Once upon a time there lived a husband and wife. And they had a daughter, Mara. Both daughter and mother were very hardworking, they always sat at home, spinning together by the fireplace.
One day Mara asked to go to her neighbors for a get-together - to spin there with her friends. The mother allowed, but gave her daughter a large bag filled with wool, and ordered all this wool to be spun. And she said:
“If you don’t spin all the wool today, then something bad will happen—I’ll turn into a cow, daughter.”
Well, Mara took the wool and went to the neighbors. I was spinning there all day, I wasn’t lazy, but lo and behold, evening had already come, and the wool in the bag was still not finished! At least a little, but still remains!
Mara hurried home. He knocks on the door, but doesn’t hear an answer! She knocked again and called:
- Mom, mom, open up!
And suddenly a mooing sound was heard from the house: “Moo!” The mother really turned into a cow.
At that time the father returned. She sees her daughter knocking, but no one opens for her. He strained himself, knocked down the door, and a cow came out to meet them.
The father did not grieve for long, another time he got married and brought his stepmother into the house. Soon she said to her husband:
- Let's slaughter the cow, why do we need it - it's already old, it doesn't bear calves, why feed it in vain!
The father agreed, and the cow was slaughtered. They began to cook the meat. They called Mara, they called: “Come have lunch!” - but she didn’t touch the meat - she knew that the cow was unusual. When Mara cleared the table, she did not throw the bones to the dogs, but collected them carefully and buried them in the ashes of the fireplace. She didn’t go anywhere else from the house, she kept sitting sadly in the very place where she used to work with her mother. A girl sits and looks sadly at the ashes. Because of this, her evil stepmother called her Mara-Cinderella.
One day, my father and stepmother were going to visit for a wedding, and Mara was invited. And she refused:
- What should Mara-Cinderella do there? Go alone!
They left, Mara remained at home.
And while the stepmother and father were feasting at the wedding, Mara dug up the bones of her mother in the ashes - and saw: they had turned into precious dresses and gold jewelry, and everything fit her. She got dressed up, put on her golden shoes, ran to the wedding and quickly danced in a round dance. Everyone marveled at her expensive outfit and admired her girlish beauty. No one even knows that the unfamiliar beauty is Mara-Cinderella! And the father didn’t recognize, and the stepmother didn’t recognize!
The guests danced until they dropped and began to leave. And Mara ran home before anyone else, buried all her clothes in the ashes, put on a shabby dress, and sat down again by the fire. The father and stepmother returned from the wedding and said: “Oh, daughter, you didn’t want to go to the wedding - so you didn’t see the miracle. They just started dancing in a round dance, a beautiful woman appeared, she was wearing a marvelous dress, shoes made of pure gold, and when she started dancing - you couldn’t take your eyes off her, a real enchantress, to everyone’s surprise. And then suddenly she ran away, where - no one knows! What a miracle!”
So Mara-Cinderella went to visit for three evenings, and no one there recognized her. On the third evening, on the way back, trouble happened: she was in a hurry to return home before her stepmother and father, she went across the river, tripped on the bridge, and the golden slipper fell into the water.
The next morning the royal people came to that river and brought their horses. Don't let the horses drink, let them back away! The light was shining brightly from Marina’s shoe, and they were scared. The king asked:
- Why are the horses backing away?
They answer him:
- An unknown light has lit up in the river, sir!
Well, the king went to the river to see what had happened, and ordered the servants to get that wonder. The servants brought him a golden slipper.
The king was surprised:
- Whose shoe is this? I am a king, and even then I don’t have gold shoes!
To find out the secret, the king ordered all the women to gather in his palace and try on the shoe they found: whoever fits it would be the owner.
All the women have gathered and are trying on - the shoe doesn’t fit anyone. And then the king asked if everyone had come.
They answered him:
- Everyone is here, everyone, sir! Only one dirty little one did not come, Mara-Cinderella. And there is no need to call her. She doesn’t even have a decent dress, she doesn’t even have anything to go out in.
- Nothing! - answered the king. - Call me.
Well, they fulfilled the royal will and brought Mara-Cinderella to the palace. As they tried on the shoe for her, everything immediately became clear.
- Be my wife! - said the king to Mara-Cinderella.
And she dug out wonderful dresses in the ashes and appeared before him in all her beauty.
That's how Mara became queen!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru