There lived a peasant and his wife in the same village. They had no children. The peasant worked in the field all day, returned home in the evening, had dinner and went back to the field. He had no time to grieve that his assistant was not growing up. But his wife lamented about it day and night.
One day at noon she was getting ready to go to the field to bring lunch to her husband and thought: “Oh, if we had a son, I wouldn’t need to go to the field! He would take lunch to his father.”
So, thinking sadly, she headed towards the door, but suddenly heard the watermelon lying in the corner quietly say:
“Give me lunch, mother, I’ll take it to father!” At first the woman was scared, but then she gathered her courage and answered:
- After all, you are so small, it will be hard for you. But the watermelon insisted:
“Put a bundle of food on my head, mother, and tell me where to go and how I can recognize my father.”
He persuaded her for a long time until the woman finally agreed. She showed him the way and said that one of his father’s bulls was white, the other was spotted.
And the watermelon with a knot on its head set off. He rolled for a long time until he reached the field where the peasant was working.
Seeing him in the arable land, the watermelon shouted:
- Hey, my father, who plows on oxen! Come here quickly and taste the food, otherwise it will get cold!
The peasant heard someone calling him and was surprised: after all, there was no one in the field. Whose voice is this? Who could it be? Looking around, he went in the direction from which the call was heard, and when he came closer and peered, his surprise knew no bounds - in front of him lay a watermelon with a bundle on his head.
Seeing the peasant, the watermelon repeated:
- Unwrap the bundle, father, eat!
The peasant was very happy about his new son. He felt his father's love for him, picked him up and kissed him.
When the peasant began to eat, the watermelon said:
- Let me, father, work instead of you.
The peasant laughed.
“You’re still very young, son,” he said affectionately. “I’m afraid you might fall headlong into the dung.”
- No, father, don’t be afraid for me. I will move from one bull to another, and in case of danger I will climb onto the plow.
No matter how much the peasant tried to dissuade him, the watermelon did not listen. He quickly rolled into the field and began to loudly urge the bulls. The work was going well. The peasant just shrugged his shoulders: “Where did the kid get such skill?!”
He lay down to rest in the cool shade of a tree. Meanwhile, the watermelon plowed, moving from one bull to another and trying not to fall into the manure that they left behind. But the watermelon wanted to get onto the plow, but did not calculate its strength and fell straight into the manure. The bulls moved on, but the watermelon remained in place.
The peasant woke up and saw that the bulls were standing, and the watermelon was nowhere to be found. He set to work himself. In the evening, having finished plowing, he unharnessed the oxen and went home.
Soon a woman came to the field to collect manure. She saw a watermelon and helped him get out of the mud. Watermelon was very angry:
- Tell me where my bulls went! Didn't you steal them?
The poor woman was frightened and, in order to divert suspicion from herself, said:
— Your bulls were taken away by the Raja. He went that way.
And she showed the way. Hearing this, the watermelon became furious. He alternately turned pale and green and scolded the Rajah in every possible way. When his anger subsided a little, he decided to go after the bulls. He built himself a cart from reeds, harnessed two mice to it and set off.
On the way he met an ant.
“Where is this magnificent carriage going, uncle?” she asked.
I made myself a cart from reeds,
I harnessed two fast mice to it for now;
The Raja himself stole two of my bulls,
I am ready to stand up for my good! - answered the watermelon.
The ant asked to take her with him.
“Okay, sit in my ear,” the watermelon agreed and put the ant in his ear.
They drove on. On the way they met a panther.
-Where are you going, uncle? she asked.
The watermelon answered her the same as he answered the ant. The panther asked to take her with him. Watermelon agreed, and they moved on.
Then they met a tiger. He also joined them.
They drove for quite a long time and finally arrived at the Raja's palace. Then the watermelon ordered to convey to the rajah his condition: “If you don’t immediately return my bulls to me, blame yourself. Either return the bulls, or get ready for battle!”
This insolence angered the Raja so much that his eyes became bloodshot, and he ordered the watermelon to be immediately thrown to the goats.
The Raja's order was carried out. But the watermelon released the panther at night and said to her:
- Kill all the goats and eat your fill!
By morning, the panther had dealt with the entire herd, and the rajah's servants ran to him with a complaint that the watermelon had gnawed the throats of all the goats. The Raja became furious. He ordered the watermelon to be thrown to the bulls.
At night, lying near the bulls, the watermelon released the tiger from its ear and ordered him to finish off all the bulls. By morning the tiger had finished them off.
The Raja found out about this, and his mind was almost clouded with anger. He ordered the watermelon to be thrown to the elephant.
Once the watermelon got to the elephant, it pulled the ant out of its ear. She climbed into the elephant's trunk and tickled the elephant to death.
When the next morning the Rajah was informed that the watermelon was still intact, he was no longer angry. He ordered to give the watermelon two bulls and escort him out of his kingdom.
So the watermelon, unharmed, returned home to the peasant and his wife and brought them two bulls.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru