One count had a daughter, a rare beauty, and the time had come for her to get married. One thing is bad: the girl turned out to be very picky - she will find a flaw in any groom. Once she says:
“I want a marquis as my husband—silver lips, gold teeth.”
The devil found out about this and realized: “I’ll pass myself off as a marquis, and I’ll marry the count’s daughter!” No sooner said than done. One fine day he appears at the palace. The count, as soon as he saw him, immediately sent for his daughter.
“Here,” he says, “is the one you need.”
“I didn’t think that such a person would be found,” the daughter answers, “but I will keep my word.”
They scheduled the wedding for tomorrow.
And the bride had a favorite swallow. And the bird chirped:
This is not a marquis at all.
A whim has driven you to hell!
But the shrew didn’t even bat an ear. The swallow sang its song three times. Then the girl says to her:
“You are probably afraid that I will not take you with me to my husband’s castle.” Calm down, I won't part with you. In the meantime, shut up!
The wedding day has arrived. The devil flew through the air in a sleigh, smartly dressed, with gold teeth and silver lips. With him is a whole retinue of demons and witches. Everyone is dressed up like nobles.
After the wedding, the devil put his young wife in a sleigh, and they rushed under the clouds. The proud woman forgot about her faithful friend the swallow, and she flies after her.
“Where are you taking me, hubby?” — the count’s daughter was alarmed. “I can’t understand what kind of road this is!”
“Don’t worry, little wife,” the devil answers. - We'll come now!
So they rushed to the castle. The devil locked his wife in a little room, went down to the underground, and there he had a pot of boiling water. The devil laughed:
- I have my own custom: one - be strong, two - humble yourself, three - head in the stew!
And he began pounding on the ceiling with all his might. The boards began to crack and were about to break. If something goes wrong for the girl then, just look, she’ll collapse into boiling water!
Suddenly a swallow flutters out the window!
- You're right, honey! - the count’s daughter tells her. “This is not the marquis at all.” My whim has driven me to hell! Find my father quickly and let him know about my trouble!
The swallow flew away, and the devil again:
- I have my own custom: one - be strong, two - humble yourself, three - head in the stew!
And you know, it’s pounding on the ceiling, it’s about to break through.
The swallow told the marquis what trouble had befallen his daughter, he hurried to the rescue, broke into the castle, rescued the girl, and left the doll in her place. The boards cracked here, broke, and the doll fell into the cauldron!
The devil began to stir his devilish brew, stirring and saying:
Count's daughter, this is a lie -
I'm not a marquis at all!
Count's daughter, you will die -
Your whim has driven you to hell!
He repeated this three times and threw a spoon into the cauldron to check if the stew was good. Lo and behold, there’s an old doll in the cauldron. The horned one realized that he had been tricked, jumped into the sleigh and, together with his retinue, went straight to the count's palace. And there they are already waiting for him: the devil has tasted such blows that he put his tail between his legs and quickly went back to the underworld!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru