A widow and her son lived in the same village. She once went shopping to a neighboring village, and left her son at home alone. At this time, a wandering beggar approached their hut. The young man says to him:
- Give me instructions, and I will give you a hundred rupees for it.
The beggar agreed and said:
- Don’t go to the market without money, don’t go on a journey without a friend. “Whoever follows this will marry the king’s daughter,” he added.
The young man gave a hundred rupees to the beggar, and he left. In the evening the widow returned home, and the young man said to her:
“Mother, today a beggar gave me very valuable instruction, and I paid only one hundred rupees for it.”
The widow got angry.
- Well, you’re stupid! - she said. - I wasted a hundred rupees!
The young man became very sad and left home.
As soon as he stepped out onto the road, the words of the beggar came to his mind. And he began to look for a friend. A cancer met him on the way, and the young man offered his friendship to the cancer. He agreed. The young man picked it up, wrapped it in a rag and put it in his bosom. The friends decided to get to the neighboring city. On the way, the young man got tired and sat down under a tree to rest. There lived a crow in that tree, and below, in a hole, a snake, and both of them were very friends. When a person approached the tree, the crow croaked as a sign. Then the snake crawled out of the hole and stung the stranger. Together they ruined a lot of people.
The young man lay down under a tree, put the crayfish next to him and fell asleep. The crow cawed, the snake crawled out of the hole and stung the young man. He died immediately. Then the crow flew down to peck at his meat and sat right on his head. The cancer, which saw everything, grabbed the crow with its claws. She began to scream, calling her friend the snake:
-Crawl out, crawl out quickly! Revive this boy, otherwise I will die!
The snake crawled out of its hiding place. She sucked the poison out of the wound and revived the young man. But when she crawled back, the cancer sank its claws into her with all its might. At that moment the young man woke up. He saw a snake and a crow next to him. He looked at his friend Cancer in bewilderment, but he said to him:
- Don't hesitate! These are our enemies! Kill them!
The young man killed them, cut off the head and tail of the snake, and the wing of the crow, and took them with him. Then they went to the city with the cancer. There the young man hired himself to work as a watchman in the field of a rich peasant.
A few days later the king of that city announced:
“Whoever brings me the head and tail of a snake that kills people, I will give him my daughter as a wife.” The young man was happy when he heard about this.
Meanwhile, one sweeper saw a dead snake under a tree. He hit her two more times, picked her up and dragged her with him. On the way he met another sweeper. The first one says to him:
- Hey, move aside! I am the king's son-in-law!
The second sweeper was surprised and laughed at his friend’s stupidity. And the first sweeper came to the king and said that it was he who killed the snake, that its tail and head were missing, but everything else was intact. The king did not want to give his daughter to the sweeper, but he could not break his word. He grieved and grieved, but nothing could be done - he gave the order to prepare for the wedding.
The young man found out that the king’s daughter was getting married, came to the king and, humbly folding his hands, said:
“Maharaj, the sweeper deceived you.” If he really killed that snake, tell him to bring its tail and head.
The king sent his servants to the tree where the snake was killed. They searched and searched, but they never managed to find a single piece.
Then the young man took the head and tail of a snake, as well as a raven’s wing, from his bosom, gave it all to the king and told how it happened. The king was very angry with the sweeper and ordered his execution.
Then they celebrated the wedding of the young man with the princess. But the young man decided not to quit his job. The next day he came to the field later than usual, got down to business, and kept looking at the road that leads to the city. The owner did not like this, and he said to the young man:
“Not only are you late, but you’re also lounging and staring at the road.”
“It’s time for lunch,” answered the young man. – Yesterday we celebrated my wedding with the Tsar’s daughter. So I’m waiting for my wife with lunch.
These words made everyone laugh very much. But what was the surprise of the peasants when they saw the king’s daughter approaching them on an elephant. She was accompanied by guards. The princess got down from the elephant and handed her husband a bundle of food. The home team felt ashamed. He gave the young man his clothes and tied his loincloth. Then he asked the princess for forgiveness and released the young man.
The young couple settled in the house of the owner of the field, and he himself began to live in another house next door. One night, the greedy owner of the field sent his servants to kill the young man. Seeing them, the young man folded the snake's head and tail so that it turned out to be a snake. The snake came to life and bit the people who came, and they all died. Then the snake rushed towards the young man. He said:
“If you do not harm me, I will honor you as a deity.”
The snake heeded the young man’s words, and from then on people began to revere snakes.
And soon the king richly gifted the young people, and they lived happily in the royal palace.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru