One king had two wives - two queens. This was a long time ago; in those days, almost every king had two wives. The eldest, the one that the king loved less, was called Duo, and the younger, beloved, was Suo. And neither of them had children.
One day a holy man, a sannyasi, came to the palace gates for alms. Queen Suo brought him some rice, and the sanyasi asked if she had children. When he learned that the Almighty had not sent her either a son or a daughter, he did not accept alms from her. It is a well-known fact that the childless have an unlucky hand. For her kindness, the sanyasi decided to give her a magic potion - as soon as a woman takes it, she will soon become a mother. Oh, how happy Suo was! Then the sanyasi says to her:
“Here’s a ball for you, swallow it with the juice of pomegranate petals, and then you will have a son.” His face will be beautiful, tender, like a dalim - a pomegranate flower. You can call him Da-lim. But remember: your enemies will try to destroy the boy. So be careful. Do you see this pond? There is a big fish swimming there, in its belly there is a box, and in that box there is a necklace. This is the soul of your son. Take care of her. And now goodbye.
Sanyasi left and Suo returned to her half. Less than a month passed before a rumor spread that his younger wife was expecting a child. Well, the king was happy! Of course, it means that life has not been lived in vain; there will be someone to leave the kingdom to.
All rituals preceding childbirth were performed solemnly and magnificently. All the people rejoiced in anticipation of the heir. At the right time, Suo gave birth to a boy. The king almost lost his mind with joy.
It went month after month, ran year after year. Prince Dalim grew up and became more handsome and sweeter day by day. From morning to night his laughter and the tramp of his playful feet did not cease in the palace. More than anything else, Dalim loved to chase pigeons, and the pigeons often flew into the chambers of his eldest mother, Queen Duo. The first time the boy came for pigeons, Duo gave him the birds. When this happened another time, Duo thought, and one thought came to her mind. The fact is that Duo could not stand Prince Dalim: after all, since he was born, the king recognized only Suo, and forgot to think about his eldest wife. Duo heard that the holy man only told Dalim’s mother where her son’s soul was hidden, and no one else knew about it. So she decided, while the boy next to her was busy with the pigeons, to penetrate this secret, to find out through Dalim in what place his soul was kept.
The next day, pigeons flew into Duo’s chambers, she took them and hid them! The prince came, and she said to him:
If you tell me one secret, you will get pigeons; if you don’t tell me, you won’t get any.
- What's the secret, mother?
Yes, just a trifle. I want to know where your soul is.
- It’s a wonderful thing you’re asking me! But where should she be if not in my body?
- But no, son. The hermit told your mother that your soul is kept somewhere else. So I want to know where it is.
– I don’t know anything about this.
“Promise that you will find out from your mother, then I will return the pigeons.”
- Okay, I'll ask. Now give me my birds quickly.
- Just don’t spill the beans, okay? – Duo said and returned the pigeons to him.
Dalim Tsarevich was so happy that he immediately forgot the entire conversation down to the last word. The next day the doves again flew to Queen Duo and again Dalim came running after them. Duo asks if he found out the secret, but Dalim has nothing to answer. The prince begged and begged for a long time so that the eldest mother would not be angry with him and would return the pigeons to him. Finally he got them back and, as soon as he had played enough, he immediately ran to Queen Suo and asked:
- Mom, tell me, where is my soul?
Poor Suo froze with fear. Then she came to her senses and said:
“You are my dear child, my priceless diamond, my clear month, it’s better to forget about it.” Live a hundred years for the evil of your enemies, and for my joy, and never ask anything like that!
And the prince is not far behind: tell me where the soul is, and that’s all! Doesn't eat, doesn't sleep, doesn't look at anyone. Suo’s heart could not stand it, and in an evil hour she revealed her cherished secret to her son.
The next day, Duo already knew everything. Without wasting any time, she immediately figured out how to deal with the prince. To begin with, she ordered the maid to make her bed on dry reeds. Then she ordered to tell the king that she was completely ill. The king came to visit her. Duo saw him and tossed around on the bed, as if she was completely unbearable. Here the reed that was placed underneath began to crackle slowly. The king became alarmed and sent for a doctor. And the eldest wife had come to an agreement with that doctor even earlier. He examined Duo and said that she had a dangerous disease called bone crusher. For this disease, they say, there is only one cure, and it is located in the belly of the largest fish from the palace pond. They sent for the fishermen. They came and caught that fish. And Prince Dalim was playing on the shore of the pond just at that time. As soon as the fish were taken out of the pond, the boy immediately began to choke. The fish was taken to Queen Duo, and Prince Dalim to his mother’s chambers. Hearing that the prince was ill, the king also hurried there. The fish beats its tail under the knife, Dalim Tsarevich struggles in convulsions. The minute Duo took the box out of the fish’s belly, took the necklace out of it and put it around her neck, Dalim stopped breathing in his mother’s arms. The king plunged into the abyss of despair upon learning of the death of his son. Even the news that his eldest wife had completely recovered did not console him. Day and night the king cries, he grieves. He forgot about all his affairs, sat, pressed his son’s body to his chest and did not allow him to perform the funeral rites. He doesn’t want to believe that he no longer has a son - and that’s all! Friends and advisers began to think: what to do, what to do? Finally, they persuaded the king to allow him to transfer Dalim the prince to a secluded palace surrounded by a garden. There they began sending him dishes from the royal table, as if he were alive. The key to this palace was given to the prince’s friend - the son of the first adviser.
Queen Suo's happiness ended. Day and night she sheds tears and does not leave her chambers. And the king soon stopped visiting her altogether, and began spending his nights with his eldest wife. As soon as he came to her, Duo took off the necklace and hid it back in the box: who knows, what if the king sees the necklace and guesses everything!
Meanwhile, the prince’s friend began to visit that secluded palace. Just what a miracle? The prince died a long time ago, but his body is still like that of a living person - it does not rot, does not swell. This seemed strange to the young man. And he decided to keep watch at night, to check if there was any secret here. It really turned out to be a wonderful thing! At night, when Queen Duo took off the necklace and hid it, Prince Dalim came to life. He ate everything that was sent to him from the royal table, and then walked around the garden.
So a friend of the prince came into the garden at night and hid. But what is it? He sees a young man walking along the path - exactly like Dalim! At first he was scared and wondered if it was a ghost. Then he overcame his fear and came out to meet them. He sees that it is not a ghost, but the prince himself. Then he was happy and hugged him tightly. The friends talked for a long time that night, and Dalim told about how Duo had ruined him. From then on, they began to meet every night and think and wonder how to help the grief. However, they couldn't come up with anything. Only by the grace of the gods was Prince Dalim finally spared from his bitter fate.
And this is how it turned out. Long before all this happened, the sister of a wizard had a daughter. On the sixth day of the new moon, he calculated the girl’s fate from the stars. Then the mother began to ask him to reveal what was written in her daughter’s birthright. Then the wizard said:
“Your daughter will marry a dead man.”
Hearing such words, the mother almost lost her mind with grief. For a long time she persuaded her brother to promise her a different share. But the wizard said that fate cannot be changed. The mother cries and grieves, but cannot do anything. And the girl grows and becomes prettier. Her mother looks at her, and her heart bleeds: such a beauty, but she will have to betrothed to a dead man! And the days are passing, and it’s time to think about the wedding. Then the mother decided to somehow deceive fate and find shelter in foreign lands. They set off and began to wander from country to country. Can you really bypass fate?!
They walked and walked until they came to the fence of the garden where the prince’s palace stood. It was getting dark already. The girl has completely lost her strength from hunger and thirst and cannot go any further. Then the mother left her daughter at the entrance to the garden, and she went to look for water. The girl sat and sat, and she wanted to see what was behind the fence. She pushed the gate, it immediately swung open in front of her. The girl looks - there is a beautiful palace in front of her. She turned back to go out, and the gate slammed shut by itself. She can't get out of the garden. Meanwhile, night has fallen. Prince Dalim came to life and went for a walk in the garden. He sees someone standing there. He came closer and looked at a girl of unprecedented beauty. They met. Then the girl said that her uncle the wizard had predicted to her that her betrothed was dead, and that that was why she and her mother had left home and were wandering around the world. She also told about how she found herself locked in his garden.
“I am your betrothed,” Da-lim said after listening to her, “marry me.”
“What kind of dead man are you,” the girl answered, “when I’m talking to you now?”
“Come with me, and then you will understand everything,” said Prince Dalim and led her to the palace. There they began to eat, drink and speak kind words to each other.
Meanwhile, the girl’s mother returned with water, and lo and behold, her daughter was nowhere to be found. I went to the neighboring village and asked about her everywhere, but no one knew anything. After that, she left for good from those places to God knows where.
A little later the prince’s friend also came into the garden. At first he was surprised when he saw an unfamiliar girl. Then, when I found out everything, I decided that they needed to get engaged. It’s only night outside, where can you find a Brahman? Therefore, they performed the ritual according to the custom of the Gandharvas, exchanging flower garlands. Then the prince’s friend, leaving the young couple, returned home to his place.
Dalim the prince and his young wife talked all night long, and then fell asleep. In the morning the prince’s wife woke up, began to wake him up, looked, and he was lying dead. She almost went crazy with grief and fear. She scratched her chest, pulls out her hair, rushes around the garden, then sits next to the prince, never taking her eyes off him. But no matter how long and terrible the day is, it always comes to an end.
Darkness has fallen to the earth. Prince Dalim rose from his bed; it was as if he had been given a new life to his young wife. They laugh, sing, and have no end to their conversations. Then the prince’s friend came, and they had fun until the morning. And in the afternoon everything in the garden and in the palace became quiet again.
So the prince spent seven years between life and death. During that time, he had two sons. Beautiful boys, both like their father like two peas in a pod. Meanwhile, everyone in the palace believed that the prince had been dead for a long time. No one knew that he came to life at night; they thought that they had burned his body a long time ago.
So Dalima’s wife decided to see her mother-in-law and get a necklace from Queen Duo in order to free her husband. She secured Dalim's consent, dressed as befits a royal servant, put scissors, a nail file, a mirror, a comb, and foot paint into a bundle and went with the children to Queen Suo's chambers.
She immediately noticed the beautiful maid and affectionately called her to her. But when Dalim's wife wanted to paint her legs, Suo flatly refused; After her son’s death, she didn’t want to think about herself anymore. She did not take her eyes off the boys: how much they looked like Dalim! Suo caressed the children and asked to bring them to the palace more often.
From her, Dalima's wife went to Queen Duo. The queen looked at the children - and she also remembered Da-im. “But the prince died a long time ago,” she reassured herself and called the young maid. She sat down, took the nail file and bent over her feet. Duo liked her work, and the queen ordered her to come to the palace every day. And that’s all the Tsarevich’s wife needed.
One day her eldest son suddenly began to cry bitter tears. Queen Duo wanted to know what was the matter, and the servant replied that the boy wanted to play with the queen’s necklace. Oh, how Duo didn’t want to take off the necklace! What can you do when a boy cries and bursts into tears! The queen took off the necklace and handed it to the child. Dalim’s wife has finished her work, and it’s time to give the necklace back, but the boy screams, clutches it to his chest, and doesn’t want to give it back. Then Dalima’s wife threw herself at the queen’s feet and said:
- Do not destroy me, good lady! Do you see how the boy is killing himself? Let me take him home. There I will give him milk to drink, put him to sleep, and when he falls asleep, I will take the necklace and return it to you.
Queen Duo had to agree: the boy was making too much noise. Besides, since Prince Dalim died long ago, why should she be afraid? She allowed him to take the necklace, but ordered him to bring it back after a short time at any cost. Dalim's wife picked up her son in her arms and ran home. There she put the necklace into the hands of the prince, and then he came to life. How they all rejoiced that evening! We decided to go to the palace the next day to see our mother and father. And Dalima’s friend had already brought the good news there.
The next morning, rumors spread throughout the kingdom: Prince Dalim is alive! They sent an elephant in rich decoration for him, two horses for the children, and a palanquin with golden tassels for his wife, and they all went to the palace. And there they couldn’t believe it at first. And besides, where has it been seen that the dead are resurrected?! Well, when they believed it, they went crazy with joy. And what about Queen Duo? She trembled like a leaf in the wind.
And Dalim the prince is driving closer and closer, now you can hear music and cheerful singing, and now Dalim the prince with his wife and children approaches his father and mother and bows deeply. Dalim Tsarevich told the king how it all happened. The king was angry and immediately ordered to dig a deep hole, line it from the inside with thorns and throw the evil Queen Duo there. This is where the fairy tale ends.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru