One man had three sons, two smart, and the third a fool.
The eldest son, Stepan, knew how to play the violin, the middle one, Pilip, could play the pipe, and the youngest, Ivan, was incapable of anything: he sat on the stove and whittled all the splinters.
An apple tree grew in that man’s garden, and there were golden apples on it. The father admires the apples, and the sons are happy. Every morning they go to the garden to see if they are safe.
We checked somehow - one apple was missing! And the next morning, one apple was missing...
The father became sad: “Apparently,” he thinks, “some thief got into the habit of climbing into the garden.” He says to his eldest son:
- Go, son, watch the apples.
In the evening, Stepan put a ladder up to the apple tree, climbed up it, sat and played the violin. He lost all night, and in the morning he wanted to sleep so much - they took a nap. Suddenly he hears through his sleep: something made a loud noise above his head, clapping. Stepan woke up, rubbed his eyes - there was no one anywhere, only one apple was missing...
He returned to his father sad.
“I didn’t stop the thief,” he says. Once again one apple is missing...
The next night the middle son, Pilip, says:
- I'll go on guard. It can’t be that I didn’t protect!
He went, sat down on the ladder and played various polkas on his pipe. He played all night, and in the morning he felt so sleepy that he dozed off. Suddenly he hears through his sleep: something made a loud noise above his head, clapping. By the time I woke up, one apple was missing again!
He was ashamed to go into the hut, but what can you do: he didn’t notice the thief.
On the third day, the youngest son, Ivan, says:
- You are the bad ones, brothers, guards. So I’ll go, I’ll probably lie in wait for the thief.
Everyone just laughed at his words, but well, it’s a well-known fact - he’s a fool!
Ivan picked up a whole bunch of splinters and went to guard. He sits on the ladder, whittling splinters and humming songs to himself.
It was getting light. Ivan hears something as if making a noise in the distance. He hid and peered. Suddenly he sees a large golden bird flying towards the apple tree. She flew close and was about to grab the apple, but Ivan managed to grab her by the long tail.
The bird escaped and flew away without the apple. Ivan looks, and in his hand there are three golden feathers left.
He ran into the house and woke everyone up:
“Look,” he says, “I waylaid a thief and tore three golden feathers from his tail.” The brothers looked and blushed with shame that it was not they, but the fool who had gained glory for himself. They were overcome by envy.
“Okay,” says the elder brother, “I’ll go around the world to look for the golden bird.”
He took one feather as a sign, collected food, money for the journey, and off he went.
Six months have passed and there is no sign of Stepan or the bird. So the middle brother says to his father:
- Should I go look for the golden bird? At the same time I’ll find my brother.
He collected all sorts of food for the road and set off.
A whole year passed, but nothing was heard of the brothers or the bird.
The father is grieving, and Ivan is whittling chips on the stove and muttering to himself:
“Apparently, I need to get ready for the journey myself.”
The father thought: “Well, smart sons have disappeared, so let this stupid one disappear too.” And he didn’t contradict him.
Ivan took nothing with him: no money, no bread. He just took the third feather, the staff in his hands, and the knife with which he was whittling a splinter. And he went on foot to look for the golden bird.
He walks and walks, and it’s already getting dark. He hears a wolf's voice nearby. Followed that voice. Lo and behold, an old she-wolf is sitting in a deep hole.
- Why are you howling here? - Ivan asks the she-wolf.
“Yes, that’s the trouble,” the she-wolf replies: “I ran to get something for lunch and fell into a hole... Help me, good man, get out of here.” I'll repay you with whatever you want.
Ivan says:
“You’re an old she-wolf, you fly everywhere, you go everywhere, but won’t you tell me where the golden bird lives?” If you tell me, I will rescue you from the hole.
“I’ll tell you, and I’ll even bring you to her,” the she-wolf promises.
- Aren’t you going to deceive me?
- No.
- Well, look!
Ivan brought two knotty poles and lowered them into the hole. The she-wolf climbed up the poles and said to Ivan:
- Thank you for helping me out. Now sit on me, I’ll take you there faster than you can get there yourself.
Ivan sat on the she-wolf, and she rushed straight through the fields, through the forests, through the swamp bushes. Ivan only holds on to his ears so as not to fall.
The she-wolf rushed to the sea. She stopped and said to Ivan:
“Sit here for a little while, and I’ll run somewhere and look for a goose.” You need to eat well so that you are strong, otherwise you have a lot of work ahead of you.
Ivan sat down on the seashore, looking at the waves. They make noise and sway. Funny! I looked and looked and fell asleep. Whether he slept for a long time or not for long, then the she-wolf came running with the goose. Woke him up. They lit a fire and roasted a goose. Ivan is full.
“That’s good,” says the she-wolf, “now sit on me again.” Let's sail overseas.
They swam across the sea. Ivan looks - there is a golden palace on the seashore.
Wolf says:
- Go to this palace. Only slowly and little by little, so as not to knock anywhere, because this is an enchanted palace: everything in it sleeps. If you touch something by accident, everything will wake up, and then you won’t get out of there alive. As you enter the gate, you will see two dogs there. They are chained to poles with iron chains. Just make sure you don’t wake them up, because when they start barking, they’ll rouse the whole palace to its feet. You will go through the gate like this and enter the first room. There is a ringing sword hanging there. It is golden and lined with gems. But don’t touch it, otherwise it will start ringing and wake everyone up. You enter the second room, there is a melodious clock hanging there, don’t touch it either, but go straight to the third room: in it you will see a golden cage and a golden bird is sitting in that cage. Take her out of the cage carefully and slowly return to me.
Ivan moved to the enchanted palace. I passed the gate with the dogs, entered the first room, and the second. He sees that there are countless different craftsmen there: carpenters, mechanics, and masons. And around them are guards with sabers and guns. And where anyone did what, he fell asleep there. Ivan looked at them and went further into the third room.
There is a golden cage hanging in front of him, and a golden bird is sitting in it. As soon as Ivan saw the thief bird, he forgot his caution. He grabbed the cage and tore it off the wall. And suddenly there was such a ringing sound!.. Ivan got scared and went back. In another room I accidentally caught a gold watch. And they began to sing and tickle in every key. Ivan ran further. He jumped into the first room, grabbed the sword - it was so beautiful! And the sword began to ring... And everything in the enchanted castle woke up. Everyone rushed after Ivan. Yes, Ivan was not dozing either - he flew past the dogs like an arrow and jumped out of the palace.
The she-wolf sees trouble: Ivan is rushing at full speed, and there is a whole chase after him. The she-wolf ran up to him.
“Sit down,” he says, “quickly sit on me!” Ivan sat down, and the she-wolf went into the sea and swam. Ivan swam across the sea and asked the she-wolf:
- Tell me, where are my brothers? I can't go home without them.
“Eh,” the she-wolf sighed, “you’d better not look for your brothers, otherwise they’ll kill you.”
“It’s okay, they won’t survive,” says Ivan.
- Well, since you are so brave, then go to the royal court - there your brothers are sitting in prison. Just be careful, beware of them. Don't expect any good from them.
Ivan said goodbye to the she-wolf, thanked her and moved to the royal court.
He came to the king and said hello.
- What do you say? - asks the king.
“Let my brothers out,” says Ivan. - Why are you keeping them in prison?
The King says:
- I won’t let you out. Your brothers wanted to steal my best horses.
Ivan asks this way and that, but the king does not agree.
“Then I’ll buy them back.”
- What ransom will you give? Ivan took out the Golden Sword from under the scroll:
- Here's your ransom.
The king looked at the sword and liked it: he didn’t have one like that!
“Okay,” the king agreed, “take your brothers.” Just don't let them into my kingdom anymore.
Ivan took his brothers, told them how he got the golden bird, and they all went home together.
They came to a dense forest, killed Ivan’s brothers, and they themselves took the golden bird and ran to their father and mother.
How much time has passed, but the she-wolf happened to end up in that forest. She senses: somewhere a person is close. She ran in that direction and saw the murdered Ivan.
“Well,” the she-wolf grieves, “that’s how you listened to me!” But I told you, I taught you - beware of evil brothers!
The she-wolf ran up a high mountain and took out a flask of living water. She returned and revived Ivan. He got up and stretched.
- Oh, how I slept for a long time!
“You would have slept here forever, if not for me,” says the she-wolf.
-Where are my brothers? - asks Ivan.
- At home. Hurry up and you'll be home soon. There your father, overjoyed that your brothers have returned and brought the golden bird, is already preparing a feast. Even lords and kings come to see him and see the wonder. But now your father doesn’t recognize you, because you have changed from the living water. And when you get home, ask the cook to be your assistant. And when the food is cooked, drop a drop of living water into it.
The she-wolf taught Ivan what to do and ran away.
Ivan returned home. And there, indeed, the guests are already gathering. The cook alone is absolutely torn - many different dishes need to be cooked and fried for the guests. Ivan approached the cook:
- Let me help you.
“Okay,” the cook agreed, “Help me, otherwise I can’t do it alone.”
Ivan undertook to help. And then he says to the cook:
- You, old man, I see you’re exhausted, take a rest, and I’ll finish everything myself!
The cook sees that his assistant is trying hard, and lies down to rest.
Ivan prepared dinner, dropped a drop of living water into each dish and woke up the cook. He went to serve lunch to the tables.
And the guests at the feast eat and praise the food - everything is very tasty!
After dinner, the owner calls the chef, gives him a gift and thanks him for the delicious dishes. And the cook says:
- Yes, this one guy was my assistant here, so he cooked such delicious dishes. I don’t know how to cook like that myself.
The owner says:
- So call him to me, I need to thank him too.
They called Ivan. The owner asks:
- Where did you learn to cook such delicious dishes?
“Trouble will teach you everything,” Ivan answers.
- What’s your problem, lad?
So Ivan told about how he got the golden bird, how he ransomed his brothers from the king and how they killed him, and the good wolf revived him...
The brothers stand, silent, pale as a sheet, and the father asks:
- So it’s you, then, my youngest son Ivan?
“Yes,” says Ivan. “I got the bird and kept my word, but they, my intelligent brothers, are thieves!”
The father drove his eldest sons out of the house, and now lives with Ivan.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru