One rich, early widowed merchant had a young daughter. He decided to leave for a long time on his trade business and decided to leave his daughter to be raised by some childless people. The merchant traveled for a long time, during which time his daughter grew up and became prettier. Young people began to look at her. The teacher also liked her.
One day he says to the girl:
- Let's go, dad, to the mill. You've never seen how grain is ground.
The girl agreed and went with him. When they arrived at the mill, the teacher pestered her:
- Marry me, otherwise you won’t live. The girl got scared and ran home. There the teacher's wife asked her:
- What’s wrong with you, why did you run like that?
- It's so simple. I wanted to run, so I ran, which is why I was out of breath.
The disgruntled teacher also came home. He failed to seduce the girl, and he harbored a grudge against her. At this time his neighbor came and said that a merchant had arrived - the girl’s father. That's why the girl was happy. “Finally, my father has arrived and will take me with him,” she thought.
“I’ll go and get your father,” said the teacher. He met the pupil's father. He asks how his daughter is doing? The teacher said this:
“Your daughter gets a bad rap.” She disgraces your good name with her bad behavior.
“Oh, if so, then it’s better for me not to see her,” said the merchant. “Now I’ll send people, let them kill her.”
The people sent by the merchant arrived. But they did not kill the girl, but took her out into the forest and released her, but they told the merchant that they had fulfilled his order.
The girl was left alone in the forest. The prince's son saw her and liked her so much that he took her to his home, and soon married her, and they lived, as they say, in perfect harmony. She gave birth to the prince's son two sons, and they were both beautiful and bright in complexion, like diamonds.
But the girl often remembered her father and grieved for him. This upset my husband. He asked his wife why she was so upset, but the wife was silent. Finally one day she said to him:
“Don’t you think that I came out of a hollow tree?” I have a father, and I would really like to see him.
- So what was the matter? “Go with your sons and visit your father,” said the husband.
He sent her and her sons to her father-in-law, and gave her foster brother as a guide. Halfway along the way, in a deep forest, the guide pestered her:
“If you don’t marry me, I will kill your children.”
“That shouldn’t happen,” said the proud woman, protecting her honor.
Then the guide pulled out a dagger and killed the children one by one.
The unfortunate woman screamed and ran into the forest. The guide picked up the dead children and brought them home. He told his father this:
– When we were driving through the forest, robbers attacked us; Your sons were killed in a skirmish with them. And they took your wife away.
- Woe is me! - exclaimed the husband. – I lost my wife and children. – And he began to hit him on the head with both hands.
But his wife did not die. She hid in a village that was located not far from the place where her father and former teacher lived. At night she stole a hood from the house of some peasant, another’s arkhaluk, and a third’s Circassian coat. So she dressed in all men's clothes, and then came to one prince to hire herself as a shepherd. He accepted it.
The woman performed her service regularly, and when the end of her service came, she said to the prince:
“My work has already expired, and I’m leaving.” But as a farewell, I want to gather people and have a feast. Give me the cattle I earned.
“Okay,” answered the prince. -You deserve yours.
They slaughtered the cattle, put the meat in a large cauldron, but did not put firewood under it. Then she addressed the audience, among whom were her father and teacher:
- Is there a person among you who could cook meat in a cauldron without fire with words?
Nobody could do it.
“If no one takes it, then I’ll do it,” the woman said.
And she began to tell everything that happened to her, but she told it as if all this had happened not to her, but to some other woman. While she was talking, her father and teacher began to look at each other warily. It became clear to them who we were talking about, and they lowered their heads. Meanwhile, the water in the cauldron began to rustle violently, and the meat began to cook. Then the woman took off her hood, unraveled her braids and announced:
“Everything I told you about happened to me.” And over there are my father and teacher,” and she pointed in their direction.
The people were indignant. The prince, for whom the woman worked as a shepherd, ordered the culprits to be severely punished, but she did not allow it. Then the prince sent for her husband, and he immediately arrived, and with him his foster brother, who was immediately captured and killed. Then, in honor of the meeting of the husband with his faithful wife, a feast was held. I was at that feast too. I drank and ate as much as I wanted, and they even gave me an ox haunch for the journey. While I was walking home, I ate it, and at home I told this sad story.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru