There lived a husband and wife in the world, and they had so many children that they could not feed them all. And they had to take their three daughters to the forest and leave them there. The girls wandered and wandered through the forest, got hungry, and it was already getting dark. Finally, they saw that a light had begun to glow ahead, and they went towards it. We got to a house and knocked on the door. A woman came out of the house and asked:
- What do you need? The girls replied:
- Let us spend the night with you and give us something to eat!
“I can’t,” said the woman. - My husband is a giant. He will come home and kill you. The girls began to beg her:
- Let us in! We'll at least sit for a while. And we'll leave before he returns!
Well, the woman let the girls in, sat them down in front of the fire and gave them bread and milk. But as soon as they started eating, there was a loud knock on the door, and someone said in a scary voice:
Fi-fi-fo-fam, I can smell the spirit of a man there! Who is this, your wife?
“Yes, these are three poor girls,” she answered. - We're cold and hungry. They will leave soon. Don't touch them, hubby!
The giant did not answer anything, sat down at the table, ate to his fill, and ordered the girls to stay the night. They were put to sleep on the same bed with the three daughters of the giant.
The youngest guest's name was Molly Whappie, and she was a very smart girl. When they went to bed, the giant put straw cords around the necks of her and her sisters, and gold chains for his daughters. Molly Whappie noticed this, realized that something was fishy, and decided to stay on her guard. She waited until everyone was fast asleep, and then she slipped out of bed, took off the straw laces from herself and her sisters, and the gold chains from the giant’s daughters. Then she put straw laces on the giant’s daughters, and gold chains on herself and her sisters, and lay down again.
In the middle of the night, the giant got up, took a heavy club in one hand, and felt for the straw laces in the dark with the other. Then he hit his own daughters with a club and killed them, and he himself lay down again and fell asleep contentedly - after all, he was sure that he had killed other people’s girls.
Then Molly Vappi thought it was time to run away. She woke up the sisters, told them not to make any noise, and all three slipped out of the house and ran away. They ran and ran until the morning, until they saw the palace in front of them. And this was the palace of the king himself, and Molly entered there and told the king about everything that had happened. To this the king says to her:
“Well, Molly, you’re a smart girl,” she outwitted the giant himself. Try to cheat better! Steal the giant's sword that hangs on the headboard of his bed, and I will marry your elder sister to my eldest son!
Molly said she would try. So she came back, sneaked into the giant’s house and hid under his bed.
The giant burst home, ate his fill and went to bed. Molly waited until he was snoring and then climbed out from under the bed. She climbed over the giant and took off his sword. But as she was dragging the sword across the bed, it rang and the giant immediately jumped up. Molly, sword in hand, rushed to run out of the house.
Molly ran and ran until she reached the Hair-Thin Bridge. She ran across the bridge, but the giant was afraid to step on it - he stopped and shouted:
- Well, watch out, Molly Whappie! Dare to come again!
- Oh, I only need to cross the bridge two times! - Molly answered and ran away.
So Molly got the giant's sword for the king. And the king's eldest son married her elder sister.
Then the king says to Molly Vappi:
- Well done, Molly! You did it all cleverly! But try to cheat even more hunters. Steal the wallet that lies under the giant's pillow, and I will marry your second sister to my second son.
And Molly again told the king that she would try. So she went to the giant, sneaked into his room and hid under the bed. And when the giant had dinner and started snoring, she crawled out, put her hand under the pillow and pulled out her wallet. But before she had time to run out of the house, the giant woke up and rushed after her.
Molly ran and ran until she reached the Hair-Thin Bridge. Molly ran across the bridge, but the giant was afraid to step on it - he stopped and shouted:
- Well, watch out, Molly Whappie! Dare to come again!
- Oh, I just need to cross the bridge once! - Molly answered and ran away.
So Molly got the giant's wallet for the king. And the king's second son married her second sister.
Then the king says to Molly Vappi:
- You're a smart girl, Molly! And if you turn out to be even smarter and steal the giant’s ring, I will marry you off to my youngest son!
Molly told the king that she would try. And so she again went to the giant and hid under his bed. The giant soon returned home, ate his fill, fell asleep and began snoring throughout the house.
And Molly got out, climbed onto the bed, took the giant by the hand and began to take off the ring. She turned it over and over, and finally took it off, but then the giant jumped up and grabbed her.
“I finally got you, Molly Whappie!” - he cried. - Well, tell me: if I annoyed you as much as you did to me, what would you do to me?
“I would put you in a bag, along with a cat and a dog,” Molly answered, “and I would also put some thread, a needle and scissors in there.” Then she would hang the bag on the wall, and she would go into the forest to get a thicker stick. I would choose the thickest club, and at home I would put the bag on the floor and start beating you until you gave up the ghost.
“Well, Molly,” said the giant, “that’s what I’ll do!”
The giant took out a bag, put Molly in it, put the cat and dog in it, and also some thread, a needle and scissors, hung the bag on the wall, and he went into the forest to get a club.
Here Molly sits in a sack and sings:
Ah, if only you saw what I see!
-What do you see there, Molly? - asks her giant’s wife.
Molly doesn’t say a word in response to her - she just sings and sings:
Ah, if only you saw what I see!
- Let me sit in the bag instead of you, Molly! - asked the giant’s wife. - I want to see what you see there.
Molly cut a hole in the bag with scissors, took a needle and thread and jumped out. Then she helped the giant’s wife get into the bag and immediately sewed it up tightly.
The giant's wife sat and sat in the bag, saw nothing and began to ask for freedom. But Molly didn’t listen to her - she hid behind the door and began to wait.
So the giant returned home with a whole tree in his hands, took the sack off the wall and started hammering on it with all his might. His wife shouts to him:
- It’s me, hubby!
But then the dog barked, the cat meowed, and the giant did not recognize his wife’s voice. Meanwhile, Molly slipped out from behind the door, and the giant noticed her and set off in pursuit.
Molly ran and ran until she reached the Hair-Thin Bridge. Molly ran across the bridge, but the giant was afraid to step on it - he stopped and shouted:
- Well, watch out, Molly Whappie! Dare to come again!
“Oh, why, my dear, should I go here now?” - Molly answered and ran away.
So Molly brought a magic ring to the king and married the younger prince. And they never met the giant again in their lives.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru