What was, was, and what was not, was not.
Once upon a time there was a little boy. His mother died. The father grieved and grieved and brought another, evil, despicable one into the house.
The stepmother disliked her stepson: I’ll live, he thinks, a boy from the world, then my husband will love me alone. And the boy would have disappeared if he had not had a faithful friend. It was Icarus, a big, kind bull. In the morning the boy took him out to the green meadow, grazed there until the evening, and in hot weather he hid Icarus in the shade or bathed him in the river. And next to his friend the boy forgot his grief.
The stepmother sees that she cannot get rid of her stepson while he is friends with Tsikara. And she pretended to be sick. He lies and groans.
My husband was scared.
- How can I help you? - asks.
“Oh, hubby,” moans the stepmother, “cook Tsikara’s heart and his liver for me.” I'll eat them and get better right away.
A day passes, another, a third, the cunning stepmother does not get out of bed, cries, sighs, and looks like she will die. -
There is nothing to do. My father took the largest knife and started sharpening it on a stone, but sparks started flying.
The boy saw this and asked:
- Father, why do you need such a big knife? Why are you sharpening it?
“You see, son,” the father answers, “I have to kill Tsikara.”
“Wait, father,” the boy asked, “let me give him a drink for the last time.”
The boy took Icarus to the stream, gave him water, and he cried.
Suddenly he hears a human voice: “Why are you crying, my friend?” What trouble happened to you?
The boy looked around, there was no one. Well, he thinks, I imagined this voice. And Tsikara looks at his friend with intelligent eyes, as if waiting for an answer.
“Eh, Tsikara, Tsikara, they want to kill you,” said the boy.
“I know, my friend,” the voice responded, “I also know that you won’t be able to live without me.”
The boy realized that it was Tsikara speaking to him.
“Run home,” said Tsikara, “take a jug of water, a comb and a sharpener with you, sit on my back, and we’ll run away from here.”
The boy did just that. He took a jug, a comb and a sharpener, sat astride Tsikaru, and they rushed off.
The father waited and waited, went to the stream - neither the boy nor Tsikara was there. The stepmother found out about this, instantly jumped out of bed, opened the barn, brought out a huge pig with terrible fangs and said to her:
- Run after the boy and Tsikara, catch up with them and kill them! “The pig is running, its fangs flashing like sabers, and it’s about to catch up.”
Icarus heard stomping, looked around and shouted to the boy: -
- Trouble, my friend! Death is behind you. Quickly throw the water out of the jug.
The boy splashed out the water and saw that the storm-sea stood behind him, and a pig was swimming in the sea, choking, cutting off the waves with its snout.
The friends rushed far away while the pig swam across the sea. The boy calmed down, and Icarus said:
- Well, look around, can you see anything? The boy turned his head and answered:
- Something similar to a fly is visible, either crawling or flying.
- It's a pig! - Icarus shouted.
And the pig is right there. Icarus is about to catch up.
- Throw the comb quickly! - Tsikara shouted. The boy threw down the comb, and a whole forest stood behind them.
Yes, so thick that even a mouse wouldn’t turn its tail in it. And the pig, you know, cuts the forest with sharp fangs, makes its way through the thicket.
Again her friends ran away from her. But they didn’t have to rejoice for long. The boy looked around and saw: again something like a fly appeared in the distance, either crawling or flying. Before he had time to tell Icarus about this, the pig was right there again, squealing, wheezing, flashing his fangs, and was about to catch up.
- Drop the sharpener! - Icarus shouted.
The boy threw the sharpener. And a steep bare rock rose in front of the pig, reaching the height of the sky. The pig began to cut the stone with its fangs and make steps for itself in the rock. Step by step, lo and behold, the pig is already at the top of the cliff. The pig sped up, slipped, and fell into. the abyss took with it our and your grief.
Now your friends can catch their breath. They went out into an open field to a tall poplar. So high that its top touched the clouds.
“I’ll go,” says Tsikara, “I’ll wander around the field, eat some grass, and strengthen my strength.” And you, my friend, climb a tree. On its highest branch hang two pipes, one cheerful, the other sad. Sit on a branch, but make sure you don’t get off without me. If you get bored, play a cheerful pipe, birds will flock to you, bring food and drink, beautiful butterflies will fly in and dance to your music. And if you need me, take the sad pipe, before you have time to play it, I will appear in front of you.
The boy climbed to the top of the poplar, took a cheerful pipe from a branch, put it to his lips, blew, and everything around began to sing and dance.
And it was necessary for one shepherd to hear his playing.
He followed the sounds of the pipe, stood under the poplar, raised his head, and saw: a boy sitting on a tree, playing the pipe, and around him beautiful butterflies were dancing, birds were circling, chirping, singing along with the boy.
Here the shepherd himself could have danced and had fun, but he was an angry, envious man. And evil people rejoice in the misfortune of others. So the shepherd decided to take away his joy from the boy.
“Get down,” he says, “from the tree, show me your pipe.”
But no matter how much the shepherd begged, the boy remained sitting on the branch. After all, Icarus did not tell him to get down from the poplar.
The evil shepherd went to the palace and said to the king:
- So, they say, and so, Your Majesty. A boy sits on the top of a poplar tree, plays the pipe, and his music brings joy to the whole world. I wanted to bring him here so that he could amuse you, but he doesn’t want to.
- How can he not want to? - the king got angry. - Hey, servants! Take the boy down from the tree immediately and put him in prison!
The servants sent an old witch for the boy. A witch is walking, dragging a small goat with one hand, and holding an awl in the other.
She stood under the poplar and started stabbing the goat with an awl. The goat is in pain, she bleats, and so pitifully that the boy stopped playing and shouts to the old woman from the tree:
- Grandma, grandma, what are you doing? Why are you torturing the goat?
“Oh, son,” the witch answers, “I want to kill her for dinner, but I just can’t.” Be kind, help me, otherwise I will die of hunger.
The boy took pity on the old woman and came down from the tree. The witch ran her hand through his hair, and the boy fell asleep. Then the king's servants came running, grabbed him and carried him away. And the pipes remained hanging on the branch.
A boy woke up in prison. There are nine walls around the prison, each wall has a strong door, and each door has a strong lock.
The boy remembered about the pipes, about his friend Dinara and began to cry. Suddenly he saw a crow.
- Crow, crow! - the boy shouted. -Where are you flying to? Where are you in a hurry? For the sake of the happiness of your children, fly to an open field to a tall poplar, take my pipes from the branch, bring them to me!
- Who threw stones at me? - said the crow. —
No, you’d better sit here, behind nine castles, or you’ll throw stones at my children!
The crow flew away. The boy became even more sad. Suddenly he saw a sparrow.
“Sparrow, sparrow, for the sake of the lives of your chicks, fly into an open field to a tall poplar, bring me my pipes,” the boy asked.
-Who laid out the nets for us sparrows? Who destroyed our sparrows' nests? - said the sparrow. - No, it’s better for my chicks if you stay here, behind nine castles.
The sparrow flew away, and the boy became even more sad. He sees a swallow flying. The boy sang a song to her. He sings, and tears flow from his eyes:
Swallow, swallow, Killer Whale Swallow!
Fly into the field, sit on a poplar branch, bring me two pipes.
They contain both sorrow and joy.
The sad pipe will cry -
A faithful friend will gallop to me, And a cheerful one will sing -
The whole world will dance!
The swallow took pity on him and brought both pipes to the boy. The boy took the sad pipe, put it to his lips, blew - and the pipe began to cry. Tsikara heard her and ran to the boy. He broke through the first door, knocked down the second, and knocked down the third. He destroyed the fourth, turned the fifth into splinters, broke the sixth, smashed the seventh, broke through the eighth, and almost died at the ninth door - Pikara’s horn broke.
Tsikara became sad: he did not feel sorry for the broken horn, but felt sorry for his captive friend. Then, out of nowhere, the mouse jumped out.
“Do you want,” he says, “I’ll attach a horn to you?” Only you have to die for this, and I will eat your meat!
“Okay,” agreed Icarus, “implant it quickly!” A mouse healed a broken horn. Tsikara rushed forward, knocked down the last door, exposed the boy's back - and only both of them were seen!
The boy climbed to the top of the poplar again. Tsikara said goodbye to him and, as if nothing had happened, went to the field.
A boy sits on a tree, plays a cheerful pipe,
but suddenly melancholy attacked him, he wanted Tsikar! see. He took the sad pipe, we played for an hour or two, I am no longer with Tsikara. What to do?
The boy got down from the poplar and went to look for his friend. I searched and searched and found him dead in the middle of the lawn. The boy fell to Tsikara’s body, crying, pouring out, and it was bitter that the grass stopped growing, the birds no longer flew, the flowers didn’t bloom, the butterflies shed tears.
- Tsikara, my Tsikara! - the boy cries. - How to live without you?
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a mouse jumped out. Dinner! she came to feast on bull meat. The mouse saw the boy being killed and said to him:
- Do you want me to revive your Tsikaru? Only you will die for this, and I will eat your meat.
“Let me die,” said the boy, “if only Kara were alive.”
A mouse ran across the lawn, found some grass, rubbed Tsikaru with it, and he came to life. The boy hugged Tsikara, stroked him, patted him, kissed him, and Tsikara no, no, and licked the boy with his big tongue.
- Well, that's enough! - said the mouse to the boy. “It’s time for you to die, otherwise I’m really hungry!”
She ran around the lawn, found some poisonous grass, brought it in her teeth and gave it to the boy. The boy took the poisonous weed and looked at Icarus for the last time. It’s okay, he thinks, “I’ll die, but my friend will be saved?”
But as soon as the boy brought the deadly herb to his mouth, the mouse stopped him.
- Wait! - speaks. “As long as I’ve lived, I’ve never seen friends like you.” So be it! I give you life. Live forever!
She said and disappeared into the grass.
The boy sat astride Tsikaru, and they rushed to other lands, where there is neither an evil shepherd nor a cunning witch. They found another field and a poplar tree, even higher than the previous one. Tsikara walks across the field, nibbles grass, and the boy sits on the top of a poplar, plays a cheerful pipe, he rejoices and makes the whole world happy. And as soon as he puts the sad pipe to his lips, Tsikara appears in front of him at that very moment.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru