Once upon a time there lived a king. This king had a son - his only heir. The king bought him a fiery sword for a lot of money. The prince did nothing all day long, just rode through the mountains and forests, hunted and feasted with his comrades.
One day the city boys started throwing tops. The prince began to launch his top with them, but his top fell off, jumped up and broke the jug of a poor old woman who was walking past and carrying water in a jug. That old woman got angry with him, because now she had nothing to carry water in, and said: “Damn you, slacker, let love for a beauty named Pomegranate Seed strike your heart.”
As soon as she said this, the prince felt that he should see the beautiful Pomegranate Seed. He took his fiery sword, mounted his horse, took with him a cache of gold just in case, and set off.
He traveled all over the forests and mountains, but could not find her. He sat down on the grass to have a snack and rest a little, when suddenly he saw: a doe came up to him, looked at him and ran away. He galloped after her. He climbed seven mountains, descended seven mountains, crossed seven gorges, and kept chasing after her. Suddenly he sees: there is a small hut standing in the middle of the forest; The doe ran to this hut and darted inside.
The prince galloped to this hut, but saw neither doors nor windows. He swung his fiery sword, demolished half the wall and went inside. He sees a bed made up against the wall, but not a soul in the hut. Only a huge pomegranate lies on the bed. He cut the pomegranate, and a girl came out of it, small and very beautiful.
- How did you get here? - the prince asks her. “The three-headed howt hid me here,” she answers. - I lived with my father and mother, and Khowt dragged me away and won’t let me in. - Where is this Khowt now? - He’s fighting with three devas, they wanted to take me away from him, but they can’t defeat Khowt. - How can three devas of one Khowt not defeat him? - This is because if you cut off his head, a new one will immediately grow. His soul is not in his body, but in three birds, but the birds in that box over there, and the box can only be cut with a fiery sword. “Well,” says the prince, “you wait.” I’ll go and finish off the devas so they don’t hunt you, and then I’ll deal with Khovt.” “Don’t go,” says the girl Pomegranate Seed, “you can’t handle them alone.” “Don’t be afraid for me,” the prince answers her.
The prince took the box, put it in his bosom and rode towards the battle. He sees: indeed, as the girl Pomegranate Seed said, Khowt and three devas are fighting in the gorge. “Where to start? - the prince thinks. “If I take the side of the devas and attack Howt, they will think that I am a coward.” If I fight on the side of Howt, they will think that I’m too ambitious and rely too much on myself. I'd better go to them and say hello. Whoever answers me first, I will take his side.”
He came up and said hello, and Khovt was the first to return his greeting. The prince says to Khovt: “You step aside, I’ll deal with them myself.” He pulled out his sword and cut down three devas at once in one fell swoop. And Khovt marveled at his strength and prowess and thought: “When he finds out that the beautiful Pomegranate Seed lives with me, he will want to marry her. I need to finish him off today.” He attacked the prince, and he was just waiting for it. He tore off all three heads of Khovt, and he only laughed, because at that very moment three new ones grew on him.
But Khovt didn’t laugh for long. The prince took out the box, cut it with a fiery sword, and three birds flew out of it. When Khovt saw this, he began to beg for mercy. “Have pity on me,” he says. “Did you have pity on the Pomegranate Seed?” - the prince asked him. And then he unscrewed the heads of all three birds. He mounted his horse and galloped towards the beautiful Pomegranate Seed. “Pomegranate Seed,” he says, “I killed all your enemies.” Would you agree to marry me? And she happily agreed.
They headed to the city where the king, the prince’s father, lived. You never know how far you go, they see: on the road three robbers are robbing honest people. “Aha,” they say, when they see the prince, “we’ll rob him now, and we’ll take the beauty that sits on his horse.” But even here the fiery sword did not let the prince down. He saved himself and all passers-by from robbers and safely entered his father’s capital.
People ran to the king, bringing him good news: your son has returned. The king came out to meet his only son with his trumpeters and his retinue and solemnly brought them home. For seven days and seven nights the wedding of the Tsar's son and the beautiful Pomegranate Seed took place. Three apples fell from the sky: one to the one who spoke, another to the one who listened, and the third to the whole world.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru