One day a boy was tending a flock of sheep. One lamb fell into a deep ditch filled with water and drowned.
The parents did not love their son, and when the boy returned home, they beat him and scolded him, and then kicked him out of the house, although it was already dark at night. For a long time the boy wandered in tears through the mountains. Then he found a crevice in the rock and threw leaves there. He was numb from the cold, but tried in vain to warm himself up in them and fell asleep.
In the dead of night a man came to his hiding place and said:
– You took my bed, impudent one! What are you doing here at this time?
The boy, beside himself with fear, told how he was kicked out of the house and begged to be left here for the night.
“You brought dry leaves here,” said the man, “but it never occurred to me... Okay, stay.” And he lay down next to him.
And the boy curled up into a ball so as not to disturb the stranger, and lay there without moving a single finger. He pretended to be asleep, but did not close his eyes and kept looking at his neighbor. And he, too, was awake and muttered to himself, thinking that the boy had fallen asleep.
“What should I give this little guy, since he brought dry leaves into my crevice, and now he’s settled aside so as not to bother me?” I'll give him a tablecloth. As soon as you spread it out, as much food as you want will appear on it... And I’ll also give you a box. Every time you open it, a gold coin appears inside... And, perhaps, a harmonica. As soon as you play it, everyone will immediately start dancing...
Under this muttering the boy fell asleep. At dawn he woke up. At first he thought it was all a dream. But near me I found a tablecloth, a box and a harmonica. The stranger was not there, he didn’t even remember his face!
After a long journey, our hero came to the city where they were preparing for a big tournament. The king promised the winner of the tournament the hand of the princess and all the riches of the kingdom.
“Now is the time to test my box,” thought the shepherd. “If it really mints money, I will also take part in the tournament.”
And he began to open and close it. Always, as soon as he opened it, a shiny coin appeared inside the box. The shepherd bought horses, rich armor and clothes for the prince, acquired squires and servants, and spread the rumor that he was the son of the Portuguese king. He won all the competitions, and the king had to announce him as his daughter's groom.
However, the guy grew up among sheep, and the court immediately guessed about it: he ate with his hands, wiped them on the tablecloth, and the countess familiarly patted him on the shoulder. All this aroused suspicion among the king. He sent messengers to Portugal. Soon they brought news: the Portuguese prince did not leave his palace anywhere, as he was sick with dropsy. Then the king ordered that the deceiver be immediately thrown into prison. The royal prison was located just below the banquet hall. As soon as the prison doors slammed behind the shepherd, nineteen prisoners greeted him with a chorus of ridicule; they had already heard about the princess’s fiancé, but the shepherd did not pay any attention to them.
At noon the jailer brought the prisoners a bowl of bean soup. The young man ran to the bowl, knocked it over with his foot and poured all the stew onto the ground.
- Crazy! What are we going to eat now? You will pay us dearly for this!
And he answered them:
“Be silent and watch,” he took the tablecloth out of his pocket and said: “For twenty people!” – and turned it around.
And in the blink of an eye, a magnificent dinner for twenty people appeared on the tablecloth: soup, roast, sweets and excellent wine. Everyone was delighted.
Every day the prisoners turned their bowl of beans upside down, but they were full and cheerful as never before. The jailer told the king everything. He was overcome with curiosity. He went down to the prison and asked what was going on.
The shepherd stepped forward:
- Know, Your Majesty, it is I who feed and sing my comrades! They eat better than you at the royal table. And with your permission, I invite your royal majesty to dine with us and I am sure you will be pleased.
- OK! - the king agreed. The shepherd unrolled the tablecloth and said:
- For twenty-one, yes, like a king! A dinner appeared, the most luxurious of which no one had ever seen. The king opened his eyes wide, then sat down at the table with the criminals and began to eat with great pleasure. As soon as dinner was over, the king said:
- Sell me this tablecloth!
- Why not, Your Majesty? - answered the shepherd. - But on one condition, that you allow me to spend one night with your daughter, my bride.
- Why not, prisoner? - answered the king. - But with a condition: all night you will lie on the edge of the bed, silent and motionless, in the presence of eight guards, with the windows open and candles lit; If it suits you - great, if it doesn't suit you - goodbye.
- Why not, Your Majesty? Hands down! Thus, the king received the tablecloth, and the young man spent the whole night with the princess without touching her with a finger or uttering a word. The next morning he was back in prison.
When the prisoners saw that he had returned, they began to laugh loudly at him:
- Look at the Prince of Portugal! Do you know, donkey, that now we will again eat empty bean soup. You made a good deal with the king, nothing to say!
“Can’t we buy whatever we want with money?” – he answered as if nothing had happened.
- Money? Which of us has money?
“Calm down,” said the shepherd and began to take gold coins out of the box. From that day on, the prisoners began to order delicious lunches at the nearby osteria, and the bean soup, as before, was poured onto the ground.
The jailer again told the king everything. The king went down to the dungeon, learned the secret of the box and wanted to buy it.
-Will you sell me the box? he asked.
- Why not, Your Majesty? “And the shepherd again offered the king the same conditions, and the king again agreed.
So the shepherd gave up his box and spent the whole night with the princess, without touching her or saying a word.
The prisoners, as soon as they saw him, began to mock him again:
“Now we won’t be able to get away from beans.” This will be fun!
- It should always be fun. If there is nothing to eat, we will dance.
– How do you mean to understand this?
The guy took a harmonica out of his pocket and started playing. Then all the prisoners danced around him and jingled their shackles. Minuets, gavottes, waltzes... They couldn't stop. The jailer came running in response to the noise, but heard the music and also started dancing, jingling his bunch of keys.
At this time, the king and his guests sat down at the table. But as soon as the sounds of a harmonica were heard from the dungeon, everyone jumped to their feet and danced. They danced like people possessed: ladies with footmen, gentlemen with cooks. Even the furniture danced, glasses collided with plates and crashed, and fried chicken spread its wings and flew away. And it was no longer possible to make out which of the dancers ran their heads into the wall, and which ones jumped up and hit their heads on the ceiling. While dancing, the king shouted for everyone to stop dancing immediately. Suddenly the young man stopped playing, and the dancers fell to the floor. Everyone's head was shaking and their legs were trembling.
The out of breath king went down to the dungeon.
-Who is this joker? - he shouted angrily.
“It’s me, Your Majesty,” the shepherd came forward. “Would you like to be sure of this?” “As soon as he started playing, the king raised his foot to make the first step.
“Stop it, stop it,” the king begged. “Better sell me the harmonica.”
- Why not, Your Majesty? But under what conditions?
- The same as before.
- Uh, Your Majesty. A new agreement is needed here, or I’ll start playing again!..
- No need! No need! Tell me what you want?
- Allow me to talk to the princess at night.
The king thought and agreed.
“Only I will double the guard,” he said, “and order two chandeliers to be lit.”
- As you wish, Your Majesty. In the evening the king called his daughter and whispered in secret:
- Remember well - you must answer only “no” to all the questions of this robber. And look at me, there’s nothing else but “no.”
The princess promised.
It's time to go to bed. The shepherd, as before, entered the illuminated and guarded bedroom of the princess and stretched out on the edge of the bed at a respectful distance from his bride.
“My wife,” he said, “do you like the fact that in such cold weather we have to sleep with the windows open?”
“No,” she answered.
- Guards, did you hear? – the young man shouted. “At the request of the princess, close the windows immediately!”
And the guards closed the windows.
Less than a quarter of an hour had passed when the young man again:
“My wife, do you like the fact that we are lying in bed, surrounded by guards?”
“No,” she answered.
- Guards! Did you hear? If the princess wishes, get out and don't show your face here again!
The guards, not believing their ears, left the princess’s bedroom and went to bed.
After another quarter of an hour:
“My wife, do you like lying in bed like this, with both chandeliers on?”
- No...
Then he turned off the chandeliers, and it became dark and dark. He lay down, as before, on the edge of the bed and said:
“My dear, we are legal spouses, but we are far from each other, as if we were separated by a hedge of thorns. Do you like it?
“No,” answered the princess.
Then he squeezed her in his arms and kissed her. When morning came and the king entered the princess's room, she said:
“I did everything as you ordered me, but what happened happened—this young man still became my husband.” Forgive us...
The king had no choice but to arrange a magnificent wedding with a ball and tournament competitions. So the shepherd was lucky: he became first the heir of the king, and then the king.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru