In times long past, there lived a girl. Her name was Rose Flower.
One day Rose Flower was picking tulips in a field. So she walks and walks across the field and suddenly sees a completely unfamiliar place. There is a grove in the middle of the field, and behind the trees you can see a castle surrounded by a high wall.
Rose Flower came closer. He looks - the iron gates of the castle are tightly closed, rusty from time to time and overgrown with vines. Apparently, no one had opened them for a long time.
Rose Flower stepped towards the gate. Suddenly the vines parted in front of her and the iron gates swung open. Rose Flower looked into the yard. She stepped once, twice. Before she could take the third step, the gate behind her slammed shut.
It was getting dark. What was to be done? Rose Flower entered the castle. He goes and is surprised: the rooms are one more beautiful than the other, candles are burning brightly everywhere, and there is not a living soul anywhere.
Rose Flower approached the door of the very last room and thought: Maybe there will be someone here? She opened the door, and in the room, on a fluffy carpet, lay a young hero of amazing beauty.
This is probably the owner of the castle, thought Rose Flower. She approached the young man, and he lay there and seemed not to be breathing at all. All his legs are covered with needles!
Rose Flower squatted down and began to pull the needles out of the young man’s legs. He will pull out the needle and immediately lubricate the wound with a healing balm. He will take out the second one and lubricate it with balm again.
So she spent the bright day and the dark night. When only a few needles remained, Rose Flower's eyes began to close from fatigue. She almost fell asleep.
At this time, bells were heard ringing outside. Rose Flower came out onto the castle wall and looked at a caravan passing nearby.
“Hey, caravan bashi!” shouted the Rose Flower. -
Leave me someone to help me! I'll pay you whatever you want.
Karavan-bashi agreed and left her one girl. And this was a cunning and evil girl, whom the caravan bashi himself wanted to get rid of.
Rose Flower led the cunning girl to the heroic young man and said:
- Take out these needles, and I’ll rest a little.
She said so and immediately fell fast asleep.
When the cunning girl pulled out the last needle, the young hero sneezed loudly, woke up and raised himself on his elbow. The girl says to him:
- I saved you from death!
- Who is this? - asks the young hero, pointing to the Rose Flower.
“And this is my maid,” answered the cunning girl.
Then the young hero said that his sleepy enemies tied him up, stuck needles in his legs and left him alone to die.
The girl kicked the Rose Flower and shouted at her:
“All you know is that you’re sleeping.” Get up, slacker, get to work!
Rose Flower cried bitterly and submitted.
Time passed, the young hero quickly recovered. And when he completely recovered, he decided to go to the city and asked the cunning girl:
- What gift should I bring you?
The cunning girl ordered to bring her the most expensive silks, gold rings, and precious jewelry.
“What do you want?” the hero asked the Rose Flower.
“Bring me a flammable stone,” she answered.
A young hero arrived in the city and began asking the merchants for flammable stones. One merchant says to him:
- This stone is taken by those who are very offended. Why do you need it?
“We need it,” the young man answered briefly.
He returned to the palace, gave the stone to the Rose Flower and decided to see what would happen next.
And Rose Flower walked into the room and placed the stone in front of her. Then she began to cry and began to tell everything that she had to go through.
From the very first words of the Rose Flower, the stone shone from the inside with a bright light. And when she started talking about how she sat day and night, taking needles from the legs of the young hero, how she took a girl from the caravan basha to help and what kind of insult she had to endure now, the stone burst into flames and flared up into a large bonfire.
Out of grief and humiliation, Rose Flower wanted to throw herself into the fire, but then a young hero ran in and picked her up in his arms.
At that same hour they drove the evil and cunning girl out of the palace. And they themselves got married and lived happily into old age.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru