Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman. They had no children and no one to help them. There is only one piece of land, and even that was taken away by the nobles. They have nothing left. What to do? What to feed on?
Their father stood at the very edge of a large forest. So the old man decided to clear a small area from the forest and sow it.
[Patskha – wicker hut.]
When spring came, he sharpened the tsalda and went to uproot the forest. By noon the old woman brought him a corn cake. The old man chewed the flatbread, washed it down with water and went back to work. He worked all day without straightening up, but uprooted as much as a buffalo needed to lie down. It was already late evening when the old man came home. He threw the tumbler into the corner, sighed heavily and sat down. At this time, the old woman was preparing beans for dinner. She looked at the old man and asked:
[Tsalda – ax with a hook (extended).]
-Have you mucked up a lot today?
- Where there! The buffalo will lie down and cover, that’s how much he cleared,” the old man answered and, groaning, lay down on the couch.
“You eat first, and then go to bed,” said the old woman and put a bowl of hot beans in front of him.
The old man had dinner and fell asleep with thoughts of tomorrow's hard work.
At dawn he got up, took the tsalda and again went to uproot.
He came to his place of work and saw that at night someone had done a great job for him and uprooted exactly the kind of area that the old man wanted to sow this year.
The old man was happy, returned home, and said to the old woman:
- God took pity on us! The entire site has already been uprooted! Take the corn seeds - the ground is ready, let's sow.
The old woman took the seeds, the old man took his hoe, and they went into the field.
They both worked diligently, but then it rained, the ground became sticky, and it was impossible to sow corn. They returned home, heated up the leftover beans, ate, and tiredly went to bed so they could get up early the next day.
So they came to the field in the morning and saw that it was already sown.
“It must be some kind spirit who is helping us, taking pity on our old age!” - the old man and the old woman decided and went home joyfully.
The corn harvest was great. The cobs were pouring and ripening, and such as had never been seen here. It's time for the harvest. The old man and the old woman took sickles and wicker baskets and went to gather the harvest.
They came to the field - what is it?.. What a problem! What a disaster! The entire field, except for a small place where a buffalo could lie down, has been compressed and cleared away!
The old man and the old woman cried bitterly and went across the field to look for the one who stole their property.
The old man walks with his head down, tears cloud his eyes, he sees nothing. He stumbled and fell, and there was a nest at hand, and a bird was hiding in the nest. The old man caught the bird and wandered home. On the way, he felt the bird and made sure that its crop was tightly packed with corn grains.
- Oh, so that’s who ate our corn! - said the old man. He came to his patskha, tied the bird by the leg to a post and... began to sharpen the knife.
“Wait,” he thinks, “I’ll kill you for being so gluttonous, I’ll fry you and eat you.”
The bird began to struggle with all its might, but could not free itself. And suddenly she spoke in a human voice:
- Why are you sharpening your knife, old man?
- Then to stab you. After all, it was you and your relatives who devoured my harvest, and because of you we will face hunger.
The bird began to beg the old man:
“Don’t kill me, I will reward you so much that you will live needlessly all your life!” Let me go and follow me!
The old man thought and thought and decided:
“What will be will be, you still won’t get enough of one bird.”
And he released the bird and went after it.
The bird flew for a long time, flitting from tree to bush, from bush to tree. So they went into the very wilderness. Then the bird landed on a large stone, shook itself and... turned into a man. The bird-man came down from the stone and said to the old man:
- Welcome, old man! Follow me!
The man moved the stone away and showed the old man the descent underground. They both went down and found themselves on a wide underground road. Along this road we reached a large house. The bird-man family lived in this house. They entered there, the bird-man introduced the old man to his family and said:
“I fell into the hands of this old man, but he spared me.” For this I want to honor him and reward him!
They held a feast in honor of the old man, and at parting they gave him a small, thin horse: skin and bones. The old man looked at this little horse and just shook his head. He did not dare to ride it and led it all the way to the house by the bridle.
For a long time the old man and the old woman tried to fatten the little horse, caring for it in every possible way, but it did not get better, and it was impossible to ride it.
One day an old man went into the forest to pick berries and met a bird-man. He took the old man back to his underground home, treated him generously and, at parting, gave him an old bucket without a bottom. The old man did not dare refuse. He brought this bucket home and threw it in the corner - was it worth bothering with and repairing it?..
The old man thought and thought and could not understand: his new acquaintance was receiving him very well, treating him to the best, and giving him the most worthless gifts.
After some time, the old man went to cut grass for the horse and again met the bird-man.
- Let's come visit me! - said the bird man. – I will treat you and give you another good gift!
The old man did not refuse, he went. Curious - what gift will the bird man offer him?
And he treated him again - better not - and gave him a maple club. This time the owner saw off the guest, and the guest walked away gloomy and thoughtful. The owner asked him why he was so gloomy. The old man answered him with annoyance:
- Listen, you promised to reward me so that I will live richly all my life. What did you give me? What good is a skinny horse, a leaky bucket, and this club to me? Really, it’s worth beating you with it. And you still pester me with questions about why I’m not in a good mood!
“I just wanted to test your patience,” said the bird-man. - I see that you are a patient person. And now I'll tell you a secret. I didn't give you a single useless thing. When you need money, take the horse by the withers, pull it, and the horse will pour gold for you instead of manure. When you want to eat, take the bucket by the handle and say: “Prepare dinner,” and immediately all kinds of food and drinks will appear on your table. And the baton will come in handy. If someone decides to offend you, be it even a whole army, just say: “Budgeon, club, come on, show your temper!” - the club will begin to beat your enemies until you shout: “Budgeon, club, stop it!”
The old man was delighted, thanked the bird-man for such wonderful gifts and ran home with all his strength: after all, his old woman was sitting hungry. He ran home, first of all he grabbed the bucket by the handle and shouted:
– Prepare us the best lunch!
Instantly various foods and drinks appeared on the table. The old man began to treat the old woman and tell her about the wonderful properties of the gifts.
Soon the old man and the old woman got rich, built themselves a good house, and put the little horse in a safe stable and took care of it as if it were their own child.
The king learned about the old man's wealth. He became envious, and he was also curious: why did the poor old man suddenly become rich? The king sent a messenger to the old man with an order for him to immediately come to the palace.
But the old man did not go, but answered the messenger!
“Tell the king that if he needs me, let him come to me.”
The king heard such a daring answer and became very angry with the old man. He took fifty soldiers with him and went to him.
The old man greeted the king and his companions kindly, ordered the carpets to be laid out, and seated everyone under a spreading walnut tree.
Then he entered the house and ordered a wonderful bucket to prepare dinner for fifty people. At the same moment, all kinds of food and drinks appeared in front of the guests. The king was amazed, and after the meal he asked the old man:
- Tell me, where did you get such wealth?
Without saying a word, the old man brought his nag to the king and pulled him by the withers. Then so much gold rained down from under the horse’s tail that the king fell asleep almost up to his throat.
The king lost his mind from greed and roared at the top of his lungs:
- Beat the old man, take this horse away from him! The king's guides pounced on the old man and instantly knocked him down.
“Budgeon, club,” shouted the old man, “show your temper!” Before he had time to shout, the club jumped out, rushed at the ungrateful guests and began to beat everyone indiscriminately, and most of all the king himself, who was still floundering on a pile of gold.
The king's servants were frightened, and the king himself was frightened; everyone ran away. And the club doesn’t lag behind – it hits tirelessly. The treacherous guests barely escaped.
After this, the king did not dare to visit the old man anymore and left him alone. And the old man and the old woman lived out their lives happily and in contentment.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru