her everything. Grandma said:
“When you get there, don’t take gold, silver, pearls, or precious stones, say: I don’t want anything except your donkey.”
“Okay,” he replied, “I’ll do everything according to your advice.”
A poor man came to the house of black crows. Black crows came out, brought him into the house, caressed him, treated him and laid out gold, silver, pearls and precious stones in front of him.
- Choose what you want.
“I don’t want anything,” he says, “give me your donkey.”
The ravens' hearts sank: How will we live if we give him the donkey? But what can you do, you can’t go back on your word, they gave him a donkey.
He leads the donkey and thinks: Damn grandmother, what did she do to me, they gave me so much gold, and I chose this donkey, which has only skin and bones, what do I need it for?
He goes, and the grandmother comes towards him and says to the donkey:
- Well, shout and cover it with gold.
The donkey screamed and poured out so much gold that the peasant under it was completely invisible.
“Now pull him out,” the grandmother ordered.
The donkey hit him with his hoof, dug up the gold and pulled the peasant out of it. The poor man was delighted, thanked the grandmother and went home with his donkey.
She comes and says: “Let me get drunk, old woman.”
She ran to the well, took out fresh water and gave it to him. The peasant got drunk, turned to the donkey and said:
- Well, shout and build me a house with sixteen windows.
The donkey screamed, and immediately the house the peasant wanted appeared.
The husband and wife lived happily and richly again. Again the peasant invited the king to dinner. The king demanded that donkey as a gift. They gave him the donkey. The king left, and the old woman attacked her husband and began to beat him.
- Go to the crows now, ask them for mercy. The poor man set off again. He walked and walked and saw a grandmother coming towards him.
-Where are you going?
- To the black crows.
“Don’t take anything from them except a club,” said the grandmother.
The poor man went to the house of the black crows, the black crows came out to him, brought him into the house, caressed him, treated him, and laid out gold, silver and precious stones in front of him. The man refused everything and asked to give him only a club. The crows were surprised, but fulfilled his request. A peasant walks, carries a club and thinks: is there some other miracle hidden in it? She’s walking, and a grandmother comes towards her.
“Come on,” said the grandmother, “wind up, little stick, don’t kill, but teach the fool a good lesson because he has no sense.” “The club spun and beat the peasant so hard that he could barely drag himself home. He comes and says to the baton:
“Well, wrap yourself up and give my old woman a good lesson.” The baton spun and beat the wife.
The next day he took the wonderful club and went to the king. The courtiers won't let him in.
“Come on, club,” said the peasant, “wrap up and teach them a good lesson!”
The baton spun and beat them off so hard that they were all knocked off their feet.
He entered the palace and went straight to the king: -
- Give me my mill and my donkey! The king became angry and ordered:
- Throw him out!
Then the peasant ordered the club: -
- Come on, cudgel, now show your strength. - The club began to spin, the king howled and shouted:
“Give him the mill and the donkey, and some extra money, just so he can get away with his club as soon as possible!” -
So the peasant returned the mill, and the donkey, and brought a lot more money into the house.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru