In one beautiful place there lived a king, and he had three sons: one was the youngest, his own, and two he got with his wife. This king had great wealth, which he acquired in an unprecedented way.
Everything he wanted came to him. And therefore this wealth came to him because a golden apple tree grew in the royal garden. And here comes the misfortune - for some time now the wizard Voron-Voronevpch began to fly into the royal garden from distant places.
What was he doing? He broke branches on an apple tree and ate golden apples. The king became sad, gathered his sons and said:
- What are we going to do, my children? Some predatory animal flies into our garden, breaks the branches on the apple tree and eats the golden apples.
“We need to track down the thief,” the children answer.
“My sons, can you really keep an eye on him if he’s flying through the air?”
- We'll try. Let's cast lots to see who gets to guard the garden for the first night.
And so they did. They cast lots, and it fell to the eldest son. He took a warm feather bed and went into the garden. He went up to the gazebo that stood near the apple tree, spread out a feather bed, lay down on it, wrapped himself up and fell asleep. So he didn’t track anything down and returned the next morning with nothing. And Raven-Voronevich flew in, broke branches, pecked apples and flew away calmly to his kingdom. The king asks his eldest son:
- Well, did you see anything?
- No, I didn’t see anyone or anything.
“But you won’t see anything, my children,” the king became even more saddened.
However, the next night the middle brother went into the garden to keep watch, but he also did not track anything down.
Then the youngest son approached the king and said:
“No one, father, except me, can help you, but I will still catch the thief.”
He took a loaf of bread with him, took a button accordion, a guitar, a carpet and went into the garden. First, he walked around the garden, and then went to the gazebo, sat down under the apple tree and began to play the guitar.
So he played and sang songs until midnight. First with the guitar, and then with the accordion. And at midnight sleep began to overcome him. He then sat down on the carpet and began to count the stars in the sky. He counts and eats the edge of the bread. As soon as he ate, he saw: a strong storm was rising, a real hurricane. The king's son looked up at the sky, and from there a huge bird of prey was flying towards him. The wings of this bird closed for a month, and the garden plunged into darkness.
“Well, fly, I’ll meet you now,” said the king’s son and hid in ambush.
Voron-Voronevich sat down on an apple tree, and its branches began to crackle. The king's son grabbed the sword, jumped out of the ambush and struck the bird of prey along the wings. Raven-Voronevich took off, soared up, shook himself and shouted:
- Well, remember, Ivan is the king’s son, I will not forgive you! The prince was frightened, fell face down on the ground, and when he woke up, he saw: lying under the apple tree was a black crow feather, huge - two fathoms and a half. Ivan took Voron-Voronevich’s pen and went to his father. Tells him:
“You know, father, what a hero I am, there is hardly anyone stronger than me in this world, but only this Raven will be stronger than me.” So he said, flying away, that he would not forgive me.
The king frowned, sensing trouble. The trouble is, it’s inexpensive. The king arranged a feast for the whole world on the occasion of the victory of his youngest son over Voron-Voronevich. They feasted all day, and in the evening the guests began to leave. Ivan and his mother went for a walk in the garden, and then Raven-Voronevich swooped in, grabbed the Tsar’s wife and took her away to God knows where.
Everyone shouts: “Ah-ah!” Where will you run? Who are you going to call? There is nowhere to run and no one to call.
However, let's stop talking about it.
The royal wife has been absent for a year. The husband is looking, the children are looking - all to no avail. The whole kingdom is in sorrow. The king is not at ease. “Why,” he thinks, “did I touch this Voron-Voronevich?
I wanted to save the apple tree, but I lost my wife.”
One day the eldest son came to the king and said:
“Bless me, father, I’ll go look for my mother.” The king let him go with God's help, gave him a ship, shipmen, and all sorts of good things, so as not to be lost on the road. He went. There was no news from him for a year. Then the middle son comes to the king and also asks to go on the road. The king sent him with his blessing. And there was also no word or news from the middle son for a year. It’s as if these guys have sunk into the ground.
It’s already scary to look at the king - he’s all black with melancholy and sadness. The youngest son Ivan comes up to him and says:
- Let me go, father, I can’t sit at home. Voron-Voronevich's mother was dragged away, the brothers disappeared to an unknown location. Let me go!
- What are you up to, son? - the king answers. “I lost my wife and two sons, and now you want to completely orphan me?” You won't find them...
“I’ll go anyway, father; if you bless me, I’ll go, and if you don’t bless me, I’ll go too.” I can’t sit quietly at home when my mother and brothers are in trouble. Don’t worry about me - I’ll find them and bring them home.
Be that as it may, he too followed his brothers. He travels for maybe a day, maybe a month, maybe a year - God knows how long he sailed on this blue sea. One day the captain says to him:
“Do you notice, Ivan, the Tsar’s son, that our ship is not rushing on its own to God knows where?”
Ivan took a closer look - indeed, as if his ship was being pulled in an unknown direction by an unknown force. Then Ivan ordered the captain:
“Give the ship free rein, let the sails go free.” And then they were pulled to the very middle of the sea. There, in the very middle of the sea, stood a magnet pillar. It was Voron-Voronevich who placed it so that not a single ship, not a single living soul would sail past - this pillar attracted everyone to itself. The ship of Ivan Tsarevich was also attracted. Then he took a steel pike, leaned against this pillar and turned the ship to the side. The ship began to turn, and Ivan Tsarevich saw that two more ships were stuck to this post - the ships of his brothers.
Then he tore off these two ships, and they all sailed away from the enchanted place.
The ground was visible nearby.
Ivan moored to land, He looked around at the brothers' ships - there was no one on them.
“They must be wandering around somewhere,” he thought. Ivan Tsarevich went ashore, and there footprints were visible in the sand. He followed the tracks and came to a high fence, so high that it was impossible to climb over it or even glance at it. “Let me,” he thinks, “I’ll try to get around this fence.” Let's go.
How much or how little time has passed - God knows, only at one wonderful time both of his brothers came out to meet him. They also walked around this fence, only from the other side. It turns out that this fence is round.
- How long have you been walking, brothers? - asks Ivan Tsarevich.
- It’s been a long time, almost six months already.
- So, there’s no way in anywhere?
“There’s nothing anywhere, not even a fly.”
The brothers went to the ships.
Ivan ordered the shipbuilders to make the ropes longer. He took his sword, tied the end of a rope to it, swung it properly and threw it.
The sword soared above the clouds and flew over the fence.
“Try,” Ivan says to his middle brother, “to see if the rope is strong.”
He climbed and survived. Ivan sends the elder after him. The rope held two people. Then Tsarevich Ivan shouts:
- Get off, both of you!
It was he who checked whether the rope could hold him, because among the brothers he was the healthiest.
When the brothers got down, he climbed along this rope. He reached the top of the fence and shouted down to his brothers:
- Well, guys, wait for me exactly a year. If I don’t come back, then go home to your father. But you still won’t be able to cope on your own.
Ivan Tsarevich came down on the other side of the fence and marveled at the beauty that opened before him: alleys all around, flowers growing, fabulous birds pouring in. He walked along the path and suddenly saw: the house was made of bronze, all shimmering in the sun.
- What a miracle! – the king’s son marveled. He examined this house from all sides and was just about to go further when he heard a voice from the house:
- Hey, guy, since you got here, hit the right side of the house, and twelve doors will open for you!
Ivan Tsarevich returned, looked around - there was no one who could say these words. And the voice again:
-Where do you go? Go hit the right side! Ivan Tsarevich got angry and angrily kicked the right side of the house. Indeed, he broke through twelve doors. Ivan Tsarevich enters the house. And what does he see? Elena the Beautiful sits in front of him - golden curls and embroiders herself a silk scarf.
- Hello, Elena the Beautiful!
- Hello, hello, Ivan is the king’s son. What business did you come here for?
“So and so, so and so,” the prince answers, “I’m looking for my mother.”
- I know where your mother is.
If you swear that you won’t leave me here, I’ll tell you where she is and how to get her, but if you don’t swear, you won’t save your mother, and you won’t get out of here yourself.
Yes, even if she hadn’t asked, he would have agreed to everything, she was such a beauty. Ivan Tsarevich says:
- Well, okay, Elena the Beautiful, I give you my word: no matter what happens, I will not leave you here, I will take you with me.
Then she says:
- Well, listen, here's my advice. “She told the prince what to do to save his mother.
“When you come to your mother, hide until Voron-Voronevich says that he won’t do anything bad to you.”
And when he says, come out boldly, his word is tin...
Ivan Tsarevich comes to his mother. She threw herself on his neck to cry, and he said:
- We have no time to cry. You’d better hide me, and when Voron-Voronevich arrives, do this and that. – He conveyed to her the same words that Elena the Beautiful had told him.
Then everything around went dark - it was Voron-Voronevich who had arrived. He ate and lay down to rest. Then the royal wife comes out to him and says:
- Voron-Voronevich, I’m tired of loneliness, let me sit next to you. You lie down, and I’ll look in your head.
- Ah, you’re starting to get used to it! – Voron-Voronevich laughed.
- Well, of course, I’m completely alone. He lay down on her lap, and she began to search his head. And she continues:
- I'm completely alone. If only my beloved son Vanyushka would come to me. But you wouldn’t have allowed him to, you would have killed him out of spite.
- Why would you kill? – Voron-Voronevich was surprised.
-What would you do with him?
- That's stupid! What would you do?
I would feed you, give you something to drink, and take you on your way.
I just said - one! - the prince and jumps out.
- Hello, Voron-Voronevich!
“Oh, well done, Ivan Tsarevich, he outwitted me,” Voron-Voronevich laughed. “Well, since I said my word, I’ll keep it and won’t touch you.”
Voron-Voronevich arranged a rich feast on the occasion of the meeting. They started drinking and partying. Ivan drinks with a glass, and Voron Voronevich whips with a ladle. Then Tsarevich Ivan says:
- Ay, Voron-Voronevich, what damn strength you have! Look, I'm drunk from the shot glass, but you can't even handle the ladle.
And Voron-Voronevich laughs:
- Is this damn power?
Come with me to the dungeon, then you will see what damn power is.
And Elena the Beautiful warned Vanyushka: “Look, he will lead you to his dungeon. There he has a magic sword. If you pick it up in front of Voron-Voronevich, he will kill you himself, this sword, without any outside force. But if Voron-Voronevich turns away, then don’t hesitate, immediately grab your sword and beat the evil wizard. This is where the end will come for him.”
Voron-Voronevich led Vanyushka into the dungeon. And indeed, the king’s son sees: a huge sword lies.
- Here it is, my strength! - Voron-Voronevich cried. “Try to lift it, Vanyushka, and I’ll see if you have enough strength and if you’re fit to fight with me.”
- How can I, Voron-Voronevich, compete with you! – Vanyushka begged. - Look how strong you are. Where can I get to you?
Voron-Voronevich laughed.
He was so amused by the words of the king’s son that tears almost came to his eyes from laughter. He began to rub his eyes and brush away tears. He just closed his eyes, and Ivan Tsarevich grabbed him on the head with his sword and killed him.
Ivan Tsarevich comes to his mother and says:
- Well, mom, now we have no one to fear, now everything is all right with you.
The three of them gathered - Ivan Tsarevich, his mother and Elena the Beautiful - and began to collect the wealth of Voron-Voronevich.
Maybe they dragged the wealth for a day, maybe for a month - God knows, but still you can’t drag all the wealth, because Voron-Voronevich had a countless amount of it, gold alone - many thousands. However, when the two ships were loaded to the top with goods, Vanyushka ordered:
- Well, that's enough, that's enough for us!
He dragged his mother, Elena the Beautiful, over a high fence, put them on the ship, but as soon as he was about to set off on the return journey, Elena the Beautiful said to him:
- Eh, Vanyushka, forgive me, I forgot two chicken bones under my pillow in my bedroom.
– What do you need these two bones for? – the king’s son marveled.
“Don’t ask me, Vanyushka, I won’t tell you anyway.” I just can’t live without these bones...
“Okay,” says Ivan Tsarevich, “wait for me.” After all, this is not God knows what a great thing...
He climbed over the fence again and walked away. Comes. Indeed, under the pillow he finds two chicken bones.
He took them, wrapped them in a handkerchief and went back.
However, this is only said quickly. While Vanyushka walked back and forth, a day passed, or maybe two.
And during this time this is what happened. Vanyushka's brothers were overcome by black envy.
"How so? - they think. “We haven’t seen our home for so many years, we’ve endured so much torment, and we’re returning home empty-handed, but Ivan saved us, and brought back his mother, and befriended Elena the Beautiful, and got so much wealth.”
And so, on a dark night, they set fire to the rope to prevent Vanyushka from climbing over the fence, boarded the ship and sailed home. And they took an oath from the mother and Elena the Beautiful so that they would tell their father that they saw nothing and knew nothing, that it was not Ivan Tsarevich who saved them, but they, the older brothers. One way or another, by threat or cunning, they made both their mother and Elena the Beautiful swear that they would not say an unnecessary word to their father.
The brothers left. And Tsarevich Ivan returned to the fence, grabbed the rope, and it fell to the ground - half burned. Then Vanyushka realized how his brothers had treated him, sat down on a stone and sunbathed. However, don’t cry, you have to do something. After all, as they say, a smart person will take even a sliver and achieve his goal. He turned these bones over and over in his hands, and then took them and hit one against the other. And as soon as he did this, Alyoshka suddenly appeared in front of him on one leg.
- What do you order, Ivan Tsarevich?
- Yes, so and so, so and so, I defeated Voron-Voronevich, freed my mother, persuaded Elena the Beautiful, collected all sorts of goods, loaded them onto a ship, wanted to return home, but my brothers did this wrong to me...
“Don’t be sad, Ivan Tsarevich,” answers Alyoshka on one leg. “Your brothers, mother and Elena the Beautiful will only come home in a month, but you and I will be home at midnight today.” Sit on me!
He put it on his shoulders, flew up - and he was gone! Indeed, midnight had not yet come, and they were already in that kingdom, in the city where Vanyushka’s father ruled. However, Ivan Tsarevich did not go to his father; he wanted to see how his brothers would behave when they arrived home. Vanyushka asked to see an old shoemaker.
“Grandfather,” he says, “please let me live with you, I’ll help you.”
“What are you talking about, son, my place is dirty and you have nothing to make a bed for.” How can you live with me?
- Don’t be afraid.
Well, in short, he let him in, and Vanyushka began to live with this old man.
A month passes and the brothers return. Well, of course, they had a rich meeting, honor, glory, music was played, everything was as it should be. Father threw a feast for the whole world. Only at this feast the brothers almost quarreled with each other. And one wants to take Elena the Beautiful as his wife, and the other. And Elena the Beautiful hung her head, sat and thought: “What should I do? What to do? After all, it was not they who saved me, but Ivan Tsarevich, after all, it was not to them, but to him that I swore allegiance. However, I promised my brothers not to say anything about Vanyushka. After all, he will come anyway, not now, but in a year, but he will be here...” So Elena the Beautiful decided to use a trick.
“You,” he says, “don’t fight for me, brothers, don’t swear in vain, don’t quarrel.” I will marry the one who brings me two things for the wedding, whatever I want.
“Tell me,” asks the elder brother, “what are these things?”
“Here,” says Elena the Beautiful, “is the first thing.” I had some shoes saved for the wedding. You won’t find anything else like it in the whole world – they are embroidered with gold and studded with precious stones.
But only Voron-Voronevich conjugated them on a tall oak tree that grows on a steep mountain, there and there. Find them for me by the end of the month.
The brothers rushed to look, but they couldn’t find it. They threw out a cry, they say, whoever fulfills the condition of Helen the Beautiful will be given half the kingdom. This news reached Vanyushka. Then he says to the old shoemaker:
“Go to the palace to your elder brother and tell him that you undertake to get him what he asks.”
- What are you saying, son, how can I get it?
- And this is not your concern.
Just don't say anything about me.
The old man went to the palace, and Vanyushka knocked one chicken bone against another, called Alyoshka on one leg and sent him to carry out the task of Elena the Beautiful.
The old man returned, went into the house, and his eyes almost popped out of his head: such light came from these shoes that even at night the house was as bright as day.
In short, Elena the Beautiful received her shoes and realized that something was wrong here, that the brothers could not get them themselves and it was none other than Vanyushkina’s work. However, he doesn’t show it and says to his brothers:
- Well, you fulfilled my first condition. Now take out the second thing. I have a wedding dress, but Voron-Voronevich hid it at the very bottom of the blue sea. Whoever gets it, I will marry him.
This time the brothers did not waste time, but immediately ran to the old shoemaker:
- So and so, get us a wedding dress...
Vanyushka taught the old man not to refuse, so he agreed to help the brothers.
And again, Ivan Tsarevich, with the help of Alyosha on one leg, fulfilled the request of Elena the Beautiful.
There is nothing to do, you have to keep your word, you have to marry your older brother. Then Elena the Beautiful says:
“Okay, my dear groom, since you have fulfilled my instructions, then I will marry you.” But please fulfill one more request of mine, call all the men of this city, small and old, to the royal court, I want to give everyone gifts on this occasion.
So all the people in the city, all men, gathered in the square in front of the palace. And Elena the Beautiful goes around and gives gifts to everyone - a gold coin to this one, a ring to that one as a souvenir. And Vanyushka also came to the palace, but it was difficult to recognize him, he became so dirty and ragged. But when it was his turn to receive the gift, she took him by the hand and dragged him to his father.
- Well, father, it wasn’t they who saved me, it wasn’t they who saved your wife from the evil wizard, but this guy, your youngest son. And therefore I will be his faithful wife.
Well, they married them. They began to live, live and make good.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru