There once lived a king in France, and this king had three sons. The eldest and middle were both good-looking, strong, and healthy. And the youngest grew up puny and frail. For whole days he sat by the fire, covered in ash and ashes. His name was Ludouin, which means Dirty in Breton.
The old king was ill. All the doctors in the kingdom visited him, but none of them knew the cure for his illness.
One healer, who was also called to the sick man, said that only touching the bird Dredane, which sits in a golden cage, could heal the king.
-Where is this bird? - asked the king.
- In the castle of Princess Marcassa, far beyond the Red Sea. That castle stands behind three high walls, behind three courtyards, and the courtyards are guarded by giants seven feet tall and dragons. These dragons throw flames seven miles around.
- Who will go looking for a miracle bird for me in such a castle? - said the king with a sigh.
“I’ll go, father,” the eldest son volunteered.
He took with him plenty of gold and silver, chose the best horse in the palace stables and left, saying to his father:
“If I don’t return in a year and one day, know that I’m no longer alive.”
So the prince rides, rides and finally arrives in the land of the Saxons. He asks where the castle is where the bird Dredane is located, but in response everyone just laughs and makes fun of him.
The prince stayed at a hotel where there were beautiful girls and cheerful drinking companions, and began to squander his money with them.
A year and one day passed, and he did not return home. Then the middle son came to his father and said:
“Father, a year and one day have already passed, and my elder brother is still gone. I will go look for him and the Dreadane bird, because she alone can restore your health.
And the middle son set off, taking with him a lot of gold and silver. He ended up in the same hotel, met his brother and lived just as happily as him.
A year and one day passed again. The princes did not return, and the old king grew worse every day. Then Ludouin told his father that he wanted to go in search of the brothers and the Dre-dain bird.
- And you too, my son! - exclaimed the old king. “No, stay at home so that there is someone to close my eyes.” If your brothers failed, then you will certainly not get the Dreadane bird.
But Ludouin stubbornly stood his ground. And his father agreed to let him go. He gave him some money - much less than the elders. Ludouin went to the stable, saddled the camel, which could do seven miles an hour, and set off.
He arrives in the very city where his brothers are stuck and asks about the castle where the bird Dredane is located. They tell him that the local residents have never heard of such a castle, and only two foreign princes know about it, who arrived here not so long ago and lead a cheerful life. Ludouin wanted to see them. He was brought to the hotel, and, recognizing the brothers, he was very glad that they were alive. And the brothers took his money and drove him away.
Poor Ludouin rode on, deeply saddened that his brothers had treated him this way.
His camel ran quickly, and after a short time he was already very far away.
Night overtook Ludouin in a dense forest. The howls of wild animals could be heard from all sides in the darkness. The prince climbed a tree and noticed a light in the distance. Then he went downstairs, followed the light and soon saw a miserable hut made of branches and dry grass. A hunched over old woman answered the knock, and he asked her to let him spend the night.
“I have nowhere to put you, son,” she answered. “I don’t have a bed.”
“It’s okay, grandma, I’ll lie down on the stone by the hearth.”
- Well, come in, son, it’s a pity to leave you in the open air.
Ludouin tied his camel to a post and entered the hut.
- It smells so bad here! - he said, pinching his nose.
- This is my poor old man. It's been a week since he died, and the body is still lying there, which is why it smells.
- Why don’t you bury him?
“Oh, son, I don’t have money, and our priest doesn’t do anything for nothing.”
- How much does he demand for burial?
- Ecu. And I don’t even have a sou.
“You know what, grandma, I’m not rich, but tomorrow morning I’ll pay the priest and we’ll bury your husband.”
The next morning he went to the priest and said to him:
“Here is the crown that you demanded for the burial of the husband of that poor old woman who lives in the forest.” And bury him immediately.
The deceased was buried. Only two people accompanied him to the cemetery: the old woman and Ludouin.
Immediately after the funeral, Ludouin again set off on an unknown journey. Driving across a wide, barren plain, he noticed that a white fox was relentlessly running after him.
“Why does this fox run after me all the time?” - he wondered to himself.
When he reached the edge of the plain, the fox suddenly, to his great surprise, spoke in a human voice:
“Are you looking for the Dreadane bird, prince?”
- Yes, creature of God. Do you know anything about this bird?
- I know. You're already close to her. Do you see that castle high on the mountain? The Dreadane bird is there. I'll tell you what you need to do to get it. The castle stands behind three courtyards, and each courtyard is surrounded by a high wall. You will have to go through all three courtyards. The first one is infested with toads, snakes and all sorts of poisonous reptiles. In the second - lions and tigers, in the third - fire-breathing dragons and giants who
guard the entrance to the castle. From eleven o'clock until the last stroke of the clock at midnight they all lie side by side on the ground, with their tongues hanging out, and sleep deeply. You can safely walk between them and even over their bodies - they will not wake up until midnight strikes. Having entered the castle, you will easily pass through three beautiful halls (I won’t tell you what you will see in them) and in the fourth you will find the Dredane bird in a golden cage, suspended from the ceiling on three golden chains. The bird is also sleeping at this hour. Near the cage, on the wall on a golden nail hangs a saber. You will take this saber, cut the three golden chains and carry away the bird and the cage. But remember that you must do all this before midnight. If you're late, the gates will slam shut and you'll never leave the castle.
Ludouin thanked the fox for the advice and, plucking up courage, headed towards the castle.
He arrived at the castle just as eleven o'clock struck and the gates of the first courtyard were open. Entering inside, he saw that the yard was swarming with huge snakes and other disgusting reptiles. Ludouin's heart sank when in the second courtyard he had to make his way among monsters spreading a vile, suffocating stench. The same thing happened in the third. But despite all this, he finally went into the castle.
There was not a single living soul in the first hall. Ludouin saw a large loaf of white bread on the table and, feeling hungry, cut off a large slice and began to eat. To his surprise, the bread did not shrink at all when a piece was cut from it. Ludouin thought: “This bread will come in handy on the road,” and put it in his bag.
Then he enters the second room and sees a jug of wine on the table, and a glass next to it. “That’s wonderful!” - he said to himself. He drank a glass, followed by another, a third, and the wine in the jug did not diminish at all! He put the jug in the bag with the bread and entered the third hall. Then his mouth opened in admiration: on the purple bed, the princess was fast asleep, beautiful as a clear day. The wine he drank went to his head, he took off his shoes and, quietly approaching, hugged the princess; but she didn't even wake up. Still, he did not forget what the fox punished him, and went to the fourth hall.
Here, in a golden cage suspended from the ceiling on three golden chains, slept the Dre-dain bird. And on the wall hung a saber, and on its blade was written: “The one who owns me can kill ten thousand people if he hits with the sharp side of the blade, and if he hits with the blunt side, he will completely cut everything he wants to cut.” "Thumbs up!" - said Ludouin. He grabbed the saber, and - one, two, three! — with three strong blows he cut the golden chains. Then he took the cage with the bird, grabbed the saber and rushed out of the castle. He ran over the bodies of dragons and giants, and they still slept with their tongues hanging out. The clock began to strike midnight as he crossed the threshold of the first hall. “So far everything is going well,” Ludouin said to himself, jumped onto the camel that was waiting for him at the gate, and rushed away like a whirlwind.
With the last stroke of the clock, the princess, followed by the giants, dragons and other reptiles, woke up and immediately learned that someone had kidnapped the bird. The dragons began to spit out flames, and the giants set off in pursuit of the thief. The fire from the dragons' mouths scorched the wool on the camel and Ludouin's hair. But the camel rushed quickly after the white fox, who always ran ahead and showed them the way. And soon they reached the borders of the kingdom of the sorcerer who lived in the golden castle. Then he had no power. They were saved! Here the white fox disappeared, and Ludouin calmly continued on his way.
At the edge of the wide desert plain through which he was passing, Ludouin saw an inn near the road and went there to eat and rest. He ordered to serve himself everything that was the best there. He didn't like the bread. He called the owner and said:
- Your bread is no good.
“There is nothing better in our area, and the king himself eats the same.”
Ludouin took out of his bag the loaf that he had taken from the golden castle and said:
- But I have better bread!
He cut off a piece and treated it to the owner.
- Come on, try mine and tell me if you like it.
The owner tried it and liked the bread so much that he asked for another piece. Ludouin cut him a second one and showed him that the bread was not shrinking.
- Well, if you had such a loaf of bread, you would soon get rich, wouldn’t you? - he said.
- That's right. But where can you get such bread? - asked the owner.
- Nowhere. This loaf is the only one in the whole world.
—Will you sell it to me? I'd pay well.
- How much will you give for it?
- One hundred crowns.
“Okay, give me a hundred crowns and take the bread, but on one condition: if the one to whom it belongs, the princess from the golden castle, ever comes here and demands the loaf back, you will return it to her.”
The owner agreed, confident that no princess would demand the bread back.
Ludouin drove on. At sunset, he stopped to rest at another inn and sold the owner for two hundred crowns the jug he had taken from the castle, in which the wine had never been reduced.
Then he set off again. He rode and rode until he arrived in the country of the Saxons. Here he went to look for his brothers at the hotel where he had left them. He was given bad news about them. Having squandered all their money, both princes became thieves. They had been captured and were now in prison awaiting execution.
But at this time the king of the Saxons was at war with the neighboring emperor, and he had no time to remember the prisoners.
Ludouin decided to go to the king and offer him his services.
The gatekeeper did not want to let him into the palace, but Ludouin showed him the saber and passed. He reached the king’s chambers and showed him his saber, explaining the power it had. He promised to help the king defeat the enemy if he would release his brothers.
The king agreed and the senior princes were released from prison. Ludouin, at the head of the royal army, went on a campaign and, thanks to his saber, the very sight of which put the bravest soldiers to flight, he won a complete victory.
Since Ludouin's brothers had incurred a lot of debts and were heavily indebted to the innkeeper, Ludouin had to sell him his saber, all with the same condition: return it to the princess if she demands it.
And the three brothers set off on their way back to their native France, taking with them the bird Dredane in a golden cage. Ludouin carried the bird and did not part with it for a minute.
But the brothers, jealous of his good fortune, conspired to get rid of him. They wanted to bring the bird to their father themselves and assure him that it was they who got it.
Driving past a deep well on the edge of the road, they leaned over its opening and shouted:
- Oh, what a beautiful flower there! Come here quickly, Ludouin, look, you’ve probably never seen anything like it!
Ludouin put the cage on the ground and also leaned over the hole in the well. The brothers immediately grabbed him by the legs and threw him into the water. Then they rushed off, taking with them the caged bird and the camel.
When they returned home, the king was already completely ill. Having learned that his sons had brought a wonderful bird that would restore his health, he became emboldened, and feasts after feasts began at court.
However, the bird was not happy, and every time it was brought into the king's room, it broke free, uttered piercing cries and did not allow the king to touch it. The old king grew weaker every day, so it was a pity to look at him.
But let us now return to Ludouin and see what happened to him after he was thrown into the water.
Fortunately, the well was shallow, and the white fox immediately came to the rescue. She lowered her tail into the well, which became longer and longer until it touched the water, and the fox, ordering Ludouin to grab it tightly, pulled the prince up. Then she told him this:
- Prince, return to your father, now you will get home without any incidents. Not far from here you will meet an old beggar on the road. Give him all the money you have. Exchange clothes with him and so, in rags, come to your father and ask for some kind of work, the dirtiest. Don’t worry about the rest, everything will end well, and the evil ones will be punished as they deserve. Do you remember, Ludouin, how you once spent the night in a poor woman’s wretched hut, where the body of her dead husband lay, because she had nothing to bury him with? You then paid the priest for the burial.
- Yes, I remember very well.
“Well, so, I am the soul of this poor man, to whom you paid your last debt, without sparing your meager pennies.” And I came in the form of a fox to thank you. And now goodbye, we will not see each other again in this world.
And the fox disappeared.
Ludouin set off on his journey and soon met the old beggar about whom the white fox had spoken. He gave the old man all his money and clothes, taking his rags in return. Having changed his clothes, he moved on. He walked for a long time, but did not lose courage and finally came to his father’s palace. At this time his elder brother was standing at the gate and, hearing that he was asking for work, said:
- Send him to herd the pigs.
And Ludouin became a swineherd. After some time, he was appointed groom, and he took such diligent care of the horses that they became fat, their hair was so shiny, and they became much more playful. The king was very pleased with the new groom and often praised him. But the brothers recognized Ludouin and wanted to get rid of him at all costs. They advised the father to assign a new worker to carry food for the Dredane bird. The bird, since it was brought to the palace, became so angry that it bit everyone who approached it. But when she saw Ludouin, she suddenly began to sing and flap her wings with joy. Ludouin put her on his finger and went with her to the king's bedroom. As soon as the king heard the singing, he immediately felt better. But in order to fully recover, he needed to see Princess Marcassa.
And the princess, meanwhile, exactly nine months after Ludouin visited her in the golden castle, gave birth to a son, a lovely child. The child grew up, and then one day he asked his mother who his father was. The princess replied that she did not know this herself.
“I’ll go look for my father,” said her son, “and I won’t return until I find him.”
He set off on his journey, and his mother went with him.
On the way, they stopped to rest at the same inn where Ludouin left bread, which did not decrease, no matter how much they cut from it. This bread was served to the guests. The princess immediately realized that the one who had visited her castle was passing through here.
“Give me this bread,” she said to the owner.
“I won’t give it up for anything in the world,” he objected, “unless the princess of the golden castle ever demands it from me.”
“I am the princess of the golden castle, this bread belongs to me, and I will take it from you.”
And she put the bread in her bag. However, during the time that the bread remained with him, the owner had already managed to make a fortune.
The princess and her son set off again and reached the second inn, where Ludouin had once visited. They stopped here to rest, saw a jug in which the wine was not diminishing, and took it away too.
After some time, they arrived in the country of the Saxons and ended up with an innkeeper, with whom Ludouin left a magic saber. They took her with them too.
“Cheer up, my child,” the princess said to her son. “Now we will soon see your father.”
They continued their journey and finally arrived in France, in Paris.
The princess stopped in front of the palace and ordered to report herself to the king. Great was the old king's joy when he heard this news. Despite his illness, he went out into the courtyard to meet his guest and gave her his hand to help her get out of the golden carriage.
“No,” said Princess Marcassa, “I will not leave the carriage until the one who stole the bird Dredane from my castle comes to meet me.”
- It's me! - said the king's eldest son, stepping forward.
“In that case, tell me how my castle is guarded.”
But the prince only said that the castle was surrounded by a high wall, and the princess objected:
- It's not you. You weren't there. Go away.
- It's me! - said the middle son, approaching the carriage.
“In that case, tell me how my castle is guarded.”
But this prince could say no more than the first. The princess drove him away too.
- It's not you, go away. If the one who took the Dreadane bird from my castle is not brought to me, I am leaving now.
Then Ludouin came up in a groom's dress and said:
- Princess, I took the bird away.
- If so, tell me how my castle is guarded?
- Your castle, princess, stands behind three high walls, behind three courtyards. The first yard is full of snakes and all sorts of other poisonous creatures. In the second - tigers and lions. In the third there are terrible giants and dragons, they throw flames seven miles around.
“Yeah, I see you know something,” said the princess. “Well, what next?”
“All these animals and monsters, stretched out on the slabs with which the courtyard is paved, sleep deeply from eleven o’clock until midnight. I took advantage of this hour to pass safely among them. In the first hall of the palace I saw wonderful bread that does not decrease no matter how much you cut from it. In the second room I found a jug in which the wine does not decrease, no matter how much you drink from it. I drank a glass or two and took the jug away. In the third hall I saw the princess, fast asleep on a purple bed.
- And what did you do? - asked the princess.
“At first I looked and looked at her with my mouth open, then the wine went to my head, I became bolder, lay down next to her on the bed and kissed her.
“Yes, it seems true,” said the princess. “And here is your son!” “She pointed to her boy. “But go on.”
“Then I entered the fourth hall, where the bird Dredane slept in a golden cage suspended from the ceiling by three golden chains. On the wall, on a golden nail, hung a saber. I grabbed it, cut the chains and ran as fast as I could, carrying away the bird, saber, jug and bread.
-Where is all this? - asked the princess.
- The bird is here. I left the bread, jug and saber along the road, where I spent the night.
“I found them there and took them with me.” But where is the bird? Bring the bird!
Ludouin went to get the bird and brought it back in a golden cage.
Seeing the princess, the Dreadine bird began to flap its wings with joy and sang so sweetly and loudly that the echo of the palace picked up the song, and everyone was happy, only the older brothers were not happy.
The princess took the bird out of the cage, placed it on her finger and handed it to the king, ordering him to stroke the bird.
And the bird, until then so wild and angry, now allowed the old king to touch and stroke him, and he immediately recovered and became younger.
Then the princess told the whole court about how Ludouin had become a victim of deceit.
her brothers, and demanded that they be treated as they deserved.
The old king flew into a terrible rage and shouted:
- Light a fire in the oven and throw them in!
And so they did.
And Ludouin married Princess Marcasse. The wedding was celebrated magnificently, the feast was glorious, and they say that at this feast the old king, in joy, drank and ate too much and died of indigestion.
After his death, Ludouin became king of France.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru