Once upon a time there lived two brothers. They were orphans and went from house to house for alms in their region. The eldest was called Cochenard, and the younger was Turken. They were never separated, and where one went, the other went with him. They turned twelve years old, but they still did nothing, but only begged for alms. Then people began to look at them not so pitifully, they said that it was time for them to start working and earn their own bread. Noticing this, the brothers left the village. One day Cochenard, who was smarter than Turquin, but was distinguished by bad inclinations, said to his brother:
“I know what would have to be done so that we would be given a good welcome everywhere, so that we would be willingly given food and shelter on the farms and a lot of pennies at fairs and in monasteries.”
- What exactly? - Turken asked curiously.
“If one of us were blind, and the other were his guide and walked with him from house to house, from one holy place to another, then we would not suffer need for anything.”
- That’s right, but we’re both sighted.
- Of course, but there is nothing easier than becoming blind.
- How?
- How? Just gouge out the eyes of one of us.
—— This is not good, Cochenard; God gave us good eyes, and we should not voluntarily deprive ourselves of our sight, and besides, it must be very painful when our eyes are gouged out!
——— That's nonsense! This is a matter of one minute!.. But just think how good it will be for us! No one will pass us by without giving us at least one sou, and we will be able to buy ourselves nuts, pears, apples, knives, new boots... in a word, everything we want.
Cochenard painted such a tempting picture of the happiness awaiting the blind man that poor Turken, who was not very intelligent, agreed, and the brothers decided to draw lots to find out which of them should have their eyes gouged out. Cochenard held straws in his fist and arranged it so that fate condemned Turken to be blind. Then the hard-hearted brother pulled a thorn from the hedge and gouged out both his eyes. The unfortunate Turken suffered greatly and screamed loudly in pain. He was pitied everywhere, wherever he appeared, and from that day on both brothers received a wide variety of donations: clothes, white bread, meat and money. Cochenard took everything for himself, ate white bread and meat himself, and gave black bread and potatoes to Turken.
They went to fairs, to holy places, and money fell like rain into the wooden bowl of the unfortunate blind man. Cochenard took everything for himself. When he had accumulated a lot of money, he decided to get rid of his brother. He led him into a dense forest and assured him that they were lost. When night came he said:
“Let’s lie down here on the moss under the oak tree and wait for dawn.”
Turken, suspecting nothing, stretched out at the foot of the tree and immediately fell asleep. As soon as he began to snore, Cochenard quietly left, mercilessly leaving his brother to the mercy of fate, without bread and money. The unfortunate blind man woke up in the morning and began to call Cochenard. But Cochenard did not respond to his call, and Turken thought that he was drunk. Then he began to call him louder and louder, shouted, rummaged around the tree, but his brother was nowhere to be found.
“It can’t be that he left me like that,” thought Turken. - He will come, of course; we have to wait."
He waited for a long time, until the evening, and from time to time loudly called Cochenard; but no one responded, and Cochenard did not come. Then Turken realized that he had been abandoned and began to cry bitterly.
Night came, he was hungry, and he had no food. He fell into complete despair and thought: “Either I will die of hunger at the foot of this tree, or I will be eaten by the wild animals that live in this forest! Ah, Cochenard, Cochenard, what did I do to you, why did you do this to me?.. I have only one thing left: to climb this tree and throw myself down from it, so as to break my neck and not fall alive to the wolves that howl around!..”
He climbed the tree, and just as he was about to throw himself down, he heard a lion's roar under the tree. Soon the boar came running and grunted: “Oh, oh!” Then a howl reached Turken’s ears, and after a while a wolf appeared.
-Where have you been, wolf? “You’re pretty late,” the lion asked him.
“I was in the city of Luxembourg, where both people and animals die of thirst,” answered the wolf. - Well, I made some money there, you can be sure of it! Look at my belly! That's why I was a little late.
“I know how to get water in the city of Luxembourg,” said the lion, “and I also know a remedy that heals all diseases and all kinds of injuries, whatever they may be.”
- What needs to be done for this? - asked the wolf. Needless to say, Turken, sitting on a tree, listened carefully to the conversation of the animals.
“Well, listen, what needs to be done to have water in Luxembourg,” answered the lion. “We need to take a piece of the root of the very tree under which we are now standing, go to Luxembourg with this piece of root and hit it three times on the rock that is located in the middle of the city, saying at the same time: “Water!” Water! Water!" Immediately from this rock a spring of clean and fresh water will flow, so abundant that there will be enough water for the entire city - both people and animals.
- What is this remedy that cures all illnesses and all injuries? - asked the wolf.
“But I’ll tell you,” said the lion. “You need to take a piece of the bark of this tree, rub it on a wound or a sore part of the body, and immediately everything will go away as if by hand.” If, for example, a person or animal does not see anything, all you have to do is apply the bark to the eyes, and he will immediately see as well as you and I. I just returned from Spain. The daughter of the king of this country felt unwell after receiving communion and on her way back she vomited in the courtyard of the royal palace, so that the holy wafer fell to the ground. Immediately a toad jumped out of the hole, swallowed the wafer and disappeared under a stone in the depths of the pool, which is located in the far corner of the yard. The princess immediately began to swell, and now her skin is so stretched that it is about to burst. In addition, the princess is experiencing great suffering, and not a single doctor can recognize her illness. The king himself, in despair, promises to give his daughter to the one who will cure her, no matter who he is.
“And you think that the bark of this tree will heal her?” - asked the wolf.
“The bark alone is not enough to heal her,” the lion objected. “Here’s what you need to do to achieve complete success: you need to pull the toad out of the pool where it hid, and prepare a drink for the king’s daughter from toad blood mixed with wine; then give her to eat toad meat, fried in oil. There is no other remedy in the world that could restore her health, but not a single doctor, even the most learned, would dare to undertake the treatment I am talking about.
After that, all three - the lion, the wolf and the boar - left. These were devils who took the form of animals to make it easier for them to do their business.
It is clear that Turken did not miss a single word of what was said, for although he was blind, he was not deaf, and exclaimed:
—— Life in the world is not so bad!
At this time the sun rose. Turken came down from the tree, cut off a piece of bark from this oak tree with a knife and rubbed his eyes with it. Oh happiness! His vision immediately returned to him, as if the poor fellow had never been blind. He saw the shining sun, threw himself on his knees and thanked God with all his heart. He cut off a large piece of bark and put it in his pocket to heal the sick who met on his way; With the same knife, he loosened the ground and, finding a thin root of this tree, cut it off and took it with him to get water for the inhabitants of the city of Luxembourg. Then he set off.
His clothes were in tatters, and since he had no money, he had to beg for alms in order to somehow survive. After many misadventures, he arrived in Luxembourg and went straight to the priest to ask for an overnight stay.
- Where are you from? - the priest asked him. “From France,” was the answer.
“Well, then go back to France, I don’t have bread for you.”
And the curé slammed the door in his very face.
Then he went to the mayor of the city, but he received him no better than the priest. The prefect pushed him out in the same way as the priest and the mayor.
“How strange,” thought Turken, “I came here in order to save these people who are in danger of dying from thirst, and they do not want to shelter me and give me a piece of bread, which in my country is not denied even to a beggar sent by God! But perhaps poor people will treat me more kindly; Until now I have only approached the rich.”
A poorly dressed girl was walking down the street towards him, crying bitterly. He approached her and asked:
- Why are you crying so much, girl?
“Alas, there are reasons for this,” she answered, “my father, mother and two brothers died of thirst!”
“Well, I’ll probably die not of thirst, but of hunger, because in this city no one wants to give me a piece of bread.”
“Come to me, I’ll break off a piece for you from the edge that I have left, and I’ll try to make you feel better.”
- May God bless you and send you happiness.
He went with the girl all the way to her house, and she gave Turken a piece of black, moldy bread, which he ate with great greed.
“I can’t give you water, milk, wine, or cider,” she said. I myself will probably soon die of thirst, like my father, my mother and brothers.
“Take the water jug and come with me,” Turken told her then.
And they headed together to the rock, which was located in the middle of the city. Turken hit the rock with the root three times, saying: “Water! Water! Water!" And now a spring gushed out of the rock. There was a lot of water, it was clean and transparent. The girl filled the jug and went home, accompanied by Turken. Very soon the news spread that some stranger, a beggar whom no one knew, had drawn a source of clean and clear water from the rock. People came running from everywhere with jugs and various vessels, and throughout the entire area people drank water with cries of joy.
When the thirst was quenched, they began to look for the stranger to whom the entire city owed its salvation.
Finally he was found in a poor girl's shack.
The priest, the prefect, the mayor and all the leading officials of the city visited him and expressed their desire to solemnly lead him through the streets of the city, with music at the front of the procession. But he told them:
“No, you refused me a piece of bread when I knocked on the doors of your houses, and if it weren’t for this poor girl who shared with me what little she had, I would probably have died of hunger.” Therefore, I will stay with her, in gratitude for the service she has done me.
The officials and wealthy citizens of Luxembourg feared that Turken, who had so easily delivered them a wonderful spring, could just as easily remove it, and they begged his forgiveness on their knees and laid bags of gold and silver at his feet. But he kicked away their gold and silver. They offered him a magnificent castle and asked him to stay forever in the city of Luxembourg, but he answered them with these words:
“Now I cannot stay with you, because I must go on a journey that cannot be delayed in any way.” On the way back I'll stop by to see you and then be
Maybe I’ll live in your city forever. However, you have nothing to fear: the spring will not dry up in my absence.
He was given a magnificent golden carriage drawn by beautiful horses, and he set off for Spain. Arriving in the capital of this state, he stayed at the best hotel, and there he was received like a prince. After dinner, he called the innkeeper to talk with him and inquire about the news in this state.
— What's new in your city? - he asked the innkeeper.
“The only thing we’re talking about here is about the illness of the royal daughter, the beautiful princess whom everyone loves very much.”
- What is she sick with?
“But no one knows this, and the best doctors cannot understand her illness.” The poor princess is burning all over and is so swollen that her skin is about to burst. She is suffering a lot. Some claim that she is possessed by a demon, and apparently she is.
- How is it that no doctor can help her?
“I already told you that they cannot understand her illness; Doctors from all over the country and even from foreign lands came to see her, and every day she got worse and worse. She has been ill for six months now, and if the poor girl does not get better, she will undoubtedly die soon.
- So, listen: I am a doctor from the kingdom of France, I know an excellent remedy for tumors, whatever their cause, and I confidently declare that I will cure your princess.
“Oh, if this is really so, then your future is secure, because the king loves his daughter more than anything in the world; he is terribly killed and is ready to give all his treasures for her healing.
- Go and tell him that a doctor from France stopped by your place; he knows the right remedy for tumors, which always works.
The innkeeper ran to the palace to tell the king this good news.
- Let him come here now! - exclaimed the inconsolable father. “Nothing will be denied to him if only he saves my dear daughter.”
Turken immediately went to the palace and was led into the princess’s room. She was so bad that it was pitiful to look at her. Foam appeared on her lips, she screamed and fought like one possessed.
“Well, doctor,” the king turned to him, “what can you say about the situation of my daughter?”
“The situation is difficult, but I am responsible for her, my lord; trust me and let me do what needs to be done.
“If you cure her, I will reward you in a way that no doctor has ever been rewarded before.”
- Please leave me alone for a few minutes: in your yard and in your garden I need to pick the herbs necessary to prepare the medicine that will save your daughter.
Turken went into the castle courtyard and, pretending to collect herbs around the pool, grabbed a toad that was hiding under a stone. She was huge and weighed eighteen and a half pounds. He wrapped her in the tail of his jacket, went with her to the garden and brought from there a whole armful of all kinds of herbs and flowers. He then asked to be left alone in the kitchen for a while, as he had to prepare some medicine. First of all, he released the blood from the toad and collected it in a special vessel. He mixed the blood with a glass of old red wine, heated this mixture and presented it to the princess with the words:
- Drink, princess, your health is here! The princess took a sip, then pushed the vessel away and
exclaimed:
- God, how disgusting it is!
But a minute later she felt that she felt better, and since the doctor insisted that she drink more, she did not object anymore and swallowed every last drop in one gulp.
- Oh, how this drink helps me! - she said.
And indeed, she stopped screaming and writhing, completely calmed down and quietly fell asleep.
And Turken again went into the kitchen to prepare another medicine with which he was supposed to finish the treatment. He cut the toad into small pieces, prepared a mash of them and fried it, and in the evening, when the princess woke up, he forced her to eat a third of the toad meat; she ate the other third at noon the next day, and the last at sunset. After that she completely recovered. Her happiness and joy knew no bounds: she sang, danced, hugged her savior and did not want to be separated from him, and the old king did not lag behind his daughter.
They showered Turken with gifts and did not want to let him go. The princess fell in love with him, and the old king decided to abdicate the throne in favor of his future son-in-law. Turken was so persuaded that in the end he promised to "marry the princess. However, he asked that he first be allowed to go home for a few days: he, they say, needs to arrange some affairs and tell his father and mother about his luck, whom he will certainly take with him on the way back. The king and princess were afraid that he would not return, and wanted to accompany him. Then he ran away at night, disguised as a beggar, and headed to Luxembourg, where he promised to return.
Now he had no shortage of money. Therefore, having crossed the border of Spain, in the first town he came across, he threw off his beggarly clothes and turned into a rich nobleman. He arrived in Luxembourg without hindrance and stayed in the best hotel. After dinner, talking with the hotel owner, he asked him about city news.
“The only talk in the city is about the castle made of gold and silver, built by the inhabitants of Luxembourg, and indeed, it is a miracle of miracles,” answered the innkeeper.
- For whom was this castle built? - asked Tyurken.
“For the one whom the people of Luxembourg consider their savior, for the man who gave us plenty of water at a time when we were all in danger of dying from thirst.”
- That's how it is! And who is this person? Has he already settled in his castle?
- No, he doesn’t live there yet, because he went to travel, and no one knows where; but they are expecting him any day now. Oh, if only you could see this castle! I tell you: miracle of miracles. The walls are made of silver, the windows and doors are made of pure gold, and in the garden there is a fountain and a pond, the bottom of which is lined with silver slabs...
“And you don’t know the name of the person who is destined for such a magnificent castle?”
- No, no one knows his name; he came to our city only to save us, and then went to another country to do good deeds there too, but he promised to return soon. We hope to keep him with us, and for this, as soon as he returns, we will marry him to the daughter of our prefect. This girl is undoubtedly the most charming creature that exists under the starry sky.
—— Is that so? - Turken said smiling, and went to bed, since it was late.
The next morning he went for a walk around the city. He was glad that the spring that he had drawn from the rock was still flowing, clean and transparent. Then, he went to the poor orphan girl, who took him in, while the authorities and rich citizens so rudely pushed him away. In the beautifully dressed nobleman who stood in front of her, she did not recognize the beggar dying of hunger, covered in rags, with whom she shared her black bread and her wretched home. She lived with her sister; They lived poorly, but honestly, earning their living by sewing.
- Do you know me? - Turken asked her.. ‘She raised her eyes to him and answered:
- No, sir, I don’t have the honor of knowing you. - Take a good look.
She looked again and said:
- It seems to me that I have never seen you,
“Don’t you remember that you once shared your bread and your shelter with an unfortunate beggar who would have died of hunger without your help?”
——Sir, I have more than once had the opportunity to share my bread with the poor.
“The one I’m telling you about brought out a spring of pure and clear water from a rock that is located in the middle of your city, and thereby saved the inhabitants of Luxembourg, otherwise they would have died of thirst!”
- Oh, my God, is it really you?
She looked him straight in the face and added:
- Yes, yes, now I recognize you! I'm so glad to see you! And how glad the residents of our city will be when they find out that you have returned!
And she told him what he already knew from the innkeeper - about the beautiful castle and about his proposed marriage to the prefect’s daughter,
Soon everyone learned about the arrival of the savior of Luxembourg, and the whole city was in motion. The prefect, the mayor, the curé and all the officials solemnly appeared at his hotel, the musicians walked ahead. The prefect made an excellent speech and, handing Turken the keys to the castle built for him by the grateful inhabitants of Luxembourg, invited him to immediately take possession of the castle. “My wife and daughter, as amiable as she is beautiful,” he added, “both await you there to do you due honor.”
Turquin thanked the people of Luxembourg for their warm welcome and answered the prefect that, before taking possession of the castle, he would like to get a girlfriend who would live there with him, and that he intended to choose one of the inhabitants of Luxembourg. Therefore, he asks that all young women in Luxembourg between the ages of fifteen and twenty be notified so that the next day they will gather in the main square of the city, at the spring near the rock, and there he will choose a wife for himself.
Since they believed that Turken could only marry a girl from the best and richest family and that he would undoubtedly choose the daughter of the prefect, they invited only the daughters of the most important citizens of the city. The next day, at the appointed hour, all these girls appeared at the indicated place, dressed to the nines, one more beautiful than the other, and each was quite confident of their victory.
The prefect's daughter walked ahead of everyone, shining with jewels, dressed like a princess. They were all lined up around the square, and Turken slowly walked past them. like a general reviewing his troops. He looked at everyone, one after another, and did not stop in front of anyone, which did not please many fathers and mothers, and especially the prefect and his wife. Then he said to the prefect who followed him:
- Not all the girls in your city are present here: let them show me others tomorrow.
The next day he was shown the daughters of wealthy citizens and merchants. He inspected this too and, having reached the last one, again said to the prefect:
“I don’t see here the one who should be my wife; I need to show the others.
On the third day, young workers of all professions, maids and even beggars were called together. He didn’t have time to take even a few steps when he noticed the girl who sheltered him; he approached her, took her by the hand, led her out of the ranks and, introducing her to the people of Luxembourg, said:
- This is the one I chose as my wife! She received me well when everyone pushed me away; she showed me hospitality and shared her bread with me, and today I want to thank her for that.
Great was the amazement of the citizens, and equally the disappointment of some fathers and mothers.
The wedding was celebrated immediately, a magnificent wedding, and Turken settled in the castle with his wife and sister-in-law.
Six months passed, and Turken organized a big hunt, to which he invited many people. The hunt took place in the very forest where he was abandoned by Cochenard. He immediately recognized the tree he had climbed with the intention of throwing himself down and breaking his neck. Under this tree. he now saw an unfortunate poor man in rags, whose body was covered with sores. It was clear that he had not eaten anything for a long time and was in danger of starvation. Turken immediately got off his horse to heal him, since the remedy was right there, at hand.
“You look bad, poor fellow,” he told him with compassion.
“You’re right, sir, but it’s what I deserve.”
- How so?
- Oh, this is all so sad!.. I had a brother, and when we were young, we both went from house to house and begged for alms, because we were orphaned early, and our parents left us nothing. So we lived on the alms of kind people, until one day the thought occurred to me that if one of us were blind, then we would evoke more compassion in people and we would live much better. And I gouged out both eyes of my unfortunate brother, and after that we moved to other places. Indeed, from that time on I did not lack anything, neither food, nor clothing, nor money. When, therefore, I had a tidy sum, I came here with my brother, pretended to be lost, and told him that I would have to spend the night in the forest. We lay down under this tree, and when my brother was fast asleep, I ran away, leaving him to his fate, alone, without bread and money. I don't know
What happened to my poor brother: he was probably torn to pieces by wild animals. But God punished me for that. I wasted money crazy, and besides, I didn’t want to work, so, as you can see, I fell into the most terrible need. I am severely punished, but I admit that I deserve it. So I came to die under the very tree where I left Turken. Turken, moved to tears, exclaimed: “I am your brother!” Don't you recognize me, Coche-nard? - And he hugged him with excitement. - Calm down, my poor brother; I forgive you with all my heart. First I will heal you, and then we will go to my castle, and while you live, you will not suffer need for anything, for I am lucky and now I am rich.
He made a cut in the tree trunk with a dagger, removed a piece of bark and put it in his pocket.
The hunt ended, and Cochenard was given a horse, but since he could not stay in the saddle, his brother put him on his horse, and together they headed to the castle. Everyone was amazed and could not understand what it all meant. When they arrived at the castle, Turken, despite the terrible and repulsive appearance of Cochenard, brought him to his wife and sister-in-law and said:
“Here I introduce you to my brother Cochenard.” They screamed in horror and turned away. Then, turning to his sister-in-law, he asked her:
“You would do me great pleasure, sister-in-law, if you agreed to marry my brother.”
Cochenard.
The sister-in-law made a grimace, but nevertheless answered:
“I will willingly marry him, son-in-law, both to please you and.” because he is your brother.
Then Turken took Cochenard into the garden, to the shore of the pond, washed him and rubbed him with tree bark; the ulcers disappeared and he became a handsome man. Then Turken gave him his dress, which turned out to fit perfectly, and then again brought him to his sister-in-law and said:
- Here is your groom!
Seeing such a handsome man in front of her, she no longer did
grimace!
The wedding took place right away, without delay. The wedding was luxurious, with feasts and games, and both brothers and their wives lived in peace and harmony in the castle.
Only one thing tormented Cochenard and gave him no rest:
How did his brother become sighted and how did he become so rich?
One day he asked him a question:
“I would really like to know how your sight returned and how you got so rich!”
“It’s nothing, my brother, don’t worry and don’t think about it anymore.”
Several times Cochenard turned to him with the same question, and each time Turquin showed dissatisfaction and gave the same answer. But one day, after particularly urgent requests, he said:
“Okay, if you insist so much, then I’ll tell you... but meanwhile I feel that it would be better for you never to know this.”
And he told him how, having decided to commit suicide, he climbed a tree under which three animals were gathered - a lion, a wolf and a boar, and from them he learned two secrets that laid the foundation for his wealth. However, he did not reveal the secrets themselves.
Cochenard was jealous of Turquin. He lost sleep and, dreaming of having his own castle, in which he would be the complete master, decided to spend the night on that tree in the forest in order to also find out some secret. He said nothing to either his wife or brother and left secretly in the evening.
Arriving in the forest, he easily found a tree and climbed up it. Around midnight he heard a roar, and soon a lion appeared. A minute later he heard a howl, and a wolf appeared after the lion. Then he heard the footsteps of some animal that was making its way through the bushes, all the while grunting: “Oh, oh!” It was a boar. When all three animals - and these were devils - gathered around the tree trunk, the lion said:
- Well, what's new, comrades? Did you have a good day?
“As for me, I can’t complain,” answered the wolf. “But we must be careful and not speak so recklessly.” You know well how much we suffered for our dealings with the inhabitants of Luxembourg, who were dying of thirst, and for the story with the daughter of the Spanish king, and, probably, you have not yet forgotten the great anger of our master Beelzebub, when he was convinced that the victims that he already considered his own had escaped us. We must first see if anyone is hiding in the bushes or somewhere nearby.
And they searched the bushes and found no one. But the wolf raised his muzzle and saw Cochenard, who was hiding among the foliage.
- Oh, here he is, the cunning one! - he exclaimed. “This time he won’t leave us!”
- But how to get it? - asked the boar.
“We need to undermine the tree,” said the lion.
And the three of them got to work. They dug the ground and threw it aside: the boar used its snout, and the other two with its claws, and in this way they undermined the roots of the tree, and it fell. Then all three rushed at the unfortunate Cochenard and tore him to pieces.
Since he did not return to the castle by night and did not tell anyone where he had gone, the castle began to worry. They looked for him everywhere, but found him nowhere.
Then Turken had a premonition that trouble was in store for his brother. “The unfortunate man must have gone into the forest to spend the night in a tree,” he thought.
He ran into the forest and when he saw a fallen tree, the ground torn up by the claws of animals, and bones scattered around, he immediately understood what was happening. He had a kind heart and truly mourned his brother.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru