There lived a husband and wife. They had no children for a long time, and then, in their old age, three sons were born at once: one was born in the evening, the other at midnight, and the third in the early morning. And they called them all Ivans: the eldest - Ivan Vechernik, the middle - Ivan Polunochnik, and the youngest - Ivan Utrenik.
The brothers grew up looking at the forest. And they grew up tall and slender. Only of different dispositions: the Vechernik was envious, the Midnighter was evil, and the Matinee was not evil, not envious, but the bravest and kindest.
At that time, a misfortune happened to the king in that kingdom: his three daughters disappeared. They looked for them everywhere, but no one could find them.
And the king announced everywhere: whoever finds his daughters, he will give half the kingdom, and the daughter he likes.
The brothers found out about this and began to ask their father to let them go look for the king’s daughters.
“Go,” says the father, “search if you want.”
The brothers went to the blacksmith and ordered themselves a mace: Vechernik ordered a mace worth six pounds. Midnighter is at nine, and Matinee is at twelve. His brothers laugh at him:
- Why do you need to carry extra weight?
“Nothing,” says the younger brother, “the supply of trouble does not fix.”
They got ready and went. If we keep going, we’ll go on and on – we’ve entered such a jungle that we can’t get out. The brothers began to pave the way for themselves: Vechernik would wave his mace - the aspen trees would fall; If Midnighter waves, the spruce trees will fall, and Utrenik will wave, and oak trees will be uprooted.
They paved the road and came out into the clearing. They see a large house standing in a clearing, surrounded by a stone wall. We approached the wall, and in it there was an iron gate with a lock.
The brothers knocked on the gate, but no one opened it.
“Apparently we’ll have to take them out with a mace,” says the older brother.
He swung and slammed his mace - only the mace bent, but the gate did not move.
“Let me hit you,” says the middle brother. He hit with his mace - the gate only bent.
“Well, now I’ll try,” says the younger brother.
He swung and hit it so hard that the gate split into two pieces and flew apart.
The older brothers just bit their lips, and the younger one laughs:
“Didn’t I say that a supply of supplies doesn’t fix troubles!” They entered the courtyard - there was no one to be seen, but wealth was all around, like a master's: the barns were full of grain, and the barns were full of cows and oxen. Vechernik’s eyes lit up.
“If that’s the case,” he says, “then we’ll be the masters here.” What do we need these princesses for now?
We went into the house and spent the night. The next morning we agreed that one would stay to cook dinner, and two would go hunting.
The elder brother stayed behind on the first day. He killed an ox, took the meat into pieces, put it in a cauldron and began to cook. He cooked it and lay down to rest, waiting for his brothers.
Suddenly someone is at the door - knock, knock!
- Open it! - shouts.
Vechernik looked out the window and saw a gray-haired old man standing at the door: he was as tall as a fingernail, with a beard as long as his elbow, eyes like apples. He taps with iron pushers, cracks with a wire whip.
-Who are you? - asks Vechernik.
- The owner of this house. If you don’t open it, I’ll push the door out!
Vechernik got scared and opened it.
- Now take me over the threshold! - Grandfather orders.
Vechernik was transferred by the grandfather across the threshold.
- Put me on the bench!
The evening party sat him down on a bench.
- Give me a cauldron of oxen! The evening party refuses.
“I can’t,” he says, “I’m waiting for my brothers for dinner.”
Grandfather angrily snapped his wire whip:
- How is this possible - I can’t! You live in my house, you use my goods, but you regret feeding me!
“Well,” thinks Vechernik, “let him sip some yushki, how much does he need?”
He put a cauldron in front of the grandfather, and he pounced on the ox - he ate everything and slurped all the fish. You've eaten enough and let's pound Vechernik with pushers and whip him with a wire whip! He beat me half to death and disappeared.
Vechernik came to his senses, somehow dragged himself to bed and lay there, barely breathing.
The brothers returned from hunting.
“Let’s have lunch,” they say.
“There’s nothing...” groans Vechernik.
- Why didn’t you make it? Vechernik is ashamed to admit that some old man beat him up, so he says:
- Yes, I can’t feel something...
Nothing can be done - the younger brothers had to cook dinner: they slaughtered an ox, took the meat into pieces and cooked it. We ate ourselves and fed our brother.
The next day Midnighter stayed at home. He did everything he needed to do and went to rest. Suddenly someone knocks on the door.
-Who's there? - asks Midnighter.
- Master.
He opened it, and lo and behold, a gray-haired old man was dragging along: he was as tall as a fingernail, with a beard as long as his elbow, eyes like apples; taps with iron pushers, cracks with a wire whip.
- Take me over the threshold! - the grandfather shouts.
Midnighter got scared of the big-eyed old man and carried him over the threshold.
- Now put me on the bench! I sat him down on the bench.
- Give me something to drink and eat!
“Well,” Midnighter thinks, “let him sip a little yushka, as much as he needs.”
He placed the cauldron in front of the grandfather. And the grandfather ate everything, beat Midnighter half to death and threw him under the bench.
The brothers returned from hunting, again there was nothing to eat. And Midnighter moans:
- I’m sick, brothers...
The Vechernik is silent, but the Matinee speaks?!
- What kind of disease has attacked you? If you get so sick, we'll starve here.
On the third day, my younger brother, Ivan Utrenik, remained at home. He did everything he needed to do and lay down to rest until his brothers returned from the hunt.
Suddenly someone knocks on the door:
- Open it!
Utrenik did not want to get up.
“The door is not locked,” he replies, “open it yourself!”
I had to open the old one myself. When Utrenik saw him, he burst out laughing;
“I’ve been alive for so long,” he says, “but I’ve never seen such a funny grandfather!”
The grandfather got angry and how he rushed at the Matinee with the pushers!
- Oh, you are! - says Utrenik. - I bumped into the wrong one!
He grabbed the mace and started bludgeoning the old man. He beat him, took the pushers and the whip, and dragged him into the forest, split a stump there, stuck his beard into the split, jammed it with a wedge and went back. The brothers returned from hunting.
- Well, did you cook dinner?
“I cooked it,” answers Utrenik.
He put the cauldron on the table. The brothers have eaten and ask:
- Didn’t he come to you, what’s wrong, you pop-eyed old man?
- I came.
- So what?
- Nothing. I wedged his beard into his stump so that he wouldn’t come here again.
- This can’t be! - the brothers are surprised.
- Come on, I’ll show you.
They went to the stump, and there was only a beard sticking out...
- The big-eyed devil bot has escaped! - says Utrenik. “We need to find him, otherwise he’ll come back to us again.”
Let's go look for him. They walked and followed the trail and came to a large stone. They moved a stone, and underneath it was a hole, so deep that you couldn’t even see the bottom.
“We need to lure him out of there and finish him off,” says the elder brother, “Otherwise we won’t be able to live in this house.”
“And that’s true,” agreed the middle brother, remembering how his grandfather beat him with his pushers.
The brothers made a long belt from ox skins, tied a basket to it and began to consult about which of them should go down into the hole.
Senior says:
- I’m not feeling well, I won’t climb. The middle one also refuses.
“Well, if you’re so sick, then I’ll climb in,” says the younger brother. - Let me down and watch: when I pull the belt, drag me back.
His brothers took him down, and Ivan Utrenik found himself underground.
“Where the hell do we look for this?” - he thinks. He looked around and saw a copper palace standing nearby. Ivan entered the palace, and there was a girl sitting there, exhausted and sad, bursting into tears. Ivan felt sorry for the girl.
- Why are you crying, sister? - asks.
“How can I not cry: I was the Tsar’s daughter, and now I have become the slave of the evil Kashchei...
Ivan Utrenik began to console the princess:
- Be patient a little, I will free you!
“Oh,” sighs the princess, “no one will rescue me - the evil Kasha can cope with any hero.” Run, lad, otherwise he will return home soon.
“I won’t go anywhere until I kill the evil Kashchei from the world!” Where is he?
- Who knows: maybe in a silver palace, maybe in a golden one, or maybe somewhere he flies around the world.
-Where are your sisters?
“The middle one lives not far away, in a silver palace, and the youngest lives a little further away, in a gold one.”
Ivan went to his middle sister, to the silver palace, and Kashchei was not there: only the princess was sitting, bursting into tears. He talked with the princess, consoled her as best he could, and went to his younger sister - to the golden palace. I looked around the palace - no one was there. Suddenly he sees a girl with light brown braids sitting in a small room. Ivan looked at her. -Who will you be, beauty? - asks.
“I was the tsar’s daughter, and now I’m the slave of the filthy Kashchei.” Who are you?
- Peasant son Ivan Utrenik.
- Why did you come here, peasant son Ivan Utrenik?
“I came to kill Kashchei and rescue you from captivity.”
The princess sighed heavily:
- Oh, good fellow, no one. can kill Kashchei, because he is immortal. Now, if his death had been found, then he himself would have died.
- Where is his death?
“I heard,” says the princess, “that there is a chest at the bottom of the sea, in the chest there is a hare, in the hare there is a duck, and in the duck there is an egg.” This is his death.
- Thank you, dear! - says Ivan. - Wait for me here - I’ll go look for Kashcheev’s death.
He chose the best Kashcheev bow for himself in the palace and went. He walked and walked, and he became hungry. Lo and behold, the kite is flying. “I’ll kill,” he thinks, “this kite, since nothing better has been found.” He aimed at the kite, and it said to him in a human voice:
“Don’t hit me, Ivan Utrenik, I’ll still be useful to you in trouble.”
Ivan lowered his bow and moved on. And he’s so hungry, he’s literally dizzy. “Well,” he thinks, “now whoever I meet, I’ll kill.”
Just when he thought so, he saw a wolf running. Ivan raised his bow, and the wolf said:
“Don’t hit me, Ivan Utrenik, I’ll still be useful to you in trouble.”
Ivan went further. He comes to the sea. He looked and saw a huge crayfish lying: one half on the shore, the other in the sea. Ivan thought: “That’s where good food is lying around.” And as soon as he bent down to the crayfish to tear off its claw, it began to ask:
- Don't touch me, Ivan Utrenik. You see, I’m suffering: one half is lying on the shore, and the other is swimming in the sea. Better take a stake and push me into the sea. I'll do whatever you want for this.
Ivan listened to him, found a stake and pushed the crayfish into the sea.
The crayfish took a sip of water, was delighted and said to Ivan:
“And now, good lad, tell me what you would like: I will do everything for you.” Ivan says:
“There is a chest in the sea, in the chest there is a hare, in the hare there is a duck, and in the duck there is an egg: this is the death of the evil Kashchei.” That's what I need.
“Wait here, I’ll get you this chest,” said the crayfish and dived to the bottom of the sea.
I found a chest there and threw it ashore.
Ivan took the chest and broke the locks. And as soon as he opened the lid, a hare jumped out and ran along the seashore.
Ivan grabbed his head like that:
- What have I done? If only that wolf could come here now!
And as soon as he said this, lo and behold, a wolf was running. The wolf caught the hare and tore it into pieces. The duck jumped out of the hare and flew to the sea.
Again Ivan became sad:
“If only that kite were here now, he would catch that duck!”
Before he had time to say it, out of nowhere a kite appeared over the sea. He grabbed the duck, brought it to the shore and tore it into pieces. An egg fell out of the duck.
Ivan took that egg, put it in his pocket and went back.
He comes to the golden palace. He looks: a gray-haired old man he knows is sitting there - just as big as a fingernail, eyes like apples, but without a beard. When he saw Ivan, he began to shake with anger:
- This is who I've been waiting for a long time! Because of you, I was left without a beard! Well, now you won't leave me! Although you are strong, there is no one in this world stronger than me.
The big-eyed Kashchei grabbed his iron pushers and rushed at Ivan. And that one - bam with an egg on his forehead! Kashchei’s pushers fell out of his hands. He fell - and the filthy spirit left him...
Ivan burned the evil Kashchei and scattered the ashes to the wind. And he went to the princess.
“Thank you,” he says to her, “for helping me drive this evil spirit out of the world.” For this I will take you to your father and mother.
Princess Ivan hugged and kissed:
- And for this I will marry you. I won't marry anyone, only you.
- Well, make sure you keep your word! They got ready and left. They walked away a little, Ivan looked back and looked at the palace:
- Eh, it’s a pity to throw away so much gold: it would be useful to us at home.
Then the princess took out a handkerchief and gave it to him.
“Wave,” he says, “this handkerchief three times from left to right.”
Ivan waved his handkerchief, and instantly the whole palace curled up into a golden egg. Ivan is surprised, and the princess says:
- If you want to have such a palace again, then wave this handkerchief three times from right to left...
Ivan put the handkerchief and the egg in his pocket, and they went further, to the silver palace. They took the king's middle daughter with them. Ivan put her palace in his pocket. They reached the copper palace - they took the eldest daughter, and Ivan put the copper palace in his pocket. “A stock of troubles doesn’t fix problems,” he thinks.
They approached the hole through which Ivan descended into the Kashcheevo kingdom. He put the eldest princess in the basket and pulled the belt - the basket went up and rose.
“Well done, my brothers,” Ivan rejoices, “they are waiting for me there!”
So they raised two more sisters. It was Ivan Utrenik’s turn. And the envious Vechernik says to his brother:
- Why do we need Matinee? When the king finds out that he rescued his daughters, he will give him half his kingdom and his most beautiful daughter as a wife. What will we get? It’s better to say that it was I who rescued his daughters, and you helped. Well, I’ll share it with you like a brother.
They agreed and left their younger brother underground.
Ivan Utrenik waited and waited for the basket, but it never came. “Here are your brothers!” thinks Ivan. “Traitors, not brothers!”
He grieved and went to wander through the underworld. It goes on and on, and then suddenly such a storm arises that you might as well get lost. He hid under a thick oak tree. He stands there and suddenly hears chicks squeaking in an oak tree in a nest: rain and hail are hitting them!
Ivan felt sorry for the chicks. He climbed the oak tree and covered them with his scroll. And just as he was about to climb back down, he suddenly heard something making noise above, and the wind was already whistling seven miles away.
The blue bird Nagai flies to the nest, notices that Ivan has covered its nest from the hail, and says to him:
“I don’t know, good man, how I can thank you for saving my children from death.”
“Carry me,” says Ivan, “to our land.”
- I’ll gladly take it out. Just get me a barrel of ox meat and a barrel of spring water. You know, I’ll often have to refresh myself along the way, you’re not easy!..
- Where can I get all this?
- Go beyond the fiery river. A blind grandfather lives there. He has many oxen.
Ivan went to his blind grandfather. Grandfather says:
“I’ll give you, lad, a barrel of meat and a barrel of spring water, just feed my oxen for one summer.” Because I’m blind, it’s hard for me to run after them.
Ivan agreed and remained with his blind grandfather as a shepherd.
“Graze them everywhere,” says the grandfather, “just don’t drive the old witch Baba Yaga into the meadow, otherwise she will destroy you... I once drove the oxen to her meadow, and she gouged out my eyes for it.” I haven’t seen white light for thirty years.
“It’s okay,” says Ivan, “we’ll deal with the witch somehow.”
He twisted himself a wire whip, took a mace and drove his grandfather’s oxen to the witch’s meadow.
As soon as he has driven them, he suddenly sees Baba Yaga rushing in a mortar, pushing them along with a pusher, covering the trail with a broom.
“Who gave you permission,” Baba Yaga shouts, “to graze oxen in my meadow?” Now I’ll gouge out your eyes, you’ll never see my meadow or the white light again!
The witch swung her iron pusher and rushed at Ivan. And Ivan would whip her with a wire whip, or hit her with a mace - and the witch’s eyes would pop out of her head. Ivan beat and beat the witch until she asked for mercy.
“Give back,” Ivan tells her, “grandfather’s eyes, then I’ll let you go.”
“I’ll return it, just let me go.” In my hut there are two bottles: with healing and living water. Take them, anoint your grandfather’s eyes, and he will see clearly.
“No,” says Ivan, “I don’t believe you - you’ll deceive.” Let's go together.
They took those bottles and went to their grandfather. Ivan anointed his grandfather’s eyes with healing water - his grandfather grew new eyes; anointed with the living - they began to see.
Grandfather was so happy that he didn’t know how to thank Ivan.
“Take,” he says, “at least half of my oxen and go wherever you want.” I'll be the one to graze now.
- What if the witch gouges out your eyes again? Grandfather got scared:
“She might even stab her: she’s a nasty woman!” After all, this is the wife of Kashchei himself!
- Oh so! - says Ivan. “Then I’ll do the same to her as I did to Kashchei.”
He finished off Baba Yaga, burned her, and scattered the ashes to the wind. Then he killed two oxen, put meat in a barrel, poured spring water into another and went to the Nagai bird.
“Tie,” says the bird, “a barrel of meat under my right wing, and a barrel of water under my left.” And sit on my back. Look: as soon as I turn my head to the right, throw me a piece of meat, and as soon as I turn to the left, give me a ladle of water.
Ivan did everything as the bird said, sat down and flew away.
The Nagai bird rushes Ivan up a dark hole, and he only manages to feed it fresh beef and give it spring water to drink.
He threw meat at her, threw it, and finally threw it all over. The bird turns its head to the right, and Ivan gives it a ladle of water instead of meat. “No,” she turns her head, “I don’t want water, give me meat!”
Ivan sees the Nagai bird suffocating, and it’s not far to the top, even the sky is glowing.
"What to do?" - thinks Ivan. He took a knife, cut off a piece of flesh from his right leg and threw it to the bird. The bird swallowed it and just looked at Ivan in surprise. Then she turned her head to the left and washed it down with spring water.
She flew a little and began to choke again. Here Ivan, without hesitation, cut off a piece of flesh from his left leg. The bird drank some water and flew out into the world.
“Well, we somehow got out,” says the Nagai bird. - Now get down to the ground.
“I can’t,” says Ivan.
- Why?
- Yes, you see, what kind of legs I have... The naked bird looked - and it’s true: Ivan’s legs are wounded...
“I see,” she says, “the last pieces weren’t like that.” Well, okay, now I don't need them.
The bird coughed once and spat out one piece, coughed again and spat out the second. Ivan took them, put them in place, sprinkled them with healing water - they grew; sprinkled them with living things - they became again the way they were.
He thanked the kind bird and set off on his way. He reached the city where the king lived and asked to spend the night with an old woman.
The next morning Ivan sends the old woman to the city to find out if there is any news there. The old woman went to the royal capital, found out everything there, returned and said:
— Good news in the city: they say the king’s daughters have been found. There are now musicians playing all over the streets, buffoons singing songs.
- Who found the king’s daughters? - asks Ivan.
— Bogatyr Ivan Vechernik. For this, the king gives him half his kingdom and his youngest daughter as a wife. There will be a wedding in three days.
Ivan Utrenik became sad: does he really think the princess has forgotten about him?
The next day he again sends the old woman to the city to listen to the news. She came back and said:
“I heard, lad, new news: the wedding will take place when there is a person who can sew the kind of slippers that the princess wore in the Kashcheev kingdom.” This is the will of the princess herself.
Ivan heard about this and began to ask the old woman:
- Go, grandma, to the king and tell him that you can sew such slippers.
- What did you come up with, lad? Where can I sew such slippers!
- And you, grandma, just take the order, and I’ll sew them myself.
The old woman went to the king:
“I,” he says, “undertake to sew slippers for the princess.”
“Okay,” the king agreed. “If you sew them and your daughter likes them, I’ll make you rich.”
The king gave her a hundred rubles as a deposit and told her that the work would be done in three days. The old woman brings Ivan an order for the slippers and a deposit.
- Just make sure you don’t let me down!
“I won’t let you down, grandma, don’t be afraid.”
The first day has passed, and the shoemaker does not even think about getting to work. The second day does nothing either. The old lady is almost crying:
- What do you think, boy? Why don't you sew slippers? What will I tell the king?
- Don't worry, grandma. Tomorrow, before the sun has time to rise, the slippers will be ready - get up and carry them!
In the evening, Ivan went out into the field, laid a golden egg on the ground, waved his handkerchief three times from right to left, and a golden palace stood in front of him. He found the princess’s slippers there, then waved his handkerchief three times from left to right: the palace curled up into an egg again.
Ivan brought the little slippers and put them on the table. An old woman wakes up in the morning, and lo and behold, there are golden slippers on the table. She took them and went to the king. The princess recognized her shoes and was delighted. -Who sewed them? - she asks the old woman. - It wasn’t you who sewed!
The old woman got scared and said:
“And they were sewn by a young shoemaker.”
- I want to see this shoemaker! - the princess wished.
The king, of course, didn’t have long: he sent a carriage and brought the shoemaker to the palace.
As soon as the princess saw Ivan Utrenik, she rushed to him.
“That’s who,” he says, “rescued me and my sisters!” I will marry him.
Then the Tsar gave away half the kingdom to Ivan and ordered the wedding to be celebrated.
Ivan called everyone to his wedding - his father and mother, his brothers-in-law, the old woman, but he didn’t invite his older brothers...
And I was there, I drank honey and wine, it flowed down my mustache, but it didn’t get into my mouth. They gave me a blue caftan there. I’m running home in joy, and some fool shouts: “Blue caftan! Blue caftan!” It seemed to me; "Take off your caftan! Take off your caftan!" I took it and threw it away. He ran home and put on his white allotment. Now I wear it.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru