From an early age, Ziang remained an orphan; he had neither father nor mother. As soon as the boy grew up, a village rich man took him in and ordered him to graze the buffaloes. He kept the rich guy from hand to mouth, the poor guy’s clothes were completely torn and frayed, his face was blackened from sunburn and dirt. No one in the village wanted to know the pathetic ragamuffin.
Ziang once grazed buffaloes on a hillside. Suddenly he sees three guys walking along the path, all three are dressed like dandies, walking and laughing merrily. Ziang really wanted to know why the guys were having fun and where they were going. He ran up to them and asked:
-Where are you going and why are you so cheerful?
“We’re going to the mountains to see an old man, a great master, he turns ugly people into beautiful ones,” the guys answered, “and we desperately need to become handsome, because we’ve decided to get married.”
Ziang began to ask the guys to take him with them. They immediately agreed.
- So be it, we’ll take you. Maybe we'll have even more fun.
Ziang drove the owner's buffaloes into the barn, and he ran after the guys. The three guys had a lot of money jingling in their pockets, they sported smart clothes, and they had only jokes and jokes on their minds. Ziang thought about his hard lot and did not notice that together with the guys he had reached the foot of a high hill. And then suddenly, out of nowhere, a gray-haired and gray-bearded old man appeared with a bundle of brushwood on his back. From fatigue, the old man could hardly move his legs and was very out of breath. Rich guys walked past the old man with jokes and jokes, and Ziang stopped and politely asked:
- How far are you carrying the brushwood? Let me help you, sir!
The old man put the bundle on the ground, caught his breath with difficulty and said in a cracked, senile voice:
“I live on that mountain over there, I have to climb up and up, this is at my age!” So I won’t refuse help.
The young man put a bundle of brushwood on his shoulder and walked with the old man. The old man trotted along a lot, and Ziang had to adapt to his step. The old man asked where Ziang was going.
“I’m going to the old man, a great master, he turns ugly people into beautiful ones,” the young man answered embarrassedly.
“Then let me tell you, good man: in my village there lives an old man who made many ugly people beautiful.” In a little while I will show you how to find his house.
They approached the village, the old man took his burden from Ziang and said:
- Go down that path, and then ask the people, they will help you find the house of that old man.
The old man walked up the path, and Ziang began to go down. After some time, he saw three guys from whom he fell behind.
- Hey guys! - Ziang shouted. “You passed by the very village we need.” Turn back now! There lives an old man in that village - a great master, he turns ugly people into beautiful ones!
The guys turned back and, together with Ziang, came to the village about which the old man with a bundle of brushwood had spoken. They asked people, and they showed them the house they needed. They come, and sitting there is the same old man that they met at the foot of the hill. Only now he was unrecognizable, the old man was already showing off in a completely different outfit. He asked all four guys to come into the house, sat them down, listened and said:
- Well, I wouldn’t mind helping your grief. So be it, I’ll make you handsome!
And the guys were from rich houses, they were sitting, their noses were wrinkled - the old man’s housing seemed to them very squalid.
- What a filth and stench here! - they whisper.
And Ziang saw that the house was not tidy, and began to help the old man: sweeping, washing and taking out the trash. The rich guys didn’t lift a finger, they just asked the old man to quickly turn them into handsome men, they chattered that they were hurrying home for the holiday, otherwise they would take all the brides and they wouldn’t get a single one.
“Okay,” said the old man, “in the morning, so be it, I’ll take care of you three, and you, Ziang, will have to be patient.” You are an orphan, you have nowhere to rush, the bride is not waiting for you. Live with me, and then you'll see.
Ziang did not contradict the old man:
“And really, what’s the hurry?” I'll stay with you for a while. But I’m not used to sitting idle. Give me, sir, some work, otherwise I’ll die of boredom.
“That’s good,” said the old man, “I’m just cutting down trees and preparing a new field for corn.” So you'll find something to do.
The next day, Ziang took a sharp knife and a heavy ax and went to uproot the trees. But the old man stayed at home, because the three guys from rich houses were impatient - they really wanted to become handsome as quickly as possible. The guys were quarreling over who should be first, and they were rushing the old man so much that the first guy’s face turned out to be askew, and the other two’s were distorted. The old man kicked the guys out the door and didn’t want to listen to them.
The guys showed up for the holiday, the girls looked at them and started to run away in fear!
Meanwhile, Ziang was uprooting the forest. And when he returned from the mountain field, the old man slightly corrected his face. Every day it was like this: the old man corrected flaw after flaw, did it without haste and admired his work for a long time.
A month passed, the old man gave Ziang a coin and sent him to the village to buy a chicken. Ziang returned, and the old man asked him:
- Tell me, son, when you came to the village, did the dogs greet you with loud barking? Did the pigs grunt? Did the chickens cluck?
“No, venerable sir,” answered Giang, “the dogs did not bark, the pigs did not grunt, and the chickens did not cackle.”
The old man muttered something, sat the young man down in front of him again and eliminated some blemish on his face. And for another whole month, every day the old man corrected the smallest flaws on Ziang’s face and again each time he admired his work for a long time.
A month later, he again gave the young man a coin and sent him to the village, this time to get a duck. Ziang returned, and the old man asked him again:
- Tell me, son, when you came to the village, did the dogs greet you with loud barking? Did the pigs grunt? Did the chickens cluck?
“No, venerable sir,” answered Giang, “the dogs did not bark, the pigs did not grunt, and the chickens did not cackle.”
The old man muttered:
“So, we’ll have to do some more work.” Come on, son, sit in front of me.
For another nine days the old man corrected the flaws on Ziang’s face. And then he again gave him a coin and told him to go to the village and buy a goat with long hair, a long beard and curved horns.
“You will find such a goat,” said the old man, “in the house near which there is a large boulder.”
Ziang went to the village, bought a handsome goat and brought it to the old man, and he again asked:
- Tell me, son, when you came to the village, did the dogs greet you with loud barking? Did the pigs grunt? Did the chickens cluck?
“Yes, venerable one,” laughed Giang, “this time, as soon as I entered the village, the dogs barked, the pigs grunted, and the chickens clucked and flapped their wings.”
The old man smiled too:
- If so, son, go skin the goat! Just be careful not to damage it. Try to take it off completely!
Ziang did just that. The goat's skin was very beautiful. The young man took it off entirely, along with the ears and hooves, then ordered the old man to stuff the skin with dry grass - it turned out to be a stuffed animal. The stuffed animal dried for exactly one hundred days. And then the old man took out the grass and told Ziang to get into the goatskin. The old man ordered the young man to go to the village, not on two legs, but on four. And he also said that Ziang should not allow anyone to touch the goat skin.
The young man climbed into the goatskin and became like a real goat. As soon as he appeared in the village, buffalos, bulls, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep and dogs began to come running from all sides. They followed on Ziang's heels and did not lag behind a single step. The residents of the village were amazed.
-Where did this goat come from? “He’s just handsome,” they said. “Let’s drive the buffaloes, bulls, goats, sheep, pigs, dogs and chickens away from him, otherwise they will follow him - and remember his name.”
The villagers rushed to drive away buffaloes, oxen, goats, sheep, pigs, dogs and chickens from Giang. And Ziang silently went back. He returned to the old man, who asked him:
- Tell me, son, what domestic creatures followed you on your heels?
“Buffaloes, bulls, goats, sheep, chickens, pigs and dogs followed me on my heels, not lagging behind me,” answered Giang.
The old man smiled, laughed, then ordered to bring meat and crush glutinous rice - three whole baskets. The old man prepared stuffing from buffalo and pork and baked many pies.
The next morning he ordered Ziang to put on the goat skin again and stuffed the pies inside - exactly one hundred and twenty pieces.
“Son, I made you handsome,” said the old man, “so much so that only a princess is suitable for your wife.” But for now, be patient and walk around in goatskin. When you eat all one hundred and twenty pies, shed your skin - you will become a white-skinned handsome man and marry a princess.
And the old man also ordered to find a cave at the foot of the hill on which the royal goats graze, and hide in it, and not take off the goatskin. That's what Ziang did.
One fine morning the princess drove the goats up the hill to graze. Ziang came out of the cave, the goats saw him, took him for a real goat and followed him. Ziang took the goats far, far away, to where the most delicious, juicy grass grew, and when they were full, he brought them back.
The goats were so well-fed that when they walked past the corn field, they didn’t pick a single stalk; when they walked past the rice field, they didn’t touch a single ear. In the evening, Ziang brought the goats to the princess, she saw the handsome goat, was surprised and decided that a wild mountain goat had come to her herd. She wanted to drive him and all the goats into the barn, but the goat bucked and ran away.
The next day the princess again drove her goats up the hill, and they immediately turned towards the cave and began to bleat loudly, calling for Ziang. A handsome goat came out of the cave and again led the herd to where the most delicious, juicy grass grew. The same thing happened on the third day.
Now the princess sat near the cave all day long and did needlework. I must say that she loved embroidery with a passion. In the evening, the princess drove the well-fed sheep into the barn, and the handsome goat ran away into his cave. The princess’s life was now free, she no longer had to climb the hills, but she could embroider to her heart’s content. And she spent all day embroidering outfits for herself.
One day, the princess's goats, as always, came to the cave and began to bleat, calling out the handsome goat. He went out, led and led the goats along the hill, but soon returned back to his cave and, as if nothing had happened, lay down there on the stones. The goats trampled in one place for half a day, did not want to leave the cave, and the princess sat nearby and did her embroidery. At noon she began to feel sleepy. And Ziang saw everything from his cave, so he asks:
— How many outfits does a princess need? Why does the princess keep embroidering and embroidering? I see that she is so tired that before long she will fall asleep.
The princess shuddered, opened her eyes, looked around, but saw no one except the goat, which was lying on the rocks in its cave. The princess decided that she imagined that someone was asking her about her outfits. She yawned sweetly and again bent over her needlework, but soon dozed off and then in her sleep she again heard:
— How many outfits does a princess need? Why does the princess keep embroidering and embroidering? I see that she is so tired that before long she will fall asleep.
The princess shuddered, opened her eyes, looked around - again there was no one except the handsome goat, who was lying in his cave in the same place. The princess was very surprised and thought: can’t this goat speak humanly? Then she began to embroider again, but soon pretended to have dozed off, while she quietly glanced at the goat.
The princess's trick was a success: Ziang decided that she had actually dozed off, and repeated his question again. Then the princess realized that the handsome goat was talking to her. She approached him and tried to talk to him, but the goat was silent, only nodded his head and waved his tail. The princess got angry, ran up to the goat and shook it by the horns and said:
- My good one, my dear goat, do me a favor, talk to me, please, otherwise I’m so bored! And if you don’t want to talk to me, I’ll break your beautiful horns!
The handsome goat did not upset the princess, he spoke to her like a human being. The princess enjoyed talking with the goat so much that she began to invite him to visit her. Only he didn’t go, he refused.
The next morning the princess brought a treat to the goat. The princess sat down at the entrance to the cave, and they began to talk, while the goats grazed nearby. The princess is talking and doing needlework. The stitches on embroidery lie much smoother and more beautiful than before.
In the evening, she told her mother-queen about an extraordinary goat that could speak like a human being, and the next day the queen went with the princess to graze the goats, but Ziang never left the cave.
The next day the king himself came with the princess. Ziang saw the king, again hid in the depths of the cave and sat there until late in the evening. Then the day came when Ziang ate the last, one hundred and twentieth, pie. The young man remembered how he left the village with a supply of pies that the old man gave him, and the words that he said.
The next morning the princess brought her goats alone. When Zian saw that the princess was alone, he immediately ran out of the cave in a goat skin. The princess's goats were happy and obediently followed the goat, but he led them a little up the hill and quickly back to the cave. And that day it rained, and the goat skin on Ziang became very wet. He hid in a cave and took off the skin to dry it.
The princess waited and waited for the goat, but he was still not there. Then she could not stand it and entered the cave. She looked around and saw that instead of a goat there was a fine, handsome young man: his face was round as a moon, his skin was matte white, like rice flour, his eyes sparkled like stars. And next to the young man lies a wet goat skin.
The princess saw the skin and guessed that all this time she had been talking not with the goat, but with this beautiful young man dressed in the goat skin. Out of embarrassment, the princess was speechless and silently looked at the extraordinary handsome man. The more she looked at him, the more beautiful he seemed to her. Finally, the princess understood what to do: she rushed to the goat skin, grabbed it and began to tear it into shreds, then she approached the young man and extended her hand to him. Now Ziang was embarrassed: he could not utter a word. Then the princess overcame her shyness and said to Ziang:
- Nice young man, I would like to become your bride!
Then Ziang remembered the old man’s words: “I made you handsome, so much so that only a princess is suitable for your wife.” Ziang was delighted, extended his hand to the princess, and they went to the palace together.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru