Once upon a time there lived a rich noble woman in a beautiful castle. She had her own daughter and stepdaughter. The daughter's name was Kaho; she was ugly, unkempt and of an evil disposition. Stepdaughter
but, named Zhanna, was beautiful, friendly, kind and reasonable.
The woman loved only her own daughter and gave her everything she wanted: elegant dresses, jewelry, but she hated her stepdaughter, dressed her in rags and treated her like a servant.
In the forest not far from the castle there was an ancient chapel, where, according to legend, a priest who died many years ago came every night; he kept trying to celebrate mass, but he was unable to do so because there was no cleric.
They also claimed that at midnight a light glowed in the chapel and that there were ghosts there.
To get to the chapel, one had to go through a crossroads, where, people said, the night dancers staged their games and fun. After sunset, everyone tried to stay away from these places.
The evil stepmother kept thinking and wondering how she could get rid of Zhanna, because then her husband’s inheritance would go not to Zhanna, but to Kato.
One Sunday evening in December, the stepmother sat at the hearth, listening to her servants sing old grandfather's songs and tell tales, each more wonderful than the other. When the time came to read the evening prayer together, she cried out:
“Oh, what a shame, I forgot my prayer book in the chapel.” Zhanna, quickly go get him!
“Okay, mother,” answered the poor thing.
But she was scared, and she said to one of the maids:
- Come with me, Margarita.
“No, no, you will go alone,” said the stepmother. - Aren't you afraid? At your age? Go!
Zhanna had to submit. Her dog Fidel, who accompanied her everywhere, ran after her. But Kato chased the dog, kicked it and locked the door so Fidel couldn’t get out.
Fidel jumped out the window, breaking the glass, and caught up with her mistress. Zhanna cheered up a little when she saw the dog, stroked it and told her to keep up.
It was a wonderful moonlit night. Having reached the crossroads, the girl saw seven tiny people wearing large hats - seven dwarfs who were dancing, holding hands and singing. She stopped, not daring to continue on her way. One of the dancers stepped aside, but the rest ran up to her and drew her into their round dance, exclaiming:
- Dance with us, beauty, dance, dance with us!
“Willingly, my lords,” said Zhanna politely, “if it pleases you.”
And she spun in a round dance. The songs and dances continued, the dwarfs tried even harder than before.
Suddenly the dwarf, holding Jeanne by the right hand, exclaimed:
- Oh, what a sweet, lovely girl!
“Let her become twice as sweet and charming,” answered the one who held her left hand.
- Oh, what a smart girl! - said the third.
- Let her become twice as smart! - wished the fourth.
- Oh, what a beautiful girl! - said the fifth.
- Let her become twice as beautiful! - said the sixth.
- Beautiful as the stars in the sky! - added the seventh, the one who did not dance with the others.
Then the dwarfs, one after another, again with the exception of the seventh, kissed the girl and disappeared.
Having reached the chapel, Zhanna did not see or hear anything terrible or unusual there. The stepmother's prayer book lay on the bench, she took it and took it home.
If Zhanna was beautiful before, now she has become even more beautiful. Her beauty shone with a bright light and, like the May sun, illuminated the road along which the girl walked.
“Here is your prayer book, mother,” she said, handing it to her stepmother.
She looked at the girl, speechless with amazement, gaping! her mouth, her eyes wide, she was so blinded by her stepdaughter's beauty. When she was finally able to speak, she; asked:
- What happened to you? Why have you changed so much?
“Nothing happened, mother,” Zhanna answered. She didn't know that she had become such a beauty.
—Did you meet any night dancers at the crossroads?
- Yes, mother, I met them and even danced with them.
“And they didn’t harm you?”
- No, they were even very kind to me.
- Really? What did you see in the chapel?
“I didn’t notice anything unusual there, mother.”
- Really? Well, go to bed!
The stepmother spent the night thinking about what had happened to Zhanna.
“It’s probably the night dancers that changed her,” she told herself. “Tomorrow afternoon, during a walk, I will go into the chapel and again leave the prayer book there, and in the evening I will send my daughter for it. Let's see what happens.
The next day she told her daughter that she would be as beautiful as Jeanne, even more beautiful, if she also went to the old chapel at night to get her mother’s prayer book.
Kato didn’t really want to go—she was a coward. But in the end she agreed, flattered that she would become as beautiful as Jeanne, or even more beautiful.
When the clock struck eleven, the mother said to her daughter:
- It's time to go, my child! Go and don’t be afraid, nothing bad will happen to you.
Kato was very cowardly, but she was dying to become beautiful.
“Fidel, come with me,” she said and began to call her sister’s dog. But she ran to Zhanna. Kato gave her a kick and said:
- Okay, ugly dog! I can manage without you! - And she set off.
Having reached the crossroads, she saw dwarfs dancing and singing. Kato stopped and began to look at them, and they came up to her and asked:
“Will you dance with us, madam?”
- Oh, you horse droppings! — Kato answered. - I will dance with such dirty creatures! Ugh!
- Oh, what an ugly girl! - said one of the dwarfs.
“Let her become twice as uglier,” said the second.
- Oh, what a stupid girl! - said the third.
- Let her become twice as stupid! - wished the fourth.
- Oh, what a wicked girl! - said the fifth.
- Let her become twice as angry! - said the sixth.
“And let the oka spew out droppings with every word it says,” added the seventh.
And they disappeared.
Beauty Kato went home without visiting the chapel. l Seeing her daughter, the mother cried out:
- Lord God! What happened to you, my poor daughter? Didn't you bring my prayer book?
- Of course, no! Go yourself if you need to! And she vomited up a bunch of horse droppings,
- What does this mean? Haven't you met night dancers?
- Of course! I saw them, these vile creatures! And she again vomited a pile of horse droppings.
A stench came from her, her face looked like a poisonous toad that was about to burst. Kato was stupid before, but now she has become even stupider and, in addition, has become as angry as a mad dog.
Her mother locked her in a room where no one could see her and swore that she would take revenge on Jeanne.
Soon rumors about Jeanne's beauty and intelligence spread throughout the country, and rich and noble people began to flock from all over the world, wanting to look at her and marry her. However, the stepmother refused them all.
One day a young prince appeared. The girl's beauty and good disposition captivated him so much that he immediately asked for her hand in marriage. But the villainous stepmother decided to play a trick with him in her own way and decided to replace her stepdaughter with her own daughter. She told the prince that it was a great honor to have him as a son-in-law, and both she and the girl gladly accepted his offer.
The engagement was immediately celebrated and the wedding day was set. The prince sent the bride rings, emeralds, gold and silver jewelry.
When the wedding day arrived, the prince appeared with a large retinue of noble ladies and gentlemen.
The stepmother hung her Kato with jewelry donated by the prince, and locked poor Jeanne in a large chest so that no one could see her.
The young prince arrived in a luxurious gilded carriage.
Getting ready to go to church, the villainess wrapped her daughter in a blanket and got into the carriage with her. When the carriage doors slammed shut, all three found themselves in darkness. Under the pretext that the bride was very excited, the prince was strictly ordered not to speak to her until the wedding was over.
The carriage started moving. The dog Fidel ran after her. She burst into tears: “Woof! Woof! Woof! - which should have meant: “Not her! Not her! Not that one! Not that one!
- Why does she bark all the time? - asked the prince.
“So, stupidly,” answered Kato’s mother. “Don’t pay any attention to that vile mongrel.” She, too, would like to get into the carriage, but she will spoil us all.
When they were crossing the forest adjacent to the castle, a bird sat on the carriage and said in bird language:
Alas! Alas! Jeannette, the bride, Who belongs in the royal palace, Left at home, in the chest,
Submissive to a sad fate.
And the one who is more evil than all animals,
Whoever needs to be driven out quickly, considers herself in honor, on the throne. Ah, prince! She shouldn't wear a crown!
-What is this bird singing? - the prince asked in surprise.
“Nothing, my son-in-law,” answered Kato’s mother, “don’t pay attention.”
- Oh, apparently something extraordinary is happening here! I want to know what's going on here!
The bird sang again. Then the prince ordered the coachman to stop the horses and got out of the carriage. He opened the doors and lifted the bride's veil. Seeing what an ugly monster he was about to marry, he screamed in horror and said:
- Get out, vile brutes! Snakes and toads! Get out, hurry up, and let me never see you again!
And he immediately rushed back with his retinue, leaving the “beauty” Kato and her mother in the middle of the road.
Returning to the castle, the prince began to walk through all the rooms, shouting:
- Zhanna, my dear, where are you?
- Here! - Zhanna responded from the chest.
The prince grabbed an ax, broke open the chest and pulled Jeanne out of there. Then he put her, without allowing her to change clothes, into his gilded carriage, took her to church and married her, to the surprise of the whole world. And the dog Fidel, who never left her owner, followed her all the way to the altar.
On the way back, the wedding cortege overtook Kato and her mother, who were walking through the mud and crying with anger.
Then magnificent festivities and rich feasts were arranged. The couple lived happily and had many children.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru