Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman, and they had seven daughters. Six have long, beautiful hair, and the seventh has baldness. So the old woman says to the old man:
“The snake has golden flowers blooming, take an ax and go cut them down.” You will give the eldest daughter and the second one a golden flower, and you will bring me a simple white one.
The husband took the ax, put it on his shoulder, walked and sang:
- Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun - I’ll give the eldest daughter a golden flower, dun-dun-dun-dun-dun - I’ll give the second daughter a golden flower...
He began to chop a white flower, but dropped his ax, the Golden Blade, into the hole of the serpent.
- Snake, snake, give me the Golden Blade axe!
- Wait, I’ll get up now.
- Snake, snake, give me the Golden Blade axe!
- Wait, I’ll put on my socks.
- Snake, snake, give me the Golden Blade axe!
- Wait, I’ll light a fire.
The old man got angry and shouted:
- Hey, snake, quickly give me my ax Golden Blade!
- What will you give me for it?
- A good cat is good at catching mice.
- I have a cat!
“Then the dog will guard the gate.”
- I have a dog!
- Then a chicken to lay eggs.
- I have chicken!
- Then a pig and piglets!
- I have a pig with piglets!
- I’ll give you a good girl as a wife!
- Bring her here quickly! If you bring it, you will receive your Golden Blade axe.
The father returned home and sat down on the old millstone. The eldest daughter came and said:
- Father, father! Every day, as soon as you arrive, you sit down on a warm kan. And today he came and sat down on a cold millstone. Don’t hide, tell me what happened to you?
“I wanted to get you a golden flower, but I dropped the ax, the golden blade, into the hole of the snake.” And the snake demands one of you as a wife in exchange for the axe. Will you marry a snake?
- I won’t go, he stinks.
The second daughter came and said:
- Father, father! Every day, as soon as you arrive, you sit down on a warm kan. And today he came and sat down on a cold millstone. Don’t hide, tell me what happened to you?
“I wanted to get you a golden flower, but I dropped the ax, the golden blade, into the hole of the snake.” And the snake demands one of you as a wife in exchange for the axe. Will you marry a snake?
- I won’t go, he stinks!
The old wife came and said:
- Every day, as soon as you arrive, you sit down on a warm kan. And today he came and sat down on a cold millstone. Don’t hide, tell me what happened to you?
- What's the use of telling you? You won't marry a snake either! I was chopping a white flower and dropped the ax into the snake’s hole. And the snake demands one of our daughters as a wife in exchange for the axe.
The third daughter came up and said:
- Father, father! Every day, as soon as you arrive, you sit down on a warm kan. And today he came and sat down on a cold millstone. Don’t hide, tell me what happened to you?
“I wanted to get you a golden flower, but I dropped the ax, the golden blade, into the hole of the snake.” And the snake demands one of you as a wife in exchange for the axe. Will you marry a snake?
- I won’t go, he stinks.
The fourth daughter came up and said:
- Father, father! Every day, as soon as you arrive, you sit down on a warm kan. And today he came and sat down on a cold millstone. Don’t hide, tell me what happened to you?
“I wanted to get you a golden flower, but I dropped the ax, the golden blade, into the hole of the snake.” And the snake demands one of you as a wife in exchange for the axe. Will you marry a snake?
- I won’t go, he stinks!
The fifth daughter came up and said:
- Father, father! Every day, as soon as you arrive, you sit down on a warm kan. And today he came and sat down on a cold millstone. Don’t hide, tell me what happened to you?
“I wanted to get you a golden flower, but I dropped the Golden Blade ax into the snake’s hole.” And the snake demands one of you as a wife in exchange for the axe. Will you marry a snake?
- I won’t go, he stinks!
The sixth daughter came up and said:
- Father, father! Every day, as soon as you arrive, you sit down on a warm kan. And today he came and sat down on a cold millstone. Don’t hide, tell me what happened to you?
“I wanted to get you a golden flower, but I dropped the Golden Blade ax into the snake’s hole.” And the snake demands one of you as a wife in exchange for the axe. Will you marry a snake?
- I won’t go, he stinks!
The seventh daughter came up and said:
- Father, father! Every day, as soon as you arrive, you sit down on a warm kan. And today he came and sat down on a cold millstone. Don’t hide, tell me what happened to you?
- What's the use of telling? The snake needs a beautiful wife, not a bald one. I don’t even know whether he will take you or not?
- And I agree to marry a snake!
- I agree, go ahead!
- Just go ask the snake for a big comb first!
The father went to the serpent:
“Snake, and snake, my seventh daughter agrees to marry you, she only asks that first you give her a big comb.”
The snake gave a large comb. The old man took it and returned home.
The seventh daughter stood at the gate, scratched her hair and said:
The first time I comb it, I’ll make it to the high road.
The second time I comb it, I’ll reach the snake’s hole.
I’ll comb it a third time and I’ll reach the green line!
The girl immediately combed her hair and hit the road.
The ox carries blush, the horse carries powder.
A camel is dragging ten pieces of brocade.
Sparrows rope with a red end.
Swallows carry bottles of colorful wine.
Golden ram - basin for washing.
The old man brought his daughter to the snake, and the snake gave him an ax and a Golden blade.
The girl entered the snake's hole and became his wife.
One day the second daughter says:
- Mother, let me visit my little sister!
- Go and see!
The girl went. As he walks, he suddenly meets a shepherd.
- Tell me, shepherd, where does my little sister live?
-Who is she, your little sister?
- Snake's wife.
- If you cross the mountain, you will go along the slope. You will rake up a pile of manure as high as a house. There will be a hole for the snake.
The girl began to scold the shepherd.
- And don’t be ashamed to lie to you! Who would live in a dung heap?
The girl moved on.
Suddenly a swineherd came towards her.
- Tell me, swineherd, where does my little sister live?
-Who is she, your little sister?
- Snake's wife.
- If you cross the mountain, you will go along the slope. If you rake a pile of manure as high as a house, there will be a snake’s hole.
- You fool, you fool, who would live in a pile of manure?
The girl said so and moved on.
She crossed the mountain, walked along the slope, raked up a pile of manure as high as a house, and looked - it was indeed a hole. The girl began to call:
- Little sister, little sister!
— Is it the elder sister who came?
- Well, I didn’t guess.
- Is this the second sister who came?
- And now I guessed it!
- Come into the house!
The second sister came into the house, and the younger sister came to treat her. The second sister had eaten her fill, then the younger sister said to her:
- Bury yourself quickly. The snake is about to return.
As soon as she hid herself, the snake entered.
- What does that smell like here, huh?
— I washed my face.
— When you wash your face, your face smells like a washed face.
— I was scratching my hair.
- When you scratch your hair, it smells like combed hair.
- I put on a different dress!
- Tell the truth, otherwise I’ll beat you!
“The second sister came to see me!”
- Where is she?
“I hid her under a large vat so that you wouldn’t kill her.”
- That's stupid! Let's go raise the vat. I'll at least look at her!
They lifted the vat, the second sister crawled out from under it and stayed with them to live. One day the snake left the house, and the second sister said to the younger one:
- Let me put on your socks, sister, let's see if we look alike?
- How can we not be alike, since the same mother gave birth to us?
- Let me put on your pants, sister, let's see if we look alike?
- How can we not be alike, since the same mother gave birth to us?
“Let me wear your earrings, sister, let’s go to the river and see if we look alike?”
- How can we not be alike, since the same mother gave birth to us?
They went to the river. The second sister pushed the younger one into the water and turned back.
The snake came home and asked:
-Where did your second sister go?
- She returned home.
- Why didn’t you live another day or two?
- She has a lot of things to do!
- Why is your face suddenly pockmarked?
- Better not ask. We went to play in the pea field, my sister ran, I followed her, fell right on the peas - that’s where the marks were left on my face. It still hurts.
- Why have your legs suddenly become so big?
“I was running along the road, lost my shoes, my legs began to grow and became big...
Early in the morning the snake went to the river to water his horse, and on the bank there was a green parrot with a red beak sitting. He saw a snake, and let’s scold him, so nicely:
“Shameless snake, shameless snake, don’t bother your sister-in-law.”
The snake did not answer and returned home.
The next day the snake went to water the horse again, and the parrot started scolding him again:
“Shameless snake, shameless snake, don’t get into your sister-in-law’s bosom.”
The snake brought the horse home and said:
- Well, I laughed a lot now. A green parrot with a red beak sits on the river bank and shouts: “Shameless snake, shameless snake, don’t get into your sister-in-law’s bosom!”
- Filthy creature! Well, let him shout to himself!
On the third day the snake went to water the horse again, and the parrot scolded him again.
The snake thinks: “Maybe it’s my wife who turned into a parrot,” and says:
Sharp tongue, harmful tongue,
You are not my wife - get on your horse quickly,
You are my wife - get into my sleeve.
He raised his hand, and the parrot flew straight into his sleeve.
He brought the parrot snakes home and said:
- Feed this parrot well, take care so that the cat doesn’t eat it.
The snake left. The second sister began to comb her hair and wash her face. And the parrot does his thing again:
Don't look in my mirror, you vile one!
Don't look at the dog's face, you ugly thing!
Don't touch my comb, shameless one!
Don't scratch the dog's head, you filthy creature!
The second sister bites her lips out of anger. The next day the snake was about to leave, and she said to him:
- Bring me some water, and plenty of it!
The snake brought her a plump vat. She began to comb her hair and wash her face, and the parrot screamed again:
Don't look in my mirror, you vile one!
Don't look at the dog's face, you ugly thing!
Don't touch my comb, shameless one!
Don't scratch your dog's head, you filthy creature!
The second sister jumped up, grabbed the parrot and drowned it in the vat. And then he says:
- Let's see how you swear now.
The snake returned home and asked:
“I can’t hear my parrot, where did it go?”
“I told you not to carry so much water, but you poured a full vat, the parrot fell into the water and choked.
The snake said nothing, only cried bitterly.
The second sister began to cook soup from the parrot. She boiled it, gave the snake bones, and put some meat for herself. She doesn’t eat snakes, but the second sister tasted it, didn’t notice the bone and choked. She got angry, took the meat, threw it out the door, then dug a hole and buried the parrot meat. Not even a day had passed before a date tree grew in that place. The fruits are sour-pre-acidic. The second sister came out of the house, got caught on a tree, and tore her socks and pants. She wanted to return home, but a swarm of wasps rose from the tree and began to sting her.
The husband came out of the house and looked: instead of the torn braids, he was wearing new ones, and a golden ball had appeared on his hat. He went back and looked - the new socks had turned into satin ones, and a silver ball had appeared on his hat.
The second sister got angry, cut down a tree, made a bench out of it and said to the snake:
- Come on, sit down and sit down.
The snake sat down, comfortable and calm for him, the second sister sat down, and a thorn came out of the bench and pricked him so hard that you could scream. Out of anger, the second sister chopped up the bench and threw it into the oven.
At midnight he hears a snake - something is knocking, like a loom. He looked, and it was the seventh sister weaving silk. She weaves, but she almost cries. The snake hugged her, and she said to him:
“Snake, snake, don’t hug me, my bones haven’t grown yet.” Take snow - make me a dress from it, take a wild plum flower - make me a face from it, take branches - make bones from them. And I will become the same as I was before.
That's what the snake did. The youngest daughter has become even more beautiful. And the snake kicked out the villainous second sister, and he and his wife began to live happily again.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru