In ancient times, one king had twelve sons. When they grew up, the king gathered them and said:
“My dear sons, I have become old and want grandchildren, so I am going to marry you.” Take a good horse, rich armor and ride around the world to look for brides. Each of you must find a girl who could weave and sew a shirt in one day.
Having left the castle gates, the elder eleven brothers said to the youngest, whose name was Simon:
- You are stupid and will only hinder us, go your way.
And, spurring their horses, they rushed off into the distance.
Frustrated, Simon got off his horse, fell into the grass and cried bitterly. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a thin voice was heard:
- Don't cry, Simon. Take a better look at our little doll.
The young man looked up and saw under a flower leaf a tiny girl dressed in an airy white dress. She was very small, no bigger than her little finger. As an adult, she sat on a tiny golden chair, and a diamond crown glittered in her hair. The girl was unusually beautiful and slender.
“Tell me,” she said, “what misfortune happened to you.”
She spoke in such a gentle voice that the young man told her everything: how the king-father ordered all the brothers to find brides for themselves, how he gave them armor and horses, how they left the palace and the brothers left him alone in the middle of the road.
- Where can I find a bride who can weave and sew shirts in one day? - the poor young man repeated sadly.
- I will be happy to help you. Do you want me to be your bride? - asked the doll. - Look what I can do.
She took out the yarn, wove the material, cut out and sewed the shirt - and all this in front of the amazed young man. True, the shirt turned out to be tiny, like for a doll.
Simon took the shirt and went to his father. The father-king looked at her with pleasure and said to the embarrassed Simon:
“It doesn’t matter that it’s so small, but it’s sewn very neatly.”
And he blessed his son to marry the doll. Joyful Simon returned for his bride. He wanted to put her in his pocket, but the doll said that she had her own carriage and horses. She sat in a silver teaspoon and harnessed two little green grasshoppers to it. And they rode side by side: Simon on a horse, and his bride in a funny carriage - a silver teaspoon drawn by two grasshoppers.
The young man drove very carefully, trying not to step on his bride. But then the palace gates appeared in the distance, and, sensing the house, Simon’s horse waved his hoof, and the silver spoon, along with the doll, fell into the lake they were passing by. Poor young man! He screamed and called for help. Suddenly the water in the lake began to boil and brought a lovely girl to the shore, with a slender figure, thin waist and luxuriant hair. Happy Simon put his beloved on his horse and rushed to the palace.
At this time, the brothers and their brides had already arrived there. What ugly little messes the young girls were! Because of the fast ride, their hats had slid to one side, their faces were covered with road dust, burrs clung to their dresses, and this made the girls look even more terrible. Seeing their younger brother with his beautiful bride, they began to shout at him in anger, but the father-king ordered them to shut up and get out of the castle with their ugly ones. And for Simon and his doll bride he threw such a feast that they had never seen and will never see in any kingdom in the world.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru