A long time ago, poor people lived in a mountain village - an old man and an old woman. They were very sad that they did not have children. One day on a snowy winter day, an old man went into the forest. He collected a large armful of brushwood, put it on his back and began to descend from the mountain. Suddenly he hears a plaintive cry nearby. Look, this crane is caught in a snare, it is struggling and groaning, apparently calling for help. “Oh, you poor thing!” Be patient... Now I will help you. The old man freed the bird. She flapped her wings and flew away. It flies and cooes joyfully. Evening has come. The old people gathered to sit down for dinner. Suddenly someone quietly knocked on their door. “Who could it be at such a late hour?” The old man opened the door. He sees a girl standing in the doorway, covered in snow. “I got lost in the mountains,” she says. “But unfortunately, it’s blowing heavily, you can’t see the road.” “Come to us,” the old woman invites. “We are glad to have a guest.” The old man took the girl by the hand and led her to the fireplace: “Sit down, warm up and have dinner with us.” The three of them had dinner. The old people see that the girl is beautiful and so affectionate. She began to help the old woman with the housework, and then she said: “Grandma, would you like me to stretch your shoulders and rub your back?” “Thank you, daughter.” My back really hurts. What’s your name? “O-Tsuru.” “O-Tsuru, Zhurushka, that’s a good name,” the old woman praised. The old people liked the friendly girl. It’s a pity for them to part with her. The next morning, O-Tsu-ru is getting ready to go on the road, and the old people say to her: “We don’t have children, Zhurushka.” Stay with us to live. - I’ll stay with joy, I don’t have anyone in the world... And in gratitude for your kindness, I’ll give you a good canvas. I only ask you one thing: do not look into the room where I will weave. I don’t like it when people watch me work. The girl got to work. All you could hear in the next room was: kirikara ton-ton-ton. On the third day, O-Tsuru brought a bundle of patterned fabric to the old people. Golden cranes are flying across a red field. “What a beauty!” - the old woman marvels. - Don't take your eyes off!
She felt the fabric: softer than down, lighter than feather. And the old man looked at the girl and became alarmed: “It seems to me, Zhurushka, that you have lost weight.” Your cheeks are so hollow. Next time I won’t let you work so hard.” Suddenly a hoarse voice was heard: “Hey, owners of the house?” It’s the merchant Gonta. He walked around the villages, buying canvas from the peasants. Gonta asks: “Well, grandma, do you have a canvas for sale?” Natkala, right, for the winter? “We have something better this time, Mr. Gonta,” the old woman answers. - Here, take a look. Our daughter Zhurushka wove this,” and unrolled the scarlet fabric in front of Gonta. The golden cranes seem to be flying alive. “Oh, no one has ever seen such a beautiful pattern in the capital.” Your daughter, I see, is a craftswoman! - Gonta reached into his wallet and took out a handful of gold coins. He realized that in the princely palace he would sell such wonderful fabric for a hundred times more. - Gold coins! Look, real gold! “The old people couldn’t believe their eyes. For the first time in their lives they saw gold. “Thank you, Zhurushka, thank you!” — the old man and the old woman thanked the girl from the bottom of their hearts. - We will live differently now. We'll sew you a new dress for the holiday. Let everyone admire how beautiful you are. Spring has come. The sun has warmed up. Every day, village children come running to the old people’s house: “Sister Zhurushka, play with us.” Or the children will gather around Zhurushka, and she tells them fairy tales about various strange birds. It was good for the children to play with Zhurushka. But one day Gonta came again. “Hello, grandfather!” Do you have the same fabric again as last time? Sell it to me, I'll gladly buy it. - No, don't ask. My daughter can’t weave anymore: she gets very tired of this work. I’m afraid he’ll get sick. But Gonta almost forcibly thrust a wallet full of gold coins into the old man’s hands.
“I’ll pay even more than last time.” And if you don't agree, blame yourself. It will be bad for you. “The prince himself sent me,” Gonta threatened. “The fabric must be ready in three days, otherwise you will pay with your head.” Gonta left, and the old man and the old woman began to grieve: “Trouble, trouble!” What will happen to us now! Our heads disappeared. O-Tsuru heard everything. She began to console the old people: “Don’t be afraid, don’t cry.” In three days the fabric will be ready, more beautiful than before. The girl went into the weaving room and shut the door tightly behind her. Soon a quick, quick knock was heard behind the wall: kirikara ton-ton-ton, kirikara ton-ton-ton. Day, and another, and a third, the loom is knocking. “Zhurushka, finish it quickly, it will be yours!” - the old man and the old woman are worried. “You must be tired, daughter?” Suddenly a rough voice was heard: “Well, are you ready?” Show me. It was Gonta. “No, you can’t show it.” Zhurushka firmly forbade anyone from entering her while she was weaving. “Wow!” Here are some more ideas! I see your daughter is picky. Well, I won’t even ask her! Gaunt pushed the old men away and opened the door wide. “Oh, there’s a buzz in there!” - he muttered in fear. The old people come in - and sure enough, there is a large bird standing behind the loom. She opened her wings wide, plucked out the most delicate soft fluff with her beak and weaved beautiful fabric from it: kiri-kara ton-ton-ton, kirikara ton-ton-ton. The old men slammed the door as quickly as possible, and Gonta ran away as fast as he could - he was so scared. The next morning the children came running to call Zhurushka. “Zhurushka, come out to us, play with us or tell us a fairy tale. But everything was quiet in the weaving room. The old man and the old woman got scared, opened the door and saw: no one was there. A beautiful patterned fabric is lying on the floor, and crane feathers are scattered all around... The old people began to call their daughter, they searched and searched, but they never found it... In the evening, the children in the yard shouted: “Grandfather, grandmother, come here quickly!” The old people ran out, looking... Oh, but it’s a crane. The same crane! It purrs and circles above the houses. It’s so hard to fly... - Our Zhurushka, Zhurushka! - the old people cried. They realized that this bird, saved by the old man, turned into a girl... But they were unable to hold her. - Zhurushka, come back to us, come back! But it was all in vain. Sadly, sadly, as if saying goodbye, the crane shouted for the last time and disappeared into the sunset sky. The old man and the old woman waited for a long time, but Zhurushka never returned. There is, they say, a large lake at the bottom of the distant islands. Fishermen there saw a crane with plucked feathers. A crane walks along the shore and keeps looking in the direction where the old man and woman stayed.1 Star
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru