Once upon a time there lived a blacksmith who was so poor, he could not have been poorer. Once upon a time, business was going well for him, but suddenly the blacksmith’s craft stopped feeding him, and his wife and children, a little less, were asking for food. And it got to such a point that our poor fellow only had seven pennies left in the house. And then there are the kids whining and wanting bread. What are you going to do here? So the blacksmith thought: “I’ll hang myself! I bought a rope with my last money. He came to the forest, chose a taller tree and a stronger branch, and began to adjust the rope. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a black woman! Dressed in black and with a black face! And let’s talk him out of it. It’s a sin, they say, this is an abomination! Our blacksmith stood dumbfounded, stood, stood and walked away.
Are you really going to leave yourself? Again he threw the rope over the branch. And the black woman is right there. And again for my own. The blacksmith stands there, not breathing. But as soon as Chernyavka disappeared, the blacksmith decided to hang himself again.
And suddenly Chernyavka seemed to grow out of the ground and say:
- Don’t you dare, blacksmith, hang yourself! I will help you in your trouble, I will give you as much gold as your heart desires. But you promise to give me what you have at home, but you don’t even know about it!
“What is it that I don’t know about in my house, other than grief and misfortune?” “Some kind of nonsense,” the blacksmith decided and agreed.
“Then get what you promised,” said Chernyavka and poured him a full bag of money. “And I will return for what I promised in exactly seven years!” - and then disappeared, as if she had never existed.
The blacksmith ran home. He comes running cheerfully and puts the gold on the table. That's why everyone was happy. My wife admires the shiny coins.
They bought food. Children jump and laugh. Finally, we've eaten our fill! One boasts to the other about who has filled their belly tighter.
The blacksmith began to tell where such wealth came from:
“So,” he says, “it’s some kind of nonsense, not worth talking about - I had to promise that I would give away something that I myself don’t know about, but there is it in the house!”
My wife was almost scared to death. She had been expecting a baby for a long time, but did not dare to speak, and then the child under her heart moved!
“What have you done, hubby,” the poor thing cried, “you sold your own child, and besides, it was not born yet!”
The blacksmith gasped, but there’s nothing to do! Having given your word, hold on.
OK. Soon the blacksmith's daughter was born. Such a beauty. The hair is golden, the star is burning in the forehead. So they called her – Goldilocks. Her parents loved her, cherished her and cared for her as best they could. But they will remember that she seems to be their daughter, but she seems not theirs, and they will immediately feel sad.
And now the girl is seven years old. Hour after hour, minute after minute, a black carriage thundered under the windows, Chernyavka came out of the carriage and took Goldilocks to her.
With crying and lamentations, the whole family escorted the carriage to the outskirts. They would have continued to run, but Chernyavka strictly ordered it. The family returned home in tears and sadness, as if they were never destined to see the sweet girl again.
Cherniavka and Goldilocks raced in a black carriage through impenetrable forests and bare fields until they reached a beautiful, huge castle. Cherniavka showed Goldilocks the whole castle, led her through ninety-nine rooms and said:
“This is where you, my child, will live from now on.” Ninety-nine rooms to clean. Walk wherever you want, live wherever your heart desires. But you couldn’t even take a peek into the hundredth room, otherwise you’d have a bad time! We'll see you in seven years, but for now, live, don't be bored!
She said and immediately disappeared. And for seven whole years there was no news of her! Our Goldilocks lived quietly and peacefully in the castle. She walked through ninety-nine rooms, sweeping, cleaning, washing and cleaning, everything sparkled like gold. But I didn’t even glance at the hundredth. Although, oh how I wanted it! It even made it difficult to sleep.
Seven years passed and Chernyavka appeared.
- Well, how? Have you looked into the last room? – she asked.
- No! - answered Goldilocks.
Chernyavka was satisfied. She knew that the girl was telling the truth. Again she punished the same as the first time, and disappeared for another seven years.
Our Goldilocks cleans up the ninety-nine magnificent rooms, walks around, making sure everything sparkles like a mirror. Year flies by year, as if in a dream. And then one day, when the seventh year was coming to an end, she walks through the castle and dreams: Chernyavka will praise her for her purity and brilliance. And he hears lovely music coming from the hundredth room. Like a chamois, Goldilocks rushed to the door. And the music becomes more and more tender and affectionate. The girl pressed the handle and - fuck! The doors opened and she found herself in the room. And there are twelve bewitched people sitting around the table. They froze in place as an evil spell overtook them. Another one stands behind the door and says to Goldilocks:
“Goldilocks, don’t give us away for anything in the world!” No matter how much Chernyavka torments you, don’t talk about what you saw in this room. If you utter even a word, you will be cursed for life, but we will remain cursed forever!
And again everything fell silent, as if numb, and Goldilocks, beside herself with fear, jumped out of the hundredth room and rushed away. She didn’t even notice how Chernyavka appeared in front of her. She already knew that the girl had seen the last room. She shook her finger and said:
- Goldilocks, Goldilocks, what have you done! You looked into the hundredth room! Tell me, what did you see there?
But our Goldilocks is silent, as if she had swallowed her tongue. Chernyavka began to threaten her with terrible punishments, but Goldilocks was silent, not a sound. Here Chernyavka says:
“If you don’t answer right now what you saw in that room, I’ll throw you into a deep well and make you mute forever!”
And it's true. The evil Chernyavka threw her into a deep well and cast a spell on her. Now, besides Chernyavka, she could no longer talk to anyone.
Goldilocks woke up on a sandy mound. And oh, amazingly, he sees some kind of passage leading underground. She started running. Everything forward and forward until I found myself in a beautiful clearing. Here she stayed. And she lived on roots and berries. But Chernyavka came here too and kept demanding to know what she saw in the hundredth room.
But Goldilocks never said anything.
Not far from the clearing, a young king was hunting in the forests. And he came across the sleeping Goldilocks. She looks, unable to see enough, where did such a beauty come from here? And the longer he looked, the sweeter she became to him. I finally decided to wake her up, take her to my palace and marry her. Let people judge as they want.
He woke me up quietly and began asking who and where from. And she, poor thing - mute - remains silent and silent. The king decided that it was out of fear or shame. He asks if he will go to the palace with him, and she just nods her head. The young king brought her to his place, ordered her to be dressed in a luxurious dress and, without thinking for a long time, got married.
Goldilocks never spoke. But her husband loved her very much and they lived in perfect harmony. A year has passed. The queen is expecting a baby. And she herself becomes sadder and sadder. As if he was afraid of some kind of trouble. The day came and the young queen brought a boy into the world. The hair is golden, the star is burning in the forehead. You couldn't find a happier king in the whole world! He orders all neighbors to be called to a feast so that his joy can be shared.
But soon his joy turned into great sadness. Why is this? But listen to this:
At night, Chernyavka appeared to Goldilocks and began to threaten that if she did not say what she saw in the last room, then she would strangle her son with golden hair. Goldilocks trembled with horror, like a blade of grass in a thunderstorm, but said nothing.
- And you yourself will have a hard time! - Chernyavka keeps threatening. But Goldilocks is silent, not a sound!
The evil Chernyavka strangled the sweet boy, smeared blood on Goldilocks’ lips and immediately disappeared.
It is impossible to say in a fairy tale, nor to describe with a pen how scared everyone was when they saw this picture in the morning. The king turned pale as death, but said nothing. The entire castle was searched, everyone was strictly questioned, but they never found out who could have done this. They began to talk about whether it was Goldilocks herself, because there was blood on her lips. And she, innocent, cannot utter a word in her defense. Others called for her to be sentenced to death. But the king did not want to see or hear anything, because he loved her. And they began to live kindly, as before. A year passed and Goldilocks brought into the world a girl with golden hair and a golden star in her forehead. How happy the king was! To prevent more trouble from happening, he ordered that a faithful guard be placed in the room where Goldilocks and her child slept for the night.
It's just in vain. The Chernyavka bewitched the guards and they fell into a deep sleep. She stood in front of Goldilocks and threatened:
“I’ll find out what you saw in that room anyway!” And you will be lost! I will kill the baby, but the king orders you to be burned alive!
But Goldilocks is silent as stone. Chernyavka strangled the girl, Goldilocks smeared her lips with blood. And so it was.
In the morning the child was found dead. But the guards did not see anyone and did not hear any rustle or sound in the room.
The king was angry that this was happening in his palace. He ordered to look for the evil enemy even more strictly. They searched and searched, but found no one.
At this point everyone around openly began to say that there was no one but the queen to strangle the child. After all, there were only guards in her room. And her lips are bleeding! And everything is silent, he won’t say a word! These speeches reached the king, he hesitated and himself ordered that Goldilocks be condemned to death. At the stake! In front of all the subjects!
They took Goldilocks out of town. Tied to a pole. They set fire to brushwood underfoot. Suddenly a carriage crashed straight into the crowd and stopped in front of Goldilocks. Chernyavka comes out of the carriage and says:
“You see, my words have come true: now the end will come for you.” Tell me, at least now, what did you see in the last room of my castle?
But Goldilocks was silent. No matter how hard Chernyavka tried, she could not achieve anything.
The smoke and flames had already reached Goldilocks and suddenly, lo and behold! Chernyavka’s face turned white and her whole appearance changed. She ordered the fire to be lit immediately, because Goldilocks is innocent! And she said:
“It’s your happiness and mine that you didn’t answer me.” With this you freed me and those twelve from evil spells. Otherwise, we would all be lost forever and ever, and you with us!
And he gives her - where did they come from - two of her children, alive! And in the blink of an eye she disappears along with the carriage!
And at that very moment Goldilocks spoke and told the king everything that had happened. The king does not believe his eyes or ears. Yes, if it is so, then it means nothing else! To celebrate, the king does not know what to do: take the golden children in his arms or hug Goldilocks and beg for forgiveness. Then he brought his wife and children to the castle, they now began to live peacefully. And they found the blacksmith father and transported him and his whole family to their castle.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru