There lived a poor man in the world, a poor man, he somehow lived in a hut made of thin boards, he waited for his death every day. The poor man kept a wineskin of flour in the entryway. Yes, unfortunately, the fox got into the habit of carrying flour to him. The poor man tracked down the fox and began to brainstorm ways to catch it. The damned poverty drove the wretched man to such an extent that he could not even buy himself a bad lock. Meanwhile, every night the fox peeks into the hallway, and the flour in the wineskin keeps melting and melting. Then the poor man decided to hang a latch on the door - maybe a fox would come across it. And so it happened.
One morning a poor man wakes up, and lo and behold, a fox is walking in the hallway, which means he’s caught a thief. A poor man came out into the hallway, caught a fox, tied it up, dragged it into the yard and brought a sharpened stake, he wants to kill it. (The poor man didn’t even have an axe.)
The fox sees that he can’t blow his head off, and so he begs the man:
- Spare me, let me out! I'll marry you to the king's daughter for this.
“What nonsense!” the poor man thought. “You know, the fox decided to trick me!” And then he reasoned like this: “Okay. Well, I’ll kill her, but what benefit does it give me? If I let the fox out into the wild, she probably won’t dare to stick her nose here anymore. I’ll let her go in all four directions.”
So I did. As soon as he untied the fox, God bless his legs and ran off into the forest. “Well, apparently we can’t wait for gratitude from the thief,” thought the poor man and shouted after him:
-Where are you running, auntie?
And the fox answered him:
“I’m going to woo the king’s daughter.”
- Give up your idea! - says the poor man. “Even if you managed to woo the Tsar’s daughter, I still have nowhere to take her.”
But the fox just waved his tail:
- Not your concern!
She said and disappeared into the forest.
The fox did not go back on her word. She ran straight to the royal palace and soon arrived safely there. I looked around and without further ado to the guards.
- God help you!
And the guard answers:
- Thank you, auntie.
“Can’t I see the highly revered king?” - asks the fox.
“Wait a little, first you need to find out whether the king wants to accept you.”
The guards went to the king and said, well, well, the fox aunt came to the palace and asked to be allowed to see your Majesty on some matter. The king ordered the fox to be brought to him. The servants conveyed the invitation to the fox, and the fox instantly appeared before the royal eyes:
- God help you, honored king!
“Thank you, auntie,” the king replies. - What misfortune brought you to me?
Fox says:
- Honorable king! Nothing bad happened to me, and if you allow me, I’ll tell you something...
The king answers the fox:
“Before my throne, everyone is free to speak and ask for whatever they want.” Or do you, fox, not know this? If you have something on your mind, say it without hesitation!
And the fox, like a woman, just let her scratch with her tongue, and she went and went.
- Honorable king! I heard that you have a daughter, famous throughout the world for her beauty. And I have a prince - not a prince, but pure gold. People talk about him, and I’ll tell you, I won’t lie, that he’s a hundred and nine times more beautiful than your daughter. Now tell me, would you like to give your daughter for my Pure Gold?
- How can I give it away! Well, how the child does not agree to marry your Pure Gold! After all, blood is not water, you can’t order a girl around!
“Let’s ask the princess then,” says the fox, “let’s see what she answers.”
The king immediately ordered his daughter to be called to him. Before the princess had time to cross the threshold, the king told her everything bluntly and ended like this:
- That’s it, my dear child! If you want to marry the fox prince, open up to us, but if not, let your aunt go home!
The princess listened to him, lowered her eyes and remained silent. And the fox seemed to be caught by the wind - it flew up to the princess and let’s swear:
“I swear, princess, on the chicken roost, my prince is pure gold!” One hundred and nine times more beautiful than you and ten times richer than your father! There’s nothing to think about here - agree right away, you won’t regret it!
The princess sees that her father also does not resist, she gave her consent and went out. Here the king says to the fox:
- Well, auntie! Now you know our answer, and you have no choice but to take my daughter to you. Just don’t even think about coming for her before six months later—until then the dowry won’t be ready. But make sure you bring no less than five hundred matchmakers, and if you get more, even better.
The fox immediately left the royal palace and in one spirit waved to her Pure Gold. The poor man saw his aunt, and his soul was cheerful - after all, he did not expect to meet the fox. And when he found out that the fox had wooed the Tsar’s daughter for him and in six months he had to go after the Tsarevna with matchmakers, he became more sad than ever. Prince Pure Gold begged:
- Tell me, for God's sake, what should we do? I'm naked as a falcon. You see for yourself, I have nowhere to receive guests, nowhere to bring the Tsar’s daughter!
- Nothing, don’t be afraid! - the fox consoles him. - Don't worry about anything! Lean on me
Day after day passes, it’s time to go for the bride. Meanwhile, the fox doesn’t even know where to get matchmakers. And Prince Chistozoloto is completely confused, he keeps thinking about what will happen to him.
Finally the day of departure arrived. The fox says to his prince:
- It's time to go!
The poor man wailed:
- Where can we get matchmakers? Where can I get an elegant dress for me?
And the fox repeats:
- Your business is small - hurry up after me!
Prince Chistozoloto saw that he was going to disappear this way and that, and headlong rushed after the fox. Now the royal palace appeared in the distance, and Prince Chistozoloto again bothered the fox:
“What should we do, auntie, speak up, for God’s sake!”
And the fox got it right:
- Don't worry about anything, son.
Near the royal palace they came across a huge puddle. A fox saw a puddle and started rolling across the water from side to side. And she ordered her prince to do the same. “Well,” the poor man thinks, “since I have obeyed her until now, I will obey her now.” And he fell into the mud. You should have looked at what a nice couple they got out of the puddle! The fox barely drags its tail, and Prince Chistozoloto wanders along the road and shakes off clods of dirt from himself in order to get rid of the heavy load a little. And then it was time to go to the palace - they were waiting for the groom there.
The fox immediately went to the guards; the palace gates had long been no barrier to her. And he orders the king to report that the fox came to him with Prince Chistozoloto. The guards ran to the chief to find out which of them was the most efficient, who would instantly fly to the Tsar with Lisitsyn’s instructions. The fox, you see, told the guards to hurry up. The chief realized that the matter was urgent, took his grandfather off guard and sent him to the king. The old man leaned on his stick and ran as fast as he could. He ran to the palace and said:
- So, they say, and so, highly respected king, the fox and Prince Chistozoloto are waiting at the gate. The fox asks if he can come in to see you.
The king said:
- Let them come in!
The grandfather trotted to the gate and told the fox that she could go to the king. The fox took her prince by the hand, led him to the royal chambers and said the following words:
- God help you, king!
- Thank you, aunt! - answered the king.
- So I came to you! - says the fox.
-Where is your prince? - asks the king.
“Yes, here he is, standing next to me,” the fox answers.
The king was surprised:
- Why are you both so dirty?
- Don’t ask, honorable king! - the fox chattered. — A misfortune befell us on the way. We had to cross a swamp across a bridge; we had just stepped onto the bridge—me, my prince, and my retinue—when suddenly, to our misfortune, the bridge collapsed and everyone drowned. Only the prince and I managed to get out of the quagmire, that’s why we came to you so grimy. The prince has no change with him. Could you give him a dress for this occasion, if not for good, then at least as a loan?
“Don’t be sad, fox, there will be a dress for your prince,” the king answered and immediately ordered the servants to bring the most beautiful outfits that could be found in his chests.
But the fox doesn’t let up:
“Judge for yourself, honored king, what a terrible misfortune it is to lose all your matchmakers at once.” We are ashamed to return home alone and again spend money on equipment for our retinue. Can you give us five hundred matchmakers and everything we need for the journey?
“Be it your way, my dear children,” the king answers, “such a misfortune can happen to anyone, and to me too!” Don't worry about anything.
Here the king called his servants and ordered them to call all the nobles - the king, they say, invites them to be matchmakers to his daughter, and if the nobles agree, let them come to the palace.
Soon evening came. The king and the prince went to the refectory for dinner, and the fox remained by the fireplace, gnawing at the chicken bones. After dinner, the prince went to bed in his room, and Aunt Fox with him. The prince lay down in bed on the feather bed, and the aunt sat down behind the stove.
In the morning the king and all the household members got out of bed. Prince Chistozoloto also woke up, got dressed and shouted to the fox to get up too. By lunchtime, all the matchmakers gathered at the palace and, before setting off, sat down at the table with the Tsar and Prince Chistozoloto. In the middle of dinner, the king called his daughter and gave instructions:
- Here you are, dear daughter, your betrothed, be happy with him until your grave. And to you, son-in-law, I give my daughter, my only child! I wouldn’t give it to anyone else, but here I am giving it to you! Take good care of her and be happy with her!
- Amen! - the matchmakers shouted.
Then the dinner ended, the cannons thundered, the matchmakers began to sing, and the prince had black cats scratching at his heart. Will something happen to his poor little head? After all, there is nowhere to take the matchmakers! As soon as he is left alone with the fox, he clasps his hands and lets sigh:
- Tell me, for God’s sake, what should I do now?
And the fox says:
- Your business is the side.
The guests sat in the carts - two or even three; The princess and the matchmaker were seated in one cart, and the prince and the fox aunt in the other. The cart rolls along the road, the prince finds no peace for himself, he spins around like a sinner in a frying pan, but the fox says, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.
We drove halfway, then the fox said to the prince:
“I’ll run straight across the field, and you drive along the road.” Just be careful - don’t invite guests to your shack, and when you’re not far from it, listen carefully - I’ll give you a voice. It’s my voice that you lead the matchmakers.
With these words the fox jumped out of the cart and into the forest. Soon the walls of a huge palace rose in front of her. Giants lived in it. The fox goes to the palace, and the giants ask her:
“What’s that noise on the road, auntie?”
- My brothers! Darlings! - the fox groaned. “The whole world has turned against you, they want to kill you!” And I came running to warn you: get out quickly, otherwise your heads will not be blown off.
- Dear aunt, where should we run now? - the giants were scared.
“Climb over there, under the straw,” the fox answers.
The giants were happy to try - they hid in the straw, and the fox set fire to the omelet, and all the giants burned. That's how lucky the fox was!
Meanwhile, Prince Chistozoloto is driving along the road and scolding himself: “I’m a fool, a fool! And why did I stay here! I should have run away with the fox!” During these thoughts, I didn’t notice how I found myself near my shack. The prince listened and heard the aunt from the forest giving him a voice. The prince turned in the direction where the voice came from. They arrive - and what’s in front of them! The palaces rose up to the very clouds, the stairs leading to them were made of white marble. Matchmakers can't stop admiring such beauty! But the prince has one thing on his mind: who is the owner of these beautiful palaces? If he had such a mansion, he would not be ashamed to accept matchmakers in them. Suddenly a fox comes out onto the porch and says:
- Well, here we are! Get out of the carriages!
And the prince trembles with fear, like a leaf in the wind, still thinking that somehow the owner of the beautiful palace will meet them. But Aunt Fox took a moment and told him how it happened. The prince lost his head with joy!
Soon dinner was served, the guests ate, the guests drank - everyone was well fed! The matchmakers drank to each other's health and rejoiced at the happiness of the Tsar's daughter - no one expected that Prince Lisitsyn would turn out to be so rich. The matchmakers feasted for exactly three weeks, and on the fourth they went home with songs and gunfire. They reported to the king how the newlyweds celebrated their wedding, and the king was pleased.
And Prince Chistozoloto with his beauty still lives happily in the palace, unless he died.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru