In one region there were dense forests. All the valleys, all the mountains are overgrown with forest. There were a great many bears and lions in those forests. And for people, of course, animals bring nothing but ruin.
The local residents could not get rid of this scourge. They didn’t have guns, they didn’t have gunpowder, they went at the animals with swords and flails - of course, it was of little use.
But suddenly one gypsy asked permission to settle in this forest. He chose a place there for himself - on one side there is no breeze, but on the other side the sun warms him.
“If,” he says, “give me this clearing, I will destroy the animals.”
They let him in. The gypsy built himself a hut there and bought two decks of bees. The bees were strong, swarming, the place was warm, they swarmed well. The gypsy set them aside, and he had fourteen decks. He had a light hand. He led bees and destroyed animals - he dug holes, set traps, and he succeeded in everything. People were glad that they had such a craftsman.
The gypsy was no longer young, married. The gypsy traded horses, the gypsy told fortunes, predicted fate, and that’s how they lived. They had an only daughter, and such a beauty, such a picture that you couldn’t even find a frame for her.
The gypsy grew old and died. They buried his honor with honor. Before his death, he ordered that the bees be kept after him - he took such care of them.
Not far from the forest there was a farm. The clerk bought it and settled there with his wife. They were childless, but they wanted to have a child - for whom, they say, are we saving up good things? One day his wife said to him:
- It seems to me that it will. The clerk was delighted.
- It would be good if you were not mistaken.
Less than forty weeks later, a boy was born, but as small as a kitten. At least hide it in your mitten.
- Why is he so tiny?
“Fuck you,” says the wife, “he’s not full-term.” Wait a little, have patience.
On the second day, the baby had already grown noticeably, and after six weeks all his diapers became too small. He grew up very quickly, and he was just surprisingly intelligent. The grandmother began to hurry the parents:
- It's time to christen him. What do you want to call it?
- See how much it grows; Let's give him the name Silvent. Silvent was not yet five years old, and he was already asking:
- Give me the sword!
They gave him a large saber, and everyone rejoiced at how well done he was! And when I went to school, I was taller than the teacher! But he didn’t have to study for long - the guy had such a clear head that he went through the entire science very quickly and could explain everything as if it were written. And how he waved his sword!
“Let me go into the forest, there are lions and bears again, I’ll beat them,” he asked his parents. But they were afraid to let him go, and he said to them:
- Don't be afraid for me!
He went into the forest, into the thicket, where there are more animals, he wandered there for a long time, and suddenly a huge bear came towards him. Silvent cut it in half and divided it into four parts. Listen to what happened next! Before I had time to finish this one, the second one wanders towards me. “Well, I’ll deal with you now!” She became furious, opened her mouth, and as soon as Silvent put his hand in there, the hand flew right through, grabbed her by the tail and turned her inside out. The cubs squealed, well, he killed them all.
Then a gypsy woman came out, saw the mess he had made, and said:
- That's what you are! Our gypsy couldn’t do the same. Silvent looked around and saw that there was a girl with her. Beautiful, tall. Asks:
-Who is this with you?
- My daughter.
- Wow! You are a black gypsy, and she is so beautiful!
- It was a success, then. Silvent looked at the girl.
- Give her to me in marriage!
- No, no, little darling! She will only marry a mighty hero. Whoever wants to marry her must first prove his valor.
- Let me try.
He came home and told his mother that a young, beautiful gypsy woman lived in the forest.
“She,” he says, “should become my wife.” I don't need another bride. Without a gypsy girl, life is not sweet to me.
The mother was scared:
“What’s gotten into your head, honey?” You can find yourself another, better one.
- I have nothing to find, I already found it. But how can I prove my valor and become a hero?
The mother sees that the guy is seriously fooling around, and in order to calm him down, she tells him:
- Well, wait, listen to me: I know where the sorceress lives, I’ll go to her; she will advise what to do.
The mother quickly got ready, came to the fortune teller, and the grandmother said to her:
- In such and such a country there lives a strong man and he strikes fear into everyone. As soon as he jumps on a horse, the earth trembles. Whoever finishes this strong man will be the most powerful hero.
When Silvent heard this, he grabbed his hat and went there. He came to that country and asked where the strong man was, who instills fear in everyone.
- He left, wait a little, he’ll be back soon! Silvent looked back and saw that he was already rushing. As Silvent shouts:
- Hey, hey! Stop! The strong man stopped his horse:
- What do you want?
- Nothing! I challenge you to a fight, that’s what!
- Why? You and I had no enmity.
“Come here, otherwise I’ll kill your horse.”
- Well, kill me, try it.
When Silvent throws himself, when he cracks his fist, he loses his horse, and the strong man flies far to the side. He stood up and opened his eyes:
- Well, what did you achieve with this? Look what you've done! But Silvent did not talk to him for long.
“Now come out and fight me, or I’ll hit you too, like your horse.”
- Knock if you feel like it. I'm not tired of living in the world yet.
As soon as Silvent gives it to him, sparks immediately fall from his eyes. I didn’t spend any more time with him and turned to the forest. He’s in a hurry, he can’t feel his feet under him: I’m going, they say, for my wife, for the desired gypsy girl! Yes, listen to what happened. Before he even reached the clearing, the bees would fly at him! They stuck around him, stung him, bit him, and didn’t let him move. Silvent stopped, and the old gypsy woman shouted to him:
- Get away, get away! Run away from here if life is dear! Silvent was separated from his gypsy girl in the shower and rushed out of there as fast as he could. The bees turned out to be stronger than him. He came home sadly and said to his mother:
- I don’t want to live in this world anymore!
- Come on, son, forget it! I will find you a good bride, you will be satisfied! Are there not enough beautiful girls in the world?
- No, no, don’t say it!
- Well, wait, I’ll go to another witch, maybe she’ll tell us better fortunes.
I went to another grandmother, who gave this advice:
- In such and such a country, they say, there is a huge linden tree with a girth that is so firmly rooted in the ground that no hurricane can topple it. It has three peaks, all three reach the clouds. Whoever breaks this linden tree will be the most powerful hero in the world.
Silvent, as he heard, immediately set off. He came and saw: there was a huge linden tree, if you felled it, you could build a whole village. So linden! I examined everything. There are benches and benches around it. The cattle are grazing on the side. I looked again - how high! I climbed to the very top. He climbed in, swung it and suddenly - fuck! The top broke off and fell. The cattle ran in all directions. Silvent - on the second. Fuck - this one fell too. Now there is still a third peak left. It rocked and the third one crashed. Damaged the entire tree. Silvent jumped to the ground and ran into a linden tree. The trunk cracked, gave way - and the end of the linden tree was torn out with its roots. If only you had heard what a roar there was! One might have thought that a factory chimney or tower had fallen.
Then people came running from all over the village, the headman shouted:
- Who is spoiling our property here?
Well, they see, some kind of forest worker. It’s better not to mess with him - he knocked down such a linden tree, you can’t take him with your bare hands.
And Silvent has already shown them his heels. He walks and has fun, saying, “I’m not stronger!” Now I’m getting married, my gypsy girl Maria is waiting for me. He comes into the forest, and already from a distance - oh-oh-oh! - all the bees hung out at him in a cloud, sticking out their stings. Why, they say, did he deprive us of food? The old gypsy woman threatens:
- Go the other way! If you want to be alive, don't come close!
And the bees surrounded him and started stinging him. Silvent ran headlong, and the bees chased him all the way to the farm.
That's when he tightened up! How come the bees defeated him!
“You see, son,” says the mother, “give it up, forget it!”
- No, no, I’ll make up my mind better than my life! If I don’t achieve my goal, then let the bees sting me to death, the white light is not dear to me!
The father was angry with him, and the mother felt sorry for the guy, and after a little time she told him:
- Wait, I'll try again. I visited two fortune tellers, now I’ll go to the sorcerer.
I came and told him everything in order!
“The guy doesn’t want,” they say, “to give up on his own, he has already accomplished so many feats, and the bees defeat him every time.”
The sorcerer listened and said:
- This is what I will advise you: in such and such a country there is immense need, the land there will not give birth. The soil is such that there is no way to plow it. If your son decides to stay there for two years, plows this land to help the people there, Mary will marry him. Let him provide food for everyone. They need wheat, peas, wine. But the land is good: you just need to plow it well, and everything will come out.
Silvent thinks: two years is a long time! But I decided to go anyway. His family consoles him as best they can.
- Take with you from home everything you need for such work, and write to us more often.
Without delay, he went to that country, first examined everything there well, understood what this soil required, and went for a plow and a pair of oxen. Volov picked up some hefty ones, they could move a mountain. I started plowing. He plowed everything, removed stones and debris from the fields and began to sow everything. His father sent him the seeds. And when two years passed, there was no better place than this region! The clover spreads out like a fur coat, the bread is tall, you can’t take your eyes off it! Everything grew well, the need ended. Silvent drained his sweat onto these fields to the last drop.
I set everything up for them, looked at myself: all dirty, thin, hands covered in calluses. I'm ashamed even of myself.
“Let it go! - thinks. “At least he put his energy into a good cause!”
He runs merrily through the forest, and the bees fly high. He left them three fields of clover: feed, graze as much as you want! Maria still waves her hand from afar:
- Don't be afraid, come here!
The old gypsy woman also greets him. He led them to his farm. The parents were happy. Now they began to bake pies, and the bees brought honey. We celebrated the wedding. Everyone who passed by was fed so much that the belts burst.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru