In ancient times, there lived an old man and an old woman. They had no children. From early in the morning until the evening, the old man collected cow dung and sold it to people who had their own farms. And the old man’s neighbors had a son, he helped his father and mother in everything: he would buy this, he would buy another, if there was no water in the house, he would bring it, if there was no firewood, he would break brushwood. Seeing how happily their neighbors lived, the old man and the old woman lamented and said to each other:
“If we had such a son, we would know neither need nor grief.”
One day, an old man saw a pile of manure and was about to lift it with a shovel, when suddenly a little frog climbed onto the pile. The old man drove him away, but the frog climbed onto the pile again. This happened several times. Finally the old man got angry, threw down the shovel and left. A little later he returned and again saw the little frog sitting on a pile of manure.
The old man was surprised and thought:
“What a misfortune! Maybe this is jinchi - an evil spirit? Let's see what he will do next! "
The old man filled the baskets to the brim with manure, hung them on the yoke and got ready to leave. Suddenly the little frog jumped into one of the baskets and sat down there. The old man said nothing, lifted the yoke and went home. In the yard, before the old man had time to put the baskets, the frog jumped to the ground. The old man began to watch him. The little frog glanced at the old man, and then skipped into the house. The old man followed him and said to the old woman:
– I don’t know what to do. This little frog followed me. No matter how much I hit him, he doesn’t lag behind, no matter how much I chase him, he doesn’t lag behind.
The old woman immediately realized that this frog was not a simple one, and began to calm the old man:
- Well, okay. Frog, he is also a living creature. Once he’s come, let him stay: it’s too empty in our house, but with him it will be more and more fun.
They kept the frog with them and began to follow him as if they were their own son.
A year passed, the little frog grew up and became quite big. His eyes burned like two red lights. An old woman once said to an old man:
- There is no more meat. When you return home, buy some.
Before the old man had time to utter a word in response, the frog suddenly spoke in a human voice:
“Mother, don’t ask father, I’ll bring the meat myself.” The old man and the old woman were amazed, frightened, and delighted. They were amazed that the frog spoke in a human voice, they were afraid that a werewolf had come to them, they were delighted because the frog called them father and mother. And, plucking up courage, the old woman addressed the little frog kindly:
- How will you, my boy, bring us meat?
“Heh, it’s very simple,” answered the frog. - Wrap the money in a scarf, and tie the scarf around my neck.
The old woman did just that: she wrapped the money in a scarf, and tied the scarf around the frog’s neck. The little frog jumped out of the room and found himself in the yard. The next moment, the old man and the old woman heard something like thunder rumble in the street. The old people ran out into the yard and looked: it was a clear day, not a cloud in the sky. They did not find the frog anywhere and returned to the house. At that time, the little frog was sitting on the butcher’s bench, and the following conversation was going on between them:
“Untie the scarf,” said the frog, “take the money there and weigh some meat.”
The butcher was scared at first, but then he thought: Apparently, this is not a simple frog, but some kind of werewolf spirit. Glancing at the little frog, the butcher said:
- Okay, I'll give you some meat. But how do you carry it home?
“Wrap the meat in a scarf, and tie the scarf on my back,” answered the frog.
Without hesitation, the butcher cut off a piece of meat, wrapped it in a scarf, and tied the scarf to the frog’s back. The little frog left the shop and went home.
Seeing that the little frog had returned and even brought meat, the old people could not get enough of it - happiness had finally come to them. The three of them lived in peace and harmony.
But one day the frog announced that he wanted to marry the emperor’s daughter. Hearing about this, the old people became alarmed; they almost lost their tongues from fear. The old woman said to the little frog:
-Who will marry you? And you still decided to marry the emperor’s daughter! If you want us to stay alive, don't talk about it anymore. The Emperor will order all of our heads to be cut off if we dare to woo the princess. Besides, where can we poor people get money for gifts and weddings?
But the frog stood his ground:
- Don't worry about money. I'll get as much as you need. So go quietly and woo the princess. If only the emperor refuses, then I will show him, force him, as they say, to put on his shoes inside out. I will bring water and bring down the walls of his palace.
The old man and the old woman had to fulfill the will of their son. They called the matchmaker and told him that they wanted to woo the sovereign’s daughter. The matchmaker saw that the old man’s son was not a man, but a frog, and he also got scared. But since this was the case, he went to the golden mansions - the precious mansions of the sovereign, but did not dare to open his mouth, he went back. He did not dare to speak about his business either a second time or a third time. Finally, the emperor himself asked the matchmaker why he came.
Then the matchmaker plucked up his courage and spoke:
“Your Majesty, I’m afraid I’ll anger you, and you order me to take my head off.” That's why I'm silent.
- Tell me what business you have with me. I won't touch you!
“Your Majesty, in the capital of your kingdom there live an old man, an old woman and a son, only their son is not a man, but a frog.” The old people were afraid that their heads would be cut off, and they sent me to you. Against the will of his parents, the frog decided to marry the princess, your daughter, and even threatened to bring water and bring down the palace walls if you refuse to marry your daughter to him.
Hearing the matchmaker’s speech, the emperor became thoughtful:
“No other than this little frog is some kind of werewolf spirit. Or maybe it was a dragon that turned into a frog and came to the old people’s house?” The emperor thought so and turned to the matchmaker:
“Listen, matchmaker, as they say, there is only one daughter in a family, but a hundred grooms are wooing her.” This is not a difficult matter, I agree to give my daughter in marriage to the frog, but on one condition: let him build a golden bridge from my palace to his house overnight, and plant willows on both sides of the bridge, and on the willows there should be fruits, and not simple ones, but pearls and agates. If the little frog fulfills this condition, I will give him my daughter for him.
The matchmaker left the palace, went to the old people and told them about the imperial condition. The little frog heard, got angry and said:
“The Emperor set this condition in order to mock me. Let's see who puts who to shame! He will not see a golden bridge in the morning, but the ruins of his golden mansions and precious mansions.
At midnight the emperor was awakened by a loud noise. I looked: the whole palace was in water. Before his eyes, the walls began to collapse one after another, and by dawn, only ruins remained of the palace. The emperor, frightened to death, barely escaped with his family.
The emperor called the matchmaker and said:
“I agree to everything, just let the frog build me a palace again.”
The matchmaker went to the old men and conveyed to them the words of the emperor. The little frog heard it, went out into the street, first turned to the west, then to the east, croaked once, twice, three times - the water disappeared. In the morning, the emperor opened his eyes and in place of the palace he saw a new one, several floors high. From the gate to the old people's house there was a golden bridge, on both sides of it there were willows, and on the willows hung pearls and agates. At the sight of such a miracle, the emperor could say nothing more and gave his daughter in marriage to the frog.
Seeing that her fiancé was a frog and not a man, the princess was saddened. However, at night, instead of a frog, she saw a handsome, slender young man next to her and calmed down. The old people were also happy to learn that their son was not a frog, but a man.
One day, the old people were invited to a house for a wedding, and they went there with their daughter-in-law. They came and lo and behold, their son was there too. The guests could not get enough of the handsome young man and asked each other: Whose son is this? How good is it?
One said:
“On the way here I saw him, he came out of the house of an old man who was collecting dung. This is probably his son.
Another said:
- Heh! I have never heard of the old man having a son. He has a frog. Was it not for him that the old man took the emperor's daughter as his wife?
So the guests carried on a conversation among themselves, and everyone wanted to question the young man.
The princess listened and listened and suddenly thought:
“During the day he wears a frog skin, and at night he takes it off. While he’s here, I’ll go home and hide his frog skin so that he won’t wear it anymore.”
Having decided so, the princess turned to her mother-in-law:
“I’m not feeling well, maybe we should go home?”
- How can I leave if the bride has not yet been brought? We'll be laughed at!
However, the princess stood her ground and pretended to be sick. Then the old woman apologized to the other women, said that her daughter-in-law was not well, and left with her. At home, the princess immediately went to her room, found a frog skin and threw it into the old well. Returning home in the afternoon, the husband wanted to put on the frog skin, but it was not there. He searched for a long time, then asked his wife if she had seen his frog skin, and his wife answered: no, they say, she didn’t. The husband was very sad. From then on, he lost weight day by day, and his face became more and more yellow. And then one day he couldn’t get out of bed. The old men became worried and began to beg the princess to give back the frog skin if she had hidden it. But the princess said she knew nothing. And my husband got worse and worse. The old men called the doctor, he felt the patient’s pulse and said with alarm:
- Give him the frog skin, otherwise he will die.
Hearing this, the princess began to burn and confessed everything. She said she threw the frog skin into the well. The old men ran to the old well and pulled out the frog skin, but it had already begun to rot.
The princess's husband, seeing this, became sad and turned to his father, mother and wife:
“You need to leave this house without delay.” The city is located in a basin, and in three days the rain will pour in and flood it. I am the son of the dragon lord of the Eastern Sea. More than ten years ago I put on a frog skin - I wanted to turn into a human. In three days I would have become human forever, but now nothing can be improved. So warn the emperor to hurry up and leave the city with his subjects.
The old men and the princess did not want to leave and cried bitterly. Then the son of the dragon lord said to them:
“If you really love me, go immediately to the high hill in the western part of the city - you will be safe there.” And don’t worry about me: as soon as the rain starts pouring, I will go to the Eastern Sea.
Hearing these words, the princess burst into tears and said:
- I'm not going anywhere. I'd rather die in your arms.
But the son of the dragon king did not agree, but persuaded her and the old people to leave him and leave. Crying, the old people and the princess left their home and, having reached the western part of the city, climbed a high hill.
The doctor heard everything and ran to the emperor to warn him of the impending trouble.
“Your Majesty,” he turned to the emperor, “trouble is approaching us.” Your frog son-in-law is not a simple creature, but the son of an old dragon lord. Your daughter took his frog skin and threw it into the old well. Now the skin has begun to rot. If this had not happened, in three days he would have turned into a human forever. But now it’s too late to talk about it. In three days it will rain. My son-in-law asked me to tell you that you and your subjects should leave the capital: everything will be flooded with water.
The emperor was frightened and, without hesitation, gave the order to his subjects to quickly leave the city. In three days, he and his subjects left the city and took refuge in a safe place. On the third day, a yellow whirlwind came from the east. Immediately a downpour began, which poured into the city in a continuous stream and instantly flooded it. The princess and the old people stood on the hill and saw it all. And over the place where their house stood, thunder rumbled, and a dragon could be seen soaring into the sky. He made several circles above the heads of the princess and the old people and flew away to the east. The princess realized that this dragon was her husband. She cried and called him, but he disappeared into the clouds and disappeared from sight.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru