Once upon a time there lived a peasant. He had an only daughter - a miracle, she was so good. In a word, a written beauty that cannot be found in the whole world. She grew up, got married, and young people started wooing her. The prince, nobleman and peasant were especially persistent in seeking her hand. The old man was thinking: what to do if you give your daughter to a prince, you will arm a nobleman and a peasant against yourself, and if you give her to a nobleman, you will make the prince and peasant your enemies, and to give her to a peasant, and even worse: the prince and nobleman will not forgive the old man for such disgrace in front of a commoner. Yes, my friends, it is not an easy task to be the father of a beautiful daughter. No matter how the old man dodges or cunning, he still needs to decide on something - it’s not the life of a daughter to be a girl. This peasant howled, although simple, but on his own mind.
One day before going to bed, the old man prayed for a long time, asking God to turn his donkey and cat into girls who would be as similar to his daughter as two peas in a pod.
In the morning, an old man goes out into the yard and sees: three beautiful girls busy with housework, and they all look alike like two peas in a pod. The old man scratched the back of his head and thought: “Here you go!” Which one is my daughter? He will look at them this way, and this way, no, there’s no way to tell them apart. But the peasant wanted to recognize his daughter and give her to the young peasant to whom his heart lay. The old man knew: the peasant needs a good wife and a housewife - a faithful assistant. But a prince and a nobleman have plenty of servants in their house even without a wife.
One evening the peasant says to the girls:
- Go, dad, go to bed in the same room tonight.
At night he came into the room and watched the girls sleep. One of them curled up, tucked her arms and legs under herself and purred in her sleep. “This is a cat,” the old man determined. He looks at the other one, and she lies on her back and every now and then kicks her arms and legs. “It’s a donkey,” he guessed. And the third was sleeping on her right side, with her palm under her cheek. "This is my daughter." The old man quietly marked the sleepy girls and left.
In the morning he sent for a peasant who lived far away, in another village, and when he arrived, he told him:
- Quietly, without making any noise, take my daughter and take her away and have a wedding where they don’t know you.
But no matter how careful the groom was, people still noticed that he was taking away the old man’s daughter and hastened to report this to the prince. He galloped up to the peasant, and our old man, don’t be mistaken, brings out another girl to him.
“I know,” he says, “what I came for.” Take my daughter, but just take her away without making any noise.
But somewhere, the nobleman must have heard that the old man gave away his daughter and rushed off with his friends, angry and despicable, But then they brought him a girl. The nobleman immediately calmed down and became cheerful.
So the old peasant, with the help of God and his mind, managed to get out of his difficult situation. Some time passed, and the old man began to doubt: was it right for him to marry his daughter to a peasant? I decided to check it out. He saddled his horse and went first to the prince. He greeted him cordially. He organized a feast in honor of his father-in-law. When the guests have left, the old man asks the prince:
- Well, how is my daughter behaving? Do you like your wife, does she have any strange things? he asked.
“She’s good for everyone,” answered the prince. “But she has one strange thing: when she wakes up in the morning, she always goes out into the yard to roll on her back in the garbage.
“I recognize my donkey,” thought the old man. “She had a habit of rolling around in the trash.” Well, everything is in order here,” the old man decided and went to the nobleman.
And he arranged a feast in honor of his father-in-law. When everyone has left, the father-in-law asks his son-in-law:
– Do you like your wife? Are there any strange things behind it?
“I’m not complaining,” answered the nobleman. “My wife is good, but she has one funny habit: she sleeps curled up in a ball and purrs like a cat.”
“Thank God, everything is fine here too. This means that my daughter is married to a peasant,” the old man thought. You don’t have to check.”
However, he decided to visit his real son-in-law. I got ready and went. They greeted his honor with honor, they arranged a feast, although not as rich as that of the prince and nobleman, but with all his heart. At the end, the father-in-law asks his son-in-law:
- Well, how happy are you with your wife, dear son-in-law, does she have any shortcomings?
Son-in-law replied:
“You raised your daughter well.” There are no shortcomings in it. And she is a beauty, the envy of everyone, and a diligent mistress of the house, and a kind assistant to me in all matters, and she knows how to greet a guest properly. It is a sin to complain about such a wife.
The old peasant rode home in a cheerful mood. “It’s good, I was saved, and I married my daughter to whoever I wanted. And the prince and the nobleman - to hell are they such relatives!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru