Shenxian, an immortal old man, lived in the Heavenly Palace, and he had seven daughters, all of whom were already adults. The youngest was eighteen. The father was very afraid that the girls would start thinking about earthly life, and even more so he was afraid that they would find suitors in the human world. That’s why the old man kept them strict, didn’t tell them to go for walks, didn’t tell them to have fun, and they sat, poor things, in the palace, suffering from mortal boredom.
The youngest daughter's name was Qi-tse. The girl was very pretty. And then one day, when Qi-jie was resting in her chambers, her ears were touched by the beautiful sounds of a flute, they came to the Heavenly Palace from the world of people. The flute sang so sweetly that Qi-tsze couldn’t help but listen. She was impatient to find out who was playing, and together with the spotted deer who served her, she quietly left the palace chambers to look through the clouds at the ground.
It was spring. In the human world, peaches turned purple and willows turned green. Swallows flew in pairs. The young couple weeded a field of green wheat and sang songs. Envy took over Qi-tse.
Tsi-tse turned in the direction from which the sounds of the flute were coming, and looked at a young, strong young man sitting under a spreading willow, playing the flute. The girl looks at him and cannot take her eyes off. I looked and looked and fell in love.
The deer guessed what his owner was thinking about and said in her ear:
- Look, Tsi-tse, how good things are with people! I wish I could go down and take a walk with them!
Qi-jie just nodded her head.
And the deer again does his thing:
- Do you see the young man playing the flute? He's such a hard worker! From dawn to dark he mows grass in the mountains! Do you like him?
Tsi-jie blushed with shame, and she nodded her head to the deer and said:
- By his nature, by his nature, but it is not known whether he is a good person or a bad one?
- I’ll find out in an instant, do you want me to go downstairs?
The girl agreed, and the deer began to slowly descend to the ground.
The young man who sat under the willow tree and played the flute was called Wang San. He was an orphan, he cut grass, and that’s how he lived.
Wang San finished playing, got up, took his scythe and was just about to get to work when he suddenly saw a deer running towards him along the road. The deer ran up to Wang San, bent his front legs, bowed and began to ask:
- Save me, brother mower! Hide it quickly! The wolf is chasing me!
Wang San hid the deer in a haystack and climbed up a tree. At that same moment the wolf appeared. The wolf ran up to the tree, was completely out of breath and asked Wang San:
“Have you seen or run past a deer along the road?”
Wang San waved his hand to the west and replied:
“I saw him run away to that direction.”
The wolf heard this and rushed further to the west.
Here the deer crawled out of the hay and let’s thank Wang San. Then he asked if the young man had a large family.
Wang San sighed and answered:
- Eh, I’m alone in this world. I go to bed alone, I get up alone.
The deer asks him:
“Then why don’t you bring your wife into the house?”
The young man answers:
- I’m poor, who will marry me?
Deer says:
- Don’t be sad, brother Wang San! With your hard work, you won’t be able to find a wife?! Just wait, I'll marry you!
Wang San answers:
“I don’t know how to thank you.”
The deer tells him:
“It’s late now, it’s time for me to leave, but you and I will meet soon.” If you need my help, turn to the southeast, shout three times: “Brother deer! Brother deer! Brother deer! I'll be there in a moment.
The deer said so and disappeared. Wang San collected the grass and returned home.
The next day the young man got up at dawn and went to the mountains again. He went up to the river and looked: a girl in a pink dress was washing clothes on the shore. Her eyes are large, radiant, her hands are skillful and fast. And she's good looking. Wang San stared at the girl and forgot about his grass.
And the girl washed and washed, but suddenly she stumbled and fell into the water. Wang San didn’t even think, he jumped into the water after the girl and pulled her ashore.
The girl is wet, trembling all over and says to Wang San:
“You really are a kind young man!” If your house is nearby, let me come to you to dry off.
Wang San answers her:
- Come in and dry yourself!
And they walked side by side towards the house. They arrived, and a deer was standing near the house, waiting for them, holding two pairs of dresses.
Wang San was surprised and asked:
- Why did you come, brother deer?
And the deer laughed and answered:
“I told you that I would come to woo you.” This girl's name is Qi-jie. For your sake, she left the Heavenly Palace and descended to earth. She liked your hard work and kind heart, and she agreed to marry you. Well, will you take her as your wife?
Wang San listened to the deer, looked at Qi-tse, and it was like a flower blossomed in his heart; the young man blushed and asked Qi-tse to become his wife. Wang San and Qijie lived happily and worked hard. And the deer often came to help them.
The immortal old man found out that his daughter had gotten married, he became terribly angry, and was burning all over with anger. And then one day he waited for Wang San to leave the field, went down to earth and took Qi-tse to the Heavenly Palace.
Wang San returned from the field, but Qi-jie was not at home. He began to look for her. I searched for a good half day and couldn't find it anywhere. The young man became sad and suddenly remembered the deer. He turned his face to the southeast and shouted three times:
- Brother deer! Brother deer! Brother deer!
As soon as he shouted this, the deer was already in front of him.
The deer says to the young man:
- Brother Wang San! The immortal elder found out that Qi-tsze had married you, became angry, took her to the Heavenly Palace and put her in prison. Qi-tsze told you to tell you to sow the kaoliang and take good care of it, even better than in previous years. And when the gaoliang ripens, do not remove it all, leave one of the thickest stems on the field. Overnight it will grow to the very clouds. Along this stem you will get to the Heavenly Palace and meet Qi-tse. And she also asked you to play the flute every day, then it would be more fun for her. Remember firmly what I told you. And now I have to go. Qi-jie is waiting...
Before Wang San could blink an eye, the deer disappeared.
The young man was sad. He raised his head, looked at the sky, saw nothing, only black clouds. Is his Qi-jie somewhere now? The young man took the flute and began to play to cheer up his wife. Never before had his flute sung so loudly. Gentle sounds rushed straight to the heavenly prison. Qi-jie heard Wang San play, and the pads on her feet seemed to become lighter.
Wang San really wanted to see Qi-tse as soon as possible, and he did everything as she ordered: he sowed the kaoliang and looked after it diligently. And the Gaoliang grew tall and tall. Wang San looks at him and is overjoyed.
And Kaoliang is becoming stronger day by day. So the panicles appeared. Qi-tsze is sitting in a heavenly prison, can’t wait for the kaoliang to ripen. A day seems like a year to her.
But finally autumn came, and the kaoliang turned red. Fluffy panicles hang on the stem. One stem is the most noticeable of all, no one has ever seen anything like it - thick, tall, as big as a whole tree. The young man picked up the kaoliang, took it home, and left the tallest, thickest stalk in the field. It grew overnight right up to the clouds. Wang San saw him, wrapped his arms around him, and began to rise to the sky.
Here is the Heavenly Palace. Six girls came out to meet Wang San, all wearing the same dresses.
The elder one asks:
- Who is he and why did he come?
Wang San answers:
“I am Tsi-tse’s husband, looking for my wife.”
The girls were overjoyed and they all exclaimed at once:
- So you are the husband of our younger sister?
Wang San answers:
- Yes, I am her husband!
The older sister says:
“We saw that the gaoliang had turned red, and we came out to meet you.” Our sister is languishing in heavenly prison. And the deer was locked there because he gave you a message from her. Now you won’t see them anyway, so hide for now...
As soon as she said this, an immortal old man appeared on the road. He walks, hobbles, leans on a staff.
The elder pointed his staff at the young man and asked his daughters:
- What kind of person is this, where did he come from?
The elder one answers:
- He flew from Earth to Heaven!
“Apparently, this young man is skillful, since he managed to fly to Heaven,” the old man thought and asked:
- Why did you come?
Wang San answers:
“I am your son-in-law, I came to express my respect and take home my wife, your seventh daughter.”
The old man heard this, bowed his head, then smiled sarcastically and asked:
- Hey, hey! So you are Wang San?
The young man answers:
- He's the one!
Meanwhile, the elder decided to ask Wang San a task, ordered him to bring a plow and said:
- I heard that you are a master of plowing! Do you see the grass growing on the wall? Come on, plow it up! If you can, I’ll give you my daughter, if you can’t, get away!
The old man said so and hobbled along the road.
To plow the field - you won’t find a better plowman than Wang San! But how to plow up a wall? Wang San was completely depressed. Here the eldest of the sisters says:
- Don't worry, brother! I'll help you.
She blew on Wang San’s feet once, blew again, and the young man easily stood on the edge of the wall, took the plow, and instantly plowed the entire wall.
Soon the old man returned, saw that there was not a blade of grass left on the wall, and thought to himself: “And the guy is really skillful.” And the elder decided to ask the young man one more task. He ordered to bring one dou of bran and said to Wang San:
- Do you see these bran? Make a rope out of them. If you can do it, I’ll give you my daughter. If you can't, get away!
The old man said this and hobbled along the road.
You won’t find a better master than Wang San to make a rope out of hemp or grass. But how to weave a rope from bran? Wang San was completely depressed, but then the elder sister quietly said to him:
- Don't worry, brother! I'll help you.
The girl blew on the bran, took a handful and began to twist the rope. I twisted it a little and gave it to Wang Sanyu. The young man began to twist further, and instantly twisted the rope.
The old man returned and saw the rope, and it was smooth and slippery. What can I say? The elder did not humble himself, he set a new task for the young man and said to him:
- Okay! Rest today, and tomorrow you will go to Monkey Mountain and get a heavenly drum for me. If you can, I’ll give you my daughter, if you can’t, get away!
The old man said so and hobbled along the road.
Wang San is more depressed than ever and thinks: “How can I get a heavenly drum?” But then all the sisters came up to him at once: the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and said:
- Don't worry, son-in-law. We will help you.
The third sister gave the young man a canvas bag, the fourth sister a hatchet, the fifth sister a flint, and the sixth sister a needle. They told the young man what to do and what to do in order to get the heavenly drum, and what to do next. They didn’t tell me to talk, they told me to be silent in order to avoid trouble and stay alive.
Wang San heard this and got scared, but what can you do! We need to help out Qi-tse!
As soon as it was dawn, Wang San got ready to set out on his journey, said goodbye to his sisters-in-law and went to Monkey Mountain.
The young man approached the mountain, grabbed the prickly thorn bushes with his hands, rested his feet on the stones, and climbed up. His hands are already scratched with blood, his legs are worn out with blood, his dress is torn to shreds, but he just keeps climbing and climbing. The top is finally here!
The young man hid himself in the thickets and looked around. Everywhere you look, monkeys are frolicking and jumping. The heavenly drum hangs on a high tree, monkeys guard it. Suddenly the young man noticed a hole, went down into it, rolled around, crawled out covered in clay, sat down on a stone, and dried in the sun.
About this time, the monkeys ran from the mountain to the mountain stream to wash themselves, they saw Wang San, they took him for a clay bodysattva, they began to grab him, each one dragging him to himself. They dragged him to the heavenly drum, placed him next to him and began to bow before him. They picked the fruits from the tree, placed them at Wang San’s feet and - pen-pen-pen, pen-pen-pen - they ran away. One old monkey was left to guard the heavenly drum.
Here Wang San pulled out a canvas bag from his bosom, beckoned the monkey with his hand and shouted:
- Get into the bag quickly!
The monkey didn’t even think, he jumped into the bag, and Wang San tied it up. In spirit he climbed the tree, took off the drum, threw it on his back and ran away. The monkeys immediately noticed the loss, became alarmed, buzzed like bees in a hive, and set off after the young man.
Dong-dong-dong - Wang San is running; pen-pen-pen - monkeys rush after him. The young man saw that the monkeys were close and threw the hatchet to the ground. Instantly the stormy river overflowed, blocking the path for the monkeys.
Hua-hua-hua - the monkeys splashed their paws on the water and started swimming.
Dong-dong-dong - Wang San runs as fast as he can; pen-pen-pen - monkeys rush after him. The young man saw that the monkeys were even closer, threw a flint to the ground, and instantly a high mountain grew behind him, blocking the path for the monkeys.
Tsi-lu-liu, chi-lu-liu - the monkeys are climbing the mountain.
Dong-dong-dong - Wang San is running; pen-pen-pen - monkeys rush after him. The young man saw that the monkeys were overtaking him, and threw the needle to the ground. Instantly sparkling rocks grew behind him - sharp knives, blocking the path of the monkeys.
The rocks sparkle - the knives are sharp, monkeys cannot climb them.
Wang San ran away from the monkeys and came to the Heavenly Palace. His elder sister met him, took cotton wool out of a cotton box, and told Wang San to plug his ears and use a strong stick. Wang San did just that.
But the immortal old man knows nothing, he sits and rejoices: “Hey, hey! If Wang San doesn’t return alive, the monkeys will tear him to pieces.”
Just when he thought so, suddenly Wang San enters the room, carrying a drum on his back. The old man saw that his son-in-law returned alive and brought the drum, he became even more angry, decided to stun the young man to death and said:
- Let me check if you brought a real drum or a fake one!
The elder raised his staff and struck the drum. Don! - the drum thundered; sha-sha-sha - leaves fell from the trees. “Well,” the old man thinks, “I stunned Wang San half to death!”
And Wang San says as if nothing had happened:
- Well, hit harder! Otherwise I can’t hear!
The elder marveled and struck even harder:
Don! - the drum banged; Ge-cha! Ge-cha! — the walls trembled. “Well,” the old man thinks, “if this time he stays alive!”
And Wang San again, as if nothing had happened, says:
- Well, hit harder! Otherwise I can’t hear!
And as soon as the elder hit the drum twice, his head became confused. Where can he strike a third time?!
-Can’t? - says Wang San. - Let me try. — Wang San raised his staff. Don-don-don - beat the drum. The sky shook, the earth began to shake, the mischievous old man fell over backwards and gave up his ghost.
Wang San broke the iron gates of the heavenly prison, removed the stocks from Qi-tsze, took out his flute and joyfully went down to the people with his wife.
Six sisters went down to earth with them and found hardworking husbands. The spotted deer also came down to the people, and they all lived joyfully and happily on earth.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru