Three princes in the evening in the garden
We played ball. Yes, unfortunately
Ellen, their sister, came out to them.
“Catch!” - the younger prince shouted to her,
But the ball flew for the church,
Princess Ellen follows him.
An hour passes, then another.
It's night outside. There is no princess.
“I’m going to look for her!” —Child Roland says.
His brothers are with him. Foot in the stirrup, the horse wheezes.
Sparing no effort,
They galloped to all ends of the earth.
But a year has passed, and two have passed -
The princess was never found.
And then the elder brother went to the famous wizard Merlin, told him about everything that had happened, and asked if he knew where Lady Ellen was.
“The fair Lady Ellen was probably carried away by the fairies,” answered Merlin. - After all, she violated the sacred custom - she walked around the church against the sun! And now she is in the Dark Tower of the Elf King. Only the bravest of knights can free her.
“I will free her or die!” - said the older brother.
“Well, try your luck,” answered the wizard. - Only woe to anyone who dares to do this without good advice!
But the older brother was not afraid of the threat. He decided to find his sister anyway and asked the wizard to help him. Merlin taught the young man what he should and should not do on the road. And Lady Ellen's elder brother went to fairyland, and the two younger ones and the queen mother remained at home to wait for him.
A year passes, two pass -
There is no news from my brother.
There is pain in the heart, longing in the soul.
Where is the deliverance from evil passions?
Then the middle brother went to the wizard Merlin. And Merlin repeated to him everything that he had told the elder. And so the middle brother also went in search of Lady Ellen, and Childe Roland and the Queen Mother remained waiting for him at home.
A year passes, two pass -
There is no news from my brother.
There is pain in the heart, longing in the soul.
Where is the deliverance from evil passions?
Then Lady Ellen’s younger brother, Childe Roland, decided to set off. He went to his mother the queen and asked her permission to do this. But the queen at first did not want to let him go: Childe Roland was her youngest and most beloved son, and losing him meant losing everything for her. But he begged her and begged her, and finally the queen let him go. She gave him the king’s glorious sword, which struck without a miss, and cast a spell over the sword that would grant victory.
And so Child Roland said goodbye to his mother-queen and went to the cave of the wizard Merlin.
“Tell me for the last time,” he asked Merlin, “how to save Lady Ellen and my brothers?”
“Well, my son,” answered Merlin, “only two conditions are needed for this.” They will seem very simple to you, but they are not easy to complete. One condition is to do this and that, the other is not to do such and such. And this is what you need to do: when you get to the land of fairies, cut off the head of everyone who speaks to you with your father’s sword, until you meet your sister Ellen. This is what you must not do: do not eat a single bite and do not drink a sip, no matter how much you want to eat and drink. And if you take a sip or eat even a piece there, in the land of fairies, you will never see the sun again.
Child Roland thanked Merlin for his good advice and set off. He walked and walked and walked further and further until he saw a herdsman tending the king's horses. Child Roland immediately realized that these were the horses of the king of the elves by their glowing eyes. And if so, it means he finally got to the land of fairies.
“Tell me,” Child Roland turned to the tabushnik, “where is the Dark Tower of the Elf King?”
“I don’t know,” answered the herdsman. - Walk a little further and you will see a shepherd. Maybe he'll tell you.
Then Child Roland, without thinking twice, pulled out his glorious sword, which struck without missing a beat, and the herder’s head flew off his shoulders. And Child Roland went further. He walked and walked until he saw a shepherd tending the king's cows. He asked the shepherd the same question.
“I don’t know,” the shepherd answered him. “Walk a little further, you’ll see the bird lady, she’ll know.”
Then Child Roland again raised his glorious sword, striking without a miss, and the shepherd’s head also flew off his shoulders. And Child Roland walked a little more and saw an old woman in a gray cape. He asked her if she knew where the Dark Tower of the Elf King was.
“Walk a little further,” the birdwoman told him, “and you will see a round green hill.” From the foot to the very top it is surrounded by terraces. Walk around the hill three times against the sun and say each time: “Open the door, open the door, let me in.” The third time the door will open and you will enter.
Child Roland went further, but remembered what the wizard told him. So he pulled out his glorious sword, striking without a miss, but the bird had already disappeared, as if she had never existed.
Child Roland went further. He walked and walked until he reached a round green hill, surrounded by terraces from the foot to the very top. He walked around him three times against the sun and each time he said: “Open the door, open the door, let me in.”
The third time the door actually opened. Child Roland entered, the door immediately slammed, and he was left locked in the dark.
True, it was not completely dark here, a faint light penetrated from somewhere, but Child Roland saw neither windows nor candles and could not understand where it was coming from - perhaps through the walls and ceiling? Soon he made out a corridor with arches made of transparent stone. But although there was stone around, the air remained wonderfully warm, as is always the case in fairyland.
Child Roland passed this corridor and finally came to a high and wide double door. It was half open, and when Child Roland opened it wide, he saw a miracle of miracles.
In front of him was a huge hall. Its ceiling was supported by golden columns, and between them stretched garlands of flowers made of diamonds, emeralds and other precious stones. All the ribs of the vaults converged in the middle of the ceiling, and from there a huge lamp, made of one hollow and completely transparent pearl of unprecedented size, hung from a golden chain. A huge carbuncle was spinning inside the pearl. Its bright rays illuminated the entire hall, and it seemed as if the setting sun was shining.
The hall was luxuriously decorated, and at the end of it stood a magnificent bed with a velvet coverlet embroidered with silk and gold, and on the bed sat Lady Ellen, combing her golden hair with a silver comb. As soon as she saw Childe Roland, she stood up and said:
Why are you here, my dear brother?
For better or worse.
Find out who came here
He won't go back.
Come home, my little brother,
I don't wait for freedom anymore.
Leave your head here
For better or worse.
Child Roland, brother, you haven't left,
For better or worse.
Now the king will fly here,
And he will take your life.
But Child Roland did not listen to her. He sat down next to Lady Ellen and told her everything that had happened to him. And in response, she told him how his brothers, one after another, reached the Dark Tower, but the evil elf king bewitched them, and now they lie here as if dead. While they were talking, Child Roland suddenly felt very hungry - after all, the journey was so long. He told his sister about this and asked her for something to eat. Alas, he forgot about the order of the wizard Merlin!
Lady Ellen looked sadly at Childe Roland and shook her head. But the magic spell did not allow her to remind her brother of anything.
So she got up, left the hall and soon returned with bread and milk in a golden bowl. Child Roland was about to take a sip of the milk when he suddenly looked at his sister and remembered why he came here.
“I will not drink a sip or eat a bite,” he said, “until I free my sister Ellen!”
Then they heard someone's steps and a loud voice:
Fi-fi-fo-foot,
I smell human blood here.
Whether he's dead or alive,
There is no peace waiting for him here.
And immediately the wide doors swung open, and the king of the elves burst into the hall.
- We will fight if you dare, unclean spirit! - Child Roland cried and rushed towards him with his glorious sword, which struck without a miss.
They fought for a long time. Finally, Childe Roland brought the elf king to his knees, and he begged for mercy.
“I promise to spare you,” said Child Roland, “if you remove the evil spell from my sister, bring my brothers back to life and set us all free!”
- Agree! - said the king of the elves.
He rose from his knees, walked over to the chest and took out a bottle of blood-red liquid. He moistened the ears, eyelids, nostrils, lips and fingertips of both brothers with it, and they came to life.
Then the elf king whispered a few words to Lady Ellen, and the magic spell fell off her. Then all four left the hall, passed a long corridor and left the Dark Tower of the Elf King. Forever.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru