There was no kingdom, no state in which the peasant lived. He lived neither richly nor poorly, but just averagely. And the two of them lived with the old woman. And they all had a good life, but they didn’t have any children. One day the old woman said:
- Listen, old man, we don’t have children and never will, but I heard in one place how you can get children.
- Well, tell me, grandma, how can we get children, how old we are.
“Here’s how: go into the forest, cut down a piece of pine and make a guy out of a pine tree, not a living one, of course, but from a pine tree, and bring him to me, and I’ll put him in a ripple and rock him for three years, and we’ll have a guy.” Believe me, I heard that we will test it.
So the old man listened to her, went into the forest and made, you know, a guy out of a pine tree. I brought it to her.
- Well, old woman, don’t be lazy, just rock it for three years.
- I’ll try, I will.
The old man, of course, works in the field, and she pumps, cooks dinner and pumps again.
So it pumps and pumps, and then three years pass. It was time for spring: the old man had to sow and plow - do his job. Once the old man went to the field to plow, he was already three years old. She pumped and pumped, and suddenly her son came out and said:
- Hello, mummy, I was born.
She was delighted: she stood straight up, came out of the wobbly place and spoke.
- You were born well and spoke, well, I don’t know what to call you.
- Well, call me Ivan Sosnovich. And she prepared dinner.
“Grandfather’s dinner would have been ready, but you still can’t bear it, as you’re still small; I need to carry grandpa’s lunch myself.
- Well, mom, pack it up, I’ll carry it; I’ll find where he’s working in the field, I’ll walk through the fields and find him. She collected everything for him in a basket.
- Well, bring it if you can.
She showed him the lane where to carry it. Ivan Sosnovich went. And so he walks, walks, walks and sees an old man working.
He recognized him, of course.
- Hello, grandfather, you will be my father.
- I don’t know you, son, tell me who you are. He says:
- That's it, grandfather, because I am Ivan Sosnovich, my mother rocked me for three years, so I grew up. And brought you lunch.
- Well, it’s good if you’re so small and brought me lunch. Well, sit down and have lunch with me.
- No, I don’t want to, but you give me the mare, I’ll get it.
- What are you, what are you, son, you’re still small, you can’t.
- No, I'll hit it.
- Well, try it.
And so the old man thinks: “Well, since you’re asking, what should I do, try.”
So he takes the plow and harnesses the mare, and the old man eats. He took the plow and pressed it so hard into the ground that the mare could not pull.
“No, listen, Ivan Sosnovich, you can’t plow on my mare: you press the plow very hard into the ground, and it cannot bear your strength - you are very strong.” Let her go, let her nibble a little grass, and sit down to dinner with me. I’ll rest a little after lunch, then you go and bring her.
So, of course, he let the mare pluck the grass, and he sat down with him.
Grandfather had dinner and went to bed. Then grandfather got up from sleep and said:
- Well, Ivan Sosnovich, go, bring the mare, and you will go home, and I will come later.
So, he went after the mare. He comes, and the copper-brow wolf ate their mare and rushed at him.
- I’ll eat you, they say.
And Ivan Sosnovich let him get close, grabbed him by the legs and threw him to the ground, so much so that all that was left was wet from him, only the whole earth shook. And he went to the old man.
He came to his grandfather and said:
- Well, father, the copper-headed wolf ate our mare.
- Oh, Ivan Sosnovich, how come he didn’t eat you?
- No, he didn’t eat me, but I killed him, he won’t eat any more mares.
- Well, let's go home then.
And let's go. The old man thinks: “No, this won’t be my breadwinner either, since he killed a wolf, he’s a decent hero.”
He comes to his old woman. The old woman asks:
- Well, so go away, old man, have you come with your son? The old man began to talk about his son and the wolf:
“My son brought me lunch, and I sat down to eat.” He sat down to eat, and he said: “Give it to me, I’ll plow.” And I couldn't refuse. He took the plow, harnessed the mare and launched her into the ground so that it was barely visible, and the mare could not walk. I said: “Let her go, let her nibble the grass.” And so we let her go, then I rested a little and said: “Well, Ivan Sosnovich, go and bring the mare.” And at this time he came for the mare, and the copper-brow wolf ate our mare. And so he grabbed this wolf by the legs, and as soon as he hit this wolf on the ground, the whole earth began to tremble. I killed this wolf, and that’s why we came home. And listen, grandma,” then he tells her, “again, he’s not our breadwinner, we thought he was our breadwinner, but no, he probably won’t live with us.”
Ivan Sosnovich hears everything they say, although he is not standing close.
And so they slept together for the night. The next day Ivan Sosnovich says:
“Father, go to the forge and forge me an axe, and I’ll go chop some wood for you, you don’t have enough wood.”
- What kind of ax do you need, Ivan Sosnovich?
- Yes, fifty pounds.
The old man, of course, went to the forge and ordered an ax worth fifty pounds to the blacksmiths. The blacksmiths said:
“We will, of course, but let him come for him, we can’t bring him for your son.”
And they began to forge.
He comes to his son.
“Here, son, go get the ax yourself, they are already forging it, but no one can bring it.”
Ivan Sosnovich himself went to the forge. Comes to the forge. The blacksmiths say:
- Well, take the axe, here it is, we can’t carry it.
Ivan Sosnovich takes the ax with one hand and goes home. He came home, to his mother, to his father, and said: “Well, now let’s have lunch, and then I’ll go chop wood.”
We had lunch. Ivan Sosnovich went to chop wood. He chopped all day.
He comes home in the evening and says:
“Well, father, I didn’t chop much today, only fifty fathoms, with a light ax.” Go tomorrow, order an ax worth a hundred pounds from the forge, and I’ll go and chop wood tomorrow.
And the old man went straight to the forge and ordered an ax worth a hundred pounds. And so the blacksmiths, of course, began to forge. Ivan Sosnovich comes the next day, takes an ax, has lunch and goes into the forest. He went into the forest, chopped until evening, came home and said: - Well, father, I chopped a little: only a hundred fathoms, with a light ax. Go and order an ax worth one and a half hundred pounds from the forge tomorrow.
The old man immediately went and ordered an ax worth one and a half hundred pounds, and so that it would be ready by morning. The blacksmiths did not dare refuse, and by morning they shackled him again. In the morning he got up from sleep, had lunch, went to the forge, and from the forge straight into the forest. He comes into the forest and chops all day long. In the evening he comes and says:
“Well, father, today I chopped quite a lot: one and a half hundred fathoms and a light ax, well, now it’s enough for you for a whole century.” I won’t bother you and the blacksmiths anymore. And he took these three axes and stole them to the forge.
- Well, now do what you want with the axes.
And he himself came back home again and said the next day to his father:
- Well, father, go to the forge again, let the blacksmiths forge me a club of three hundred pounds, such that this club does not bend or break on a stone and that it will be ready in a day.
And the old man went to order. He's afraid himself.
“If only you would leave, however, you are no longer my breadwinner.”
And so the blacksmiths forge this club. They forge and forge and forge; They cooked it for days, haphazardly, and they are also afraid of what will happen.
He comes to the forge on the second day. He comes to the forge, and the blacksmiths say:
- Well, Ivan Sosnovich, here’s a club for you, take it, but we can’t lift it.
So when he took this club in his hands, he just bent it, it was all bent into an arc, and said:
- If you don’t do good to me, then you will feel bad, I’ll come to you tomorrow.
He threatened them so much that the blacksmiths immediately got to work. So he lived through another day, came to the forge, took the club in his hands, did not bend, threw it against a stone - it broke.
- Well, guys, make sure it doesn’t break even on a stone, and then I’ll pay you.
So on the third day he comes, takes this club - it doesn’t bend. He lifted it up, threw it - it bent a little.
- Well, okay, guys, I won’t bother you anymore.
He paid the blacksmiths a payment they had never seen before and came home. And so when he came home, he said:
“Well, father, mother, bake me some plantains now, and I’ll go wherever my head takes me, so you won’t see me again.”
- Well, what should we do, son?
On the second day it was all ready. I said goodbye to my father and mother and gave them money.
“Here,” he says, “for your old age, and you have firewood, live well.”
And so on we go.
And he went. He goes and goes with his club. Suddenly he came to two oak trees, and an old man stood between the oak trees. He stands and takes both oak trees in his hands and beats oak on oak.
He saw and spoke:
- Hello, hero Dubinya.
- Hello, hello, good man. No, I am not the hero Dubinya. Here Ivan Sosnovich killed the wolf-copper forehead, the whole earth trembled, here is this hero!
- Well, here I am Ivan Sosnovich.
- Take me, brother, with you.
-Where to?
- Wherever your head takes you.
- Well, let's go.
And now there are two of them. And they went on their way, they came to two mountains. A man stands between the mountains and occasionally beats him, lifting mountains against mountains.
So he spoke:
- Hello, hero Gorynya.
- Hello, hello. I am not the hero Gorynya, here is the hero Ivan Sosnovich - I killed the wolf-copper forehead, so the whole earth trembled, what a hero!
- So I am Ivan Sosnovich.
-Where did you go? Take me with you.
- Let's go.
Let's move on.
Walking and walking, they come to the river. There is a hero standing, carrying people on his mustache.
Ivan Sosnovich spoke:
- Hello, hero Usynya.
- Hello. No, I am not the hero Usynya. Here is Ivan Sosnovich - he killed the copper-browed wolf, what a hero!
- Yes, I am Ivan Sosnovich.
- Take me with you.
- Well, let's go. And we need to get across the river.
- Well, stand up to one person at a time, I’ll transport you.
And so he dragged everyone across the river. And then he stretched his mustache.
- You drag me, and there will be no more transportation here.
And so they did. And the four of them went along the road. And they walked, they walked, they walked, of course, the place was not so close. Suddenly they saw a house, there was a fence all around, it was a big house. They entered this house.
We went into this house, there was no one in the house. They look at the dining room, the kitchen, where food is being prepared. Ivan Sosnovich says:
- That's it, guys. There are oxen in the yard; five oxen must be slaughtered and roasted. Well, who will be the cook? You stay, Dubinya, prepare lunch for us, and then we’ll come.
So Dubinya went to the yard, slaughtered the oxen and cooked them. I cooked it, ate a little, and everyone looked out the window to see how long they hadn’t seen their comrades. Everyone seems to be afraid of something.
One day he looked out the window and saw an old man running, with a beard the size of a fingernail, and he was dragging forty cartloads of hay behind him. Now he brought it in, opened the yard, began pumping water, letting out the oxen and counting. I counted and counted, five oxen were not enough.
“Eh,” he says, “who do I have here?” He doesn’t feed or water, but he takes advantage of my interest.
And he ran into the hut. He ran into the kitchen and looked - Dubinya was sitting.
He took him by the hair, beat him, beat him, drove him, drove him, drove him so much that Bludgeon couldn’t move. He ran out into the street and shoved it under a corner. “Well, don’t let this corner rot.” And he ran away.
This Dubinya lay there and lay there and came to his senses. He came to his senses and began to move at an angle. He turned and turned and came out. He went into the kitchen and looked - the fire had gone out under the boiler. He lit a fire and fell onto the bed. Here come the brothers:
- Well, Dubinya, is lunch ready?
- Ready.
- So get up and eat.
- I don’t want to, I’m crazy.
- Well, I don’t want to, it’s not necessary.
So they sat down to eat, drank the soup, ate the meat, it didn’t seem like enough to them.
Ivan Sosnovich says:
“Well, Gorynya, now you stay, and Dubinya will go with us.” Prepare dinner and slaughter seven oxen so that we have enough for lunch.
And they left. So, of course, Gorynya comes to the yard, takes seven oxen, slaughters them, washes them, puts the meat on, and cooks it too. Cooks; It had already been simmering for three or four hours, and the meat was beginning to ripen. He took out a piece, ate it in anticipation, and still looked out the window: “Will my comrades come soon, everything is already completely ready.”
One day he looked out the window and saw an old man running, with a beard the size of a fingernail, dragging forty cartloads of hay behind him. He ran into the yard and began pumping water again and counting bulls. I counted and counted, seven was missing. Seven is missing, so he ran. “Who is this guy who settled here, doesn’t give me water, doesn’t feed me, and takes advantage of other people’s interests.”
I ran into the hut and let’s take Gorynya. Beat, beat, crushed; ran out into the street and shoved it under a corner. “Well, let the other one not rot.”
But he doesn’t look at it from that angle. This Gorynya again spun there at an angle in the same way, spun around and came out. He ran, put the fire on the fire and fell on the bed. Here come the comrades:
- Get up, Gorynya, let's have lunch!
- I don’t want to, my head hurts, I’m crazy. And this Dubinya answers:
- There is a hell of a hut here.
Well, he himself doesn’t say that the same thing happened to him, he’s silent. Now they ate this meat, it seemed to them not enough. Ivan Sosnovich says:
- Well, that’s it, Sonnya, you stay here today, slaughter ten oxen so that we can eat honorably, and we’ll go.
And so all three gathered and left. The son-in-law is now going to the yard, slaughtered ten bulls, and set them to cook. I took out a piece, ate it - it was good.
“But the brothers have been gone for a long time,” everyone looks out the window.
And he looks out of the window - an old man is running, he is as big as a fingernail, with a beard as big as an elbow, dragging forty carts of hay behind him. "What's happened?" He ran into the yard, started counting the bulls, again there weren’t enough, now there were already ten. “What is going on with me; Every day it started to happen that the bulls were getting lost. He doesn’t give him water, he doesn’t feed him, but he takes advantage of other people’s interests.” He ran into the hut, grabbed Usynya by the mustache and started dragging him.
The adopted son cannot do anything with him. He beat, beat, dragged, dragged, ran out into the street, shoved it under a corner. “Well, let the third corner not rot.”
The son-in-law thought: “Well, probably the brothers had the same honor, that’s probably why they had a blast.”
And he also began to move at an angle. He went out, came to the hut, and saw that everything had gone out. He lit a fire, lit it and fell onto the bed: he couldn’t stand it anymore. Suddenly he hears that the brothers are coming.
Here Ivan Sosnovich asks again:
- Well, is the soup ready?
- Ready.
- So get up and eat.
- I can’t, I’m very angry, my head hurts.
Well, they sat down to eat. Let's eat. Ivan Sosnovich says:
- Well, then you all go away, and I’ll stay, what kind of frenzy are you in?
So they all got together, went and said:
- Well, oh well, you too, Ivan Sosnovich, will have the same honor that we had.
And Ivan Sosnovich went into the yard. He went to the yard and killed twelve oxen. He brought him in, washed him, made him walk around the rooms, singing songs. I looked and the meat was ready. He took out a piece, ate it and started singing again. “For some reason there are no brothers. What kind of fuss did they have? There is no fuss."
And he sees through the window an old man running, with a beard the size of his elbow, and forty carts of hay behind him, dragging him with him. He ran into the yard and started pumping water and feeding the bulls. And he comes out and sings a song. The old man counted and counted, twelve was missing. "What's happened? Who is staying with me? She doesn’t feed me or give her water, but she takes advantage of my interest.”
I ran into the hut and let’s mess with Ivan Sosnovich.
They fiddled and fiddled, but they couldn’t do anything with Ivan Sosnovich. Ivan Sosnovich tore off his entire beard, leaving only his head. He grabbed this head in both hands, took a hammer and nails and nailed it to the wall, only the head was spinning.
Suddenly he hears the brothers coming. And he dragged his head and nailed it into a friend’s hut, only the door was a little hollow. They are coming.
- Well, sit down, guys, lunch is ready.
They think, “What is it?” He sits down with him and eats, but the door is hollow. So they look through the crack and see - the head is spinning.
- Look, brothers, our frenzy! Ivan Sosnovich heard:
- Well, what, guys?
- Yes, we say - there’s an old man, our frenzy.
- Why didn’t you tell me before?
“And that’s why we didn’t say which of us would be stronger.” Now we see that you are stronger than everyone else.
And this old man spun and spun, and fell off the wall and rolled on the floor. They follow him. Ivan Sosnovich grabbed his club and followed him, and he rolled and rolled and into a hole. They didn’t find it; he rolled into the dungeon; they have nothing to do.
Now Ivan Sosnovich says:
“You know what, brothers, this old man, he will recover and go to war against us.” Now we need someone to go down and kill him there.
Well, the hole was of unreasonable depth. Ivan Sosnovich says:
“Well, now let’s go to the yard, put some belts on it, let’s kill him, otherwise he’ll go to war against us, then we won’t be able to do anything.”
They went into the yard and killed all the oxen that were left.
They cut the belts and came to the pit.
- Well, who will go?
Everyone refused. Ivan Sosnovich:
- Well, I'll go. Just wait for me when I come back.
- OK.
So they lowered him into the pit. When they lowered him, there were enough of these belts all the way to the ground. He went with his club.
Here he walked, walked, walked, there was a house. He enters this house. He enters this house and looks: a beautiful girl is sitting and sewing. As the whip strikes, so the soldier jumps out; as he strikes again, another one jumps out. He started asking her:
- What, girl, are you sewing and sprinkling, on whom are you driving the force?
“And I’m driving the force onto Ivan Sosnovich, so that Ivan Sosnovich pulled out all the beard from my father, he barely ran away from him.” So you need to drive the force, and then he will fight against him.
- Come on, girl, throw your seamstress into the oven, I’ll marry you as soon as I go back.
She quit: she’s glad he said it. He rested, ate with her and moved on. He walks and walks and walks, and also comes to the house.
He walks into the house and a girl sits in the same way, sewing—even more beautiful than that one. As soon as the lash is thrown, two soldiers will jump out, and another lash will be thrown - two will jump out.
- What, girl, are you sewing and sprinkling, on whom are you driving the force?
“And I’m turning the force on Ivan Sosnovich, so that he pulled out my father’s entire beard, and he barely ran home.” So you need to drive away the force, and then go to fight against him.
-Where is he now?
- And he’s still far away. There is a third girl there, she has him.
“Girl, throw your seamstress into the oven, I’ll marry you as soon as I go home.”
So she quit her seamstress job. He rested with her and moved on. So he went further, he came to the third girl. He also sits in the hut and sews. As the whip strikes, three soldiers jump out, as another strikes, so again three.
- What, girl, are you sewing and sprinkling, on whom are you driving the force?
– And I’m turning the force on Ivan Sosnovich. He says:
“Listen, girl, throw the seamstress in the stove, and I’ll marry you.”
She listened to him, set the table herself and began to feed him. Well, this one was the most beautiful of all. He began to say:
“After all, I’m going to kill him, this grandfather of yours.”
- Oh, Ivan Sosnovich, you can’t kill him, even though he’s lost in love; You tore out his entire beard. He is now lying wounded in the hospital, and at this time we are preparing force, he forced us. But now you can't kill him.
- How?
“Otherwise you won’t be able to kill him unless I teach you.”
- Well, speak up, beautiful maiden, teach me. If I don’t kill him, then I won’t be able to get out of here and bring you out.
“And this is how he now lies in the bain, here on the shore.” True, you don’t go to him now, but go straight to his garden. And in the garden there is a small room, and in this room there is a cupboard. Open the door, and there are two bottles on your right hand and two on your left. On the right hand there are two bottles with living water, and on the left hand there are two bottles with dead water. And now take the dead water, rearrange it where the living one stood, and the living one - where the dead one stood. And drink a little living water; Don't drink too much. When you have drunk, then go out to the baina, he is lying on the shelf, he is not the same now as you saw, he is such a big old man lying on the shelf that you will be afraid. And what are you going to hit him with? Do you have anything with you?
- I have a club worth three hundred pounds.
“Well, hit him, even though you won’t wake him up the first time.” And on the second and third time he will get up and say: “Ah, Ivan Sosnovich, you are here, you have come. I’ll deal with you here.” He will whistle a two-headed snake to help himself. And the snake will jump out and run towards this hut. He will need to drink living water to strengthen his strength, but if he drinks dead water, he will die. That's why I told you to change them. And then do with him what you want. He will whistle for an army, but we won’t have an army, and then you can easily kill him. Now you go.
So Ivan Sosnovich, of course, listened to all this and went. I went straight to the garden. And he went into the room. He sees the cupboard; He opens it and looks - there are two bottles on both sides. So he moved the living water where there was dead water, and he moved the dead water where there was living water. He drank from the living water and left. He went down to the baina, opened the door, looked - the old man was lying and so big that it was downright scary, and went up to him. He approached him and now hit him with a club. The old man turned sideways and didn’t say anything to him. He hit him a second time, even harder. The old man turned around and said nothing. He hit it the third time so hard that the ceiling popped out.
The old man jumped.
- Oh, Ivan Sosnovich, have you come to see me? Well, now you're mine. Let’s go free,” and began to whistle.
He whistled, the snake rose, rushed into this room, drank dead water instead of living water, and died. There is no one, no army, no snake.
The old man spoke:
- Well, the devils, they deceived me. Well, oh well, I won’t surrender into your hands alive, first I’ll fool around, and then you’ll kill me.
So, of course, the old man wanted to mess around, but Ivan Sosnovich hit him on the head with his club, the old man fell to the ground. He hit him a second time and smashed him all over, leaving him wet. Well, then he went to the girl.
“Well, girl, I’ve now killed this old man.”
“Well, I killed you, Ivan Sosnovich, now let’s go, I agree with you to go.”
And so they gathered, she gives him a ring and says:
- Well, Ivan Sosnovich, keep this ring until we come to the kingdom.
She was the king's daughter. And she says:
- Well, how about you take the others, or what?
- Well, we have to take it. There are three more brothers there, they are waiting for us.
So he comes to another and says:
- Well, beautiful princess, let's go.
She got dressed and went. And melting gives him nothing. And so we came to the third.
They come to the third, he also said:
- Well, get dressed, girl, I will bring you all out, if you have served me, I will introduce you all to Rus'. When they went, the girls said:
– I am the king’s daughter; I am royal; I am a prince.
He says:
- Well, I’m giving you away for my brothers, and I’ll take this one for myself, but one won’t get it.
And so they come to this hole where the belt was. So he starts shaking him and says:
- Well, let’s take turns standing, and I’ll be in the last one. They will kick you out.
And so they began to smoke. The first princess's daughter.
They say:
- Oh, what a good girl. The second one came out:
- Okay, if only I could get a third one. He says:
- Well, princess, come on, now get up. She says:
- Listen, Ivan Sosnovich, first stand up yourself, and then lift me up, otherwise they will leave you in the hole.
- Well, what are you talking about, will they leave me?
- Well, look, you will remember me. There are three of them and three of us, and look, you yourself will stay. Listen to me, stand up, otherwise all your work will be lost: you killed the snake, you won’t get me, you will remain in the hole forever.
- No, they will kick me out.
- Well, look.
And so he put it down anyway.
- Well, get up, beautiful princess, get up. And when they pulled out the third, and said:
- Well, now we all have one, does he have another one? “If not, then we probably won’t pull him,” they ask the girls. They say:
– We don’t know.
And Usynya says:
- No, you still need to pull it.
They lowered the belt and began to pull. And Dubinya says:
- No, I will be unmarried.
I took the belt, cut it off, and it flew back there. When he flew into the pit, the princess, of course, did not tell them anything, but she herself thought: “I told him, but now all his work is gone.”
And so they took these three beauties and went to the city. And Koschey the Immortal knew about these beauties. And when he found out that they had arrived before the kingdom, he flew into the kingdom, took away these beauties, killed two of the young men, and wounded the third. And he flew away with the beauties. And this kingdom has all turned to stone.
Let's leave these for now, now let's take on Ivan Sosnovich.
Well, when this Ivan Sosnovich fell to the ground, he lay there for half a day without memory, then he woke up. “Well, where the hell am I? I didn’t listen to the beautiful princess, and here I am again in the pit. This is what they did to me, brothers. OK".
And he went back to the dungeon. Then he comes to this hut. Well, there’s no one, he sat, ate and moved on.
When he arrived at the third time, he felt sleepy. I slept, ate, went to this square, where I killed the old man. Then he went into the garden. He looks like a snake has fallen near this house and is lying there. Well, there's no one. Then I went into an open field.
He comes to the field, looks - there is a large pine tree, and sees - a herd of oxen walking by itself, without a shepherd. Large herd.
So he came to this big pine tree and sat down, and heard eagle children screaming at the pine trees:
- Oh, save us, well done!
- How can I save you, what do you want?
- Yes, we are hungry, my mother flew to Rus', she’s been away for a long time, but we are hungry and can’t get up.
- So, are you hungry?
- Yes, I have.
He grabbed the ox, dragged it, tore it into small pieces and gave it to them.
- Well, thank you, Ivan Sosnovich, and Mother will fly in, she will take revenge on you, she will do what you need. Just take cover when it arrives so that it doesn’t eat you, it’s big.
Here he stands. He stood, stood, stood, and saw some strong mountain flying. This is a bird.
The children shouted:
- Look, Ivan Sosnovich, it’s his mother flying. Hide behind a tree so she can't see you.
And so he snatches the oak tree, and she flies in. So they started crying and saying:
“You abandoned us, we almost died.” If it weren’t for a kind person, we would have died. Yes, how he saved us, fed us, and we are alive.
- Well, where is this man, who is he?
– And this man, Ivan Sosnovich, stayed here in the dungeon.
So she begins to tell him:
- Great, Ivan Sosnovich. Well, what do you get for feeding my children?
- Don’t put anything like that on me, do me a favor if you can.
- Well, what kind of service do you need, Ivan Sosnovich?
- Just take me to Rus' from here, I don’t need anything else.
- Yes, to Rus', Ivan Sosnovich, it’s a long flight, you need to have large reserves. But you, Ivan Sosnovich, are not easy to drag, so you need to have a large reserve.
- Well, I don’t know what kind of reserve I need, tell me.
“First of all, I need to kill forty oxen for the road.” And when we fly, you throw half an ox into my mouth. And then you need forty buckets of water. As soon as you throw half an ox, I’ll eat it, and so a bucket of water. Now, have you killed our old man here?
- Killed.
“Here, go to the shelter and bring living water, give me a little and take it with you.” Collect all this, bring it, and I will be ready, I will serve you, just as you saved my children.
He went into this herd, slaughtered forty heads, brought the meat and went into the garden. Take a bottle of living water with you and come back to it. She came down from this large forest, and he tied everything to her wings.
He sat down and they flew off. They fly and fly, she looks back - he gives her half an ox and a bucket of water. They fly and fly, but they had to fly across three seas. And so he flew, throwing everything. They flew over the second sea, now they flew out to the third, he already had few oxen, only a dozen, but he had to fly a whole sea. He started throwing smaller pieces at her. When he began throwing pieces less often, she began to turn around more often and began to sit down. When the shore began to be visible, and he only had half an ox left, she said:
- Well, I’m hungry, otherwise I’ll leave you.
He gave her the last half-ox and some living water. She perked up. Well, he flew up a little, and the eagle said:
- I want to eat.
And he has nothing left to give up. She says:
- Well, Ivan Sosnovich, at least cut the calves out of your legs and throw them to me, otherwise we won’t make it.
Without saying anything, he cut out the caviar, and then threw another one to her.
So they reached the shore. When they got over, she stood on the ground, but he couldn’t stand on his feet and said:
- Well, where will I go now, how can I stand on my feet, listen, eagle.
Then she says:
- Well, okay, Ivan Sosnovich, if you haven’t spared your calves, I’ll throw them back up for you.
So she cleared her throat.
- Well, now you put them back, and lubricate them with living water, you will be healthy.
He inserted, lubricated and stood up.
“Well, now give me the rest of the water to drink, otherwise I won’t make it.” After all, I had to drag you and your club three hundred pounds. You will no longer need water, although you will still endure a lot of grief on the way.
And so Ivan Sosnovich said goodbye to the bird, it drank the water and flew forward.
And so he walks, walks and walks, looking - the army lies dead.
He walked through this army and saw Gorynya, who had been killed. He looked at him and moved on. He went further, walked, looked - the second army lay dead. And then he came up and saw: Dubinya was lying there, also killed.
And he moves on. And he sees: not far away you can see some kind of palace, and the army also lies dead. Well, it was all burned down. He came to the third army and saw that Usynya was sitting on a bush, her legs and arms had been cut off and she was all wounded, but only alive.
So he approached him. I saw him and began to ask:
- Well, hello, hero Usynya.
- Hello, hello, Ivan Sosnovich, how did you get here?
- Yes, how did you get there! Where are your brothers?
“My brothers were all killed, and I’m in the same situation.”
- Well, where are these red girls that I got out of the dungeon? Tell me why you left me in the dungeon, abandoned me, and didn’t pull me back?
- Yes, listen, Ivan Sosnovich, it’s not my fault, I asked the brothers, let’s pull it out, and Dubinya was just cutting the belts, I was afraid that he wouldn’t get the bride. And, of course, no one got it from us.
-Where are they now?
- And they were carried away by Koschey the Immortal, and the kingdom was all petrified. He killed all three of our troops, burned them, took these girls and flew away, and I don’t know where he is.
“Well, Sonnya, I wouldn’t remember any harm to you, but since I don’t have the means to correct you, I’m sorry, I’ll kill you so that you don’t have to suffer.”
Now Ivan Sosnovich went forward again. Suddenly he sees two people walking with coporuls. He approached them and asked:
-Where are you going, guys?
- We went to find out to the high mountains where Koshchei the Immortal died, otherwise we would not be able to kill him, we went to look for him, so that he destroyed our entire kingdom.
- Well, then take me as your comrade. I'll help you, I need him.
Well, they moved on. Here they meet - two people with shovels are walking, also on this matter. The company is gathering intact.
-Where are you going? - he asks.
“We are going to the high mountains to find out where Koshchei the Immortal’s death is.” You have to get there.
- Take us.
- Let's go.
They move on. Now they are walking, looking, two drillers are walking, and the third person is carrying a handbag - an explosive. And he asks them:
-Where are you going, guys?
- To such and such mountains, we must kill Koshchei the Immortal at all costs.
- Well, let's go together.
And let's go. Here they come to such a high mountain that it’s hard to break your head. This last one, who was with a handbag, says:
“Here, guys, this whole mountain needs to be dismantled, and there is a box with the death of Koshchei the Immortal in it.” And this box still needs to be broken, and there is an egg there, it needs to be crushed. Well, we probably don’t have enough strength for anyone.
- So, you guys are great, tear up, tear up the mountain, and I’ll break this box, and I’ll help you now too.
Everyone got to work together. These drillers set about their work: drilling; tearer - tore off; The copulders worked with their coporulas; The shovelers raked with shovels, and Ivan Sosnovich tore off large stones with his hands. And in three days they dismantled this entire mountain. And then we got to the bottom where this box lay. Well, the box couldn’t stand in one place: it kept turning from side to side when it was freed from under the mountain. Then the driller says:
- Well, guys, which of us can crush this box now, don’t waste time. If Koschey the Immortal swoops in, I found out, then as soon as he grabs this box, we won’t be able to kill him, he’s strong.
Ivan Sosnovich pulled out his club and swung it so much that the box burst, and thunder went through all the forests. And there was only one wet thing left in this place. Now the bomber speaks:
- Well, now let's go to Koshchei the Immortal, although he is not there, he is flying somewhere. And we will go to him and take these girls that he took. Although this is your business, Ivan Sosnovich, you did all this, you will be our elder, although we helped in part.
So they went. He walked forward. So they come to Koshchei the Immortal’s home. Ivan Sosnovich went to look for these girls, and they stayed to look at the premises. And what did they not see there! For a long time Ivan Sosnovich walked around the dark castle, he saw nothing. Finally, he sees the door, went in there, and there is another crystal door, and these three girls are sitting there. And they play harp-horns. When he first arrived, they immediately recognized him:
- Oh, Ivan Sosnovich, how you came, because Koschey the Immortal will kill you.
- No, don’t be sad, red maidens. He is gone, and I came to save you one last time. And I came from where my brothers left me, and I saw them all killed.
- Well, now, Ivan Sosnovich, take the harp, because our whole city is petrified. And when we get there, play the harp, and all the people will come to life. We will have a life, and I will marry you. And with the rest of the beauties, it’s your choice, give it up for whomever you want, let it go.
And so he took the harp and went from there. And he sees the brothers rummaging through gold and raking in money for themselves. He says:
- Well, take it for yourself, just as much as you need, but I don’t need it, I won’t be poor anyway.
They all left together from there, from Koshcheev’s dwelling, and approached the city, which was petrified. Ivan Sosnovich played the gusli, and all the people woke up; everything was as before, and they immediately went into the royal palace with these girls, where the king sat on his throne.
When she came to her kingdom, she approached her father and said:
- Well, father, look at my savior, he got me out of the dungeon the first time, well, his brothers left him there, and now he got me from Koshchei the Immortal. Then this king said:
- Well, okay, daughter, if he got you a second time, then he suffered a lot.
Now they have a feast and a wedding. Then Ivan Sosnovich explained all this, what happened to him, how he was born, from end to end. After this, the king made him heir, and after his death left him the throne.
And they began to live and be with their princess until a ripe old age.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru