In ancient times, there lived a young man, and he was famous for his kindness, not only to people, but also to animals, large and small. That's why they called him Good Man.
He distributed all the inheritance that his parents left him to the poor, and he managed to get by somehow. But Dobryak always remembered his parents and every year he organized a treat in their memory.
Just on the eve of such a day, the young man prepared rice and chicken. Suddenly he sees a mouse approaching the rice and about to eat it. The young man caught a mouse and said to it:
- Mouse, mouse! Why are you stealing rice from a poor man? What will I treat my guests to tomorrow? Run to another house, look for your prey somewhere else!
And he let go of the mouse, she ran and was happy.
And at night, the young man hears, a fox climbs into the house - he smells the smell of chicken.
- Fox, fox! - Kindly grabbed her. “I’m a poor man.” Why are you stealing from me? Leave the chicken! What will I treat my guests to tomorrow?
The young man shook his head reproachfully and let the fox go. The fox sensed the will, was delighted, and ran into the dark forest.
The next day, Good Man got ready to place a dish of chicken and rice in front of the guests, and a fly circled over the dish, also wanting to eat it. The young man got creative, caught a fly - it buzzed in his fist, twirled, thinking, the end has come for it.
- Fly, fly! - Good Man tells her. “I’m a poor man.” Why are you stealing from me? So I’ll treat the guests, and what’s left I’ll give to you, come back later.
And he let the fly go. She flew, was delighted, and buzzed merrily.
Since then, word of the young man’s kindness has spread far and wide. They also learned about her in the royal palace. And the king was just about to marry off the princess and was looking for her a good groom, smart and kind. The king heard about Dobryak, sent a nobleman after him, and soon the young man appeared before the king.
He looked at the Good Man, and the young man seemed to the king to be an uncouth hillbilly: there was neither court flattery nor court splendor in the Good Man. And then the king decided to politely refuse Dobryak.
“I would very gladly give my daughter for you,” said the sovereign with feigned cordiality. - But in order to marry the princess, you need to bring a wedding gift to the palace - a large golden dish.
The Good Man heard this, became depressed, and realized that he could not be the king’s son-in-law. He wanders through the forest, doesn’t know what to do. Suddenly a fox, which the young man had once set free, runs across his path. The fox stopped and asked:
- Why are you so sad, young man?
Dobryak told why he was sad. The fox listened to everything from beginning to end and said:
- It's not a problem. I'll help you. I know a place where there is a lot of gold. Follow me!
The young man followed the fox, and she led him into a deep cave. There were three huge jugs in the corner of the cave. Good Man opened the lids, looked into the jugs, the jugs were full of gold, silver and precious stones. The young man thanked the fox and transported the jugs to his house. The next day he hired a servant and sent him to the palace with a wedding gift - a huge golden dish.
The king did not expect such a gift from the poor man; for the sake of appearance, he had to agree to marry the princess to the poor young man. And yet the king did not lose hope of getting rid of the unwanted groom; he came up with another trick. On the wedding day, the king brought the groom to his chambers and said:
- Do you see these ten dishes? One of them contains a red thread. Find this dish, find the red thread and sit in front of it. If you manage to find it, you will marry the princess. If not, you will be a guest at her wedding and go home with nothing.
Kindly looked at the ten dishes and was confused: all ten were the same. The poor fellow doesn’t know which dish to sit down to. Standing there, I thought about it. Then suddenly a young man hears a fly buzzing over his ear:
- Z-z-z! You once set me free. Zzzz! For this I will thank you. Zzzz! Look and take a closer look: whichever of the ten dishes I go to, you should sit down to.
Good Man heard this and calmed down. And then he confidently stepped towards the dish on which the fly had landed. The sovereign was surprised that the poor man so deftly pointed out the right dish. He decided to test the groom again and said:
- Now find the bride’s chambers in the palace!
The young man looks, there are many doors in front of him - all of them look alike. At each door there is a lamp decorated with flowers.
The young man was confused again, he didn’t know what to do. Suddenly the same mouse that he once released runs up and quietly squeaks:
- Remember how you let me go? For this I will help you. Follow me! Whichever door I slip through, go there. This is the princess's chambers.
The mouse ran, ran, and then through one of the doors - dash! The good young man entered that door. He looks, here they are - the princess’s chambers. And the princess herself is sitting there, smiling warmly at the groom.
The king had to give in. Dobryak became the royal son-in-law, and then the king.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru