When gypsies set up tents in the forest, the first thing they do is read a spell against snakes. They kneel down and say:
- God protect us, make sure that the snakes do not get into my tent, protect my children, do not let them be lost from the snakes.
The gypsies will draw a line around the tent and only after that they will light the fire. Yes, a conspiracy does not always help.
Father and mother had an only daughter. The girl is such an age that she should at least get married now. This young gypsy loved one guy from the camp and every day she tried to find at least a little time to look at him and talk to him. A young gypsy woman hinted at her father about her love, but he did not want to listen, he only said:
“He’s not a match for you, daughter, and forget about him.”
The guy and the girl had to hide from their parents. One day my father went to the city to change horses at a fair. The daughter asked her mother:
- Mom, let me go with my father; He will change it, and I’ll see...
“What are you doing, daughter, God bless you,” the mother waved her hands, “it’s not a woman’s business to take care of horses.”
“Well then, I’ll go to the village with the women.”
- For what? - objected the mother. - What, you have nothing to eat?
“Anyway, I won’t stay at home, I’ll go with my friends to the forest if you don’t let me go anywhere.”
“Okay, go, just don’t stay long,” the mother sighed.
The girl went into the forest. She didn’t go with her friends to pick berries or mushrooms, she wanted to see her boyfriend.
The friends dispersed through the forest, and she fell behind a little. A gypsy woman sat on a pebble, waiting for her beloved, but he was not there. I know something was holding me back. The girl waited and waited, got tired of the sun and fell asleep. And at that time her boyfriend was riding on a horse to go on a date with her. He looked at the girl and almost fell off his horse: a snake crawled out from under a currant bush and climbed right into the gypsy’s mouth. And then further and further, further and further... So the gypsy swallowed the snake. And as soon as she swallowed it, the girl woke up. She felt cold, so she said:
- Oh, it’s like I drank cold water in a dream. The guy didn't tell her anything about what he saw. They talked to each other, talked and went home.
Time passed, and the gypsies began to notice that the girl’s belly began to grow. There was talk in the camp, gossip. When the father of the young gypsy woman saw such a thing, he grabbed the whip. From that time on, her life was gone - every day her father beat her without mercy, beat her and shouted:
- Who were you with? Confess quickly, otherwise I’ll flog you to death.
But the poor girl has no idea, because she knew of no wrongdoing. All she could do was cry day and night. And what is it like for her beloved guy to look at all this? He suffered and strengthened himself. But then one fine day he comes to her father and says:
“You know what, father, you shouldn’t beat her, she’s not guilty of anything.” Your daughter just got sick. Give me your word that you will marry her to me, then I will cure her.
There is nothing for a father to do: no matter how much you beat your daughter, you still can’t fix the matter with a whip.
- Okay, guy, have it your way. If you prove that my daughter is honest, I will give her to you as a wife.
The old gypsy called the whole camp and said this:
- Gypsies, this guy swore to me that he never laid a finger on my daughter.
“God punish me if I had anything to do with her,” exclaimed the gypsy. - So that I never hold horse hair in my hands! This gypsy is sick, and I undertake to cure her.
“And I tell you my word, romale, if this guy cures my daughter, I’ll give her to him as a wife!”
That's what they decided on.
The next day, a guy came into the village, into the last hut, asked the owner for permission to flood the bathhouse, then took a cauldron of milk and boiled it.
- And now, chavale, go away, no one should see what will happen.
The gypsies left. The guy took a young gypsy woman into the bathhouse, blindfolded her and hung her upside down. The gypsy immediately lost her senses, froze immediately, and the guy put a cauldron of boiling milk under her head. The snake climbed out, and as soon as it jumped out of its mouth, it immediately boiled in milk. And after the snake, her baby snakes fell and also ended up in the milk. And the snake's nest fell out. When the guy saw this, he moved the cauldron of milk, lowered the girl to the floor, took her out into the fresh air, let her come to her senses, and then sent for her father and mother. The gypsies arrived, took their daughter into the tent, and the guy said to his father:
“Go and see why your daughter suffered.” The old gypsy looked and in horror almost fell unconscious.
“You see,” says the guy, “you shouldn’t have beaten your daughter.” After all, because of you, she hasn’t seen a joyful day for almost a year.
In short, the guy kept his word. The father of the young gypsy also had to fulfill his word. They played a wedding. And the father of the young gypsy woman is offended that it is not of his own free will that he gives his daughter away in marriage; he quietly took a snake that had been boiled in a cauldron with milk, cut off a piece from it and put it in the groom’s food. But the old gypsy didn’t notice his daughter. She and her husband ate a piece of snake.
And when, according to the gypsy law, the young people were taken to the canopy, they never returned back to the table. The father rushed into the canopy and froze. His beloved daughter lies with her husband - both dead.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru