Whether it happened or not, whether it was true or not, let’s better listen to what the fairy tale says.
Well, that's it. A terrible, terrible snake flew to one region. He dug himself a deep hole in the middle of the forest near the mountain and lay down to rest.
How long he rested, no one remembers, but when he got up, he immediately shouted loudly so that everyone could hear:
- Hey, people - men and women, old and young - bring me tribute every day: some a cow, some a sheep, some a pig! Whoever brings it will live, and whoever doesn’t, I will swallow it!
People were alarmed and began to carry the snake as they should.
They wore and wore, and then they saw - and there was nothing to wear. Completely impoverished. And the serpent was such that he could not live even a day without tribute. Then he began to fly around the villages himself, grabbing people and dragging them to his hole.
People walk as if restless, cry, seek salvation and do not know how to get rid of the fierce snake.
In the meantime, one person drove into that place. His name was Vasil. Vasil sees that people are walking around sad, wringing their hands and crying.
- What's your problem? - asks. -Why are you shouting?
People told him about their misfortune.
“Calm down,” Vasil began to console them, “I’ll try to save you from a cruel misfortune...
He took a thicker club and went to the forest where the snake lived.
The snake saw him, widened his green eyes and asked:
- Why did you come here with this club?
- Beat you! - says Vasil.
- Look! — the snake was surprised. “You’d better get out of here before it’s too late.” Otherwise, as soon as I breathe or whistle, you won’t even be able to stand on your feet, you’ll fly three miles away.
Vasil grinned and said:
“Don’t boast, you old scarecrow, I’ve never seen anything like it!” We'll see which of us can whistle the loudest. Well, whistle!
The snake whistled so loudly that leaves fell from the trees, and Vasil fell to his knees. He stood up and said:
- Eh, nonsense! Is that really how they whistle? This is a joke for the chickens! Let me try, just blindfold yourself, otherwise they’ll come out.
He blindfolded the snake with a handkerchief, and Vasil came up and whacked him on the head with a club so hard that sparks fell from the snake’s eyes.
-Are you really stronger than me? - says the snake. - Let's try again. Which of us will crush the stone faster?
The snake grabbed a hundred-pound stone, squeezed it with its paws, so tightly that dust rose in a column.
“There’s nothing surprising here,” Vasil laughs. “You squeeze it so that water flows out of the stone.”
The serpent picked up a stone, squeezed it, but there was no water...
“Look,” says Vasil, “how I squeeze.” He quietly took the cheese out of the bag, squeezed it, and water splashed in all directions.
The snake was frightened: he saw that Vasil was really stronger than him. He looked at Vasilyev’s club and said:
- Ask me whatever you want, I will do everything for you.
“I don’t need anything,” Vasil answers, “I have plenty of everything at home, more than yours.”
- Well, yes! - the snake doesn’t believe.
- If you don’t believe me, let’s go and see. They got into the cart and drove off. Meanwhile, the snake wanted to eat. He saw a herd of oxen at the edge of the forest and said to Vasil:
- Go catch an ox, let's have a little snack. Vasil went into the forest and began to tear his bast. The snake waited for Vasil, waited, and finally went to him:
- Why are you messing around here for so long?
- I'm tearing my face off.
- Why do you need a bast?
“I want to string ropes and catch five oxen for dinner.”
- Why do we need five oxen? One is enough. The snake grabbed the ox by the scruff of the neck and dragged it to the cart.
“And you,” says Vasil, “bring some wood, we’ll roast the ox.”
Vasil sat down in the forest under an oak tree and smoked a cigarette.
I waited and waited for the snakes and could not stand it. Comes to Vasil:
- Why have you been messing around here for so long?
- Yes, I want to bring a dozen oak trees. I choose which ones are thicker.
- Why do we need ten oaks? One is enough! - said the snake and in one fell swoop tore out the thickest oak tree.
The snake roasted the ox and invites Vasil to eat.
“You eat yourself,” Vasil refuses, “I’ll refresh myself at home; What's there to do with an ox, I'll just get bitten once.
The snake ate the ox, licked its lips, and they moved on. They drive up to the house where Vasil’s family lived. The children saw from a distance that their father was coming, and shouted with joy:
- Tata is coming! Tata is coming!
But the snake didn’t hear and asks:
- Why are the children screaming?
- Yes, they are happy that I am taking you to them for lunch. They've been hungry for a long time...
The snake got scared, jumped off the cart and ran away. But he didn’t see the road, and ended up in a swamp. And the swamp was such that you couldn’t even reach the bottom. The snake sank to the bottom and choked there.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru