Once upon a time there lived a poor man and he had three sons. Consider the two older ones to be smart, but the younger one is a fool. That's what they called him - the pentyukh. Time passed, the sons grew up. One morning their father calls them and says:
“You can see for yourself, sons, that I’m trying my best, if we continue to sit, we’ll never get out of poverty.” You have already grown up. Get ready and go around the world to look for your share!
The brothers go, they go wherever their eyes lead. We have come to a crossroads. From here three roads diverge. The brothers look at each other and decide:
- What are we going to do?
They didn't hold the council for long. The two elders decided to follow straight roads, and the younger one was ordered:
- And you go along the hunchbacked one, she is the most suitable for you, panty.
There is nothing to do. Our fool set off through holes and ruts. The further he goes, the deeper into the dark forest he climbs. He wandered around for a long time until, finally, exhausted, he got out into the clearing. He sees that there, in the very middle, three trees stand side by side.
The trunks have three girths, the branches stick out in all directions. And his soul felt so strange and sad! I have never seen such trees in my life, I have never seen such trees anywhere in the forest! “Well, okay,” he waved his hand, “it’s good that you’re at least out of the forest, you can now take a break.
He sits under the marvelous trees in the shade, looking around. He sees stones piled up in the distance. I began to look better and found a hole in the stones.
He came closer, bent down so as not to hurt his head, and climbed into the cave. Fear takes hold of him, trembles like an aspen leaf, but does not stop, it goes on. And with every step the passage becomes wider, more spacious and brighter. The guy’s heart was relieved, he was completely brave and walked firmly. Suddenly - stop! “In front of him is a glass door, behind the door is a room, in the middle of the room is a table, on the table is one device, and on the side is an open bed. And our guy, I must say, got hungry, without thinking twice, he sat down at the table and ate to his fill. Suddenly a door opens in the wall, a beautiful girl enters the room and says:
- Welcome, Yanko. I've been waiting for you for a long time!
Yanko was surprised that they called him by name, he didn’t know what to answer, but he rejoiced at the warm welcome. And the beautiful girl invites him to rest.
Yanko did not take long to ask, lay down in a soft bed and slept until white morning.
In the morning Yanko woke up, and bread and lard were already waiting for him on the table. Then the girl enters the room again and says:
- Yanko, I beg you, cut down those three trees that grow in the meadow! You just have to finish this job in three months! Do this for me, and I will repay you with kindness!
“I’ll do it if you absolutely need it,” answered Yanko, and got to work.
He hit once with an ax, hit twice - and the ax seemed to bounce off a stone, but Yanko did not back down. Here the work became easier. The beautiful girl comes to see him and brings him lunch.
A month passed, Yanko felled one tree, and at the same moment a third of the rock collapsed; another month passed - the second tree collapsed, followed by another third of the rock; in the third month the third tree fell, and with it all the stones disappeared.
He rested a little, and the beautiful girl, well, ask him to cut down those trees, chop the firewood, and then put the logs in a pile and set them on fire.
A fire broke out, the flames shot high into the sky, all kinds of evil spirits climbed onto the fire from all sides, but the girl managed to put the whip into Yanko’s hands. Yanko began to attack the evil spirits with a whip; whoever he hit, he himself would jump into the fire.
Yanko toiled for seven days and seven nights, and when the fire went out, he fell to the ground and fell into a dead sleep.
It is unknown how long our fellow slept. And he woke up in a rich little room, everything on him was clean and rich. Yanko was surprised, jumped out of bed, looked in the mirror, and was frightened to not recognize himself.
Then a servant enters the room and bows and asks:
-What do you order, your royal highness?
Yanko's eyes widened, he couldn't understand what had happened to him? And the servant bowed and left. Soon the second one entered, followed by the third, and they began to put an elegant dress on Yanko.
Suddenly the doors open and thirteen girls, all in white clothes, float into the chambers. They begin to thank him, call him a liberator, and ask him to choose one of them as his wife. Yanko thought for a long time about which one to take? Everyone is good, one is better than the other! And then I decided:
“If I have to choose one of you,” he says, “I take the one that helped me in all matters.”
“If you recognize her, take her,” all thirteen sang in unison.
And his betrothed stood in the very middle. Yanko pointed at her, and she threw herself on his neck. The others knelt and thanked him again for freeing them, and all twelve left.
Yanko was left alone with his chosen one. She told him everything about herself: where the palace came from, and that three trees on the lawn and stones were her kingdom. Yanko freed him from evil spells. Now he will become a king, and she will become a queen, because she will marry him.
But this is not the end!
The beauty understood that Yanko, the poor father's son, was not going to be king, and she ordered to call wise men from all over the country to teach Yanko all the royal wisdom.
Janko soon became a good king and lived very well. But time passed and he wanted to see his family.
He called to the army, the soldiers were walking in front, the soldiers were walking behind, and they and the queen in the middle were riding in a rich carriage. They began to approach their home, Yanko saw, the men were driving the cattle. Yanko recognized his brothers among them; He got out of the carriage, pulled on the old dress he had worn when leaving home, and rushed to his brothers.
- Bah, bah, look at our little guy! Where did you get this from? - his brothers mock him.
– It’s important that I’m here! - Yanko the King answers, grabs a whip from one of his hands and starts cracking. Then the royal carriage rushed in, followed by an army: everyone fled in fear, and Yanko quickly got into the carriage.
The army settled in the village, and Yanko went to his parents’ house. The parents are busy with joy, they don’t know where to put the king, how to serve the king. Yanko began to talk to them, asking about their sons. The poor mother is in tears and tells him that they had Yanko, their youngest son, he left home a long time ago and never returned, but she loved him more than all her sons, he was, they say, the most obedient.
“Don’t cry, good woman,” the king tells her, “your son will return to you!” - and he gives me money so that I can cook dinner.
Now the fire is crackling in the hearth, the old people are preparing a festive treat, frying meat. Meanwhile, the king went out somewhere. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Yanko appears!
The mother, in her joy, doesn’t know what to grab onto; she completely forgot about dinner!
And Yanko complains that he is cold, asks his mother for permission to spin the spit with the pig over the fire and warm up by the fireplace.
“Okay, my son,” the mother answers, “but just be careful, and I’ll be right back.”
And Yanko grabbed a knife and cut off the pig’s leg. The mother returned, saw Yanko snacking on pig meat, got angry, and began to scold her son:
- That’s true, let the goat into the cabbage! - She scolded me, hit me with cuffs, and kicked me out.
But now dinner is ready, the king sits down at the table, and does not disdain peasant food.
After dinner they put the king and queen to bed, and the two older brothers on the bench. The king went out somewhere, and then Yanko appeared. His brothers grumble at him, he’s late, they say, he even missed the king.
“Climb,” they say, “on the bed and sleep!”
Yanko tosses and turns from side to side, will not calm down, and then suddenly gets up and climbs into bed with the queen. He complains that he can’t sleep on the bed. The brothers jumped off the bench and kicked Yanko back to the stove. And he climbed into bed again. Again his brothers caressed him with their fists! But for the third time Yanko got angry, threw his brothers aside and climbed into the royal bed.
The brothers jumped up, calling their parents! They lit the candles and began to drag Yanko out of bed. And Yanko opens his coarse shirt on his chest, everyone looks and gasps - under the simple shirt the royal star is burning!
His brothers fell at his feet and asked for forgiveness.
Yanko doesn’t even get angry, “I,” he says, “wanted to joke!”
The next day, the Yanko king and queen got into the carriage, took their parents and brothers with them and rode off to their castle.
They began to live together in peace and harmony, and now they live if they have not yet died.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru