Once upon a time there lived a young prince. From an early age, everyone told him that there was no one in the world wiser and more beautiful than him. And he became so proud that he himself believed it. Now the time had come for him to get married, and the prince swore that he would take as his wife only a girl whose intelligence matched her beauty. He did not want a wife for himself, neither beautiful nor stupid; neither smart nor ugly.
The old king called all the most intelligent and beautiful girls in the kingdom to the palace, but his son did not like any of them. And then the young prince decided to go around the world himself to look for his betrothed. He changed into a simpler dress, mounted his horse and rode off alone, without any retinue.
He visited many countries and kingdoms, saw many girls, but never found a bride. One has a good face, but not a good mind. The other one is smart, but she lacks beauty. So the prince had to turn back home with nothing.
Here he was driving through a dense, dense forest, and it was already getting dark. His horse is tired, and he wants to eat and drink, but there is no end in sight to the forest. Suddenly he noticed smoke above the trees, and soon the house appeared - small, lopsided, completely rooted in the ground. The prince dismounted, entered the house and saw: a decrepit, poorly dressed old man and woman sitting at the table and dining on stale bread and milk. The prince bowed to his hosts and said:
- Hello, good people. Let me stay with you for the night. My path is not short, and it’s already evening outside.
“How not to let me in,” the old man answers. “You shouldn’t spend the night in the forest.” They don’t take overnight accommodations with them. We are just simple, poor people. I'm afraid we won't be able to please your honor.
“But I don’t need anything like that,” says the prince. “Like you, so do I.”
Then the old man came out of the house, tied up his horse and gave him an armful of hay. Meanwhile, the old woman began to treat the guest with milk and crackers.
They had dinner, the old man said to the guest:
- Lie down, your honor, on the bed, and the old woman and I will sit on the bench.
“No,” the prince answers. - I don’t want to be your guest. Lay some hay on the floor for me and that's fine.
The prince stretched out on the hay and fell into a deep sleep. He was very tired on the road. And in his dreams he saw beautiful girls who lacked intelligence, and smart girls who lacked beauty.
Only an armful of hay is not a royal bed; you won’t sleep on it, especially if you’re not used to it. He woke up at the crack of dawn and suddenly heard - in the upper light, it seemed as if a spinning wheel was buzzing and a girl’s voice was singing a song. And the girl sang so well that the prince listened to her and forgot about everything in the world.
And when the old people woke up in the morning, he asked them:
- Who is it in your upper room singing so gloriously?
The old man and the old woman began to convince the prince that there was no one there, that, they say, he was simply dreaming. Only the prince did not leave them until they told him the whole truth.
“Yes,” they say, “we have a daughter, Dagmar.” She was singing this morning. Only we hide it from everyone. We live in the forest alone and are afraid that some unkind person will offend her or someone will take her away from us. Without her we will be lost. She is an expert at spinning and weaving. We feed ourselves through her labors.
“That’s how it is,” the prince answers them. - But can I have a look at your daughter? Or is it so bad that you are ashamed to show it to people?
The old man could not bear the insult, became angry and shouted to his daughter to come downstairs. And that’s all the prince needed.
The girl ran downstairs and asked:
- What business did you call for, father?
“Well,” the old man tells her, “go and say hello to the guest.”
The girl looked at the prince, turned all red and froze, as if rooted to the spot. And the prince cannot take his eyes off her. No matter how much he traveled around the world, he had never met such a beauty. They looked at each other like that for a long time. Then the prince came to his senses. It is not proper for him, a king’s son, to stare at a poor peasant woman. He said goodbye to his owners, generously rewarded them for their shelter, and galloped away. The prince returned home, but he could not find peace for himself. The beautiful Dagmar is out of his mind. Wherever he looks, wherever he goes, he still sees her. And then the prince decided:
“I’ll test her to see if her intelligence matches her beauty.” And if she lacks intelligence, then I don’t need to think about her.
He sent a messenger to the girl with two silks and ordered her to weave a canopy from them for the royal bed. And Dagmar broke off two splinters from the log, gave them to the messenger and said:
“Tell the prince to order a loom to be made from these splinters so that I have something to weave silk with.”
And the prince realized that the girl was no stupider than him! But still, he decided to try it again. Again he sent to Dagmar, looking for her, and ordered her to come to the castle neither during the day nor in the evening, neither on foot nor in a cart, neither naked nor clothed. She told her about the prince’s order, but he just threw up his hands:
“Is it conceivable,” he says, “to solve such a tricky problem!”
And Dagmar smiles:
- Nothing, father. The prince is smart, but I’m not cut out for it either.
She spread a fishing net on the ground, sat on it and ordered her father to drag the net to the prince’s castle. She came to the castle at dusk. The day was drawing to a close, but evening had not yet set in. And instead of a dress she put on a long cotton shirt.
The prince met her, took her to the palace and said to the old king:
- Father, there is no more beautiful and intelligent girl in the world, Dagmar. Let me marry her, because I don’t want to hear from any other bride.
The king frowned. Where have you seen a prince marry a young peasant daughter? Only the prince is solid | stood his ground. There was nothing to be done, a king had to be created. They played a cheerful wedding, and the young souls began to live.
Time passed, the prince's father died, and he became a king, his wife a queen.
For a long time there has not been such a wise and fair role in Denmark as the peasant daughter Dagmar. She remembered that she grew up in need, and tried to help the poor people as much as she could. And for this, people loved Dagmar and praised her and her beauty.
Just then a black thought sank into the heart of the king. He was afraid that people would begin to gossip that, they say, if he does not live by his own mind, but is in charge of all affairs in the kingdom: he is in charge. He called the queen to him and said:
“Promise me that you will never interfere in my royal affairs.” And if you break this promise, I will send you back to your old father in the forest hut.
Dagmar smiled:
- Well, have it your way. I have enough of my own things to do.
This is how it has been with them since then. The king rules the country and administers justice, but Dagmar runs the household in the castle and does not interfere in royal affairs. The king cheered up, and again they lived in perfect harmony.
It just happened one day that two peasants - poor and rich - were driving home from the fair. But it’s a well-known fact that when peasants are coming from a fair, they will certainly stop their horses at the first tavern and stop in for a drink of beer. He who has made a great profit drinks with joy, but he who traded at a loss is filled with grief. So these two came in the same way. They drank a glass, drank another, and stayed up late.
Meanwhile, the poor man's mare gave birth to a foal. The foal is small and unintelligent. He jumped to his feet, got scared of something and ran up to the rich peasant’s horse.
The peasants came out of the tavern and saw the foal. The rich man was a greedy man. Even though he drank a lot, he immediately realized that he could profit from other people’s property here.
“Look,” he says, “my horse has brought a foal.”
“But no,” the poor man replies, “it was my mare who foaled.”
And the rich man argues with him:
- But what about yours, when he’s standing next to my horse?
And they started a lawsuit with each other. They began to go to the courts: first to the junior judge, then to the senior judge, and then to the chief judge himself. They walk and walk and can’t get anywhere. And courts, as is well known, are not cheap. And pay here, and lay out money there. So what to the rich! He doesn't have a lot of money. But the poor man squandered all his goods, even if he could go around the world with his bag.
And he decided to ask the king for protection. The king listened to the peasant, and although he was smart, he judged no better than the stupid judges:
“Whoever’s horse the foal was found near is the one who owns it.”
A poor man goes home, hangs his head and thinks: “I can’t find the truth, apparently.”
Some kind person met him here and advised him:
- Go to the queen. People interpret that she is wiser and fairer than the king. Perhaps it will help you in trouble too.
“Indeed, I’ll go to the queen,” thought the peasant. “It can’t get any worse, but I’ll still be lost.”
So he came to the queen, told how it had happened, and began to ask her to put in a word with the king.
The queen thought and said:
“I can’t help you in any way, because I promised the king never to interfere in his affairs.” But I will give you good advice. Just swear that you won’t spill the beans about who gave it to you, or you’ll bring trouble on me.
The peasant began to swear and swear that he would keep his mouth shut, and then the queen said to him:
“Tomorrow morning, take the net and go to the sandy hills by the sea.” Throw your net in the sand, sit down and wait. The king goes hunting this way every morning. He will stop the horse and ask what you are doing. And you answer that you are fishing.
Then the king will be surprised how anyone can catch fish on a dry shore! And you tell him to this: “If a gelding can bear a foal, then fish can be caught on a dry bank.”
The peasant did everything exactly as the queen taught him. He came to the sea, threw his net into the sand and began to wait. And just then the king and his retinue arrived in time. The king besieged his horse and asked:
- What are you doing here?
“I’m catching fish, your Majesty,” the poor man answers.
The king laughed:
- Yes, you have made up your mind, good man! How can you catch fish on a dry bank?
And the peasant answered him:
“If a gelding can bear a foal, then fish can be caught in the sand.”
The king thought for a moment and realized that he had handled the matter with the foal unfairly.
“Did you get to this point on your own or did someone teach you?” - he asks the peasant.
“Nobody taught me,” the poor man answers him.
“Okay,” says the king. - Follow me to the palace.
He turned his horse and galloped forward, and the peasant slowly trudged behind him.
A poor man comes to the palace and sees: the king is sitting on the throne; On his right hand stands a bag of money, and on his left are guards with axes at the ready.
“Choose,” the king tells him. “If you discover who taught you this trick, you’ll get your foal, and a bag of golden riksdalers to boot.” If you don’t open it, my guards will strangle you on the first limb.
“What can we do here?” the peasant thinks. “If you tell the truth, you’ll bring trouble on the queen. If you don’t tell it, you’ll lose your head, the small children will remain orphans. Who will water and feed them?”
He had to obey the king for everything. The king gave the peasant a foal and a bag of money and let him go in peace. And then he called the queen to him and said:
“You violated our agreement and decided to decide my affairs.” And now I will keep my word. Get ready immediately and go to your father’s hut in the forest.
“Well,” the queen answers him, “it’s my fault, and I should be responsible.” Only all these years you and I have lived in perfect harmony, and I ask you to finally fulfill my three wishes.
- Tell me, what are your desires? - asks the king.
“Drink some wine with me when we say goodbye, so that we can part on good terms, without evil or resentment.” Order me to be taken in a large carriage, so that I don’t have to walk back to my old father. And also let me take with me from the palace what is most dear to me here, so that I can remember my past life forever.
Her words sank into the king’s soul, and he ordered wine to be brought to drink with his wife at parting. And she inconspicuously mixed a sleeping potion into his cup. The king drank and fell into a deep sleep. Then the queen ordered him to be carried into the carriage and took him with her to her parents' house. She laid him there on the bed, and she put on an old simple dress, sat down at the spinning wheel and began to sing a song - the same one that the young prince had once heard.
The king slept for a long time, and in the end he woke up and saw: he was lying in a hut on a poor peasant bed, and next to him the queen was sitting at a spinning wheel and humming a song.
“Again you violated my will,” says the king. - Why did you bring me here?
“No,” the queen answers him, “I did not leave your will.” Was it not you who allowed me to take with me from the castle what was most dear to me there? So don’t you really know that there is nothing in the world dearer to me than you?
“You got the better of me here too,” the king sighed. - Well, get ready, let's go home. We can't stay here! Who will then rule the kingdom without us?
From then on, the king lifted his ban and consulted the queen in all matters. He realized that even though his wife was wiser than him, there was no dishonor to him in that.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru