In that ancient time, when the world of God was filled with goblins, witches and mermaids, when the rivers flowed milky, the banks were jelly, and fried partridges flew through the fields, at that time there lived a king named Pea with the queen Anastasia the Beautiful; they had three prince sons.
A considerable misfortune struck - the queen was dragged away by an unclean spirit. The big son says to the king:
“Father, bless me, I’ll go find my mother.”
He went and disappeared; for three years there was no word or word about him.
The second son began to ask:
- Father, bless me on my way, maybe I’ll be lucky enough to find both my brother and my mother.
The king blessed; he went and also disappeared without a trace - as if he had sunk into the water.
The youngest son Ivan Tsarevich comes to the king:
- Dear father, bless me on my way; Maybe I’ll find my brothers and mother.
- Go, son!
Ivan Tsarevich set off in a foreign direction; I drove and drove and came to the blue sea, stopped on the shore and thought: “Where should I go now?”
Suddenly thirty-three spoonbills flew to the sea, hit the ground and became red maidens - all were good, but one was better than all of them; undressed and jumped into the water.
Whether they bathed a lot or a little, Ivan Tsarevich crept up, took the sash from the girl who was the most beautiful of all, and hid it in his bosom.
The girls took a swim, went ashore, began to dress - one sash was missing.
“Oh, Ivan Tsarevich,” says the beauty, “give me my sash.”
- Tell me first, where is my mother?
- Your mother lives with my father - with Voron Voronovich. Go up the sea, you will come across a silver bird, a golden crest: where it flies, there you go too.
Ivan Tsarevich gave her the sash and walked up the sea; here he met his brothers, greeted them and took them with him.
They were walking along the shore together, they saw a silver bird with a golden crest, and they ran after it. The bird flew and flew and threw itself under an iron slab into an underground pit.
“Well, brothers,” says Ivan Tsarevich, bless me instead of your father, instead of your mother; I will descend into this pit and find out what the land of other faiths is like, whether our mother is there.
His brothers blessed him, he sat down on the rail, climbed into that deep hole and went down neither more nor less - exactly three years; went down and went along the road.
He walked and walked, walked and walked, and saw the kingdom of copper; Thirty-three spoonbill girls are sitting in the palace, embroidering towels with cunning patterns - towns and suburbs.
- Hello, Ivan Tsarevich! - says the princess of the copper kingdom. -Where are you going, where are you going?
“I’m going to look for my mother.”
- Your mother is with my father, with Voron Voronovich; he is cunning and wise, he flew over the mountains, over the valleys, over dens, over the clouds! He'll kill you, good fellow! Here's a little ball for you, go to my middle sister and see what she tells you. And when you go back, don’t forget me. Ivan Tsarevich rolled the ball and followed him. Comes to the silver kingdom; thirty-three spoonbill maidens are sitting there. The princess of the silver kingdom says:
“Until now, the Russian spirit was unseen and unheard of, but now the Russian spirit is manifesting itself with your own eyes!” What, Ivan Tsarevich, are you torturing the department or are you torturing the case?
- Oh, red maiden, I’m going to look for my mother.
- Your mother is with my father, with Voron Voronovich; and he is cunning and wise, he flew over the mountains, over the valleys, through dens, and rushed through the clouds! Eh, prince, he will kill you! Here's a ball for you, go to my little sister - what will she tell you: should you go forward, should you go back?
Ivan Tsarevich comes to the golden kingdom; Thirty-three spoonbill girls are sitting there, embroidering towels. Above all, better than all, the princess of the golden kingdom is such a beauty that you can’t even say it in a fairy tale or write it with a pen. She says:
- Hello, Ivan Tsarevich! Where are you going, where are you going?
“I’m going to look for my mother.”
- Your mother is with my father, with Voron Voronovich; He was both cunning and wise, he flew over the mountains, over the valleys, through dens, and rushed through the clouds. Eh, prince, he will kill you! You are wearing a ball, go to the kingdom of pearls: your mother lives there. Seeing you, she will rejoice and immediately order: nannies, mothers, give my son green wine. Don't take it; ask her to give you the three-year-old wine that’s in the cupboard, and a burnt rind for a snack. Don’t forget: my father has two vats of water in the yard - one is strong water, and the other is weak; rearrange them from place to place and drink strong water.
The prince and the princess talked for a long time and fell in love with each other so much that they did not want to part; but there was nothing to do - Ivan Tsarevich said goodbye and set off on his way.
He walked and walked and came to the pearl kingdom. His mother saw him, was delighted and shouted:
- Nurses! Give my son some green wine.
“I don’t drink plain wine, give me a three-year-old wine, and a burnt rind for a snack.”
He drank three-year-old wine, ate the burnt rind, went out into the wide courtyard, moved the vats from place to place and began to drink strong water.
Suddenly Voron Voronovich flies in; he was as bright as a clear day, but when he saw Ivan Tsarevich, he became darker than the dark night; he sank down to the vat and began to draw powerless water.
Meanwhile, Ivan Tsarevich fell on his wings; Raven Voronovich soared high, high, carried him through the valleys, and over the mountains, and over dens, and clouds, and began to ask:
- What do you need, Ivan Tsarevich? Do you want me to give you the treasury?
“I don’t need anything, just give me a feather staff.”
- No, Ivan Tsarevich! It hurts to sit in the wide sleigh. And again the Raven carried him over the mountains and through the valleys, over dens and clouds. Ivan Tsarevich holds on tightly; leaned on him with all his weight and almost broke off his wings. Then Voron Voronovich cried out:
- Don’t break my wings, take the feather staff!
He gave the prince a feather staff; He himself became a simple raven and flew to the steep mountains.
And Ivan Tsarevich came to the pearl kingdom, took his mother and went back; looks - the pearl kingdom curled up into a ball and rolled after him.
He came to the golden kingdom, then to the silver one, and then to the copper one, took three beautiful princesses with him, and those kingdoms curled up into balls and rolled after them. He walked up to the relays and blew the golden trumpet.
- Dear brothers! If you're alive, don't give me away.
The brothers heard the trumpet, grabbed the relays and pulled out into the white world the soul of the red maiden, the princess of the copper kingdom; They saw her and began to quarrel among themselves: one did not want to give her up to the other.
- Why are you fighting, good fellows! There is a red maiden there even better than me.
The princes lowered the reels and pulled out the princess of the silver kingdom. They started arguing and fighting again; he says:
- Let me have it! And the other:
- I don’t want to! Let it be mine!
- Don’t quarrel, good fellows, there is a girl there who is more beautiful than me.
The princes stopped fighting, lowered the reels and pulled out the princess of the golden kingdom. They started to quarrel again, but the beautiful princess immediately stopped them:
- Your mother is waiting there!
They pulled out their mother and lowered the reels behind Ivan Tsarevich;
They raised it halfway and cut the ropes. Ivan Tsarevich flew into the abyss, was badly hurt and lay unconscious for six months; Having woken up, he looked around, remembered everything that had happened to him, took a feather staff out of his pocket and hit it on the ground. At that very moment twelve young men appeared.
- What, Ivan Tsarevich, do you order?
- Take me out into the open world.
The fellows grabbed him by the arms and carried him out into the open world. Ivan Tsarevich began to investigate about his brothers and learned that they had been married a long time ago: the princess from the copper kingdom married the middle brother, the princess from the silver kingdom married the elder brother, and his intended bride was not marrying anyone. And the old father himself decided to marry her; convened a council, accused his wife of consulting with evil spirits and ordered her head to be cut off; After the execution, he asks the princess from the golden kingdom:
- Are you going to marry me?
“Then I’ll marry you when you make me shoes without measurements.” The king ordered the cry to be called, to ask each and every one: he won’t sew
Does anyone give the princess shoes without measurements?
At that time, Ivan Tsarevich came to his state and hired
one old man as a worker and sends him to the king:
- Go, grandfather, take over this matter. I'll sew you shoes, but don't tell on me. The old man went to the king:
“I’m ready to take on this work.”
The king gave him enough goods for a pair of shoes and asked:
- Will you please, old man?
“Don’t be afraid, sir, I have a son, a Chebotar.”
Returning home, the old man gave the goods to Ivan Tsarevich; he cut the goods into pieces, threw them out the window, then dissolved the golden kingdom and took out the finished shoes:
“Here, grandfather, take it and take it to the king.” The king was delighted and pestered the bride:
- Is it time to go to the crown? She answers:
“Then I’ll marry you when you make me a dress without measurements.” The king is busy again, gathering all the artisans to his place, giving them a lot of money, just so that they can sew a dress without measurements. Ivan Tsarevich says to the old man:
“Grandfather, go to the king, take the cloth, I’ll sew you a dress, just don’t tell on me.”
The old man trudged to the palace, took the atlases and velvets, returned home and gave them to the prince. Ivan Tsarevich immediately grabbed the scissors, cut all the satins and velvets into shreds and threw them out the window; dissolved the golden kingdom, took from there the best dress and gave it to the old man:
- Take it to the palace! Tsar Radekhonek:
- Well, my beloved bride, isn’t it time for us to go to the crown? The princess answers:
“Then I’ll marry you when you take the old man’s son and tell him to boil it in milk.”
The king did not hesitate, gave the order - and that same day they collected a bucket of milk from every yard, poured it into a large vat and boiled it over high heat.
They brought Ivan Tsarevich; He began to say goodbye to everyone and bow to the ground; they threw him into the vat: he dived once, dived again, jumped out - and became so handsome that he could not be told in a fairy tale or written down with a pen. The princess says:
- Look, king! Who should I marry: you, the old man, or him, the good fellow?
The king thought: “If I bathe in milk, I will become just as handsome!”
He threw himself into the vat and boiled in milk.
And Ivan Tsarevich went with the princess from the golden kingdom to get married; got married and began to live and live well, making good things.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru