Whether it happened or not, there lived one poor man. The poor man has nothing - no house, no yard. What to do? He went into the forest, wove himself a hut from branches and settled in it. He will gather a bundle of dry branches, take it to the city, sell it, buy bread, and live on it.
So one day he went to the city, carried firewood, sold it, bought bread, and went. He put the bread in his bosom, was freezing, shivering, and trudged to his hut. And the road went past the royal palace. The king's daughter saw him and said to her father: - Look, father, the devil is coming! “What kind of a man is this - and how black and ragged,” says the daughter, “damn it, damn it!” Father and daughter argued. The father got angry and shouted: “Go marry him now, if that’s the case, but if not, I’ll take your head off right away.” She was scared. Still, I decided that rather than die, it was better to marry a poor man. She tied some good stuff into a bundle, ran after it, calling: “Wait, man.”
The poor man turned around, did not believe that it was such a beauty calling him, he walked on and did not look back. The poor man entered his hut, and she followed him in. The poor man asks: “Why did you come here?” ‘ She said: “Because you should marry me.” The poor man was frightened - why do I need such a wife, how am I going to feed her - and said: - You see how I live: I’ll sell brushwood and buy a crust of bread, but what should I feed you?
And she: “Don’t be afraid, I will feed you and myself.” Then she said: “Here I have a home-woven scarf, it costs five hundred rubles, the price is woven on it.” Take this scarf, take it to the fair, if anyone catches it, say: the price is woven on it; sell it and bring the money. The poor man took the handkerchief and took it to the fair. One merchant asked the price for a scarf. The poor man says: “It’s worth the price.” The merchant liked the scarf. “Come on, I’ll count the money at home,” he says.
He took the poor man home, counted out five hundred rubles, fed him some more and let him go. The poor man brought the money home.
The wife wove another scarf and wrote the same price on it, gave it to her husband and said: “Take this one to the market too.”
He went and carried it. He wears, wears, and never sells the scarf. One man asked the price for a scarf and said: “I don’t have money, but if you want, I’ll tell you three words for it.” “No,” says the poor man, “I don’t sell for words,” he took and brought this scarf home. The wife asks: “Nobody traded?” “No, I traded one for three words, but I didn’t give it back,” says the husband. The wife got angry: “Go now, find that man and give him the handkerchief for those three words.” He went to the fair again. He searches and searches for that person, finds him and says: “I’ll give you the handkerchief for three words.” “Let’s go,” he said. He took him home and said: “First, don’t say anything without thinking, but think and then say it.” Secondly, they will tell you something about someone, no matter what they say, at least that he wants to kill you, don’t rush to run and kill that person, but find out beforehand whether it’s true. Third, you’ll be by the river, a man will come up to you and ask if there’s a ford here, and you’ll shrug it off and say “there is,” and he’ll go and drown; this is not good, but you have to say - I don’t know, brother, check it yourself. Here are my three words. Then I gave the poor man a gift and let him go.
The poor man came home and told his wife those words. The wife said: “Look, remember everything well, it will come in handy.” Now it would be good for you to go somewhere to work. If you earn money, you will bring it, we will buy a harness of bulls and we will live.
The poor man has gone, he is going to the city. He meets three merchants on the way. “Hello,” the merchants say. “Hello,” the poor man replies. “Won’t you join us as farm laborers?” “Why not come, I’ll go.” “How much should I pay you a year?” “Sixty rubles.” The merchants gave him money for a year in advance. “Here you go, send it home.”
The poor man took the money and sent it home with his fellow countryman, and he himself went after the merchants. They walked like this for three days and three nights and did not find water anywhere. We went out onto one mountain path, only behind the mountain in the gorge was water. The merchants gave their farmhand a jug and said: “There is water in the gorge, bring it.”
They sent him to his death; for this one jug of water a poor man must die. He approached the water and saw a handsome knight standing, fully armed, playing with a frog, having fun. This knight saw the poor man and said:
- Well, brother, tell me, who is more beautiful - me or this frog? And the frog is jumping on his shoulder, playing. The poor man wanted to say right away that it was on his tongue, but he remembered the advice - not to speak without thinking, and became thoughtful, even retreating three steps. I thought and got scared - what if the knight doesn’t like me, I’ll say that he’s more beautiful than that frog, and he’ll kill me! No, there’s probably something here. And he hurries: “Tell me, why are you silent?” The poor man thought - no, it’s better to say that the frog is more beautiful, and he says: “The frog is more beautiful!”
That's exactly what the knight needed. As soon as the poor man said that the frog was more beautiful, the frog’s skin burst and out of that skin came a beauty of unprecedented beauty under the sun. The handsome knight was delighted, kissed the poor man, and hugged him.
“How many people have I destroyed near this water in order to receive such an answer and free the enchanted beauty from the spell!” Now go tell everyone: the water is free, I’m leaving here. The knight gave him three wonderful garnets and a woman’s golden belt as a parting gift and said: “Take these garnets, they will be useful to you, and if you have a wife, let him put the belt on himself, and she will have a golden-haired son.”
He said goodbye to the poor man and left with his beauty. The poor man took it, wrapped those grenades and a gold belt in rags and sent with his fellow countryman to his wife, he himself collected water and carried it to the merchants. The merchants were surprised that he returned alive and asked: “Was anyone there near the water or not?” “He was there and left,” said the poor man, “now the water is free.” Everyone hugs the poor man and marvels: “What did you say to him that made him open the water?” How many years have we been suffering without water? And the fellow countryman took all the wealth wrapped in rags to the poor man’s wife. The wife unwrapped one pomegranate - and from only half of it grew a beautiful city with palaces and gardens.
She sent herds of horses, flocks of sheep and herds of buffalo into the field, and hired shepherds. He lives, waits for his husband. And the poor man has served his year. The merchants gave him more money for his good service and let him go. They no longer needed a servant: the water was free, and it was because of that water that they hired farm laborers.
The poor man went home, looking for his wicker hut. He walked and saw buffalo herds grazing. He asks the shepherds: “Whose flocks are these?” The shepherds told him his name.
He was offended, even angry, he thought they were laughing at him, but he didn’t say anything, he went on. He met an expensive flock of sheep, asked whose they were, and then they also called his name. He came to the forest, looked - his wicker hut was no longer there, and in its place - a huge palace. The poor man thought. Then he entered the yard. “Where does such and such a woman live?” - asks about his wife. - Our lady? There, on the hill, in the palace, they tell him. The poor man marvels and does not understand anything.
Servants poured out from all sides, asking what he needed, whether he was looking for work, whether he would like to become a farm laborer? “Yes,” he said, “I’ll go.” Everyone started talking and making noise. Some say: “We don’t need him.” Others: “We need it.” And one old goose-keeper says: “I’ll take his geese to guard.” They hired him.
A month passed like this. This poor man works, herds geese. So one day he says to the old man. “I want to see the lady.” “I don’t dare go to her,” says the old man, “but should I send the girl?” They sent a girl and said: “Tell the lady, there is a man here who has been working for us for a month, he wants to see her.” The girl went and reported.
The lady came out onto the balcony, thinking maybe it was my husband who had returned, and told the servants to bring him to her. He was walking, thinking that something would happen.
She saw him from above, recognized him, and ordered the servants: “Take him in your arms and bring him so that his foot does not set foot on the ground.” The servants ran, picked him up in their arms, shouted toast, and they themselves pinched him, getting angry - why is this a simple goose keeper given such honor?
They put him in front of the mistress. She dismissed all the servants, dressed him, dressed him up. Then she took him by the arm and walked with him. The servants got scared when they found out that it was the owner, they thought he would drive us all away. But he is not angry and does not persecute anyone. He went and looked around the rooms.
He sees a cradle with a golden-haired boy in the same room. He got angry, grabbed the dagger, wanted to run to kill his wife, but remembered the words of that man - think before going to kill. I thought and remembered how I sent her a golden belt and what that knight said. I remembered and realized that, apparently, from that belt, the golden-haired boy was born to my wife. The wife came and said: “You earned all this: remember how you sent me three garnets and a golden belt.” This whole city and palace - I built all this only from half of that wonderful pomegranate. And two and a half grenades are still intact: they are so expensive that no one can exchange them. He was delighted. They live so cheerfully and happily. The wife said: “Invite my father.” “Okay,” said the husband. . ,, They brought a white horse out of the herd, saddled it with a silver saddle and put on all the silver harness, dressed the servant in a white Circassian coat and sent it to invite the Tsar-Father to visit, ordered the servant: “Don’t tell anyone on the way, and don’t tell the Tsar himself that you are our servant, but just say - your son-in-law asked me to invite you to visit him.”
A servant came to the king and said: “Your son-in-law asks you to visit him.” Only the king laughed and said to the servant: “Aren’t you ashamed, such a fine fellow, to convey the order of this unfortunate beggar?” As soon as he had the courage to invite me, the Tsar, to visit?!
The servant went back and told how the king had received him. The next day they took a red horse from the herd, saddled it with a golden saddle, dressed the servant in a golden dress and sent it to the king. A servant arrived and said to the king: “Great king!” Your son-in-law asks you to come visit him. The queen said to the king: “Let’s go, take our servants, food, call him to the field, give him money, he’s still our son-in-law.” The servant went and reported to the owners: “So and so, the king is coming with his food.” The king rides, sees flocks of sheep, asks: “Whose are these?” They told him the name of his son-in-law. He rode further and saw herds of horses grazing. He asks: “Whose herds are these?” And again they called him his son-in-law.
The king looked at the herds, ordered to throw away all the food that they had taken for the journey, returned all the servants, and said: “Apparently, my son-in-law has become rich, it’s a shame to come to him with your food and servants.” He arrived and saw a wonderful city, and in the middle of the city there was a palace, his daughter and her husband were walking on the balcony. The king and queen went upstairs, hugged their daughter and son-in-law, and kissed them. The daughter said: “Why didn’t you come to us - did you think it was shameful?” They entered the hall. The table was filled with dishes, such as the king had never seen. After dinner, the daughter said to her father: “Change money for us.” She brought out two and a half pomegranates and said: “Here, if you can, exchange them.”
The tsar somehow exchanged two grenades, but he couldn’t manage to exchange half of them because the tsar didn’t have enough money. The king blessed his son-in-law, hung his chain on him and made him reign.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru