Where it was, there it was: beyond the red sea, behind a wooden rock, near a glass mountain, in the kingdom of Compita the King there was a small village. And in that village there lived and lived a poor man, and he could not boast of anything, except perhaps poverty, illness and a bunch of smaller children.
He and his children went into the forest for brushwood, and whatever brushwood people gave them for that brushwood, they lived from that. . . The income is small if there are so many small fry in the shops. Poor children often washed themselves with tears and went to bed hungry. Father would be glad to feed them to their fill, but where will you get it if you don’t have it? So they subsisted from bread to water.
But then they went into the forest one day and saw a nest on a tall oak tree. The eldest climbed a tree, and in the nest were seven beautiful eggs. He took them out of the nest and went downstairs. The kids rejoice, and the father says:
- Thank you, at least this! Just don't split it. In the city they will give us something for these testicles.
The next day the poor man went to the city and offered the testicles to a merchant.
- How much are you asking for them? - asks the merchant.
“Oh, nominate it yourself,” the poor man replies, “whatever you give, that’s fine.”
The merchant gave me money for the egg. The poor man was happy. The poor man left, and the merchant’s sons Yanko and Matsko ran into the shop, saw the testicles, and let’s hang around them. Boys, after all, are boys - they dropped one egg on the floor, it broke, and a golden ball rolled out of it, which was in it instead of a yolk.
The merchant saw the gold, quickly broke the second, then the third, and so on until the very last - the seventh. And in each one, instead of a yolk, there is a golden ball. The merchant jumped out of his shop, looking for that poor man, and the poor man, fortunately, was not far away, heard his name being called back, and returned to the shop.
“He’s a good man,” the merchant tells him. “I really liked the testicles, bring me more of these, more of them, I’ll pay you well.”
He took out several gold pieces and put them in the poor man’s hand:
“Here,” he says, “is a deposit.”
The poor man did not expect such happiness, he promises to bring more. I went and bought some food and brought it home. The kids dance for joy, at least once they eat their fill.
From then on, the poor man began to go into the forest every day with his boys, collect brushwood, and take out testicles from the nest. One day they went into the forest, as usual, and suddenly they saw a snake crawling into that very nest, carrying an egg in its mouth. The snake came down from the tree and crawled into the forest. They follow the snake, look, and the snake under the hollow tree has disappeared. And then he stuck his head out and began to bask in the sun. A poor man jumped up to the snake, cut off its head and pulled it out of the hollow. There is a whole bunch of testicles in the hollow. The poor man collected them and took them to the merchant. The merchant gives money, but he still won’t calm down:
- Catch the bird that is laying eggs and bring it to me along with the nest! I will give you two carts of grain for it - one harnessed by four oxen, the other by four horses! And I’ll give you as much money as you want!
The poor man, having filled his pockets with money, returned home cheerfully.
The next day, as soon as it was dawn, he sent his eldest son to catch that bird. The boy went into the forest, began to approach the tree, and saw that a bird had flown into the nest. He was delighted, climbed the tree, climbed higher and higher, and finally reached the nest itself. I just reached out my hand to grab the bird, and the bird f-r-r-r! She got up and flew away.
The next morning, the father sent his second son, and then his third, but no one was able to catch the bird.
The father saw that the boys were of little use, so he got ready to go into the forest himself, but he didn’t go in the morning, but waited until it began to get dark. The night has fallen, the moon is shining, and he sat down under an oak tree and sits.
“I’ll wait a minute,” he thinks, “until the bird falls asleep better.” He sat and sat, dozed and dozed, and then completely fell asleep. But closer to midnight he got up and climbed the oak tree, because he was a sleepwalker! He tied the bird’s wings and went downstairs with the nest, put the nest aside, and sat down in his old place and fell asleep again.
In the morning I woke up, climbed up the oak tree again, and there were no birds or nests there. The poor guy is annoyed and doesn’t know what to do. He runs back and forth, looking for the nest and cannot find it. Suddenly he looked to the side, and there was a nest, and in that nest there was a bird tied up. He grabbed her and rushed straight to the merchant in the city.
When the merchant saw that both the bird and the nest were being brought to him, he almost went crazy with joy. He runs around the room, hugs his wife and sons. And then he ordered one cart to be harnessed with four oxen, the other with four horses, and bags of grain to be loaded onto the carts. He gave the poor man money and sent him home.
That was joy! The poor man stopped fetching firewood with his children, built a good house, bought land and lived happily with his family.
And the merchant drove two wedges over his bed, and placed a nest with a bird on them. The bird was meek and quiet and laid an egg every day. The merchant broke the testicles and took out gold from them. This went on for many years and the merchant became incredibly rich.
One day on a holiday, he was lying in bed longer than usual, and suddenly he saw that a bird had straightened its left wing, and there were some letters on it. The merchant got up and looked, and there it was written: “Whoever eats my heart will become a king, and whoever is left wing will find a hundred ducats under his pillow every morning.
The merchant was surprised and delighted. He ordered the cook to fry the bird for dinner, but warned:
- Make sure not a single piece is lost, otherwise it will be bad for you!
And he went for a walk with his wife and children.
The winter was cold. The boys got cold and ran home, and quickly into the kitchen, closer to the fireplace. The cook drives them away, but they don’t budge, begging for food. While she was assembling for the table, the youngest, Matsko, was a master! He grabbed the bird's heart from the frying pan and into his mouth, and Yanko became brave, grabbed the left wing and ate it. And then the merchant himself came home. And straight into the kitchen. The boys jumped out of the kitchen, and the merchant began to check if anything was missing from the frying pan. He sees that there is no heart or left wing! He started screaming, attacked the cook, and asked who was in the kitchen? She talks to boys. And the boys at the door are listening. They realized that things were bad, and they ran away from home.
They run, only their heels sparkle, afraid that their father will catch up. It was already getting dark, they decided to spend the night in a meadow, in a haystack.
“Come on, Yanko,” says Matsko, “we won’t go any further today, lest we get lost.” Let's sleep in this hay.
The older brother agreed.
Then a large deer jumped out of the hay and rushed across the meadow. The boys looked into the stack and found a hole there.
In the morning, as soon as dawn broke, Yanko already jumped to his feet. And Matsko was still sleeping soundly. Yanko went to look for a well, and then Matsko woke up, and lo and behold, Yanko had a wallet full of ducats in his head! Yanko returned from the well, and Matsko hid his wallet in his pocket and didn’t say a word to his brother.
They walked further, reached some village, got hungry and turned into a tavern. He orders Matsko to serve them a hearty lunch. And Yanko is worried about how to pay? Matsko calms him down:
“Don’t be afraid, brother, I still have a few kreutzers lying around.”
The brothers ate enough and called the owner. Everyone is amazed because Matsko is counting out ducats for lunch. The brothers paid and moved on. They wandered back and forth for a long time and no matter where they spent the night, Matsko always found Yanko with a wallet full of money in his head. There’s so much accumulated – there’s nowhere to put it.
Yanko began to ask where his brother got the money, and he answered that he found it. They moved on. And they finally came to the city where the king lived. They rented a room at an inn and lived richly, like a city. The eldest, Yanko, had a talent for music and drawing. And soon he learned to play and draw so well that no one around him could compare with him. And Matsko - he just ate sweetly and drank, and walked, and listened to his brother play.
One day, when Yanko was playing as usual, a royal daughter drove past them in a rich carriage. She tells the coachman to stop and listens to beautiful music. And then he orders us to return to the palace.
The next day the king ordered Yanko to be called to him and asked: could he teach his daughter music? The king, they say, will not stand behind money. Yanko agreed.
Meanwhile, a king died in a neighboring country. We need to choose a new one. There was a custom in that country: people would gather, they would throw a crown high into the air, and whoever it landed on his head would become king. The rumor about this reached the brothers. Matsko really wanted to go to that country. He began to call his brother:
– Let’s go, Yanko, and have a look.
“Okay,” Yanko agreed, and they set off for that country.
There were tons of people gathered in the square. At exactly noon they threw the crown into the air, it flew high, high and landed right on Matsko’s head. A great cry arose here, people oohed and ahhed all around, everyone wanted to look at the king. The older ones run to where the crown fell and see that a stranger has a crown on his head. People grabbed Matsko and Yanko and started beating and beating. They put their feet in their hands and run, only stopping at the inn.
And in that country they decided to choose a king for themselves again. Matsko again calls Yanko to go with him to that city. Yanko began to refuse, but then agreed. This time the brothers stood aside, afraid of being beaten again. At exactly noon they threw the crown up, the crown flew up into the clouds and disappeared from view, and then sank down and fell again on Matsko’s head. And this time they beat Yanko and Matsko for their dear soul. And the townspeople decided that for the third time, whoever the crown fell on his head, be it a shepherd or a beggar, would be their king! The third day has arrived. Matsko finds no place for himself, calls Yanko again, but he never agrees:
“I was beaten twice because of you,” he says, “and the third time they might beat me to death.”
Matsko went alone. He stood among people and is not afraid of anyone. At noon they threw the crown high, high, and suddenly it ended up on Matsko’s head again! Then everyone surrounded him, bowed to the waist, and recognized him as their king. And then with great honors they are escorted to the royal palace, seated on a high throne and asked to rule their country.
And Yanko taught the princess music all day and only in the evening he went to look for Matsko. He didn’t find it and turned back in great sadness. “Probably,” he thinks, “they killed Matsko’s brother in that country. He, the poor fellow, became desperate! While Matsko was around, he didn’t have to worry about anything, his brother paid for everything. How can he now live in expensive rooms? He had to look for cheaper ones. And he settled with an old widow.
The first night he spent the night, that widow began to make his bed in the morning and found a wallet with ducats under the pillow. And so it went from day to day. Yanko doesn’t ask for money, the widow doesn’t tell him anything, and hides the ducats. Yanko still goes to the royal palace every day and teaches the princess music.
Everyone in the palace liked him, especially the princess. The guy was a great guy.
Once they celebrated the name day of the king, and the next day the queen. Many guests gathered in the palace and Yanko was invited. At this feast, the princess played music so beautifully in front of all the guests that the guests could not praise it enough.
The next day, during lunch, the princess began to draw her mother’s portrait and presented that portrait to her as a gift. Mother turned out very similar. Everyone is surprised, even the king himself asks:
– My daughter, who taught you to draw so beautifully? The princess said that Yanko.
Here everyone, as if by agreement, raised their glasses and drank to Yanko’s health. And then the princess and Yanko played music together. And they felt so comforted that everyone just wiped away their tears.
The holiday ended and then the king said to our Yanko:
“From now on, you can live in my palace, and I will be your father instead.”
Yanko thanks him from the bottom of his heart, but refuses, saying that he is not worthy of such an honor. But the king stood his ground and the next day Yanko had to move to the royal palace.
Yanko slept to his heart's content in the new place, and in the morning he got dressed and went for a walk in the garden. A maid immediately appeared and began to clean the rooms. While making the bed, he suddenly sees a full bag of ducats under the pillow! She took the bag and hid it, and she thought: “He’ll come back and look for his money.” Yanko returned, but didn’t ask for money.
And so it went on. The maid doesn't know what to think. She told the old witch that she lived in the royal palace, that this is how things are going on here.
The witch immediately ran with other witches to hold council. The witches thought and wondered and found out that Yanko had eaten the left wing of the wonderful bird.
At midnight the witch returned to the palace, told the princess everything, and they began to think about how to take Yanko’s wing away.
And the next day the king went hunting and took Yanko with him. In the evening, they returned home, deathly tired. Yanko fell into bed and immediately fell fast asleep. And then an old witch came to him, woke him up, and gave him some kind of drink.
“This,” he says, “is what the princess is sending you to eat.”
Yanko drank and fell asleep. And soon he felt stuffy, he coughed, choked, and a wing - the same wing that he had eaten as a boy - jumped out of his throat! That's all the witch needed, she grabbed it, washed it and gave it to the princess to eat. From then on, the wallet with ducats never appeared in Yanko’s mind again. Now the princess began to find money under her pillow.
But the old witch did not calm down. Yanko decided to survive from the palace forever. One night, when he was fast asleep, she crept into the room, picked him up and carried him all night over the mountains, over the valleys, over the seas and threw him onto a deserted island, and she rushed back.
In the morning Yanko woke up and wondered where he ended up? He started to run and finally got to the seashore, and he looked, and the sea was red. I stopped and began to think about what to do next.
Then black clouds began to gather above him, terrible thunder struck, lightning flashed, and the sea boiled to the very bottom. A fiery dragon jumped out of the raging sea and attacked Yanko:
- How dare you come here, I’ll eat you now!
But Yanko began to say that it wasn’t his fault, he didn’t get here of his own free will, but he didn’t know how he got there. The dragon gradually calmed down, and then said:
- Okay, pluck one feather from my wing and think about where you want to go. Yanko pulled out the feather, thought about the royal palace - and immediately found himself there, lay down in bed and fell asleep. Just fell asleep, the witch comes running, grabs a feather,
The dragon gave Yanko, puts Yanko on his back and flies with him across the Red Sea, to the same island where he has already been.
Yanko woke up and saw that he was on that island again. I began to wait to see what would happen next. Suddenly the sky turned black, lightning flashed, thunder roared and the sea boiled to the very bottom.
A fire dragon jumped out and wants to tear Yanko to pieces, but Yanko persuades him. Finally persuaded.
“Okay,” said the dragon, “pluck another feather from me and think about where you want to go.”
Yanko thought about the royal palace again. Lo and behold, he’s already there.
The witch loses her temper. At night she sneaked up to him, stole the feather, grabbed Yanko and carried him to that island. Yanko woke up and got scared. Well, he thinks, this time the dragon will not have mercy, he will tear you into pieces.
Yanko walks back and forth on the island, waiting - something will happen now.
Suddenly he smells a pleasant smell. He followed that smell and came to an apple tree, and on it the beautiful apples were turning yellow. And there are too many of them on earth. Yanko ate an apple. Suddenly huge horns grew on his head. Yanko began to make his way through the dense thickets, but the horns did not let him in.
I barely made my way through the thicket, and there it smells even more wonderful. Yanko followed that smell - he saw a pear, and there were beautiful fruits on it. And there are too many of them on earth. He began to think: to eat or not to eat.
“Eh, come what may,” Yanko decided, took the pear and ate it.
The horns immediately fell off. Yanko became even more beautiful than he was. He was glad that he got rid of such trouble, filled his pockets with pears and returned to the apple tree. He picked some apples and is waiting to see what happens next.
Suddenly clouds flew in, lightning flashed, and thunder roared. In the midst of the storm, a dragon flew in, released its claws, and was about to tear Yanko to pieces. But Yanko persuaded him again.
- Okay, I'll forgive you. But this is only the last time! Pluck a feather from my wing and think carefully about where you want to end up. Have you forgotten how you stole a bird's wing from your father's frying pan and ate it? That wing had magical power, and from then on you had a bag of ducats under your head every morning. First your brother, and then your mistress and maid took them from you. And then the witch in the royal palace took that wing from you and gave it to the royal daughter to eat. This witch brought you here three times. And your brother ate the heart from that bird and became a king. Now you know everything - do as you see fit!
Yanko sighed, began to cry, remembered the poor widow at whose inn he once stood, and immediately found himself with her.
The old lady was happy. After all, she loved him like her own son. She took Yanko to the closet and showed her a full bucket of ducats.
“Here, son,” she said, “it’s all yours!”
But Yanko took only half, and gave the rest to the good mistress.
Yanko dressed in a merchant's dress and went to the square. He laid out the apples and is standing there selling. The whole city was filled with a wonderful aroma, people rush to see what it is. The princess came up and asked what kind of apples they were.
“These are rare, magical apples,” Yanko answers, “whoever tastes at least one will immediately become a hundred times more beautiful.”
The princess took the apple in her hand and wants to take a bite, but Yanko holds her hand:
“No,” he says, “these apples can only be eaten at midnight.” Yes, so that the person is alone in the room, and so that he sticks his head through the window bars.
The princess, although she was pretty, still bought one apple. I gave three thousand. The witch also did not want to remain ugly and bought an apple for two thousand. Maid - for a thousand gold. They can't wait until midnight.
Midnight approached, each locked herself in her room, and their rooms were next to each other.
They leaned out of the windows, ate an apple, and immediately their heads were decorated with huge horns so branched that they could not pull their heads back in.
In the morning people on the street stop, are surprised, horrified.
The king found out what had happened and ordered to call the wisest doctors. The doctors began to saw off those horns, they sawed them off, and in their place new ones grew.
The king orders it to be announced throughout the country that if a healer is found, he will give him his daughter as a wife and half the kingdom in addition, and then the whole kingdom. The rumor about this spread throughout all countries. What's the point? Nobody is coming. The palace had completely lost hope.
But then one fine day a carriage drove into the yard. A handsome young man got out of the carriage and without hesitation went straight to the king. He says that he is undertaking to heal the unfortunate. But with one condition: no one will interfere in his affairs. The king agrees to everything. They gave the doctor the keys and took him to the rooms where the horned ones were sitting.
He unlocked all three rooms and began to see what was going on. And then he took out three belt whips. The first to take on the old witch was to beat her with a whip with three tails. Then he went to the maid and hit her with a double whip. And then the princess got hers! This went on for three whole days.
On the third day, he ordered a bath of warm water to be brought into each room and medicinal herbs to be placed in the bottom. When everything was ready, he went to the witch and said:
- Well, confess all your sins, tell me what you have done in this world!
The witch began to repent of how many people she had ruined, how many people she had made unhappy - it was scary to listen to! The witch fell silent, and he ordered her to continue. Finally, the witch told about the young man from whom she had taken the bird’s wing. Yes, not simple, but magical, and she gave this wing to the royal daughter, but she carried the young man far away, beyond the Red Sea, and abandoned him there.
When she told her everything, he gave her a pear and told her to eat a small piece. As soon as the witch ate the pear, the horns immediately disappeared. Then he put her in the bath, and when she had bathed, he put her to bed and said:
- Bad woman! Because you treated me this way, you were rightly punished.
And with those words he went to the maid. She immediately laid out all her sins to him. Yanko gave her a piece of pear and the horns fell off. The maid bathed, and he ordered her to go to bed.
In the end, he went to the princess and told her to repent. The princess burst into tears and, sobbing, said:
- Oh, I once had a teacher dear to my heart. . .
Yanko felt sorry for her, he quickly gave her a piece of pear, the horns fell off and she became a hundred times more beautiful than before, and at that very moment she recognized Yanko. The princess again bursts into tears and begs to forgive her. Yanko forgave her everything, sat her down in the bath, and carried her from the bath to bed.
Then he gave her some medicine and she fell asleep. In her dream, the princess coughed and a wing jumped out of her throat.
Yanko grabbed the wing, washed it and ate it, and left the princess to sleep peacefully.
While they were sleeping, Yanko ordered all three to prepare a beautiful dress, and then ordered each to dress up. Yanko brought the old witch first to the king, then the maid, and last the princess. The king hardly recognized his daughter, she had become so beautiful.
The king immediately gave her to Yanko as a wife and half the kingdom in addition and ordered the wedding to be prepared. Many gentlemen and kings came to that wedding.
In the midst of the fun, Yanko stood up and told everything that happened to him. Where he was and who he is. The old king Yanko recognized him and hugged him like his own son.
Then the neighboring king gets up from the table, runs to Yanko, and asks if he recognizes him. Yanko looked, and it was his brother Matsko. They threw themselves on each other's necks, hugging, kissing, rejoicing. The brothers now became kings in neighboring states.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru