In ancient times, there lived a young man named Shin. His mother and father died, and Shin was left completely alone in this world. And as an inheritance from his parents, he received a loincloth, a clay pot, a kettle for cooking rice, and a hut, so dilapidated that it could not protect him from the rain or the wind.
Shin thought for a long time about how to feed himself, and in the end he decided to settle in the forest. He took a clay pot and a kettle and went into the forest. I found an old tree there and decided that in its hollow one could easily hide from both the rain and the hot sun. Every day Shin collected brushwood and carried it to the mountain villages, and there he exchanged it for corn - that’s what he fed on.
There was no one to talk to in the forest, so Shin talked to himself. He said this both when he was collecting brushwood and when he was resting in his hollow.
One day, a cheerful, talkative old man named Sing Zing appeared at the Shinya tree and asked to feed him. Shin boiled corn in a clay pot and treated it to the old man. He ate Sing Zing, and then broke the pot.
“Don’t worry,” he laughs, “I won’t be in debt.” I will teach you many wisdoms, you will be omnipotent and omniscient.
Shin thanked the elder, promised to be an obedient student, and Sing Zing began to initiate Shin into the secrets of magic. He taught the young man to raise the wind, drive clouds, cause thunder and lightning, spew fire, and taught him the secrets of transforming into different creatures. Shin was extremely smart, so learning was easy for him.
And when Shin came into power, the teacher decided to test him - he ordered him to fight a water dragon, an evil and bloodthirsty monster with two horns on his head.
The water dragon was happy when he learned that Shin had come to measure his strength with him and decided to have some fun. The evil monster rushed at Shin, but Shin was a good guy: he grabbed the horn tightly and, with all his strength, pressed the monster’s head to the ground, and then waved his knife - the horns rolled to the ground; The monster roared and rushed into the river to seek salvation.
Sing Zing praised the student:
“I see, son, that you have a lot of dexterity and skill.” From now on, live freely, do not be afraid of anyone in the world and do not allow anyone to look down on you. And most importantly, use your talents for the benefit of people.
Shin respectfully listened to the teacher, went into the forest, caught a boar there and gave Sing Zing a nice treat, and then Sing Zing left, and Shin was left alone in his hollow; he had long been accustomed to this home.
And at that time Li Thung and his wife lived in a nearby village, they were engaged in trade and lived richly. Shin once passed by their house with a bundle of brushwood, and the merchants bought brushwood from him. They looked at Shin and thought: “This strong, simple-minded guy would make a good worker. Perhaps, let him stay with us and carry brushwood into the house every day.” The cunning Li Thung invited Shin to become brothers, and Shin, without hesitation, moved to his brother-in-law’s house.
Once Shin went into the forest for brushwood, he saw a huge raven flying, carrying in its claws a girl, and such a beautiful one - a celestial being, and that’s all! Shin was not taken aback, pulled the bowstring, released an arrow and hit the crow right in the paw. The raven flew further, and when it flew over the mountain, it released the girl from its claws. And he himself descended to the ground and galloped on one leg to a cave in this mountain. Shin rushed after him, but the raven suddenly disappeared to God knows where.
And that girl was the daughter of the Heavenly Ruler. The ruler realized that his daughter was missing and ordered the servants to find her at all costs. The servants say that there are such rich merchants, Li Thung and his wife, who are dishonest, stingy and unkind people. Not otherwise, they kidnapped the girl. The Heavenly Lord got angry and ordered the merchants to be taken to the king of dragons for reprisal - it must be said that the king of dragons loved to feast on human flesh.
Li Thung's wife caught wind of this command, was scared to death and immediately told the terrible news to her husband. For several days and nights the merchants whispered and consulted with each other on what to do. They judged and argued for a long time and finally came up with such an insidious trick: let, they say, Shin accept death instead of them. And Shin didn’t even suspect anything bad - he lies there resting; tired, tired - he spent a long time chopping wood in the forest, so he decided to rest in his hollow. There Shin was found by Li Thung.
- Let's go home, brother.
At home, trays with all sorts of dishes were waiting for them - all this was prepared in advance by Li Thung's wife. We sat for a long time at dinner and talking. Shin, as the insidious traders expected, did not suspect anything wrong and did not pay attention to the fact that they were frightened and fawning on him.
After dinner, the merchants got down to the most important thing: they wanted to entrust Shin with an important matter. That night he must go to the temple, which stands in a deep forest, and take gold and food there for the king of the dragons.
“The Heavenly Lord,” explained Li Thung, “ordered me to do this, but as luck would have it, I’m up to my neck, so you, brother, don’t let me down, go instead of me, do me a favor.” You see how important this is!
Li Thung asked Shin both as a friend and as a sworn brother, but he did not even think of refusing. “What is there to say for a long time, this is really an important matter,” Shin reasoned. “And how can one refuse help to such a kind person?”
And Li Thung’s wife is already thrusting a bundle of food at Shin—she would like to send him on his way as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the Heavenly Lord ordered the dragon king not to leave the temple and wait for the insidious and dishonest traders. It's time, he says, to deal with them.
The dragon king is curled up on the floor of the temple - waiting. Finally I heard footsteps and saw Shin - the young man entered the temple without any fear. Shin immediately noticed that both of the dragon king's horns were cut off, and realized that this was the same water dragon with which he had already had to measure his strength once.
The king of dragons also recognized his offender, his eyes bulged with anger and became bloodshot. Apparently, he remembered how Shin cut off his horns. The king of dragons shook with anger, opened his huge mouth wide - now he will swallow Shin.
But that was not the case! Shin was not taken aback, grabbed a knife and cut the monster from tail to neck, and then cut off its head and took it home.
And it's past midnight. Shin knocked on the door, calling his sworn brother.
“Who’s knocking there at such a late hour?” - Li Thung responded.
- Open it! It's me, your little brother.
- What kind of brother is this?
- Which one? Foster brother, Shin. You yourself sent me to the temple to the king of dragons!
Li Thung heard this and froze with fear: no other way, the soul of the innocently ruined Shin appeared.
- You were swallowed by the king of dragons, Shin! Tell me, why did your soul come to me? Leave in good health, go to the temple, leave me alone! Tomorrow I will arrange a funeral rite for you, as it should be, but now go away!
- Listen, Li Thung! - said Shin. “What makes you think that I don’t exist in the world?” Do you think I was swallowed by the dragon king? Open the door quickly and take a look at what I’ll show you!
Li Thung let the young man into the house, saw the head of the dragon king and was dumbfounded. Then he calmed down a little and came up with a new trick.
- How dare you! - he exclaimed. “Why did you ruin the king of the dragons?” Woe to us all! Now his soul will take revenge not only on you, but also on me. Get out of my house before trouble strikes!
What can you do? Shin returned to the old hollow, again began to chop wood, collect brushwood, and carry it for sale. That's what he fed on.
The Heavenly Lord learned that Li Thung managed to escape from the king of dragons, and was very surprised. He decided that Li Thung was a man with a head, and also a daredevil, of which there are few, and ordered him to hit the road and look for the missing princess.
“The one who returns my child to me will receive from me as much good as he wants,” the Heavenly Ruler promised.
Li Thung was not at a loss.
- Oh Almighty, I came up with a trick. We need to throw a feast for the whole world. Let the guests feast for exactly nine days and nine nights. And we will notice who will not be among the guests. If the one who kidnapped your daughter is not there, he will be afraid to come to the feast.
This cunning pleased the Heavenly Ruler; he ordered the slaughter of bulls and pigs as needed for the feast, and the feast to be noisy for exactly nine days and nine nights. Everyone must come to the feast: both those whose villages are hidden in the forests, and those whose villages climb high into the mountains.
Li Thung decided to arrange a feast for the whole world because he wanted to ask the guests about the missing daughter of the Heavenly Lord. Look, thought Li Thung, someone will advise where to look for her. And then try to find her, even if the ruler himself does not know where she has gone. “And then all my hope is in Shin,” thought Li Thung, “only he can help me. He will find the daughter of the Heavenly Lord. Only glory will I get!”
The messengers galloped to all ends and conveyed the order to all people to appear at the feast that the Heavenly Lord himself was throwing for them. Both old and young, both men and women - everyone set off on the journey, everyone flocked to visit the Heavenly Ruler. Near and distant villages were deserted - everyone wanted to taste the dishes and dance to their heart's content to the sounds of khen*.
The guests of the Heavenly Ruler feast for six days and nights. They are having fun and talking. There are so many stories to tell! But no one knows or knows anything about the missing daughter of the Heavenly Ruler. And Shin is still not there. Only on the ninth day did he appear, and even then not in the morning, but in the afternoon.
Li Thung immediately felt relieved. He ordered his wife to greet Shin more friendly, and he hugged him like a brother after a long separation, and personally brought him a tray of food. And then he led him to the Heavenly Ruler.
-Have you met my daughter? — the Heavenly Lord asked Shin.
“Oh Almighty,” answered Shin, “I don’t know this.” Judge for yourself, how do I know what your daughter looks like? I live alone, in the forest. I fell in love with a hollow in a large tree there, and used it as a hut.
Then the Heavenly ruler began to tell what his daughter looked like and what she was wearing. Shin remembered here how he once wounded a huge raven, which was carrying a girl in its claws. Perhaps that girl is very similar to the daughter of the almighty.
The Heavenly Lord was delighted and began to ask Shin to find the princess. But then I realized: how can he, the Heavenly ruler, humiliate himself before an earthly man! And he commanded:
“Find me a daughter, and if you don’t find me, blame yourself: I’ll have you executed!” If you find and deliver the princess safe, I will give her to you as a wife.
“Okay,” said Shin, “just don’t forget about your promise.”
And Li Thung listened and thought to himself: “Everything is working out nicely! Let this fool climb the mountains and forest thickets, let him find the daughter of the Heavenly Ruler! Yes, he was destined to collect brushwood in the forest for the rest of his life! What girl would covet a guy who is so poor that he doesn’t even have a hut, he lives in a hollow!”
Li Thung decided that he would take credit for Shin’s merit if he was lucky enough to find the daughter of the Heavenly Lord.
Shin set off on his journey. He climbs high mountains, makes his way through forest thickets, but still found the place where he once wounded a huge raven, and found a cave where the raven released the girl from its claws. He sees that the entrance is blocked with stones. The stones lie densely, one next to the other, but Shin still saw a tiny hole, only an ant could crawl through it.
Shin turned into an ant and ran into a cave, and there the daughter of the Heavenly Ruler sits! And it turns out that the entrance to the cave was blocked by a raven. In one corner a girl sits, in the other a raven is dozing. The ant got close to the girl’s ear and whispered something to her. She shuddered in surprise, perked up and quietly said:
- Be careful, otherwise the raven will wake up and swallow you.
She took the hairpin and touched it to the raven’s paw, he did not move, he was fast asleep.
Then Shin turned into a man again, grabbed a sharp knife from his belt and cut off the crow's head in one fell swoop. The girl began to cry with joy and began to thank Shin.
“Now go down underground,” he says, “help the Underground Lord, he has a lot of things to do, and he can’t handle it alone.” In seven days, you look, you will turn around. The underground ruler will not remain in debt, but just don’t take any money or clothes from him, take only the moon lute.
Shin turned into an ant again, crawled underground, helped the Underground Lord: he took on everything with joy, did any work quickly.
As seven days have passed, the Underground Lord says that he wants to reward the young man for his honest work. Shin then asked for the moon lute.
Shin returned to the cave and set off on a long journey with the daughter of the Heavenly Lord.
Meanwhile, Li Thung gained great confidence from the Heavenly Lord, and he was granted the rank of dignitary. When Li Thung learned that Shin had found the daughter of the Heavenly Lord, when he saw her beauty, he completely lost peace. He went to the Heavenly ruler and said:
- Oh Almighty, it was Shin who kidnapped your daughter and hid her in a cave. And now he even dared to come for a reward!
The Heavenly Lord heard this and ordered Shin to be imprisoned. And when the daughter of the Heavenly Ruler found out about this, she seemed petrified - she doesn’t answer questions, doesn’t respond to a word, doesn’t talk to anyone. She was numb, and that’s all!
Only then does the girl cheer up when she hears Shin playing the moon lute in the dungeon.
The Heavenly Lord found out that Li Thung was to blame for everything, and immediately banished him to the mortal world - to earth, and made Shinya his son-in-law, as he promised.
Li Thung had to go home. He goes home, and he is seething with anger and thinks only about how to take revenge on Shin. And then the wind blew, lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, lightning struck Li Thung - the villain fell dead.
Before Shin had time to rejoice in his happy life with his beautiful wife, enemy hordes attacked the domain of the Heavenly Lord. The warriors of the Heavenly Lord fought bravely, but the enemy was too strong, and the army of the Heavenly Lord suffered defeat after defeat. Enemies surrounded the fortress of the Heavenly Ruler on all sides and destroyed all seven of its gates. The ruler was seriously frightened and lost sleep from fear. He calls Shinya and asks for advice on how to avoid trouble.
Shin ordered the warriors of the Heavenly Lord to rest, and he himself took the moon lute, climbed the fortress wall with it and sang. The enemy soldiers became wary and listened. The gentle, inviting melody stirred the soul and awakened memories.
It got dark, and Shin still sang his songs. Late night came, and a wonderful melody kept flowing from the fortress wall, keeping the enemy army from falling asleep. All night the warriors did not sleep a wink, everyone remembered their own hut with a fireplace: the firewood crackled happily, the warmth near the fireplace on cold evenings. The lute also reminded me of spring, of gentle sunny days.
Dawn was already approaching, and the lute did not stop. The sounds lulled her, and Shin’s singing ached her heart and touched her soul. The gentle sounds of the lute warmed hearts and called them home, to their native hearth. The enemy soldiers no longer wanted to fight, so they laid down their arms.
Then Shin began to prepare a treat for them. He took the pot and put a handful of rice in it. Everyone around was surprised - the pot was too small! - they laughed, but Shin calmly continued his work. And when the soldiers began to eat, they were even more surprised: ten thousand soldiers ate their fill from one pot, and the pot was still too full.
“You can’t even think of defeating a wizard who fed an entire army from a small pot!” - the enemy warriors whispered.
Shin climbed the fortress wall again and exclaimed loudly:
- Hey, warriors! Listen to me! Let those who are not yet tired of killing each other continue to fight. And those who do not want to shed blood in vain, let them go home!
The enemy warriors shouted in one voice:
- Listen to us, Shin! We are all tired of fighting! We don't want to shed any more blood!
The enemy camp began to buzz like an alarmed hive, the warriors began to disperse in all directions, no one wanted to listen to the military leaders.
Then Shin waved his hand and shouted loudly again:
“You smashed all seven fortress gates to pieces here!” It's only fair that you make a new gate.
The enemy soldiers immediately set to work and twelve days later they built seven new gates - much more beautiful than the previous ones.
Peace reigned again in the domains of the Heavenly Ruler. Shin played the moon lute and sang cheerful songs - songs about the happiness of a peaceful life.
Only now did the Heavenly Lord appreciate Shin’s talents and decided to make him his main adviser, but he refused:
- Father, I want you to command everyone, but I will be your assistant.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru