Once upon a time there lived in a small hut a poor widow with two sons. The boys were similar to each other, like two peas in a pod; even their own mother had difficulty distinguishing them. The brothers got along well with each other, and mother loved them more than anything in the world.
Year after year passed and everything went well for them, oh well.
But as the sons grew up, they saw that others were going to distant lands to see people and show themselves off, and they too were drawn from home. They began to ask their mother to let them go. And the mother is not at all:
– Is it bad for you here? Who knows what will happen to you there? No, it’s better to stay at home, don’t leave me alone!
Yes, what is it! What the sons have got into their heads cannot be knocked out by force! The poor mother sheds tears day and night, and her sons console her:
- Mother, dear, don’t cry, don’t lament, don’t worry about us. Expect to come back in three years. And so that you don’t need anything, we will supply everything in advance.
They bought grain, flour and all kinds of food. They stored lard and prepared firewood so that mother would have enough for three years.
The mother's heart was relieved and she began to gather her sons for the journey. I baked and cooked everything, but there was no meat in the house.
“My children,” she said, “you will have to go hunting in the forest.” I can’t equip you for the journey without meat.
The sons obeyed and went into the forest. They walk around looking for prey from early morning until noon, from noon until evening, but all in vain: there are not even traces of a wild animal in the forest. We decided to return home.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, two wolves jump out and start tearing each other apart. The brothers don’t know what to do: whether to shoot the wolves or not.
“If,” they reasoned, “we don’t put both of them down at once, but only shoot one, the second one will tear us to pieces. It’s better to try throwing them a piece of bread and lard.
And so they did.
The wolves immediately stopped fighting and obediently, like dogs, followed the brothers all the way to the house. The brothers locked the wolves in the stable and went into the house.
- Well, how was your hunt? - asks the mother.
“No way,” the brothers answer, “only they brought two wolves and locked them in a stable.”
“Oh, woe is me,” the mother wailed, “the end has apparently come for my little cow!” Hurry up and save her!
The brothers rushed into the barn - they saw that the cow was standing in her place, the wolves were huddled in a corner, and their mouths were latched with large locks. Wonderful, and that’s all!
The next morning the brothers went hunting again and again turned home without any prey, only to see two bears fighting among themselves. They threw them a piece of bacon and bread, the bears calmed down and obediently followed the brothers all the way to the house. There their brothers locked them in a stable.
The mother heard about the bears, was alarmed, ran to the barn, and everything was in order there, and the bears’ mouths were also locked.
On the third day, the brothers again come from the hunt empty, they look, two lions are fighting among themselves. The brothers fed them and brought them home.
“It seems, my children,” said the mother, “you will have to do without meat!” The brothers packed their bags, said goodbye to their mother, and took the animals with them.
The brothers walked for three days and three nights until they reached a crossroads, and there, at the crossroads of two roads, a linden tree grows.
“Brother,” the elder says to the younger, “here we must part with you.” You go along that road, and I will go along this one. Let's carve our names on this linden tree and stick knives into the trunk! Whoever comes back first, let him pull out the knife; if blood flows, then the brother is alive, and if there is water, then he is dead.
The younger brother agreed, they carved out their names and stuck knives into the trunk. Then they divided the animals equally, shook hands with each other and walked in different directions.
The elder brother made his way for a long time through the dense forests, wandering through the fields until he reached the city. And the city is all in mourning. He entered the tavern and asked the innkeeper:
- What good do you hear here?
- What good can we have! “There are more than enough bad things,” the innkeeper answers him, “we have the only well in the city, we all get drinking water from it.” But that water is too expensive! After all, outside the city, in a cave, there lives a twelve-headed dragon, every day the dragon eats one girl, and if we refuse him, he will not let anyone near the well, and we will die without water. There were no longer any girls left in the city, all the townspeople gave away their daughters, and the turn of the royal daughter came. That is why the king ordered the city to be dressed in mourning and also ordered to announce that if there is a brave man who kills the dragon, the king will give him the princess as a wife and half the kingdom in addition, and when he dies, the whole kingdom will go to that brave man.
The elder brother heard all this and wanted to marry the princess. He tells the innkeeper that he will try to kill the dragon.
The innkeeper runs to the king, reports that he is sitting, saying that he has such and such a guest with three wild animals, promising to kill the dragon; dressed simply, but from all appearances it’s clear that he’s a great guy if he managed to tame the animals.
The king was delighted, immediately sent the stranger a beautiful dress and ordered him to appear at the palace without delay.
Our guy changed clothes and, together with the animals, went to the king. Everyone greets him, and the king gives his word that if he kills the dragon, he will give him his daughter as his wife.
Our guy asked that his animals be fed two sheep each, and that a sharp saber be prepared for him.
As soon as dawn broke, the royal daughter got into the carriage. The carriage rides, and behind it our fellow walks with his animals, carrying a sharp saber in his hand. They drove closer to the cave, and the guy told the coachman to stop. The royal daughter gets out of the carriage and mounts her horse.
“So,” the guy tells her, “now hold on tight, princess, and gallop forward to lure the dragon out of the cave, and let the carriage remain here.”
The royal daughter rushed past the cave like an arrow, the dragon smelled her, stuck out one head, but instead of the beautiful maiden he saw a sharp saber. Our fellow was not lazy: he took off the dragon’s head at once.
The dragon got angry, stuck out three more heads, and flames came out of all three.
Then the animals rushed to the rescue and let’s tear the dragon into pieces, but our fellow, you know, chops and stabs, four heads have already flown away!
But where is it - the dragon immediately stuck out eight heads, pouring terrible fire on our guy. He can hardly even hold a saber. The wolf and the bear are also exhausted, only they rush at the dragon from the sides.
Suddenly the lion ran and ran straight onto the dragon’s back. He grabbed onto him with his powerful claws so much that all eight heads, along with his neck, flew off! The end of the dragon has come.
Our fellow cut off the dragon tongues, put them in his bag and ran to the royal daughter. To celebrate, she doesn’t know how to thank him: she hugs and kisses him. Then she took the ring off her finger, broke it in half, gave him one half, and kept the other for herself.
And he put his head on her lap and dozed off. And the animals fell asleep. The scoundrel coachman saw that everyone was sleeping, grabbed a saber and took the young man’s head off his shoulders and blew it off! And he swore the princess with seven oaths so that she would not betray him. He collected the dragon heads, as if he had killed the monster, and rushed along with the princess straight to the king.
The animals woke up and saw that their owner had been killed. They began to howl and roar out of anguish and sadness.
Then the lion says to the wolf:
- Run quickly along this road, you will see a snake, he is dragging grass in his mouth, he is going to resurrect his brother, his brother was run over by the cart. Ask him for half of that grass. If he doesn’t give it in a good way, take it by force!
The wolf immediately set off on his journey, but came across the carters. The people saw him, grabbed the stakes, the wolf got scared and rushed back.
- What a fool you are! - the lion got angry. - Run, bear, bring herbs!
The bear ran and also bumped into the cart drivers, they saw the bear and hid on the carts, like mice from a cat. The bear goes to the snake and asks him for grass, but the snake does not give him grass and even tries to sting the bear.
The bear got angry, crushed the snake with his paw and took away the grass. As hard as he could, the bear rushed to the lion, the lion rubbed the grass on the owner’s neck, put his head back, and as luck would have it, backwards.
The lion sees that something is wrong with the owner: he walks, but he himself stumbles. I had to turn my head the right way! The guy sighed deeply:
- Well, I slept sweetly! - speaks. He gathered his animals and went wherever his eyes led him.
A month later he again found himself in that same city. He sees that this time the whole city is decorated with red banners. He went into the same tavern as then and asked what the news was in the city.
“We have good news,” the innkeeper answers him, “now we are not afraid for our daughters, because the royal coachman then killed the dragon!” Today there is an engagement in the palace, and tomorrow the coachman will lead the royal daughter down the aisle.
Our fellow heard this and began to spin - he felt very offended that the scoundrel coachman had snatched such luck out of his hands. He jumped up and said to the innkeeper:
- Let's bet that a piece will fall from the wedding table to me too! He asked the innkeeper for a basket, wrote a letter, wrapped his half of the ring in it, and put it all in the basket. Then he put the basket into the bear’s mouth and sent the shaggy one to the palace.
A bear appeared in the palace, the yard dogs and the hounds barked at him, rushed at him, and he kept walking, they got him this way and that, but the bear put the basket down and scattered the fibbers, then he took his burden again in his teeth and in the same
The royal daughter saw him, was delighted, and rushed towards him:
“Oh,” he shouts, “why is it taking so long?” I'm exhausted waiting for you!
She mistook him for her husband, because the brothers were like two peas in a pod.
The younger brother, realizing that he had ended up with his brother’s wife, made excuses as best he could, but without explaining anything, he remained in the castle, because it was already night outside.
In the morning he got up late, and as his servant began to dress him, he saw a sad yellowed forest and asked:
- Why are all the forests around green, only this one has turned yellow and withered? The servant widened his eyes:
“But I’ve already explained it to you,” he says. Have you forgotten?
“I forgot, you didn’t tell me at all,” his younger brother answers.
And the servant again began to explain to him that the forest is enchanted, and whoever gets into it will never get out of there again.
The younger one realized that his brother had disappeared in that forest. He also went hunting, met a fox, and she treated him exactly the same as she did with her older brother.
He approached the same oak tree, lit a fire and began to fry the lard. The animals stand nearby, licking their petrified brothers.
- I'm cold! - the old witch screams from the tree.
“If you’re cold, go and warm yourself,” the young man answers her.
“I would go, but I’m afraid of your animals.” Take my twig, whip them, then I’ll get off!
Our fellow turned around and saw stone animals standing next to his living ones. He understood what was going on.
“Well, just wait, witch,” he decided, “I’ll settle accounts with you!”
He did not lash his animals, but hit the ground with a rod.
The witch got down from the oak tree, dragged a toad on a stick and let’s turn it over the fire.
- You fry the lard, I fry the toad, I get the lard, you get the toad! - she teases the guy, while toad fat drips onto his lard.
Our guy got fed up and just pushed her away. The witch attacked him and wanted to strangle him, but he called his animals. The old woman got scared and began to beg him to stop the animals.
“And you resurrect those who have been petrified,” he said, “then I will let you go.” The old woman took off her shoes, gave him her boots, and told him to climb a tree, take a golden twig there and hit the stone animals with that twig. The guy did so, and all the animals immediately came to life.
“Grab her and don’t let her go until she tells you where she put my brother!” - he shouted.
The witch could not stand the animal’s claws, gave him ointment, ordered him to go to that very pit and smear his brother’s neck. The elder brother came to life, and together they came to their animals.
Just listen to what happened next!
The animals did not wait for orders; they attacked the witch themselves. The witch's cap flew straight into the fire and caught fire with a terrible crash, and the animals tore the witch to shreds. As soon as the end came, everything around immediately brightened, and the forest was covered with cheerful greenery.
And then a miracle happened! Those animals that were turned to stone suddenly turned into armed knights! Everyone kisses each other and asks each other for forgiveness.
Our brothers look, they are surprised, they don’t believe their eyes. Then one of the six knights suddenly says:
– Don’t be surprised, you are our saviors! Listen to what we have to tell you! We are six brothers of the royal family. Our parents did not have time to divide the inheritance between us, so we began to fight among ourselves - who should become king. Our relative-witch cursed us for this and turned us into wolves, bears and lions, ordered us to fight among ourselves until two innocent brothers tame us, and we begin to do good to each other. Now you know everything. We give you all our wealth and want to live out our lives under your protection.
They all returned to the royal palace together. There, they finally figured out which of the brothers was the royal son-in-law and the princess's husband, and who was whose brother. And having sorted it out, to celebrate, they gave such a feast as the world had never seen before.
And soon the good sons brought their old mother to the palace. The elder brother remained king in this region, and the younger brother with six knights went to their country. They gave him the royal crown and lived calmly and happily.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru