They say that in ancient times there lived a king, and he had a beautiful wife, whom he loved very much. And that king also had a magic ring that could fulfill any order of the owner, any mandate. And the king lived, knowing neither worries nor sorrows. However, his happiness did not last long - his beautiful wife died in childbirth, leaving behind a little daughter.
Many years passed, but the king was still inconsolable. Nothing made him happy - neither countless riches, nor beautiful slaves, nor a wonderful ring. Out of grief and melancholy, he even forgot about his little daughter. She grew up surrounded by the care of maids and slaves, almost never leaving the distant palace chambers. And the years went by and went by, and the tsar’s daughter imperceptibly turned into a beautiful girl, very similar to her mother.
One day, while walking through the palace garden, the king saw his daughter, and she reminded him of his deceased wife so much that he, having lost his mind, desired her and began to covet her love.
Fear took possession of the girl’s heart, and she realized that she could no longer stay in her father’s palace. One day in the dead of night she took a magic ring and a wallet with money and left the palace.
First of all, the girl found a carpenter in a nearby village and ordered him to make a wooden doll, the size of a living person and hollow inside. And as soon as the order was completed, the girl paid the carpenter, took the doll and wandered off wherever she looked. Every time she had to enter an unfamiliar city or village, she climbed inside a wooden doll, and everyone was amazed - what an unprecedented miracle was walking!
The girl knocked on many doors with a wooden hand. walked around the market squares and offered everywhere:
-Who needs a maid? Who needs a maid? But people looked at her in surprise and laughed:
— A maid made of wood? Who needs this! The princess despaired that no one wanted to take her into service. Once finding herself in a large capital city, she went straight to the royal palace and knocked on the gate. The guard opened the gate, but saw no one and closed it again. The girl knocked a second time, and again the guard saw no one. But the girl did not leave and knocked a third time. As soon as the guard opened the gate, she said:
- I want to serve in the palace.
The guard was surprised and hurried to tell the king that a wooden girl had come who spoke with a human voice and wanted to serve in the palace. The king laughed and ordered the girl to be brought into the palace and assigned to serve in the baths.
And then it was time for the wedding of the prince, the king’s son. He was supposed to marry his uncle's daughter. Preparations for the wedding celebrations began in the palace. The queen entrusted each slave and maid with some task, only the wooden girl did not give any work.
Then the wooden girl herself asked the queen to allow her to serve in the kitchen. The queen was delighted with her request and instructed her to cook the meat. But the girl expressed a desire to prepare every single dish that would be served at the wedding. She said that she could do it before the queen counted to one hundred. If she breaks her promise, then let her head be cut off. The girl set only one condition: all servants and slaves must leave the kitchen, leaving her there alone. The queen was surprised, but agreed to fulfill the girl’s request.
As soon as the kitchen doors closed behind the last maid, the girl took out a magic ring and ordered to prepare a wide variety of dishes, put them on trays and decorate them.
And indeed, before the queen had time to count to one hundred, a girl came out and invited her to try the food. The queen was amazed by what she saw, and after tasting the dishes, she was even more amazed.
Celebrations began in the palace. Guests began to gather, bright lights came on, and loud music began to play. And then the wooden girl asked the queen to give her one of her dresses as a reward for the prepared dishes. The queen was surprised at this unusual request, but could not refuse the girl. And she chose a dress the color of the bright sun. She emerged from the wooden doll, skillfully decorated herself and appeared to the guests.
The guests were amazed at the extraordinary beauty of the girl - she was the most beautiful of all the girls at the holiday. The dress suited her so well and shone so much with the rays of the shining sun that the queen did not even recognize her dress or her maid. The girl stood behind the bride. The prince-groom approached the bride, holding in his hands a necklace of precious stones, a gold bracelet and an expensive ring. But, seeing the girl, he was fascinated by her beauty, his head began to spin, he forgot about the bride and, not realizing what he was doing, put a ring on the maid’s finger, a bracelet on her wrist and a necklace on her neck. The bride got angry and left the hall. At the same moment, the wooden girl disappeared.
The king, queen and guests were confused, and the whole palace was filled with excitement. Everything happened so quickly that most of the guests did not understand what happened. The bride declared that she would not stay a minute longer in the palace and would leave it immediately, and the prince responded by announcing that he did not want to marry her.
Less than a week had passed before the prince fell seriously ill. Doctors and sorcerers gathered at his bedside, but could not decide how to cure him. And then a wooden girl approaches the queen and says that she knows a way to heal the prince. The queen was delighted and asked the girl to quickly begin treatment. The girl took some flour, mixed it with water and gave it to the prince. He refused to drink. Then the girl quietly placed next to the bowl with the “potion” the same ring that the prince had put on her finger. She brought the prince a drink again and said:
- Look what lies next to the bowl. As soon as the prince saw the ring, he drank the drink in one gulp, smiled and asked:
- Tell me, where is the one from whom you took the ring now?
“She will come to you herself,” the girl answered, “but not before you drink this medicine three times - once a day.” There are only two days left, and your beloved will appear to you in a dress the color of the shining sun.
-Where is she? - exclaimed the prince.
The wooden girl remained silent in response.
And the prince began to recover. The next day, while giving the prince the medicine, the girl placed a bracelet next to the bowl, and on the third day, a necklace. The prince almost completely recovered from his illness. On the third day he asked the girl:
-Where is my beloved?
And then the princess came out of the wooden doll and told the prince her whole story, taking his word that for the time being he would keep it a secret.
The prince went to his father and asked permission to marry a wooden girl - a servant. The king became angry and answered:
“I wanted to marry you to my brother’s daughter, a rich and noble princess.” So why did you behave so disgracefully, put a ring on the finger of some other girl and gave her the bracelet and necklace? You cruelly insulted the princess, she was offended and left our palace forever.
But the prince firmly stood his ground. When the queen found out about this, she was extremely upset. However, her great love for her son and fears for his health forced her to agree to the wedding. She tearfully begged the king to take pity on her son. And he finally gave in to her pleas.
Meanwhile, the wooden girl instructed the magic ring to build a large crystal palace for the wedding day, furnish it with beautiful, hitherto unprecedented furniture, cover it with lush carpets, pillows made of ostrich feathers, arrange golden bowls and the most expensive dishes with outlandish dishes. The palace must be larger and richer than the king's palace. And he should also have a beautiful garden that would please the eye and please the heart. And the princess also ordered to deliver her a silver moon-colored dress, earrings with precious stones in the frame of the eyes and a large diamond in the shape of the mouth.
And magnificent celebrations were held. But the king was angry, the queen was sad, and the guests did not smile or laugh. Just think, a prince marries a wooden maid!
But then the newlyweds entered the hall - a handsome prince, and next to him a beautiful houri, from one glance at which one could go blind. The silver dress she wore shone like rare pearls, long earrings hung in her ears, and a large diamond in the shape of a mouth sparkled on her forehead. But the beauty of the girl’s lips surpassed the beauty of this stone. The king immediately recognized this beauty as the same stranger with whom the prince had fallen madly in love and to whom he presented gifts instead of a bride. The king approached the girl and asked:
- Who are you and where are you from, beautiful guria?
And then the princess told about everything that had happened to her. The hearts of the king and his wife were filled with pity and great love for this girl.
Before the holiday had even ended, everyone saw that a new crystal palace had risen next to the royal palace, emitting a soft white light. No one had ever seen such beauty before. With a smile the princess then said to the king:
- This is my palace. Come to me. She led the king, queen, prince and all the guests into her crystal palace. Everyone was amazed by its splendor and the beauty of the garden, where many flowers emitted an intoxicating aroma. The princess expressed a desire for the festivities to continue in her palace. And they lasted forty days and forty nights. And when the festivities ended, the princess and the prince lived in contentment and happiness, and she bore him many sons and daughters.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru