Once upon a time there lived a king. The king had seven sons and one daughter - she was the youngest. The year the sons were married, the king and queen both died, and they did not have time to give birth to their daughter - she was still too young. The seven brothers traveled on trading business, and the sister stayed at home with their wives.
Once they left to trade in distant lands. A whole year has passed and they are still gone. So their wives conspired to kill their sister-in-law.
They began to tell her:
- Well, girl, you see, your brothers are not coming. Bring us some water in this leaky pot. If you don’t bring it, we won’t give you anything to eat.
That's what they told her. What was her answer to this? I had to do what I was ordered. They pulled out a pot with holes for her, she put it on her head and went to the ghat. Here she lowered the pot to the ground and began to cry. She cries, laments, and her words form a song:
I, a girl, brought a leaky pot, I, a girl, brought a leaky pot, Where are you, my brothers, doing business these days?
The girl went to the ghat and cried there. She cried for a long time. Then, they say, frogs came out of the water and said to her:
- Tell me, girl, what are you crying about? We see that you’ve been sitting here for a long time and, we hear, you haven’t stopped crying. This makes us sad. Tell me what you're crying about.
“I have seven older brothers, and I am their only sister,” she answers. “My daughters-in-law, all seven of them, want to harass me: they forced me to carry water in a leaky pot.” If there was only one hole here, I would close it with my hand and somehow bring water, but there are five or six of them here. How can I carry water? And they told me: “Be careful not to cover up the holes with clay or resin. Carry the pot as it is.” This is what I am dying about, this is why I am crying.
“Don’t cry, girl,” say the frogs. - Take comfort and don’t worry. Fill the pot with water, and we will lie on the holes and close them. Then put it on your head and carry it, and when you bring it, lower it slowly, don’t hit it on the stand. Well, take a pot and fill up with water.
Then she stopped crying, took the pot, filled it with water and carried it on her head. She brought it and put it on the stand. Her daughters-in-law say to one another:
- Wonderful thing, sisters! She brought it. We couldn't defeat her.
They look at the pot: it is as full of holes as it was, but water does not flow from it.
Then they tell her:
- Well, girl, pick some leaves and bring them, just don’t tie them up.
She actually went into the forest. She came there, cried and chanted these words:
Without a rope, I, a girl, brought leaves, Without a rope, I, a girl, brought leaves, Where are you, my brothers, trading today?
And so, when she was crying and wailing, a tree snake crawled out and asked:
- Tell me, girl, why are you crying so much? Your tears make my heart ache. Tell me why are you crying so much?
“My brothers left to trade,” the girl answers, “and their wives want to harass me.” They don’t even give me some water from the rice to eat, but today they told me: “Go, pick some leaves and bring them, just don’t tie them up. Then we'll give you something to eat. Otherwise you won’t get anything.” This is what I grieve about, this is the sadness that made me cry. You see how many leaves I picked. How should I take them now? That's why I'm so sad.
- Oh, are you grieving about how to carry them? - the snake answers. - Don't be sad about it. I'll help you take them down. Just when you get home, don’t throw the bundle away, but lower it quietly to the ground.
The snake said this and stretched out to its full length.
“Put leaves on me,” he says. “Then I’ll roll it up and make a bunch.”
Indeed, the girl had picked a lot of leaves - the basket would have been full. She placed all these leaves on top of the snake. Then she took the snake by the head and carried the bundle home. The daughters-in-law saw her returning and said:
“Come on, sisters, let’s see what she used to tie the leaves.”
And the girl answers:
- Wait. Let me put them down first, then watch.
She carefully laid down the leaves, the snake immediately turned around - they didn’t even notice how it slipped away.
“No,” they say, “sisters, things didn’t work out with her again.”
Then they told her:
- Tomorrow, girl, bring some brushwood. Just don't tie it up.
The next day she went into the forest and gathered brushwood. After the village; sits, cries and sings:
Without binding, I, a girl, brought brushwood, Without binding, I, a girl, brought brushwood, Where are you, my brothers, trading today?
She collected brushwood, folded it and cried there in the forest. The rat boa constrictor heard her, crawled out and said:
- Listen, girl, what are you crying about for so long? It's painful to listen to you. What are you crying about? Tell me.
- What else can I do but cry? - the girl answers. “My soul has dried up, it has become like a straw. My brothers left to trade, and their wives want to completely destroy me. They told me to bring firewood, but not to tie it down. You see, I typed, but how can I carry it? That's why I'm sad and crying.
“Oh, that’s what you’re grieving about,” says the rat boa constrictor. - Don't be sad. Take comfort, I will now help you convey them. Just when you bring it home, place the firewood carefully.
Here the snake stretched out to its full length and added:
“Well, put the wood on me, and I’ll wrap around it, and you’ll have a bundle.”
And indeed, she piled all the wood on top of the snake, and the snake wrapped itself around them and pulled them tightly. The girl put the firewood on her head and carried it, and when she reached the house, she quietly lowered it by the fence. As soon as I lowered it, the snake slid off and under the fence.
The daughter-in-law left the house and looked at work. And they have nothing to complain about. They tried to torture her more than once and in different ways, but they never managed to finish her off.
Once all the daughters-in-law got together to hold a council and they agreed on this.
“Let’s go,” they say, “all together into the forest for firewood.”
And indeed, they all went and took their sister-in-law with them too. As they entered the forest, they saw: there was a machkunda tree standing by the road, everything was in bloom.
“Stop,” they say. - Let's pick some flowers first, and then move on.
The daughters-in-law began to try to get in. They just pretend: they climb in a little and then slide down. And each one says:
- No, I can’t fit in.
They all said the same thing, then turned to their sister-in-law.
“Climb, girl,” they say. - Try for us.
“Who knows,” she answers. “I probably won’t fit in either.”
“Climb,” they say. - Try to get in. Maybe you can do it.
Here, to tell the truth, they began to forcefully push her and sit her down. As she climbed in, they say:
- Well, we helped you climb, now pick us more flowers.
Meanwhile, they themselves brought thorny branches and lined the trunk with them from below, and even tied them with ropes so that they would hold on tighter. And then they left and left the girl there on the tree.
A lot of time passed, who knows how long, and her older brothers, all seven of them, passed by that place. They drove up to a flowering tree, sat down under it and said:
- Let's rest a little under this tree.
Well, the girl was so weak from hunger that she couldn’t utter a word, but she was still alive. She saw them and recognized them, but she couldn’t call them. So they were sitting there, and her tears were falling from above, and it so happened that these tears fell right on the back of her older brother.
“Hey, guys,” he says. - Look at my back. Who knows who dropped something on me.
The brothers looked and said:
- Listen, brother. Surely these are the tears of our little sister?
They looked up and saw her. They dragged the thorny branches away, lowered her to the ground, and then wetted her with rice flakes, mixed them with molasses and gave her something to eat, and also set the rice to cook.
She ate rice flakes and began to gradually come to her senses, even started talking; and at first she couldn’t even speak. They gave her a little more to eat, and when she had eaten, they put her to rest.
She rested and told everything: how she climbed the tree, and who tied the thorns around the trunk, why she had to stay there. And how her daughters-in-law used to torture her, she also told them everything. The brothers were so angry with their wives.
“What a misfortune,” they say. “We have only one sister.” Why are they torturing her so much? It’s fortunate that we passed by here and helped her out, otherwise she would have disappeared here. Our wives do not know pity, and there is no need for us to feel sorry for them. We'll come home, dig a well and throw them all in there. Just as they tormented her, so we will torment them - let them experience everything for themselves. I'd like to know how they'll like it.
Everyone agreed and said:
“Our wives have no way of knowing about this.” If anyone says anything to them, he is no longer our brother. We will drive him away - we don’t need such a brother. Remember, brothers, we will not change our decision.
And everyone answered:
- That's right, I won't change it.
They ate, fed my sister, gave her two needles and put her in a bag.
“We tell your daughters-in-law to carry this bag,” they tell her, “and you prick them thoroughly with needles.” If they don’t carry it, we’ll give them a strong thrashing.
So they taught her, then they put her in a sack, loaded the sack onto an ox and set off.
They arrive home, take the sack off the ox and quietly put it down. They laid him on the ground and began calling his wives. They tell them:
“Here, women, carry this bag into the house, but be careful.” Be careful not to drop it, otherwise we will kill you.
And indeed, the wives came up, took the bag and carried it, and the girl began to stab them. He sticks the needle in with all his might, as deep as possible. It’s time for the wives to drop the burden and run away, but their husbands walk nearby and urge:
- Bring it quickly.
They tense up and carry, they don’t look at the injections, but the girl keeps pricking their hands and pricking them, so that the blood flows in streams. They can’t even hold back their tears.
As soon as we entered the house, questions began: about news, about business, about the road. The husbands told them everything - how far they were, and everything else. Then they started asking their wives themselves. They also told them how they spent their time without them, what they did and all that. Well, how their sister-in-law was tortured, not one of them said. The brothers ask:
– What about our little sister? We don't see her for some reason. We would like to drink some water from her hands.
“And she went into the forest,” they answer. - For firewood with girlfriends...
So they all told fairy tales - one, and another, and a third. Nobody told the truth. Their husbands tell them:
“It’s all lies that she went into the forest.” We found it ourselves - on a machkunda tree. Why are you telling us nonsense?
The wives immediately became speechless; they lost the power of speech from fear, and their tongues dried up in their throats. And when they opened the bag and released the sister, they started screaming and roared openly. Their brothers scold them as much as they can, but their wives have nothing to say in response. Then the brothers say:
“We were trading in distant lands, and we happened to get into big trouble. We then made the following vow: “When we return home, we will dig a well and organize a holiday to consecrate it.” That's what the vow was. That's right, that's why we found our sister.
The next day they began to dig a well. They began to dig wide - two fathoms - and deep. They dug three times human height, or even deeper, reached the wet ground and stopped digging.
We set a day. “On such a day,” they say, “we will consecrate the well.” They stocked up on oil and sindoor, and on the appointed day they called the houses and told them to beat the drum. Brothers say to their wives:
– Dress festively today. You will all go together at one hour to the blessing at the well. Here's what we need from you.
Here, indeed, the houses led them with the beating of drums to the well. When they reached the well, they stood the women in a row at the edge and said:
- Well, now bless.
As soon as they raised their hands for blessing, their husbands pushed them - and each threw his wife down. Then they went home and left the women there. Afterwards they covered the well with a lid made of logs and, for as long as they tormented the girl, they left them there without food for the same amount of time. They were not given anything to eat or drink. Only when that time had passed were they pulled up.
That's the end of the fairy tale.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru