One woman had a very tall and gluttonous daughter. When her mother gave her soup, she ate plate after plate and asked for more and more. And the mother poured it for her, poured it and said:
- Three... four... five...
And when it got to seven, the mother gave her daughter a strong slap on the head and shouted:
- Here's seven for you!
One day a rich young man passed by their house. He saw through the window a mother beating her daughter, saying:
- Here you are seven, here you are seven!.. He liked the tall beauty. He entered the house and asked:
- Seven? What seven?..
The mother was ashamed to admit that her daughter was eating so much, so she replied:
- Seven?.. Seven spindles of yarn. She is such a hard worker that soon she won’t even have enough sheep. Today she has already strained seven spindles, and she still can’t get enough! So I punished her. Let him at least rest.
“If this is the case,” says the young man, “give her to me as a wife.” But first I will check if it is true that she is so hardworking.
He took the girl to his place and left her in a room full of tow.
“I’m a captain,” he said, “and now I’m leaving on a long voyage.” If by the time I return you have spun all this tow, we will have a wedding.
In addition to the tow, the captain left luxurious dresses and jewelry in the room. He was very rich.
“When we get married, all this will be yours,” he told the girl when parting.
All day long the bride tried on dresses, put on jewelry and looked in the mirror. The maids brought her food from morning to evening, but the tow remained untouched.
Meanwhile, the last day arrived: the next morning they expected the captain. The girl became sad, she would never be a captain, and she cried bitterly. But suddenly some rags flew through the window, fell at her feet and immediately turned into an old woman with long eyelashes.
“Don’t be afraid of me,” said the old woman, “I came to help you: I will spin, and you wind the threads on the spindle.”
No one in the world has ever seen such a fast spinner as this old woman! In less than a quarter of an hour she had hidden the entire tow.
And during this time her eyelashes lengthened and became longer than her nose and even longer than her chin...
When the work was finished, the girl asked:
- How can I thank you, good woman?
“I don’t need anything - just don’t forget to invite me to the wedding when you marry the captain.”
- But where can I find you?
- Just call “Columbine” and I’ll be right there. But woe to you if you forget my name and don’t invite me - all your yarn will turn into a tow again.
The next day the captain returned and saw that the yarn was ready.
“Great,” he said, “I think I’ve found the wife I was looking for.” Look what dresses and jewelry I brought you. But now I'm setting sail again, and a new test awaits you. I will leave the tow twice as large as the first time, and if it is ready for yarn by the time I return, I will marry you.
Just like the first time, the girl tried on dresses and jewelry all day long, ate soup or pasta, but the tow remained untouched. And let the bride cry.
But suddenly a noise was heard in the fireplace, some rags flew into the room and turned into an old woman with drooping lips. Just like the first old woman, she promised to help the girl and began to spin even faster than the one with long eyelashes. And the faster she spun, the more her lips sagged. In less than half an hour, all the yarn was ready. The old woman didn’t even listen to the girl’s thanks, she only asked to invite her to the wedding dinner:
- Just say: “Columbara!” But don’t forget my name, or woe to you: my work will perish...
The next morning the captain returned and asked from the doorway:
– Is the yarn ready?
– Of course, I’ve been ready for a long time! – the girl answered.
“Then here are your dresses and jewelry.” If by the time I return from my last voyage you have completed your last job, and there will be even more of it than before, I promise: we will celebrate our wedding.
As before, the girl only remembered about work on the very last day: for all those days she did not touch the spindle. And then some rags fell out of the drainpipe and turned into an old woman with teeth sticking out. She began to spin furiously. And while she was spinning, her teeth became longer and longer. Having finished her work, the old woman said:
- Don’t forget to invite me to the wedding dinner, just say: “Columbo!” - and I will come. Well, if you forget, it would be better for us not to meet.
The captain returned, saw that the yarn was ready, and was very pleased.
“Well,” he said, “now you will be my wife.” And he ordered to prepare for the wedding and invite guests from all over the area.
But the bride did not think at all about the three old women - she was so carried away by the preparations.
On the morning of the wedding day, the girl remembered the old women. But as soon as she wanted to call them, she felt that the names of the old women had completely disappeared from her memory. She thought and thought, but did not remember a single name. Where did her gaiety go? The bride became so sad that the captain finally asked what was wrong with her. But it was as if she had taken water into her mouth.
Having achieved nothing, the groom decided to postpone the wedding to the next day. But the next day the bride became even sadder, and the next day she became completely silent and sad. And it was clear from her frowning forehead that some thought was not giving her peace. The groom tried to cheer her up, joked with her, told funny stories - everything was in vain. Seeing that it was useless to console, he decided to have a little fun himself and went hunting in the morning. In the thicket he was caught by a strong thunderstorm, and the young man took refuge in an old abandoned hut. In the darkness he heard voices:
- Oh Columbine!
- Oh Columbara!
- Oh Columbus!
- It's time to cook polenta (Polenta is a dish made from corn), where is our pan! This damn bride will apparently never invite us to dinner!
The captain looked closely and saw three old women: one with eyelashes down to the floor, another with lips up to her shoes, the third with teeth up to her knees.
“Now I know how to make the bride laugh,” thought the captain. “If this doesn’t make her laugh, she will never laugh again!” Returning home, he said to the girl:
– Today in the forest I hid from the rain in an abandoned hut. I look - and what: three old women are sitting - one with eyelashes reaching to the floor, another with lips reaching to her shoes, the third scratching her knees with her teeth. They shouted to each other: “Oh Columbine!” - “Oh Columbara!” - “Oh Columbus!” The bride’s face immediately cleared up, she laughed and exclaimed:
- Arrange the wedding feast now! And I ask you, allow me to invite these old women to our holiday - they really made me laugh.
And so they did. A round table was prepared for the old women, so small that behind the eyelashes of one, the lips of another, and the teeth of a third, the food was not visible at all.
After dinner, the groom asked Columbine:
- Tell me, good woman, why do you have such long eyelashes?
– Because I strained my eyes when I was spinning the thinnest thread.
- And you? Why are your lips so saggy?
“Because I kept running my finger over my lips when I was knotting the thread,” answered Columbara.
- And you? Why do you have such huge teeth?
“Because I chewed a lot of knots on the threads,” says Columbun.
“So that’s it,” the captain exclaimed and, turning to his wife, said: “Bring me the spindle!” - and as soon as she brought the spindle, he threw it into the blazing fireplace.
“Never in my life will I make you spin again.”
And since then his tall wife lived calmly and happily.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru