It was a long time ago. I can't even remember when.
In a remote mountain gorge, a hunter lived in a cave. And on his farm he only had a pig and a horse.
And then one day, returning home from hunting, he saw children playing in the street in one of the villages. The hunter dropped the Kamcha and asked one of the children to give it to him. One boy picked up the kamcha and handed it to the rider. And he grabbed the boy, put him on a horse in front of him and rode off. The boy cried and screamed, but could not escape from the hunter’s hands. And he, calming the boy, said that he was taking him to a wonderful place, where he would feel very good, that he had boys like him living with him.
They raced for many days and nights and finally reached the gloomy gorge where the hunter lived.
The next day, the hunter ordered the boy to clean the stable and take care of the pig and horse. He only gave him the stew that is used to feed animals.
Some time passed... Early one morning the hunter got ready to go hunting, as always, and said to the boy:
“I’ll be back in seven days, don’t you dare run away without me: I’ll still find you everywhere!” I leave the pig and horse at home. Look after them! Give the pig some good stew, which I prepared for it, and oats, and give the horse some iron filings. If you don’t follow my orders, bad things will happen to you!
The hunter said so and left. And the boy hung his head and went to the stable. He looked at the horse, and his heart sank with pity: the horse was so thin that it could barely stand on its feet. And the pig was very fat and grunted angrily. The boy felt sorry for the unfortunate horse, but he did not know how to help him. Suddenly the horse spoke in a human voice:
“You feed me what the owner told me to feed the pig, and give her my food.” You'll see - I'll be useful to you!
The boy began to do just that. Soon the pig grew thin, and the horse grew stronger. When the owner returned from hunting, he immediately noticed everything and asked the boy:
– Why did the pig lose so much weight? Apparently you didn't feed her well? Well, look, if you disobey me one more time, I will order the pig to eat you!
The boy got scared and cried.
“What should I do?” he thought. He went to the stable, and there the horse again spoke to him in a human voice:
- The owner is an evil man. He stole you from your parents, deceived you, forced you to work for him, and doesn’t feed you. He will destroy both you and me. Let's run away from him! Only you must try to find three magical things in his cave: a mirror, a razor and a comb. When he goes hunting again, you look for these things in the cave.
The boy was delighted and began to wait for the right moment. And then one day, when the hunter went hunting again, the boy began to look for magical things. He searched the entire cave, lifted stones, looked into dark corners, but found nothing.
The boy cried bitterly and went back to the stable. And the horse says to him:
– You probably haven’t noticed – at the very end of the cave there is a small gap. You need to get in there and feel around in the dark with your hands.
Hearing this, the boy did everything as the horse told him: he found a narrow hole in the wall of the cave, barely climbed into it and began to fumble with his hands. And - lo and behold! - He held a small wooden box in his hands.
When, barely out of breath with joy, he ran into the stable, the horse ordered to take the bridle out of the box, put it on him and, without wasting a minute, jump on his back. And they rushed...
After some time the horse said to the boy:
- Look back, see if the owner is chasing us?
The boy looked back and saw that a hunter riding on a pig was catching up with them.
Then the horse ordered the boy to open the box, take the comb and throw it towards the owner.
– Let a tall, tall fence of sharp stakes grow! - the horse exclaimed.
And immediately a tall fence of sharp stakes grew. But the pig dug a hole with its nose and crawled under the fence.
- The pig has passed! – the boy whispered with fear. Then the horse told the boy that he needed to take the mirror from the box and throw it.
– Let there be a huge bottomless sea! - said the horse.
And now a bottomless sea appeared... But the pig swam across the sea.
– What should we do now? - the boy shouted. - The pig swam across the sea! They're catching up with us!
- Don't be afraid! - the horse answered. - Take the razor out of the drawer and throw it away!
– Let the iron wall grow to the sky! - he said. And now an iron wall has grown up to the sky.
The pig tried to dig under the wall, but could not. Meanwhile, the boy and the horse rode up to a large village, and the horse said to the boy:
- This is a good village. A wise old man once lived here. He made it so that if a person lies or deceives another, a black spot will immediately appear on his back, which can neither be washed off nor erased. The deceiver was immediately recognized by the black spot. You live here. There are a lot of good people here. Take four hairs from my tail and, when you really need me, go to the outskirts of the village, burn one hair - and I will rush to you.
The boy took four horsehairs and put them in his pocket.
- Well, now goodbye! - said the horse and disappeared.
And the boy stood for a long time, waiting for the horse to show up.
But he was nowhere to be found. The boy thought and thought and went to the palace, which was visible not far away.
The palace belonged to a rich khan. The boy hired himself as a worker: to clean the stables and water the cattle.
Time passed... The boy grew up and became a young man.
The Khan's three daughters also grew up and became beautiful girls. And the time has come to marry them off. The Khan announced that he would give one of his daughters to the one who could jump over his palace on a horse. Many daredevils tried to jump over, but no one managed to do it.
Then the young man went to the outskirts of the village and burned the horsehair. A horse immediately appeared in front of him and asked:
-What do you need, my friend?
“I really like the khan’s daughter, but he will give her only to the one who jumps over his palace on a horse.”
“I’ll help you,” the horse answered. “Sit on me and tighten the girths.”
And the horse easily jumped over the palace. People came running and surrounded the young man. They were surprised and admired his courage and strength. Then the khan said to the young man:
- Choose one of your daughters as your wife. And the young man chose his youngest daughter.
After the wedding, the khan ordered his humble son-in-law and daughter to be housed in a chicken coop. And he gave his two eldest daughters to the khan’s sons and settled them in large, beautiful houses.
Quite a long time passed... And then one day a herd of horses was stolen from the khan. Khan called the elder and... middle sons-in-law and said to them:
- My favorite horses were stolen from me, find them, then you will receive a big reward from me.
The sons-in-law quickly prepared for the journey. And the younger son-in-law set fire to the horse's hair, and again a horse appeared in front of him.
- Help me! - the younger son-in-law told him. “They stole the khan’s herd, and his sons-in-law have already gone to look for him. I have to find this herd before they do.
“Well,” the horse answered, “get on me.” I'll help you!
The young man jumped on his horse, and they rushed off... They soon caught up with the horse thieves, and the younger son-in-law took the Khan's herd from them.
The horse said goodbye and disappeared, and the young man drove the horses home.
Meanwhile, the older sons-in-law traveled many roads and visited many places, but they could not find the horses. And we already turned home. Here we met our younger son-in-law, who was driving a herd.
- Hello, horsemen! – the young man greeted them. – Where are you coming from and where are you going?
“So that’s how it is,” they answered, “we were looking for the Khan’s herd, but we couldn’t find it anywhere.”
“And I found this herd,” said the younger son-in-law and pointed to the horses.
The hearts of the khan's sons-in-law were lit with fierce envy and malice. They conspired among themselves, grabbed the young man, twisted his hands and tied him to a tree.
“Let the animals eat him!” - they decided. And the herd drove home.
On the way, they met an amazing horse - it emerged from the forest and galloped ahead of the herd.
“Look how handsome he is,” said one of the sons-in-law, “let’s catch him and give him to the khan.”
“Go ahead,” agreed the other son-in-law. “The khan will reward us well for him.”
And this way and that the sons-in-law tried to catch the strange horse. There was no way they could do it. The horse lets them get very close, but the sons-in-law just want to grab him by the bridle, and look, he’s already galloping far, far away. They chased him with a lasso, chased him, and were completely exhausted. Then the horse turned around, neighed as if laughing at them, and disappeared.
The sons-in-law were frightened: they realized that they had met no ordinary horse, and they hurried home, fearing that they might lose the herd along the way.
...Many people gathered near the Khan's palace. They greeted the brave men who found the stolen cattle, admired their dexterity, their courage.
And the magic horse returned to the forest and found a young man tied to a tree. He gnawed through the ropes with which he was twisted and took him home. On the way, the horse said to the young man:
– Don’t tell anyone what happened...
- But the sons-in-law deceived the khan! - the young man exclaimed.
“Don’t rush... The field is sown not with words, but with seeds,” said the horse and rushed as fast as he could into the village.
...The khan's elder sons-in-law learned that the younger son-in-law had returned safe and sound, and they trembled with fear that the deception would be revealed. But the young man didn’t say anything to anyone.
And so it happened that after some time the khan’s cattle were stolen again, this time – bulls and cows. The Khan again called his older sons-in-law and sent them in search of cattle, promising a large reward for this.
And the younger son-in-law went to the outskirts of the village and burned the horsehair for the third time. A horse appeared in front of him and said:
- Hurry up and sit on me and hold on tight! We must catch the thieves before the sun sets!
The young man sat down, and they rushed off... Soon they caught up with the thieves and took away the khan's cattle. Then the horse said goodbye to the young man and galloped away. And the young man drove the cattle home.
On the way, he decided to rest a little and stopped near a large, deep lake.
Soon the khan's elder sons-in-law also arrived at the lake. They traveled to many places, traveled many roads in search of the missing cattle, but were not found and now were returning home with nothing.
Seeing their younger son-in-law, they realized that he was ahead of them again and decided to kill him. They grabbed him, tied his hands and feet and threw him into a deep lake. And the cattle were driven home.
They were greeted with honors at the Khan's palace. People admired their dexterity and courage.
But the magic horse sensed trouble, and as soon as the older sons-in-law disappeared, he galloped to the deep lake. He saw that the young man’s hat was lying on the shore, and he understood what had happened. The horse dived into the lake and pulled out the young man, barely alive. He put him on his back and took him home.
On the road, when the young man came to his senses a little, the horse said to him:
- Don't tell anyone anything. Words melt like snow, but deeds stick like soot. Everything will open up on its own!
The young man obeyed his faithful horse and this time did not say anything to the khan.
...Some time passed... And it so happened that the khan suddenly became seriously ill and only reindeer milk could cure him.
The khan again called his older sons-in-law and sent them in search of reindeer milk, promising to reward him well for this.
The sons-in-law searched for this milk for a long time. We traveled to many places, traveled many roads, but we could not get hold of reindeer milk. And they decided to give the khan some cow's milk, saying that they had found a deer.
They gave the khan cow's milk to drink and received great rewards. However, this milk did not cure the khan. He felt even worse.
Then the younger son-in-law went to the outskirts of the village and set fire to the last horsehair. And now the magic horse is in front of him again. The young man told him about everything that had happened and asked:
– Help me, friend, this time too!
– Sit on my back and hold on tight! - the horse answered.
And they rushed to the mountains. Soon they caught a deer there, and the young man milked the deer's milk.
On the way back, when they approached the village, the horse said to the young man:
- Now I will open up to you. I am not a horse. I am a man, the same old man I told you about when we arrived in this village. But the evil hunter pursued me all the time. One day he managed to throw a magic bridle on me, and I turned into a horse. He forced me to work for him, fed me iron filings. And you saved me, found his magical things. In the wooden box was the very bridle with which he turned me into a horse. Now this bridle is on me, and I have become a human again, although I can change my appearance.
The horse said this and instantly disappeared.
Returning home, the younger son-in-law sent his wife to take reindeer milk to the khan, but added a little chicken droppings to it.
Khan drank the milk and said:
“Daughter, this milk is very tasty, but for some reason it smells like chicken droppings.”
“That’s right, father,” the daughter answered, “chicken droppings could have gotten into it, because my husband and I live in a chicken coop!”
After this, the khan ordered the stable to be given to his younger son-in-law for housing.
Then the younger son-in-law sent the khan more reindeer milk, but only threw a little horse manure into it.
“Delicious milk, daughter,” exclaimed the khan, “I feel better, although I have not fully recovered yet!” The only strange thing is that the milk smells like manure.
“What’s strange here, father,” said the daughter, “after all, my husband and I now live in a stable!”
That’s when the khan ordered the house to be given to his youngest daughter and her husband. And the younger son-in-law again sent the khan this time pure reindeer milk. The Khan drank and immediately recovered.
The khan threw a rich feast on the occasion of his recovery.
At this feast, he addressed his younger son-in-law with the following words:
- Thank you, my youngest son-in-law! You did a great thing for me - you cured me!
And the older sons-in-law, envying the younger one, began to shout and boast:
“Don’t forget, khan, that we saved all the cattle stolen from you!” Don’t forget how hard it was for us to get you proper reindeer milk!
Then a gray-haired old man, who had not been noticed by anyone before, came out of the crowd and, turning to his elder sons-in-law, said:
- Why are you telling lies? After all, it was the younger son-in-law who took all the cattle from the thieves. But you twisted his hands, tied him to a tree and threw him into the forest to be devoured by animals. And the second time they tied my hands and feet and threw me into a deep lake. You deceived the Khan again when you gave him cow's milk instead of deer's. That's why black spots appeared on your backs that can neither be washed off nor erased! Hearing these words, the khan became angry:
- How dare you, unknown, slander such noble people?
- You, khan, don’t believe other people’s words, believe your own eyes! Order your sons-in-law to undress and show their backs! – the old man said calmly.
The people who were at the feast became noisy and agitated... Everyone demanded that the sons-in-law take off their clothes and show their backs.
They resisted for a long time, but were still forced to obey... And everyone saw black spots on their backs. They tried to erase them, tried to wash them off... In vain! It was impossible to wash them off or erase them! That’s when people became convinced that the elder was right.
Everyone turned to look at him, but he was nowhere to be found. Someone said that in the yard the old man turned into a horse... But no one knew where this horse went. Only one boy allegedly saw the horse galloping away along the road...
That's how it was.
Soon the khan gave half of all his wealth to his younger son-in-law and made him his only heir.
And the khan's older sons-in-law were expelled from the village.
This is the end of the fairy tale.
Just as we have not seen all this, let us never see deception and lies.
alone.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru