The steppe lies in unknown lands; if you ride a good horse for ten days, you won’t overtake it. There is no end to the earth there, and the sky cannot be grasped with the eye. The sky over the steppe is not blue - it is purple. Only on its southwestern edge do the mountains appear as shadows. There are villages and hamlets in the steppe.
In one village there lived a mother with two sons. The kind old woman raised sons who were extremely smart and reasonable. She has only one concern: how to marry her sons? The old woman really wanted to babysit her grandchildren. And the sons don’t seem to care about their mother’s sadness. And so the mother persuades, and so on - she just can’t persuade. The matchmakers wore down more than one pair of shoes while they were running to the grooms - all in vain. The old woman is grieving, she can’t sleep, she can’t lie down. And then one day, exactly at midnight, she got up from the kana, opened the door, and looked - the sky was all strewn with stars, and there was pitch darkness all around. The old woman raised her head, sighed and said:
- My children, children, where can you find wives after your heart? She said this, but she thought: “The stars must have heard me, it’s very quiet around.” Before she had time to think about it, she suddenly saw that in the southwestern side a brilliant circle had separated from the ground, almost larger than the moon, and was flying straight towards her. He flew in and landed in the yard. The circle glitters, it hurts my eyes. The old woman closed her eyes. As soon as she opened her eyes, she looked - the old man was standing in that circle, his face was kind, beautiful, his beard was white, and in his hand was a club with the head of a dragon. And the rays around the old man sparkle brighter than the circle itself. The old man smiled, his beard began to sway, and said in a clear voice:
- I found wives for your sons.
The wrinkles between her mother’s eyebrows did not smooth out, she spread her hands and answered:
“I’m afraid that your troubles are empty, venerable old man-celestial!” No one will be after my sons' hearts. But if you allow me, I’ll look at the brides and talk to the matchmakers.
The old man laughed - his beard floated through the air - and said:
“You don’t need matchmakers, you don’t need invitations on red paper, and you don’t need decorated palanquins either.” I will give you two mirrors, each mirror has water chestnut flowers on the back. Just don’t think that the wives in the mirror are a deception. On the third day of the third moon, exactly at midnight, you need to take a mirror, turn it to the southwest, a ray will go out from the mirror, and immediately a wide road will open. This is the road you need to follow to find your bride.
The old man rummaged in his bosom, took out two round mirrors, and gave them to the old woman. At that same moment, it was as if the sun had risen in the sky - a sparkling circle rose up, flew and swam to the southwest and disappeared like a shooting star.
The old woman returned to the house, woke up her sons, gave the eldest son a mirror, and also gave the youngest a mirror. The eldest son looked in the mirror and saw a girl dressed in red, holding a red peony in her hand. The girl smiled, lowered her head, and admired the red peony. The eldest son forgot that he saw the girl in the mirror, and how he screamed:
- Mother! She smiled at me and then lowered her head. How can I tell her about my love? Allow me, mother, should we get married?
He listens to his mother, doesn’t believe his ears, can’t move. The youngest son looked in the mirror and saw a girl sitting, dressed in green, holding a green peony in her hand. The girl looked tenderly, lowered her head, admiring the green peony. Here the youngest son forgot that he saw that girl in the mirror, and how he shouted:
- Mother! The girl told me about love with a tender look. Let me marry her.
And the old mother laughs and cries. She says to her sons:
- You are my children, my children! Have you lost your mind? You saw some beauties in the mirror. How can you take them as wives?
The eldest son listened to his mother, became sad and hung his head. The youngest son listened to his mother and became sad, his eyebrows furrowed.
Time flies, the sons are sad, they don’t straighten their eyebrows. There was nothing to do, I had to tell my mother everything as it was.
The third day of the third month has arrived. Here the mother says to her sons:
“I won’t let you both go, no matter how much you ask.” Who knows what awaits you there - happiness or evil misfortune?
The older brother says to the younger one:
“I’ll go first, and you stay for now.”
The mother agreed to let the eldest go and said to the youngest:
- Your brother is a year or two older than you, let him go first.
Exactly at midnight, the eldest son took the mirror, went out into the yard, turned the mirror to the southwest, and immediately a white ray ran from the mirror, at the same moment the mountains emerged from the fog, moved closer, and the young man saw bizarre stones, dense forests, steep cliffs and iron peaks. And the white ray ran away into the mountains, grew, grew, and turned into a bright, wide road. The young man said goodbye to his mother, said goodbye to his younger brother and set off on his journey.
He walked all night, and at dawn he found himself at a high, steep mountain. He walked around the mountain, looked - a rock, in the rock a cave glowed with a wondrous light. An old man sits in a cave, his legs tucked under him, and sparkling rays radiate from the old man in all directions. The young man then remembered what his mother and brother had told him about the old man, and he immediately understood everything. He approached the elder, bowed politely and said:
- Venerable old man! I walked all night, I walked the road from end to end. Where can I look for that girl now?
Then the immortal old man began to praise the young man.
- You are a brave young man! I walked all night, covered the road from end to end. Only that girl lives on a high mountain. You will go west, cross the Tiger Mountain, cross the stream of Water Monsters and see the house of the evil sorceress. The sorceress turned that girl into a red peony and keeps her in the garden behind the house. Get into the garden and point a magic mirror at the peony. At that very moment the peony will turn into a beauty. Now decide for yourself, will you go further or not?
The young man thought and said:
“Once I came here, I won’t go home without the girl.”
The old man says:
“If you don’t know fear, I will help you.” Take a whip and a ball of thread, I will teach you what to do with them. Just remember: if you chicken out, the whip and the threads will lose their power.
Here the old man took out a whip and a skein of white thread, taught the young man what to do with it, and showed the way where to go.
The young man went that way, circled, circled, and climbed to the top of the mountain. I looked ahead - the mountain was still standing. The stones there are like trees in a forest, each more wonderful than the other. Behind the mountain black fog swirls. The young man stood and went up that mountain. He walks and walks, getting steeper, climbing higher and higher, and just before he knows it, he’ll fall into the abyss. He was tired, exhausted, and then two tigers rushed at him from the mountain, huge themselves, with spotted skins. Instantly they found themselves in front of the young man, their jaws opened. Here the young man waved his whip, once, twice, three times and shouted:
- Hey tigers! Mountain guards! Get out of the way! I walk around the world, looking for a bride.
As soon as he said this, the tigers immediately closed their mouths, lowered their heads and ran away.
The young man climbed to the top. I looked down, and there was a gorge, not a stone in it. not a tree - just a stormy stream rushing. The young man came down from the mountain and approached the water itself. He took out a skein, tore off the thread, threw it into the water and shouted:
- Hey, monsters, water guards! Quickly throw a bridge from bank to bank. I walk around the world, looking for a bride!
As soon as he said this, the water began to rustle and bubble, and at that very moment the monsters surfaced on the green surface. Fish tails, human bodies and heads, dressed in turtle shells. The monsters began to drag the thread and pulled it to the other side. And that thread turned into a bridge. The young man waved his whip and walked along the bridge. The bridge is narrow - just a single log. The young man looked down: there was green water, there were monsters in the water, they were getting close to his feet, looking at the young man with red eyes. The young man was frightened and thought: “The bridge is narrow, you’ll fall into the water.” He thought so, and immediately his legs gave way and his head became confused. Ay-ya! The log instantly turned into a thin thread. The young man fell into the water, and the monsters dragged him to the bottom.
The mother is waiting for her eldest son, but he still doesn’t come. A year has already passed. The old woman consoles herself, calms her down, but her heart is gnawing at anxiety. The third day of the third month has arrived. The youngest son says to his mother:
- Mother! A year has passed since my brother left. Today I’ll go look for a bride for myself!
His mother answers him:
“But your brother hasn’t returned yet, so why aren’t you, son, afraid to go?”
“He didn’t come back, but I certainly do.”
The mother’s heart aches for her eldest son, and she says:
- Go and take care of yourself. Even if you find a bride, even if you don’t, you still return home. Just look and find out everything about your older brother - where he is, what’s wrong with him.
The son promised to do everything as his mother ordered. Exactly at midnight he went out into the yard and turned the treasured mirror to the southwest. A white ray ran from the mirror, grew, grew, and turned into a wide, bright road. That road stretched all the way to the steep mountains. The youngest son said goodbye to his mother and set off on his way.
I walked all night. At dawn I reached the end of the road, saw an immortal old man, brilliant rays radiating from the old man in all directions. The elder gave the young man a whip, gave him a ball of thread, taught him what to do with it, and said to the young man:
“About this time last year, your brother came here.” He then fell into the water, and the monsters dragged him to the bottom. So decide whether you will go further or not.
The young man heard that his elder brother had fallen into the abyss, tears rolled from his eyes, and he said to the old man:
“Whatever happens, I’ll still go.”
The old man listened to the young man and showed him the way to that girl. A young man walks, waves a whip, crosses the Tiger Mountain, and approaches a seething stream. He took out a ball, tore off the thread, threw it into the water and shouted:
- Hey, monsters, water guards! Quickly throw a bridge from shore to shore! I walk around the world, looking for a bride!
As soon as he said this, the water began to bubble and rustle, and at that very moment the monsters surfaced on the green surface. Fish tails, human bodies and heads, dressed in turtle shells. The monsters began to drag the thread and pulled it to the other side. And that thread turned into a bridge. A young man is walking along a bridge, and the bridge is narrow - just a single log. The young man waves his whip, does not look down, does not pay attention to the monsters. His knees don’t tremble, his head doesn’t become cloudy. He made it safely across the stream to the other side. He crossed a mountain, conquered another, and suddenly looked at a house standing between emerald cypresses and green pines. As soon as the young man approached the house, he smelled a wonderful aroma spreading around. The young man did not go to the gate, but walked around the house, as the elder told him. He came up and looked - the yard was surrounded by a wall, and from behind the wall a garden with flowers could be seen. The young man did not look at the flowers, he hit the wall with his whip, and at the same moment the whip turned into a rope ladder. The young man climbed up the stairs into the garden, pulled the ladder, and it turned around like a whip again. The young man found peonies in the garden - green and red. One is more beautiful than the other, one is more fragrant than the other. The young man pointed a mirror at the flower and shouted:
- Lu-mei! Green sister!
At the same moment, the flower turned into a girl. This is what the young man saw in the mirror.
The young man says:
- Green sister! I came here for you. Let's run away!
The girl looked him over from head to toe and smiled. She turned her head, looked at the red peony - her eyebrows furrowed, pearl tears rolled down from her eyes.
“I can’t leave, I can’t leave my older sister.” Even if we escape from the hands of the evil sorceress, I will still be sad in my heart for the rest of my life.
She said this, and dewdrops sparkled on the red peony, with a pearl on each petal.
The young man understood everything and became sad. The elder brother did not find his red sister; he was killed by water monsters. What can you do without his mirror? Then the green sister says to him:
“Let’s go quickly to the house, the evil sorceress has returned.”
As soon as they entered the house, the sorceress was in the front yard. The young man looked through the crack of the door and saw that the sorceress was dressed in silk and velvet, only her face and arms were hairy. The sorceress stood in the yard, turned her nose, pointed her finger at the door and started swearing:
- Oh, you creature, you are looking for your death! How dare you turn into a human? Who gave you permission to bring a stranger into your house?
The sorceress kicked the door and smashed it to pieces. She waved her skirt and the wind began to hum in the house. Only with a mirror, no spells are scary. The sorceress could not turn her green sister into a flower again. The old woman saw that things were bad, smiled and said:
- Look, daughter, what a handsome young man! I'll marry you to him.
The young man and the girl are silent, they don’t utter a word. And the evil sorceress says:
“You don’t know that in our house we apparently have mules, horses, cows and sheep.” And tonight the thieves will come. Let the young man guard the house with me, and tomorrow I will let you go with him.
The sorceress said so and walked away. The girl became sad and said:
- The old witch will harass you. She has nothing - no mules, no horses, no cows, no sheep. She went to call the wolves, creeping reptiles, tigers and leopards.
The young man began to console the girl:
- I have a magic whip that saves from wolves, creeping reptiles, tigers and leopards.
The girl calmed down. Her heart was relieved.
The evil witch brought the young man to a deserted mountain, and she herself disappeared. Now the night has come. The young man looks - no mule, no horse, no cow, no sheep - there is nothing. Only blackthorn grows. Suddenly he sees - wolves, creeping reptiles, tigers and leopards have come, their green eyes sparkle, but they don’t dare come closer. The young man chose a more level place, lay down and slept until dawn.
The old witch saw that she couldn’t kill the young man, pretended to be crying and said:
- I love my daughter so much! If she leaves, I will die of melancholy. I thought and thought and decided to leave with you.
The girl heard this and sensed something bad. Surely the old woman planned to destroy them on the road. Lü-mei was savvy and said to the old woman:
“I agree that you come with us, but you won’t be able to keep up with the young people.” Fatigue will overcome. If you want, you can become big, if necessary, you can become small. So make yourself small, climb into the copper vase. I'll carry you on my back. I won’t damage your hands, I won’t break your legs. If you want, sleep. If you want, sit. Fine?
And the evil witch was only thinking about how to destroy the young man and girl. She heard the girl’s words, she shrank all over and became the size of a rat. Jump and jump - she climbed into a copper vase, and that’s all Lyu-mei needed. She quickly shut up the vase. Then she told the young man to bring the lid, and closed the vase with the lid tightly. And they went with the young man. We approached the gorge of the Water Monsters and threw the vase into the water. Lu-mei sat down on the ground and began to cry. He cries and says:
- Oh, you damned witch! You tormented my sister and me, tormented us. I turned them into flowers for my amusement. I can't leave you, sister! Will we meet again someday?
Lü-mei is crying and shedding tears. The clouds could not stand it and they began to cry. The earth was watered with rain and tears. The pines couldn’t stand it—they started crying. The dewdrops and tears on the branches began to shine. Here the young man remembered his older brother, could not stand it and cried out loud. The muddy green water began to glisten and the black clouds dissipated. An immortal old man descended from heaven in a brilliant circle. The elder waved his stick and shouted:
- Hey, water creatures, bring the young man ashore! He walked around the world, looking for a bride!
The monsters obeyed - fish tails, human heads, a turtle shell, and carried their older brother ashore. And it was as if he had never been at the bottom of the stream with the terrible water monsters. This magic mirror with water chestnut flowers saved him from damage. The elder took the young man by the hand and pulled him towards him. Hey! The young man stood up, rubbed his eyes and said:
- No way, did I have a dream?
He saw his younger brother, hugged him, and the immortal old man rose up and disappeared.
The brothers returned to the witch's house and entered the garden. The elder brother took the mirror, pointed it at the red peony and called:
- Hong-tse! Red sister!
At the same moment the flower turned into a girl. It was her that the older brother saw in the mirror. The girl looked at the young man and smiled.
The dark clouds dissipated in the mountains, and people's wedding went smoothly. The mother of the eldest son and his wife waited, and the younger son and his wife waited. And they began to live in joy and harmony.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru