There was, and there was nothing - a husband and wife lived, and they had a son. The husband was widowed early and, in order to have someone to take care of the house and the child, he soon married again. The stepmother came to the house. An evil stepmother has come across, beating the poor boy, burning him with fire. The stepmother also had a lover. The husband did not know about this, but the boy knew; That’s why the evil stepmother wanted to kill him.
They had another bull - Krasnukh. The boy and Krasnukh loved each other very much. Every day the boy took his friend to the pasture - he fed him and entertained himself.
The stepmother was just waiting for an opportunity to get rid of her stepson. One day she pretended to be sick and began to moan and groan. The husband asked:
- What will help you? The wife said: “Only your son’s heart and liver—nothing else will help me.” The father became sad when he heard these words, but there was nothing to do, he still chose his wife and decided to kill his son.
The next morning the son sees his father sharpening a knife. “What do you need a knife for, father, what are you sharpening?” - asked the son. “Son, take our bull to the water, give him something to drink, I want to kill him,” says the father. The boy led the bull, gave it water, and cried himself, his tears merging with the water. “Why are you crying, my friend?” - asks Krasnukh. - Why are you ruining your eyes, my life? - They want to kill you, kill you! - says the boy. Krasnukh became sad, sighed and said: “Not me, they want to kill you.” Go, take a sharpener, a comb, a bottle of water, sit on me and let’s run.
The boy went, took a sharpener, a comb, a bottle of water and brought it. We climbed onto the bull and off we went. The father found out that the boy had run away, jumped on one damned pig and rushed after him.
Rubella is rushing, carrying his friend away from trouble, and the father is rushing after them on his pig, holding a sharpened knife in his hands - he is about to catch up.
Krasnukh shouted to the boy: “What are you waiting for, my friend, you see death before your eyes, quickly pour the water out of the bottle.” The boy poured out the water, and a huge sea overflowed. The sea is agitated, angry, the waves threaten to swallow and destroy anyone who dares to fight them. But the waves do not frighten the pig; it swims and overcomes them.
In the meantime, Krasnukh and his friend ran away far away. The pig swam out and ran after him again. Krasnukh says: “Well, turn around, can you see something or not?” The boy turned around - something in the distance, like a fly, rushing and flying. The boy says: “You can see something as big as a fly.” “It’s a pig and your father is on it with a knife,” says Krasnukh, “let’s run, my friend, run from untruth, since we have no protection from it.”
Rubella runs, carries away the boy, the pig rushes after him, and the sharpened knife sparkles in the hands of the father. A little more and the pig will catch up. - Drop the comb! - cries Krasnukh. The boy threw down the comb, and instantly a forest grew so thick and dense that even a mouse couldn’t crawl through or turn its tail. The pig gnaws the forest, gnaws and gnaws.
And Krasnukh and the boy are all running. They've gone far. The boy looked around and said: “You can see something as big as a fly in the distance.” “It’s a pig flying in pursuit,” says Krasnukh. A little more, a little more, and the pig will catch up with the fugitives.
The boy threw the grindstone, and a huge impregnable rock grew between the pig and the fugitives - it was impossible to see with your eyes. The pig gnaws, cuts, gnaws steps in the rock, climbs up. The pig reached the middle, rested its hoof on the ledge, the rock broke off, and the pig and its rider flew into the abyss... She took away both our and your grief. Krasnukh and the boy were glad that they got rid of trouble. Rubella took the boy out into the open field.
There is a tall poplar tree standing in a field, its top touching the sky. Krasnukh put the boy on a tree, gave him two pipes, one joyful, the other painful, and said: “I’ll go wander through the fields, graze, and you sit here; If you are sad, play the painful pipe, I will be with you in an instant, I will help you. And if you are in joy, play on the joyful one, and she will give you food and drink. - Krasnukh said goodbye and left.
A boy sits on a tree and plays a joyful pipe. One shepherd heard this pipe. He followed the sound of the pipe, found that poplar, saw a boy playing the pipe, and butterflies flocked around, flying, dancing, playing to the sound of the pipe. The shepherd's eyes popped out of his head with envy. He decided to get this pipe at any cost and shouted to the boy:
- Well, come down, show me your pipe, I’ll see what it’s made of? The shepherd boy did not listen and did not come down. This envious shepherd got up and went to the king. I reported to him: in such and such a place one boy is sitting on a poplar tree and playing the pipe so much that the whole world rejoices. The king immediately called his advisers and ordered:
“Either bring that boy yourself, or find someone who can bring him.” The advisers brought an old woman to the king. The old woman said: “I will bring the boy.”
The old woman took the goat and an awl and went to that poplar. The boy sits on the top and plays the joyful pipe, and the old woman stood under the tree and stabs the goat with an awl - the goat screams.
The boy saw that the old woman was torturing the goat and shouted: “What, grandmother, why are you torturing the poor goat?” “But I can’t kill her,” says the old woman, “do a good deed, come down and help.”
How can a boy understand that the old woman is planning an evil deed? Came downstairs. The old woman gave him some drink and put him to sleep. The royal servants took the boy, took him away, and locked him up with nine padlocks. The boy woke up, saw that he was locked up, and became sad. He remembered his pipes—and his pipes remained far away in the field, on a tall poplar tree—and he began to cry. A boy is sitting, looking out of the window at the sky. A crow flies past the castle, the boy saw the crow and shouted: “Crow, crow!” Where are you flying, where are you rushing? Fly, for the good of your children, - far in the field there is a tall poplar tree, my pipes hang on it, bring it. - Have you forgotten how I ate carrion, and you threw stones at me?! - the crow shouted and flew away.
The boy looked after her, tears flowed from his eyes. A raven is flying. “Raven, raven, fly, for the sake of the sun of your children, into the field, there on a high poplar tree are my pipes—bring them!” - the boy shouted to the raven. “Why didn’t you give me your bull to eat?” - shouted the raven. “I won’t bring you a pipe.” A raven flew by and darkened the little prisoner’s already bitter day even more. An eagle is flying. “Eagle, broad-shouldered eagle,” the boy shouted, “you are the king of all birds; you nest on the most inaccessible rocks and the tallest trees. Fly, find a tall poplar in the field, my pipes are still there, bring it. - I have a lot of things to do. When did you give me a ram so that I could carry your pipes? - said the eagle, flapped its wings and flew away.
A bird flew by. “Bird, little bird, for the sake of the joy of your chicks, bring my pipes from the field!” And you wouldn’t set snares for us and wouldn’t destroy our nests! I won’t bring you a pipe, ask others,” said the bird and flew away. The boy looked after her and began to cry. He sees a swallow flying. “Swallow, swallow, herald of spring, bring my pipes from the field.” A swallow flew and brought pipes.
A boy began to play a painful pipe, the pipe groaned, and began to cry. Krasnukh heard and hurried to help his friend. He attacked the castle and began to smash the doors with his horns. He smashed eight doors, and broke off a horn on the ninth. Krasnukh became sad; he was not so sorry that he had lost his horn as he was sorry to leave his friend a prisoner. A mouse crawled out from somewhere and said: “What will you give me if I implant a horn on you?” Will you let me eat your carrion? “I will,” said Krasnukh. The mouse implanted a horn. Rubella rushed and broke through the ninth door. He went in to the boy, put him on his back and took him to that poplar tree.
Rubella helped the boy climb the tree and went into the field. The boy sits on the tree, plays the joyful pipe and rejoices. He remembered his bull, wanted to see him, began to play the painful pipe, plays, plays - the bull is not visible. The boy is waiting for the bull, but there is no bull.
The boy felt sad. He came down from the tree, played, played, and the whole earth mourned with him. And the grass sheds tears, and the butterflies do not fly - they cry, and the trees do not move.
The pipe sings, and even the cold rocks shed hot tears, the pipe sings, and the black raven hurries somewhere with carrion... The boy went, searched, searched for his friend and found him dead in the field. Evil kites and black crows have already pecked out his eyes. The boy cried. He cried bitterly and did not play either the joyful pipe or the painful one.
Pestilence there, feast here, Elimination there, flour here. Elasa, molasses, A jug hung on me. For the storyteller and the listener, A sweet dream, for you and me.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru