Once upon a time there lived a king. He had three sons. And he had a garden. What kind of trees and flowers did not grow in that garden!
But trouble happened to that garden. As soon as the fruits began to ripen on the trees and the lawns were full of flowers, Indra’s horses galloped out of nowhere. Trees were broken, grass was crushed, flowers were trampled. The king became angry and ordered his guards to guard the garden without closing their eyes. But no matter how much they guarded the garden, no matter how much they took care of it, they could not save it. The horses came rushing in again, breaking everything and trampling it. Then the royal messengers set off to all ends. They beat the drum and shouted:
- Hey, good people, honest people, whoever of you catches the evil devil horses, the king will give his entire kingdom to him!
The princes heard the royal decree and became alarmed. They judged and settled among themselves and decided:
“We will guard the garden ourselves, we will catch those rogue horses ourselves! Whoever catches another horse will be in trouble for us! Together with our father, we will lose our entire kingdom! A stranger will become king and drive us away from here.”
And they began to take turns guarding the garden. The elder brother was the first to come out on guard. He took a sword and shield in his hands and walked around the garden all night long. In the morning he was tired, sat down to rest, and then sleep overcame him.
Well, thieves and robbers know their business, they don’t close their eyes on dark nights. Immediately dashing horses rushed in, broke everything around, trampled underfoot and rushed off like a whirlwind; The prince didn’t even have time to open his eyes. He looks - it’s broken, the whole garden is dented. His heart sank. “I’m lost, unfortunate one, I’ve lost my kingdom!” - thinks.
On the second night, the middle brother came out to guard the garden. He didn’t sleep all night, wandered around the garden, sat down to rest at dawn, and fell asleep. And again at that very moment the evil horses rushed in, broke everything, trampled everything and rushed off. The middle brother woke up, looked at the garden, and his heart sank. “Oh, trouble, I’ve lost my kingdom! I couldn't watch for the horses. Can you rely on your younger brother!” – that’s what he thought.
On the third night the younger brother went out on guard. “We need to come up with something. Apparently I can’t stay awake all night either. But if I fall asleep even for a moment, I’ll let the robber horses pass.” And the younger brother came up with a trick. He cut his little finger, sprinkled the wound with salt and pepper, and began to walk around and look after the garden. His little finger was pinched, his whole arm was aching - how could he sleep now! He lay down in the grass and hid. He suffers, but lies quietly and quietly. The robber horses thought that this time too the watchman had fallen asleep, and they galloped into the garden. But the prince was on his guard. He jumped up, grabbed the leader of the robber horses, and tangled his legs. And the herd rushed through the garden and galloped away. The horse begged and fell to his knees in front of the prince. No matter how he flattered him, no matter how he begged him, he did not let the leader horse go free.
“It’s yours, prince, ask whatever you want, I will fulfill your every desire,” said the horse.
“I don’t need anything,” the prince answers him.
If only the garden would bloom to the joy of the father and no one would break it or trample it.
“So it will be,” the horse answers. “But I also want to do you one favor.”
Here the robber horse tore a tuft of multi-colored hair from his mane, handed it to the prince and said:
- I give you my magic hair. If you stretch it towards the rays of the sun, a mighty horse will appear in rich harness and with a magnificent outfit for the rider. Whatever color of hair you choose, that is the color of the horse, the harness, and the clothes. That horse is not simple - it is magical. It will help you in difficult matters. Well, are you happy with this gift? Now let me go free!
The prince released his horse, looked around - what a miracle! He sees that the garden around him is blooming more than ever, the grass is rising, the trees and branches are straightening, the fruits are filling with sweet juice. Transparent grapes bend in clusters to the ground, pomegranates glow red through the bright greenery, the breeze carries the delicate scent of mango, and the aroma of blooming flowers hovers around. The horse told the prince the truth and did not deceive him! Then the pain in his finger went away, the prince fell into the grass and fell into a deep sleep.
Morning has come. The prince woke up and immediately remembered the “hair miracle.” He pulled out a white hair and held it out to the rays of the sun: suddenly, out of nowhere, a white horse in a white harness appeared in front of him, and white clothes lay next to him. The prince dressed in a white outfit, jumped on a white horse in white harness and galloped to the palace. He told his father and brothers about everything that had happened to him. The king saw that the garden was blooming better than before; I was very happy. The prince brothers, on the contrary, were very upset. They got angry with their younger brother because he turned out to be smarter than them, and began to envy him: “How is it possible for a younger brother, a fool, to rule the kingdom, and we would be at His beck and call! Unprecedented, unheard of! It’s better to leave home as quickly as possible before it’s too late: otherwise, when our fool becomes king, he’ll push us around and make fun of us!”
The younger prince saw that the brothers were leaving and was greatly saddened.
“Where are you going, dear brothers, why are you leaving me?” I can’t live and reign alone in the palace without you. If you don’t come back, I’ll follow you on the road.
– You were missed here! Or are honors not enough for you? You became a king, and then reign! And in this city we are ashamed to show ourselves to people.
The brothers said so and left the palace. The younger brother followed them. Here they are walking along the road, the eldest and middle brothers in front, and the youngest behind.
“Holy shit, this fool has stuck with us, he won’t get rid of himself now,” the brothers think.
“Why are you following us, go back, great king, the people probably won’t wait for you.” What do you want from us poor and beggars?
- Scold, laugh, dear brothers, I won’t leave you anyway, I won’t return to the palace alone for anything!
- Well, if you are determined to stay with us, then listen to what we tell you. We will return to our father’s house only on one condition: you will obey us unquestioningly, do as we order you!
“I agree, I agree,” the younger prince answers them.
Everyone immediately returned to the palace. And this is what the eldest and middle brothers came up with. They took a penny shell and a cowrie, threaded it onto a thread and hung it around their brother’s neck.
“From now on you will be our humble servant,” they announced. - Wash cups and bowls, clean vats and pots, sweep the floor, bring water, cook dinner, tidy up the mansions, clean and wash our clothes and rub our feet and much more that we wish - we must do everything with diligence.
The younger brother began to serve and serve them. He was a diligent servant, and with all his heart he was glad to please his brothers. And the brothers were just waiting for this: they began to walk, have fun, enjoy life and make fun of their younger brother. They called him a penny servant - as if he was worth a penny, as if they bought him for a cowrie shell. Wherever the brothers go, the penny servant is dragged along with them, as if on a leash.
One day they decided to go hunting. We walked, frolicked, hunted and wandered into one picturesque place. They decided to rest there and ordered a penny servant to pitch a tent for them. Not far from that place stood the palace of one princess. That princess ordered her heralds to beat the drum and announce everywhere that she was going to get married. And he will take as his groom the one who could jump on a horse all the way to the roof of the palace and hit it with a ball on the fly.
Various kings and princes came from places and countries far and near, jumping on their jumping horses of every color, of various breeds. But not a single horse could jump to the balcony on which the princess stood.
“Come on, let us test our strength and dexterity,” the older brothers decided.
They galloped to the palace, began whipping the horses, and rushing around the palace walls. Their dashing horses jump high. But where is it, can you even jump to the princess?
“Now let me try, brothers,” says the younger brother.
- Are you crazy, you worthless servant? I decided to marry the princess! Where should you jump? You don’t really know how to sit on a horse! “Don’t try, don’t make people laugh,” his brothers began to dissuade him at once. “Mind your own business, worthless servant, sit and keep quiet!”
The prince remained silent. The brothers went hunting, left a penny servant to guard their property, ordered him to tidy up everything, put it away, and wait for his masters. And the young brother took the green hair and stretched it towards the sun. Instantly a green horse with green harness appeared before him, and clothes, also green, were nearby. The prince dressed in a green outfit, jumped on a green horse and rushed like a whirlwind over the very roof of the palace, threw the ball in mid-flight, hit the princess right on the head and disappeared into the blue sky. As soon as the ball touched the princess, she raised her eyes and saw that the sky was clear all around, and the one who threw the ball had disappeared. She then ordered to announce that she would marry someone who could fly up on a horse like that and hit her with a ball like that, not once or twice, but every day in a row for the whole week. The princess wanted to find out at any time who that daring, invisible rider was.
The next day the prince stretched out his red hair to the rays of the sun, on the third - yellow, on the fourth day - blue, and on the fifth day - black, and on the sixth day - brown. The horse appeared to match the color of the hair, the harness to match the color of the horse, and the clothing to match the color of the harness. The prince would put on his outfit, sit on his horse, fly over the palace like an arrow, hit the princess in the head with the ball and disappear into the blue sky, unnoticed by anyone. The princess turns her head this way and that, and sees no one - neither the rider nor the horse. What a wonder! And she ordered to announce that she would cut off the head of anyone who ever again dared to fly up to the palace roof and hit it with a ball. But the penny servant was not a timid one. He stretched out his white hair to the sun, put on a white outfit, jumped on a white horse, soared up and rushed over the very roof of the palace. I looked, the princess was standing on her balcony, looking here and there. He aimed the ball at her, bang - and hit her right in the head! But here he deliberately held back his horse. The flying horse hung directly above the balcony, the princess saw him and waved her sword. The prince bent down and put his head under the blow of the sword. But as soon as the blade of the sword touched his head, he whipped his horse and disappeared. The sword slid through his hair and cut through the air with a whistle.
So the princess only managed to half fulfill her word: she could not kill the daring jumper-rider, she only wounded him. And she sent her people in different directions to find that man and immediately bring him to the palace. Whoever they came across on the way, they indiscriminately pulled off their turban, turban or hat, exposed their head, looked, felt if there was a wound, cut or even a scratch. The whole city was searched, but a man like that with a wound on his head was not found. They were already returning to the palace with nothing, when on the way they met a pitiful beggar, covered in stinking mud, in rags covered with flies. They pulled the torn rag off his head and saw a fresh cut. The servants don’t believe their eyes, they don’t know what to do. “Is this possible? What will the princess say when she sees what kind of groom we have found for her? Will her wrath fall on our heads? - this is how the royal guards reasoned among themselves. They left the beggar on the road, went to the palace and slowly informed the king about their discovery:
“We searched the whole city, searched all around, O great king, we didn’t miss a single person—not among them was the one who was wounded by the princess’s sword.” All heads are like heads: smooth and with bumps, hairy and bald, round and long, crooked and flattened, of the most different types and sizes, but we did not see anyone with a head with a knife wound or even a cut. True, in the end we came across one dirty tramp - a beggar, he had a wound on his head, it looked like a cut from a sword. Can this disgusting beggar really become your daughter’s fiancé?
- Well, quickly, run, grab him, drag him here! – the king exclaimed. “Let the princess pay for her stubbornness!” No matter what suitors we matched with her, none of them are right for her, everyone is not a match for her!
The people bowed and went to carry out the order.
The penny servant loved his brothers very much. He knew that if he married the princess, his brothers would die of envy. That’s why he dressed in rags and smeared his body with mud mixed with honey, so that even looking at him was disgusting. “In this form, I will not arouse suspicion in anyone, and if, nevertheless, they discover me and bring me to the princess, then as soon as she sees me, she will immediately renounce her words.” That's what the prince thought. Well, the king decided in his own way. He ordered a suspicious passerby to be brought into the palace, despite the fact that he was dirty and poor. They brought the penny servant to the king, pulled off his dirty turban; As soon as the king looked at his head, he was immediately convinced that he had been wounded by the sword of his daughter. Here the king became upset. “What a problem,” he thinks, “I shouldn’t have been angry with my daughter and ordered this tramp to be brought here!” After all, in fact, this lousy beggar is the same dashing rider!” There was nothing to do, the king had to marry his daughter to a penniless servant. They played a wedding. The king ordered to build a small house away from the walls of his city and settled a young couple there. So the beggar tramp and the king’s daughter began to live together. During the wedding, the penny servant pretended to be dumb, and the king became even more upset. He called his daughter and told her:
“Don’t disgrace my name and honor so that your husband doesn’t set foot in my house!”
And the king ordered the young men to carry one measure of oats every day to that hut for food.
They came to their new monastery, and the princess asked her husband to wash himself and change his clothes. She saw him clean, in smart clothes, and was amazed at his beauty. “The miracle pearl was hidden among the garbage and ai!” - she muttered. The penny-cheap servant only smiled in response, but did not reveal his secret.
The princess had neither more nor less - seven brothers. Every day they went hunting. Somehow the penny servant also wanted to hunt.
“Your father is an all-powerful king,” he once pestered his wife, “can’t you really get me a gun and a horse?” Because I’m worse than your brothers, it’s not a sin for me to hunt!
The princess remembered her father’s angry words; she really didn’t want to show herself in the palace, but she didn’t want to upset her husband even more.
She appeared to the king and said:
“My husband wants to go hunting, please give him a gun and a horse.”
“Your husband has apparently become completely insolent!” - the king shouted at her. “He has no conscience, no shame!” He himself is a tramp, a beggar, and also for me - he’s trying to become a hunter! He wants to measure his strength with the king’s sons!
The princess was silent and did not dare raise her eyes to her angry father. The king’s anger subsided a little, and he, grinning, ordered that his daughter be given a donkey from his stable and a broken gun from his armory.
“Both a horse and a weapon are worthy of a hunter, so a jumper rider will hunt and scare the beast,” the courtiers assented to the king.
The princess came out of the palace with her head down, carrying a gun and leading a rundown donkey by the bridle. And seven fine brothers pranced past on sleek, stately horses. They go on a royal hunt. The penny servant took a broken gun, sat on a donkey and hurried after the princes. And they deliberately drive slowly, show off, glance back and chuckle. And the penniless servant began to make faces, like a buffoon, to amuse the king’s sons. Like, look at me, what a fool I am, a simpleton, a penny, cheap servant! He holds the gun backwards and sits on the donkey, facing the tail. The princes are laughing with all their might, making fun of the penniless servant.
- Oh-ho-ho! Be afraid, beast! Run, take care of your life! The king of hunters is riding through the forest! Forest beast, save yourself, don’t get caught!
The princes whistle, hoot, shake and choke with laughter. The princes had their fun, laughed to their heart's content and galloped off into the forest. There was only one penniless servant left. He drove a little, let go of the donkey, took out a magical green hair, and held it out to the sun. A green horse appeared to him. He stands, shakes his mighty mane, hits the ground with his hoof, and rattles his emerald harness. And nearby there are green clothes, and in addition a gun and hunting equipment. The servant changed into a green outfit, jumped on his horse and rushed to catch up with the princes.
Meanwhile, the prince-brothers managed to pick up the trail of the beast. They rushed and chased the beast. Yes where there! The beast left them into an impenetrable thicket, but the horses were whipped in vain! All day long they tracked their prey, and made their way through the thickets, and crawled, sneaked up, and shot, they did not spare gunpowder - all in vain! And then evening came. The princes had to turn back. And the penniless servant had rich booty. He shot a deer, a leopard, a wild boar, a tiger, and even a lion. He left all the loot in the forest. He just cut off the horns of a deer, a tuft of skin from a leopard, a tail from a tiger, a claw from a lion and a tusk from a boar, tied everything in a knot and went to his home. The seven prince brothers return to their palace, are angry, annoyed, and scold each other.
- Deer, oh deer! – suddenly it echoed through the forest.
- Leopard! – was heard nearby.
- Boar, caught a boar! - they shouted from the other side.
- Tiger, look, tiger! – screams were heard from the depths of the thicket.
- Lion, lion! I see a lion! Shot the lion! Killed the lion! – was heard from three sides at once.
It was the brothers who shouted: they came across dead animals that a penny servant had left in the forest. The brothers pounced on the loot and snatched it all up. They galloped home and raised their heads proudly, beaming with joy. They came to the palace and showed the king their hunting trophies. The king rejoiced, was proud of his sons, he did not praise them, he boasted. Meanwhile, the penniless servant slowly arrived home and said to his wife:
“Your brothers were lucky on the hunt. They returned with a huge booty. They are lucky, but I am unlucky. Go and ask them for at least a piece. I really want to taste some meat from their prey.
And the princess went to the palace again. She began to ask the wives of the prince brothers:
- Cut off at least a small piece from your festive dinner for us, please, sisters!
- Look what you want, the beggar’s wife! And don't be ashamed to beg! Go home, eat your lunch, and don’t stick it in someone else’s nose! Tell me, what did your fool bring you from the forest, what kind of booty did he have? I went hunting on a donkey! - one after another the wives of the princes sarcastically, but the princess stood silently and did not leave. “Will you finally leave, beggar, don’t you see how much work we have!” It's no joke, such a catch, so much meat to steam and fry! – the daughters-in-law shouted at her in unison.
The princess began to cry, turned and left.
“I will never go to them for anything in my life, I will disgrace myself.” I wish I could ask them for something at least once! - She said, returning, to her husband.
One day the penny servant and the princess went for a walk in the forest. They see an empty hut standing. They went into the house and decided to rest. The princess began to prepare dinner. Nearby, seven brothers were hunting in that forest. Chasing the beast, they were exhausted. Exhausted with fatigue, languishing with thirst. The brothers were making their way on lathered horses through the thicket of the forest, when suddenly they saw smoke curling in. We noticed a hut in the clearing and rushed there. Oh, I wish they could drink some water, they are so thirsty. They are met at the door by a penny servant.
- Water, water quickly! - the prince shouted to him from afar.
- Come in, dear guests, take a rest from the road.
- No, no, we are only asking for some water, oh, how thirsty we are, we are dying of thirst!
- What are you, honorable ones! It’s not good to treat someone with empty water. You should definitely have lunch. Come in, make yourself comfortable; Soon lunch will be ready, wait a little.
With nothing to do, the brothers entered the hut, sat down on mats around them, and began to wait for lunch. Soon the owner came in with food, they ate the treat, although a piece got stuck in their throats - they were so thirsty. The spicy spices made them want to drink even more. The owner, a penny servant, came out, brought a huge jug and placed it in front of the brothers.
“I have stored a full jug of ice-cold spring water for thirsty travelers. But I will let you get drunk on only one condition. I will put a brand on each of you’s heads, and then drink as much as you want. The brothers, dying of thirst, had to agree. The penny servant heated a coin on a brazier and branded the heads of all seven brothers with it. And they drank cold, aromatic water, forgetting about everything. Then the princes, barely looking up from the jug of water, went to the palace. The penny servant and his wife returned to their shack. A day passes, then another, and then a penny servant appears to the king and, respectfully folding his hands, reports:
- O great king! Your sons deigned to rob me, a poor man. I became very angry and treated them rudely. Forgive me for this insolence.
The king was dumbfounded and for a long time could not understand what the penny servant was talking to him about.
- What's happened? Robbed? Who wins? My sons robbed you?! How is that - treated rudely? What have you done with the princes, you scoundrel! Tell me, scoundrel, what insolence have you committed? How dare you, vile man, utter such a word in front of me, the king - robbed! Where has this been seen, where has this been heard of, for princes to rob a beggar! - the king exclaimed.
“So it’s obvious,” the penny servant calmly answered, “if your sons stole my booty, the meat of the animals I killed, and as punishment for this I put brands on their heads.”
“Oh, grab him,” he’s gone crazy!” the king shouted in a voice that was not his own. “Dirty stink!” And as soon as his tongue turns to say such words to me! – the enraged king did not stop.
Then the penny servant, without saying a word, unwrapped the very bundle that contained a deer antler, a tuft of leopard skin, a tiger tail, a lion claw and a boar tusk. He brought it all to the very eyes of the king. The king recoiled. He couldn’t escape the evidence, he realized that the penny servant had told him the truth! There was nothing to do, I had to save my honor and scold the princes this way and that.
The cheap-penny servant addressed the king with the following words:
Glorious Tsar-Sovereign! Please see for yourself that I branded them as punishment for theft.
- Branded?! - the king hastily tore off the lush turbans from his sons and sees: on the head of each of them is a brand burned - a penny coin! The king became very bitter and ashamed. And the penny servant began to tell the whole story about himself, from beginning to end, everything that happened to him. When the king learned that it was not a homeless beggar standing in front of him, but a real prince, he immediately perked up. He began to ask the prince for forgiveness and, to celebrate, gave him half the kingdom. The penny servant said goodbye to everyone, took his wife and went to his father’s house - to his father’s palace. I told my father everything that happened. The king was very pleased with his youngest son - so pleased that he gave him the entire kingdom.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru