One woman had a schoolboy son. Every morning, when the boy left for school, his mother gave him money and said:
- Take some money, son, and buy yourself a white bun. One day a boy was walking along the road, and then he saw three mischievous people beating a little puppy with sticks.
- Hey you! - the boy shouted. - Why are you beating the puppy?
- None of your business! Go your own way, or we’ll beat you too.
The puppy squealed pitifully. The boy again shouted to the mischievous people:
- Listen, give me the puppy! I’ll give you money for it, and you can buy a loaf of bread with it.
“Okay,” says one boy, “give me some money.”
The boy gave his money and took the puppy. That day he was left without a bun. The boy returned home, the mother saw the puppy, frowned, but did not say anything.
The next day, the mother again gave her son money and took him to school. The boy crossed the bridge and saw that the same mischievous people were torturing the kitten: they had tied a stone around its neck and were about to throw it into the river. The kitten meows - the child is crying.
The boy took pity on the kitten and shouted to the mischief makers:
- Stop, don’t throw him into the water! Sell it to me, I'll give you money for it.
- Give me some money! - the older boy shouted and handed him the kitten.
The boy untied the stone, put the kitten in his bag, went to school and was hungry again until the evening. He returned home. His mother saw the kitten and frowned even more, but again did not say anything to her son.
And on the third day the boy gave his money to the mischievous people - he bought the frog from them: he jumped out of the deep pool secretly from the mother frog, and so they caught him. In the evening the boy came home and let the frog go onto the matting where the puppy and kitten were lying. Here the mother became seriously angry:
- What is this? Why do you bring all sorts of rubbish into the house? Who will feed them? Or don’t you know that we ourselves have nothing to eat?
“Don’t be angry, mother,” says the boy, “every creature wants to live.”
- Throw them out of the house, I don’t want to keep them!
- Okay, mother, I’ll just leave with them.
- Go wherever you want! - the mother screams in her hearts.
The mother slammed the gate behind her son, thinking - just wait and wait, and he’ll come home and confess. And the boy really left.
A boy wandered along the high road, and a puppy, a kitten and a frog ran after him. They walked and walked and came to a big city. We sat down to rest. The boy sits and sighs heavily.
- What's wrong with you, brother? - asks the frog. - Why are you sighing?
- My heart is heavy. After all, we don’t have bread. What are we going to do?
“We’ll make money,” says the frog.
- How to make money?
- I'll teach you how. I’ll start singing songs—my voice is clear—and the puppy and kitten will dance. Let's amuse the kids, they'll give us some money. So we'll buy some bread... Let's go try it.
They got up and set off again. We entered the city and straight into the schoolyard. The little frog sings songs, and the puppy and kitten start dancing. And they danced so wildly that the schoolchildren couldn’t stop watching. They threw a hat full of money at the boy. The boy was happy. I bought myself a loaf of bread, a whole box of flies for the little frog, a piece of meat for the puppy, and a fish for the kitten. They all ate their fill, left the city and spent the night in a haystack. The next morning they went to another city and there they also sang and danced, and so they earned their living.
So they kept walking and walking - from city to city, from village to village. We visited many villages and towns. Many days and years have passed. The frog's voice became even louder, the puppy's neck became thicker, the kitten's tail grew long, and the boy had a fluff above his upper lip. Now he was no longer a boy, but a fine fellow.
And then one day the frog says:
- You know what, brother, I’m tired of wandering around the world and singing songs.
- What do you want? - asks the young man.
“I want to return to our deep pool, to my mother.” I missed her.
“And I missed my mother,” says the young man. - Let's go home.
And the frog tells him this:
“If you bring me to my mother, she will be overjoyed and will want to reward you with money.” Brother, don’t take the money, but ask her for a silver box - her mother always carries it under her tongue.
And so our travelers set off on their way back. We reached a deep pool. The little frog croaks:
- Mother! I'm back! Come out to meet me!
The old frog heard him and jumped so high with joy that he jumped over the mill.
- Where have you been, my dear child? - asks the frog.
Then the little frog told her everything. The old frog began to thank the young man.
- What should I reward you with? - asks.
- I don’t need anything. I only ask for a box - the same one that you carry under your tongue.
- Look, what a one! “You know what to ask,” says the frog. - Well, take it. When the need comes, open the lid and you will see what happens.
The good fellow left the little frog with the old frog, and he went home to his mother. The puppy and kitten ran after him and stepped outside the threshold. Here the mother clasps her hands:
- Son, how you have grown! Look, the antennae are breaking through. It's time to get married.
“It’s true, mother, I myself decided to get married, I’ve already got my eye on the bride,” says the son. — When we were walking home to our village, I saw a girl in the neighboring town. She stood at the source, pouring water into a golden jug. This is the one I want to marry. Go and woo her for me.
- How can I match her, son? Do you know who this girl is? After all, she is the king’s daughter, child!
- Well, what about the Tsar’s daughter? Aren't we people?
“People are people, but the poorest of the poor.”
“You still go and woo her, and then we’ll see how things turn out.”
The mother got up and went to the royal palace. The old king looked her up and down and stamped his foot.
- Why did you come? - asks in a stern voice.
The poor woman told why she came. And the king shouts:
“I will give my daughter to the one who builds a palace larger and more beautiful than mine.” Tell your son that. Now get out!
The poor woman came home and told her son what the old king demanded. The son listened to his mother, remembered about the frog's box, took it out of his pocket and opened the lid, and the lid was small, about the size of a fingernail. And suddenly a thin white column of smoke came out of the box. He stretched, stretched, and suddenly turned into a giant - huge, enormous, the size of a mountain.
- What do you order, sir? - the giant asks the young man.
“I order you to build a palace, bigger and more beautiful than the royal one.”
- I’ll do it! - said the giant and instantly built a palace as high as the sky.
The old king saw this palace and bit his tongue. There was nothing he could do, he had to marry off his daughter to a young man. The young people lived in the palace.
One day, a fine fellow says to his wife:
“I’ll go and see what’s going on in the world.” And you stay home and wait for me until I return.
The good fellow walked along the high road, and the puppy and kitten followed him. We walked all day. In the evening we approached a city. The kitten meowed:
- Brother, I’m hungry!
“Now I’ll feed you,” says the young man. He put his hand in his pocket and wanted to take out the box, but there was no box! Well done, he was scared.
- Where is my box? - shouts. “Apparently, I forgot it at home on the shelf under the bowl.” There is nothing to do, we must return. Let's take my magic box and hit the road again.
The travelers turned back.
And this is what happened to the box.
The young wife began to clean the room and found a box on the shelf under the bowl. She didn’t know what kind of box it was, so she took it and threw it out the window. The box fell onto the street, and a voice was heard from it:
- Oh!
At this time, a junk dealer was passing along the street. He heard a groan, bent down, picked up the box and opened the lid. And then a giant came out of the box.
- What do you order, sir? - says the giant to the junk dealer.
“I order you to take this palace and move it with me to the most deserted island in the sea!” And we’ll take the pullet with us - the one that’s now looking out of the window.
- I’ll do it! - said the giant and moved the palace to the island.
Late in the evening, the good fellow, the puppy and the kitten reached the place where their palace used to stand. But there is no palace! The young man sat down on a stone and cried bitterly.
-What are you crying about, brother? - the puppy asks him.
“I’m crying for the palace, I’m crying for my wife.” Oh, if only I had my box now!
“Don’t cry, brother, we will bring it to you,” said the kitten and, together with the puppy, ran to the sea.
They ran to the shore, looked closely, and saw a lonely island in the sea, and on it a palace. The kitten jumped on the puppy's back, and the puppy rushed into the sea and swam to the island. We sneaked into the palace. The kitten couldn’t resist, climbed into the attic and started chasing mice. And then an old rat runs up to him and asks: .
- Why are you chasing my mice?
“I want to take revenge on your master.”
- What did he do to you?
— I stole a box from our brother. Where is he now, your master?
- Asleep.
- And the box?
“He stuck it up his nose.” If you need this box, I will bring it, just you promise not to catch my mice.
- I promise! - says the kitten.
The rat ran into the kitchen and dipped its tail in the red pepper. Then she snuck into the ragpicker's bedroom. And he’s asleep, he doesn’t know anything! The rat quietly crawled across the blanket to his head and tickled his nose with its tail. The rag man got red pepper in his nose and it tickled. He strained and sneezed, and the box fell out of his nose, and the rat grabbed it with his teeth and took it to the kitten.
“Here,” he says, “tell it to your brother so that he doesn’t cry.”
And the kitten to her:
- Thank you very much!
The kitten waved its paws, jumped out into the yard, sat on the puppy’s back, and they swam across the sea - happy to have found their brother’s box. We got to the shore and saw a young man sitting on a rock and crying.
- Don’t cry, brother, we brought you a box! - the kitten shouts and hands the young man a box.
He wiped his eyes and opened the lid. In the blink of an eye, a giant appeared.
- What do you order, sir? - asks.
“I order you to move the palace, my wife and the thief here.”
And then the palace instantly returned to its place. Well done, he entered it. And the thief sleeps and sleeps deeply. Well done, he stomps his feet - he woke up the thief, slapped him, and shouted:
“Next time you won’t steal other people’s palaces!” Otherwise I will make the giant break all your bones. Get out of here!
The ragpicker grabbed his hat and ran away.
And so they all began to live and get along: the good fellow with his wife and mother - in the palace, the kitten - in the attic, the puppy - in the yard. And the little frog climbed out of the deep pool every evening and sang songs to them - he lulled them to sleep until they fell asleep.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru