In the old days there lived a husband and wife. They lived their lives in love and harmony, but their fate offended them: they had no children. One day a wife says to her husband:
“We are old now, we have little strength left.” We need to take someone into the house instead of our son. He would feed us in our old age.
The husband went to look for his son. He walks along a forest path and looks at a bear. What to do? I wanted to run. Yes, I have no strength, and I decided: come what may. The bear caught up with the old man and suddenly spoke in a human voice:
-Where are you going, uncle?
- Yes, I went to look for my son...
“Take me as your son,” says the bear. The old man was frightened and could not utter a word. And the bear to him:
“Don’t be afraid, uncle, I won’t touch you.” If you take it, I will be your good son, but if you don’t take it, go quietly on your way.
The old man thought and thought: “What a strange bear, as we say, perhaps we should take it.” He brought the bear home and entered the hut. And the wife is spinning flax at the window. Husband says:
- Look, I found my son.
The bear gives the old woman his paw: “Hello, mother!” The old woman was so frightened that she fell unconscious. The bear lightly hit her on the shoulder with his paw, and she woke up. Bear says:
“Don’t be afraid, mother, I won’t touch you, you’ll see.”
The three of them began to live together. Every morning the bear son asks:
- What should we do, father and mother?
Whatever father and mother say, he does. Father and mother couldn't be happier.
The bear lived with an old man and an old woman for a long time, but then he decided to get married.
Father and mother would be glad to have a daughter-in-law in the house, but they are afraid: who will marry the bear?
And he says:
“I’m thinking of wooing the Tsar’s daughter.”
That's what I came up with! The father and mother are trying to reason with their son:
- The king will not give you his daughter. We are poor old people, and you, son, although good and kind, don’t look like a person...
And the bear son has his own:
“An attempt is not torture, I’ll woo you, and then we’ll see.” Go, father, tomorrow to the king.
The next morning the old man took the oars and went by boat to the other side of the lake, where the royal palace stood. He came to the king: so and so, they say, my son wants to marry your daughter. The king was angry, and then decided to laugh at the old man.
-What kind of son do you have? he asks. - Maybe he is a prince or a prince?
“My son,” says the old man, “looks like a bear.” At this point the king became furious, but did not show it.
- Oh, that's how it is! - speaks. “Then let him first build a palace like mine, and only then woo my daughter.” If there is no palace, I will cut off both of your heads for your insolence.
The old man went home sad. And the son saw him through the window and said to his mother:
“Look, my father hung his head, he’s probably not coming back with good news.”
Father came to the hut:
“I told you, the king will not give up his daughter for you.” He ordered you to build a palace just like his. If you don’t do it, your and my heads will be blown off.
Son says:
– Leave your worries for tomorrow.
Evening came, they had dinner and went to bed. When the old people fell asleep, the bear son went out into the yard. The first time he bowed to the north, the second time to sunrise, the third time to noon. Out of nowhere, bears were found, apparently and invisibly. They turned around and asked:
- What do you want, master?
- So that in the morning there would be a palace better than the royal one in this place.
And he returned to the hut and went to bed. An old man and an old woman wake up in the morning, look out the window - they can’t believe their eyes. Let's wake up our son quickly.
- Get up, son! Look at the miracle: in the evening there was nothing here, but overnight a palace grew up better than the royal one!
Son says:
– This palace is our home, we will live in it now. Go, father, to the king and say that I have completed his task.
The old man came to the king and said:
- My son completed your task. Marry your daughter to him.
But it is not so easy to come to an agreement with the king. He says to the old man:
- Let your son build a bridge across the lake. And so that there would be marble pillars with semi-precious stones on this bridge, nightingale birds would sing around. Then I will give my daughter away. If he doesn’t do it, I’ll cut off his head for his insolence.
Again the father goes home sad. The son looks out the window and says to his mother:
- Look, poor father hung his head again.
The father comes and says:
“You, son, completed the first task, but the king set a new one, even more difficult.” He ordered you to build a bridge across the lake, so that marble pillars would stand on the bridge, semi-precious stones would burn on each pillar and nightingale birds would sing.
Son says:
- Leave your worries for tomorrow, father.
Evening came, they had dinner and went to bed. But the son does not go to bed. When his father and mother fell asleep, he went out into the yard. He bowed once to the north, a second time to sunrise, and a third time to noon. Just like the first time, the yard was full of bears. They turned around and asked:
- What do you want, master?
“We must,” he says, “by morning build a bridge across the lake with marble pillars and so that the semi-precious stones burn on each pillar and the nightingale birds sing.”
And he returned to the house and went to bed.
Father and mother get up in the morning and wonder: why does the whole hut seem to shine? We looked out the window - and there was a bridge across the lake and semi-precious stones on marble pillars sparkled! They wake up their son:
- Get up quickly! Look, there was nothing in the evening, and now there’s a bridge!
“That’s how it should be,” says Son. “We will travel across this bridge to the king.”
The father comes to the king again:
- My son did everything as you ordered. Now, right, we can have a wedding?
The king thought. There's no way to get rid of the old man. Says to the old man:
- I'll think about it. Come back in three days, then I’ll tell you.
The old man goes home, doesn’t know whether to rejoice or grieve. He came home and said to his son:
“The king will think for three days and then say his word.” Son says:
“You can come up with a lot in three days, but all your thoughts will be in vain.”
Three days later, the father again went to the king.
- What, king, are you thinking? Will you give your daughter to my son?
“Let your son make a carriage that can walk on land and water, and on this carriage he will come for my daughter.” Otherwise, head off!
Father goes home, hangs his head again. The son looks out the window and says to his mother:
- Look, mother, the sad father is returning again. The father comes and says:
“This is what the king came up with: let, he says, your son make a carriage that can walk on land and water by itself.”
“The king thought for three days and just came up with everything!” - says the son. - Leave your worries for tomorrow, father.
Father grumbles:
How long will it take to go to the king? My legs are already hurting from this walking.
Evening came, father and mother went to bed. And the bear son went out into the courtyard, bowed once to the north, the second time to the sunrise, the third time to noon. Bears came running out of the forest, apparently and invisibly. They turned around and asked:
- What do you want now, master?
“We must,” he says, “by morning make a carriage that can walk on land and water.”
And he returned to the house and went to bed. Father and mother got up in the morning and looked: and under the window the carriage sparkled with gold and silver in the sun!
They wake up their son:
- Get up, son! Look, in the evening there was nothing in the yard, and now the carriage under the windows is such that you wouldn’t even dream of it.
The son says:
“Get dressed, father and mother, we’ll go get the king’s daughter.”
They dressed up, got into the carriage and drove off. They drive along a bridge with marble pillars, and nightingale birds sing all around. The royal servants see that the carriage is moving without horses. They ran to the king. The king thinks: “I can’t get rid of this groom, I can’t get to his head - I’ve completed all the tasks. You know, he has such strength.”
Father and mother get out of the carriage, but the son remains in the carriage. The old men enter the royal chambers, the king comes out to meet them.
- Where is the groom? Why doesn't he come into the wards? - asks the king.
The groom's name is called, and he answers:
“Let the king’s daughter come to me herself.”
The princess came out to meet the groom, approached the carriage, offered her hand, but as soon as she saw the young man, she lost her senses and became lifeless. The groom got out of the carriage, touched her lightly on the shoulder with his paw, and the girl came to her senses. They went to the palace. The king and queen were sunbathing: the old man was telling the truth that his son looked like a bear. How will a daughter live with such a husband? But the wedding must be celebrated if he has completed all the tasks.
We celebrated the wedding and the newlyweds went to their husband’s house. And when evening came, the husband threw off his bearskin - and turned into a young man, something that could neither be sung in a song nor told in a fairy tale! The king's daughter was delighted. And in the morning the husband put on the bear skin again and became a bear as before.
They live and live, but the wife wants to know what kind of miracles are happening to her husband. One day she started asking:
– What kind of miracles are happening to you? During the day you are a bear, and in the evening you turn into a young man, no matter what you sing in a song or say in a fairy tale. Why can't you always be human?
“I can’t tell you this,” says the husband. - But know, now I won’t have long to walk like a bear. I'll soon turn into a human. But no one should know about this yet.
“Trust me, I will be able to keep the secret,” the wife asks.
- Well, listen. When I was a boy, Suoyatar kidnapped me from my parents. Then, when I grew up, I ran away from her, and for this she turned me into a bear for three years. In a month this period will end. Her witchcraft will cease to have power.
So I told my wife the whole truth. Some time passed, the young people went to visit the king. And the queen began to ask:
- How do you, daughter, live with such a husband? After all, it’s scary to look at him.
Daughter says:
- He is very good, he doesn’t offend me.
And the mother kept saying, “He doesn’t look like a human being.” The daughter felt offended; she forgot her husband’s warning and told everything to her mother. She told how Syuoyatar bewitched him, how he turns into a young man, more beautiful and better than anyone in the whole kingdom.
They went to bed in the evening, and the queen sneaked into the bedroom, grabbed the bear skin and burned it in the oven.
In the morning my husband looks and there is no skin. He became sad and said to his wife:
“You didn’t listen to me, and that’s why you brought trouble on both of us.” You won't see me again.
He gave his wife a silk belt as a souvenir, took the ring off his finger, said goodbye and disappeared - only she saw him. The king's daughter began to cry and said to her mother:
-What have you done? You ruined my life! She returned to her husband’s house, to the old man and the old woman. He lives with them, doesn’t keep track of the years, he’s always sad. One day he says to the old people:
“I can’t live like this anymore.” I'll go look for my husband. If I find him, I’ll come back with him, but if I don’t find him, I’ll die somewhere along the road.
And she went to look for her husband. He walks through forests, through swamps, over rocks, and climbs over windbreaks. I came to a dark spruce forest. He looks - the hut is spinning on rooster spurs.
“Hut, hut,” says the woman, “don’t turn around, stop, stand with your back to the forest, and your front to me!” Let the traveler spend the night and warm up when he is cold.
The hut stopped. She goes into the hut, and there is an old woman there. he sits on the stove pillar, moves the coals in the stove with his nose and says:
- That’s good, the human thing itself has come: to eat, drink and treat its ears!
The woman answers:
- What kind of food does a traveler have, grandma: no meat, no fat, just sinews and bones. It would be better if she fed her, gave her something to drink, and then ate her.
“Look,” the old woman marvels, “you managed to answer!” She fed her, gave her something to drink, and began asking:
-Where are you coming from, where are you going? The woman told her everything. The old woman says:
- I saw your husband. Nine years ago he passed here and spent the night with me.
In the morning the woman got ready to set off. The old woman says to her:
“Further away, three years away from here, my older sister lives.” She knows more than me. But as soon as you enter the hut, be able to answer her.
The woman set off on her way. He walks through forests, through pine forests, goes straight through dry swamps, and goes around marshy swamps. I came to a dark spruce forest. He looks - there is a hut standing on cock spurs and spinning. She began to say:
- Hut, hut, don’t turn around, stop, stand with your back to the forest, and your front to me! Let the traveler spend the night and warm up when he is cold.
The hut stopped. She goes into the hut, and there is an old woman, worse than the first. He sits on the stove pillar, wraps his legs around the pillar, and stirs the coals in the stove with his nose:
- Ho-ho, here the human thing itself has come, I have to eat, drink and pour on my ears!
The woman responded:
- What kind of food does a traveler have, grandma: a handful of bones and a spoonful of blood. It would be better if she fed me, gave her something to drink and put her to bed - look, I would become softer, and then I would eat it.
- Look, you managed to answer! – the old woman praised. She climbed down from the stove pillar, fed and watered the woman, and put her to bed. In the morning I started asking her:
-Where are you coming from, where are you going?
She told everything: how she lost her husband, how she went to look for him. The old woman says:
– Your husband passed here six years ago. Further away, three years away from here, my older sister lives. I am formidable, only she is three times more formidable. She will tell you where your husband is. But be able to answer her well.
She set off on her way again. He walks and walks through forests and swamps. He goes around lakes, swims across rivers. He comes again to the dark spruce forest. Look, the hut is standing on cock spurs and spinning. She says to the hut:
- Hut, hut, don’t turn around, stop, stand with your back to the forest, and your front to me! Let the traveler spend the night and warm up when he is cold.
The hut stopped. A woman enters the hut, and there is an old woman - worse than worse. He sits on the stove pillar: his hands are like rakes, his eyes are like bowls, and he moves the burning coals in the stove with his nose. The old woman saw the traveler and was delighted:
- Ho-ho! The human flesh itself goes straight into your mouth! The woman answers:
- What kind of food does a traveler make, grandma: bones instead of meat, water instead of blood. You would feed me, give me something to drink, steam me in a bathhouse and put me to bed - and then you would eat me.
- Look, you managed to answer!
The old woman came down from the stove pillar, fed and watered the traveler, and took a steam bath.
The royal daughter slept for three days. On the fourth morning he wakes up. The old woman begins to ask:
-Where are you coming from, where are you going? The woman told.
The old woman says:
- I know your husband. Three years ago he passed here. Now he is one of Syoyatar’s employees.
- How can I find him, look into his eyes at least once? - asks the woman.
“It’s possible to find him, but it’s difficult to see him,” says the old woman. “Syuoyatar is vigilantly guarding him.” Every morning she sends him through impenetrable forests to a distant field to plow. And this field is enchanted - the entire fence around it is entwined with snakes. And at night, Suoyatar locks him in the barn and gives him a sleeping potion before going to bed so that he does not run away at night. But I will help you. Suoyatar has three barns full of flax. You ask her to spin, she will take you, but give you one week. If you do not spin all the flax during this time, Syoyatar will turn you into a seagull. But I'll give you this pipe. As soon as you blow into it, mice will appear, apparently or invisibly. Clap your hands three times and they will turn into girls and spin flax for you. I’ll also give you this swallow feather, it might also come in handy. Blow on it and you will turn into a swallow.
The woman thanked the old woman and went to Suoyatar. I walked for three years without knowing the way. I didn’t sleep at night. And she finally reached the forest clearing where Suoyatar’s house was. He comes into the hut and says hello.
-Where did you come from? – asks Suoyatar. “People don’t know the way here.”
- And I, auntie, got lost, completely exhausted from hunger. Let me live with you for a little while, gain strength. Maybe there is some work, I’m a great spinner.
“I have a job,” says Suoyatar. – You see these three barns. They are full of flax. If you spin all the flax in a week, I’ll let you go, but if you don’t spin it, blame yourself! She asked for it herself.
The woman agreed. Suoyatar gave her a dry crust of bread and a mug of water and took her to the first barn. As soon as the barn door closed, the woman took out a pipe, blew - mice came running out of all the cracks, apparently and invisibly, and they all turned into girls. Each one holds a spinning wheel and a spindle. In two days, all the flax in the barn was spun.
But that’s not why the woman went through all this difficult journey, so that Syoyatar could spin flax. She began to watch when her husband returned from the field and where Suoyatar took him to sleep. She saw the sun setting and the witch locked her husband in the fourth barn, which stood away from the house. How can I see him and exchange words? And then she remembered the feather that the old woman gave her. She blew on a feather and immediately turned into a swallow. He flies, rushes around the barn where the husband sleeps, and can’t find the crack. Finally she noticed a small hole under the eaves and darted into the barn, sank to the ground and became a woman again. She began to wake up and disturb her husband, but he was sleeping like a dead man - after all, Suoyatar had given him a sleeping potion. His wife clung to him and cried all night. And before dawn, she took off the silk belt that he had left for her as a souvenir, and wrapped it around her husband. She turned into a swallow again and flew away.
The husband wakes up and sees that his shirt is wet on his chest, and thinks: “What kind of miracle?” Then he noticed the belt: “I left exactly the same belt for my wife! Did my wife really come?” Syuoyatar again sent a worker to plow the field that the snakes guard, and the wife was spinning flax in the second barn. In the evening, when her husband was taken to bed, she again turned into a swallow and darted into the barn. She tried to wake up her husband again, shook him and shook him, but he never woke up. She cried all night over him, and in the morning, before sunrise, she took the ring from her finger that he had left her as a keepsake, put it on his little finger, turned into a swallow and flew away.
The husband wakes up and sees a ring on his finger. “Yes, this is the same personalized ring that I left for my wife as a souvenir! - he thinks. - Why am I sleeping so soundly? This is the second night someone has been coming to me, but I haven’t heard anything. That’s right, Suoyatar is giving me something to drink.”
In the evening, when Suoyatar poured a sleeping potion into a mug for the worker, he did not drink it, but quietly poured it under the table. Suoyatar locked him in the barn, but this time he did not fall asleep, he was waiting for what would happen. A swallow flew into the barn and turned into a woman. He looks - it’s his wife! She told how she was looking for him, how she finally found the way to him.
And they decided to escape the next night. When night came, the wife unlocked all the locks, let her husband out, and they went into the forest.
Meanwhile, Suoyatar sensed something was wrong and went to see if her captive was there. And the barn is empty! The witch became furious and set off in pursuit. The husband and wife hear that Suoyatar is chasing them, and is already catching up with them. The husband whistled, and immediately bears came running from all sides. They stood on their hind legs, growled and moved towards Syuoyatar. Only shreds of it remained.
And the husband and wife returned to the old man and old woman. The old people were happy.
And their son never turned into a bear again. He and his wife began to live and get along. Maybe they are still alive today.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru