In ancient times, they say, there lived in the same village a man and his wife. They lived very poorly. It was so poor that their house, plastered with clay, only stood on forty supports, otherwise it would have fallen. And they say they had a son. People's sons are like sons, but these people's sons don't get off the stove, they always play with the cat. Teaches a cat to speak in human language and walk on its hind legs.
Time passes, mother and father grow old. They walk for a day, lie down for two. They became completely ill, and soon died. Their neighbors buried them.
The son is lying on the stove, crying bitterly, asking his cat for advice, because now, except for the cat, he has no one left in the whole wide world.
- What are we going to do? - he says to the cat. “You and I can’t live on charity.” Let's go wherever our eyes lead us.
And so, when it was getting light, the horseman and his cat left their native village. And from the house he only took his father’s old knife—he had nothing else to take.
They walked for a long time. The cat at least catches mice, but the horseman’s stomach is cramping from hunger.
We reached a forest and settled down to rest. The horseman tried to fall asleep, but sleep does not come on an empty stomach. Tosses and turns from side to side.
- Why aren’t you sleeping? - asks the cat. What a dream it is when you want to eat. And so the night passed. Early in the morning they heard someone crying piteously in the forest. - Do you hear? — asked the horseman. “Looks like someone is crying in the forest?”
“Let’s go there,” the cat answers.
And they went.
They walked not far and came out into a forest clearing. And in the clearing a tall pine tree grows. And at the very top of the pine tree a large nest can be seen. It is from this nest that the crying is heard, as if a child is moaning.
“I’ll climb the pine tree,” says the horseman. “Come what may.”
And he climbed the pine tree. He looks, and in the nest two cubs of the Semrug bird (a mythical magical bird of enormous size) are crying. They saw the horseman and spoke in human voices:
- Why did you come here? After all, every day a snake flies to us. He has already eaten two of our brothers. Today is our turn. And if he sees you, he will eat you too.
“He’ll eat it if he doesn’t choke,” the horseman answers. “I’ll help you out.” Where's your mom?
— Our mother is the queen of birds. She flew over the Kafa (according to legend, mountains located at the edge of the world, the earth) mountains, to a meeting of birds and should return soon. With her, the snake would not have dared to touch us.
Suddenly a whirlwind arose and the forest began to rustle. The chicks huddled together:
- There our enemy is flying.
Indeed, a monster flew in with the whirlwind and entangled the pine tree. When the snake raised its head to get the chicks from the nest, the horseman plunged his father’s knife into the monster. The snake immediately fell to the ground.
The chicks were happy.
“Don’t leave us, horseman,” they say. “We will give you something to drink and feed you to your fill.”
We all ate together, drank and talked about business.
“Well, horseman,” the chicks began, “now listen to what we tell you.” Our mother will fly in and ask who you are and why you came here. Don’t say anything, we’ll tell you ourselves that you saved us from cruel death. She will give you silver and gold, don’t take anything, say that you have enough good things of your own. Ask her for a magic ring. Now hide under your wing, no matter how bad things turn out.
As they said, that's how it happened.
Semrug arrived and asked:
- What is it that smells like human spirit? Is there anyone who is a stranger? The chicks answer:
“There are no strangers, and neither are our two brothers.”
-Where are they?
- The snake ate them.
The Semrug bird became sad.
- How did you survive? - asks his cubs.
- One brave horseman saved us. Look at the ground. Do you see the snake lying dead? It was he who killed him.
Semrug looks - and indeed, the snake lies dead.
- Where is that brave horseman? she asks.
- Yes, he’s sitting under the wing.
“Well, come out, horseman,” says Semrug, “come out, don’t be afraid.” What should I give you for saving my children?
“I don’t need anything,” the guy answers, “except just a magic ring.”
And the baby birds also ask:
- Give the ring to the horseman, mom. There is nothing to do, the queen of birds agreed and gave the ring.
- If you manage to protect the ring, you will be the ruler of all the paris and genies! As soon as you put the ring on your thumb, they will all fly to you and ask: “Our Padishah, anything?” And order whatever you want. Everyone will do it. Just don't lose the ring - it will be bad.
Semrug put the ring on her toe - immediately a crowd of paris and genies swarmed in. Semrug told them:
“Now he will become your ruler, and serve him.” And handing the ring to the horseman, she said: “If you want, don’t go anywhere, live with us.”
The horseman thanked him, but refused.
“I’ll go my own way,” he said and descended to the ground.
Here they are walking with a cat through the forest, talking to each other. When we were tired, we sat down to rest.
- Well, what should we do with this ring? - the horseman asks the cat and puts the ring on his thumb. As soon as I put it on, the priests and genies from all over the world flew in: “Our Padishah Sultan, anything?”
And the horseman still hasn’t figured out what to ask.
“Is there,” he asks, “a place on earth where no human has gone before?”
“Yes,” they answer. “There is one island in the Mohit Sea.” It is so beautiful, there are countless berries and fruits there, and no human has ever set foot there.
- Take me and my cat there. He just said that he is already sitting on that island with his cat. And it’s so beautiful here: extraordinary flowers, strange fruits grow, and the sea water shimmers like an emerald. The horseman was amazed and he and the cat decided to stay and live here.
“If only we could build a palace,” he said, putting the ring on his thumb.
The genies and the paris appeared.
- Build me a two-story palace from pearls and yachts.
Before I had time to finish, the palace had already risen on the shore. On the second floor of the palace there is a wonderful garden, between the trees in that garden there are all kinds of food, even peas. And you don’t even need to go up to the second floor yourself. He sat down on the bed with a red satin blanket, and the bed itself lifted him up.
The horseman walked around the palace with his cat, it was good here. It's just boring.
“You and I have everything,” he says to the cat, “what should we do now?”
“Now you need to get married,” the cat answers.
The horseman summoned the genies and paris and ordered them to bring him portraits of the most beautiful girls from all over the world.
“I’ll choose one of them as my wife,” said the horseman.
The genies scattered and searched for beautiful girls. They searched for a long time, but they didn’t like any of the girls. Finally we arrived in the flower state. The padishah of flowers has a daughter of unprecedented beauty. The genies showed the portrait of the padishah's daughter to our horseman. And as soon as he looked at the portrait, he said:
- Bring it to me.
And it was night on earth. As soon as the horseman said his words, he looked - she was already there, as if she had fallen asleep in the room. After all, the genies brought her here while she was sleeping.
Early in the morning the beauty wakes up and can’t believe her eyes: she went to bed in her palace, but woke up in someone else’s.
She jumped out of bed, ran to the window, and there was the sea and the azure sky.
“Oh, I’m lost!” she says, sitting down on the bed with a satin blanket. And how the bed rises! And the beauty turned out to be on the second floor.
She walked around there among the flowers and strange plants and marveled at the abundance of different foods. I didn’t even see anything like this from my father, the padishah of the flower state!
“Apparently, I found myself in a completely different world, which I not only knew nothing about, but had never even heard of,” the girl thinks. She sat down on the bed, went downstairs and only then saw the sleeping horseman.
- Get up, horseman, how did you get here? - asks him.
And the horseman answers her:
“I ordered you to be brought here.” You will live here now. Let’s go, I’ll show you the island...” And they, holding hands, went to see the island.
Now let's look at the girl's father. The padishah of the land of flowers wakes up in the morning, but his daughter is not there. He loved his daughter so much that when he learned about it, he fell unconscious. In those days, there was no telephone, no telegraph. Mounted Cossacks were sent out. They won't find it anywhere.
Then the padishah called all the healers and wizards to him. He promises half of his fortune to whoever finds it. Everyone began to think and wonder where his daughter could have gone. No one has solved the mystery.
“We can’t,” they said. “There, there, there lives a witch.” Unless she can help.
The padishah ordered to bring her. She began to cast magic.
“Oh, my lord,” she said, “your daughter is alive.” Lives with one horseman on a sea island. And although it is difficult, I can deliver your daughter to you.
The padishah agreed.
The sorceress turned into a tarred barrel, rolled towards the sea, hit a wave and swam to the island. And on the island the barrel turned into an old woman. Dzhigit was not at home at that time. The old woman found out about this and went straight to the palace. The girl saw her, was delighted with the new person on the island and asked:
- Oh, grandma, how did you end up here? How did you get here?
The old lady responded:
- This island, daughter, stands in the middle of the sea. By the will of the horseman, the genies carried you to the island. The girl heard those words and cried bitterly.
“Don’t cry,” the old woman tells her. “Your father told me to take you back to the flower state.” Only I don’t know the secret of magic.
- How can you bring me back?
- But listen to me and do everything as I tell you. The horseman will come home, and you smile and greet him kindly. He will be surprised by this, and you be even more affectionate. Hug him, kiss him, and then say: “For four years now, tell me, you’ve been keeping me here through magic. What if something happens to you, what should I do then? Reveal to me the secret of magic, so that I too know...”
Then the girl saw through the window that the horseman and the cat were returning.
- Hide, grandma, hurry, your husband is coming.
The old woman turned into a gray mouse and ran away under the sekyo.
[Sekyo - solid bunks in a hut]
And the girl smiles, as if she really was very happy about her husband, and greets him affectionately.
- Why are you so affectionate today? - the horseman is surprised.
Oh, she fawns over her husband even more, she does everything as the old lady taught. She hugs him, kisses him, and then says in a quiet voice:
“For four years now you’ve been keeping me here through magic.” What if something happens to you, what should I do then? Reveal to me the secret of magic, so that I too know...
“And I have a magic ring that fulfills all my wishes, if you just put it on your thumb.”
“Show me,” the wife asks. The horseman gives her the magic ring.
- Do you want me to hide it in a safe place? - asks the wife.
“Just please don’t lose it, otherwise it will be bad.”
As soon as the horseman fell asleep at night, the daughter of the padishah got up, woke up the old woman, and put the ring on her thumb. The genies and paris flocked and asked:
- Padishah is our Sultan, what do you want?
“Throw this horseman and the cat into the nettles, and take me and my grandmother to my father in this palace.”
She just said it, everything was done at that very moment. The sorceress immediately ran to the padishah.
“I returned,” he says, “to you, O padishahs, your daughter, as she promised, and in addition a palace made of precious stones...”
The padishah looked, and next to his palace there was another palace, and so rich that he even forgot about his grief.
The daughter woke up, ran out to him, and cried for a long time with joy.
But my father cannot take his eyes off the palace.
“Don’t cry,” he says, “this palace alone is more valuable than my entire state.” Apparently, your husband was not an empty person...
The padishah of the flower country ordered to give the sorceress a bag of potatoes as a reward. It was a hungry year, and the old woman, for joy, did not know what to do with herself.
Let them be so happy, and let’s take a look at what’s wrong with our horseman.
The horseman woke up. He looks - he and his cat are lying in the nettles. There is no palace, no wife, no magic ring.
- Oh, we died! - the horseman says to the cat. - What should we do now?
The cat was silent, thought and began to teach:
- Let's build a raft. Will the wave take us where we need to go? We must find your wife at all costs.
And so they did. They built a raft and sailed on the waves. They swam and swam and arrived at some shore. The steppe is all around: no village, no housing, nothing. The horseman is eating the grass stems and is hungry. They walked for many days and finally saw the city in front of them.
Dzhigit says to his cat:
- Whatever city you and I come to, let’s agree not to leave each other.
“I would rather die than leave you,” the cat answers.
They came to the city. We went to the last house. There is an old woman sitting in that house.
- Let us go, grandma. “We’ll just rest a little and drink some tea,” says the horseman.
- Come in, son.
The cat immediately began to catch mice, and the old woman began to treat the horseman to tea and ask about life:
- Where did you come from, son, have you lost anything or are you looking for it?
- I, grandma, want to hire myself as a worker. What kind of city is this where I came?
“This is a flower state, son,” says the old woman.
So chance brought the horseman and his faithful cat to the right place.
- What do you hear, grandma, in the city?
- Oh son, we have great joy in our city. The daughter of the padishah disappeared for four years. But now the witch alone found her and returned her to her father. They say that on a sea island a horseman kept her in his possession through magic. Now the daughter is here, and even the palace in which she lived on the island is also here. Our padishah is so joyful, so kind now: if you have bread, eat for your health, and if your legs are moving, walk for your health. Here.
“I’ll go, grandma, and have a look at the palace, and let my cat stay with you.” He himself says in a whisper to the cat:
“I’m walking around the palace, if anything happens, you’ll find me.”
A horseman walks past the palace, all in rags. At this time, the padishah and his wife were on the balcony. Seeing him, the padishah’s wife said:
- Look how handsome the horseman is walking. Our assistant cook died, wouldn’t this one do? They brought the horseman to the padishah:
- Where, horseman, are you going, where are you going?
“I want to hire myself as a worker, I’m looking for an owner.”
“We have a cook left without an assistant.” Come to us.
The horseman agreed. He washed himself in the bathhouse, dressed himself in a white shirt and became so handsome that the padishah vizier Khaibullah fell in love with him. The horseman really reminded the vizier of his son, who died early. Khaibulla caressed the horseman. And he’s doing well as a cook. His potatoes are whole and never boil over.
-Where did you learn this? - they ask him. They eat and praise. And the horseman cooks for himself, and he watches and listens to see if they say anything.
One day the padishah decided to convene guests and renovate the overseas palace. Padishahs and rich nobles from other countries came in large numbers. The feast on the mountain has begun. And the witch was invited. And as soon as she saw the horseman, she realized everything and turned black with anger.
- What's happened? - they ask her. And she answered:
- I have a headache.
They laid her down. The feast went on without her. When the guests left, the sovereign of the flower country again began to inquire:
- What happened?
- Your cook is that horseman. He will destroy us all.
The padishah became angry and ordered the horseman to be seized, put in a basement, and killed with a cruel death.
Vizier Khaibulla heard about this, ran to the horseman and told him everything.
The horseman began to spin, and Khaibulla said:
- Don't be afraid, I will help you out.
And he ran to the padishah, because the padishah had called all the viziers to council. Some say:
- Cut off his head. Others:
- Drown in the sea.
Khaibullah suggests:
- Let's throw him into a bottomless well. And if it’s your mercy, I’ll leave him myself.
And the padishah trusted Khaibullah very much.
- Kill as you want, just don’t leave him alive.
Khaibullah took about a dozen soldiers, so that the padishah wouldn’t think anything, took the horseman out at midnight and led him into the forest. In the forest he says to the soldiers:
- I will pay you dearly. But let's lower the horseman into the well using a lasso. And let no one know about it.
And so they did. They tied up the horseman, gave him food, and poured water into a jug. The vizier hugged him:
- Don’t worry, don’t be sad. I will come to you.
And then they lowered the horseman into the well using a lasso. And the padishah was told that the horseman had been thrown into a bottomless well, and now he would never come out.
Several days passed. The cat waited and waited for its owner and became worried. She tried to get out, but the old woman wouldn’t let her out. Then the cat broke the window and still ran away. She walked around the palace where the horseman lived for several days and worked as a cook, and then she picked up the trail and ran to the well. She went down to him and looked: the owner was alive, only mice were tormenting him. The cat quickly dealt with them. Many mice died here.
The vizier of the mouse padishah came running, saw all this, and reported to his sovereign:
“A certain horseman appeared in our state and destroyed many of our soldiers.
- Go, find out from him more decently what he wants. Then we will do everything,” said the mouse padishah.
The vizier came to the horseman and asked:
- Why did you come, why did they kill our troops? Maybe I’ll do whatever you need, just don’t destroy my people.
“Okay,” says the horseman, “we won’t touch your soldiers if you manage to take the magic ring from the daughter of the padishah of the flower state.”
The mouse padishah summoned his subjects from all over the world and gave the order:
- Find the magic ring, even if you have to gnaw through all the walls of the palace to do it.
Indeed, the mice chewed through the walls, chests, and cabinets in the palace. How many expensive fabrics they chewed in search of the magic ring! Finally, one little mouse climbed into the head of the padishah’s daughter and noticed that the magic ring was tied in a knot to her hair. The mice gnawed her hair, stole the ring and delivered it to her.
Dzhigit put the magic ring on his thumb. The genies are right there:
- Padishah is our Sultan, what do you want? The horseman first ordered himself to be pulled out of the well, then he said:
“Take me, the cat and my wife, along with the palace, back to the island.”
He just said it, and he was already in the palace, as if he had never left there.
The daughter of the padishah wakes up and looks: she is again on the sea island. She doesn’t know what to do, she wakes up her husband. And he tells her:
- What kind of punishment can I come up with for you? And he began to beat her three times every day. What a life this is!
Let them live like this, we will return to the padishah.
The flower state is in turmoil again. The padishah's daughter disappeared along with her rich palace. The padishah convenes the viziers and says:
- That horseman turned out to be alive!
“I killed him,” Khaibullah answers. They called the witch.
“I knew how to find my daughter the first time, and I can do it now.” If you don’t find it, I’ll have you executed.
What can she do? She arrived on the island again. She entered the palace. Dzhigit was not at home at that time. The daughter of the padishah says:
- Oh, grandma, go away. The first time I lost...
- No, daughter, I came to help you out.
- No, grandma, now you won’t fool him. He wears the ring with him all the time, and puts it in his mouth at night.
“That’s good,” the old woman rejoiced. “Listen to me and do as I tell you.” Here's some snuff for you. Your husband will fall asleep, you take a pinch and let him smell it. He will sneeze, the ring will pop out, you grab it quickly.
The daughter of the padishah hid the old woman, and then the horseman returned.
Well, we went to bed. Dzhigit took the ring in his mouth and fell fast asleep. His wife put a pinch of snuff to his nose, and he sneezed. The ring popped out. The old woman quickly put the ring on her finger and ordered the genies and the paris to move the palace to the flower state, and abandon the horseman and his cat on the island.
Within a minute the old woman's order was carried out. The padishah of the flower state was very happy.
Let's leave them and return to the horseman.
The horseman woke up. No palace, no wife. What to do? The horseman was sunbathing. And then the cat fell ill from grief.
“Looks like my death is near,” she says to the horseman. “You should bury me on our island.”
She said so and died. The horseman was completely sad. He was left alone in the whole wide world. I buried my cat and said goodbye to her. He built a raft and again, like the first time, sailed on the waves. Wherever the wind blows, the raft floats. Finally the raft washed ashore. The horseman came ashore. There's forest all around. Some strange berries grow in the forest. And they are so beautiful, so ripe. Dzhigit picked them up and ate them. And immediately horns appeared on his head, and he was covered all over with thick hair.
“No, I won’t see happiness,” the horseman thought sadly. “And why did I eat these berries? If the hunters see me, they will kill me.”
And the horseman ran in more often. He ran out into the clearing. And other berries grow there. Not quite ripe, paleish.
“It probably won’t be worse than it is,” the horseman thought and ate these berries. And immediately the horns disappeared, the fur disappeared, and he became a handsome horseman again. “What a miracle?” he wonders. “Wait a minute, won’t they be useful to me?” And the horseman picked up those and other berries and went on.
Whether it was long or short, he came to the flower state. He knocked on the door of the same old woman whom he had visited that time. The old lady asks:
- Where have you been, son, for so long?
“I went, grandma, and served the rich.” My cat died. I grieved and moved to your lands again. What can you hear in your city?
“And our padishah’s daughter disappeared again, we searched for her for a long time and found her again.
- How, grandma, do you know everything?
— A poor girl lives next door, so she works as a servant for the daughter of the padishah. So she told me.
- Does she live in the palace or does she come home?
- He’s coming, son, he’s coming.
“Can’t I see her?”
- Why can’t it? Can. So a girl comes home in the evening, and the old woman calls her to her, as if on business. A poor girl comes in and sees a horseman sitting, handsome, with a handsome face. She fell in love right away. “Help me,” the horseman tells her.
“I’ll help you with everything I can,” the girl answers.
- Just be careful not to tell anyone.
- Okay, tell me.
- I'll give you three red berries. Feed them to your mistress someday. And what happens then, you will see for yourself.
That's what the girl did. In the morning I brought those berries to the bedroom of the padishah’s daughter and put them on the table. She woke up and there were berries on the table. Beautiful, ripe. She had never seen such berries before. Jumped out of bed - hop! - and ate the berries. As soon as she ate it, horns came out of her head, a tail appeared, and she was covered all over with thick fur.
The courtiers saw it and ran away from the palace. They reported to the padishah that they had come to such a misfortune: you had a daughter, and now the devil has horns, and she has even forgotten how to speak.
The padishah got scared. He called all the viziers and ordered them to unravel the secret of magic.
They brought in so many doctors and different professors! Others tried to saw off the horns, but as soon as they cut them down, the horns grew again. Whisperers, sorcerers and doctors were gathered from all over the world. But none of them can help. Even that witch turned out to be powerless. The padishah ordered her head to be cut off.
The old woman with whom the horseman was staying heard about everything at the market and told him:
- Oh-oh-oh, what a grief, son. They say that the daughter of our padishah grew horns and she herself seemed to be covered with fur. What a pure beast...
- Go, grandmother, tell the padishah: a doctor came to see me, he supposedly knows the cure for all diseases. I will treat her myself.
No sooner said than done.
The old woman came to the padishah. So and so, they say, the doctor has arrived, he knows the cure for all diseases.
The padishah quickly went to the doctor.
-Can you cure my daughter? - asks.
“But I need to look at it,” the horseman answers.
The padishah brings the doctor to the palace. The doctor says:
- There must be no one left in the palace. Everyone left the palace, only the padishah’s daughter in animal form and the doctor remained. Then the horseman began to woo his wife, the traitor, with a stick.
And then he gave me one berry, one that was not quite ripe, its horns were missing.
She fell to her knees and began to beg:
- Please give me some more berries...
“Give me back my magic ring, then you’ll still get some berries.”
“There’s a box in the chest over there.” There is a ring in that box. Take it.
Dzhigit takes the ring and hands the berries to his wife. She ate it and regained her former appearance.
“Oh, you scoundrel,” he says to her, “how much grief you have brought me.”
And then the padishah appeared with his entourage. He looks, his daughter has become a beauty again.
“Ask whatever you want,” the padishah offers, “I’ll give you everything.”
“No, my padishah, I don’t need anything,” said the horseman and, refusing the reward, left the palace. As he was leaving, he managed to whisper to Khaibullah the Vizier: “You too leave, now this palace will not exist.”
Khaibullah the vizier did just that: he left with his family.
And the horseman put the ring on his thumb and ordered the genies and the peris to take the padishah’s palace and throw it into the sea. They did just that.
The people were glad that the evil padishah was no more. People began to ask the horseman to be their ruler. He refused. A smart and kind man from the poor began to rule the country. And the horseman took as his wife the girl who helped him.
There is now a feast there. All tables are laden with food. The wine flows like a river. I couldn't get to the wedding, I was late.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru