Once upon a time there lived, or perhaps not, a poor widower. He had two children - a girl and a boy. The poor man married for the second time. The stepmother did not like the children. Every day she found a difficult, dangerous task for them. Either he will take the pig to the side of the river - away from the choma, or he will drive the cows into the dense forest, and in the evening he will send the guys to look for them. The stepmother thinks: maybe the children will get lost, won’t find their way back, or the animals will tear them to pieces.
But every time they returned home safe and sound - the orphans had a dog, it protected them from animals and brought them home.
One day, my stepmother and her husband left for a holiday, and gave the children something to do, so much so that no one could handle it! She scattered a whole bag of bran in the yard and told her to collect it with her tears!
“If you don’t gather for my arrival, I’ll drive you away,” the stepmother told them and left.
The orphans are crying from grief and resentment: all the other children were taken to the holiday, they are alone at home. We cried all day, but the tears did not help, they did not collect the bran. The boys did not wait for their stepmother to return and beat them to death; they ran away from home along with their faithful dog.
They walked from village to village. People took pity on the orphans and gave them food.
The children met an old woman with a jug of water.
“Grandma, it’s hard for you, let me help,” the boy said and carried a jug of water.
The old woman lived on the edge of the forest in a small hut. She fed the orphans and sheltered them for the night.
__Take us to you,” they ask. “We will do everything for you.” No one at
We are not here, we are homeless.
The old lady agreed - it’s not fun to live alone.
In the morning, the guys went into the forest, collected dogwood, medlar, wild forest pears and apples. The boy made himself a bow and hunted animals.
The faithful dog protected the children from all danger.
Time has passed. The boy grew up to be a dexterous, brave young man, and his sister became beautiful, skillful and strong, like her brother.
One day the old woman called her adopted children and said to the young man:
__ The Dariachangi garden is famous all over the world - it is green all year round, and
the fruits are translated in it. Get a twig, then the whole garden will be transferred here. The king himself will envy us.
“Okay, grandma, I’ll try to bring this wonderful garden to us,” the young man agreed. “How to get to it, how to find the road?”
__ You will walk through our forest and behind the hill you will see a large house, in it
the devas live. If you ask their mother, she knows how to get to Dariachanga Garden.
The young man did not hesitate. He left his sister with the old woman and went straight through the forest.
So he reached a large house where the devas lived. An ancient old woman was busy in the yard.
“Hello, mother,” the young man greeted affectionately. “They say you know where Dariachanga’s garden is.” For the sake of your children, show me the way there.
“You would have had a bad time, if you didn’t call me mother, you would have had my sons for dinner!” the old woman answers. “I see, you are a good person, don’t go to Dariachangi.” Thousands of brave men went to look for her garden, but no one came back. Dariachangi turns anyone who even decides to pick a leaf in her garden to stone.
“It doesn’t matter, mother, either I find her garden or I disappear.” Kindly show me the way.
— Dariachanga Garden in the southern regions, in a large mountain. The mountain rotates, every moment it opens up, says the old woman.
The young man went further.
At good time he reached the magic garden - Dariachangi was sleeping. The young man tore off a branch and ran away. The trees shouted after him: “He took him away, he took him away!”, but Dariachanga did not hear their cry.
The young man returned home and saw a magical garden spread out in front of the hut! Brother and sister admire him and are happy.
A few days passed, and the old woman again said to the young man:
“You managed to take possession of Dariachanga’s garden, and if you want, you can marry her.” Try your luck.
The young man went to Dariachangi, and the dog followed him.
A young man approached Dariachanga’s house and knocked on the door with his fist. He knocked and knocked, but the girl did not respond, she was fast asleep. He then took a stone and hit the door with all his might.
Then Dariachangi woke up and shouted:
- Who doesn’t let me sleep? Take a stone - become a stone!
And the young man turned into stone, and Dariachangi didn’t even look out, didn’t look to see who she had killed.
When the dog saw that its owner had become a stone, it whined, howled and rushed home. She came running, grabbed the young man’s sister by the hem and pulled her along. The girl realized that something bad had happened to her brother. She took the iron staff and followed the dog.
The dog brought the girl to Dariachanga's house.
- Hey, Dariachangi, look out and see where your garden has gone! - the girl shouts. - Don’t rush to turn me into stone, otherwise you won’t see how beautiful I am - much more beautiful than you!
Dariachangi jumped up, pulled open the doors, and as soon as she stuck her head out to look at the impudent guest, the girl grabbed her by the braids and bent her face to the ground.
“Give me back my brother, Dariachangi, turn him to stone, or I’ll break your ribs with an iron staff!” - the girl ordered.
- Take the handkerchief from my pocket. If you pass it over a stone, the stone will become a person,” said Dariachangi. “And I don’t know what kind of stone your brother is, I haven’t seen it.”
The girl ran a handkerchief over all the stones - the stones turned into people. Her brother also came to life.
“Listen, Dariachangi,” says the girl, “you will marry my brother!” And don't you dare contradict me.
But Dariachangi didn’t even think about contradicting her, she herself wants to be where her garden is.
Dariachangi was of unprecedented beauty, more beautiful than the sun and moon. One thing was bad - she liked to sleep for a long time. He walks in the garden for three days and sleeps for three months. Apparently, from idleness, she got used to sleeping a lot.
The brother and sister Dariachangi brought them to their hut, and they all lived together. They weaned Dariachangi from sleeping, and found her some housework.
In winter and summer, spring and autumn, the magical garden was green and blooming. Branches with strange fruits bent in it all year round.
People passed by and marveled at the garden. The rumor about the magical garden of Dariachanga spread throughout the entire kingdom. The evil stepmother also heard about him. She came to look at the magical garden and saw a beautiful young man and a beautiful girl in the garden. The stepmother recognized her stepson and stepdaughter, even though many years had passed. The heart of the evil woman was filled with black envy.
“I won’t own the magic garden for them,” she decided. “I won’t return home until I destroy them!”
The stepmother went straight to the king. She let her hair down, she’s crying, she’s dying:
- Woe to you, king! Poor people - brother and sister - own such a garden as you, king, have never seen!
- What garden? “Speak clearly, don’t cry!” the king became angry.
“There will be no peace and joy for me, great sir, if you do not own the garden of Dariachanga!”
- How can I own that garden, if it is far away? Don't move the trees!
- Marry the beautiful Dariachangi - she will move the garden to your palace. Give your brother and sister such a task that they will never cope. So you will get Dariachangi.
The greedy king liked the advice of the evil woman. The king went to see the magical garden of Dariachanga.
Dariachangi picked the most beautiful flowers, the most delicious fruits and went out to meet the king. But the king does not know where to look first: either at her, or at the wonderful garden - both the girl and the garden are so beautiful!
And so the king ordered the young man to level the mountain across the sea, which blocked the sun in the morning, to the ground.
“I can’t cross the sea, sir,” says the young man. “First they ordered to build a bridge.”
“You can’t build a bridge across the sea in a hundred years, but the mountain is stopping me now.” Carry out the order as best you can! - the king answers.
“Don’t worry,” Dariachangi says to the young man, “I’ll build a bridge across the sea myself.”
Dariachangi threw her braids across the sea. They lay like a bridge over the waves.
“Come, king, across the bridge, take a walk on the other side while the mountain is still intact,” said Dariachangi.
The king and his Nazir-viziers stepped onto the bridge, followed by the evil stepmother. As soon as they reached the middle, Dariachangi shook her braids and threw everyone into the sea.
All three returned home and lived peacefully. They live there happily to this day. Dense forests have grown around the garden, and therefore people can no longer see it.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru