Once upon a time there lived a king. This king had a bird so beautiful and charming that there was no other like it in the world. The king doted on her.
One day, when he was feeding her, they forgot to close the door, and the bird flew away. The king called his sons - and he had two of them - and said:
“The one of you who finds this bird in a year will receive half of my kingdom.”
The brothers set out on the road together; Having reached the crossroads, they parted. Soon the eldest met an old woman - it was a fairy.
-Where are you going? - she asked him.
- I’m going where I need to go, it’s none of your business.
The old woman crossed onto the road along which the younger one was walking.
“Where are you, beautiful young man, going?”
— I'm going to look for the bird that my father missed
- Here's a whistle for you. Go with him to the Forest of Ardennes; you will whistle once and say: “I have come for my father’s bird.” All the birds will vying with each other shout: “It’s me! It's me!" Only one will say: “It’s not me!” Take that.
The prince thanked the old woman, put the whistle in his pocket and went to the Ardennes Forest. There he whistled once and said:
“I came for my father’s bird.” All the birds shouted vyingly:
- It's me! It's me! It's me! Only one said:
- It's not me.
The prince grabbed her and went back to his father's castle.
Soon he met his brother, who immediately asked him:
- Did you find the bird?
- Yes, I found it.
- Give it to me! -No!
- Then I will kill you!
- Kill if you want.
The brother killed the prince, dug a hole and buried the dead man there, and he and the bird returned to the castle. The king was very happy that the bird was found, ordered a big feast and called a lot of people to it.
Meanwhile, a shepherd was walking through the forest; his dog began to scratch the ground where the young prince was buried. The shepherd followed the dog and noticed that where she was scratching, something was sticking out of the ground. At first he thought it was a finger, but upon closer inspection he saw that it was a whistle. The shepherd took it and put it to his lips, and the whistle suddenly spoke:
Whistle, shepherd, sparing no effort, My dear brother killed me In the dense Ardennes forest.
The local mayor, who lived next door to the shepherd, heard about the whistle and bought it. Arriving at the invitation to the royal feast, he took the whistle, and the guests suddenly heard the words:
- Whistle, mayor, sparing no effort,
My own brother killed me in the dense Ardennes forest.
Then the king, in turn, took the whistle, and he again said:
- Whistle, father, sparing no effort,
My own brother killed me in the dense Ardennes forest.
The king's eldest son realized that they were talking about him. He wanted to run, but they caught up with him, brought him back and forced him to whistle. And the whistle said:
- Whistle, executioner, sparing no effort,
You're the one who killed me
In the dense Ardennes forest.
The king immediately ordered his son to be burned alive at the stake.
He then asked the shepherd if he could point out the place where he found the whistle. The shepherd said that he didn’t remember exactly, but he would try to find the way, and his dog went straight to that place. As soon as the body was dug out of the ground, the young man jumped to his feet.
To celebrate, the king ordered a magnificent celebration. I visited there and got home again.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru