There lived a highlander in one village, and he had a son. One morning my father took the grain outside to dry. He told his son to make sure that the birds did not eat the grain, and he himself went about his business. At noon the father returns and sees his son sitting in his place and dozing. The grain that lay next to him still lies, and the one further away was pecked by the birds.
The father got angry and called out to his son. The boy shuddered and turned to his father.
- Why didn’t you keep track of the grain? - asks the father.
And the son answers in surprise:
“I couldn’t keep track of the grain, because I had to go get the daughter of the padchakh (king, shah).
- For what other daughter? I didn't send you anywhere! - the father was surprised.
“You didn’t send me, but I went myself.” I'll tell you everything in order.
They sat down next to each other, and the son began to tell:
- When you left, I sat and sat, and I looked - there were no birds. I found an old beshmet, hung it on a branch so that it would scare away the birds, and I decided to lie down and rest. But soon I found myself on the river bank. I plunged into the water and suddenly turned from a boy into an adult horseman. I took a swim, went ashore, got dressed and just got ready to leave - I saw a beautiful girl walking towards the river with a jug in her hand.
She saw me, came closer and said:
“Wait, horseman, don’t go, I’m the daughter of a prince and I want to consult with you.”
I stayed, and this is what the girl said: “One formidable slayer with countless troops approached the border of our lands. And he sent our prince, my father, two knives and ordered him to guess which one belonged to a simple mountaineer and which one belonged to a padchakh. And that padchach also said that if he does not receive an answer, he will devastate our entire land.
People from all over the area gathered, thought and thought, but no one could answer the padchach. Can't you, young man, help us in trouble?
To this I said to the prince’s daughter:
—Put both knives on the fire. Fat will appear on the knife of a simple mountaineer because it has been worked. But the father’s knife was not in use - no matter how much you heat it, it will remain dry. Pass my advice to your father, and when you go to the river again, take some cakes with you. I'm really hungry.
The girl left. At noon he returns to the river, takes out cakes and says:
“You were right about the knives.” But now the father sent his father two roosters and told him to guess which one was old and which one was young. Nobody knows how to respond to the formidable padchakh.
I advised the prince’s daughter: don’t let the roosters eat for two days. And on the third day, release them and fill them with wheat. Both roosters will rush to peck the grain. Here you should note: the young rooster will stand with his head to the wind, and the old rooster will turn his tail to the wind.
The girl went home. And I sit by the river and wait for her. Three days later she again went to the river.
“I got really hungry waiting for you,” I said to the prince’s daughter.
And she explains:
“I wanted to see how the roosters would peck the grain.” You were right. Padchakh was pleased with our answer. But now a new misfortune has befallen us. The formidable padchakh sent an iron pillar to my father and told me to tell him: if anyone can lift this pillar with one hand, throw it over the abyss and fall into a jug, he will retreat from our border. A. if no one can throw an iron pillar, the padchakh will ruin our region. All our horsemen have gathered, but not one is able to lift this pillar.
“Okay,” I say, “I’ll lift the iron pillar with one hand, throw it over the abyss and fall into the jug.” But first, let the prince order the bull to be slaughtered and fed to me. Tell him so.
The girl ran home and asked me to wait and not to go anywhere. I stayed on the shore. And not an hour has passed - she comes running back:
“I told the prince that I found a horseman who can lift an iron pole with one hand, throw it over a chasm and get into a jug, but asks to be fed first. The prince ordered his servants to slaughter the bull, roast it and feed you. Come with me!
I went with her. The prince's people fed me. Then they showed me an iron pillar that the paddach had sent to the prince. I lifted this pillar with one hand, threw it over the abyss and fell into the jug. And on that edge of the abyss stood the formidable slayer with his army. He saw what kind of horsemen there were in our region, he got scared and retreated with his army from our borders.
And the prince was delighted, praised me and said:
— The formidable stepchild has a beautiful daughter. She deserves to become the bride of a horseman like you. Go to the padchakh, ask him to give his daughter for you. And we will celebrate you a wedding like no one has ever seen.
That same day I set off. He walked and walked and found himself at a large river. I see a man on the shore scooping up water with a huge ladle the size of a barrel, drinking and shouting that he is dying of thirst.
- What a miracle! - I was surprised.
“I’m not a miracle,” the stranger objected. “The horseman who threw an iron pole over the abyss and fell into a jug is a miracle.”
“It was I who threw the iron pillar over the abyss, and now I’m going after the padchakh’s daughter.” Will you come with me? - I said to the stranger.
“I’ll go,” he answers, “I’ll just take a ladle of water with me.”
The two of us moved on. They walked and walked and noticed a man who was running so fast that the doe could not get away from him. He rushes next to the doe, strokes her back with his hand, and the falcon flies above him. The man is wearing heavy iron shoes, and a millstone is tied to one leg.
- What a miracle! - We were both surprised.
- I'm not a miracle. The horseman, who lifted an iron pole with one hand, threw it over the abyss and fell into a jug - what a miracle! - the stranger shouted back.
“It was I who threw the iron pillar over the abyss!” I shout after him. “Will you come with us to fetch the stepchild’s daughter?”
“I’ll go,” answered the stranger, “only I’ll take the falcon with me.”
The three of us moved on. They walked and walked and saw a man: he stood motionless, putting his ear to the rock.
I ask:
- What are you doing?
“I want to know in which direction the snake crawled, which lives behind the seventh mountain towards sunrise.”
- What a miracle! - we were surprised.
- I'm not a miracle. A horseman who lifted an iron pole with one hand, threw it over the abyss and fell into a jug - what a miracle! - the stranger said in response.
“It was I who threw the iron pillar over the abyss, and now I’m going after the father’s daughter.” Will you come with us? - I asked him.
- I'll go.
The four of us went further. They walked and walked and met another man: he walks through the meadow, grabs three haystacks at once with one hand and carries these haystacks from one place to another, and a wolf runs next to him.
- What a miracle! - we were surprised.
- I'm not a miracle. A horseman who lifted an iron pole with one hand, threw it over the abyss and fell into a jug - what a miracle! - said the stranger.
“It was I who threw the iron pillar over the abyss!” I exclaimed and asked the stranger: “Will you come with us to fetch the padchakh’s daughter?”
“I’ll go,” he readily agreed. “Only I’ll take the wolf with me, it’ll be useful to us.”
The five of us went further, and with us was a wolf and a falcon. They walked and walked until they reached the palace of the padchakh.
We were met by guards at the gate:
-Where are you going?
We replied that we had come for the padchakh’s daughter. The guards released the fighting cock from the cage and said:
“You won’t take a step further if you don’t defeat our rooster.” Do you have a rooster to fight?
- There is no rooster, but there is a falcon! - I exclaimed and released the falcon.
The falcon flew at the rooster, pulled out all the feathers and pecked it.
We hurried on. And a little further there is a second gate, and there are guards around them again.
-Where are you going?
We replied that we had come for the padchakh’s daughter. The chief guard released the dog and shouted:
“You won’t take a step further if you don’t have a dog to pit against ours!”
“We don’t have a dog, but we have a wolf!” I exclaimed and released the wolf. He ran into the dog, grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and began to tug at it. The dog broke free and ran away. The guards stepped aside and let us through. We look, and there is already a house prepared for us. Servants prepare food for the table and bring food from the palace kitchen.
“Listen, Sensitive Ear, to what they are talking about in the kitchen,” I turned to the man who was listening to the snake crawling behind the seventh mountain.
He answers:
“The Padchah orders poison to be mixed into our food.”
When the servants brought in the dishes, we told them:
“Tell the padchakh that we thank him for the treat, but we don’t feel like eating.”
The servants left and we went to bed. But just as we started to fall asleep, the house suddenly filled with smoke. I jumped up, looked out of the house and saw: fire was burning at all the doors, at all the windows. “So that’s it!” we guessed. “The Padchakh decided to burn us.”
“You brought a ladle of water with you, put out the fire,” I asked the man who was drinking water with a huge ladle by the river and shouting that he was dying of thirst. He knocked over his ladle and the fire immediately went out.
We went to bed again. But this time I couldn’t fall asleep either. Streams of water poured onto us from all the windows. We immediately guessed: “Now they want to drown us.”
“Move our house to a dry place,” I asked the man who was moving haystacks from one place to another in the meadow.
He jumped out, picked up the house and carried it to the hill.
The next morning the padchakh's servant appears:
“The father said that he will give you his daughter if one of you overtakes the sorceress who lives at the palace.”
They brought a witch. A man stood next to her. who overtook a doe on one leg. He took off his iron shoes and untied the millstone. The servant of the father-in-law gave a sign - the walker and the sorceress rushed to run and immediately disappeared from sight.
“Listen, Sensitive Ear, to what’s going on there,” I asked another of my comrades - the same one who could hear the rustling of a snake behind the seventh mountain.
He put his ear to the ground and answered:
“The witch is hurrying back, and our comrade lies behind the seventh mountain.” Apparently the witch put him to sleep with something.
I looked around and noticed an iron pillar near the palace. I grabbed him and asked:
- How to wake him up?
“You need to hit the tree that stands nearby, and the walker will jump up immediately.”
I threw the iron pole at the tree and split it. Our friend woke up, jumped up and rushed to catch up with the witch. He overtook her on the third mountain, pushed her into the abyss, and he ran to the palace.
Padchakh looked out the window and shouted:
- Take my daughter and leave quickly!
We took the father's daughter and returned to our native land.
“You see how much work I had to do, how could I keep track of the birds?” - said the son, turning to his father.
“I see the grain, I see you, but for some reason I haven’t seen the stepchild’s daughter and your wonderful friends.” Where are they? - asked the father.
The son looked around, but also saw no one. And then he just said:
“But everything else must have been a dream.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru