It was or it wasn’t. Once upon a time there lived a poor man with three sons. When the children grew up, the eldest son said:
- Tattoo, we all have nothing to live on at home, apparently we’ll have to look for work on the side.
“Well,” said the father, “go.” The elder brother went first. He walked and walked and saw a hut. He opened the door and looked - an old woman was sitting in the hut. The boy bowed:
- Good afternoon, grandma.
- Good afternoon, son.
— I’m looking for a job. Maybe I'll be useful to you? - asks.
“You’ll come in handy...” the old woman answers.
- Well, what will the service be like, what should be done?
- You will herd sheep.
- Good!
The next morning, the lad’s grandmother woke him up early, gave him bread, gave him an ax and said:
- Be careful not to lock up the sheep anywhere, but be sure to follow them. And where you see something amazing, something you haven’t seen in ages, whatever it is, chop off a little and bring it to me.
The lad drove the sheep. He follows them: where the sheep go, there he goes. And when noon came, he ran around the herd, and the sheep lay down and slept until the evening. In the evening the lad drove the sheep home. And the old woman just looked at the sheep, when she immediately grabbed and cut the belt from the young man’s back:
- Here's your payment for your service! Go wherever you want!
Following his older brother, the middle one went looking for work. And he ended up with this same old woman, and in the same way she cut the belt out of his back. With that, the middle son returned home. Then the younger one began to ask:
- Tatu, let me in too. I'll go look for a job. Father and mother persuade:
“If the elders haven’t earned anything, then what can you earn?”
“Don’t worry about it, don’t be sad, I’ll earn something, just let me go,” the lad persistently asks.
Well, what are you going to do here? His father let him go. The younger brother left and just ended up with the same old woman.
“Good afternoon, grandma,” the young man greeted.
- Good afternoon, son.
— I’m looking for a job. Grandma, do you have any service?
- Why not? There will be a case! - the old woman answered.
What kind of work is it, what should you do? You will herd the sheep, that’s all your work. The next day, early in the morning, the old woman gave the boy a bag and an ax and said:
“Don’t lock up the sheep anywhere, and wherever they go, you should follow them.” Yes, if you see something outlandish, whatever it is, chop off a little and bring it to me.
The sheep are nibbling the grass and wandering, nibbling and wandering, and the lad follows, and walks, and walks. So we reached the river. And then the lame ram said:
“Sit on me, shepherd, and I’ll carry you across the river.”
We crossed to the other side. What's happened? On the other bank the grass grows, silky, juicy, thick, and the cattle that graze here are scrawny and thin, like a rake.
The lad marveled and cut up an armful of that grass and put it in a bag.
The sheep wander further and come to this place: the ground is completely bare, like the floor of a hut, and the cattle on that land are as fat as your feather beds.
"What's the matter?" - the guy thinks.
I cut out a lump of that earth and put it in a bag. And the sheep go further and further, and Ivan follows them. The herd turned towards the house. The lame ram says:
- Listen, Ivan. How will a woman ask you what you want for herding the sheep well, and will give you both silver and gold for good service, you don’t take it, but ask for the book that is in the pack... The woman will not want to give the book, but you know, constantly ask and don’t take anything else for the work. After all, the book is not simple, but magical: open it, and you will have everything you want.
The lad drove the herd home. The old woman looked at the sheep and was delighted: they grazed well, as if they had been poured, they were already shining like stars. Ivan asks:
- Well, what did you see there?
— I saw water meadows. The grass grows in the meadows, silky, thick, juicy, and the cattle that graze there, crawling, can barely stand on their feet... why is that?
“Because,” the woman replies, “the shepherd is unfit.”
- Why are cows fat on bare ground?
- Because the shepherd is good! Well, now, son, ask for whatever you want for your good service...
“I don’t want anything, grandma, just give me the book you have in your bag.”
- What do you need that book for? I will give you four carts of gold and four pairs of horses!
“I don’t want anything but a book.”
“Okay, I’ll give you the book, but be careful, don’t open it on the way, don’t look into it.” When you come home, build stables for horses, cows and every living creature in the world. As soon as you build it, open all the doors, stand opposite the stables and open the book, you will see what will happen.
Ivan took the book and went home. He walked and walked, got tired, sat down to rest and thought:
“And what, as I see, is there in that book?”
And he just managed to open the book... holy lights! Where did it come from? various livestock fell in droves in herds, herds, and flocks. They ran in all directions, in different directions.
The lad jumped to his feet and began to run and herd the cattle. Well, can you cope here? And he saw a woman running, angry, angry, with fire streaming from her eyes.
“Well,” the boy thinks to himself, “I’m lost!”
A woman came running and shouted:
- What did I tell you, you can’t hear! Don’t open the book until you get home and set up the barns. You didn’t listen to me, now blame yourself. I’ll collect all the cattle for you, everything will be as it was. And for disobedience, you will remain single - not married. If you don’t listen again, you’ll get into trouble: as soon as you get married, that’s when you’ll die.
The woman ran around the herds, herds, flocks, and all the living creatures disappeared from her eyes, as if her eyelids had never existed. She handed Ivan the book:
- Go and remember what I told you! The boy came home. He is asked:
- Well, what do you deserve? Show me!
“This book,” says Ivan. The brothers began to laugh at him. And Ivan asks his father:
- Put up, tattoo, new sheds for various livestock.
- Where will I supply you with new stables? - says the father. -You need a lot of money for that, but where can you get it, those pennies?
“Don’t worry, don’t twist, tattoo, we have something to put stables on,” said the son, “here’s some pennies for you.” - And then he took off the golden cover from the book: - Is this gold enough?
The father hired craftsmen, and soon all sorts of stables and cubbyholes were built. When everything was ready, the lad opened the wonderful book, and, out of nowhere, horses, cows, sheep and all other living creatures poured right into the barns and nooks. The father and his sons became rich and began to persuade Ivan:
- It's time for you, son, to get married!
“I can’t get married,” he answers. “If I decide to get married, I’ll die right there at the wedding.”
How much time passed after that, and his father and mother finally persuaded Ivan to marry. They matched him with a beautiful girl from a rich house.
And as soon as they left the crown, the lad saw that same woman. He jumped on his horse and ran away wherever he could.
I drove my horse, drove it, and reached Friday. Friday tells him:
- Don’t be afraid, well done, it’s okay. Take these three apples, they will come in handy over time. And here's another fly for you. When you reach the sea and death begins to overtake you, wave your fly and the sea will part, and when you cross to the other shore, wave your fly again and the sea will merge. Death is yours and will leave you behind. There is no way she can get across the sea.
The lad thanked Friday and moved on. Came to the sea. He let the horse graze, and he lay down to rest and did not notice how soundly he fell asleep. At that time, the woman-witch overtook him. She first rushed at Ivanov’s horse. The horse broke up, turned to Ivan - what is it? The boy is guarded by three dogs named Tyazhigora, Dalekovich and Dalekochui. The three apples that Friday gave Ivan turned into those dogs.
The good fellow woke up, saw Baba Yaga, and remembered his fly. He waved his fly and the water parted. He crossed to the other side. There he waved his fly again, and the sea merged. Baba Yaga remained on the other side.
The lad built himself a hut and began to go hunting with Tyazhigora, Dalekovid and Dalekochui.
That's what he fed on. He lived for so long or for a short time, he did not see any people.
And then one day he met a beautiful-looking girl. The young man liked the girl, and they soon got married.
Ivan still went hunting, and the wife managed the house and ran the household.
One day, when Ivan was hunting, a young woman went out to the sea and looked at the other shore. And Baba Yaga turned into a handsome young man and began speaking sweet words from the other side. The young lady took a liking to that lad, and what’s more, the flattering words sank into her soul, and she began to go ashore every day and have conversations with the handsome lad. So time passes from day to day. Then that lad began to persuade the young woman:
- How would you transport me to your shore!
- I would gladly transport you, but I don’t know how...
“I’ll teach you,” the boy tells her. — Ivan has a wonderful fly at the head. Take that fly, wave it three times, the water will part, and I will come to you.
The young woman did just that: she waved her fly three times, and the sea parted. Baba Yaga, disguised as a handsome lad, crossed the sea and said:
“If only you and I could ruin Ivan now, and then I would marry you.” Where do your dogs sleep?
“In the entryway,” the young woman answers.
“Then you dig a hole in the hut under the table and bury me there.”
The woman buried the werewolf boy in that hole and covered the top with earth.
Ivan returned home. We had dinner and went to bed, but the dogs didn’t show up in the hallway. They lay down in the hut under the table, just above the pit where Baba Yaga was buried.
The next morning, Ivan called the dogs and went hunting. Baba Yaga climbed out of the hole, barely alive, and said:
“Ask your husband to leave the dogs at home tomorrow, then I’ll kill him alone in the forest.”
Before Ivan came, the woman gave the boy-werewolf something to drink, fed, and buried him in a hole again. Ivan came. We sat down to dinner.
- Don’t take it, hubby, tomorrow the dogs will go hunting: for some reason I’m afraid to be alone.
In the morning, Ivan left alone, and the woman drove the dogs into the crate and closed the door tightly. Baba Yaga climbed out of the hole and rushed to catch up with Ivan. She began to overtake and shouted:
- This time you won’t leave me!
Ivan climbed onto a mature oak tree, and Baba Yaga began to gnaw that oak tree with her terrible teeth.
Faraway heard all this and said:
- Trouble! Baba Yaga will destroy our master. We must quickly run to the rescue!
The dogs broke down the door and ran as fast as they could. When they arrived, the tree was already shaking - it was about to fall.
The dogs grabbed Baba Yaga and tore her to shreds.
Ivan came home, took a wonderful fly, went ashore and waved that fly three times. The sea parted, and he and his faithful Tyazhigora, Faraway and Faraway moved to their side. There he waved his fly again: the sea merged and separated him forever from the evil woman.
This is where the fairy tale ends.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru