Once upon a time there lived a husband and wife. And they had one and only daughter, Masha. Masha grew up as beautiful as a berry in a forest clearing. The father and mother loved their daughter very much and doted on her. And she was a good needlewoman. Whatever she takes on, everything in her hands comes to an end. They lived happily, but their mother fell ill and died. The father and daughter were left alone. It was not easy for them, but they lived together. But then the father decided to marry, and Suoyatar came across as his wife. She also had a daughter, Marfa, an ugly girl, disobedient and lazy.
Suoyatar disliked her stepdaughter and left all the hard housework on her. But Masha does everything, doesn’t say a word, and her beauty does not fade. The stepmother gets even angrier. She decided to throw her stepdaughter out of the world. Suoyatar came up with a job for the girls: she gave her own daughter a silk tow to spin and put her in the upper room. And for my stepdaughter - a tow of marsh grass. He leads her to the ice hole and punishes her:
“The strands are here, don’t go anywhere.” And if you drop the spindle into the hole, you’ll have to climb for it yourself!
The girl was left alone, sitting and spinning. She spun and spun, her thread broke, her spindle fell off and fell into the water. What to do?
“Little fish,” Masha asks, “give me the spindle!”
And from the hole in response:
- Young legs, walk along the path yourself!
And the stepmother came running and made me climb for the spindle. Masha cried, she was afraid to get into the water, but there was nothing to do. She threw a sundress over her head and jumped into the hole. There a wide road opened up in front of her, it was light all around, it was beautiful! She walked along the road. It's coming, it's coming. A herd of cows meets her. They surrounded the girl and began to ask:
- Girl, girl, milk us, and we will feel better, and you will drink the milk. And as a reward for your kindness, the best of us will follow you.
The girl took the milk pan, milked the cows, drank the fresh milk and continued on her way. And the best cow from the herd follows her. No matter how long or how short the walk, there is a herd of horses. Also to her with a request:
- Girl, girl, comb our hair, trim our manes, shorten our tails. And take the best horse from the herd for work.
Masha combed them, trimmed their manes, trimmed their tails and walked away, followed by the best horse. He sees a house standing by the road. He comes in and there is an old woman sitting on the stove. Masha said hello and sat down on the bench. The owner asks her:
-Who are you and where did you come from?
- I am a poor girl, I came from this world.
And she told everything that happened to her. The old woman listened to her and said:
- Girl, my dear, heat the bathhouse, wash me and my children. We haven’t been to the bathhouse for a long time, I’m sick.
Masha quickly heated the bathhouse, washed the shelves, and prepared the brooms. First, I washed and steamed the hostess, who was satisfied. Then the old woman gives her a sieve, and there are lizards and frogs. The girl took them, steamed them all with a broom, and doused them with warm water. The children are happy and praise Masha. The hostess is glad that they washed themselves so well, she says:
“Here you are, good girl, for your efforts,” and he hands her the chest and casket.
Masha thanked the old woman, took the chest and casket and went home, and the horse and cow followed her. Masha came home. She brought the horse and cow into the yard, and carried the chest and casket into the barn. When he opens the chest, it’s full of all kinds of goodness, he opens the casket, and in it the semi-precious stones shimmer, it hurts your eyes! Suoyatar saw this and was overcome with envy, why not her daughter, but her stepdaughter became so rich. And Suoyatar made her daughter spin by the ice-hole and gave her a tow of marsh grass.
Martha sits, spinning. The spindle fell into the water. She says:
- Little fish, give me the spindle! And from the water they answer:
- Young legs, walk along the path yourself! It’s scary to jump, but I want a dowry. She jumped into the hole, and there was a wide road. She followed it. She walked and walked and came across a herd of cows. The cows ask for a girl:
- Girl, girl, milk us, it’s hard for us to walk. And take the best of us to work.
She looked at them and answered:
“I don’t milk my cows at home, and I certainly won’t milk you.” My hands are white, washed with milk.
The cows got angry with her, let's gore her, she barely escaped alive. She walks and cries. She walked and walked, and a herd of horses met her. Horses surrounded Marfa, asking her to comb their hair, trim their manes, trim their tails, and they promised her the best horse for this.
The girl answers them:
“My mother washed my hands with milk, I don’t want to get them dirty by combing and cutting your hair!”
The horses took offense at her, chased after her, beat her with their hooves - she barely carried off her legs. She moved on again, crying with frustration and pain. I walked and walked and saw a house. She enters the hut, sits down on a bench, and is silent. The old woman from the stove says to her:
- Hello, girl. Where are you coming from and why are you going?
Marfa answers:
“I came from the white light, dropped the spindle into the hole, and am looking for it.
The old woman says:
- Heat a bathhouse for me and my children, wash and steam us. And I will reward you for this.
Martha somehow heated the bathhouse and closed it with smoke; the water is slightly warm, the brooms are dry. She took the old woman to the bathhouse, whipped her with a dry broom, and washed her with cold water. The poor thing was completely frozen and climbed onto the stove at home to warm up. I gave her the children to wash - lizards and frogs. Martha came with them to the bathhouse, threw them, cursed them. She whipped everyone with a dry broom, poured them into a bucket of cold water, mixed them with a stick and threw them back into the sieve. Half of them were crippled. They cry, squeak, and complain to the old woman about Martha:
“It would be better not to send us with such an evil girl: she froze us, maimed us, tore off someone’s tail, broke off someone’s paws, gouged out someone’s eyes.” I washed it with cold water, in a cold and carbon dioxide bath.
The hostess does not say anything to the girl. He gives her a chest and a casket for her work. She was delighted: now she will have a lot of good things! And she forgot about the spindle, and the old woman punished her:
“When you get home, don’t take the goods into the barn, otherwise the old man’s daughter will exchange them.” Take it straight to the barn and open it there.
A girl comes home with a chest and a casket. He goes with his mother to Riga. I opened the chest - there was resin. She grabbed the casket and flames burst out of it. The tar flared up and the straw in the barn caught fire. Before the mother and daughter had time to leave the place or utter words, they burned to death.
The father and daughter were left alone again, living happily and richly in their home. That's the whole fairy tale.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru