Once upon a time there lived a poor widow, and she had a daughter - beautiful as a clear day, but very lazy.
And then one fine morning, when things were going from bad to worse, the poor widow had just started shouting about the high taxes on flour, when the prince himself galloped past her house.
- Ay-ay-ay, my dear! - the prince was surprised. “You must have a very naughty child if he makes his mother scold like that.” After all, this pretty girl couldn’t make you so angry!
- Oh, what are you, Your Majesty, of course not! - answered the mother. - I just scolded her for working too hard. Would you believe it, Your Majesty, she can spin three pounds of flax in one day, weave linen out of it the next, and sew shirts out of it on the third.
- Oh heaven! - the prince was surprised. - Here is a girl who would please my mother. Be so kind, madam, please put a bonnet and cloak on your daughter and put her on the horse behind me! Oh, my mother will be so delighted with her that perhaps she will make her her daughter-in-law and my wife. Of course, if the girl herself has nothing against it.
The woman did not know what to do from joy and embarrassment and from fear that the deception would be revealed. But before she had time to decide on anything, young Anthy had already been seated behind the prince, and he rode away with his retinue, and the mother was left with a heavy wallet in her hands.
The queen was stunned when she saw a peasant girl on a horse behind her son. But when she saw her pretty face and also heard from the prince that Anthy could spin, weave and sew, the queen decided that the girl simply had no price. And the prince took a moment and whispered in Anthy’s ear. that if she is not averse to marrying him, the queen mother must certainly please her.
The evening was drawing to a close. The prince and Anthy liked each other more and more as time went on. But when bedtime came, the Queen Mother took Anthy into her elegant bedroom and, bidding her good night, pointed to a large armful of flax and said:
“You can start tomorrow morning, and I hope that by the next morning we will see some nice yarn!”
That night the poor girl hardly slept a wink. She cried and complained to herself that she did not listen to her mother’s advice and did not learn to spin and weave.
The next morning, as soon as she was left alone, Anthy set to work with a heavy heart. And although she was given a spinning wheel made of real mahogany and flax, which one can only dream of, her thread broke every minute. Sometimes it turned out thin, like a spider's web, sometimes rough, like string for a whip. Finally she pushed back her chair, dropped her hands on her knees and began to cry bitterly.
At that very moment, out of nowhere, a little old woman with surprisingly large feet appeared in front of her and asked:
-What are you talking about, beauty?
- Yes, I have to turn all this flax into yarn by tomorrow morning. But I can’t even make five yards of thin thread out of it.
“Aren’t you ashamed to invite the beggar Big-Footed Old Woman to your wedding with the young prince?” Promise to call me, and while you sleep tonight, all three pounds of flax will turn into the finest yarn.
- Of course, I will invite you, and with pleasure, and I will take care of you all my life!
- That’s great! For now, you stay in your room until evening tea, and you can tell the queen to come for the yarn tomorrow morning, even at dawn, if she wants.
And everything happened as the old lady promised. The yarn turned out thin and even, like the thinnest fishing line.
- Well done girl! - said the queen. “I’ll have my own mahogany loom brought to you.” Just today you don't have to work anymore. Work and rest, work and rest - that’s my motto! Tomorrow you will have time to weave flax from this yarn. And then who knows...
This time the girl was tormented by fear even more: she didn’t even know how to prepare the base of the fabric and didn’t know how to use the shuttle. And she sat sadly, when suddenly a small and completely square old woman appeared in front of her: her shoulders and sides were so broad. The visitor said that her name was the Square Old Woman, and she made the same deal with Anthy as the Big-Footed Old Woman.
Well, the queen was delighted when in the morning she found the finished canvas, so white and thin, like the best paper she had ever seen.
- Oh, what a darling! - said the queen. - Now have fun with the ladies and gentlemen. And if tomorrow you make nice shirts from this linen, you can give one of them to my son. And at least marry him right away!
Well, how could one not sympathize with poor Anthy: the prince was about to be hers forever, but it might happen that she would lose him forever! But Anthy was patient and waited with scissors, needle and thread in her hands until midday. Another minute passed, and then the third old woman finally appeared. The old woman had a huge red nose, and she immediately told Anthy that her name was the Red-Nosed Old Woman. She turned out to be no worse than the other old women, and when the queen came to Anthy early the next morning, a dozen nice shirts were already lying on the table.
Well, now all that was left was the wedding. And believe me, the wedding was a great success. Poor Mother Anthy was also among the guests. At dinner the old queen could talk about nothing but shirts. She dreamed of that happy time when, after the honeymoon, she and her daughter-in-law would do nothing but spin, weave and sew shirts.
The groom did not like such conversations, and the bride even more so. He was about to get his word in when a footman approached the table and said, addressing the bride:
“Your Grace’s aunt, the Big-Footed Old Woman, asks to know if she can come in?”
The bride flushed and was ready to fall through the ground, but, fortunately, the prince intervened:
“Tell Mrs. Big Foot that all my fiancée’s relatives are always warmly welcomed by me and her.”
An old woman with big feet came in and sat down next to the prince. The Queen did not like this very much, and after a few words she asked rather angrily:
- Oh, madam, why do you have such big feet?
- Uh, mother! Would you believe it, Your Majesty, I have stood at the spinning wheel almost my entire life. This is why!
“I swear on my honor, my beloved,” the prince said then, “I will not allow you to stand at the spinning wheel for another hour!”
The same footman again announced:
“Your Grace's aunt, the Square Old Woman, wants to come in, if you and the other noble gentlemen have no objection.”
Anthy was very unhappy, but the prince invited the guest to enter. She sat down and drank to the health of everyone present.
“Tell me, madam,” the old queen turned to her, “why are you so square?”
“Because, Your Majesty, I spent my whole life sitting at a loom.”
“I swear to the authorities,” said the prince, “my wife will not sit at the machine for a single hour!”
The footman entered again:
“Your Grace’s aunt, the Red-Nosed Old Woman, asks permission to be present at the feast.”
The bride blushed even deeper, and the groom said affably:
“Tell Mrs. Red Nose that she does us the honor!”
The old woman entered, was shown every respect and was seated at the table. And all the guests sitting at the wedding brought glasses to their noses, some to hide their smiles.
“Madam,” Mother Queen turned to her, “would you be so kind as to tell us why your nose is so big and red?”
“You see, Your Majesty, all my life I’ve been bowing my head over sewing, and that’s why all my blood rushed to my nose.”
“Darling,” the prince turned to Anthy, “if I ever see a needle in your hands, I will run away from you a thousand miles!”
But in truth, my dear children, although this story is funny, the moral in it is completely wrong!
And if any of you begins to imitate Anthy the sloth, you will see for yourself: you will not be as lucky as she is. Firstly, she was very pretty, and secondly, powerful fairies helped her. Now there are no fairies, and there are no princes who pass by and take you away with them, whether you are hardworking or lazy. And thirdly, it is still unknown whether the prince and Anthy herself were so happy when they became adults and everyday worries and difficulties fell on them.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru