Once upon a time there lived a husband and wife, and they had three daughters. All three are beautiful, but the youngest is the most beautiful.
One day he and his friends went swimming, and the girls began to look at their sisters.
– Why don’t you still have a tattoo? “All three of you are such beauties, but if you get a tattoo, you will become even more beautiful,” the friends said.
- Who will make it for us?
- There is one old woman who is an expert in this matter. True, she lives very far away. But people go to her...
And the three sisters began to ask their parents to allow them to go to the old woman and get a tattoo.
– Dear father and mother, today on the river the girls, seeing that we didn’t have a tattoo, advised us to go to an old woman who does it very well. True, she lives far away. But there are three of us.
And the parents agreed.
The next day, early in the morning, the three sisters, taking a large basket each in their hands, went to the field to buy cassava, sweet potatoes and groundnuts.
Having filled their baskets, the sisters returned home, then from all this they prepared food for themselves for the road and set off.
They walked and walked all day. We saw a hut, and at the entrance to it an old woman was sitting with a pipe in her mouth - she had only one eye, one ear, one arm, one leg.
“Grandma,” the younger sister turned to her, “we came to you to get a tattoo.” They say you are a great expert in this matter.
“I, of course, know how to tattoo, but there is another old woman who lives even further away, she does tattoos much better than me.” I’ll take you to her, otherwise you won’t find her yourself. Just make me something to eat first.
The older sisters seemed not to have heard the old woman’s last words, but the younger sister happily fulfilled her wish - she prepared a delicious meal. The old woman ate and said:
- Now, granddaughters, let's go.
They walked for a very long time. Finally they came to a hut, near which sat another old sorceress, also with one ear, one eye, one arm and one leg. The first old woman said:
– These girls came to you so that you could give them a beautiful tattoo. Look how beautiful they are! And the youngest... You just can’t take your eyes off her! When you give them a tattoo, don’t forget that it is the most beautiful of all.
And indeed, the second old woman turned out to be a skilled woman, a real sorceress. All three sisters became even more beautiful than they were. Bizarre designs adorned their faces, chests, stomachs and thighs. And the youngest became such that her beauty now simply blinded her eyes.
The sisters went home. The youngest walked in front, the older ones behind. Whoever they met on the way, everyone exclaimed:
– What a wonderful tattoo! But this girl who is walking in front, look, look, is the most beautiful of all!
The two older sisters were simply bursting with envy. Since the youngest walked ahead and could not hear what the older sisters were talking about, the elders, taking advantage of this, agreed to throw her into the river when they crossed the hanging bridge.
As soon as the younger sister stepped foot on the hanging bridge, the sisters began to swing it. And when the girl reached the middle, they shook the bridge so much that she fell into the river and disappeared under water.
Parents, seeing their daughters with such beautiful tattoos, were very happy. But the mother asked: “Where is the youngest?”, to which the older sisters replied:
“She’s so pleased with her tattoo that she stayed on the road to show off to people.”
It's already evening. But the youngest daughter is still missing. The mother became worried. Why didn't they come together? Where is her favorite, the youngest? Didn't she tell the elders to keep an eye on her?
“Yes, she probably came to some friend’s house to show off and be proud.” While we were walking together, she was bragging about everything! Well, what could we do? They tried to persuade her, they persuaded her: let's go home, let's go home! - and she would never...
Night has come. Then morning came. And the youngest daughter is gone. Then father and mother went in search. In their native village, no one saw their youngest daughter. They walked and walked and finally reached the old woman's hut.
– I had your three daughters, I did. It was I who took them to the old woman, an expert in tattooing. And what a wonderful tattoo she gave them! And the youngest one is especially beautiful! Your kind youngest daughter, kind, even prepared food for me, took pity on the old woman: after all, I have one eye, one ear, one arm, one leg. I ordered your elders to take care of the youngest on the way. But I saw terrible envy on their faces. Envy and malice filled their hearts. It was they who destroyed her, I know it was them,” said the old woman.
The inconsolable parents returned home, dressed in mourning and mourned their daughter for a long time. Damn that tattoo!
Many years have passed. But in fairy tales time passes very quickly. One day a woodcutter went into the forest. He walked along the river bank, saw a large tree - takula, hit him with an ax once, hit him a second time and suddenly heard a plaintive voice:
Who's there, who's there, Who's knocking?
Lumberjack with an axe?
You're the one knocking
Lumberjack with an axe?
We were three sisters
Woodcutter with an ax
I was the most beautiful
Woodcutter with an ax
My sisters were angry with me
Woodcutter with an ax
They threw me into the water
Woodcutter with an ax
And the crocodile told me,
Woodcutter with an ax
Will you become my wife?
Woodcutter with an ax
You will give me children,
Lumberjack with an axe!
Say hello to your family,
Woodcutter with an ax
Say hello to your father
Woodcutter with an ax
Say hello to mom
Woodcutter with an ax
Say hello to your sisters
Woodcutter with an ax
Bow to them from me
Lumberjack with an axe!
The woodcutter froze in horror. What is this? Maybe a merman? Maybe an evil spirit? And again he hit the tree with the ax. And again the mysterious voice repeated just as sadly:
Who's there, who's there,
Who's knocking?
Lumberjack with an axe?
Throwing away the axe, the woodcutter ran home.
- What's wrong with you? – his wife asked. “You don’t have a face, has something happened?”
- Leave me alone! Don't touch me! – the woodcutter shouted angrily and threw himself face down on the mat.
The next morning he returned to his old place, picked up an ax on the ground and began again to chop down the takula tree. He hit once, hit again, and again the plaintive voice was heard:
Who's there, who's there, Who's knocking? Lumberjack with an axe?
"No! This is, of course, not a person!” - thought the woodcutter. And he immediately returned home. My wife was very surprised. Usually the husband worked in the forest from morning to evening, and then suddenly for the second day he returns empty-handed, without having time to leave.
- Hey, what's wrong with you? Maybe you're sick? Tell!
But the husband lay silently on the mat, without raising his head.
Morning came again, the woodcutter got up and went into the forest. He decided to try cutting down another tree. He hit him once, hit him a second time, and again the plaintive voice was heard:
Who's there, who's there, Who's knocking? Lumberjack with an axe?
The woodcutter ran home and this time told his wife everything.
-And you didn’t see who was crying?
- And-and-them! I looked into the water, looked around, looked behind the trees... I don’t know who it could be! Maybe a merman. Or maybe an evil spirit. In general, I won’t go there anymore to cut down trees!
- How will we live? Before you brought several logs, but now not a single one. Let's go together and see who's crying.
And early in the morning the woodcutter and his wife went into the forest.
-Where did you chop?
“First I chopped here, and then here, and then over there.”
– And every time you heard a plaintive voice?
– Every time – as soon as I hit the tree with an ax for the second time...
- Come on, try it. Hit harder!
- Bang! Bang! - the blows of the ax were heard. And immediately a sad voice sounded:
Who's there, who's there, Who's knocking? Lumberjack with an axe?
- Let's get out of here quickly! I know who's crying! This is the youngest daughter of our neighbors, who was killed by her sisters! - exclaimed the woodcutter's wife.
The woodcutter and his wife ran to the village and told the parents of the unfortunate girl about everything. And the four of them went to the river bank.
The woodcutter swung his ax, hit the tree, and everyone heard a plaintive voice:
Who's knocking?
Who's there, who's there,
Lumberjack with an axe? You're the one knocking
Lumberjack with an axe? We were three sisters
Woodcutter with an axe, I was the most beautiful of all,
Woodcutter with an ax
My sisters were angry with me
Woodcutter with an ax
They threw me into the water
Woodcutter with an ax
And the crocodile told me,
Woodcutter with an ax
Will you become my wife?
Woodcutter with an ax
You will give me children,
Lumberjack with an axe!
Say hello to your family,
Woodcutter with an ax
Say hello to your father
Woodcutter with an ax
Say hello to mom
Woodcutter with an ax
Say hello to your sisters
Woodcutter with an ax
Bow to them from me
Lumberjack with an axe!
The unfortunate parents heard the voice of their youngest daughter, ran up to the very shore and saw her in the clear water. She sat on the sandy bottom, and three shells adorned her forehead, and three more adorned her temples. She sat and cried bitterly, wiping her eyes with her hands. Then the parents called their fishermen friends, they boarded their boats, cast their nets and pulled the girl out of the water.
The girl was solemnly brought into her native village. They put it in their hut. Fires were lit, several bulls were slaughtered, and a great celebration began.
Old, experienced sorcerers came from all over the world to bring the girl back to life. They conjured and conjured, and she began to smile first, then talk. Only the shells from the forehead did not disappear, as if they had grown in. Everything seemed to end well. The girl came to life, but for some reason she was afraid to leave the house. And the wise old men also said that she should never carry water or pound anything in a mortar. But one day, when her parents were not at home, the youngest daughter put maize in a large mortar and, taking a pestle in her hands, began to pound, chanting:
I'll pound the corn
I'll mix it with sand
Let the water come to wet the corn!
The parents returned home, and the youngest daughter was sad and told them:
– What did I do wrong? Why are you keeping me here? It's been two months since I've been at home!
And then screams of horror were heard from all sides. People were shouting because the river had overflowed its banks and the waves were already approaching the village.
Soon the hut where the youngest daughter stood began to flood, and the girl kept pounding corn and singing:
I'll pound the corn
I'll mix it with sand
Let the water come to wet the corn!
And then, when the walls of the hut were washed away by water, a water god appeared in the form of a crocodile and said:
“So that your parents can never steal you away again, we will take them with us.” They will be better underwater. There they will not have to languish from work, they will only admire their grandchildren.
And the youngest daughter agreed.
And her sisters were given to be eaten by crocodiles as punishment.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru