Once upon a time there lived a poor peasant, and he had three sons. The older two were diligent and agile, but the younger one was lazy and dirty, like few of them. All day long he sat by the stove and dug in the ashes. His nails grew long, like claws, he never combed his hair, and that’s why they nicknamed him Zamuhryshka.
One day his father gave him some food for the journey and said:
“It’s enough for you to eat your parents’ bread.” Go try your luck yourself, Zamukhryshka!
He walked and walked, came to a large forest and got lost. His food was all gone, and he didn’t know what to do. He became sad, sat down on a stump and cried bitterly. That's when he regretted being so lazy at home.
It got dark, and Zamukhryshka began to think about where he could settle down for the night. And he saw that a light was burning in the distance, and he went towards the light. He walked for a long time and saw a large river, and on the other bank of that river there was a castle, and around the castle there were iron walls. And in one window of the castle that light burned. He stripped naked, tied his clothes on his back and wadded along the river. But soon it became so deep that he almost drowned and had to force himself out.
He came out on the other bank, began to look for the entrance - but there was no entrance, he found a gate in the iron wall, and it opened by itself.
He entered the gate, and it immediately slammed behind him.
He began to wander around the yard, looking for the door to the castle, but found only a crack in the wall. He knocked on the wall, and the door immediately opened. And he entered a dark, dark room.
He began to feel the walls and felt for the door, it immediately opened, and he found himself in a large room. In the middle of that room there was a table, and at the table sat an old, old old man, writing something.
The old man had a long, long nose, and wore a wonderful cap on his head.
- What do you want, boy? - asked the old man.
“I’m going out looking for service,” answered Zamukhryshka.
- How did you get in here? - the old man was surprised.
“Yes, it was really difficult for me,” Zamukhryshka admitted.
“But it will be even more difficult to get back,” said the old man. - Well, stay to serve me. I will soon go to visit my family and return in a year. Meanwhile, read books and keep my horse happy. Here are the keys to all the doors, only you can’t open one, but I’ll show you which one. If you open it, I'll come right back and you'll be in trouble. - And he took out a large bunch of keys. - What’s your name? - asked the old man.
“You little bastard,” the boy answered.
“It’s a beautiful name,” said the old man and left.
But Zamukhryshka remained in the castle. He read books all day long and soon became no more stupid than his master. He never opened the forbidden door, only once he really wanted to look through the crack, but he remembered what the old man was punishing him and walked away from that door.
But days passed by days, and his curiosity grew more and more intense. And so he could stand it no longer, opened the door and entered the small room. There was a stove in the room, and a cauldron was boiling on the stove. There was a sword hanging on the wall, and next to it were several flasks. On the table were two brushes and a box with pegs in it.
Zamukhryshka was frightened that he had disobeyed the old man, and he felt sick alone in the castle. Then he remembered the horse and ran to the stable. And there stood the master’s horse, with hay under its tail and heat under its muzzle. Zamuhryshka felt sorry for the horse and turned it so that the hay was under the muzzle, and the heat was under the tail! Then the horse said:
- What have you done? You entered a forbidden room, and the owner will soon return. But you helped me, and for that I will give you good advice. Run to the forbidden room and drink from the bottle that hangs next to the sword. And you will become strong and hold the sword. Then put your head in the cauldron. You'll see what happens. Then go into the next room and take the armor there. Some shine like the sun, others like the moon, others like the stars in the sky. Take them all. Also take a sword, a flask, a brush and a box of pegs. But just hurry up, otherwise the owner will return.
Zamukhryshka ran to the castle and did everything as the horse told him. He drank from the bottle, and the sword in his hand became like a feather, he stuck his head into the cauldron - and the dirty locks disappeared somewhere, and golden curls instantly grew in their place. He took with him everything that the horse told him and galloped away.
He galloped off not far, and then the owner returned. So angry that all the walls in the castle shook from this anger.
The horse asks Zamuhryshka:
- Do you hear anything?
“No, I don’t hear anything,” Zamukhryshka answers.
“Put your head to my ear,” said the horse.
The boy obeyed, but still didn’t hear anything.
They galloped on, and soon the horse asked again:
- Do you hear anything?
— I hear a rumble from behind.
- Hurry, hurry, pour back out of the bottle! - said the horse.
The boy obeyed him, and the sea overflowed behind them; the owner could not swim across. He had to return, call people, build a ship.
And the horse galloped and galloped. And so he again asked the boy if he heard anything. He asked him three times, and the third time Zamukhryshka answered him that he heard a terrible rumble from behind.
- Throw back the brush! - said the horse.
Zamukhryshka threw the brush, and a dense forest grew behind them, the owner could not get through. He had to go back, call people, cut down trees.
They galloped and galloped and galloped to the glass mountain.
“We just have to overcome the mountain, and then we won’t be afraid of anything,” said the horse. - Do you hear anything?
“Yes, I hear thunder roaring behind me,” answered Zamukhryshka.
“So the old troll is catching up with us,” said the horse. - Come on, spur me!
Zamukhryshka spurred his horse, and the owner was already reaching out to him. The horse is up the mountain, and the owner is behind him.
- Empty the pegs from the box! - the horse shouted.
He poured out the pegs, and they turned into large logs, the logs rolled down the mountain onto the troll and crushed him!
“Well, we are saved,” said the horse. - Now change into all your old clothes, and leave the armor with me, just don’t forget - take the bridle with you! Go to the palace, it is very close, and ask for a job - to help the gardener.
Zamukhryshka did everything as the horse told him, and the gardener took him into service. The horse came to him every night, taught him what to do, and the gardener praised him, he couldn’t praise him enough.
One day Zamukhryshka stood in the garden and combed his golden curls. And the princess just take a look out the window; I saw him and thought: “Oh, he’s not who he says he is.”
But Zamukhryshka saw the princess, quickly pulled his cap on and hid behind a bush.
Well, then the neighboring king started a war, and the horse taught Zamukhryshka to go and ask to join the royal army. Zamuhryshka did just that. The king laughed, but took him to war and gave him an old nag. They went on a campaign, and Zamukhryshka fell from his nag into a puddle, and the whole army laughed at him.
Zamukhryshka waited for the army to pass by, left the old nag in a puddle, went up the mountain, shook his bridle, and his magic horse came running to him, and his armor lay on the saddle.
- Wear those that shine like the sun! - said the horse. “Take the sword, mount me, and we’ll ride with you to war.”
Zamukhrishka did just that, and before the royal army even had time to reach the battle, Zamukhrishka had dispersed all the enemies. The king was surprised, who is this overseas prince? Then he saw that blood was flowing from the prince’s leg, and tied his royal handkerchief around his leg and then invited him to his place, but the prince refused and galloped up the mountain. There he unbridled his horse and changed into all his old clothes. He returned to the puddle, picked up the old nag and trudged to the palace.
The next day everything was the same. Zamukhryshka rode out on an old nag, it got stuck in a puddle, he ran up the mountain and shook the bridle. This time he put on that armor that shone like a month. Again he dispersed all the enemies and galloped up the mountain.
On the third day, he put on that armor that shone like all the stars in the sky, and cut down so many enemies with a mighty sword that those who survived took to their heels and did not look back until they reached their country.
Again the king invited Zamukhryshka to visit, and he galloped up the mountain. There he changed into old rags, picked up a nag in a puddle and trudged to the palace. Everyone saw him and started laughing and asking where he had been for so long.
The war ended, and the king arranged a feast for the whole world. There were many noble princes here who helped the king in the war, and the king ordered his daughters to choose grooms from among them.
The eldest rolled a golden apple to one prince and said:
- This is for you, my joy.
The second one also rolled the apple to the noble prince, and the youngest threw the apple to Zamukhryshka, who was standing on the threshold.
“This is for you, my joy,” he says. The king got angry and ordered Zamukhryshka to be pushed out.
- Well, no! - says Zamukhryshka. “I killed more enemies in the war than all of you together!”
He showed his wound on his leg and asked if anyone would recognize their handkerchief tied to the wound. The king looked and recognized his handkerchief. Zamukhryshka shook his bridle, and a magic horse galloped up to him.
Zamukhryshka told everything as it happened, saying that the horse would not let him lie, and the horse confirmed everything. Everyone was amazed, and the horse ordered Zamukhryshka to bring an ax and cut off his head.
- No, I can’t do such a thing! - said Zamukhryshka.
“Do as I say,” said the horse. - You promised to save me.
Zamukhryshka cut off his head, and at that same moment the horse turned into a handsome prince. That prince took Zamukhryshka by the hand and led him to the king.
“Dear father,” said the prince. - Do you recognize your own son, who was bewitched by an evil troll? After all, it was Zamukhryshka who rode on me when he dispersed all your enemies. It was he who saved me!
The king even took his breath away. And Zamukhryshka put on armor that shone like the sun, and let his golden curls fall over his shoulders. And the king, to rejoice, immediately made him a prince and gave him his youngest daughter as his wife.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru