Once upon a time there lived a very accurate shooter. His arrows always hit the target. He never returned from a hunt empty-handed. But the shooter was a slave and gave everything he got from the hunt to his master, who gave it to the king.
One day, a herald announced that the king was giving his daughter in marriage, and all the boyars and governors were ordered to appear at the palace. The owner of the shooter began to gather for the palace and ordered the hunter to shoot nine carts of game in one day to take them to the king.
The owner entrusted the difficult task to the shooter, but there was nothing to do; The young man took a bow and arrows and, together with the beaters, went into the forest. He hunted all day and shot nine cartloads of game. By evening, he had already decided to return home, when suddenly the dogs drove a deer to him. The hunter looked at the deer and was amazed - the deer was not an ordinary one, but a silver one! He took aim at it, pulled the bowstring, but the deer suddenly spoke:
“Don’t kill me, young man, I will repay you for good with good.”
The hunter heard these words, was surprised and asked:
“What good can a deer do to me, even a silver one?” Well, come to me, I won’t touch you.
- Drop the bow, then I’ll come over! - answered the deer.
The young man threw his bow. The deer approached him and asked:
“Do you want me to make you the king’s son-in-law?”
-Will you make me the king's son-in-law? - the young man was surprised.
- Just order it! - answered the deer.
“Okay, make me the king’s son-in-law!”
“Now go see your master off, and then return to this same place, whistle three times on the beech leaf, and I will come running.”
The young man did just that. He saw the owner off, returned to the forest and whistled three times into a beech leaf. The deer came running and asked:
- Do you want to go to the competitions that the king is organizing?
The young man was surprised:
- How can I go there, because I’m not a boyar, not a governor? How can I travel dressed like this? And I have neither a horse nor weapons.
- Don't worry about it. I will become your horse. Put your hand under that stone over there and pull out two snakes from there. They will hiss, but don't be afraid. One of them will replace your bit, and the other will replace your whip.
The young man did as the deer told him. He pulled out the snakes and just put one of them into the deer’s mouth when he turned into a wonderful white horse.
“Now cut the stick and scrape the moss off the stone under which you found the snakes!” - said the horse.
The young man again did as the horse told him. The stick immediately turned into a sharp saber, and under the moss he found clothes embroidered with gold. The hunter changed clothes, took a saber, bow and arrows, jumped on his horse and rode to the palace.
When he galloped to the capital, the herald was just announcing that the king would marry his daughter to the one who would overtake all the riders, shoot a fly in flight and cut a stone with a saber.
The competition has begun. The hunter also galloped along with other rivals. Halfway there, he overtook everyone - his horse rushed faster than the wind and came first. Then they started shooting at the flying fly. No one managed to hit it, only the hunter did. Then it was time to cut the stone. Nobody dared to do this. The horse whispered to the hunter to try his hand. The hunter swung his sword and cut the stone in half with his saber.
Then the king gave his daughter in marriage to him. They celebrated the wedding, and the horse said to the hunter:
- I'm going back to the forest. Here's my hair. When you need me, bring it to the fire and I will come running!
- Live in freedom, deer! - answered the hunter. “Now I am the king’s son-in-law, and I don’t need anything!” - And didn’t take a hair.
How much time has passed, and the hunter’s former owner began to look for his slave. I looked for him everywhere, but never found him. Then he went into the forest to the witch and asked her where the shooter had gone. The sorceress told fortunes on the beans and told the boyar that the slave had become the king's son-in-law.
When the owner heard this, he became terribly angry and on the same day informed the king that his son-in-law was not a nobleman, but a slave.
The king became angry, called his daughter and told her everything.
“I was convinced of this a long time ago, father,” answered the daughter. “He often raves at night, and I realized that you married me off to a simple peasant.”
“Here is your real husband, daughter!” the king exclaimed and pointed to the boyar. “And that deceiver must be punished.” Tell me, daughter, what should I do with him?
- Let's throw him into the sea, let the fish eat him!
The king agreed and ordered the guards:
- Seize him, tie a large stone around his neck and throw him into the sea!
And he said to the boyar:
- You will become my son-in-law. I give you half the kingdom, a beautiful bow and a wonderful saber of this deceiver.
The guards grabbed the hunter and took him to the sea. They tied a stone around his neck and threw him into the water. The young man went down. Then a huge fish swam up to him, swallowed him, and he ended up in her stomach. Then the fish swam to the shore, opened its mouth, and the young man came ashore. A forest began near the shore, and the young man wandered towards it. He ate some wild berries and lay down to rest. And when I woke up, I saw a silver deer above me. The hunter got angry, grabbed the first stick that came to hand and swung at him.
- Wait, wait! - the deer shouted. “I came to save you!”
- Get out of here! It's because of you that I got into trouble!
“It’s your own fault,” answered the deer. “If I had taken a hair, I would have immediately known that you were in trouble.” It's good that I arrived on time!
“It wasn’t you who saved me, but a big fish!”
- Yes, but I was that fish. When I found out that they wanted to throw you into the sea, I immediately ran to your aid, but did not arrive in time. Then I turned into a fish and pulled you ashore.
“Thank you, deer,” said the young man. “Forgive me for the unfair words.” And help me get out of here.
- I can't help you anymore. I don't have that kind of power. But I will give you a flower with three petals. He will help you. When the first trouble comes, eat a green petal. When the second trouble comes, eat a blue petal. And when you come to the capital, eat a scarlet petal. And remember that your happiness is in the first tooth that falls out, in the first sliver of wood that flies to the side, and in a beautiful girl.
Having said this, the deer stamped his foot and disappeared. And the hunter went on his way. He walked and walked through the forest, but there was no end to him. Suddenly huge monsters jumped out of the thicket and rushed at him. The hunter quickly ate the green petal and immediately turned into a lizard. He ducked into the grass and ran away. The monsters were left far behind, and the sea opened up in front of him. He walked along the shore and soon found himself in the same place. The hunter realized that he was on an island and could not cross the sea. Then he ate the blue petal, and at the same moment a rainbow appeared over the sea. The hunter walked across the rainbow, as if across a bridge, passed the sea and went to the capital. Before entering the city, he ate the last, scarlet petal, and immediately turned into a wonderful brown horse. He began to frolic in the clearing, and then ran into the yard of the poor old people. The grandmother saw the horse, rushed to the gate, slammed it and called her grandfather. The grandfather came, looked at the horse, shook his head and said:
- This horse is not for us! Let's sell it to the king.
“Okay,” the grandmother agreed.
The old man and his horse set off for the capital. There he was immediately surrounded by a crowd of onlookers - everyone wanted to look at the wonderful horse. The king also heard about the horse and went out onto the balcony to look at it, but saw nothing. He then sent his son-in-law to look at the horse. When the son-in-law saw the horse, he immediately gave the old man a wallet full of gold for it. Then he jumped on the horse to ride it, but the horse reared up and threw the rider off. The son-in-law fell to the ground and almost died. He became terribly angry and ordered the horse to be killed. At this time, a young beautiful maid was passing through the capital. She saw the horse, caressed him and cried:
“Such a beautiful horse, but he must die for the whim of the king’s son-in-law.” If he doesn’t know how to stay in the saddle, he wouldn’t sit down.
Then the horse whispered to the girl:
“If you feel sorry for me when they kill me, take my front tooth and bury it in the garden near the palace.”
The maid agreed to fulfill his request. When the executioners killed the horse, his front tooth fell out. The girl picked him up, took him to the garden and buried him in front of the royal palace. By evening, a wonderful tree grew in that place. When its leaves rustled, a song sounded. In the morning, a large crowd gathered around the unusual tree - everyone wanted to look at it. The king's son-in-law also came. But as soon as he approached the tree, the song stopped and the branches became overgrown with thorns. The branches overwhelmed the son-in-law and tore him to blood.
The king's son-in-law became angry and ordered the tree to be cut down. The maid heard this and exclaimed:
- Such a beautiful tree, but they will cut it down for the whim of the son-in-law!
Here the tree rustled:
“If you want to save me, pick up the first sliver of wood that flies to the side when they start cutting me down, and throw it into the lake!”
The girl did just that. As soon as she threw a sliver of wood into the lake, the sliver turned into a golden duck. The king's son-in-law saw the duck, grabbed his bow and shot at it, but the arrow flew past because the duck swam away to the opposite shore. The son-in-law fired a second time, but again missed the duck. Only when he shot for the third time did the duck somersault in the water. Then the son-in-law undressed and rushed into the lake to pick her up. As soon as he entered the water, the duck, which had just pretended to be killed, rose into the air and flew to the clothes that his son-in-law had left. There she hit the ground and turned into a human. The man got dressed, took a bow, arrows and a saber and went into the city.
The king's son-in-law looked towards the shore, saw his former slave, got scared and drowned in fear.
And the hunter headed towards the palace. The gates were locked, and the guards began shooting at him from the towers. He then grabbed his bow and killed all the guards. Then he broke open the iron gates and entered the palace. The royal daughter saw him, rushed to him and began to beg for mercy, deceiving him that she loved him.
The hunter asked her:
“Why did you order me to be thrown into the sea?”
- I was wrong then. But you are still alive.
“Okay,” answered the hunter, “now I will order you to be thrown into the sea with your father.” And then we’ll see - maybe you’ll manage to stay alive!
And he ordered the king and his daughter to be thrown into the sea. The king and his evil daughter drowned, and the hunter became the king and married the maid. He ruled the country for a long time and did a lot of good to good people.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru