In the good old time - and it really was a good time, although it was not my time or your time, or anyone else's time - there lived a girl in the world. Her mother died and her father married someone else. The stepmother hated her stepdaughter because the girl was more beautiful than her, kept her in a black body, forced her to do all the menial housework and did not leave her alone for a moment. Finally she decided to get rid of it completely. She handed the girl a sieve and said:
- Go, fill this sieve with water from a source that is at the end of the world. Bring the sieve, too small, otherwise you’ll have a bad time!
The stepmother thought that the girl would never find a source at the end of the world, and if she did find it, would she carry the water in a sieve?
And so the girl went on a journey and asked everyone she met, where is that source that is at the end of the world? But no one knew this, and she kept thinking and wondering what she should do.
Finally, some strange old woman, who trudged bent over, showed her the way to the end of the world and explained how to get there.
The girl listened to the old woman and finally reached the source at the end of the world. But as soon as she scooped up the cold, cold water with a sieve, all the water flowed out. The girl again filled the sieve with water, and filled it many more times, but the water poured out every time, so that in the end the poor thing sat down on the ground and burst into burning tears.
And suddenly she heard croaking. She raised her head and saw a big frog. The frog stared at the girl, his eyes bulging, and asked:
- What happened, honey?
- Oh, I’m poor, poor! - said the girl. “My stepmother sent me to such a distance and told me to draw water into a sieve from a source at the end of the world, but I can’t.”
“That’s what,” said the frog, “promise to carry out all my orders all night long - from evening to morning, and I will teach you how to draw water into a sieve.”
The girl agreed, and the frog said:
Cover it with clay, cover it with moss, and bring water to your house in it.
And then - jump-jump - she galloped away and plopped right into the source at the edge of the world.
The girl picked moss, lined the bottom of the sieve with it, coated the entire sieve with clay and lowered it into the spring at the end of the world. This time the water did not escape from the sieve, and the girl was about to go home, when suddenly a frog stuck its head out of a source at the end of the world and croaked:
- So remember what you promised!
“Okay,” the girl answered.
And I thought to myself: “What harm could some frog do to me!”
So she returned to her stepmother with a sieve full of water from a source at the end of the world. The stepmother almost burst with anger, but didn’t say a word.
That same evening, the girl heard a quiet knock on the door near the floor - knock-knock-knock and someone's voice:
Open the door for me, oh my darling, Open the door for me, darling! Remember, my friend, what we said At the end of the world, near the source!
- What does it mean?! - cried the stepmother, and the girl had to tell her about everything that happened to her, and about the promise she made to the frog.
- Girls must keep their promises! - said the stepmother. - Go open the door now!
She was glad and glad that her stepdaughter would have to obey some vile frog.
The girl got up, opened the door, and saw that behind the door was a frog from a source at the end of the world. Jump-jump, hop-hop - and then the frog jumped up to the girl and croaked:
Take me on your knees, my darling, Take me, darling! Remember, rather, what we said At the end of the world, near the source!
The girl didn’t want to put the frog on her lap, but her stepmother ordered:
- Take her now, you impudent girl! Girls must keep their promises!
The girl had to put the frog on her lap. And she sat and sat and asked:
Give me something to eat, oh my darling, Give me something to eat, my dear! Quickly remember what we said at the end of the world, near the source!
The girl complied with this request willingly - she brought bread, a jug of milk and fed the frog to his fill. And the frog has eaten and says:
Go to bed with me, oh my darling, Go to bed with me, darling! Remember, my friend, what you said, When you were so tired near the source!
At this point the girl became indignant. But the stepmother said angrily:
- Having given your word, hold on! Girls must keep their promises! Do what you're told or get out of here with your little frog!
And so the girl took the frog with her to bed, but put it as far away from her as possible. And when the day dawned, the frog said to her:
Cut my head, my darling! Cut quickly, my dear! Remember, my friend, what you promised there, on the lawn near the source!
The girl refused at first - after all, she remembered how the frog helped her at the source at the end of the world. But the frog repeated his request. Then the girl went for an ax and cut off her head. And suddenly - lo and behold! - A young handsome prince appeared before her. He told the girl about how the evil wizard bewitched him, and added:
“Only the girl who would agree to carry out all my orders all night, from evening to morning, could disenchant me, and in the morning she would cut off my head.”
Well, the stepmother was surprised when she saw a young prince instead of the vile frog! And believe me, she didn’t like it when the prince said that he wanted to marry her stepdaughter because she freed him from evil spells. But they got married anyway and settled in the castle. And the stepmother could only console herself with the fact that if it weren’t for her, her stepdaughter would never have married the prince.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru