This is not the kingdom, not the state in which the king lived. The king had three sons. The eldest was Vasily, the middle one was Fedor, and the youngest, as they always say, was Ivan. Without Ivan, a fairy tale rarely lives.
When these sons had already reached their age, the king now gathers all three and announces the following thing:
- Here, my beloved sons, do you know what now? I’m not old yet, I would like to marry you and look at your children, my grandchildren.
The sons answer:
- So, father, bless, who are we going to marry?
The father answers them like this:
“That’s it, sons, choose your own bride: you need to live with her, not me,” is my advice.
- No, father, we would like to know that who would you like to marry us to?
- So, I guess I’ll tell you this too. Take it, make yourself a crossbow and shoot: where your arrows fall is where you are destined to get married. Let it fall on a peasant's yard, or on a priest's yard, or on a prince's yard - wherever the arrow falls - that's where your destiny is to get married.
The boys thanked their father. They went, made themselves a crossbow, fired and followed these arrows to keep track of where their brides were. Here the eldest - Vasily - fell into the royal court; the middle one - Fedora - fell to the princely court; they followed the arrows and immediately got married, and the youngest - Ivan - rose and flew away, and he doesn’t know where. I also had to go in the direction to look for my arrow. So he goes and goes. He left the city and went towards the forest. And he sees a large swamp in the forest. And in the swamp there is a small farm. And on this farm he sees his arrow. Yes, he approaches this farm and stands on the roof. He takes her off the roof and wants to go home. I was just about to go home, when suddenly an old, old woman came out of the farmhouse and spoke:
- Well, Ivan Tsarevich, since you came here for the arrow, it means that your fate drew you to me. You must marry me with your father's blessing. He looked at her and said:
“Have I really lived to become such an old woman?” After all, you don’t even have a single tooth in your mouth, and you can’t walk. And I don’t need you, and I won’t take you!
- Well, you won’t take it as you want. Since my father gave his blessing, you should take me. If you don’t take it, you still won’t leave me.
And he said:
- No, I won’t take it, I’ll go away.
And he went. But he can’t go anywhere, he gets stuck in the swamp.
“So she comes closer to him and says:
- Well, if you take it, you won’t drown, and if you don’t take it, you’ll drown anyway, you won’t be able to get away from me.
And he thought a little: “Even if I die, I still want to live. Well, anyway, to hell with her, I’ll take it, I won’t live with her all the same.”
Then he said:
- Well, okay, go, to hell with you, I’ll marry you!
And immediately I found myself on solid ground. Here they go, and she says to him on the way:
“Here, Ivan Tsarevich, although you took me, you don’t know how to hold me (why I said this, it will later become clear). He walks forward and doesn’t even look back, thinking to himself:
“I won’t live with you anyway.” And soon they came to the kingdom. He took her into one room, left her, and he went to his father to explain his unfortunate situation, what happened to him. That's when he came to his father, and his father asked: - Well, where have you been, son, for so long and where did you find your bride? Your brothers have already married: one to a prince’s daughter, the other to a royal one. He answers him:
- Oh, father, don’t ask about my marriage. What an unfortunate little son I was born to you.
- Well, what’s wrong with you, son, tell me, and I’ll listen, who did you marry, who did you bring?
So he began to tell how he shot and went to look for his arrow, and how the arrow flew into the swamp and went in the direction of looking for his arrow.
- When I came to the swamp, and I saw a small farm and on it my arrow on the roof. I got her, I want to go away. As soon as I went, an old, old old woman came out of this hut and said: “Well, Ivan Tsarevich, It means that it’s our fate, since your father blessed you to marry me.” I, of course, refused it and wanted to go away, but I began to drown in the swamp and I just couldn’t get out. Then she came up and said again: “If you take it, you won’t drown, but if you don’t take it, you’ll drown and won’t go anywhere.” And so, father, I took her and brought her. I didn’t want to drown in the swamp, do what you know with me. Now Ivan's father speaks:
- Well, what to do, Vanya, it’s clear that this is your destiny. Let her live. If he can’t do anything, that’s nothing. Let her live anyway, maybe she will die soon, since she is old. You will then marry someone else.
And suddenly those brothers come to their father, the father says:
- Well, here’s what, beloved sons: come to me tomorrow, and I will arrange a feast for you. And bring a shirt each, let the wives sew a shirt each, and I will find out which of the three is the most handmade, and I will give the kingdom to his son.
Goth brothers said:
- Okay, father, we will go and order them. Then the father said to Ivan:
– Let your old lady sew too, if she can; and if he doesn’t know how, then there’s nothing to take from the old one.
Ivan hung his head and walked away. So he came into this room where she was sitting, and very sadly sat down on the bench. He doesn't even look at her.
She comes up.
- Well, Ivan Tsarevich, are you sad - have you hung your head violently? What did your father tell you to do, what was your order?
And she knows - she’s a sorceress. So he tells her:
-What can you do? Father ordered all his daughters-in-law to sew a shirt, but what can you sew, your hands are shaking, you can barely walk? And it’s better to leave me alone, don’t upset me in vain!
And he hung his head even more. She says:
“Listen, Ivan Tsarevich, not all your head, but go and bring me ten arshins of silk, even though I may be skinny, I’ll do it, don’t spare the silk.”
Now he thinks: “Oh, to hell with it, let it be!” He went and brought ten arshins of silk: “Let him do it.” And he went himself so that his eyes would not look. These daughters-in-law, when their brothers brought them silk, came to see how the old woman would sew. When she received this silk, she took it, cut it into small pieces and threw these pieces out the window:
“The winds are violent, make Father a shirt without a single seam, so that he won’t be ashamed to wear it in front of guests.”
And suddenly, not a few minutes had passed, and the shirt was ready: rolled up, starched.
She took it, wrapped it, and sat down in her seat. These daughters-in-law ran home from her. Well, they did everything the same way: they cut the silk into small pieces and threw it out the window, they themselves began to wait for it to be ready, they also said these words:
- The winds are violent, sew a shirt for Father!
No matter how much they waited, nothing worked out for them. So they tell their husbands:
- Well, husbands, nothing worked out for us. Run quickly to the market, buy the best shirts you can to take to your father.
They, of course, got ready and went to the market. And we bought the best silk shirts from the best stores. They brought it home. They immediately got ready, they had to go to their father at nine o’clock. And Ivan also knew that he had to go. And suddenly Ivan comes to his old lady and says:
- Well, what have you done?
And he turns his head to the other side, without even looking at her.
She answers:
“Here, Ivanushko, I have a towel here - Father’s shirt is wrapped up, if you like it, give it to me, don’t let him judge it, just the way it is.”
And so all three brothers come to their father.
Right away, when they first appeared, the father asked the eldest son:
- But, Vasily, show me what kind of needlewoman you have?
Now Vasily takes out his shirt and puts it on the table. When he looked at the shirt, he shook it and said:
- Wow, you can buy as many shirts as you like on the market. Your wife is a bad needlewoman. It happens that our footmen and even grooms wear such shirts on holidays. But, Fedor, show your wife the craft, what kind of needlewoman is she?
When he looked at the shirt too, and unfolded it:
- Oh, it’s simple, as if everything came from one factory. Probably both shirts are from the same store.
Then the king approached his youngest son and said:
- Well, Vanyusha, now show your old lady some handicrafts, I won’t ask her much, what kind of work she has done - I’ll put up with that.
Ivan hands him a package and says:
“Look, father, I didn’t look myself, but she said that let father not judge her as she is.”
Now the priest unfolded his shirt and said:
- Well, look what kind of shirt this is. There is not a single seam, it is as if she is alive. For this shirt, Ivanushko, you and your handicraft wife should be given the kingdom, but I don’t know, it’s just old, yeah! That's the shirt! It’s really not a shame to wear one like this when visiting guests. Now the priest says to his sons:
“That’s it, sons, bring me some bread tomorrow, each of you, and from this concoction I will find out how your wives will feed you.”
And with these words the brothers parted ways. The older brothers came and said:
- Well, wives, father did not praise your needlework, but only praised the shirt that Ivan’s old woman sewed. She has a very well made shirt. And now the priest ordered to bake some bread - he needs it for the guests. Well, try, we will bring you flour.
Then Ivan also comes to his old lady. He sat down on a chair and hung his head. Silent. So she came up to him and said:
“What, Ivan Tsarevich, is he sad that he hung his head on the rioter, or did the priest not like the shirt, or did he give some new order?” I'll try and maybe I'll do it somehow. He tells her:
“He didn’t blame you for the shirt, he even said thank you and praised you.” But now he ordered to bake some bread. And where can you do this, how your hands are shaking, and it’s scary to look at yourself.
“Well, listen, Ivanushko, don’t hesitate to bring me ten pounds of flour.” I'll make some bread. Whatever it will be, that’s fine.
Well, he brought her torment, and he left so that no one would look.
And now, of course, she dissolved the flour and the dough came out.
She turned on the stove, and at this time her daughters-in-law came running to watch her bake. When the oven was hot, she plundered the coals all over the oven, poured this dough onto the coals, closed the oven and kept it in the oven for two hours. (Earlier, apparently, they also baked by the hour!) Now two hours have passed. She opened the stove, and the aroma immediately spread throughout the hut, so that it feeds the spirit. Then she pulled it out. And the bread came out so ruddy and fluffy that it was like a painting. Well, the daughters-in-law ran home. Now they turned on the stoves at that very moment, plundered the coals from the stoves, poured this dough onto the coals and closed the stoves with a barrier (only they guessed a little, they went with the wrong one!). Two hours have passed; how they hid the ovens, and there were only coals: no bread, no dough, there were only coals.
And suddenly their husbands come.
When they came and asked:
- Well, wives, is the bread ready?
- No, nothing worked out for us, everything burned down. We need to buy it on the market, so time has already run out and we can’t handle it now.
So the brothers went to the market, but Ivan didn’t care and didn’t go anywhere. So they ran to the market and bought the most expensive raisin bread. They brought it home, and the wives wrapped the bread in tablecloths, and the brothers took it to their father.
Ivan sees that time is running out and comes to the old woman:
- Well, what if I made it - let me carry it, it’s time to go.
She brings a tablecloth, wrapped the bread and says:
- Here, Ivanushko, bring it. Whether you like it or not, father, I don’t know how to bake better.
Ivan followed his brothers. When they arrived, the king asked his eldest son:
- Well, show me your wife’s product, what will she feed you with?
He is serving bread now. He unfolded it and looked, and he himself said:
- Yes, our footmen and grooms eat this kind of bread on holidays. Come on, Fedor, show me. He unrolled the tablecloth.
- Look, father.
- It doesn’t matter if they took it from one factory or one market. Come on, Ivanushko, show me, your wife is old, I won’t exact any punishment here. Ivan unrolled the tablecloth.
- Look, father, I didn’t look myself. And she asked not to punish strictly.
When the priest unrolled the tablecloth, the aroma wafted through all the rooms.
And the father said:
- This is how you want to serve bread to guests: eat a piece - you won’t go crazy about another; And if you eat another one, you’ll want a third one more. - Then he also said: “Well, son, if your wife were younger, I would give you the throne for her needlework, well, only she is very old, so for now I won’t say anything, but come tomorrow, all three of you with your wives, let them bring me a carpet of their work.” Whatever they can do, let them do it.
The brothers all went home. And at this time the king’s guests began to gather for the ball. The brothers came and said to their wives:
“But, wives, sew the carpet, and tomorrow we’ll go to the priest’s ball.”
Ivan, then, also goes to his old lady, hangs his head and thinks: “What will I do now, as the priest gave such an order? Well, where I take her to the ball, I will be ashamed, both in front of my brothers and in front of the guests. And everyone will look at her and laugh."
An old woman approaches him.
- What, Ivan Tsarevich, is sad, hanged his head violently, how did I rude you to the priest, or did I do something bad to him, or did I give him some kind of order?
“Father thanked you very much for your work, but now he has given this order: by tomorrow, you should all sew a carpet with your own hands, and you and your wives should come to his ball.” Well, where will I take you like this, because the brothers will laugh, and all the guests will.
- Well, okay, Ivan, what should we do? Go, go to bed, by morning I’ll make you a carpet, and you go to the ball alone. Where will I go to make people laugh?
Ivan went and fell asleep. And at this time, these daughters-in-law sewed the carpet at night and in the morning they dress in royal attire and go to the ball. And Ivan went to his old lady.
When he arrived, she handed over the carpet and said:
- Here, take down the carpet, father.
He looked at her and asked:
- Why aren’t you going, old lady?
- No, I won’t go. Where should I go to make people laugh? He takes this carpet, and she says to him:
– When you bring this carpet, put it on the table, and you will see it there.
He takes this carpet and turns to go, and she says to him:
- Listen, Vanya, I’ll add a few more words to you: when you come to the ball, your brothers will immediately tell you:
“Why didn’t you bring your old lady so that people could see how beautiful she is?” And you tell them: “Stop laughing, brothers, why laugh at the old one?” And just watch and sit. It’s going to rain, so you say: “My little wife washes herself with rainwater.” Your brothers will laugh at you even more. Then thunder roars, and you say: “My little wife is starting to dress in expensive clothes.” They will laugh at you even more and say: “Brother is starting to be stupid.” Just as lightning flashes, you say: “here is my little wife coming.” And immediately come out to the porch to meet me.
And with these words, Ivan went out and simply did not hear his feet under him as he walked into the palace. So he comes, puts the carpet on the table, the carpet jumps off the table in a row and begins to dance, dance and play music. And when those brothers brought the carpets, they just threw them under their feet and walked on them.
This is what the father says:
- Well, Vanya, for such handicraft of your old lady, why didn’t you bring her, at least she could sit here with us.
He answered his father:
“But she didn’t go, or maybe she will come, I don’t know.”
And after that they all sat down at the table, and Vanya sat down next to his brothers. Then the elder brother Vasily begins to speak:
- So, Vanya, why didn’t you bring your old lady, at least people would look at such a beauty?
And Fyodor confirms this in a row. He says:
- Stop laughing, brothers, because not everyone can be beautiful.
And suddenly it starts to rain.
Vanya looks and speaks:
“Here is my little wife washing herself with rainwater.” And Vasily says to Fedor:
- Look, look, Ivan and his old woman are already starting to be stupid, they ground something that can be washed with rainwater.
So the thunder struck.
“Here is my little wife getting dressed up in a dress dress.” Fedor says to him:
“Come on, Vanya, it’s inconvenient to joke in front of guests.” So the lightning flashed. He says:
“My little wife is coming here,” and he jumped out and ran to meet her. He ran out and looked - three white horses were rushing, and such a beautiful lady was sitting on it that it was impossible to even look around, just look, you would be so happy. She drove up to the porch and grabbed Ivan’s hand and went upstairs.
And Ivan was so happy that he thought: “At least I have a wife, or am I dreaming about all this?” Of course, she comes to the table, and the brothers, father and guests wide-eyed and stare at her, how good Ivan’s wife is.
Then he stood up and said:
“So, brothers, will you still laugh at my wife for being an old woman?”
And the brothers fell silent, as if they had died. Everyone is sitting at the table. Then the father approached his son and daughter-in-law and said:
- Give me your hand, thank you very much for your handicraft. And so, Vanya, I say, and all the guests will confirm this: I am giving now half of my kingdom, and after my death you will take over as king over my entire kingdom. Then he asks his son:
- Well, Vanya, tell me, what is your wife’s name? And Ivan answers:
- Father, I don’t know myself, because she was an old woman, ask her yourself. He approached her:
- Well, daughter-in-law, tell me what your name is, so we will honor you.
She answers:
- My name is simple and easy - my name is Elena the Beautiful.
Now further. The guests began to eat and keep looking at Elena the Beautiful, and so did the daughters-in-law. So she eats, a piece in her mouth, and another in her sleeve, and her daughters-in-law do the same. And the guests all looked, marveled, and even some couldn’t eat, she was so beautiful, and there’s nothing to say about Ivan, he’s lost in memory of such a wife. And when she laughs, gold will curl, and when she bursts into tears, pearls will roll.
Now after that let's go dancing. Ivan went out with his Elena the Beautiful to dance. And so they danced a little - she would take it and wave her sleeve. A window opened and the Neva River flowed outside the window, various ducks, drakes, eiders swam along the river, and everyone sang in different voices.
Then the brothers came out and went dancing with their wives. They also danced a little, and the daughters-in-law waved their sleeves, and crumbs and bones fell from their sleeves and flew towards the guests and their father.
The king shouted:
- What are you, what are you? After all, you can knock out the eyes of all the guests like that!
They felt ashamed. When it all calmed down, Ivan remembered: “Where my wife put this old age of hers, let me go and take a look.”
And it does.
She asks him:
-Where are you going, Vanya?
She guessed where he was going, but she didn’t think that he would do something like that.
- Yes, I’m not far away.
And he ran away. He comes to the room where she lived, searched and searched - there was nothing. Then he went to the washroom and saw her suit hanging. Without saying anything, he lit the stove and threw it in there.
“Let it burn so she never wears it again.”
I thought for the best. When he came back, she asked him:
- Where have you been, Vanya?
“Yes, I wasn’t far away,” they don’t say.
“You were probably at home and burned my suit.” If you burned it, tell me the truth and we’ll go home right away. He then says:
- Yes, Elena the Beautiful, I burned it.
- Do you know what you did? You have now revealed me to Koshchei the Immortal. My father blew away all the capital on this kustyum in order to protect me from Koshchei the Immortal for seven years, and I still had to wait three days, then he would have forgotten me, but now he will notice and take me. Come on, let's go quickly, we'll be in time.
As soon as they stepped out onto the porch, a black whirlwind descended, picked her up, and he was left alone.
So he came home, didn’t drink, didn’t eat, collapsed and started crying. And he thinks: “What have I done now, I couldn’t wait three days.”
The father waited and waited to see what kind of explanation his son would come with, but he couldn’t wait, and on the third day he himself went to visit them. When he comes, he looks - his son is lying in bed alone.
- Why don’t you, Vanyusha, come to me and lie in bed alone, and where is your wife?
“My wife,” answers Ivan Tsarevich, “that’s what I did to my father.” When he ran away from the feast and began to look for where she had put this old thing, and began to tell him, he searched and searched and found this old woman’s costume. He took it, lit the stove and burned it. When I burned it and ran back, Elena the Beautiful asked me: “Vanya, where were you, didn’t you burn my costume?” - “I was at home and burned your old age.” - “Well, come on, let’s quickly go home, otherwise Koschey the Immortal will grab me.” She also said: “You couldn’t have hesitated for three days, then Koschey the Immortal would have forgotten me completely.” And so, when we went out onto the porch, a black creature came down and picked up Elena the Beautiful by an invisible force and carried it away. Now I’m left alone and lying and crying.
Everything dear to him flew away.
Then the father said:
- That’s why you’re a fool, Vanya; You couldn’t wait three days, and then she would have been yours for the rest of her life. But now what are you going to do, and I can’t help you either. And now the kingdom is lost for you, because you are unmarried.
Now Ivan says:
“But, okay, dad, let mom bake plantains for me, even if I die, I’ll still go look for her, I can’t live without her.”
And just like that, they prepared a handbag for him. He said goodbye to his father and mother and set off on his journey.
Here he goes, he goes, he goes far, he goes close, and he continues to walk along the road. And he got to such a point that he couldn’t walk and he had no food. And he thinks: “Well, now anyway, dear, I’ll die hungry.”
And at this time he sees that there is a hut. It stands and turns.
He came up and said:
- Hut, hut, turn your eyes to the forest, and turn your gates towards me: I will not live forever, but spend the night for one night, Let the passerby in!
The hut remained. He comes in and sees an old woman standing by the stove.
- Fu-fu, I’ve never been to Rus' and haven’t heard the Russian spirit, but now I hear it. I’ll eat you, well done, I haven’t eaten human flesh for thirty years.
He spoke:
“What are you going to eat, grandma, cold, hungry, you would give me something to drink, feed me, heat the bathhouse, and evaporate it in the bathhouse, and then it would be easier for you to eat me.”
Then the old woman looked at him. She gave him something to drink, fed, and at the same time boiled him in the baina and evaporated him in the baina, put him to bed and let him sleep, and then came up to the bed and said:
- Well, tell me, well done, whose tribe are you and what is your name? Tell me, where are you going, where are you going?
- My name, grandmother, is Ivan Tsarevich. And I go - half of my will, and the other - involuntarily, and the third - of my own accord. I accidentally married an old woman, and she turned out to be Elena the Beautiful. I took and burned her old woman’s costume, and Koschey the Immortal carried her away. And now I’m going to look for it.
- You are a fool, Ivan Tsarevich; You are my son-in-law, and she is my niece. And you didn’t know how to hold it, because in three days it would have been yours forever, but now I don’t even know. I can't help you. Do you know how her father hid her from Koshchei the Immortal? He invested all his capital to close it for seven years (those aunts know, sorceresses, perhaps they themselves helped their father). And now you go to your father, if he has mercy on you, that’s fine, but if he doesn’t, then, perhaps, you won’t even be alive. He lives not far from here. Just go, and when you see a big house and an old lady meets you, she will give you something to drink and feed. It will be your mother-in-law, and if she is at home, I don’t know what will happen to you.
And so he said goodbye to this aunt and went.
He walks and walks and walks, and whether he goes far or close, he doesn’t know. And suddenly he sees a house standing there, big, big. Suitable for this house. As soon as he approached the porch, he saw an old woman coming out to meet him. She opened the door and said: “Come in, good fellow, into the hut.”
When he entered the hut, she now set the table, gave him something to drink, fed him and put him to bed. And she sat down next to her and began to ask:
- Well, tell me, well done, whose will you be and where will you end up, even if you are not brought from relatives? And she herself knows: her aunt informed her.
“If you weren’t from relatives, then I know auntie wouldn’t let you through.” Birds don’t fly here to us, animals don’t prowl, and the fellow doesn’t pass by. So he begins:
- This is who I am: I am Ivan Tsarevich, and I go half by will, and the other by my own desire because of great need.
So he explained his entire situation. She just gasped.
- Well, I was happy, son-in-law, that my father was not at home now. My unfortunate Elichka disappeared from Koshchei the Immortal! Now rest. When father comes, I will encourage you. If you approach him, fall on your knees and ask for forgiveness. What he will tell you, I don’t know.
Ivan, of course, is sleeping. Suddenly the father comes into the house and says:
- Well, tell me who we have in the hut, otherwise it will be bad for you too. Who did you start?
She tells him:
- Listen, husband, we are not a stranger. I let our son-in-law go, do you know what his situation is? She goes and cries bitterly.
He said:
- Well, bring him here, I’ll talk to him if he comes here. There will be no mercy for him from me if he did this.
Suddenly she comes:
- Well, Ivanushko, go, father has come.
So Ivan comes up and, before reaching him, fell to his knees and says:
- Father, forgive me, I committed a big crime. He told him:
- Well, son-in-law, get up, sit at the table with me, I’ll tell you everything.
So Ivan sat down at the table, and his father said to him:
- Do you know what you did, that you burned this suit? All my life I flew around the world and collected wealth, and I slammed everything into this suit, and you burned it like some rag. I can’t help you anymore, because she lives with Koshchei the Immortal, and I can’t do anything with him. Well, I can only give you a horse, a helmet and a sword, and now you go to Koshchei, if you committed this crime yourself. Of course, you will approach Koshcheev’s territory, he will burn you with fire and will not allow you. Then take off your helmet and start waving it. Then he will allow you to come to him, and then you can talk on your own. Maybe you can come to him as some kind of worker, or a lackey, and it may happen that by some chance you will see her there. Then, if you see or get her, then come to me, well, if you don’t get Elena the Beautiful, then don’t come back to me, otherwise you won’t live.
Then he brings him a horse, gives him a sword and a helmet.
He said goodbye to his father-in-law and mother-in-law and set off on his journey. So he rode, rode, rode, and arrived at Koshchey’s territory, and Koshchey at that time was sitting in the place where his sword lay. Then Koschey begins to burn him with fire. He takes off his helmet and starts waving it. Then Koschey let him in and saw that someone was coming with a request. When Ivan drove up to him, he asked:
- Well, tell me, well done, why did you come, for what need? He answers him:
“I came to you, I want to become some kind of worker or lackey, to serve faithfully. Then he told him:
- Yes, only those who can serve as my slaves are equal in strength to me.
He says to Koshchei the Immortal:
“I don’t know your strength, you show me in advance what kind of strength you have.”
“He who is equal in strength with me, who can throw my sword upward, and so that it flies for six hours above, that one will be equal in strength with me.” Then he said:
- Listen, you show it yourself first, and then I’ll do it for you.
Then Koschey came down from this place, took his sword and threw it upward.
I handed him the watch.
- Here, look.
Exactly six hours passed, and the sword fell in the same place and went into the ground, only one handle was visible. He takes the watch from him, “Well, go and give me my sword.”
Ivan Tsarevich approaches the sword and cannot even move it, and stands there.
Koschey asks:
- Well, why are you standing there, aren’t you throwing? Time doesn't wait.
- But wait, now a small cloud is floating, I will throw your sword behind this cloud.
Koschey looked at it, took it, blew it, turned it into a nut and threw Ivan Tsarevich into an open field. So Ivan Tsarevich lies there. There was no way for him to move there, in the nut.
And there it lies for a day or two. Luckily for him, an eagle flew in at that time. An eagle flew in, saw this nut and pecked. Ivan Tsarevich jumped out and said:
- Well, thank God, I’m alive now, thank you, Father Eagle.
The eagle answers him:
- So tell me, Ivan Tsarevich, how did you get into this nut, explain to me.
“But, eagle-father, Koschey the Immortal stole my wife, and I came to him, but I couldn’t lift his sword, and he got angry at me, blew on me, turned me into this nut and threw me into an open field, that’s how I ended up here.”
He tells him all this briefly. The eagle answers him:
“Yes, I’ve known this for a long time, Ivan Tsarevich, but if you want to be equal in strength to Koshchei, then come to me as a worker for three years, and I will give you such strength that you will be equal to Koshchei.”
Ivan Tsarevich thought a little and said:
- Well, then, Father Eagle, I’ll go with you.
Then the eagle put him on himself and flew to his home (here, poor thing, you have to suffer for ten years). When the eagle flew home, he turned into an old man, brought Ivan Tsarevich into the kitchen and said:
“Here, bake and cook for me and for yourself, only for you and work, and in a year I will pay you for it.”
Ivan Tsarevich begins his work, and soon he lived for a year with his grandfather. When he had lived for a year, they sat down to dinner. The old man goes down to the cellar and brings a bottle of wine. He poured this wine into a cup and said: - Here, Ivan Tsarevich, drink, this is for the whole year, for your work.
Ivan Tsarevich looked at this cup and said:
“Grandfather, I won’t be able to drink it, I’ve never drunk much of it at all.” And grandfather answers him:
- This is not for the sake of making you feel bad. Drink, it will be better for your health.
Then Ivan Tsarevich takes this cup and drinks it in one breath.
When they had lunch, he said to him:
“Let’s go, Ivan Tsarevich, to the field, I’ll show you my sword.” It is the same as Koshchei's.
They came to this sword, the old man takes the sword, gives Ivan the watch and throws this sword up. The sword flew for six hours and fell in the same place. And grandfather said:
- See, Ivan Tsarevich, the old man still has the same strength as before. Give me the watch, can you pick up my sword or throw it away?
Then Ivan Tsarevich handed over his watch and took the sword and threw it away for only two hours. The sword flew for two hours and fell in the same place.
- Now, okay, Ivan, let's go home and continue the same work for me.
They came home, and Ivan began to do the same as he had done before.
And so he spent the second year again. And we sat down to dinner with grandfather again. When they just sat down to dinner, grandfather brings him two bottles of wine and says:
- Well, drink, this is for you for this year of work.
He didn’t even refuse, when he first found out what kind of wine it was, he took it and drank it all at once. When he had lunch, his grandfather said to him:
- Well, let's go to the field, take a look and find out if I have the same strength as before?
Grandfather goes to his sword, gives Ivan the watch and throws away the sword. The sword flew for six hours and fell in the same place. Then grandfather takes the watch and says to Ivan:
- Well, now you throw it.
Ivan threw it out, and the sword flew for six hours and fell in the same place.
Here he said:
Come on, stay with me for another year.
They're coming. Dear grandfather says:
Now, if you live with me for another year, then you will have one and a half times more strength than Koshchei. Now you have equal strength with him, because my sword is the same weight as Koshcheev’s.
Now they came home again, and Ivan entered his old place and lived for the third year. When he had lived for the third year and sat down to dinner again, grandfather brought a whole quarter and said:
- Here, Ivan, drink your salary for the third year.
Instead of wine, it gives him strength. He drank. After lunch, grandfather says:
“Let’s go, Ivan, to the field, I’ll try again, do I have the same strength as before?”
Here they come again to that place. Grandfather takes the sword and hands him the watch. Threw away the sword. The sword flew for six hours and fell in its old place. Grandfather takes the watch in his hands and says:
- Well, now, Ivan, drop the sword, we’ll see what happens. Ivan quit. Six hours have passed - there is no sword. Seven and eight passed - there was no sword. Grandfather spoke:
- Well, Ivan Tsarevich, trouble is near. If the sword does not fall by nine o’clock, then I will not be alive, and you will also perish with me.
Suddenly half past eight and nine passed, and the sword fell at that time. Grandfather says:
- Well, Ivan Tsarevich, I won’t let you throw my sword anymore: you know, I can’t live without it for more than three hours, so as not to see it, that my soul is in the sword, the same with Koshchei, that’s why I can’t live without a sword. My sword does not cut Koshcheev’s sword, and also Koshcheev’s sword does not cut mine. Now let’s go home, and I’ll tell you how to go to Koshchei for your Elena the Beautiful. Now you have one and a half times more strength than Koshchei.
So they came home, sat down at the table, and grandfather began to say to him:
“Listen, Ivan Tsarevich, I’m giving you my horse, one that can’t be hit by a bullet and can’t be burned by fire.” This horse does not drown on water and does not burn in fire. And he will introduce you to Koshchei the Immortal himself. And in addition I will give you my sword. And when you gallop to Koshchei the Immortal, he will be very angry with you and say:
“Who are you, good fellow?” And you answer him like this:
“Do you remember how you used to lock me up in a nut and throw me into an open field?” He will turn around to look, and at this time you jump off your horse and hit him with your sword, not mine, but your sword. When you hit him, then the servants will hide there: “Beat him, the dog, again.” And you say: “No, in Rus' they only beat people.” If you hit him a second time, he would heal, and you would never kill him, but he would kill you. After that, hit the sword into the ground as hard as you can, and the sword will fall through the ground, and its pieces will fly there. Then ride your horse and take my sword in your hands. Then twelve heroes will come at you, but you can easily deal with him, just hit him with my sword. When you kill these heroes, then go to his castles, and there you will find everything locked. Hit these castles with my sword and go look for your Elena the Beautiful. And when you get Elena the Beautiful, then bring her here, I know that she is very thin now, and I will guide her. And you will have to live here for another three years and not sleep with her, because she is very thin, and you are now very strong. And she needs to become just as strong.
After that, I took him out onto the porch, and there was already a sword standing there, and a horse nearby.
- But, get in and go, but remember what I told you.
And so, as soon as he sat on this horse, he rushed off. And he sees Koschey the Immortal sitting and burning with fire, and the horse is running, no matter what. And Koschey the Immortal began to turn up the lakes: to drown them with water. The horse runs even faster. Koschey began to fire, chop, shoot at the horse - nothing worked.
He galloped up to Koshchei the Immortal himself and stood against him.
Then he shouted:
- Why are you going so impudent and turning against me? Tell me, who are you?
He jumped off his horse and pointed into the field.
- Do you remember how you locked me up in a nut and threw me there, into an open field?
Koschey turned around and looked into the open field, and at this time Ivan Tsarevich jumped off his horse and struck him with his sword and cut him in half. The servants shouted:
- Beat him, the dog, another time! He answers:
- No, in Rus' they beat people on clothes.
He swung and threw the sword into the ground. The sword fell through the ground, and pieces of Koshchei the Immortal flew there. So he jumped on his horse and took his grandfather’s sword in his hands. He looked and suddenly twelve heroes came out. Less than an hour had passed before Tsarevich Ivan destroyed these twelve heroes, galloped up to the castle of Koshchei the Immortal, jumped off his horse, tied it and approached the first door. She looks and sees a heavy lock hanging on it. He struck with the sword and opened the first, second and third doors. He comes to the dining room of Koshchei the Immortal, where he always drank and ate. He looks, on the table there is a bread-salting tablecloth and on it there is food, whatever you look at. So he wanted to eat. He sat down at the table and thought: “Where is my beautiful Elichka now?” And somehow he accidentally looked under the table and saw a human head under the table in the floor. Only one head is visible. So he asked:
- Who is this person here, tell me, is he alive? The head thought a little and said: “I am Elena the Beautiful, but who are you and why did you come, leave before Koschey the Immortal comes.”
“I am, Elena the Beautiful, Ivan Tsarevich, I came for you and now I will take you, but there is no mention of Koshchei the Immortal: I killed him, so there is no point in thinking about it.”
- If so, Ivan Tsarevich, and you came for me, then I’ll tell you: for seven years I sat with Koshchei the Immortal, and every day he called me to marry, but I kept fighting him off with my talisman, so that he could not come close to me. And so I lived for seven years, and he locked me up for seven years, and pester me as you please. And today he covered me with the eighth, and I would have died. He only fed me corn. He says:
“It doesn’t matter, Elena the Beautiful, I’ll cut down all the floors, but I’ll get you alive.” She says:
- No, Ivan Tsarevich, I won’t be able to stand it from the shaking, I’ll die, but you walk along this wall and there you’ll come across a button, like a pin. Press it and a door there will open. When you open the door, you will see so many keys that you won’t even be able to count them. And when you take these keys, then pick them up and gradually unlock all the doors and remove the floors. Then only I can calmly go out.
He immediately stood up and moved his hand along this wall. I found the button and pressed it. The door opened. He looks - there are keys there, and you really can’t count them. He takes these keys and begins to pick up the locks. I picked up and opened all seven floors. He will open it, lift it up - and so he opened all seven floors. He opened it, and when Elena the Beautiful came out, she was so thin that she could not stand on her feet. He says, Ivan Tsarevich:
“But, let’s go, Elena the Beautiful, I’ll put you on a horse, and we’ll go to grandpa, and there you’ll get better.”
They got on the horse and went to grandfather. We've arrived. When grandfather saw that Ivan Tsarevich had brought Elena the Beautiful, he went out onto the porch and said:
- Oh, how thin you are, Elena the Beautiful. But, okay, stay with me for three years and you’ll get better. Then he says to Ivan Tsarevich; “So, Ivan Tsarevich, when you got along with Elena the Beautiful, you didn’t know her, and when you saw her such beauty and burned her costume, you didn’t manage to sleep with her, and now you can’t sleep with her for three years until I give her the same strength that she needs.” And then he takes her hand and leads her into the same room.
“Here, Elena the Beautiful, can you bake and cook for Ivan Tsarevich and me, and also for yourself - only you have work to do.” I will pay you a salary for this every year.
She didn't refuse, of course. Here she spent a year. The day comes that the first term ends. They sat down to dinner. Grandfather brings the bottle in the same manner and says:
Here, Elena the Beautiful, is your salary for the year, drink up.
She says:
- What are you talking about, grandfather, I haven’t drunk beer since I was a child, where can I drink a whole bottle?
And he says. – Drink, Elena the Beautiful, it’s good for you.
Well, she drank. After lunch, grandfather says: “So, kids, let’s go and see my sword; Can the old man still throw it away? Do I still have the same strength as before?
Then they come to the sword. So grandfather takes the sword and gives Ivan Tsarevich a watch; he himself threw away the sword. They stood for six hours, the sword fell in its old place.
“But apparently the old man still has the same strength as before.” But, Elena the Beautiful, can you throw it away, no matter how much?
She grabbed the sword and raised it only to her chest. And I couldn’t throw it away.
“Okay, let’s go, but I won’t give you a sword, Ivan Tsarevich, because it flies for nine hours, we have to wait a long time, and maybe more, then I’ll die.”
He already knows, he was once in a tizzy, yes! Then they came home, and grandfather said: - Well, how are you feeling, Elena the Beautiful? Did you manage a little?
“Yes, grandpa, I’m better now.”
“Well, just live another two years and you’ll be fine.”
She also spent her second year. When they sat down to dinner, grandfather brought her two bottles and said:
“Here’s your salary for the year, Elena the Beautiful, drink.” She says:
- Grandfather, I can’t drink.
- Drink, daughter, drink.
Well, she drank. Then grandfather says:
“So, let’s go to the field to look at my sword.”
They come, of course, to the field. Grandfather takes the sword and gives Ivan Tsarevich a watch. Threw it away. The sword flew for six hours and fell again in its old place.
The old man still has the same strength as before.
This is what grandpa says:
- So, Elena the Beautiful, throw away my sword.
She takes the sword, raises it and throws it up. The sword flew for three hours. Grandfather says:
- That's good; Just stay with me for another year and you’ll be fine.
And straight away we went home. She took up her old position and quickly passed this third year. So they sat down to dinner again, and now grandfather brings three bottles: “Here, Elena the Beautiful, drink.”
But he doesn’t give it to Ivan Tsarevich; what he has is enough for him. And she didn’t even refuse, she drank this wine. Grandfather after lunch and says:
“So, let’s go and look at my sword again, and then we won’t go again.”
So they went to the field. Grandfather walked up to his sword and threw it up. The sword flew for six hours and fell in its original place. Then Elena the Beautiful takes this sword and throws it away. The sword flew for six hours. Grandfather says:
“Here, Elena the Beautiful, you now have the same strength as me, and Ivan Tsarevich has one and a half times more.” Now you can live and sleep with him, and live as you wish.
So everyone went from there together. Ivan Tsarevich grabbed Elena the Beautiful by the hand and went to his grandfather’s house. Grandfather also says:
- Now, if you have children, they will be strong like you, Ivan Tsarevich.
They lived with their grandfather for a week, and Ivan Tsarevich became bored. He began to think about his father and mother and also about his brothers, because he had not been there for ten years. And he is also interested in finding out who will get the kingdom or who gets it. Then Ivan Tsarevich approached his grandfather and said:
“How could I, grandfather, go to my homeland and see my relatives, I haven’t been for ten years, as you know yourself.”
Grandfather says:
- Well, what can you do, go, I’ll give you a horse. And I will give it in such a way that if you want to come here, then feed the horse, and if you don’t come, then don’t feed it, but send it here right away.
Maybe grandpa himself will be a horse, but who knows, maybe he rode to Koshchei on grandpa, because he didn’t ask him anything after that.
Then Ivan Tsarevich remembered his father-in-law’s order that he asked to come with his daughter. (Again, grandfather will ask permission.)
- So, grandfather, tell the truth again. I’ll ask you: when I was with my father-in-law, he told me: “If you get Elena the Beautiful, then come and see me.” Will it be possible to wrap it around it? Then I told my grandfather.
- Well, what to do, as ordered, let Elena the Beautiful see her father and mother, but just don’t live more than four hours.
So, then Ivan Tsarevich began to thank his grandfather, and also Elena the Beautiful. And they went out into the yard where the horse stood. He put Elena the Beautiful on a horse, jumped on and rode off. They just sat down, as they were at their father-in-law’s. When the mother saw her son-in-law and daughter, she ran out onto the porch and began to cry and kiss them both. Then he told the house. Yes, she brought her into the house, the father immediately met him, and he also began to hug and caress his son-in-law and daughter with tears. They immediately sat down at the table. Then he says to his old woman:
- Well, old woman, bring to the table whatever we have, bring everything.
And so she applied it - eat whatever you look at. When they had eaten, the father-in-law said:
- Well, now tell me, Ivan Tsarevich, how you got Elena the Beautiful. He answers him:
“Listen, father, if I tell you all this, how I got Elena the Beautiful, it will take us a very long time, but Grandfather the Eagle did not order me to stay long.” It was with this in mind that he gave the horse.
- I know, Ivan Tsarevich, I am an eagle. Did he help you?
- Yes, he is.
Then he told him something, simply, how it all happened. Father-in-law says:
- Well, okay, well done, Ivan Tsarevich, live happily with my daughter and go. Otherwise I thought that you would spend a year with me, and if you told your grandfather so, go.
He said goodbye to his father and mother, got on his horse and rode off. And as soon as we left, we were already in our kingdom, not even a day had passed. When Elena the Beautiful was taken away by Koschey the Immortal, this carpet, which sang and danced, as well as the Neva River and the ducks and drakes - all this was destroyed, and the carpet lay motionless. And when Ivan Tsarevich and Elena the Beautiful just arrived in their kingdom, the carpet again began to dance and play, and the Neva River also formed again - everything was as it was. That’s why the people became happier. While Elena the Beautiful was not in this state, this entire kingdom was somehow sad. And the time had already passed, and the father-tsar was dying and was still waiting for Ivan Tsarevich to arrive. And just on this day he already wanted to transfer the throne to his eldest son. As soon as Elena the Beautiful arrived, the king immediately became cheerful, and perfumes and aromas spread throughout the state, and the people became all cheerful, although no one yet knew that they had arrived. When they entered the kingdom with Elena the Beautiful, all the rooms swayed and the floors shook, and all the people looked at them and marveled (such two heroes were not easy). As soon as Ivan Tsarevich entered this hall, where the guests and brothers were sitting, the father and mother threw themselves on their necks and were very happy. Then the father says to his eldest son Vasily:
“Well, Vasya, whatever you want, but now you will have to give up, since Ivan Tsarevich has come, so he can take over the throne.”
He did not contradict and left the royal place, and Ivan Tsarevich sat in his place.
Then Vanya now remembered about the horse. As soon as Ivan Tsarevich sat down at the table with his Elena the Beautiful, he remembered and said:
– Listen, Elena the Beautiful, you and I have completely forgotten our grandfather’s commandment. Since we decided to stay in the kingdom, we must run away quickly and let go of the horse.
Then they come running to the yard, untied the horse and say:
- Well, our dear little horse, thank you very much for bringing us to your kingdom, and tell your grandfather from us too, thank you very much for helping us with everything!
And so the horse disappeared from sight.
They came, sat down in their place, and his father and mother began to ask:
- Why, Ivan Tsarevich, let the horse go, because we would have had something to feed him, give him something to drink, even with what you yourself drink, eat, feed him, give him something to drink.
And he answered. “I couldn’t hold him anymore; I had to fulfill my grandfather’s commandment.” Then the father says:
“I still dare to ask, son, how did you get Elena the Beautiful?”
He began to talk. And he told everything about what happened to him, how he was locked into a nut, how his grandfather helped him and how he fought with Koshchei - he told everything about what happened to him. Everyone listened, and many even cried over his adventures - we won’t repeat it. Then, it means that Ivan Tsarevich received the throne, and everyone was happy that Ivan Tsarevich became king. And they began to live and be until a ripe old age.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru