A long time ago, there lived a kind woman on the seashore. She had five sons, five Liu brothers: Liu the first, Liu the second, Liu the third, Liu the fourth and Liu the fifth. They were so similar that no one could tell them apart. Even my mother was sometimes confused. But each of the brothers had their own peculiarity. The elder brother, Liu the First, could drink an entire sea and then release it back. Liu the second was not afraid of fire. Liu the third could extend his legs to any length. Liu Four's body was stronger than the strongest iron. And the youngest, Liu the fifth, understood the language of birds and animals.
They lived happily and comfortably. Liu was the first to catch fish. Liu II kept the fire burning in the house. Liu the third and Liu the fourth were working in the field. And Liu the fifth grazed geese and sheep.
One day, a rich and evil ruler of the region came to the place where the Liu brothers lived to hunt. At the edge of the forest he saw a herd and a shepherd boy. It was Liu the fifth. A beautiful mountain goat was sleeping next to him. The ruler grabbed his bow and took aim at her. Frightened Liu shouted - the goat disappeared into the forest in one leap. A deer looked out from the thicket. Liu shouted to him in deer language: “Save yourself!” - and the deer disappeared. Cheerful hares jumped out into the clearing. Liu shouted in hare language - and the hares galloped away. All the animals hid, the forest was empty. It was in vain that the ruler shot with a bow - he only lost his arrows. He was very angry. And good Liu was glad that he managed to help his forest friends.
Then the evil ruler ordered the capture of Liu-fifth. He was taken to the city and thrown into a cage with a hungry tiger. The ruler thought that the tiger would tear the brave poor man to pieces, but Liu the fifth spoke to the tiger in tiger language, and the ferocious beast did not touch him.
The ruler learned about this and became even more embittered. He ordered Liu-5's head to be cut off. But then Liu the fourth, whose body was stronger than the strongest iron, snuck into the prison where Liu the fifth was taken. He remained in prison in place of his brother, and Liu the fifth calmly walked out and went home. They were so similar to each other that no one noticed anything.
The next morning, Liu the Fourth was taken to the city square. The executioner wanted to cut off his head, but the heaviest and strongest sword hit the iron neck of Liu the Fourth and shattered into pieces. Then the embittered ruler ordered him to be taken to prison, and the next morning to throw the daring poor man off a high cliff.
At night, Liu the third, who could stretch his legs to any length, entered the prison and remained there in place of his brother. And again no one guessed anything.
At dawn, Liu the third was taken to a high cliff. If a person was thrown from that cliff, he would die.
So the executioners pushed Liu the third down, and he calmly stretched out his wonderful legs and stood on them as if nothing had happened. The enraged ruler galloped off to his palace. On the same day, he ordered the rebellious Liu to be burned at the stake.
The executioners built a huge fire in the square in front of the ruler's palace. Guards with bows and spears surrounded the square. Crowds of people came from all directions.
Meanwhile, Liu the second, who was not afraid of fire, snuck into the prison and quietly replaced Liu the third. He barely had time to do this when the ruler gave the sign to begin the execution.
The executioners grabbed Liu the second and threw him into the middle of a huge fire. The flames rose above the houses. Liu the second disappeared in fire and black smoke. The people cried with pity. And the cruel ruler laughed evilly.
But soon the smoke cleared and everyone saw: Liu the second was standing in the middle of the fire and smiling as if nothing had happened. The ruler almost suffocated with rage.
-What kind of person is this? - he shouted. “It doesn’t burn in fire, the grin doesn’t break, the sword doesn’t take it, and even a fierce tiger doesn’t touch it!” But no, it cannot be that I, a powerful ruler, could not cope with a simple peasant!
And the cruel ruler decided to take Liu far out to sea, tie a heavy stone around his neck and drown him. “Maybe he’s not afraid of water either?” thought the ruler. “Anyway, the stone won’t let him float up. Let him stay at the bottom of the sea!” And in the evening of the same day he ordered the execution.
With great difficulty, Liu the First, who could drink the entire sea, made his way into prison. He took his brother's place and waited.
In the evening he was taken to the ship. The ruler and his retinue were placed on another ship. The ships sailed far out to sea. At the deepest place, Liu the First was tied around his neck with a huge stone and, at the sign of the cruel ruler, thrown into the sea waves.
As soon as Liu the first disappeared under the water, he immediately began to drink the sea. The ruler saw: the sea was disappearing somewhere - and turned yellow with fear. Soon the seabed was exposed. The ships capsized, the ruler and his retinue got stuck in the sea mud.
Meanwhile, Liu the first untied the stone and calmly went ashore. Then he released the sea back. The ruler and his retinue remained at the bottom.
And the people rejoiced at the death of the evil ruler and glorified the invincible Liu brothers.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru