Far, far away, where the sun goes to sleep, when it marvels at the vanity of people, a large kingdom stretched. And in that kingdom there lived a king and a queen. Their youth had long since faded away, but in their old age they had neither support nor joy - neither a son nor a daughter. And therefore, their melancholy, more than old age, bent them to the ground. But then an old, old hermit was found who knew how to brew any kind of potion from herbs, and he came to the royal palace to console the king and queen in their grief.
They escorted the old man to the royal throne, he fell on his knees and handed the queen a bunch of grapes that had grown on the hills before the hot sun before her eyes;
The queen tasted the grapes and conceived.
As if the sun had warmed the king’s soul, life and worldly affairs again became dear to him. The king called his people, hounds and hunters, and went hunting. He shot a lot of all kinds of game: wolves, foxes, and hares;
in the heat of the hunt, he climbed far beyond the borders of his kingdom, but no one noticed it. Having gone down the steep cliff, the hunters saw a high and deserted fortress. They walked around it - everywhere there was only stone and stone, and not a living soul.
The hunters rushed about in all directions, like a bird in a snare, but couldn’t find a way out anywhere. The day has passed, the second has passed, we have already eaten all the game, there is nothing to eat, hunger is becoming more and more apparent. Another day and night passed, and at dawn we saw the devil walking along the serf wall, walking, puffing on his pipe. The soldiers approached the Tsar-Sovereign and encouraged him to ask the evil one:
“Your darkest abomination, why did we displease you that you imprisoned us in this fortress?”
“I didn’t imprison you, you came here yourself,” the demon answers them from above.
— What should I give you so that you will open the gates of the fortress? - asked the king.
“Give me what you have in the palace, but you don’t even know about it, and I’ll let you out in an instant.”
The king began to think, apparently the evil one was up to something unclean, but he was very impatient to get out of the clutches of the walls, so he answered:
- I agree, so be it.
“Write a certificate for the gift,” the demon demands.
As soon as the devil received the royal letter, the walls of the fortress immediately fell through the ground. Everyone was happy and headed home as quickly as possible, and when the king reached his possessions, immeasurable happiness overwhelmed him. The queen gave birth to him a round-faced son, and they named him Dafin, and he grew by leaps and bounds, to everyone’s surprise.
The devil suddenly appeared at the royal palace and demanded nothing less than Dafin himself. Before the king and queen had time to come to their senses from horror, the demon grabbed the boy by the collar and rushed off - remember what his name was! Dafin did not even notice along which paths and roads he was carried and where he was thrown. Here the devil harnessed the boy to hard work, and what poor Dafina had to endure! And hunger, and cold, and nights without sleep - I suffered through everything. But I had to endure: it would be a disaster if he didn’t fulfill the will of the devil. Dafin wanted to know a lot, but most of all he was drawn to various crafts. All kinds of languages were easy for him, so that he soon began to understand birds, animals, and small insects.
One day the unclean one went to distant lands, and Dafin, left alone, went to the spring. He sat down by a stream, in the shade of a tall poplar, drank, had a snack, and lay down to rest for a while. Then three birds sat on the top of a poplar tree and, seeing the young man, began talking to each other:
“Look, sisters,” said the first, “here is a good fellow, brought from distant lands by the devil, resting.” If he had known about Arap’s misfortune, he would have gone and forgiven his sins and saved the unfortunate old man from the devil’s punishment. For one hundred and eighty years in a row, he has been drawing water from a bottomless well and pouring it into the valley where the beautiful Vestra, the girl whom the devil kidnapped and bewitched, is bathing, so that she herself becomes a demon and follows a bad path.
Dafin got ready to hit the road and went. He won’t sit down, won’t lie down, everything goes on tirelessly. And at dawn on the fourth day he reached a very wide pond, with no end in sight. In the distance, on the mountainside, the well turns black. Dafin came closer and saw the elder:
- God help you, grandfather!
- Thank you, son. And who will you be?
- I’m a grandfather from not around here. The devil took me away, and now I can’t imagine how I can get out of his kingdom and get a free life for myself.
The grandfather sat down on the frame of the well, became thoughtful, and began to go through all sorts of methods of salvation in his mind.
“So,” he said finally. “You can escape from here only with the help of Vestra, a young girl brought here by the devil from far away lands, far away seas, so that she could become an instrument of evil.” She has already taken over the strength and the art of demons from the devil, but her heart is still pure, like a baby. Walk across the lake, lay in wait for her when she comes to swim, grab her clothes and run away, but God forbid you look back - you will immediately lose all power over her. I will bless you, and if you manage to get rid of the devil, you will live your life happily.
Dafin was delighted at the words of the Arab and walked along the shore of the wide lake with a brave, easy step. He reached the treasured place, hid himself in the bushes and sat there - he didn’t say a word,
The evening dawn is beautiful in the blue of the sky, but where can it compete with the beautiful Vestra, who was just descending from the hill to the lake. When she reached the lake, she took off her dress, plunged into the water and immediately turned into a snow-white swan. Then she began to swim, raise diamond spray with her wings, and perform various miracles - you couldn’t take your eyes off her. But Dafin did not look at her, but grabbed the clothes... and was gone. Vestra came ashore, missed it, but had no clothes. Her heart sank with fear. I looked in all four directions and noticed young Dafin. She followed him and started singing songs. Dafin runs without looking back, although he senses that his heels are on fire. Even more powerful than Vestra
tries, enchants him with a heartfelt song:
Dafin, my dear, A flower of the field, Sweet as honey, Don’t rush forward and don’t run away, Don’t throw away what’s good, Look back, You’ll be glad to meet you.
It’s hard for Dafin, he groans, he wants to look back, but still he mastered his heart and did not look back. He reached the well and stood in front of Arap, but he put his hand on his shoulder - Vestra was right there.
The old man blessed them so that they could live and prosper and not know bitter grief.
Then he took out two wedding rings from his belt and put them on the newlyweds’ fingers.
The young people stood up, thanked them, and were about to set off on their way when Dafin remembered the bird’s story and said:
“Be forgiven, grandfather, and get rid of the devil’s punishment.”
As soon as these words were spoken, old Arap disappeared, as if he had fallen through the ground. In the blink of an eye, neither the well nor the crane disappeared, only a trace of them remained on the trampled grass. Apparently it was time for them to disappear from the face of the earth a long time ago.
Dafin walks around like a groom, and Vestra becomes more and more sad and finally says:
“We will never cross the borders of this kingdom without the consent of the devil.” Go to him, ask for my hand.
Dafin went to the devil's palace, made his way for a long time along slopes, ravines, and wild gullies, and then a fortress stood before him, black as soot. He entered and found himself in front of evil spirits.
- Hello, demon.
“Hello,” the devil answers and asks: “What vile wind brought you here?”
“I came to ask you for Vestra’s hand in marriage.”
“I’ll give you Vestra if you follow my three orders.”
- I undertake, your darkness, to carry out your orders.
- Okay, come in the evening.
In the evening Dafin comes to the devil. The devil came out into the yard, looked to the west and asked:
-What do you see there?
“The end of the earth,” Dafin answers.
“If you want Vestra’s hand, then plow this whole field for me before morning, sow the wheat, grow it and reap it, rake it up, grind the wheat, take it to the mill and bring me fresh bread at sunrise to taste.”
Hearing this order, Dafin became frightened and sad and returned to Vestra as dark as night. The following thought also crept into him - had she not sent him to his inevitable death? Is anyone capable of carrying out such an order?
“Don’t worry, don’t be sad,” West-ra tells him. - Such an order is easier to carry out.
Vestra looked at the distant mountains, whistled as loud as she could, and out of nowhere, demons swarmed, apparently and invisible, the whole field was swarming.
“Follow my order until morning,” the girl tells them. “From the palace of his Lordship to the west and south to the ends of the earth, you must plow everything, sow wheat, grow the crop, collect, thresh, grind the grain and, as soon as the day breaks, present me with hot bread.” Got it?
- Yes! Yes! - the imps shouted in one voice. They got down to business, everything was boiling in their hands. Some plowed, turned the earth, others followed with a harrow, others sowed, others, crawling on all fours, warmed the roots with their spirit. The field has been miraculously transformed. By morning the wheat was already ripe, and the devils began to mow, some to thresh, some to take to the mill, and at first dawn the bread was already in the oven. Only the red sun rises
it became - and the warm bread, fresh from the oven, was already lying in front of the good young man. Dafin took a white loaf, put it on a towel and took it to the devil.
- Here, your darkness, I fulfilled your order, get the loaf. The devil frowned as he looked at his fields, but he took the bread. Then he took Dafin to the armory and ordered:
- Choose a weapon to your liking, and you will carry out my second order on the hunt. Come tomorrow and shoot a hare in my garden. But remember, you will only hunt in my garden. Understood?
“I understand, your darkness,” answered Dafin and with joy in his soul he went to Vestra.
- Why are you having so much fun? she asks.
“How can I not have fun when the demon is so foolish?” I also have an order: shoot a hare in his garden.
“Don’t laugh, don’t have fun, Dafin, so that you don’t have to cry later.” After all, this hare will not be a simple scythe, but the devil himself will turn into a hare. Tomorrow, don’t chase him with a gun, you won’t achieve anything, but sit down at the entrance to the palace and wait. I’ll turn into a greyhound, I’ll start chasing him, I won’t let him hide in any hole. When he is exhausted, he will try to enter the palace; Then you grab him and hit his head as hard as you can on the stairs.
The next day Dafin hid behind the palace door, and the greyhound began to chase the gray one, about to grab it and tear it to pieces. The hare felt that he had a hard time, apparently could not cope, and rushed to the entrance to the palace. Dafin caught him by the ears, grabbed him by the hind legs and once again! - head on a stone. The hare howled in pain.
There was such a noise and howl that the damn wife came out of her mansion and when she saw what was happening, she almost grabbed her hair and started screaming, only she caught herself in time and shouted at Dafin:
- Why are you, Dafin, making such a fuss?
“Their darkness entrusted me with catching a hare for him to roast.”
“Wait, don’t kill him, give him to me alive, I’ll skin him and fry him.”
- No, I myself must give it to their darkness.
- How can you give him a hare when he’s only in the evening?
will he come back? Bring it here, I'll fry it for dinner, and you can eat with us too.
Dafin gave her the hare and went with a clear conscience to rest after his righteous labors. And in the evening he came to the goblin’s palace to taste the roast hare. The devil received him as if nothing had happened, treats him, pretends to be immensely happy with him, but his head is bandaged and he has bruises under his eyes. With difficulty opening his mouth, the devil tells Dafin that he agrees to give him Vestra, but he must come the next morning and choose her among the devil’s daughters.
“Okay,” said Dafin and left, pleased that he had finally gotten rid of the devil’s orders.
-Why are you so happy? - Vestra asked him, walking towards him.
“How can I not rejoice when the unclean one told me to take you and go my way.”
“My dear Dafin, you don’t know how difficult it will be to fulfill this order. Here we should cry, not rejoice. Tomorrow he will force you to look for me among hundreds of girls who are like me, like two peas in a pod, in face, hair, and dress. How can you tell me apart?
- No matter how many stars there are in the sky, I will still recognize you.
“Don’t say that, but better listen to what I tell you.” Tomorrow, look carefully into each one’s eyes and choose the one whose tears will flow. So they decided. On the second day Dafin came for his Vestra, and the evil one took him to a room where there were many girls standing - all one in the same, the spitting image of Vestra. Dafin looked at them for a long time, but could not find his betrothed. And how can you tell her apart when they stood like golden ears of wheat in a field of wheat, filled with juice - they all looked the same. Time passed, his heart sank more and more with fear and sadness, when he suddenly noticed: two pearls of tears glittering on the girl’s eyelashes.
- Here it is, your darkness! - the well exclaimed joyfully.
The devil turned blue with anger, realized that they were in agreement, attacked them with his fists and imprisoned them in a deep dungeon, behind twelve iron doors, heavy locks, locked. There was only one tiny window in that dungeon, through which a ray of light, thin as a thread, penetrated to the prisoners. A bitter misfortune fell on Dafin, but Vestra hit the ground with her ring, and they turned into small midges and got out through the crack into freedom. And they flew as fast as they could through the mountains and valleys, away from the damned demon. But the demon sensed that they were no longer in prison, looked around and noticed them far, far away, behind a mountain steep, behind a dense forest. He sent his best horsemen after them to take them to the palace. The horsemen galloped faster than the swift wind, faster than radiant lightning, and already not far from Dafik and Vestra they began to shoot flames with their noses. Vestra turned around and recognized the riders.
- The demon's messengers are catching up with us.
- What should we do?
- Don't be afraid. I will turn into a blooming garden, and you will become
old gardener. When they arrive and start asking questions, answer that some couple passed by, but a long time ago, even when you were just starting to plant your garden.
Vestra said this and immediately turned into a blooming garden with many different fruit trees, and Dafin - into an old, old gardener. The demon's messengers flew up like a whirlwind and asked the gardener:
- Didn’t a girl or a fellow pass by here?
“It’s been a long, long time since someone ran through here.” I was just planting these trees. And since then no one else has appeared in these parts. The riders were surprised when they heard such an answer, and they returned with nothing.
“Your insignificance,” they say to the evil one, “we visited where you sent us, but we met no one except the gardener.”
- May, it was them, go back and catch them. The horsemen rushed in pursuit again.
“Oh, something is burning my back again,” Dafin complained. Vestra looked around and recognized the messengers of the devil.
- They're catching up with us. You answer them again as before, only now let’s turn around
We are not a garden and a gardener, but a field of wheat and an old man ready for the harvest.
“Okay,” Dafin answered and suddenly turned into an old man, with a sickle in his hand. He had only picked a few ears of corn and tasted the strength of the grains, and the horsemen were right there.
“Tell us, old man, have you seen a young man with a girl here?”
“I saw them, of course I did, but it was a long time ago, just when I was sowing wheat, and since then I haven’t seen anyone else.”
The riders opened their ears, believed the elder’s words, and turned back.
“Your insignificance,” they said, bowing at the feet of the devil, “there is no way to catch up with them.” On the way we met an old man preparing for the harvest, and he told us that he had seen the fugitives a long time ago, even when he was sowing wheat. So we came back. Who knows where they went!
The devil's heart sank with anger:
- After all, that’s what they were!
He rose up like a terrible tornado and rushed off to catch up with the fugitives. Dafin looked around and saw a dark, shaggy cloud approaching right at them, but Vestra recognized the devil of the evil one, hit the ground with her ring and turned Dafin into a deep, full-flowing river, and she turned into a duck and swam along the waves.
When the demon reached that river and looked at the duck, he immediately recognized Vestra. He began to draw air into himself and raised a terrible storm, trying to pull everything into his mouth. But the river protects the duck with its waves and turns to the other bank.
Seeing that he could not achieve anything this way, he began to swallow river water, swallowed, swallowed, until he swallowed until he was full and burst.
Just as an inconspicuous path suddenly appears before those lost in a dense forest, so a clear, wide road opened up before Dafin and Vestra. Joyful, they set off on their journey and walked and walked through distant lands, across distant seas to the native land of Dafin. And there the old king and queen are all grieving and mourning the fate of their unfortunate son. Since the devil took their son from them, the tears in their eyes did not dry, the smile did not light up their faces, and their hearts could not contain their sighs. But now they have lived to see what they never hoped to see. Dafin returned to the palace and appeared before their eyes.
As the sun with its rays disperses the darkness of the night, so joy illuminated the faces of the parents - and they threw a feast for the whole world and played the wedding of their son with the beautiful Vestra. It was pitch-dark for the people, and I was there, drinking honey and beer, but having learned what had happened to them, I did not sit until the end, but sat on the wheel astride, rolled somersaults, to convey to everyone the news about Dafina and about Vestra.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru