One miller had three daughters. The two older sisters were good-looking, but the younger one was better than both of them. The time has come, and all three girls got married. One evening they were sitting near the mill and spinning in the light of the moon. So the eldest one says:
“If the son of a governor were to woo me, I would weave him enough linen to feed his entire army.”
“And if the governor’s son took me as his wife,” said the middle sister, “I would bake him such a large white loaf that he would feed his entire army with it.”
The younger one said:
“If the governor’s son married me, I would give him two boys with golden hair and silver teeth.”
And the governor’s son went down to the river every evening to water his white horse, and his path lay near the mill. It happened that just at that time he passed by three spinners and heard their conversation. The commander watered his horse, and when he led him back, he turned into the mill and said to the old miller:
- Listen, grandfather, give me one of your daughters as a wife.
-Which one do you like? - the miller was delighted.
- Younger.
- Take it, son, just tell me in advance if you have any craft.
- I am the son of a governor. My father already? old When I get married, he will put me at the head of the entire army. I will become a commander.
“Well, okay, if that’s the case,” says the miller.
The next day they celebrated the wedding. The voevodich put his young wife in a gilded carriage, took her to her father's palace, and they lived happily.
How much or how much time has passed, the old governor became decrepit and gave up his place to his son. He became a governor. One day, two others came to the palace to the younger sister and prayed:
- Take us to live with you, sister! We're tired of sitting at our father's mill, we don't want to walk around covered in flour anymore.
- You're welcome! - answered the youngest and left them to live in the palace.
And the older sister was angry and envious. Day and night she thought of a way to kill her sister and marry the young governor herself. The time came, and the younger sister gave birth to two boys with golden hair and silver teeth. The mother can't get enough of her newborns. And her young husband was hunting at that time, and they were waiting for him only in the evening. The envious sister stood at the bedside of the woman in labor and was shaking all over with anger. She planned an evil deed and said to the governor’s wife:
- You should take a little nap, sister!
- What about babies? - asks the mother.
“I’ll put them in a cradle and rock them until they fall asleep.”
Did the tired woman in labor close her eyes? and fell asleep. And the envious woman was just waiting for that. She grabbed the newborns, ran out into the garden with them, killed them and buried them in the ground. Then she took two puppies and put them in a cradle instead of two babies.
The woman in labor was still sleeping when the governor returned from the hunt.
— Congratulations on your newborns! — his sister-in-law greeted him.
-Where are they? - exclaimed the young father and rushed to the cradle, but saw two puppies there and turned yellow with anger:
“Throw away this dirty trick,” he shouted, “and send their mother away!”
Let him settle in a hut by the river and graze my ducks there!
- How will you live without a wife? - asked the envious woman.
“That won’t be the case.” I'll take you instead! - answered the angry governor.
That same night his order was carried out.
The next day, the governor went out for a walk in the garden and what he saw: in the place where the envious woman buried the babies, two wonderful trees with silver leaves and golden flowers grew. The governor was surprised and called his new wife:
- Look what a miracle this is!
The governor passed under the trees - they bent over him and began to stroke his hair with their leaves. And when the commander followed him, the trees began to hit her in the face with branches.
Then the governor called the craftsmen and said:
— Strengthen a bed between the branches of each of these trees. My wife and I will spend the night here.
The masters did everything as they were told. The governor and his wife came in the evening and went to bed. And silver leaves rustled above their heads. The governor soon fell asleep: the branches lulled him, the flowers affectionately stroked his face. And the commander lay as if on pins and needles, afraid to move, because the branches were lashing her. At midnight the trees spoke in human voices:
“Brother,” asks one tree, “is it hard for you to hold the governor?”
“But he’s our father, but is he carrying his own burden?” It’s easy for me to hold it on my branches. And for you; brother, it must be difficult to hold a military command?
- Yes, brother, she is as heavy as a buffalo. My branches are cracking from its weight.
The governor's wife heard this, climbed down from the tree and lay on the wet grass all night.
The next day, when the governor went hunting again, she took an ax, cut down the trees and burned them. What was left of them was a pile of ash. And the mother of the destroyed babies, who had now become a duckling, collected this ashes and scattered them in the garden. By evening, two cornflowers with golden stamens and silver petals grew in the beds. The envious woman guessed that these flowers grew from the ash left from the trees, she let a sheep into the garden, and it chewed up the cornflowers. That same night the sheep gave birth: two lambs with silver wool and golden horns. The envious woman saw this, quickly put the lambs in a basket, coated it with resin and threw it into the river. The river carried the lambs downstream. Just before the duckling's hut, the basket caught on a willow bush, and the lambs bleated pitifully because they were hungry. The duckling heard the bleating, stood up, lit a candle and went to the willow bushes. He looks - a tarred basket has washed up on the shore. She opened the basket and saw in it two lambs with silver wool and golden horns. The mother immediately recognized her children. She brought them to the hut and gave them breasts. The first lamb took a sip of its mother's milk - and immediately turned into a baby. The mother was delighted, gave the second one to suck - and the second one became a boy.
Two boys with golden hair and silver teeth began to grow up in the duckling's hut and soon began to walk and talk. They often played on the river bank, and everyone who passed by stopped to admire them. One day a military leader passed by. the children saw her and began throwing stones after her. And when the governor passed by, they jumped out of the hut and started sweeping the road in front of his horse with brooms.
The governor saw them and was very surprised: what kind of boys are these with silver teeth and golden hair? After all, his first wife promised to give him such sons. He became alarmed and went to look for the duckling. Meanwhile, she was tending ducks by the river.
-Where did you get these guys from? - asked the governor.
“The river brought them to me in a tarred basket,” answered the duckling and disappeared into the hut.
The governor returned to the palace. And at that time the commander was chasing a cat that was lapping up milk.
“Don’t hit me, otherwise I’ll tell the governor how you killed his sons and put puppies in their place!” - the cat meowed.
The governor heard this, grabbed the stick from his wife’s hands, threw it out the window, and then bent down, took the cat in his arms and began to question her. But the cat doesn’t sleep at night, that’s why she knew about everything. She told the governor from beginning to end what the envious woman had done with the children, trees, cornflowers and lambs.
- How did the lambs turn into children? - asked the governor.
“And I know that,” said the cat. “I was just hunting for muscles at the duckling’s hut when she found a basket of lambs. As soon as she gave them mother's milk, they turned into children.
Having learned about everything, the governor brought his first wife and children to the palace, and ordered the envious woman to be put in a barrel and thrown into the sea.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru