Many centuries ago, when King Charles ruled the neighboring country of Catalonia, France, this fairy tale was written. And the Catalans took her as their hero, their beloved knight Roland, who was fair, brave and powerful. The rocks in Catalonia still preserve the notches from his sword Durandal. Roland had great strength. And the sword did not take him, and the arrow could only hit his foot, which is why Roland wore boots with iron soles. Roland played with the tree trunk like a toy. It was from such a trunk that he made himself a club. He broke through the rock at Neilus Peak with it, and the purest spring ran from the rock. It was hard work, Roland was tired. I decided to relax and take a walk in the forest. The weather was beautiful at that time. The sun played in the sky and rolled down from the leaves to the ground in precious golden drops. Roland could breathe well, easily: the enemies of his country were defeated, peace reigned in Catalonia and its people could work in peace.
Roland came out into the clearing and heard a knock. It's like someone is hitting a stone with a hammer. He looked around: standing in front of him was a man with a hammer in his hands.
“Is it you,” asks Roland, “who crushes stones and scares birds?”
- I, knight.
- Why are you doing this?
- I, knight, must demolish this mountain.
– What’s your name?
“Renca Mountain,” the Catalan answers.
“Come with me, Renka-gora, you will serve with me and not know grief, because I am Roland.”
Renka-gora was happy and went with Roland. They walk through the forest for a day, walk for two, and again hear a knock. It's like someone is cutting down a tree. They turned towards the knock and went out to a huge oak tree. Three people cannot grasp its trunk, but here one is swinging an ax and wants to fell the tree.
“Hello, hero,” says Roland. - Why are you cutting down this oak tree?
- People asked, knight.
- What’s your name, hero?
- Renka-oak.
- Come with me, Renka-oak, you won’t regret it. You will serve with me and you will forget your grief, because I am Roland.
Renka-oak was happy and went with Roland. There are now three of them.
They walked through the forest for a day, walked for two, and came to an old abandoned hut. They stopped for the night, and in the morning Roland and Renka Gora went hunting, and left Renka Gora at home to cook the stew. Renka-oak threw the meat into the pot, put some roots, and sits waiting for the food to be ready, when Roland returns from the hunt.
Suddenly Renka-oak hears a nasty voice from the pipe:
- Oh, oh, oh, I'm falling!
And sure enough, the devil rolled straight to the ground. He has everything as it should be, tufts of fur, horns, but he’s painfully dirty: he collected all the soot with his skin. The devil filled his pipe, took a drag and felt like he was spitting into a pot.
“Are you crazy,” Renka-oak shouts, “are you crazy?!” Who will eat this stew now? Well, go where you came from!
Renka-oak attacked the uninvited guest with his fists. I just didn’t understand how I ended up tied up on a straw mattress and covered in bruises and abrasions. That’s how Roland and Renka Gora found him.
Renka-oak told his friends everything, but you won’t be fed up with stories - your friends went to bed hungry that day.
The next morning, Ren-ka-gora stayed in the hut, and Roland and Renka-oak went hunting. They’ve been gone for an hour or two, and it’s almost noon, and the stew in the cauldron is boiling.
Suddenly, someone rustled and screeched in the pipe:
- Oh, oh, oh, I'm falling! – and plopped down on the ground. Yesterday's uninvited guest has not changed at all, only he has become even dirtier.
The devil filled a tube with tobacco, spat into the pot, and sat down on the ground.
“Oh, you horned beast,” cried Renka-gora, “now you’ll learn how to mock people!”
Renka-gora rushed at the devil, but he also ended up on the straw. Hands and feet are tied, covered in bruises and abrasions!
And then Roland and Renka-oak came.
He listened to the story of poor fellow Roland and said:
“Tomorrow I’ll cook dinner, and you go hunting.” You're of little use here.
As he said, so he did. Renka-oak and Renka-mountain went into the forest, and Roland sat in front of the fireplace, waiting for the devil. And sure enough, as soon as the stew began to boil, the chimney squealed, crackled, and the devil flopped to the ground. He spat into the pot, looked at Roland slyly and began to shake off the soot.
Then Roland, without hesitation, rushed at him and swung his club. And no matter how much the devil jumped, no matter how much he dodged, he could not defeat Roland. Apparently, he forgot about Rolandov’s club. It serves him right!
The devil went back into the chimney, abandoned that hut and left the Catalan Pyrenees. He's probably looking around the world for a bungler. But if you meet him, don't be scared. Tell a fairy tale about Roland, the Catalan knight, and his club - he’ll quickly remember everything... And is it possible to forget Roland? He was worth one hundred heroes, and where can you find a hundred such heroes to measure your strength with Roland?..
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru