Once upon a time there lived a kind woman who had twelve beautiful sons. The thirteenth was a daughter - the most beautiful of all the girls, and her name was Doruntina.
The daughter has grown up, it’s time to marry her off.
However, none of the rich people of those places wooed her. Many wanted this, but no one decided to take her as his wife. Everyone considered themselves unworthy of such a wife.
And then a brave man came from afar - a good fellow, handsome and noble. He sent a messenger with the news that he wanted to take Doruntina as his wife. Mother and eleven older brothers were against marrying Doruntina to this young man, since the brave man, even though he was kind and noble, came from very distant places. Only the younger Kostandin agreed.
“Come on, mom, let’s get my sister married,” he says. This brave man is a good fellow. He came to my heart.
- Kostandin, my son, what are you saying? - his mother answers him. Do you want my Doruntina to be taken so far away? I would like to share my joy with Dorunta, but she won’t be around, the time will come to grieve - again without her.
“I swear to you, mother, if you want to see Doruntina, whether in joy or sorrow, I will personally bring her to you!”
The mother and eleven older brothers agreed: they became engaged, and then married Doruntin to a brave man from distant places. The wedding celebrations lasted nine days. On the tenth day, the brave man and his young wife set off for their distant homeland. Mother and daughter, parting, cried bitterly...
... Our homeland was engulfed in a series of wars at that time. Many foreigners came here to cause lawlessness and enslave. All twelve brothers came out to defend their land and were killed one after another.
When the first son died, the mother said.
- My son, I will not grieve or cry. You fell for your homeland, but there are still eleven other sons left ready to fight.
When six sons were dead, six brave and beloved boys, the mother shed only one tear and read one prayer in memory of each of them. When other sons began to die, the mother’s heart was filled with pain and she began to wail as if the whole country was crying with her.
“Poor me, poor me, and how bitter it is for me that Doruntina, who has taken up residence in my house, is not around during the days of trouble!”
“When the last son, Kostandin, died, the mother, dropping the yarn from her hands, began to wail.
- Oh, death, damned death! You took away twelve sons from me, and who knows, maybe you took away my only daughter, my most beloved.
— When the day of the funeral Saturday arrived, the mother went to the graves of her sons. The mother had twelve sons, and now there are twelve graves... At each grave, the mother lit one candle and read one prayer. Only at Kostandin’s grave did she light two candles and read two prayers, sob bitterly and cry out to him:
- Oh, my son, my son, my son!
And three more times.
- Oh, Kostandin! Oh, Kostandin! Oh, Kostandin!
Then she fell to the ground, grabbed the tombstone with her hands and began to wail:
- Kostandin, my son, what about your oath that you will bring me Doruntina, your sister? Your oath died with you and now rots in a dark grave!
So the mother wailed, sprinkling the tombstone with tears.
At midnight Kostandin rose from the grave. The tombstone turned into a horse, dark as night. The grave ground turned into a burqa, which was also dark as night. The ring that held the gravestone turned into a silver bridle. The daredevil jumped into the saddle, leaned forward, pressing his head into his shoulders, and spurred his horse. He overcame mountains and fields, rivers and streams in one breath, leaving villages, hills, and forests behind.
— Kostandin reached his sister’s house when the sun was already rising. That day was a holiday. In the clearing in front of the house, he met his sister’s children, his nephews, who were playing and chasing swallows. And he asked them:
- My good children, where is your mother?
“Our uncle, Kostandin,” they answered, “our mother leads round dances in the village where the wedding is celebrated.”
Kostandin headed to the first of the round dances. Seeing a line of young beauties dancing and singing songs, he said to himself: “You are beautiful, young ladies, but you are not for me. I am not from this world...”. Approaching them, he asked:
- Congratulations, white beauties! Is Doruntina with you, my sister?
- Walk a little further, daredevil, and you will meet her, dancing fieryly in a sparkling robe.
Kostandin headed to the second round dance, and was about to ask about Doruntin again, when she herself noticed him and shouted:
- Kostandin, my brother!
Doruntina came up to him and hugged him.
Kostandin tells her:
“Doruntina, my sister, let’s go quickly.” Mother wants to see you!
- Tell me, brother, what should I wear to go home? If she wants to share her joy with me, I will take my best clothes with me. If she wants, God forbid, to grieve together, I will dress in dark.
- Let's go, sister, whatever we have!
He put his sister on a horse behind him and they rushed faster than lightning. As if in a dream, they overcame mountains and fields, forests and hills, rivers and streams. The moon and stars from their height, holding their breath, looked at them with trepidation...
On the way, the sister asks her brother:
- Kostandin, my brother, why are your broad shoulders covered with mold?
“Doruntina, my sister, my broad shoulders are covered with the smoke of the fires that happened during the war. There have been many battles on our land. Enemies came to enslave us, and we all came out to fight them.
- Kostandin, my brother, why is your hair tangled and covered in dust?
“Doruntina, my sister, the roads were all covered in dust, and that’s why my hair got dusty.”
- Kostandin, my brother, why didn’t the rest of my brothers, beautiful as clear light, come out to meet me?
- Doruntina, my sister, they are probably at the games, and did not expect that we would arrive today.
- Kostandin, my brother, why are the windows of the house completely closed today?
“Doruntina, my sister, we closed them because a cold wind is blowing from the sea.”
When they approached the church, Kostandin said to his sister:
- You go ahead, but I want to go to church and pray.
Kostandin hastily left and took his place in the dark grave. The horse again became a gravestone, the cloak turned into earth, the silver bridle into a ring holding the gravestone. And, as before, the silence of death reigned around. And at this time Doruntina climbed the steps and joyfully knocked on the door.
- Mom, open the door. It's me, your daughter, Doruntina!...
- Go back to where you came from, oh damned death. You took twelve sons from me and now you have come for me to prevent me from seeing my Doruntina!
- What are you saying, mom! Don't you recognize my voice? True, mom, it’s me, your Doruntina.
“Put your little finger through the keyhole so that I can look at it and recognize you.”
Doruntina stuck her little finger through the keyhole—her thin white finger. Mom recognized her and opened the door.
- Who brought you here, my heart?
- Kostandin brought me, my brother.
- Who is Kostandin, my daughter? Our Kostandin fell along with his other eleven brothers. Died in the war...
So the two of them stood - one on the threshold, the other at the door, merging in a welcoming embrace, like glasses of wine...
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru