In a certain kingdom he served as a soldier in the horse guard for the king, served for twenty-five years with faith and truth; For his faithful service, the king ordered to release him into clean retirement and give him as a reward the very horse that he rode in the regiment, with a saddle and all the harness.
The soldier said goodbye to his comrades and went home; a day goes by, and another, and a third... so the whole week has passed, and another, and a third - the soldier does not have enough money, there is nothing to feed either himself or his horse, and the house is far, far away! He sees that things are very bad, he really wants to eat; I began to look around and saw a large castle to the side. “Well,” he thinks, “shouldn’t I go there; maybe they’ll hire me into the service for a while and I’ll earn something.”
He turned towards the castle, drove into the courtyard, put the horse in the stable and gave it food, and went into the chambers. In the wards the table is set, there is wine and food on the table, whatever your heart desires! The soldier ate and got drunk. “Now,” he thinks, “I can sleep!”
Suddenly a bear comes in:
“Don’t be afraid of me, good fellow, you came here for good: I’m not a fierce bear, but a red maiden - an enchanted princess.” If you resist and spend three nights here, then the witchcraft will collapse - I will become the queen as before and marry you.
The soldier agreed; the bear left, and he was left alone. Then such melancholy attacked him that he would not look at the light, and the further he went, the stronger it became.
On the third day it got so bad that the soldier decided to give up everything and run away from the castle; but no matter how hard I fought, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find a way out. There was nothing to do, I had to stay.
Spent the third night; In the morning, a princess of indescribable beauty appears to him, thanks him for his service and orders him to get ready for the crown. They immediately got married and began to live together, not worrying about anything.
After some time, the soldier thought about his native land and wanted to go there; The princess began to dissuade him:
- Stay, friend, don’t go; what are you missing here?
No, I couldn’t dissuade her. She says goodbye to her husband, gives him a bag - filled with seeds - and says:
- Whichever road you go on, throw this seed on both sides: where it falls, trees will grow there at that very moment; Expensive fruits will show off on the trees, different birds will sing songs, and overseas cats will tell fairy tales.
The good fellow mounted his well-deserved horse and rode off on the road; Wherever he goes, he throws a seed on both sides, and behind him the forests rise, just like crawling out of the damp earth!
He drove a day, two, three, and saw: in an open field there was a caravan standing, on the grass, on the ant, merchants were sitting, playing cards, and a cauldron was hanging next to them; even though there is no fire under the cauldron, the brew is boiling.
“What a miracle!” thought the soldier. “There is no fire to be seen, but the brew in the cauldron is bubbling over; let me take a closer look.” He turned his horse to the side and rode up to the merchants:
- Hello, honest gentlemen!
And little do they realize that these are not merchants, but all devils.
- Your trick is good: a cauldron boils without fire! Yes, I have better food.
He took one grain out of the bag and threw it on the ground - at that very moment a century-old tree grew, on that tree expensive fruits flaunt, various birds sing songs, overseas cats tell fairy tales.
The devils recognized him immediately.
“Ah,” they say among themselves, “but this is the same one who delivered the princess.” Let's, brothers, give him a potion for that, and let him sleep for six months.
They began to treat him and gave him a magic potion. The soldier fell on the grass and fell into a deep, sound sleep, and the merchants, caravan and cauldron instantly disappeared.
Soon after that, the princess went out into the garden for a walk; looks - the tops of all the trees have begun to dry out. “It’s not good!” he thinks. “It’s obvious that something bad happened to my husband! Three months have passed, it’s time for him to come back, but he’s gone!”
The princess got ready and went to look for him. He drives along the same road that the soldier followed, on both sides there are forests growing, and birds are singing, and overseas cats are purring fairy tales.
He reaches the place where there are no more trees - the road winds through an open field, and thinks: “Where did he go? He didn’t fall through the ground!” Lo and behold, the same wonderful tree stands to the side and her dear friend lies under it.
She ran up to him and, well, pushed and woke him up - no, he didn’t wake up; she began to pinch him, prick him under the sides with pins, pricked, pricked - he didn’t even feel pain, as if he was lying dead and wouldn’t stir. The princess got angry and cursed from her heart:
- May you, the worthless sleepyhead, be picked up by a violent wind and carried to unknown countries!
She just had time to say it when suddenly the winds began to whistle and rustle, and in an instant the soldier was picked up by a violent whirlwind and carried away from the princess’s eyes.
The princess came to her senses late, that she had said a bad word, cried bitter tears, returned home and began to live alone.
And the poor soldier was carried by a whirlwind far, far away, distant lands, to the thirtieth state, and thrown on a spit between two seas; he fell on the narrowest wedge: whether the sleepy one turns to the right, or to the left, he will immediately fall into the sea, and remember what his name was!
The good fellow slept for six months and didn’t lift a finger; and when he woke up, he immediately jumped straight to his feet, looked - the waves were rising on both sides, and there was no end in sight to the wide sea; He stands there, thoughtfully, and asks himself: “By what miracle did I get here? Who dragged me?”
I walked along the spit and came out onto the island; on that island there is a high and steep mountain, with its top reaching up to the clouds, and on the mountain lies a large stone.
He approaches this mountain and sees three devils fighting, pieces of it flying.
- Stop, you damned ones! What are you fighting for?
“Yes, you see, our father died the other day, and three wonderful things were left behind him: a flying carpet, walking boots and an invisibility hat, so we can’t divide it.”
- Oh, you! It was from such trifles that the battle was started. Do you want me to separate you? Everyone will be happy, I won’t offend anyone.
- Come on, fellow countryman, please undress!
- OK! Run quickly through the pine forests, pick up a hundred pounds of resin and bring it here.
The devils rushed through the pine forests, collected three hundred pounds of resin and brought it to the soldier.
- Now bring the largest cauldron out of the oven.
The devils dragged in a huge cauldron - forty barrels will go in! - and they put all the resin in it.
The soldier lit a fire and, as soon as the resin melted, ordered the devils to drag the cauldron up the mountain and water it from top to bottom. The devils did this in an instant.
“Come on,” says the soldier, “now push that stone over there; Let him roll down the mountain, and the three of you will hit him after him. Whoever catches up with everyone first, choose any of the three wonders; whoever catches up second, take whichever one appears from the other two; and then let the third one get the last curiosity.
The devils pushed the stone, and it rolled down the mountain very, very quickly; All three rushed after him. Then one devil caught up with him, grabbed a stone - the stone immediately turned, tucked him under itself and drove him into the tar. Another devil caught up with him, and then a third, and the same thing happened to them! They stuck tightly to the resin.
The soldier took his walking boots and an invisibility hat under his arm, sat on a magic carpet and flew off to look for his kingdom.
Whether long or short, he flies to the hut; enters - Baba Yaga is sitting in the hut - a bone leg, old, toothless.
- Hello, grandma! Tell me how I can find my beautiful princess!
- I don’t know, my dear! I haven’t seen her, I haven’t heard of her. Go beyond so many seas, over so many lands - my middle sister lives there, she knows more than me; maybe she'll tell you.
The soldier sat on the magic carpet and flew away; He had to wander around the world for a long time. If he wants to eat or drink, he will now put on an invisibility cap, go down to some city, go into shops, pick up whatever his heart desires on the carpet - and fly on.
He flies to another hut, enters - Baba Yaga is sitting there - a bone leg, old, toothless.
- Hello, grandma! Do you know where to find me a beautiful princess?
- No, my dear, I don’t know. Go over so many seas, over so many lands—my elder sister lives there; maybe she knows.
- Oh, you old one! How many years have you lived in the world, but you know nothing good.
I sat on the magic carpet and flew to my older sister.
He wandered for a long, long time, saw many lands and many seas, and finally arrived at the end of the world; there is a hut, but there is no way beyond that - just pitch darkness, you can’t see anything! “Well,” he thinks, “if I don’t get anywhere here, there’s nowhere else to go!”
He enters the hut - there sits Baba Yaga, a bone leg, gray-haired, toothless.
- Hello, grandma! Tell me where can I look for my princess?
- Wait a little; So I will call all my winds and ask them. After all, they blow all over the world, so they should know where she lives now.
The old woman came out onto the porch, shouted in a loud voice, and whistled with a brave whistle; suddenly violent winds rose and blew from all sides, only the hut was shaking!
- Hush, hush! - Baba Yaga shouts. And as soon as the winds gathered, she began to ask them:
“My violent winds, you blow all over the world, have you seen the beautiful princess where?”
- No, we haven’t seen it anywhere! - the winds answer in one voice.
- Are you all present?
- That's it, only there is no south wind. A little later a south wind arrives. The old woman asks him:
-Where have you been until now? I could barely wait for you!
- It's my fault, grandma! I entered a new kingdom, where the beautiful princess lives; Her husband has gone missing, so now various kings and princes, kings and princes are wooing her.
- How far is it to the new kingdom?
- It takes thirty years to walk on foot, ten years to fly on wings; I’ll blow it and deliver it at three o’clock.
The soldier began to ask the south wind to take him and carry him to a new kingdom.
“Perhaps,” says the south wind, “I will carry you, if you give me the freedom to walk in your kingdom for three days and three nights.”
- Walk for at least three weeks!
- OK then; So I’ll rest for two or three days, gather my strength, and then I’ll hit the road.
The south wind rested, gathered his strength and said to the soldier:
- Well, brother, get ready, we’ll leave now, but don’t be afraid, you’ll be safe!
Suddenly a strong whirlwind made a noise and whistle, picked the soldier up into the air and carried him across the mountains and seas under the very clouds, and exactly three hours later he was in a new kingdom, where his beautiful princess lived.
The south wind says to him:
- Farewell, good fellow! Feeling sorry for you, I don’t want to walk in your kingdom.
- What is it?
“Because if I go on a spree, not a single house in the city, not a single tree in the gardens will remain: I’ll turn everything upside down!”
- Well, goodbye! Thank you! - said the soldier, put on his invisibility cap and went into the white stone chambers.
While he was not in the kingdom, all the trees in the garden stood with dry tops, but when he appeared, they immediately came to life and began to bloom.
He enters a large room, and there sit at the table various kings and princes, kings and princes who came to woo the beautiful princess, sit and treat themselves to sweet wines. Whatever groom pours a glass, as soon as he brings it to his lips, the soldier will immediately grab the glass with his fist and immediately knock it out. All the guests are surprised at this, but the beautiful princess guessed at that very moment. “That’s right,” he thinks, “my friend has returned!”
She looked out the window - all the tops of the trees in the garden came to life, and she began to ask her guests a riddle:
— I had a gold thread with a gold needle; I lost that needle and didn’t expect to find it, but now that needle has been found. Whoever solves this riddle, I will marry him.
Tsars and princes, kings and princes, racked their wise heads over that riddle for a long time, but could not solve it. The princess says:
- Show yourself, my dear friend!
The soldier took off his invisibility cap, took the princess by the white hands and began to kiss her sugar lips.
- Here's the solution! - said the beautiful princess. - The golden thread is me, and the golden needle is my faithful husband. Where there is a needle, there is a thread.
The suitors had to turn the shafts, they went to their own yards, and the princess began to live and live well with her husband and make good money.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru