Once a peasant was cultivating the soil in his vineyard, and suddenly his hoe clanked against something hard. He bent down and there was a beautiful mortar lying there. He picked it up, wiped the hollow and saw that it was all made of pure gold.
- Yes, this mortar is worthy of the king himself! – exclaimed the peasant. “I’ll take her to the palace, maybe I’ll get something for it.”
His daughter Katerina was waiting for the peasant at home; He showed her the mortar and said that he wanted to take it to the palace.
“It’s a very beautiful mortar,” said Katerina, “you can’t say anything.” But if you take it to the king, he will complain that something is missing here. And it will be bad for you.
– What is missing here? Even the king has nothing to complain about here. Why are you talking, you little Basurman?
And Katerina answered:
- This is what he will say:
Good mortar, big.
But where is the pestle, man, do you know?
The peasant shrugged his shoulders.
- Will he just say that? Silly, he's smarter than you.
He took the mortar under his arm and went to the royal palace. At first the guards did not want to let the peasant in, but he said that he was bringing a wonderful gift to the king, and he was taken to the royal chambers.
“Your Majesty,” said the peasant. “I found this heavy golden mortar in my vineyard and thought that its place was only in the royal palace.” So I brought it as a gift to your royal majesty, if, of course, you deign to accept it.
The king took the mortar and began to twirl and examine it from all sides. Then he shook his head and said:
Good mortar, big. But where is the pestle, do you know?
Everything was as Katerina said, only the king did not say the word “man” because he was an educated man. And the peasant could not resist exclaiming:
- She guessed right! She guessed right!
– Who guessed what? - asked the king.
“Sorry,” the peasant apologized, “my daughter.” She guessed that Your Majesty would tell me so, but I didn’t believe it.
Then the king remarked:
– Your daughter is probably very smart. Let's test her abilities. Here, take this flax and give it to her, let her weave shirts for my soldiers, and quickly.
The peasant was puzzled by such an order, but it was a royal order. He took the outstretched flax skeins, bowed to His Majesty and went home. But the mortar remained with the king, and he did not give the peasant a single soldo for it.
“My daughter,” the peasant said to Katerina, “you have brought great misfortune on your head,” and he conveyed the king’s order to her.
“It’s okay,” Katerina answered. I took the flax and ruffled it.
Everyone knows that even in well-combed flax there is always some fire. And then three fires fell out of the flax onto the ground. They were so small that they were barely visible. Katerina picked up the fire and said to her father:
“Go to the king, give him these three bonfires and tell him that I will make linen for shirts, but I don’t have a loom, let him make it for me from this bonfire, then I will do whatever the king wishes.”
The peasant was afraid to go to the king, but Katerina begged him so much that he finally made up his mind.
The king wanted to see the cunning Katerina and he said to the peasant:
- Well done, your daughter! Send her to my palace, I will be happy to talk with her. Tell her to come to me neither naked nor clothed, neither hungry nor well-fed, neither day nor night, neither on foot nor on horseback. If she doesn't fulfill my wishes, don't cut off your heads.
The peasant returned home neither alive nor dead. And the daughter says as if nothing had happened:
- Father, I already know everything. It's very easy to do, just get me a net.
In the morning, Katerina rose before dawn, threw a net over herself (and became neither naked nor dressed), ate one bean (and became neither full nor hungry), took a goat, sat on it - one leg touched the ground, and the other hung in the air (not on foot, not on horseback), and in this form at dawn (neither day nor night) she arrived at the king's palace. The guards took her for a madwoman and did not want to let her in, but when they learned that Katerina was carrying out the king’s orders, they took her to His Majesty.
“Your Majesty, you ordered me to appear, here I am.”
The king could not help laughing and said:
- Well, Katerina! This is the kind of girl I need. I want to marry you and make you a queen. But on condition that you never interfere in my affairs (the king understood that Katerina understood more than him).
Katerina told her father all this, and he says so.
“If the king really wants to marry you, there’s no point in thinking or guessing.” Just act wisely and don’t forget that His Majesty will say one thing today and another tomorrow (kings are fickle in their desires).
Just in case, leave your homespun clothes, I’ll hang them here on a nail, when you return home, you’ll have something to change into.
Katerina was in seventh heaven with joy. A few days later the wedding took place, and the whole kingdom celebrated it.
Meanwhile, there was a fair in the city, and the peasants, who had nowhere to sleep, slept right on the street, almost under the very royal windows.
Some peasant brought a pregnant cow for sale and did not know where to put it for the night. Then the innkeeper advised to put the cow under a shed and tie it with a rope to someone else’s cart. At night the cow calved.
The peasant was delighted and went after the cow and calf. But then the owner of the cart appeared and said:
- Take your cow, but don’t touch the calf - he’s mine.
- How is yours, if my cow calved last night?
“Well,” said the owner of the cart, “the cow was tied to the cart, and the cart is mine; that means my calf too.” And a dispute broke out between them, from words to deeds, and well, they beat each other up. People gathered at the noise, the royal guards came running, separated the disputants and dragged them to the royal court.
Once upon a time in this city there was a custom that the king’s wife also had the right to express her opinion at the trial. But now that Katerina became queen, although the king did not pronounce a sentence, she was always against it. Soon His Majesty got tired of this, and he said to his wife:
– I warned you not to interfere in state affairs, from now on I forbid you to appear in court.
So, the peasants appeared in court before one king.
After listening to both peasants, the king made a decision:
– The calf belongs to the cart.
The owner of the cow was very dissatisfied with this unfair decision, but was afraid to tell the king about it. After all, the king said that he gives orders, and his word is law for everyone. The innkeeper advised the offended peasant to go to the queen - she would help him.
And the peasant went to the royal palace, approached the servant and asked:
- Good man, tell me, can I talk to the queen?
“You can’t,” answered the servant. “The king forbade the queen to receive people.”
Then the peasant began to walk under the fence of the royal garden.
He saw the queen, jumped over the fence and in tears told her about the injustice of her husband. And the queen answered:
- That's my advice. Tomorrow the king is going hunting. There is a lake where he will hunt, but now it is dry and there is not a drop of water in it. Do this: dress up as a fisherman, take a net and pretend that you are catching fish. The king sees this, first laughs, and then asks how he can fish where there is no water. Then answer him: “Your Majesty, if a cart can calve, then why can’t you fish on land?”
The next morning the peasant dressed in fishing clothes, took a net and went to the lake, where there was not a drop of water. He sat down on the shore, cast the net and began to pull it, as if there were fish there. The king appeared here with his retinue. He saw the peasant, laughed and asked if he had gone crazy. And the peasant answered the king as the queen advised him.
Hearing this answer, the king exclaimed:
- Good man, this flour is not from your bag. Surely you were with the queen.
The peasant remained silent, but the king revised the sentence and ordered the calf to be given to the peasant, then he called Katerina and said:
“You violated my ban and interfered in my affairs.” So, take for yourself from the palace what is most dear to you, go to your father this evening and continue to be a peasant.
And Katerina humbly answers:
“As His Majesty wishes, I cannot help but obey.” But I ask only one thing: can I leave tomorrow. Today it would be too embarrassing for both you and me - there will be rumors among the people.
Then the king says:
- Well, so be it. Let's have one last dinner together, and leave tomorrow morning.
What did the cunning Katerina do? She ordered the cooks to prepare fried meat, ham and other food that not only makes you thirsty, but also makes you heavy, and to bring the best wines to the table from the royal cellars. At dinner, the king ate to his fill, and Katerina kept adding more and more wine to him. At first the king's eyes became clouded, then he began to sniffle and, finally, began to snore like a hog, right on the throne.
Then Katerina said to the servants:
“Take the throne with the king and follow me.” And keep quiet about this.
Long after midnight, Katerina approached her father’s house.
“Father, open up, it’s me,” she called. The old peasant, hearing his daughter’s voice, immediately jumped up:
- Why are you so late? I told you so! And I did a good job of saving your old clothes. It's hanging on a hook here in your room.
- Open it, quickly! – Katerina shouted. “Stop talking.”
The peasant opened the door and saw servants carrying the throne, and on the throne was a sleeping king. Katerina ordered him to be brought into the room, undressed and put into her bed. Then she dismissed the servants and lay down next to the king.
At midnight the king woke up: it seemed to him that the mattress was not as soft as always, and the sheets were not as soft. He stirred and felt his wife next to him. The king says to her:
- Katerina, didn’t I tell you to go home?
“Yes, Your Majesty,” she answers, “but the day has not come yet.” Sleep well.
And the king fell asleep, and early in the morning he was awakened by the braying of a donkey, the bleating of sheep and a ray of sun penetrating through the roof. And in his sleep he will not recognize the royal chambers. Asks his wife:
- Katerina, where are we? And she answers:
“You told me, Your Majesty, that I should return to my home and take what is most dear to me?” I did so, I took Your Majesty with me.
The king laughed and made peace with Katerina. They returned to the palace and live there to this day. From then on, the king never again appeared in court without his wife.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru