A long time ago, or maybe not so long ago, I won’t say, but such a disaster happened - the Sun disappeared from the earth. It was always an impenetrable night, so dark, so dark. There was no light or warmth. Forests and fields began to die, followed by animals and birds.
People said that the sun was stolen by dragons. But no one knew where they hid him. And the unfortunate people suffered from darkness - oh, how they suffered! So, in those days, on the edge of a dense forest, on the banks of a mighty river, a husband and wife lived in a dilapidated hut. They were very poor: there was no meat or salt in the house, no birds or cattle in the yard. They managed to survive somehow from bread to chaff. The man was diligent, good-looking, a good family man. He traveled the length and breadth of the kingdom, looking for work. I was ready to squeeze water out of a stone, just so as not to come home empty-handed.
But then a rumor spread around the world that it was possible to rescue the Sun from captivity. People began to talk about it and encourage each other. After all, if the Sun is saved and raised to heaven, the earth will again be bright and generous. Greenery will cover the meadows, bread will ripen in the fields - just be quick to harvest! People will live freely.
And then thirty people gathered, and maybe forty, and with them
and that man who lived on the edge of the forest, and they decided to go to the Sun from captivity
rescue and return to heaven.
The man's wife cried and wailed bitterly and kept asking him not to leave her alone. Yes, I couldn’t persuade him. The louder she wailed, the more firmly her husband stood his ground. The man left the house and disappeared. And the rest, everyone who went with him, just sank into the water.
A little time passed after the man left, and the man’s wife gave birth to a son, such a plump, strong man.
She gave him the name Ion and affectionately called him Ionike. She also nicknamed the boy handsome - Fat-Frumos. And he became Ionike Fat-Frumos. Jonike Fat-Frumos grew by leaps and bounds. He grew as much in a day as others did in a year. A week passed and he got to work: first he made one thing, then another. But he soon realized: no matter how hard you try, everything will be in vain - the poor man will never get out of poverty. So he once asked his mother:
- Tell me, mother, what did my father do? I’ll do the same, maybe we’ll live better.
“Dear son, I remember that he never had to breathe freely: all his life he toiled at all kinds of work, but never saw any prosperity in the house.
-Where did he go?
- Oh, my grief, my dear son! It would be better if you didn't ask about this! - the mother wailed and cried bitterly.
And when she calmed down, she confessed to her son:
“I’m afraid to tell you, lest you too follow your father.”
- Tell me, mother, tell me! The mother sees that it’s time for her son to know everything, and she began to tell him, to take her soul away:
“We always lived in poverty, scraping by to scrape together crumbs.” And when the Sun disappeared, things got really bad. And then a rumor reached us that some kind of evil
force hid the Sun in prison. People gathered and went to look for the Sun. Your father went with them. And there hasn't been a word about him since then. The son found out about his father’s bitter fate and became upset; His mother's tears saddened him.
From that day on, a desire burned in his heart - to go look for the Sun. He couldn’t think about anything, the only thing on his mind was the Sun, both in his dreams and in reality. He composed a song and, wherever he goes, he sings it:
Day and night there is pitch darkness, There is no light, no warmth.
When I grow up and go on my way, I will find the wondrous sun.
I will crush the prison, I will release the sun into the sky, Let it give its warmth and light
for many, many years, Let the fields bloom, Cheering the hearts of people. The Black Tsar drove past the house of a poor woman - he owned that country - and heard the song of her son. The king ordered the horses to stop and began to listen to the song. He listened to it from beginning to end, and then ordered the coachman:
- Run quickly and bring the singer to me. The coachman jumped off the box and shouted:
- Hey, hey, where are you? Wait!
- I'm here!
Walking gropingly, the royal coachman and Fat-Frumos ran into each other. And while they were getting to the carriage, the king sat and thought: I have plenty of everything, whatever my heart desires. But if I also had the Sun, I would have no equal in the world.
- The king is here, kneel down! - said the coachman, leading Ionike to the royal carriage.
“Who are you?” asked the king.
“The son of a poor man,” answered the boy. From his voice, the king guessed that he was twelve or thirteen years old, no more.
- Who taught you this song?
“I came up with it myself, and I sing it myself.” When I grow up, I will free the Sun from its deep prison.
- What is your name, boy?
— Jonike Fat-Frumos.
-Where do your parents live?
-I don’t have a father, but my mother and I live on the edge of the forest, not far from here; only this is not life, but only grief.
“Listen,” says the king, “if you know where the Sun is locked, go live.”
to my palace; I will feed and raise you. And if you feel enough strength in yourself, I will give you a good horse and money for the journey, but with the understanding that you will bring me the Sun with all its light and warmth.
“Most Serene Tsar, if you want me to follow you to the palace, order me to bring my mother too.” Otherwise, her heart will dry up from grief and sadness while she searches for me along all the roads and paths.
“Well, have it your way,” said the king and ordered the coachman to run after Jonike’s mother.
She came, said goodbye to her son, but did not go to the king - she did not want to leave her home.
And Jonike began to live at the royal court. He soon sensed such great power within himself that he crushed the stones into powder with his hands! Then he announced that he would go to rescue the Sun, and asked the king to equip him on his journey. The king says:
- Choose a horse you like from the stable, a saber and a club, and go. Fat-Frumos took the bridle, embroidered with silver, and went to choose a horse to his liking. He walked around the entire stable, but not a single horse allowed himself to be bridled. And then in the darkest corner he saw another horse. A skinny horse - all skin and bones, barely able to stand on its feet. But he noticed Fat-Frumos and reached for the reins.
- Whoa... pathetic nag, it’s not you I’m looking for! Once again Fat-Frumos walked around the entire stable, and again not a single horse allowed himself to be bridled; only the nag from the dark corner stretched out his head to the bridle.
“Well, there’s nothing to do,” decided Ion Fat-Frumos and bridled the nag. The horse felt the bridle, shook himself three times and suddenly turned from an unfortunate nag into a glorious horse. And how I felt the saddle on me, and the rider in the saddle,
spoke in a human voice:
- Tell me, master, how to take you? If you want, I’ll spread out like the wind, if you want, I’ll rush like a thought.
“Don’t be carried by the wind, don’t rush with your thoughts, but drive me like a good fellow should ride.”
The horse ran at a trot, the ground trembled under its hooves. They galloped through high mountains, through wide valleys and arrived at some kind of forge. Fat-Frumos shouts to the blacksmith:
- Blacksmith, blacksmith, master craftsman, forge me a good club, no small, no big, according to my strength, and make hinges and bolts on the door so that the forge is locked tightly and no one can enter or look into it.
“Okay, traveler, while your horse rests a little, I’ll do everything.”
“I’ll go further, and you do as I told you.” I'll come back so that everything is ready. Take the money up front and do everything better. Look, strengthen the doors with hardened rivets.
The blacksmith got to work, and Fat-Frumos spurred his horse and went on.
He drove and drove, whether long or short, and decided to rest at the bridge. Here Fat-Frumos lies by the road and suddenly hears the clatter of hooves on the other side of the bridge. Someone else's horse stepped onto the bridge - and began to snore and backed away. The horseman whips him with a whip and shouts:
- Oh, you worthless nag! May you lose your mane, may wolves gnaw you to pieces, may your bones rot in the ground! When I paid money for you, weren’t you bragging that you weren’t afraid of anyone in the world except Fat-Frumos!
And Fat-Frumos jumped up and said:
- Stop barking, dragon! I am Fat-Frumos.
The rider heard him, laughed loudly, even the surrounding mountains shook:
- Ha-ha-ha! Listen to this foolish young man! Do you know that it is not a simple dragon in front of you, but the giant Evening himself, the thief of the Sun? And you dared to stand in my way?! Well, come closer and tell me - do you want to fight with sabers or fight with belts?
Fat-Frumos was not afraid, he answered the giant:
- Let's better fight with belts. The fight is fairer.
The giant Evening rushed at Fat-Frumos, grabbed him by the belt, lifted him above his head and threw him with such force that Fat-Frumos sank into the ground ankle-deep. But Fat-Frumos jumped up, grabbed the giant by the belt, threw him and drove him into the ground up to his knees. The enraged Evening Giant rose and threw Fat-Frumos with such force that he drove him into the ground up to his waist. And Fat-Frumos burst out of the ground, grabbed the giant in a rage and drove him into the ground up to his neck. Then he pulled out a saber and cut off the giant Evening’s head, and hit the horse so hard with his club that he crushed it to the ground.
Fat-Frumos rested, gained strength, jumped on his horse and moved on. He rode, rode on his swift horse, reached the second bridge and again decided to rest. He sat down by the side of the road and sang: Day and night are pitch black, There is no light, no warmth. I go all the way, if only I could find the sun.
I will crush the prison, Let the sun go into the sky, Let its warmth and light Give for many, many years, Let the fields bloom, Making people's hearts happy. He sings his song and suddenly - tsk-tsk! - He hears the clatter of hooves on the other side of the bridge. When someone else’s horse rode up to the bridge, it began snoring and backed away. The rider whips him with a whip and shouts:
- Forward, timid nag! May you lose your mane, may the wolves tear you up, may your bones rot in the ground! When I paid money for you, weren’t you the one who boasted that you weren’t afraid of anyone in the world except Fat-Frumos!
And Fat-Frumos jumped up and said:
- Stop barking, dragon! I am Fat-Frumos! The rider jumped off his horse, mocked, swaggered:
- Ha-ha-ha, listen to this stupid young man! He calls me a simple dragon and does not know that in front of him is the Night Giant himself. I only need to blow once and the whole earth falls asleep. Well, if you are so brave, come closer and tell me: do you want to fight with sabers or fight with belts?
Jonike Fat-Frumos was not afraid, he answered the Night Giant:
- Let's fight. The fight is fairer. The Night Giant grabbed Fat-Frumos by the belt and threw him with such force that he drove him into the ground up to his ankles. Fat-Frumos jumped up, grabbed the giant by the belt and drove him into the ground up to his knees. The enraged giant stood up and threw Fat-Frumos so hard that he sank into the ground up to his waist. And Fat-Frumos burst out of the ground, grabbed the Night Giant by the belt in a rage and drove him into the ground up to his neck.
Then he grabbed a saber and cut off his head, and hit the horse so hard with his club that he was crushed to the ground.
Fat-Frumos rested, felt that his strength had returned to him, jumped on his horse and rode on.
He rode and rode - through the mountains, along the valleys, along ravines and hills, crossed high mountains with sharp peaks, reached the third bridge and again decided to rest. He lay down by the side of the road and sang:
Day and night there is pitch darkness, there is no light or heat.
I go all the way, if only I could find the sun.
I will crush the prison, I will release the sun into the sky, May it give its warmth and light for many, many years, May the fields bloom, Making people’s hearts merry. He had just finished his song when he heard the clatter of hooves on the other side of the bridge. As the horse approached the bridge, he began to snore and backed away. The rider whips him with a whip and shouts:
- Oh, you lousy nag! May you lose your mane, may wolves gnaw you to pieces, may your bones rot in the ground! When I paid money for you, weren’t you the one who boasted that you wouldn’t be afraid of anyone in the world except Fat-Frumos! Fat-Frumos heard the rider cracking his whip and hurling curses, came out to meet him and said:
- Stop barking, dragon! I am Fat-Frumos. The rider jumped off his horse, stepped on Fat-Frumos and boasted:
- Ha-ha-ha! What a fool: he mistook me for a simple dragon! And I myself am Midnight the Giant. When I walk on the ground, everyone is asleep, no one dares to open their eyes! If you are so brave, tell me what you want: to fight with sabers or to fight with belts?
Jonike Fat-Frumos was not afraid, he answered the Midnight Giant:
- Let's fight. The fight is fairer.
The Midnight Giant grabbed Ion Fat-Frumos, lifted him up and threw him so hard that he sank into the ground up to his ankles. Then Ion Fat-Frumos grabbed the giant and drove him into the ground up to his knees. The enraged Midnight the Giant jumped up and threw Jonah Fat-Frumos - he slammed him into the ground up to his waist. Fat-Frumos got up, grabbed the giant in anger and threw him so hard that he fell and also went waist-deep into the ground.
Fat-Frumos wanted to cut off his head, but the Midnight Giant burst out of the ground and rushed at him with a saber. They fought and fought until they were tired
did not fall in different directions.
Suddenly an eagle circled above them. The giant saw him and shouted:
- My eagle, little eagle, sprinkle me with water so that my strength will return to me! For your goodness, I will repay you with kindness: I will give you something to eat.
Ion Fat-Frumos also began to ask for the eagle:
- My eagle, little eagle, sprinkle me with water so that my strength will return to me! I will light the sun in the sky. It will illuminate and warm the spaces through which the wings carry you.
The eagle rushed down, found water, dipped its wings in it, took water into its beak and flew like an arrow to Ion Fat-Frumos. He flapped his wet wings over him, then gave him a drink from his beak. Ion Fat-Frumos jumped up and felt unprecedented strength. With one blow he cut the giant from top to bottom, and at the same time grabbed the horse. Then Fat-Frumos jumped onto his horse and galloped forward. And then he reached a high castle. He let go of the horse, and he spun around on one leg and turned into a golden rooster with a red crest. The rooster flapped his wings, crowed and turned into a fly, and the fly - w-w-w! - flew to the castle of the witch Pozhirayka. Ion flew to the castle, poked at the door, poked at the window, poked under the roof - everything was closed, there was no loophole anywhere. He flew up to the roof and made his way up the chimney into the castle, flew around the rooms and hid in a corner. Fat-Frumos sees a table in the room, and on it are various dishes and drinks. And four women are sitting around the table: three are younger, and the fourth is an ancient old woman. And Fat-Frumos hears - the old woman says:
“My beauties, my daughters-in-law, why are you all looking into the distance and grieving?” Now your husbands will return, and it will be bad if they find you crying and sad. It’s better to tell us about something, and time will pass unnoticed. Let's start with you, wife of the Evening Giant.
The wife of the Evening Giant began to clear the table and made the following speech:
“My husband is so strong that if he meets this unfortunate Jon, he will blow and drive him into the ground.” Jonah will never get out of the earth. After her, another spoke, none other than the wife of the Night Giant - she was black as pitch, only her teeth and eyes sparkled:
“And my husband is so strong that if he meets that unfortunate Ion and blows, Ion will fly to the ends of the world like a leaf of corn.”
Then the third one spoke, the most terrible and ugliest one, with iron claws on her feet and a damask knife in her belt:
“And my Midnight the Giant has such strength that if he meets the unfortunate Ion, my husband will turn him into dust with one blow and scatter him to the wind, so that not a trace of Ion remains.”
- You will, don’t brag. Ion is also no stranger. And if he meets one of my sons on the way, he will have to fight harder than with any other hero.
“There’s no point in calling this scoundrel a hero!” “- her wife interrupted the Evening Giant. “If anything happens to my husband, I’ll deal with him myself.” I will turn into a well of cool water, and if Ion drinks even a drop, all that will remain of him is ashes.
“And I can turn into an apple tree,” the wife of Night the Giant hastened to say, “Ion will bite into an apple and immediately get poisoned.”
“What if he does such harm to my husband,” said the wife
Midnight of the giant, wherever the unfortunate Ion is and wherever he goes, I will meet him on the way with a vine bush. He will try one berry and immediately stretch his legs.
- You've started boasting again! You know, dear ones, there is no good
from boasting. Better take a look underground and check if the Sun is there. Pozhirayki's daughters-in-law left the room, and Fat-Frumos followed them like a fly. The daughters-in-law went down into the dungeon, and Fat-Frumos followed them. He heard the keys jingle, the bolts rattled, and the daughter-in-law opened the iron door. And Ion saw in the darkness a thin, thin ray of light.
- Here it is, the Sun! “He will never escape from here,” said the wife of Midnight the Giant.
The daughters-in-law slammed the iron door, rattled keys and bolts, and rose from the dungeon.
But Fat-Frumos remained at the door. The fly buzzed and turned into a golden rooster with a red comb. The rooster flapped his wings, crowed three times - Fat-Frumos became a man again. I felt the door to the dungeon - there were seven locks on it. Fat-Frumos broke seven locks one after another, opened the door, and saw an iron chest standing in the corner, and a thin ray shining from the keyhole. Ion strained all his strength and opened the chest. And the bright Sun burst out from there, flew out the door like lightning and flew into the heavens. The whole earth instantly lit up, people began to look at the Sun, rejoicing in the warmth and light. And there was such rejoicing all around that the world had never seen before. People hugged like brothers. We were happy that we got rid of the darkness and that everyone was equally warmed by the gentle Sun.
And the Black Tsar jumped onto the roof of his palace and began to catch the Sun with his hands, and then fell from the roof upside down. This is where his end came. Ion Fat-Frumos, following the Sun, ran out of the dungeon, rushed to his horse and shouted:
- Carry me faster than the wind to the blacksmith!
The horse rushed - only the ground hummed under its hooves. He galloped and galloped, saw a well by the road and stopped for a watering hole. But Ion Fat-Frumos bent down from the saddle, thrust his saber into the well to the very bottom, and filthy blood gushed out. Ion Fat-Frumos spurred his horse, cracked his whip and set off further. He rode for a long time or a short time and suddenly saw on his way a branchy tree, all strewn with apples. The apples are all large, rosy and ripe, hanging right next to the road. Just look at them and your mouth will water. No one will pass by without tasting the apple. And Ion Fat-Frumos, when he saw the apple tree, pulled out a saber and cut all its branches. Poisonous juice poured out of the apples. Where it drips, the earth catches fire and turns into scale.
Ion Fat-Frumos spurred his horse and galloped on. No matter how long or how short he drove, he saw a grape bush growing by the road, and heavy grapes hanging on it. The berries are large, ripe, filled with juice. But Ion knew what kind of bush it was. He drove closer and cut the bush with his saber. Poisonous juice poured out here, and flames came out of it like tongues.
And again Ion Fat-Frumos spurred his horse and lashed him with a whip - there was still a long way ahead.
He goes, and the sun is shining. Where before there was bare land, now the fields were green and marvelous gardens were blooming. Miracles were happening before our eyes: shady forests grew and grew, lush grass rose up. Ion Fat-Frumos was driving, driving, and suddenly, out of nowhere, a dry wind blew, promising trouble for the whole world: it bends the grass to the ground, breaks the trees in the forest. And a black cloud appeared. Where it flies, the earth burns out. Fat-Frumos looked around and realized: it was not a cloud, but the evil Pozhiraika was catching up with him.
Ion Fat-Frumos spurred his horse, rushed like an arrow and galloped to the forge. Is there anyone in it? I didn’t bother to look; he rode into the forge with his horse and locked it.
windows and doors with locks such as the blacksmith forged for him. And he put the spiked club that was lying by the anvil into the fire. Here the Pozhiraika flew up like a whirlwind, rushed around the forge, but could not get into it: the forge was locked with strong locks, the doors and shutters were fitted well, and you couldn’t find a crack anywhere. The Devourer begged in a sweet voice:
- Ion Fat-Frumos, make a crack in the wall, let me see with just one eye what you are like, that you were able to kill my sons and daughters-in-law. After all, they were the bravest and the strongest on earth. Ion Fat-Frumos threw coals into the forge, fanned the fire with bellows, and when the club became white hot, he punched a hole in the wall and stood near it with the club. When the Eater noticed a hole in the wall, she opened her mouth and rushed towards it to look at the young man and destroy him. And Ion Fat-Frumos swung and - once! - threw the club straight into her mouth. The Devourer swallowed a red-hot club and died on the spot.
Fat-Frumos pulled back the bolts, left the forge and led out his horse. He looks - there are no clouds, no wind. And the Sun is shining and hot. And the Pozhiraika lies against the wall.
Fat-Frumos jumped onto his horse and rode on. He searched around the world for the place where the Sun rests at noon. Fat-Frumos heard that the main enemy lives there - the dragon Limbe-Limbeu, whom no sword, no saber, no club can take. The dragon caused a lot of grief and misfortune to people, and he was the husband of the Devourer, and the father of the three giants. As long as the dragon lives, people will not be happy on earth. Many Fat-Frumos crossed high mountains, deep valleys and turbulent streams. And whoever he met along the way, he asked everyone where to find the Limbe-Limbeu dragon. And then he met an ancient lame old man. He said that he was also looking for a dragon, but broke his leg on the way. He told him that the death of the dragon Limbe-Limbeu, which the club does not take, the saber does not cut, is hidden in a pig with piglets. And you need to look for it at midnight from Kamennaya Mountain. Fat-Frumos turned his horse at midnight, galloped like the wind, only the earth trembled under his hooves.
He rode long or short, through green meadows, over steep mountains, rode all day until the evening, until the red sun set, and decided to rest on the shore of the lake.
He lay down on the grass, looked at the lake, and suddenly saw a pig with piglets near the shore. He realized then that this was the pig that the ancient old man had told him about. Ion crept closer and saw a monster: instead of bristles, the pig had sharp needles, fangs and iron hooves. He steps on the stones and strikes sparks.
Ion Fat-Frumos grabbed his club and hit the pig so hard that it gave up the ghost on the spot. A hare jumped out of the pig and started to run, but Fat-Frumos hacked it to death with a saber. The duck flew out of the hare: Ion waved his saber and cut off its head. The duck fell to the ground and laid an egg. The egg rolled over the bumps, broke, and three beetles flew out of it. Ion Fat-Frumos caught two and killed them, but missed the third. The beetle flew up and flew towards midnight. Ionike Fat-Frumos jumped on his horse and rushed after the beetle. And the beetle flew to the castle of the dragon Limbe-Limbeu. That castle stood on a high mountain, and it was possible to enter it only through one door: there were no more doors in the castle, there were no windows.
A watchman guarded that door day and night. The dragon Limbe-Limbeu ordered the destruction of everyone who appeared in front of the door. Whether a person, a bird, an animal or a bug, any living creature - no one should enter the dragon's castle. But the dragon forgot to warn the watchman where his death was hidden.
And then the beetle flew to the Limbe-Limbeu castle, but the watchman did not let him in. The beetle begged him in vain:
- Let me go to Limbe-Limbeu, our master, his life is in great danger, and his days are numbered. Skip: when the owner sees me and holds me in his hand, he will live forever.
- My job is to carry out orders. If I let anyone into the castle, the owner will blow my head off.” And the guard caught the beetle and trampled it under his feet.
And then Fat-Frumos arrived at the castle. The watchman rushed at him, but Ion instantly dealt with him. He entered the castle and saw the lifeless Limbe-Limbeu. He grabbed him, threw him on a pile of wood and set him on fire. And when the fire burned out, it scattered the ashes to the wind.
“Let the wind scatter you so that no trace of the evil dragons remains,” said Fat-Frumos. Then he mounted his horse and rode off to his native land.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru