Once upon a time, there lived a man. He had a daughter, son and stepdaughter. The stepdaughter was not loved in the house, they were offended and forced to work hard, and then they decided to take her to the forest and throw her to the wolves. So the brother says to his stepdaughter:
- Let's go with me to the forest. You will pick berries, and I will chop wood.
The stepdaughter grabbed a bucket, put a ball of thread in the bucket and went with her named brother into the forest.
They arrived in the forest and stopped in a clearing. Brother said:
“Go pick berries and don’t come back until I finish chopping wood.” Return to the clearing only when the sound of the ax stops.
The girl took a bucket and went to pick berries. As soon as she was out of sight, the sworn brother tied a large mallet to a tree and left.
A girl walks through the forest, picks berries, sometimes stops, listens to her sworn brother knocking an ax in the distance, and moves on. She doesn’t even realize that it’s not her brother who’s knocking with the axe, but the mallet that’s swaying in the wind and hitting the tree: knock-knock! Knock-knock!
“My brother is still chopping wood,” the girl thinks and calmly picks berries.
She filled the bucket full. Evening had already come, and the beater stopped knocking.
The girl listened - it was quiet all around.
“Apparently, my brother has finished work. It’s time for me to return,” the girl thought and returned to the clearing.
She looks: there is no one in the clearing, only fresh wood chips are turning white.
The girl began to cry and walked along the forest path, wherever her eyes looked.
She walked and walked. The forest is over. The girl went out into the field. Suddenly the ball she was holding in her hands fell out and rolled quickly. The girl went to look for the ball. He goes and says:
-My little ball rolled away, did anyone see it?
So the girl reached the shepherd, who was tending a herd of horses.
“My little ball rolled away, haven’t you seen it?” - the girl asked the shepherd.
“I saw,” answered the shepherd, “Work for me for one day: I will give you a horse, on which you will go to look for your little ball.” The girl agreed. She looked after the herd all day, and in the evening the shepherd gave her a horse and showed her the way.
The girl rode on a horse through the forests, through the mountains and saw a shepherd tending a herd of cows. The girl worked for him all day, received a cow for her work and moved on. Then she met a flock of sheep, helped the shepherds, and received a sheep for this. After that, she came across a herd of goats on the way. The girl helped the shepherd and received a goat from him.
A girl is driving cattle, and the day is already approaching evening. The girl became scared. Where to hide for the night? Luckily, she saw a light not far away and was delighted: “Finally, I got to the house!”
The girl drove the horse and soon reached a small hut. And in this hut lived a witch. The girl entered the hut and saw an old woman sitting there. She greeted her and asked:
“My little ball rolled away, haven’t you seen it?”
- You, girl, came from afar. First, rest and help me, and then ask about the ball,” the ubyr said.
The girl stayed with the old Ubyr woman. In the morning she heated the bathhouse and called the old woman:
- Grandma, the bathhouse is ready, go wash.
- Thank you, daughter! But I won’t get to the bathhouse without your help. “You take my hand, push me from behind with your knee, then I will move,” the ubyr tells her.
- No, grandma, you can’t do that. You are already old, is it really possible to push you? “I’d rather carry you in my arms,” said the girl. She picked up the old Ubyr woman in her arms and brought her to the bathhouse.
“Daughter,” says the old woman, “take me by the hair and throw me on the shelf.”
“No, grandma, you can’t do that,” the girl answered, she picked up the old woman and sat her on the shelf.
And the old ubyr woman says to her:
“Daughter, steam my back, but more firmly, not with a steamed broom, but with his hand.”
“No, grandma, it will hurt you,” the girl answered.
She hovered the old Ubyr woman with a soft broom, and then carried her home in her arms and laid her on a feather bed.
“My head is itching, my daughter.” “Comb my hair,” said the old ubyr woman.
The girl began to comb the Ubyr’s hair with a small comb, and she gasped - the old woman’s hair was full of pearls and gems, gold and silver! The girl did not say anything to the old woman, but combed her hair and braided it.
- And now, daughter? Amuse me, old one, dance in front of me,” said the old woman.
The girl did not refuse - she began to dance before the dinner.
As soon as she finished dancing, the old woman had a new order ready:
- Go, daughter, to the kitchen and see if the dough in the kneading bowl has risen.
The girl went to the kitchen, looked into the bowl, and the bowl was full to the brim with pearls and gems, gold and silver.
- Well, daughter, how did the dough turn out? — the ubyr asked as soon as the girl returned from the kitchen.
“It’s fine, grandma,” the girl answered.
- That's good! Now fulfill my last request: dance one more time,” says the ubyr.
The girl didn’t say a word to the old woman, she danced in front of her again as best she could.
The old Ubyr woman liked the girl.
“Now, daughter, you can go home,” she says.
“I would be glad, grandma, but I don’t know the way,” the girl answered.
- Well, it’s easy to help such grief, I’ll show you the way. When you leave my hut, go straight, don’t turn anywhere. Take this green chest with you. Just don't open it until you get home.
The girl took the chest, sat astride the horse, and drove the goat, cow and sheep in front of her. At parting, she thanked the old woman and set off.
The girl travels day and night, and at dawn she begins to approach her native village.
And when she drove up to the house itself, dogs barked in the yard:
“They wanted to destroy the girl, but she would live richly!” Woof-woof!
“Apparently our dogs are mad!” - the brother exclaimed, ran out into the yard, and began to disperse the dogs with a stick.
The dogs ran in different directions, but they didn’t stop yapping:
“They wanted to destroy the girl, but she would live richly!” Woof-woof!
And the brother and sister see that their stepdaughter has arrived at the gate. She got off her horse, entered the house, opened the chest, and everyone saw that it was full of gold, silver, pearls and all sorts of precious stones.
The brother and sister became jealous. And they decided to get rich too. They asked the stepdaughter about everything.
So the sister took the ball and went with her brother into the forest. In the forest, the brother began to chop wood, and the girl began to pick berries. As soon as the girl was out of sight, the brother tied a mallet to a tree and left. The girl returned to the clearing, but her brother was no longer there. The girl walked through the forest. Soon she reached a shepherd who was tending a herd of horses.
“My ball rolled away, didn’t you see it?” - the girl asked the shepherd.
“I saw it,” answered the shepherd. “Work for me for a day, I’ll give you a horse, and you can ride on it to look for your ball.”
“I don’t need your horse,” the girl answered and moved on.
She reached a herd of cows, then a flock of sheep, then a herd of goats, and didn’t want to work anywhere. And after some time she reached the hut of the old Ubyr woman. She entered the hut and said:
“My ball rolled away, haven’t you seen it?”
“I saw it,” the old woman answers, “just go and heat my bath first.”
The girl heated the bathhouse, returned to the old woman, and she said:
- Let's go, daughter, to the bathhouse. You lead me by the hand, push me from behind with your knee.
- Fine.
The girl took the old woman by the hands and started pushing her from behind with her knee. So she took me to the bathhouse.
In the bathhouse, the old woman asks the girl:
- Steam my back, daughter, not with a soft broom, but with his hand.
The girl began to pound the old woman’s back with the handle of a broom.
They returned home, the old woman said:
- Now comb my hair.
The girl began to comb the old woman’s hair and saw that her head was strewn with gold, silver and precious stones. The girl’s eyes lit up, and she began hastily stuffing her pockets with jewelry, even hiding something in her bosom.
“Now, daughter, dance,” the old woman asks.
The girl began to dance, and gold and precious stones fell out of her pockets. The old Ubyr woman saw it, didn’t say a word, just sent her to the kitchen to see if the dough in the kneading bowl had risen.
A girl came into the kitchen, looked into the bowl, and the bowl was full to the very brim of gold, silver, and gems. The girl could not resist, again filled her pockets with gold and silver, and at the same time thought: “Now I know how rich my sister got!”
When she returned, the old Ubyr woman again made her dance, and again gold and silver fell from the girl’s pockets.
After this, the old Ubyr woman said:
“Now, daughter, go home and take this black chest with you.” When you get home, you open it.
The girl was delighted, picked up the chest, in a hurry did not even thank the old woman and ran home. He's in a hurry and doesn't stop anywhere.
On the third day, the native village appeared. When she began to approach the house, the dogs in the yard began to bark:
“The girl wanted to be rich, but she doesn’t have long to live!” Woof-woof!
My brother heard it, ran out into the yard, started chasing the dogs, and the dogs kept yapping:
“The girl wanted to be rich, but she doesn’t have long to live!” Woof-woof!
The girl ran home, didn’t say hello to anyone, and rushed to open the chest. As soon as she opened the lid, snakes crawled out of the chest and began to sting her.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru