Once upon a time there was a country in the north where the sun did not shine. And the moon didn't shine. The country was completely dark. Only the stars were visible in the black sky. But what light comes from the stars? Almost none. One flicker...
The black sky hung over the country, and it was so dark that people could distinguish each other by their voices. And the people of the Dark Country did not know fire. They lived in shelters made of turf and twigs, they insulated these dwellings as best they could - they filled them with earth and covered them with moss... But they still shivered from the cold, because in the Dark Land a fierce wind always blew from the cold sea, tightly covered with ice. It was bad for the people in the Dark Land. Very bad. And there was a high round mountain in the Dark Country.
Half the sky was covered by a round mountain; no one had ever seen what stars were shining on the other side of the round mountain...
And at the foot of the mountain there was a long and high black fence.
So long and so high that no one could get around it. And no one could climb over this fence to see what was there.
All the Vezhniki knew was that behind the fence stood a large house made of black logs, upholstered with reindeer skins for warmth.
And seventy black brothers live in that house.
And a hundred thousand deer graze behind a high fence. And the skins of deer are warm, and their blood is hot, and their meat is delicious...
But the Vezhniki only heard about all this - they themselves had neither deer nor houses, and they only ate fish that they pulled out from under the black ice. This is how people lived in the Dark Land for a thousand years. And a thousand more. And another thousand years, and another...
And none of the Vezhniks thought that they could live any other way.
But one day it happened: the Vezhniki saw an old man on a deer riding along a high black fence. On a white deer, on a wonderful deer.
The deer was so beautiful and so white that a quiet glow emanated from it. And in this radiance the Vezhniki saw the face of an old man, the simple and wise face of an old man who lived a lot, saw a lot, does not envy anyone and wants to leave people a good memory of himself.
Hello people! - said the old man and stopped the deer.
“What deep darkness there is in your country,” said the old man, and people saw his long gray beard, almost to his knees.
- Have you, Vezhniki, never seen the sun? - asked the old man.
But no one answered him, no one understood what he was asking.
The Vezhniki did not know the sun. And they didn’t know the moon.
Only the stars knew - dim fireflies in the black sky.
“Yes,” said the old man, “I see you don’t know the sun... And the sun is a great joy and great warmth.” And the sun lives on the other side of the round mountain, behind a high fence. It takes a long time to ride the fastest deer to see the sun. But walking along a high fence will never reach the sun, human life is not enough for this...
The old people listened to the old man and silently marveled: what kind of thing is this - the sun, which is both great joy and great warmth?..
The black brothers also heard the old man. They heard it and suddenly shouted:
- You stupid people! Stupid and dark! Can there be something that is both joy and warmth at the same time? Can there be anything that we don't know? An old deceiver has arrived on a white deer and is telling you fairy tales as if they were little children! Let's beat him and drive him away! There is no color on earth better than black!.. Let's beat the old man and drive him away! Let's beat! And we'll drive you away! Let's beat! And we'll drive you away!
The Vezhniki began to think. Do they beat you for telling a fairy tale? And seventy black brothers had already attacked the old man, already surrounded him along with the deer.
The wise old man shook his head, and his eyes went out, and his face darkened, and the radiance from the white deer went out.
The old man said:
“It’s hard to believe in something you haven’t seen.” But if there is a fence, there is something behind the fence. If there is a mountain, there is land behind the mountain. If there are firefly stars, there may be such a big star, bright as a hundred thousand stars at once, warm and joyful... And there are many different colors on earth, not just black. And black is the color of great untruth, the color of deception and evil power. I'm leaving. And now I will show myself only to those who believe in the sun.
The black brothers stretched out their hands to grab the old man, but the white deer struck with its hoof, the ground parted - and the deer disappeared, and the old man disappeared.
People went their separate ways, to their own affairs. And the black brothers went to their big house, behind a high fence. And everyone began to live as they lived.
And only one young man could no longer live in the old way. He remembered the words of the old man about the unknown sun, which gives both warmth and joy at once.
The young man went to the dark lakes, where reindeer moss grows. He looked at the black sky, he looked at the black water, he looked at the black earth and said:
- How nice it would be if it weren’t all black! I really want to believe in the sun! I really want to see the sun! But the old man disappeared, the old man was offended. And his white deer disappeared. How will I find them now, in such darkness?..
As soon as the young man said these words, the reindeer moss opened and a wonderful deer appeared before the young man. He was so white that a glow emanated from his skin...
“I’m here,” said the deer. - I'm waiting for you. Get on horseback.
The young man was very surprised and sat astride the deer. And they rushed through mosses and swamps, through black lakes, over black forests, over gloomy hills...
Whether they raced for a long time or for a short time, the wonderful deer stopped.
And the young man sees: sitting in front of him on a granite stone is the same old man, a gray beard down to his knees, a simple, wise, unenvious face.
“Hello,” said the old man. - Thank you for believing in the sun. Among the darkest people there is always a hero. There cannot be a people without heroes...
“Thank you for your kind word,” said the young man. - But tell me, how can I get the sun for the sunflowers? Just a piece of the sun, which is both warmth and joy...
“You will get the sun,” said the old man. “But for the sun to warm everyone and make everyone happy, you need all the people of your tribe to believe in the sun.” Even by a hair's breadth, they would believe it. Only then will the sun be given to you. Only then will it warm everyone up.
“Okay,” said the young man, sat on the deer and returned back to his Dark Country.
He came and told me how it happened. And he asked each of them for a hair.
The Vezhniks thought for a moment, but gave the young man a hair, each gave a hair, and they collected a whole heap. Only the black brothers did not give a hair. But the young man did not ask the black brothers for anything.
The young man began to weave a box from the hairs. It was difficult work. It took him seventy days and seventy nights to weave the box. But that’s just what they say – seventy days. Because in the Dark Country, days were like nights, and nights were like days. There was no difference between day and night - equally dark. And in the dark, by touch, weaving a strong box is not an easy task.
But the young man believed in the sun more than anyone else - and he wove a box.
And he went out again to the lake, on the shore of which tall reindeer moss grew. He looked at the black sky and said:
- My box is ready. For seventy days and seventy nights I wove it in deep darkness. And the faith of many people entered into me through these hairs, through my eyes and through my fingers. Now I'm ready to get the sun for the sunflowers.
As soon as he said this, reindeer moss opened up, and a white deer appeared in front of the young man.
“Sit down,” said the deer. - Sit on top of me.
And again they rushed over black mosses, over black lakes, over black forests and black swamps.
They raced for a long time, so long that the young man lost track of time.
And suddenly a thick red light flashed in the distance.
The young man sees: at the very edge of the earth there is a huge red sun. It stands, shimmers, radiates heat, blinds the eyes.
“Stop,” the young man said to the white deer. - Wait, wait, it hurts your eyes, let them get used to it.
The deer stopped and said to the young man:
– Look how huge the sun is, how bright, how hot! There is no way to carry such sunshine alone. You and I will break off a piece and show it to people in the Dark Land. If they like a piece of sunshine, let them come and take the rest. If you don’t like it, you’ll have to return the piece to its place.
- I'll like it! - said the young man. “It’s impossible for the people who live in the sun not to like the sun, it can’t be like that!” Let's go quickly, our eyes have adjusted, it's time for our hands to do their work - hurry!
“Open your box,” says the deer, “and hold on tight to me.”
The young man opened the box - and they rushed straight into the sun. At full gallop, the deer hit the sun with its antlers, a piece bounced off the sun and fell straight into the box. The young man immediately slammed the lid of the box, and the wonderful deer rushed back.
They reached the Dark Country, the young man got down from the deer and bowed low to him. And the deer hit his hoof and disappeared.
A young man stands among his people, among the vezhniki, and says:
“You all gave me a hair’s breadth.” I wove a box and brought you a piece of the sun. Just a small piece. Let's release it, let it illuminate our sky and our land. And if you like a particle of the sun, I know how to get the rest of the sun. It’s much more, I can’t do it alone, we all need to do it.
As soon as he said these words, seventy black brothers came running from the round mountain from behind a high fence. They run, wave their arms, shout at the top of their lungs:
- Don't you dare let me out! Our lakes will dry up! The iron in the ground will melt and flood our houses! You yourself will go blind, and we will all burn!
The young man answers them:
– The lakes will not dry up, and the iron will not melt. I saw the sun, I saw the earth around the real sun. That land is beautiful, there is nothing more beautiful! Because the sun hates black!
The black brothers surrounded the young man from all sides and wanted to snatch the box. But then the Vezhniki stood up for their own.
“No,” they said, “we won’t give you the box.” It is woven from our faith, it is from our hope. And if he brought a piece of the sun, let him show everyone!
But the black brothers grabbed the young man and dragged him to the black swamp to drown him along with the box. They see that things are bad, words don’t help. They picked up stones from the ground and rushed at the black brothers. The battle began, and a black wind arose, a real black storm.
And suddenly the box opened. And a piece of the sun flew out of it. The wind picked up and raised the small sun above the black earth.
At first, the sun twinkled over the people like a dim star. Then the wind began to fan it, like fanning the coals in a fire.
And the sun shone, brighter, brighter, and the sky flared up with red light. The swamps lit up, the lakes lit up, and the moss on the shore, the reindeer moss, glowed...
Vezhniki look: the water in the lakes has become blue, the mosses have turned yellow, pink, green... And even the stones have become multi-colored. The Vezhniki never thought that their Dark Country was so beautiful.
And the black brothers became even blacker, just like wet coals. Then they burst into flames and burned without a trace. And the wind scattered the ashes. Because those who do not believe in the sun will not be able to withstand its light and warmth. To whom the sun is not a joy, it is a misfortune for him.
- Thank you! - the men shouted to the young man. - Thank you! Teach us how to get all the sun! Teach!
“Go to where the black brothers lived,” said the young man. - Go and break the high fence. And take a hundred thousand deer. And then we will all go together and get the sun. The Vezhniki did just that.
They broke the high fence, took the deer and went to where the young man pointed.
We drove for a long time, and a huge red sun appeared in the distance. The trekkers got off the reindeer and bowed low to the sun.
The young man said:
– Now place the deer in a large circle, with their heads in one direction.
The Vezhniki did just that.
And suddenly the earth parted, and a wonderful white deer appeared, the same one on which the wise old man once came to the Dark Country.
The wonderful deer touched the sun with its horn, it swayed, rose and smoothly lay on the antlers of all the deer. And a hundred thousand deer carefully carried the sun to the Dark Country.
And they brought the sun safe and sound, and the Dark Country ceased to be dark: flowers and grass rose towards the sun, trees stretched into the sky.
And people in the tundra learned to smile at each other, children and the sun.
Since then, the sun has been shining over the tundra.
And a thousand years have passed since then, and then another thousand and another...
Other people live in the tundra, and they don’t know at all how it can be complete darkness, when day and night cannot be distinguished. But the memory of the brave young man who believed in the sun - the memory still lives and will never die, it is eternal. Like the sun itself is eternal - Great Joy and Great Warmth.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru