There lived a young hunter in one village. He had an old mother. The hunter always returned home with his prey. That's how he and his mother fed. Once he spent the whole day in the mountains, but did not meet any game. “Apparently, I will return today empty-handed,” he thought. And suddenly I saw a huge eagle on the rock. He took aim, and then the eagle spoke:
- Spare me, man. The time will come - I will be useful to you. Here's a feather from my tail. It will be bad - burn it, and I will fly to you.
The hunter hid the feather and moved on. Soon he came across a wild goat. The hunter took aim. And then the goat spoke:
- Don't kill me, man. The time will come - I will be useful to you. Here's a hair from my beard. If necessary, burn it, and I will appear in front of you.
The hunter hid the hair and moved on. It got dark. He had to spend the night in a tree in the forest. At dawn he woke up from hunger and went down to the sea. “At least catch some fish, at least eat something!” - he thought. A goldfish was caught on the hook. She said:
- Let me go to sea, man. The time will come - I will serve you. Here is my golden scale. It will be difficult - burn it, and I will come to you.
The hunter hid the scale and moved on. Soon he saw a red fox on the shore. He took aim. Then the fox spoke:
- Don't shoot me, man. When the time comes, I will help you out. Here's a hair from my tail. It will be difficult - burn it, and I will come running to you.
The hunter hid the hair and walked further along the seashore. But he met no one else and reached an unfamiliar city. He went into the outermost small house. An ancient old woman was sitting there.
- Mother, can you give me something to eat? - asked the hunter.
“Oh, son, this is the second day I’ve been without bread,” she answered.
Then the hunter took out the gold, the old woman went to the market for food. She soon returned and they had a great meal. Hunter asks:
- Tell me, mother: what are they saying in your city, what is the news?
- Oh, dear guest, don’t ask. “We don’t have any good news, but I don’t want to tell you bad news,” the old woman answers. — Great grief in our city.
Hunter says:
“If it’s unfortunate, you need to tell it, maybe I’ll help your city.”
“Well, listen,” says the old woman. — Our city is ruled by a khan. He has a beautiful daughter. And my daughter has an extraordinary telescope. Through this pipe she sees everything that is on earth, in the sky and under water. No one can hide from her. And the beauty announced that she would marry someone who could hide so well that she would not find him. You can hide three times. Whoever she finds three times will have his head cut off. Ninety-nine horsemen have already met their end. Our entire city is in mourning, there are tears in almost every house, two of my sons, two strong and handsome men, two of my breadwinners, also died. Ninety-nine were hiding, and you will probably be the hundredth.
“Yes, I will be the hundredth,” says the hunter. - I want to try my luck, I’ll go to the Khan’s palace.
And he went to the Khan's palace. There he saw a beauty, the daughter of a khan, surrounded by servants.
- The hundredth has arrived! - said the beauty in response to the hunter’s greeting. - Soon the hundredth head will fly off your shoulders!
“My head will remain on my shoulders, and you will become my wife,” the hunter grinned.
- How brave you are! - said the beauty. - Well, then let's start the game quickly! You will hide three times.
“I agree if you allow me to hide four times,” said the hunter. He thought about his four assistants.
“Four is four, your head is still hanging by a thread,” the khan’s daughter grinned. - Go hide, you have the night. I'll start looking in the morning.
The hunter left the palace, left the city, and went to the steppe. He took out the eagle feather and burned it. An eagle appeared.
“Serve me, eagle, the time has come, trouble has come,” says the hunter. “Hide me, eagle, hide me so that the khan’s daughter will not notice me through any telescope.”
The eagle grabbed the hunter with strong paws, lifted him into the sky, and carried him beyond the clouds, to the distant blue rocks, to his nest. He lowered the hunter into the nest, sat on the nest himself, and covered him with his body. It seemed that no one would see the hunter.
In the morning, the khan's daughter began to look for the hunter. First she looked all over the earth, but found nothing. Then she raised her telescope and began to examine the heavens. And then, far behind the clouds, I saw blue rocks, and in the rocks an eagle’s nest. An eagle sat in it. She carefully examined the eagle and saw several hairs from the hunter’s hat near the wing.
- Found it! Found it! - the beauty shouted joyfully. - Well, he hid, and I found him!
In the evening the hunter returned to the palace. He was sure that he had won. But the khan's daughter said:
- You were in the blue rocks, sitting in an eagle's nest. The eagle covered you with its body, its wings, and yet I noticed you! No, you can’t escape my spyglass! She sees everything on earth, in the sky and under water.
The hunter went to hide for the second time. He burned the goat's hair, and a goat appeared in front of him.
“Serve me, goat, your time has come, my trouble has come,” says the hunter. “Help me, hide me, hide me so that the khan’s daughter doesn’t find me, doesn’t see through her magic pipe.”
The goat put the hunter on top of her and carried him to the ends of the world. There, at the very edge, behind a rock, she hid the hunter in a hole and covered him with her body.
In the morning, the khan's daughter began to look for the hunter. She looked around the ground for a long time and then, at the very edge of the world, behind a rock she saw a goat, and from under the goat a corner of a beshmet was sticking out.
- Found it! Found it! - the beauty was delighted. - This is his beshmet! I won twice!
In the evening the hunter returned to the palace. Khan's daughter says:
“You were hiding at the very edge of the world, behind a rock, with a goat covering you.” You're hiding far away, but you can't get away from me.
The hunter went to hide for the third time. He came to the sea, burned a golden scale, and a fish appeared in front of him.
“Serve me, goldfish, save me, wise fish,” says the hunter. “Twice I hid, and twice the evil khan’s daughter found me.” She is happy that she won twice, that she will soon cut off my head.
“I’ll hide you well, hunter,” says the fish. - You will sit in the belly of a huge pike.
She clicked on the pike, it swam and opened its huge mouth. The hunter stepped into the mouth and found himself in the belly of the pike. The pike swam out to sea.
In the morning, the khan's daughter began to look for the hunter. She looked all over the earth, then all over the heavens. I didn't notice anything anywhere.
- He’s not hiding at the bottom of the sea! - the beauty said angrily.
“Don’t be angry,” the mother advised, “maybe he’s at sea.” Calmly look around the entire sea.
The beauty began to examine the sea. I saw a huge pike. The voracious pike just at that moment opened its mouth to grab its prey. The beauty looked into the pike's mouth and saw a hunter in the pike's belly.
- Found it again! - she shouted joyfully.
In the evening the hunter returned to the palace. Khan's daughter says:
- This time you were sitting in the belly of a huge pike that swims in the blue sea. You hide better than anyone, and still I won three times. Your head is hanging by a thread. Tomorrow she will be cut off! Go and hide for the last time, that was our agreement.
The hunter was completely saddened. He's walking, hanging his head. He burned the fox's hair. A fox appeared.
“Save me, wise fox, hide me from the khan’s daughter, from her magic spyglass,” the hunter asked. “The Khan’s daughter rejoices and says that my head is hanging by a thread, I’m hiding for the last time.” Hide me so far away that the evil beauty won’t find me.
“You don’t have to hide far to hide well,” said the fox. “Sleep here in the bushes, I’ll do everything.”
The hunter went to bed. The fox immediately began to dig an underground passage. By morning, she dug it all the way to the Khan's palace, to the very room from which the beauty examined the world through her telescope. Then the fox woke up the hunter and ordered him to crawl along an underground passage. They found themselves right under the feet of the Khan’s daughter, they heard her every step, her every word. And she looked all over the earth, all the heavens, all the sea, but could not find the hunter anywhere, she looked into the farthest distance and did not notice anything anywhere. She could not have guessed that the hunter was sitting under her feet. The day is over. The beauty threw the pipe to the floor in her hearts.
- For the first time you cheated on me! - she shouted.
The hunter crawled through an underground passage outside the city and came to the palace.
- This time you hid so much that even the devil himself would not have found you! - the khan’s daughter said angrily.
- So I won? - asked the hunter.
- No, wait, let me search one more day. It's impossible that my pipe is failing!
The hunter agreed. And it all happened again. The beauty broke the pipe into pieces. In the evening, when the hunter came to the palace, she said:
- You won. I agree to become your wife.
The next day the wedding was celebrated. The whole city was happy about the hunter's victory.
“Our sons will no longer die,” people said.
The whole city celebrated deliverance from the evil scourge.
And I was at that feast, ate halva, drank honey, and when the khan was rewarding the guests, I got a dagger, but the abreks (robbers) took it away on the road in the forest.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru