Once upon a time there lived an old woman. One day she went to the potter and bought four pots. She returned home, put the pots on the shelf, and she took flour out of the jug and began baking cakes.
The old woman was in poor health and walked hunched over. It was difficult for her to work. She kneads the dough and thinks about her bitter lot: “If only I had a son, he would go now to reap wheat.” The old woman said this out loud and sighed heavily.
The pots that stood on the shelf heard her words, swayed, and knocked against each other, as if talking to each other. And the old woman sighed heavily again.
Then the one pot that had been knocking loudest began to rock even more violently. And the old woman suddenly heard:
- Mother! Mother! I'll go to the field to reap wheat!
The old woman looked around - there was no one. And the voice is heard again:
- Mother! Mother! I'll go to the field to reap wheat!
- Who's here? Who is speaking? – the old woman was surprised.
And the pot jumped off the shelf and skipped towards the old woman.
- It's me, mother! I!
The old woman saw the pot, and all her wrinkles shone with a smile:
- How can you, you prankster, be able to reap wheat?
- But look, mother. I can handle it in no time! - And the pot skipped out of the house.
He reached the house of the village elder and shouted:
- Headman, headman! Take me as a worker, I will reap wheat!
The elder looked at the pot with his small eyes:
- Look, you can’t even see it from the ground, but you want to be hired as a worker! – he grinned.
He took a drag from his pipe, held the smoke in his mouth, then blew on the pot and said:
- Where can you reap wheat? Get out while you're still alive!
- But look, headman, what I’m like! Show me the field where I need to reap wheat! The elder laughed:
“Even though you’re small, you’re obviously smart.” So be it, go to the field. I have fifty bighas of land under wheat. Let's see how you reap.
[Bigh is a unit of land area; one bigha is equal to 0.25 hectares. ]
The pot rolled into the field. But as soon as he managed to disappear from sight, he immediately returned back. The headman looked - the wheat had been harvested and tied into sheaves, and the sheaves were already lying on the threshing floor. He marveled:
- Well, miracles! There would be enough work for many workers, but then in one moment - and it’s done! No worries, no hassle!
And the elder turned to the pot:
- Come closer to me, my friend. I need to pay you for your work.
The pot jumped up and said:
“You thresh the wheat, then I’ll come for payment.” Give me a pot of grain for my work.
The greedy elder was delighted. After all, it’s completely free! A pot of wheat is not enough even for one person for the whole day. “I’ve got a simpleton!” thought the headman, and let’s be cunning:
- How? A whole pot of wheat just for shrinking a field? Well, okay, what to do with you! Come back after threshing. I'll give you a pot of wheat.
The pot galloped away.
It's time to thresh. The wheat was threshed and winnowed. The elder began to wait for the pot to come to him. He looks - and he’s already rolling. Rolled up and said:
- Headman, headman! Throw wheat at me!
The elder began to pour wheat into the pot. It pours and pours, but never fills to the top. He added more and looked - but the pot remained empty. Then the elder took a large scoop and began to quickly scoop up the wheat from the bin. An hour passed, then two, three: the elder was pouring wheat into the pot, but it was still almost empty! The headman had to rake out all the wheat from the barn in order to somehow fill the pot. The elder was out of breath, sweat was pouring off him. Because of greed and malice there is no face on him: such a tiny pot, but it contained all his wheat! Here, of course, it couldn’t be done without witchcraft! The elder is sorry to part with his wheat, but he remains silent and does not open his mouth. And what's the use of talking? He promised it himself!
A peasant was passing by. The pot called out to him:
- Hey, brother, give me a ride home! I will pay you in full in wheat.
The peasant put the pot on the cart and drove off. And when he drove up to the old woman’s house, the pot cried:
- Mother! Mother! Open up! I brought wheat! The old woman opened the door: in front of her was a pot filled to the top with wheat. Before she had time to say anything, lo and behold, all the jugs, pots, closet and even in the yard were full of wheat everywhere.
To celebrate, the old woman started cooking. She started baking cakes, but accidentally burned her hand. I saw this pot and swayed:
“It’s enough for you, mother, to do all the work yourself.” It's time to rest. I'll go look for a bride. I’ll get married, and then my daughter-in-law will help you.
And the pot went for the bride. Rolls along the road, bounces. Suddenly he saw people sitting and resting. “They must be returning from a wedding,” the pot realized.
Here the groom stepped aside and began as if looking for something. He guessed the pot, rolled closer to the groom and filled to the top with water. The groom saw him and grabbed him. But as soon as he touched the pot, it stuck to his hand. No matter how hard the groom tried to tear off the pot, it was all in vain. And the pot says:
- Give me what I ask, then I’ll let you go! Give me what I ask, then I’ll let you go!
The groom was scared and decided to agree.
- What do you want? Speak!
- Give me the bride!
The cowardly groom was even more frightened.
“Okay,” he says, “I agree.” Let's go take my bride.
The groom gave his bride to the pot, and the pot set off on its way back. He rolled up to his house and shouted:
- Mother, open it quickly! Your pot has brought a bride!
The old woman opened the door, looked - and sure enough, there was a pot, and behind it the bride. The old woman led her into the house. And they began to live cheerfully and happily.
One day the pot says:
- Mother, you are getting old. It's hard for you to eat dry bread. I’ll get you a buffalo so she can give us milk.
And the pot rolled towards the headman’s house. He spotted a good buffalo and stuck to her udder. The buffalo began to kick and kick, but she could not free herself from the pot. She broke free from her leash and started running. She ran and ran, and stopped just in front of the potty's house - apparently, he was so lucky. He shouted:
- Mother, mother, open the door quickly, I brought a buffalo!
The old woman opened the door. And the buffalo was driven into the yard and tied.
They all began to live happily, in peace and love. The buffalo gave milk, the daughter-in-law took care of the house, and the old woman lived for her own pleasure. The pot made sure that there was no shortage of anything in the house. The old woman admired how the pot bounced, and it seemed to her as if it was her own son crawling on the floor. The daughter-in-law sometimes even laughed, looking at how happy the old woman was.
The pot remained a pot during the day, and at night it turned into a person.
Three other pots looked at everyone from the shelf and tapped each other, as if rejoicing at their happiness. And when the wind blew, sounds similar to baby babble were heard from the pots.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru