One widow had two children - a son and a daughter. They lived so poorly that they never ate enough and dressed in rags. The children grew up, but poverty did not even think of leaving the widow’s house. One day the son asks his mother:
– What is happiness?
“Oh, my son,” his mother answers, “happy is the one who is always fed, clothed and never sad.” And if this person also has a wise friend who can help him with advice in difficult times, then he doesn’t need greater happiness.
The mother said so and sighed sadly. But the son did not leave his mother, thinking about something of his own. Then he turned to her again:
– One legend says that a brave warrior is always accompanied by happiness and good luck. Explain to me how to understand this.
“It’s true, son,” answered the mother. – If you strive for a certain goal, then happiness and luck will not leave you. If you are persistent and stubborn in achieving your goal, you will certainly achieve happiness.
- In this case, I myself must find my happiness, and not wait for it to come to me.
Having said this, the son asked his mother for permission to go in search of happiness. The mother prepared oatmeal with butter for her son and saw him off on his long journey.
The young man walked for a long time, crossed several mountains, crossed many rivers, and finally came across a dense forest on his way. Peri lived in this forest - unearthly creatures.
“Hey, son of man,” the Peri shouted in one voice, “why did you come here?” Don't you know that death awaits you here?
“I’m not afraid of death,” the young man answered fearlessly. – If you want to measure your strength with me, come out.
“We are ready,” the peri answered. “Here are our conditions: whoever squeezes the oil out of this black stone is the winner.” And the winner is usually obeyed in everything.
“I agree,” the young man answered, and he himself was thinking about how he could outwit the peri.
The Peris were the first to get down to business, but no matter how much they pressed the stone, nothing came of it - the stone remained dry. They threw the stone to the ground and fell down exhausted.
It was the young man's turn. He began to rub his hands, as if preparing to take on a difficult task, put them unnoticed in his bosom, where he had fatty oatmeal, coated his hands and began to rub them again. Then he walked up to the stone and squeezed it. He showed his fat hands:
- So I squeezed the fat out of the stone. Now you all must listen to me.
There is nothing to do, the peris agreed. They took the zhigit to their home, showing him honor and respect. They treated him, prepared his bed, and put him to bed. The young man was left alone, sleep did not come to him. While still at the table, he noticed that the Peri were whispering something to each other, and guessed that they wanted to kill him. The guy took the bed, moved it to another corner of the room, and covered the old place with his shapan.
In the dead of night, the Peri woke up, climbed onto the roof and dropped a huge stone from above onto the guest’s bed. In the morning they entered the room - the zhigit was alive and well. The confused peri screamed in one voice:
- Oh dear guest! How did you sleep? The zhigit answered them:
“I slept well, but you have a lot of fleas.” They thought about how to get rid of the guest. If the stone did not take him, then he will destroy everyone. They decided to reward the young man with rich gifts and escort him out of their kingdom. And so they did. They loaded several peri with gold and expensive gifts and ordered them to accompany the guest to the house.
A young man is walking home, with a peri behind him. A thick log lies on the road. The young man stopped.
“Oh, this log will be very useful for my mother’s spindle.”
With these words he loaded the log onto the peri and walked on. The Peris looked at each other, saying that not only the young man, but also his mother was just as strong.
The young man arrived home safely. The Peri went back.
From that time on, the widow and children knew no need.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru