Once upon a time there lived a king. He had a wife whom he loved very much. They lived happily, and there would be no one happier in the world if they had the joy of having a child. But year after year passed, and they still had no children.
And then one day a beggar fakir came into the palace.
“Don’t be sad, madam,” he said to the queen. “I will help your grief.” Here's a handful of barley grains for you. Eat them and you will have a handsome son.
The queen listened to the fakir, ate the barley grains and gave birth to a son in due time. He was such a handsome man that no one had ever seen. They named him Sherdil, which means a brave man with a lion's heart, and he grew up so strong and brave, as if he really was a young lion.
When Prince Sherdil grew up, he wanted to go to distant lands of people to see and show himself. It was a pity for the king to let his only son go to a foreign land. He tried in every possible way to convince the prince to stay, but no amount of persuasion helped. The Tsar had to agree. Tsarevich Sherdil, together with his Friends - a blacksmith, a carpenter and a grinder - set off on a long journey.
They drove and drove and ended up near some city. From a distance it was clear that the city was beautiful and rich. Palaces and towers rose high, golden domes and roofs glittered in the sun. The prince and his friends entered the city and saw clean and wide streets with tall houses. Shops are open everywhere and full of expensive goods. And with all this splendor, not a single person is visible anywhere! Sherdil and his comrades looked around in surprise.
- Brothers, I know where we are! – the grinder suddenly exclaimed. “I remember when I was still little, they told me about the enchanted city.” This is him. A powerful and evil wizard-diva rules here. All residents run away from here. Anyone who comes here is in danger of great trouble. We need to leave immediately!
- No! - Tsarevich Sherdil said firmly. “Until we eat, we won’t leave.” I'm very hungry, and you probably are too.
They looked into the shops, took themselves what they needed for lunch and left the money for what they took - after all, there was no one in the shops. In the city square they saw the royal palace and entered it.
“Go, brother grinder, to the kitchen,” said Tsarevich Sherdil. “Today it’s your turn to cook dinner.” Get to cooking quickly. In the meantime, we'll wander around the city. We'll be back by lunchtime.
The prince left with two friends, and the grinder found the kitchen and began to prepare dinner. Soon a flame blazed in the hearth, and the aroma from the pots and pans on the fire spread throughout the palace. When dinner was ready, a tiny ugly dwarf, dressed like a warrior, with a bow and saber in his hands, suddenly rode up to the grinder on a rat. The rat was wearing harness, like a war horse, and the saddle was trimmed with gold. The dwarf waved his tiny saber and squealed angrily:
- Hey, you! Give me my food now!
-What kind of food did you want? What are you talking about? - asked the grinder.
The dwarf heard this answer, became even more angry and shouted in a thin voice:
- Hey, stupid! If you do not submit to me, I will instantly throw you up that tree over there!
- Look, hero! – the grinder grinned. “Come on, come closer!” I'll crush you like a bug with one click! You will know how to talk to strangers.
At the same instant, the dwarf suddenly turned into a huge giant. The grinder realized that it was a diva, the owner of the palace, fell at his feet and began to ask for mercy. But the diva did not want to listen to anything. He grabbed the grinder and threw it at the nearest tree. Fortunately, the grinder caught on a branch at the very top and hung there.
Div instantly ate the entire lunch prepared by the grinder, and, before leaving, said:
- So I will teach a lesson to anyone who dares to take even a crumb of food from me!
When the terrible diva left, the grinder tried to free himself. He twitched and swayed until he fell off the branch, and, counting all the branches with his back, fell to the ground with a roar. When he fell, the grinder was badly hurt, and from fear of the giant he could not stop trembling. “One meeting with the diva is enough for me,” he decided and did not begin cooking anymore. He ran into the farthest room, saw a bed there and hid under a thick cotton blanket. Meanwhile, Prince Sherdil returned to the palace with two other comrades.
- Where are you, brother grinder? - he shouted at the door. - Bring lunch quickly!
The grinder, without getting out from under the blanket, moaned pitifully:
- Oh, I feel bad, prince! My dinner was completely ready, but suddenly I was seized with a fever. I still can't stop shaking. And while I was lying there, a dog ran into the kitchen and ate all the lunch.
- Well, nothing can be done. Lie down and get better. You, blacksmith friend, will have to prepare dinner. Prepare something from what's left. And the carpenter and I will still take a walk around the city.
The blacksmith went to the kitchen. But the div dealt with him in the same way as with the grinder. The frightened blacksmith also hid under the blanket. When Prince Sherdil and the carpenter returned, there was no lunch again.
It was the carpenter’s turn, but the same thing happened to him as to the grinder and the blacksmith. Sherdil came and saw: there was no dinner, and all his friends were lying sick.
There was nothing to do, Prince Sherdil had to take up the cooking himself. When dinner was ready, a dwarf on a rat appeared in front of the prince and squealed:
- Give me lunch!
- O most honorable warrior! – Sherdil answered mockingly. – Who do I have the honor of speaking to? I have never met such a handsome man before! I am happy to admire your incomparable person!
The dwarf became furious.
– Do you hear what I order you? - he shouted. “Give me dinner now!”
Prince Sherdil laughed:
- Shall I give you lunch? I didn't prepare it for you. However, if you want, let's measure our strength. Whoever wins gets lunch.
At that same moment the dwarf turned into a huge giant. But Prince Sherdil was not afraid.
- So this is what you can become! - he said with a smile. - Well then! Any thing can be both small and large. But you must always be honest. If you really know how to change your appearance at will, become like me. Then we will fight as equals and decide with justice which of us is stronger.
Div agreed that the prince was reasoning correctly, and immediately became the size of an ordinary man. The fight was short-lived. Tsarevich Sherdil contrived and cut the diva in two with a blow of his saber.
Seeing that the div was dead, Sherdil went to look for his comrades. He pulled the blankets off them and laughed:
- Come on, heroes, get out! Now I know what kind of fever has attacked you! Come look at how I dealt with her! She won't torment you anymore. Get out of bed!
Prince Sherdil did not want to stay in this city any longer. He sent the carpenter to announce to all the inhabitants about the death of the evil diva and that they could return home without fear if they recognized the grinder as their king and gave him the most beautiful girl as his wife. The townspeople accepted this condition and returned to their homes.
The new king, a grinder, began to ask Prince Sherdil to take him with him. But Sherdil said:
- No, stay here and rule your city. We'll get by without you. Here, take this barley grain. Plant it in the ground, water it, and when a green shoot grows, take good care of it. As long as it's green, don't worry about me. But if suddenly it begins to turn yellow and wither, it means that I am in danger of misfortune. Then, without delay, rush to my aid.
The grinder took the barley grain and stayed in the city, and Prince Sherdil with two friends - a carpenter and a blacksmith - went further.
They walked and walked and ended up in another abandoned city. All the inhabitants were driven out of there by an ugly, terrible witch. The witch saw the beautiful prince and wanted him to love her. To do this, she turned into a beautiful girl and appeared to him. However, Sherdil immediately noticed the beauty’s feet turned backwards and guessed that in front of him was a witch. He drew his saber and said:
“Come on, devil’s spawn, take your real form!” I can’t raise my hand to take a swing at a beautiful girl.
The witch realized that she had failed to lure the prince, let out an angry cry and again became an ugly old woman. Then Sherdil finished her off with one blow of his saber.
In this city, Prince Sherdil appointed his friend the blacksmith to reign and, when the residents returned, he chose the most beautiful girl as his wife.
Before leaving, the prince gave the blacksmith a barley grain and ordered him to plant it and take good care of it.
“If the barley shoot begins to wither, rush to my aid with your army,” he ordered.
Now Prince Sherdil set off on a journey with the carpenter. It so happened that in one kingdom a carpenter saw a princess as beautiful as the moon. He fell in love with her at first sight and wanted to marry her at all costs. Tsarevich Sherdil helped his friend arrange his happiness. And after the carpenter’s wedding, he went on alone. At parting, the prince gave the carpenter the same grain as his two other friends.
The prince walked and walked and came to the river. He sat down on the shore to rest and suddenly saw a strange red flower floating with the flow. The prince fell in love with him. Meanwhile, after the first flower, another appeared, followed by a third, then a fourth, and so one after another, in a long line, these unprecedented flowers quietly floated downstream.
Prince Sherdil sees such a miracle and thinks: “We must definitely find out who throws such strange flowers into the water.”
He went up the river. After two days and two nights, he saw a huge palace, all made of marble. On the very bank of the river, a tree bent over the water, and on its branch hung a golden basket. Prince Sherdil came closer and saw: the head of a golden-haired beauty was lying in a basket. Blood oozes from the severed neck and falls into the water in large drops. Upon touching the water, each drop turns into a large red flower.
Sherdil became sad and tears welled up in his eyes. He wanted to know whose head it was and who put it in the golden basket.
He entered the marble palace, began to examine all the halls and rooms, but nowhere did he find a single living soul. He finally reached the bedchamber and there, on a soft silk bed, he saw the headless body of a young girl. He guessed that it was her head lying in the golden basket, and hurried back to the tree. He brought the beauty's head and just put it to her body when the girl came to life and stood up. Sherdil was surprised by such a miracle and asked the girl to tell who she was and what happened to her.
“I am the daughter of the king of a distant country,” the girl said. “And this palace is owned by an evil genie.” One day he saw me, fell in love and took me here. Every morning he leaves and returns late in the evening. He is very afraid that I will run away, and therefore in the morning before leaving he cuts off my head and leaves me lying there headless all day.
The prince felt sorry for the girl. He began to persuade her to run away with him.
“No, it’s not easy to escape from here,” she answered. “The genie will chase us, and then we’ll be in trouble.” As long as he's alive, I won't be able to leave here.
“Okay,” said Sherdil, “I’ll kill him.” Just ask the genie tonight where his soul is hidden.
Evening was approaching. The genie was due to return soon. Sherdil took a saber, approached the princess, gathered his courage, closed his eyes and cut off her head. He hung the basket with his head in its original place, and hid in the room next to the bedchamber.
Soon the genie returned. He put the princess’s head to the body and, when the princess came to life, he growled angrily:
- Ugh! ugh! Who came here without me? It smells like the human spirit here!
The princess cried:
- How should I know? After all, every morning before you leave, you cut off my head. They’ll kill you somewhere in distant lands, and I won’t even know about it.
- Oh, you stupid! – the genie got angry. “Don’t you know that no one is afraid of me?” Only one person can kill me - Prince Sherdil, and even then only when he finds out where my soul is hidden. But he can't find her. Far, far away from here, if you walk all the time towards sunset, there is a tree in the desert. He is guarded by a hungry horse and a hungry dog. There is an armful of grass in front of the dog, and a pile of bones in front of the horse. You must be able to walk past the horse and dog and climb the tree. There hangs a golden cage with a starling. If you kill a starling, a bee will fly out of it. This is my soul. If a bee dies, I'm finished.
“Yes, now I see that you have nothing to be afraid of,” said the princess. “Perhaps no one can get past the horse and the dog.”
The genie really wanted to sleep, and he fell onto the bed.
“It’s possible to get through,” he muttered in his sleep. “You just need to be able to give the grass to the horse and the bones to the dog.” But for this you need to have a lion's heart.
Tsarevich Sherdil heard the entire conversation from the next room. Without hesitation, he went for the soul of the genie. He managed to reach the tree safely, avoid all dangers and kill the bee. When the prince returned to the marble palace, the genie was already dead. Sherdil married the princess and stayed with her in the palace.
One day the princess was bathing in the river and, going out to the bank, began to comb her beautiful hair. As she braided her hair, she saw that there were a few golden hairs left on the comb. She was so proud of her hair that she felt sorry to throw these hairs away like some unnecessary thing. So she made a box out of the leaves, carefully removed the hairs from the comb, put them in the box and sent them downstream.
The box floated for a long time until it came into the possession of one king. The king's son was just boating on the river. He caught the box and immediately fell in love with the unknown golden-haired beauty. He called his chief helmsman and told him to find the owner of this hair. But the helmsman said that only a very clever and cunning old woman could help in such a matter. By order of the king's son, all the old women were called, and one of them volunteered to find and deliver the golden-haired beauty to the palace.
The old woman got into the boat and ordered the rowers to take her up the river. She reached the marble palace, sat down on the step and began to wait. When the princess came out, the old woman identified herself as her distant relative.
“I came to visit you,” she said. The princess received her kindly, and the old woman did not leave her one step. Soon the princess began to trust her with everything. Then the old woman began to whisper to the princess that she should take better care of her husband, protect him from harm. The princess believed the cunning old woman and, on her advice, decided to find out what she should be most afraid of.
Sherdil.
And then one evening the princess spoke to Sherdil like this:
- My lord! You are often away from home. I'm afraid that something bad will happen to you. Then I will die of grief!
- Oh my joy! – Sherdil replied. “Don’t worry about me.” You see, I always carry a saber with me. I will only die when she becomes unfit for her job. As long as the saber is in order, you cannot destroy me.
The princess learned this secret and began to worry even more about her husband. The next morning, when Sherdil was getting ready to go hunting, she told him:
- Dear husband, don’t take your saber with you. I'm afraid you might break it. Better hide it at home.
Sherdil did not listen to his wife and left with a saber. The next day, on the advice of the old woman, the princess secretly took and hid his saber from her husband, and placed another one on him. Sherdil did not notice anything and went hunting, and the prince told the old woman that Sherdil’s saber was safely hidden and now he was not in any danger.
That's all the old woman needed. She waited until the princess lay down to rest, found a saber and threw it into the fireplace. The silver handle melted, the blade became covered with dross, and Prince Sherdil died at that very moment. He never returned to the palace.
That same day, the old woman invited the princess to go for a ride along the river. She put her in the boat on which she herself had arrived, and ordered the rowers to quickly sail home.
The princess realized that she had been deceived and burst into burning tears, but she could not do anything. The old woman brought her to her city to the king’s son, and he invited the princess to marry him.
“I will mourn Prince Sherdil for six months,” she answered. “And I don’t know what will happen next.”
The king's son did not force her into captivity. With his father's permission, he built a palace for her. The princess settled in this palace along with an old woman who was assigned to serve her. The unfortunate princess was locked up there. Day and night she grieved for her husband, but hid her pain from prying eyes, and no one ever heard her complain about her unfortunate lot.
Meanwhile, the barley shoots of Prince Sherdil's friends withered at once. The friends realized that the time had come to rush to the aid of the prince. They equipped a large army and all set out on a campaign together. Not far from the marble palace they came across the body of Sherdil. The prince was dead, and his saber lay nearby, safe and sound. Then it became clear to the sharpener, blacksmith and carpenter that the prince’s saber had been replaced. They took the prince's body, brought it to the palace and began to look for the saber. They found it in an extinguished fireplace, covered in dross and without a handle. The blacksmith immediately began to repair the saber. I fitted a new handle, hardened and polished the blade, sharpened it, and the saber became like new. Tsarevich Sherdil immediately came to life and began to ask what had happened to him and where his beloved wife was. He learned that the princess was not in the palace and began to cry.
The friends began to think about how to help the prince. They went in different directions to look for the princess. The carpenter went down the river and reached the palace that the Tsar’s son had built for the golden-haired princess. The carpenter asked the townspeople and servants and found out that the princess was still grieving for her beloved Sherdil. Then the king-carpenter took off his expensive clothes, took an ax in his hands and ordered to report to the princess that the carpenter wanted to see her. He appeared before the princess and asked if she would buy a carved palanquin from him. The princess wanted to see the palanquin, and the carpenter invited her to ride around the city in it. An old woman servant sat down in the palanquin with the princess.
As soon as they sat down, the palanquin rose into the air and flew. The old woman started screaming. Then the carpenter pushed her down, so that she landed right on the rocks, and all that was left of her was a bag of bones. And the palanquin flew into the marble palace. The princess and Tsarevich Sherdil saw each other alive and unharmed and were incredibly happy.
Soon Sherdil with his beautiful wife, friends and their army moved back to their homeland. His father heard that a huge army was moving towards the capital. He didn’t want to shed blood, so he went out to meet the strangers with rich gifts in order to persuade them to peace. When he saw his beloved son in front of him, his joy knew no bounds. Prince Sherdil was greeted in his homeland with great honor, and for a long time people told wonderful stories about his unprecedented exploits.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru