Once upon a time, across the seventy-seven seas, there lived an old man and an old woman.
They had a large orchard. Golden apples grew in the garden. And the old man and the old woman had plenty of everything. I wish I could live and be happy. But there were no children, and they were very sad about that.
One day in the autumn, an old man went to a distant forest lake to catch fish.
I was making my way along trails through the dense forest and suddenly I saw a small unknown bird on a tree. At that very time, out of nowhere, a hawk fell on the bird like a stone, grabbed it with sharp claws and, well, tugged at it.
The old man felt sorry for the bird, grabbed a stone, threw it at the hawk and killed it. The bird flapped its wings, flew to the top of the tree and spoke humanly:
“Thank you, kind old man, you saved me from death.” Ask for what you want, everything will be fulfilled according to your wishes.
- I don’t need anything. The old woman and I have everything we want. But we have neither a son nor a daughter.
“Don’t spin around,” said the bird. - Go east from here. You will see a giant oak tree - its top reaches into the sky. There is a nest at the very top of this oak tree. Take two eggs from the nest, cover them better at home and keep them warm for twenty-one days.
The bird said this, took off the branch and flew away. And the old man went where she told him.
From afar I saw a tall oak tree, came closer, looked at the top - the hat fell off my head. “Well, how will I get to the nest? It’s scary to look at,” thought the old man.
At that very moment, a dove flew from the top of the oak tree, sat down on the ground, and one testicle rolled out from under her right and under her left wing.
- Accept, good man, our forest gift! - the dove cooed and flew away.
As soon as the old man had time to put the eggs in his bosom, he found himself in his village.
- Why did you come back so soon? - the old woman greeted him.
The old man told what happened to him in the forest, put the eggs in a basket with wool, and put the basket on the stove.
On the twenty-first day, one testicle burst, and a man the size of a kochedyk appeared.
[Kochedyk - a tool for weaving bast shoes]
The old man and the old woman rejoiced:
- Let's call our first-born Svertibash!
Soon the shell of the other testicle cracked, and a little man, only as tall as the handle of a poker, jumped out. The old woman began to fuss and fuss:
- What shall we name this son?
- The nest where the dove brought the eggs was built on the top of an oak tree, so let’s call it Yuman
[Yuman - oak (Chuvash)]
The boys began to grow up. Svertibash was restless and a big glutton. He ate everything he could get his hands on. He often ate his brother’s share too. He grew up soon and became known in the village as a strongman.
Yuman grew up strong and agile, but was not very tall.
When the sons grew up, the parents said:
- Dear sons, we have grown old, and the time has come for you to each start your own family, to please us with grandchildren. Go, travel around the world. You will find good brides according to your mind and heart, we will play weddings and celebrate feasts. Be friends along the way, don’t offend each other. Remember this advice of ours, and our blessing will be with you. Then everyone will find their own happiness.
With those words, the old man went to the stable and brought out two saddled horses. One horse is well-fed and playful, the other is meek and skinny, like a mower.
“Choose who you like,” said the father. Svertibash immediately jumped on the smooth, playful argamak, and Yuman mounted a skinny horse, and the brothers left their parental home.
They traveled for seventy-seven days. Here Svertibash stopped.
“I was very hungry,” he said, “and my parents only gave us three apples for the journey.”
“So these apples are not ordinary, but wonderful,” said Yuman.
Svertibash took out and ate all three apples. But Yuman did not touch his own.
After resting, we rode for another seventy-seven days. The horses were exhausted, and the fellows themselves were tired. We stopped on a green meadow. They let the horses ride on the grass and fell fast asleep.
Svertibash woke up first, quietly stole two apples from his sleeping brother and ate them. He wanted to steal the third one too, but just at that moment Yuman woke up, looking, but there were no apples, and he began to blame his brother:
- Shame on you! Your parents told you to live in peace and harmony, to help each other in everything, but you decided to steal apples!
Yuman ate half of the last apple and felt cheerful and strong. He fed the other half of the apple to the horse, and the horse immediately became playful and smooth.
And the brothers mounted their horses again. They continued their journey for another seventy-seven days and arrived in the capital city. In that city the king had a beautiful daughter. When Svertibash found out about this, he said to his brother:
“You go wherever you want, and I’ll stay here and woo the princess.”
“Well, as you can see, I can’t find a bride in this city,” Yuman answered, “but your parents didn’t tell us to separate from you.”
“Father and mother have lost their minds from old age,” Svertibash laughed, “and if we fulfill all their whims, we will have to walk around single and unmarried forever.” If you don’t have a bride here, go alone, look for your share, and I won’t go anywhere from here.
No matter how much Yuman tried to persuade his brother, it was all to no avail. He struggled, grieved, and left the city alone.
Svertibash broke up with his brother and went to the famous fortune teller:
“I want to marry the king’s daughter, but I can’t get into the palace: the guards won’t let me in.” Advise how to woo the princess!
- What advice can you give me?
- I have no money. I'll give you my horse.
And he immediately brought his argamak to the fortune teller. Then the fortune teller said:
— The princess turns into a swan every day and flies to swim in the lake, which is located in a shady forest. There she will turn into a girl again and bathe. If you manage to carry away her swan wings and clothes, and then say that you took all this from a thief, half the job is done. In addition, I will give you a love potion. Sprinkle the princess's clothes with this powder, and she will love you forever.
The next morning, Svertibash hid himself in the bushes on the shore of a forest lake and began to wait. Around noon, a white swan flew in, landed on the sand, shed her wings, turned into a golden-haired maiden, took off her clothes and began to swim.
Svertibash stole the swan's wings, sprinkled the love potion on the princess's dress, and he walked a little further away and waited to see what would happen.
The princess took a bath, went ashore and found neither wings nor dress and cried bitterly:
- Oh, sickening! What villain has dispossessed me? How can I appear in front of people like this now?
As soon as Svertibash heard that the princess was crying, he immediately shouted and swore:
- Oh, robber! Give back everything you stole! You still won’t leave, you won’t run away from me.
And after a short time he threw clothes and swan wings from behind the bushes:
- Get dressed, beautiful princess! I forcibly took your dress and wings from the thief.
The princess was incredibly happy, quickly got dressed and said:
“I don’t know how to thank you, my savior!” Come out of the bushes and show yourself to me.
And that’s all Svertibash needed. He went ashore and began to tell a tall tale:
“I’m walking past the lake and I see some ragamuffin jumping out of the bushes and dragging women’s clothes and swan wings. I shouted at him, rushed to catch up, and barely managed
The beautiful princess looked at him, and the love spell powder had already taken effect. And it seems to her that there is no one more beautiful in the world than this young man. He looks at Svertibash and cannot take his eyes off him.
- Who are you and where are you from, good fellow? - she asked at the end.
“I am the prince,” Svertibash said deceptively. “Rumor has reached our kingdom about your unspeakable beauty, and I came for a good cause, for matchmaking.” Will you marry me, beautiful princess?
“I’ll gladly marry you, but I don’t know whether father and mother will agree.” Well, don’t worry, don’t be sad. I'm their only daughter. My parents never refused me anything, and if I pay, they won’t refuse me anything.
With those words, she grabbed Svertibash by the arm and led him to the palace straight to the king:
- Here is my betrothed! Bless me, father, to marry him.
At first the king got angry, stamped his feet, pushed his crown to one side:
- It will never happen before we become related to some unknown rogue!
“He is not a rogue, but a king’s son,” said the princess and began to scream and cry so loudly that the king covered his ears.
Nannies and mothers came running to the scream. The queen herself came running.
- What's going on here? - she screamed.
And when she found out that the daughter of her betrothed had brought her and her father was opposed, she began to cry and began to reprimand the king:
- Where has it been seen, where has it been heard of a father hurting his child? The daughter found the groom after her heart and brought him home. Anyone else in your place would be happy, but you, insensitive, brought our daughter to tears and are sitting like a stump!
- Shut up! - The king waved his hand. - Do as you please!
The queen and princess dried their tears and began to fuss. The groom was given water and food. Then the king said:
- Have a couple of horses harnessed to a good tarantass. Let the groom take the bride to her God-given parents, to her father and mother. There they will agree, when we begin to play the wedding, we will have a feast.
Svertibash brought the princess home:
- I found myself a bride. Is she loved by you, parents, but it’s better for me not to find her in the whole wide world.
“It’s good, son, that you got yourself a bride.” Where is your brother Yuman? - asked the old man.
“I didn’t want to part with my brother.” I tried to persuade him not to separate, but he did not listen to me. Yuman is very headstrong. Without saying anything, he disappeared and left quietly to an unknown destination.
The old man grew stern, but remained silent.
“The bride’s parents are asking when we’ll start the wedding,” said Svertibash.
“When Yuman returns, then we’ll talk about the wedding,” answered the old man.
And Yuman sometimes rode further and further and became completely exhausted along the way. He drove into a deep, dark forest. He stopped his horse near a huge, spreading oak tree. And then, out of nowhere, a gray-haired old man appeared in front of him.
- Who are you, good fellow? Where are you going? - he asked affectionately.
Yuman told who he was and where he was going.
- That's who you are! - the old man said joyfully. - After all, you are my grandson!
And immediately the gray-haired old man took Yumanavizba, fed him and gave him something to drink.
- Go to bed and rest, and tomorrow we’ll talk about everything.
- What about my horse? - Yuman asked. - He is not fed, he is not watered.
- Don't worry about the horse. I will feed you and give you something to drink and shelter you from bad weather.
The next morning the guy woke up, and the grandfather was no longer sleeping:
- Let's have breakfast, then I'll show you my farm.
After breakfast, he took the guest to different chambers. I spent eleven, and they were full of all sorts of good things. He opened the doors to the twelfth chamber. Yuman went there and was stunned. The walls are lined with twelve mirrors. In one you can see all the seas and oceans, in the other all the rivers of the earth, in the third mirror you can see the heights of the sky, in the fourth you can see the underwater depths, in the fifth you can see all the fish in the river, lake and sea, in the sixth you can see all the creeping things, in the seventh you can see prowling animals, in the eighth you can see the birds that exist on earth, in the ninth you can see people of different countries and dialects. In a word, through these mirrors one could see everything that exists on earth, underground, on and under water, in heavenly heights and in the human soul.
And when Yuman looked into the twelfth mirror, he gasped. The girl looked at him - a beloved beauty and seemed to be saying something to Yuman.
For a long time he stood in front of the twelfth mirror. Then, waking up, he asked his grandfather:
-Who is this beautiful maiden? “That’s Uha,” answered the old man.
“There wasn’t and isn’t anyone more beautiful in the whole wide world,” he said?! Yuman. - Marry this girl for me!
- If Uga looked at you in the mirror friendly, it
a good sign. But know that it is very difficult to woo her.
“No matter what it takes, I won’t give up.” I don't live better
“There’s nothing better than living without my sweetheart,” Yuman answered.
- Be it your way, listen to what I tell you. I'll give you a gun, and first of all, learn how to shoot without missing. When you go to get married, this will come in handy.
Yuman thanked the old man for the gun, returned home and began to go hunting every day. A year later I learned this; shoot accurately, hit any target without missing a beat, and brought in so much game that it was enough for both his old parents and Svertibash and his fiancée.
Yuman said to his father and mother:
- I found a bride for myself. I'll go get married soon.
And Svertibash chuckled at his brother:
I drove and drove around to no avail, and again I’ll come back with nothing.
One day Yuman returned from the forest tired, went to bed and saw Uga in a dream.
“You have now become the best shooter,” she said. “And if you are not afraid of labor and danger, come to me, and I will be your faithful and loving wife.” But remember, you will have to wear out three pairs of iron boots, spend three iron staffs and three iron koloboks.
Uga said so and disappeared. That's when Yuman woke up. I woke up and went to the forge. The blacksmith forged for him three pairs of iron boots, three iron staffs and three iron koloboks.
Yuman threw the gun on his shoulder and set off on a long journey. Whether you walked long or short, close or far, the iron boots do not wear out, the staffs do not wear out, and the iron koloboks are intact.
At that time, a good fellow went into a dense forest, and in that forest he met a man:
- Do you have any travel supplies, boy? - he asked Yuman. “Hunger has tormented me, and thirst has exhausted me.”
Yuman had only one cracker and a few drops of water left. “Anyway, these supplies won’t last me long,” he thought and handed a passerby some crackers and water.
- That's all I have left.
A passerby took a cracker and water and thanked Yuman:
“I see that you are responsive to human misfortune and grief, and I would like to help you with something.” Take this bag. When things get difficult, open it, and maybe it will help you out.
A passerby said this and disappeared into the forest. And Yuman went further.
A fox jumped out towards me. Yuman took aim, pulled the trigger, and the fox turned over and fell. Yuman looks: what is it? One pair of iron boots was leaky, one iron staff was beaten to the hilt, and one iron bun crumbled into small crumbs.
He walked a few more miles, when suddenly a seasoned wolf jumped out of the bushes and bared his teeth. Yuman fired, and the wolf tumbled and thrashed on the ground. Immediately another pair of boots fell down, the second staff and bun scattered.
Yuman walked past the wolf and didn’t look back. And then suddenly a huge bear leaned out from behind a tree, roared and rushed at Yuman. The fellow took aim, shot straight into the bear’s mouth and killed him outright. At that very moment, the last pair of iron boots went to dust, the last iron staff and iron bun crumbled into dust.
And then Yuman felt mortally tired, lay down and fell into a deep sleep. He slept soundly for 24 hours and woke up from hunger and thirst. He rummaged and looked, but didn’t find a crumb of food or a drop of drink and remembered: “Oh, but I gave the biscuit and the last drops of water to a passer-by.” He noticed a handbag near him that the wanderer had given him. “I remember he said something about this handbag,” he thought so and opened it. There was nothing in the purse except a scarf. He took out the handkerchief and shook it lightly. And at the same moment, a self-assembled tablecloth was spread out in front of him. And the tablecloth is full of all kinds of food and drinks. Drink, eat, whatever you want.
Yuman got drunk, ate his fill, shook the handkerchief again - there was no tablecloth, no food, no drink. “What a gift!” - he thought and began to put the handkerchief in his purse, but accidentally dropped it on the ground, and suddenly, out of nowhere, an army fell: soldiers with guns, with sabers, they were beating drums, music was playing, and a banner was flapping in the wind. And the commander asks:
- Who, master, are you ordering to fight?
“There is no need to fight with anyone now,” said Yuman. He picked up a handkerchief from the ground, and the entire army disappeared, as if it had never existed. “This might be useful to me,” Yuman thought and put the handkerchief in his purse.
The path began to continue. The forest soon ended, thick bushes began to appear, and a field was visible in the distance. He made his way through the bushes, made his way, and suddenly... the ground beneath him gave way, and the fellow fell into a deep abyss. He flew and flew down and finally fell to the bottom of the abyss. He looked up - the sky seemed to him the size of a penny.
Then he noticed a passage in the earthen wall: “Let me go along this passage.” Soon the passage began to widen, and Yuman found himself in an unfamiliar world. In the distance, the mountains crowded together, unprecedented trees grew along the mountain slopes, and in the lowlands there were meadows with strange flowers and unknown herbs as tall as a man. A river flowed through the meadow.
On the other side of the river I saw a house. I crossed the river and approached the house. The door was not locked. In the first cleanly tidied room sat a beautiful girl. Yuman took a closer look and recognized his Uga in this beauty. At that moment the girl noticed the young man, recognized him and rushed towards him:
“I finally waited for you, my betrothed!” I just don’t know whether we met for joy or for inescapable sorrow. For many years I have been languishing in captivity of the twelve-headed Serpent. He kidnapped me from my parents' house, holds me captive and demands that I marry his nephew, an evil wizard. You hide: soon the monster will return home and then you will not be alive.
“Don’t worry yourself,” said Yuman, “after all, that’s why he came here, to help you out.”
“Oh, I feel the Snake is returning,” Uga became worried, “at least stand behind the stove!”
Before Yuman had time to jump behind the stove, everything around began to rustle and the Serpent flew in with a roar and a terrible whistle. The whole house began to shake.
- Fu-fu-fu! - the snake shouted. - What does this earthly man smell like here?
“Yes, you see, some passer-by came in,” said Uga. “I guess he got really tired and lay down to rest.”
- So I’ll eat it now!
- Don't touch the guest! After all, this is my brother. Yuman came out from behind the stove:
“You’ll have time to eat me, but now I’ll feed you with my travel supplies.” You haven’t tried such foods and drinks in ages.
With those words, he took a handkerchief out of his purse and shook it; and such a variety of foods and drinks appeared that the snake opened its mouth in surprise. No matter how gluttonous the snake was, no matter how much he drank or ate, there was no decrease in the bread-salter tablecloth. Finally the Serpent fell away from the table and said:
- Give me this wonder!
“If you don’t touch me, I’ll give it to you,” Yuman promised.
- I won’t touch you, I won’t touch you! - Snake shouted so loudly that the glass flew out of the windows.
Having slept in the afternoon, the snake called all his relatives to visit. Various monsters gathered: multi-headed snakes, reptiles and monsters from all over the world. The house was full of guests.
- Give me your wonder, quickly stock up on treats! hurries - the Serpent.
Yuman grabbed the handkerchief and threw it to the ground. Immediately a countless army appeared.
The chief commander asks:
- Who, master, should we beat and fight?
- Hit, chop all this evil spirits into small pieces! - Yuman ordered.
The soldiers began to shoot and cut with sabers, and after a short time, only crumbs remained of all the snakes and reptiles.
Yuman put the handkerchief in his purse, and the entire army disappeared.
- Well, now we can leave here, Uga.
“No,” said Uga, “you can’t leave them here like that.” They will come to life, and we will not escape trouble. To get rid of them forever, you need to burn them.
They brought wood, set the house on fire, and ran out into the street.
Uga took out a magic carpet from the pantry, spread it in the yard and said:
- Sit down with me, and in a few hours we will get to your village.
Yuman sat down next to her, the magic carpet took off, carried them out into the world and soon landed right in my village, where Yuman was from.
The old parents greeted them with bread and salt.
“Now we can play weddings,” said the old man. - Prepare everything for the wedding feast, and I will begin to call the guests.
Svertibash and his bride had plenty of everything. The princess baked and cooked a great variety of different dishes and sat down to embroider wedding gifts for her old parents and close relatives.
But Yuman and Uga have nothing. The young man lowered his head and became sad.
“Don’t hang your head,” Uga consoles, “we won’t bow to anyone, we’ll handle everything ourselves, as it should.”
And now the guests began to arrive. The Tsar and Tsarina, the parents of Svertibashev’s bride, also arrived. The eve of the wedding feast has arrived.
- Go to bed, Yuman, and I need to prepare everything that is required.
At midnight, Uga went out onto the porch, tossed the magic ring from hand to hand and said:
- Get ready, fly together, my faithful assistants! Bake and cook all sorts of dishes so that you have something to treat your guests! Bring some honey, some beer, some wine, and some gifts for your father and mother and for all the guests!
Immediately the kitchen and pantry were filled with food, drinks and many different valuable gifts.
The next day the wedding feast began.
First, Svertibash and his bride set the tables and began to treat the guests. There was only enough food for the closest relatives.
“The bill is not enough and the taste is not rich, but you can kill a worm, this treat will do the trick,” said the old father when he tasted the treats of Svertibash’s bride.
Then they invited the guests to the tables set by Uga. And it turned out that there was so much prepared that there was enough not only for close relatives. Even those who came only to watch the wedding were treated.
“I’ve never drank or eaten so deliciously in my life!” - Father praised Ugu. “I fed and watered the whole neighborhood, and there was so much left that we could have at least two more wedding feasts.” Then the brides began to bring gifts to their parents. Svertibash and the princess gave their parents silk outfits. All the people gasped in surprise.
“It’s not a shame for the old woman and I to go to haymaking in such a right.” It’s clear that the bride is a handicraftswoman,” the father praised the gifts.
And when Uga brought gifts to her father and mother, everyone was dumbfounded.
— Such a diva has never been seen! - the people were noisy.
Father and mother and all the guests could not tear themselves away and looked at the outfits, as if woven from the sun's rays.
“Wear such outfits only on the biggest holidays,” said the old man. “Such a needlewoman has never been seen or heard of in our area!”
And Svertibash and his bride are almost bursting with envy.
At that time the queen began to be upset and cry:
- He said he was the king’s son, he deceived him! Did we raise, take care of, and cherish our only daughter so that we could marry her to a man who was a lapotnik? I don’t want to leave my own child in a peasant family!
The drunken king is even more swaggering:
“I said at first that he was not a king’s son, but a rogue.” That's how it turned out in my opinion! Hey guards! Grab the deceiver, forge him into iron, take him to the city and turn him into a soldier! They'll make him smarter there.
The guards picked up Svertibash, shackled his arms and legs and took him to the city. They became soldiers.
No matter how much the princess cried or howled, the king and queen did not heed her tears. They put their daughter in a carriage and took her to the capital city
- The old man, looking at all this, said:
“And every good man in this world gets married, but not everyone succeeds in getting married.” The marriage of Svertibash, who strove to live by lies, did not work out. Don't grieve, don't cry, old woman! Svertibash was not taken to his grave. Let him taste the life of a soldier. The alien side will perhaps make you smarter. We are left with a son, Yuman, and a wise daughter-in-law, Uga. There is someone to put our old age to rest.
After the wedding, Yuman and Uga began to manage the household, and everything went so smoothly for them that not only the old parents, but all the people looked at them and rejoiced.
A fairy tale with a riddle, but not a word of lies.
Illustrations for the fairy tale Yuman-batyr
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru