Old people say: a kind heart and skillful hands are the greatest wealth.
Once upon a time there lived a rich man with his daughter. His wife died a long time ago, and he married someone else. And she also had a daughter, only older than her husband.
A little time passed. My father fell ill and also died.
His wife remained with his own daughter and stepdaughter. My own daughter dresses up all day and admires herself, but doesn’t want to do anything. The stepdaughter will clean up, cook dinner, haul firewood, sew clothes, and even have time to sing songs. But the stepmother is still unhappy. He scolds and beats the girl all day.
The eldest, stepmother's daughter, was nicknamed Syuryaga-Sokh, which means sloth, and people began to call the youngest, stepdaughter, Yulesit-Kyys - hard-working.
The stepmother and daughter are angry, they come up with the hardest work for the girl, but she does everything cheerfully, easily, quickly.
The stepmother and daughter thought for a long time about how to get the unloved Yulesit-Kyys out of the world, and finally came up with an idea. The stepmother called her stepdaughter and said:
- Go to the taiga, get me some lining for the basket, and make sure you clean it thoroughly so that there are no branches.
- After all, the day is already running out, how can I spend the night in the taiga? - asked the girl.
- Go, go! “Don’t talk!” the stepmother shouted and pushed the girl out the door.
There was nothing to do, Yulesit-Kyys went to the taiga. The stepmother rejoices and says to her daughter:
- The animals in the taiga will kill her.
Yulesit-Kyys is walking, trembling. The boots on her legs are torn - snow is packed into them and she is chilling; The winter wind whistles through the holes in my clothes—it’s cold! By the time I reached the taiga, it got dark.
The girl picked up an armful of talnik. Suddenly he sees an old house not far away, a light shining in the window. She was delighted. “That’s good!” he thinks. “Probably a hunter lives here.” I’ll go and ask for the night.” I took my vest and went.
I came in and the house turned out to be empty. Apparently the owner went hunting. The girl found a clay fireplace stove; firewood was stacked near the stove. There is a pot on the stove, and in the pot there is a kamyak* (wooden ladle, spoon). Everything is ready! “A good owner lives here,” the girl thought, “neat and thrifty.”
Yulesit-Kyys sat idle for a short time. She was accustomed to work from an early age. She lit the stove and cooked porridge. Then she sat down and began to wait for the owner. But he’s still not there. The girl was hungry.
I decided that the owner spent the night in the taiga.
Just as I was getting ready to eat, a mouse jumped out of the corner, jumped onto the girl’s lap and said:
- Give me some porridge too! I haven't eaten anything yet.
- It’s good that you came! — Yulesit-Kyys rejoiced. “It’s more fun together.”
She said so and began to eat with the mouse. A spoon for yourself - a spoon for her. They ate all the porridge, and the mouse also licked the pot.
“We had a nice meal,” he says, “thank you, you’re kind.” For this I will help you. Do you know who is the owner of this house? - asked the mouse.
“No, I don’t know,” said the girl.
“A bear lives in this house, the owner of this taiga,” said the mouse. “Soon he will come and tell you: “Let’s go to Kara-Simiriki - this means hide and seek - play.” You will agree. He will give you a bell. Take it and give it to me, and hide in that corner.
As soon as the mouse had time to finish speaking, the door opened and a huge bear entered. He saw Yulesit-Kyys and growled:
- Why did you come to my taiga, spoil my waistcoat and even break into my house?
“Don’t be angry, master,” said the girl. “What could I do?” The stepmother ordered the talnik to be broken and cleaned in order to make a basket out of it. How could I not listen? And then it became dark. I saw this house and entered.
“What if I eat you?” says the bear. But the girl was not afraid.
The bear was surprised:
-Aren't you afraid of me?
“No,” said the girl, “I’m not afraid.” You play with me first, and then we’ll see: whoever wins will be the one who threatens.
“Okay,” the bear laughed, “let’s play kara-simiriki.” If I catch you, I’ll eat you, but if I don’t catch you, you’ll be rich.
The girl agreed. She blindfolded the bear, and the bear gave her a bell so she could hear where she was.
Only the girl did not forget the mouse’s words. I gave her the bell and hid in the corner.
The bell that the mouse held in its teeth rang. The bear rushed in that direction, spreading its paws. “Now,” he thinks, “I’ll catch the girl.” Yes where there! The mouse is small, nimble, runs quickly, and leaves right under the bear’s nose. And the girl stands in the corner, keeping silent.
He's completely worn out and barely able to breathe from fatigue.
“That’s enough!” he says. “Take off my bandage.” You won.
The girl took the bell from the mouse, went up to the bear and took her scarf from his eyes.
“Well, you’re so fast!” the bear is surprised. “I’ve never seen one like that before.” I will reward you for this. Go to your village, choose a good place there and throw your handkerchief on the snow.
The girl thanked the bear. She quietly said goodbye to the mouse, took her vest and went home. She just walked out the door and looked, and she was wearing a new, beautiful fur coat and white camouflage, embroidered with beads. Yulesit-Kyys laid the talnik on the snow so that she could see her clothes better, and instead of the tunic, there were ready-made baskets on the snow, and they were so good that I had never seen them before. She picked them up and ran home cheerfully, singing dear songs.
A girl entered the village, almost approached the house and thought: “I wonder what the bear said about my handkerchief? Let me throw him!” And she quit.
The handkerchief fell on the snow, began to grow and turned into a house. The house is big, beautiful, the decoration inside is rich, you can’t even count the outfits! And near the house there is a barn. There are cows and calves... What can I say! The entire farm was donated by the bear Yulesit-Kyys. And Yulesit-Kyys herself became so beautiful that, perhaps, there was no such thing in the village. She was beautiful before, but her beauty was not visible under her torn clothes.
Yulesit-Kyys realized: she had to go to her stepmother and carry the baskets. I left the house, and people were running towards me.
“Look,” they shout, “an orphan has become the mistress of a big house!” She is now the best bride in our village!
The stepmother and her daughter heard this and went out to look - they couldn’t believe their eyes. And Yulesit-Kyys gives them the finished baskets. They can’t even speak from anger and surprise. Then they came to their senses and began asking the girl where she got this wealth from. Yulesit-Kyys told everything and did not hide anything.
“Okay,” says the stepmother, “we’ll have more.”
She gathered her daughter, dressed her warmly and sent her to the taiga to get wealth.
Syuryaga-Sokh walks along the path and thinks: “Oh, and I’ll deceive the bear! I’ll beg him for not one, but two houses!”
She soon found a bear's home.
“Wow, how cold it is!” says Syuryaga-Sokh. I looked at the firewood, but didn’t feel like burning it. She's not used to it. He sits there, freezing, waiting for the bear.
Finally I couldn't stand it anymore. I took two logs and somehow lit the stove. And then I wanted to eat. He’s angry, but there’s nothing to do. I also had to cook porridge. But Syuryaga-Sokh had never done anything before - so her porridge burned, and she didn’t even notice. I took the pot and got ready to eat.
A mouse jumped out, jumped onto her lap and asked:
- Girl, give me some porridge!
“Ugh, disgusting!” shouted Syuryaga-Sokh and pushed the mouse off her lap. “Go to the floor, you can talk from there.”
The mouse didn’t answer; it sat on the floor, waiting.
“Wait,” says Syuryaga-Sokh, “I’ll eat, and I’ll let you lick the pot.”
The mouse turned, waved its tail and ran into its hole, and Syuryaga-Sokh tasted the porridge and spat it out. The porridge is bitter and bitter. She began to call the mouse:
- Go, I was joking! I'll give you all the porridge.
The mouse believed her and returned. As soon as I tried the porridge, I immediately understood why the girl had become so kind. She turned away from the pot and wiped her mustache with her paw. “Okay,” he thinks, “I’ll repay you for your greed.”
“Why don’t you eat?” asks Syuryaga-Sokh.
“Thank you,” says the mouse, “I’m afraid it won’t be enough for you.”
She said so and ran away.
Then the door opened and a bear entered.
“Who allowed you to come into my taiga and even break into my house!” he roared. “Why did you come, tell me!”
“I came for gifts,” says Syuryaga-Sokh. “You gave my sister a house, but I need two.” So I came.
“Okay,” says the bear, “now we’ll play kara-simiriki with you.” If I don’t catch you, you’ll get two houses, but if I catch you, I’ll eat you. Agree?
“I agree,” says Syuryaga-Sokh, and she herself thinks: “Now the mouse will come and start running around with a bell, and I’ll get two houses.”
And the mouse ran up to her and said:
“You run by yourself first, and then I’ll run in your footsteps, like licking the leftovers in a pot.”
Syuryaga-Sokh realized that she had offended the mouse, but it was too late. “It’s okay,” the stupid girl thinks, “the mouse’s legs are small, but mine are big, which means I can run faster.”
I thought so and kicked the mouse so that it limped. Then she took off her scarf, blindfolded the bear, took the bell and ran.
The bell rings, indicating where the girl is. The bear caught her right away. Then he took off the blindfold and said:
“I guess I won’t eat you.” Being so angry and lazy will make me sick again. I will give you what you want: others will do your work for you, and there will be not just two houses, but many. Take your handkerchief and throw it away as soon as you leave here.
Syuryaga-Sokh grabbed the handkerchief, quickly ran out of the bear’s house and threw it into the snow. But what is it? Syuryaga-Sokh waved her hands and suddenly rose into the air.
“Kuk-ku!” she shouted. “Kuk-ku!”
She wanted to say: “Where? Where am I going?”, but forgot all the words and just kept repeating: “Kuk-ku, kuk-ku!”
The lazy and evil Syuryaga-Sokh became a cuckoo. The cuckoo doesn't like to do its thing. She does not hatch chicks herself: she will throw an egg in one nest, then in another. She has many such houses.
And mother Syuryagi-Sokh was waiting for her daughter, waiting. Then she decided that her daughter could not take away the bear gifts - there were so many of them. I went to the taiga myself.
A bear met her on the way.
“Oh, and you’re coming,” he says, “and you need gifts.” Okay, get it.
And she became a cat. No matter how much you give the cat, she keeps screaming: “Ma-a-lo, ma-a-lo.”
When the cat found out that the mouse did not want to help her daughter, she got angry and began to look for her, and the mouse ran away.
Since then, the cat has been looking for that mouse and can’t find it.
But Yulesit-Kyys lives well, does everything herself and helps others.
So, if you meet such a hard-working, good girl, know that this is Yulesit-Kyys, and if not her, then her children, and if not her children, then her grandchildren.
And to this day the people call Yulesit-Kyys for such hard-working and good people...
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru