Somewhere, once upon a time, a rich merchant had an only son who was not afraid of anything - well, nothing in the world! For others, even fairy tales make their hair stand on end, but as soon as he hears about something, he strives to find it and take a look. It doesn’t matter to him whether it’s white day or midnight to climb all the abandoned castles, churches, crypts, cemeteries, where ghosts supposedly roam or other passions are going on.
And it took him into his head to see the world. He says:
“If there is nothing here that can frighten me, although people talk about it, then I’ll go to foreign lands.” I want to know what it is - fear!
No matter how much his father and mother tried to dissuade him, he wouldn’t mind! They barely persuaded him to take weapons, a horse and money with him on the journey. Mother cooked a good farewell dinner: milk soup with dumplings, noodle soup with poppy seeds, and smoked pork with porridge. She stuffed as many flatbreads into the bag as she could, and cheese, and such and such. And our Neboyaka bravely set off on his journey, although it was late at night.
He spent the night in a dense forest, and, waking up, went further, through an impassable thicket, where there was such thick darkness that he could not see either the day in front of him or the sun above his head. He made his way along unknown paths through bogs, descended into bottomless abysses, climbed steep slopes and peaks where only a bird could fly. On his way there were clearings and lawns, pastures and clearings, and windbreaks among the spruce forest. But the further he walked, the thicker the forest became, and the swamps and impassable rubble became more frequent! It was difficult to find a hollow for the night. The food supplies have run out, only here and there blueberries or lingonberries are picked, and thank you for that. Otherwise he will eat the root itself, and the horse will nibble the lichen. So a week passed, and another, and a third. . .
Completely exhausted and hungry, our Neboyaka finally made his way to some unfamiliar castle. A big castle, beautiful, but just imagine: it stands on a rock that is round and smooth, like an egg. And the merchant’s son doesn’t know that the castle is cursed. And twelve spirits cursed him. How to get into it? He will approach from that side and from this side, he cannot approach anywhere. It would have remained that way, the castle right in front of his nose, and he was on the bare ground all night chatting his teeth from the cold, but suddenly the gates opened on their own!
Neboyaka comes in and sees a stable, food in the trough, oats in the well, water in the tub. I walked through the chambers, not a single living soul anywhere! And only in one room there is a table under a beautiful linen tablecloth, on the table there is bread, a salt shaker and a glass of wine, on the glass there is an inscription: “For the traveler to refresh himself.”
Neboyaka sat down, drank a glass - and then the dishes, one after another, from nowhere, appeared on the table! I had dinner and fell into bed in the next room on a soft bed. It had been a long time since he had spent the night in warmth and comfort. As soon as I lay down I fell asleep.
At exactly midnight Neboyaka woke up from a terrible noise and roar! Suddenly the doors swing open and terrible monsters burst into the room - those same twelve spirits - and all with clubs. They pounced on him: “Oh, you, Neboyaka, aren’t you afraid of anything? Wait, we’ll make you afraid! You’re breaking into our castle like a robber! Now you can’t escape from here!
They didn’t let me say a word, they scooped me up and beat and threshed like a sheaf. They would have broken their arms and legs if the hour had not killed them - the spirits disappeared.
Beaten, he barely made it to bed. And there is ointment there to lubricate the wounds. He anointed it and immediately all the pain went away, as if by hand, and he fell asleep and slept until daylight.
When I woke up, I jumped up, got dressed, and there were already snacks waiting on the table. Neboyak ate to his fill and said:
- Well, wait, monsters, I’ll get to you! In the evening you didn’t let me open my mouth, you just beat and stabbed me. But it’s okay, now I’ll deal with you!
But he looked for them in vain, he turned the whole castle over - there was no one anywhere. There is not a soul in the entire castle, only his horse stands in the stable, well-groomed, fed, neighing merrily, beating his hoof, and greeting its owner.
What are you going to do here?
Again the merchant's son walked around the entire castle, rummaging through all the corners. And finally he found a small door in one wall, which he could crawl through only by bending over. I straightened up, and there was a beautiful garden! In the middle of the garden there is a lake, clear and round, like an eye, and in the lake there is a beautiful maiden, sitting up to her shoulders in water.
- What are you doing here, beautiful maiden? – asks Neboyaka. - Why don’t you get out of the water?
– I would be glad, but I can’t. I've been bewitched.
-Who bewitched you?
-Who cast the spell? I lived here with my father and mother, as if in paradise. But one day we were attacked by twelve evil spirits. They could not harm their father and mother, because they were kings. Evil spirits drove them far beyond the sea. And I’ve been toiling here since I was twelve years old. I can’t go in or out of the water.
I can’t even talk to you, you’ve already suffered through the night because of me.
If you can stand it for two more nights, you will free me completely. But now these monsters will first begin to cajole you and persuade you to say at least a word. If you say the word, you will die. Then they will start to frighten and torment you even more, so that you will chicken out. But if you don’t speak up and don’t get scared, you will see such a miracle!
- Whatever happens, cannot be avoided! – exclaimed Neboyaka.
And he began to persuade the princess not to worry about him and to calmly wait for how the matter would end.
The next evening everything was repeated: a delicious dinner was on the table, Neboyaka ate and drank and went to bed. He lay down, but he couldn’t sleep, he tossed and turned, rolled from side to side, as if ants were crawling on his back. Midnight struck and the guests arrived.
They revolve around him, persuade him, flatter him, if only he would drop at least a word. But he is silent, not a sound. Then they flew at him, grabbed him, inflated him like a bellows, and our Neboyaka almost burst! Then they started kicking him around the room as if he were a ball.
Neboyaka is silent, not a groan, not a complaint, he endured everything. Their hour struck and the spirits disappeared. As soon as Neboyaka crawled to bed, he smeared himself with healing ointment and fell into a deep sleep.
He came to the lake in the morning, and the princess appeared from the water up to her waist and became even more beautiful. Neboyaka walked by the lake all day, talking to the princess.
And on the third evening there was a delicious dinner on the table and again Neboyaka ate and drank, but he just didn’t feel the taste. I kept wondering what would happen to him the third time. Sleep escapes my eyes. Fear takes over. And the monsters surrounded him, the biggest one being held by an iron spit. And again they began to weave flattering speeches and persuade him to say at least a word. And suddenly they scream:
- If you are nothing, then we are something! You'll still scream when we fry you!
They stuck a spit into him and threw him alive into the fire. Then they took it off the spit and shouted:
– Isn’t it enough for you? Let's add it now!
But then their hour struck and they disappeared. Oh, how difficult it was for Neboyaka to get to the ointment! I finally got there, smeared myself and fell into a good sleep!
In the morning he rubbed his eyes - and the servants walked around him on tiptoe, so as not to disturb him, but to be at hand when he woke up.
Neboyaka got out of bed, they brought him an expensive dress. He got dressed, and the princess was already meeting him in the room.
For freeing her from the slaughter, he thanks and presents her with a gift - a beautiful white towel, and her name and her father and mother’s names are embroidered on the towel.
“Here’s your guarantee that I’m your bride.” But our wedding will not happen if you do not take me to my father. If you love it, let's go! We'll have a wedding there.
He had to promise, although his heart was not in it.
Soon they got ready to set off, jumped on their horses and rode off.
One day they had to spend the night at some inn in the mountains. The old witch, Baba Yaga, was in charge there. And she had a daughter. When Baba Yaga saw our Neboyaka, she immediately decided to marry her ugly daughter to him. But how can I force him? But you know, Baba Yaga doesn’t care about anything. She took a needle, stuck it into Neboyaka’s dress, and he fell down as if he had been knocked down. In the morning, the princess almost lost her mind with grief. There’s just nothing to do, you can’t turn the groom back. She buried, cried and set off on her way to her father alone.
Only the princess came from the inn, and the old witch dug Neboyaku out of his grave, pulled out the needle and he came to life. But the witch’s daughter doesn’t even want to look, she wanders around the neighborhood, looking for her sweetheart. It's all in vain. Baba Yaga bewitched him so much that he cannot go far from her house. And if he leaves, everything comes back.
And then one day he met a kind old sorceress in a dense forest.
“Oh, Neboyaka,” she says to him, “if only you knew what happened to you!” – And told him how it all happened.
And then she says to Neboyaka:
- Here's a blade of grass for you! Stick it in your left boot under the straw and go back to the inn. Your owner will turn into a cat and attack you. If you kick her with your pretty left foot, she will spill wheel ointment. And you pack your things and hurry up to me. What happens to you next, don’t worry about it!
Neboyaka is just approaching the yard, and a big black cat is already rushing towards him, meowing in a bad voice, trying to scratch out his eyes. Neboyaka kicked her only once, and she spilled wheel ointment. And he collected his belongings and returned to the old woman.
- Here I am, grandma! What do you recommend?
“I’ll advise, I’ll advise,” says the old woman. - Don't be afraid of the witches anymore. She will remain a wheel grease until I intervene. And you walk along this middle path, and go in the middle! Neither right nor left, not a step!
You will come to a high, steep mountain, which you can climb only one after another along a well-trodden path. At the very top you will see a garden, in that garden every flower is crushed by a human bone. Collect all the bones and bury them. When you bury them, a monster will approach you; you have already seen it in the cursed castle. It will not touch you, but will thank you and ask what you want for your good deed. Then you demand that it reveal to you where your princess is. That's all you ask for. That monster is the king and ruler of all four-legged animals, and he can do this.
She didn’t have to tell her twice; Neboyaka thanked the good sorceress and walked down the middle of the road. Without any adventures, he safely climbed the mountain, into that same garden. He collected and buried the bones, and the withered flowers immediately came to life. And suddenly a monster appeared in front of him, as if from the earth. He thanked him and asked what reward he was asking for for a good deed.
“I don’t want anything,” the young man answers, “just tell me where my missing princess is.”
- This, brother, is unknown to me. But wait, I’ll call my subjects from all over the world. They will tell you where they met her.
And the monster roared, and the earth shook. Animals rushed towards him from all over, the monster asked everyone, from the smallest to the largest, if they had come across the princess. But no one met her anywhere.
“Well, don’t be sad, winter will pass, summer will come,” says the monster. “What my animal subjects haven’t seen, the birds can see.” Go to the second garden! There you will find my brother, king and lord of the birds.
Neboyaka went to the second garden. And then another monster comes towards him:
-What do you want here?
-What do I want? Tell me, please, where can I look for my princess?
“Okay, have it your way,” the king of birds replies, “after all, I also like the good deed that you did in my brother’s garden.” From that moment on, my flowers bloomed even more beautifully. Wait a little!
And the monster blew its trumpet loudly, until the earth opened up. It was as if the mountains had moved from their places, there was such thunder in the sky when birds began to fly here from all over the world.
-Have you seen such and such a princess? - asks the king of birds from small to great.
The birds answer, they haven’t seen them, they say. So the king would not have achieved anything from his feathered subjects, when suddenly thunder roared over the dense forest again. A huge old eagle flies in circles over the garden and descends.
“Why are you showing up so late, haven’t you heard me calling my subjects?” – the king reprimands him.
- I heard, my lord. But I just had to carry the daughter of the Black Sea king across the very black sea.
- So this is my princess! – exclaimed the delighted Neboyaka. -Are you healthy?
“What will she do,” answers the eagle, “if she’s dressing up for a wedding now!”
-Who is the wedding with?
- Yes, with some prince!
- Will we still be in time for that wedding?
“Maybe we’ll make it, maybe we won’t,” said the eagle. “I’m already old and I don’t have the same strength.” We might fall into the sea.
- Oh, eagle, just try!
- Okay, but if we die, the sin will be on your soul.
- Whatever happens, cannot be avoided! – cried Neboyaka and saddled a huge eagle.
They happily flew over the sea and descended near the city itself, where the father of that princess lived.
Neboyaka thanked the eagle and asked how he could thank him.
“For good, good,” answers the eagle. - Bring your sword here and cut off my head!
- I? Should I cut off your head?! No way!
- Draw your sword! - the eagle thundered, - otherwise it will be too late and you will never meet your princess. As soon as my head falls off, tear out my heart and cut it into two halves, but so that they remain intact on one side. Whenever you open your heart, any of your wishes will come true. Well, bring the sword and cut my little head! Enough, I’ve lived, served, it’s time to rest!
Like it or not, Neboyaka had to fulfill his will. I did everything as the eagle ordered. Cut off the head. He took out the heart. He opened his heart and asked for a hundred ducats first. Lo and behold, they are already lying in front of him!
Our Neboyaka rushed into the city and settled down in a tavern. The innkeeper just shakes his head, looking at the strange guest. What kind of person? Where did it come from? Why does he behave so strangely?
“Are you surprised, Mr. Innkeeper?” – Neboyaka asks him.
“Otherwise, sir, you are mine,” the innkeeper replies, “only the blind do not see, and the deaf do not hear.” After all, there is an order hanging on every wall. And trumpeters throughout the city are trumpeting that our king is playing a wedding and calling everyone together! Everyone there will eat and drink to their heart's content and receive a ducat.
“Not bad, not bad,” said Neboyaka. “But if Mister King’s is like this, ours should be even cleaner!”
The innkeeper's eyes widened, is this guy crazy or something?! But when Neboyaka began pouring out his ducats tirelessly, the earth felt heavy, he immediately calmed down and began to look at him differently.
“And now,” Neboyaka ordered, “buy me a golden carriage, a winged horse and gather servants, and more of them!” Place dishes on the table to suit every taste, and the drinks are the best! Anyone who comes to my wedding - I’m also getting married - will receive five ducats!
When all of this spread throughout the city, the royal chambers were instantly empty. Everyone who could stand on their feet rushed to the tavern to eat, drink, have fun, and rake in ducats. The king saw what was happening and sent a bow to Neboyaka with a request not to do such a disgrace to him, but rather to welcome him to the royal wedding.
Without thinking twice, the golden carriage rushed to the royal castle. But instead of Neboyaka, there was a servant in disguise sitting in it. And Neboyaka himself, dressed as a servant, sat down next to the coachman on the box. Check, just for fun, whether his betrothed recognizes him.
In the castle, important gentlemen immediately seated a servant next to them, they raced to bring exquisite dishes, pour expensive wines, and clink glasses. And then they offer to dance with the young woman. The servant, whom the owner had trained in advance, ate and drank until he was full, but refused to dance, he was not smart, they say. But he has a servant who is extremely dexterous and there is no dancer in the world to out-dance him.
The young woman heard what they were talking about and, as if jokingly, said that she would willingly dance with the young man for whom there was no worthy partner in the world.
And then Neboyaka led the princess into a circle. That was a dancer! He throws the young man off his knee and suddenly drops on the floor the same towel that the princess gave him back then, in the sworn castle. She immediately recognized her towel, picked it up and exclaimed:
“I won’t take as my husband the one I swore to, but I’ll take the one who dropped the towel!”
Meanwhile, Neboyaka jumped out of the hall and everyone rushed to look for him. There was a lot of chaos, noise and commotion here. He, having changed his clothes, went out into the middle of the hall. You can’t take your eyes off the handsome young man. The princess immediately recognized him and threw herself on his neck in front of everyone.
There was such joy all around!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru