Once upon a time there lived a prince, a handsome twenty-year-old youth. And he wanted to get married. The king began to invite different princesses to the court, one more beautiful than the other. But the young man did not like any of them.
- This one, father? Don't you see what kind of hair she has! It's like a corncob's mustache! This? Black as a polenta pot. And this one has a potato nose.
In a word, not a single one pleased him, and the poor princesses, annoyed and offended, went home with tears.
- Still, my son, you need to marry someone, have children...
- Of course, father. I'm tired of living alone. But you can’t marry just anyone, don’t you think?
- So what should we do now?
“Give me money and a good horse, I’ll go around the world to look for a bride.” Look and I'll find it. And if no one loves me, I’ll remain a nerd forever.
He said - and went on his way. I traveled the region from end to end, but all in vain.
One day he was driving through a deep forest and saw an old woman huddled in the blackberry thickets - pitiful and withered, all in rags, trembling from the cold. The prince was kind in soul, just like our Italian bread is kind. He jumped off his horse and asked the old woman:
“Aren’t you cold, grandma, in such shabby clothes?”
- It’s so chilly, so cold that I can’t even tell!
“Here, take it.” And the prince handed the old woman his magnificent cloak, all embroidered with pearls and diamonds. And then he says: “Take this wallet with money too.”
- Thank you, good man. Tell me, where are you heading? - said the old woman.
The prince said that he was looking and looking, but he couldn’t find a bride for himself; apparently, he would have to return home with nothing.
- Wow, I know one beauty, her name is the Princess from Orange. You should have seen her! The face is dark, ruddy, the eyes are dark! And the lips are scarlet! Gorgeous!
- Tell me quickly, good woman, where to find this princess! It seems to me that I already love her.
- So listen. Drive straight along this road until you reach a remote thicket, there is a shack there. As soon as you enter, you will understand what needs to be done. But first, go to the city and buy different women's clothing. You will need it. Don't forget about combs and stilettos. Have a nice trip, son!
The prince galloped into the city, bought clothes - he spared no expense and rushed into the forest, to the shack.
Knock-knock-knock!
- Come in.
The prince entered the house. The kitchen is all black and black with soot, in one corner there is a rotten cupboard, in the other there is an old woman sitting by the fireplace, stirring up the ashes with a stick.
- What do you want in my house? - asks.
“Yes, I decided to stop by and brought you some clothes,” the young man replies.
- What a fellow! - the old lady was happy.
The prince threw a beautiful shawl over her shoulders, helped her wash, tie up her hair with pins and even put earrings in her ears. The old lady was instantly transformed. Prominent, stately, like a queen!
- Oh, thank you, thank you so much! What do you want for everything you have done for me?
- I don’t want anything. Just tell me, where can I find the beautiful princess from Orange?
- Oh, that's what you want...
The old woman got to her feet, hobbled to the cabinet and took out three oranges.
- Listen to me carefully. Take these oranges and peel them one by one. This is where your bride will appear. Yes, look: be sure to clean them near the stream.
The prince thanked the old woman, took the oranges and left.
He goes on and on, and he just wanted to pick at least one orange! He began to look for some stream nearby, but couldn’t find it anywhere. And he no longer had any patience... “It’s a pity, of course, that there’s no water nearby,” he thought. “I really want to see what the girl is like.” And he began to peel the skin off the fruit.
One girl’s hand appeared, then a second. And, throwing off the orange peel, a beautiful girl stood in front of the prince.
- Hurry up and let me drink some water! - she asks.
The prince was confused, he stood looking around, there was not a drop of water anywhere!
- Sorry, I don’t have water!
“Alas, that means I must die.” And with these words the girl disappeared.
It was a shame for the prince to miss such a beauty, but there was nothing to do, he moved on. He’s holding a second orange in his hands, damn curiosity is taking him apart. The young man could not resist, peeled the orange, and a girl even more beautiful than the first appeared before him.
“Hurry up and give me some water to drink,” she asks.
- I don’t have water...
“Alas, that means I must die.” And with these words the girl disappeared.
“Well, now I’ll never touch an orange until I find the source,” the prince said to himself.
And finally he reached the spring. Joyful, he jumped off his horse and slowly began to peel the third orange. A third girl appeared to him - beautiful as the sun and with eyes like the blue sky. The beauty asks the young man:
- Prince, give me water quickly!
The young man rushed to the spring, scooped up handfuls of spring water and gave the girl a drink.
“Thank you,” she said and kissed the young man.
The prince understood: she was his betrothed. Happy and cheerful, the young man put his bride on a horse and took her with him. In the evening they reached a visiting house near Rome and spent the night. In the morning the prince says to the beauty from Orange:
“I want to buy you the most beautiful outfits, and you wait for me here.”
He kissed the beauty, went out into the yard and asked the hostess:
“Take care of my bride so that no one does her harm before I return.” I'll be back quickly.
He threw her a wallet with money and rushed to the city.
And the owner was an evil witch. As soon as the prince left, she called her daughter, ugly as a scarecrow, into a corner and whispered to her:
- Is it really a matter of you marrying such a handsome man! Do you want to be his wife?
- Of course, I want to.
- OK. Lean on me
The sorceress went up to the room of the princess from Orange and said:
- The prince asked me to comb your hair.
- Thank you, but I always do my hair myself.
- How do you cope with such braids down to your toes?
“Yes, I can handle it,” the girl smiled.
- Let me brush your hair anyway.
Okay, the girl agreed. The evil witch began to comb her hair. And when she combed it, she stuck the hairpins right into the princess’s head. Not ordinary heels, enchanted ones. Then the girl turned into a swallow, a bird took off, circled around the room and fluttered out the window.
“Come here quickly,” the witch shouted to her daughter. “Sit in the room, wait for the prince.”
At noon the young man returned home. He ran up the stairs, flew into the room, saw the witch’s daughter and was dumbfounded:
- Where is my bride?
- That's what I am. “I just dried up from melancholy, waiting for you,” the sorceress’s daughter answers. And let's sigh and cry.
The prince just can’t believe that there is a bride in front of him. “It’s not melancholy,” he thinks. “This freak has an evil heart.” But he could not break his word and said to the deceiver:
- Well, let's go to the palace, they are waiting for us there.
They went to Rome. The king and queen, overjoyed that their son had finally decided to get married, did not really notice how evil and ugly the future daughter-in-law was. On the same day, the wedding was scheduled and a big celebration was held. Lunch was prepared to perfection. And ice cream on the table, and nuts, and all sorts of sweets. There are a lot of saucepans in the royal kitchen!
The cook is preparing food in the kitchen and is in a hurry to treat the royal guests. Suddenly he hears someone’s thin voice singing:
Cook, cook at the stove,
Listen to the spell:
So that the roast burns,
So that the witch doesn't eat!
The cook was dumbfounded. I looked around - there was no one, only a swallow sitting on the windowsill. He pulled the roast out of the oven - and it was all burnt.
He hastily prepared another dish, set it to fry, and the little voice sang again:
Cook, cook at the stove,
Listen to the spell:
So that the roast burns,
So that the witch doesn't eat!
The cook turned to the window, and there again the swallow was sitting and looking at him intently. And again the roast turned into coals.
The cook got scared, threw all the pots and pans, ran to the prince and told him what was happening in the kitchen.
- Didn’t you dream? - the young man was surprised.
- What is it, prince, the pure truth!
- Well, let's go and have a look.
The sorceress’s daughter sensed something was wrong and whispered to the prince:
-Where are you going? Abandoning your bride on your wedding day? Stay with me!
But the prince did not listen to her - he went into the kitchen.
For the third time, the cook set a piece of meat to fry. When the food was almost ready, a voice sang the same song. And again the meat was burnt black. And on the window - the swallow is sitting again...
“I want to catch her,” says the prince.
- Don’t touch the swallow, it’s a witch! - the bride screams; She instantly rushed to the kitchen after the prince.
The young man approached the window, and the swallow itself fell into his hands. He began to stroke the bird and felt something hard in its head. He pulled out one hairpin - one girl's hand appeared, pulled out another - another hand, pulled out a third hairpin - a beauty from Orange appeared before him. She threw herself into the arms of the young man and told everything how it happened.
- Oh, you liar! - the prince shouted to the witch’s daughter.
They grabbed the sorceress, tied her tightly and threw her into prison. And the prince and princess got married and had such a wedding feast that words cannot describe.
Well, I crawled under the table
And there I found a bone.
They kicked me in the nose -
Sparks sparkled in his eyes.
But even though I didn't have lunch,
Still, I told you a fairy tale.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru