Once upon a time there lived an evil, despicable old woman. She had a son and a daughter-bride. The son got married, soon after his marriage he left for the eastern regions of the Great Wall, and the old woman began to mock her daughter-in-law in every possible way. She only cherished and loved her daughter.
An old woman would say:
“Eat some more white flatbread, daughter, and try the soup, it’s made from fine millet!”
And the daughter, no, no, and will give her daughter-in-law some white cakes. The old woman stares angrily at her daughter-in-law and grumbles:
- Well, you eat and you drink! You can't even get enough bran cakes!
The mother-in-law did not give her poor daughter-in-law either good food or clothes, she only beat her and scolded her from morning to evening.
That year, the old woman apparently bred silkworms. If you look, you won’t be able to take a good look at everyone; if you start counting, you won’t be able to count them all. Every day before dawn, the old woman drives her daughter-in-law into the mountains to collect mulberry leaves. She collects one day, collects another, the sun is high, the evening is far away, almost all the leaves from the mulberry trees are torn off, and at any moment they will remain bare. And the silkworms are getting bigger and fatter. In the fourth month, the silkworm larvae began to lighten. You scatter leaves, all you can hear is their rustling: sha-la, sha-la; Before you have time to look back, there is not a single leaf, the larvae have eaten everything. You scribble some more - sha-la, sha-la, and again there’s not a single piece of paper.
The daughter-in-law was going to the mountains to get leaves, and the mother-in-law pointed her finger at her and screamed:
- A daughter-in-law is like a horse in a household. If I want, I will ride on it. If I want, I'll beat you. Just try to come back without mulberry leaves! I’ll whip you, I’ll break your stick, I won’t let you eat for three days, I won’t tell you to sleep for five days!
The old woman looked after her daughter-in-law angrily, turned around, and saw that her own daughter was lifting silkworms from the ground. The old woman felt pity, well, she just couldn’t help it, and she said:
- You are my dear daughter! Rest! The daughter-in-law comes back and does everything. Maybe you want something to drink? Or eat? I stored the soup in a cauldron and put a white flatbread on the cauldron.
And the old woman’s daughter, it must be said, was a real beauty, and her disposition was not at all like her mother’s; she felt sorry for her older brother’s wife. She heard her mother’s words, turned around and said:
- Why am I better than my daughter-in-law, so that I can leave the work to her?
The old woman heard that her daughter would contradict her, she swung her hand but did not hit her, she opened her mouth but did not curse: she felt sorry for her own daughter. She waved her hand in frustration and left.
Meanwhile, the daughter-in-law reached the mountains and began looking for mulberry leaves. The sun is hot, the mountains are steep, while she climbed from the South Mountain to the East, from the East to the North, noon has come, and in her basket she only has a handful of leaves. The poor woman got tired, sat down by the road and cried.
And the old woman’s daughter picked up the silkworms, threw them food, and kept thinking: “Somehow, the daughter-in-law was in the mountains, picked some leaves, or is she coming back empty-handed? I always worry about her, but today my heart is pounding and jumping, she’s hungry there in the mountains, poor thing!” The girl thought so, took the white flatbread that her mother had saved for her, poured soup from small millet into a saucepan, and slowly set off for the mountains. Suddenly he sees his daughter-in-law sitting by the road and crying bitterly. She grabbed her hand and said:
- Don't cry, daughter-in-law! I brought you a flatbread baked from white flour, soup made from small millet. Quench your hunger and thirst!
The daughter-in-law answers her and sheds bitter tears!
“When I’m thirsty, I’ll drink spring water; if hunger overcomes me, I’ll eat bitter herbs.”
The girl asks her again:
“Why are you upset, daughter-in-law, don’t hide from me, tell me everything, I know your heart!”
The daughter-in-law answers her, shedding bitter tears:
“I, sister, walked all over the Southern Mountain, walked all the way up and down the Northern Mountain, and found only a few mulberry leaves.” There are only a lot of oak trees. I don’t know how I’ll show myself to your mother!
The girl combed her daughter-in-law’s hair, wiped her tears and said:
“Don’t be afraid, daughter-in-law, eat the flatbread, drink the soup, and you and I will go pick mulberry leaves together.”
The girl forcibly persuaded her daughter-in-law to eat a piece of flatbread and drink a little soup. And the two of them set off to look for mulberry leaves.
They walk, talk among themselves, then wander into a deep gorge, then climb to the very top of the mountain. We walked around all the mountains, climbed all the ridges, we came across only oaks, no mulberries to be seen at all. The daughter-in-law looks - the sun is about to hide behind the mountains, and says through tears:
“It’ll get dark soon, sister.” The wolves will come out of their lair, the tigers will leave the cave. Come back, dear sister, home quickly!
And she answered her:
“It’ll get dark soon, daughter-in-law!” The wolves will come out of their lair, the tigers will leave the cave, come on, dear daughter-in-law, let’s return home together!
The daughter-in-law looked at the empty basket and said:
- I, sister, will wait a little longer. Maybe the mountain spirit will take pity on me and turn the oak leaves into mulberry leaves.
The girl answers her:
“And I, daughter-in-law, will wait with you.” Maybe the mountain spirit will take pity on me and turn the oak leaves into mulberry leaves.
They held hands, huddled closely together, and began to descend the mountain. We reached a mountain spring, walked around another mountain, searched all the ridges - there are no mulberry leaves anywhere, only oak leaves can be found. The daughter-in-law looks - the sun has disappeared behind the mountain, she hid behind the girl’s back, wiped away her tears and said:
“You see, sister, how the sky has darkened, the moon will rise soon.” I heard that the Prince of the Mountains himself lives on this mountain, his nose is red, his eyes are green. Good sister! You’re very young, you’d better go home as soon as possible!
The girl answers her:
“You see, daughter-in-law, how the sky has darkened, the moon will rise soon.” And I heard that the Prince of the Mountains has a red nose and green eyes. Let's go home together!
The daughter-in-law looked at the clean, transparent spring and said:
“I’ll wait here a little longer, maybe the spirit of water will take pity on me and turn the oak leaves into mulberry leaves.”
The girl answers her:
“And I’ll wait with you, maybe the spirit of water will take pity on me and turn the oak leaves into mulberry leaves.”
They held hands, hugged each other closely and walked away from the spring. We reached the edge of the mountain forest. We walked around all the mountains, searched all the ridges, no mulberry trees were visible anywhere, only oaks came across.
The daughter-in-law saw that the moon had risen, and again anxiety overcame her. She began to persuade the girl to return home. And she doesn’t want to listen. The daughter-in-law cried. The girl was also overcome with anxiety: the moon had risen, but her daughter-in-law’s basket was completely empty. Then the south wind blew and whistled: ooh. The water in the gorge rang: ding-dan. The girl raised her head and shouted:
- Prince of the mountains! Prince of the mountains! Turn oak leaves into mulberry leaves, then I will marry you!
As soon as she fell silent, the leaves rustled on the oak trees. The girl straightened up and shouted a second time:
- Prince of the mountains! Prince of the mountains! Turn oak leaves into mulberry leaves, then I will marry you!
As soon as she fell silent, the branches on the oak trees began to sway and sway. And for the third time the girl shouted:
- Prince of the mountains! Prince of the mountains! Turn oak leaves into mulberry leaves, then I will marry you!
As soon as she fell silent, a hurricane flew across the plain, shrouding the sky and earth in a black shroud, making noise and buzzing all around. Suddenly the wind died down and the moon emerged from behind the clouds. And instead of oak trees there are only mulberries.
The girl and daughter-in-law look at the marvelous wonder and cannot be overjoyed. They waved their hands and began to tear leaves. The leaves are green, like emerald green, each one the size of a palm. We just started collecting, and the basket is already full to the brim. The two of them picked it up and began to descend from the mountain.
And the old woman is rushing about at home, not knowing where her daughter has gone. And I was so happy when I saw my child, as if I had found a priceless treasure. And when I saw my daughter-in-law, it seemed to the old woman as if a nail had been stuck straight into her eye. She doesn’t look at the mulberry leaves, but she swears why she took her daughter to the mountains with her. And as punishment, she did not order her daughter-in-law to go to bed, she ordered her to guard the silkworms all night.
The next day, the daughter-in-law again went to the mountains for leaves, and the girl took her there a flatbread made from white flour. On the mountains, on the ridges, not a single oak tree is visible; mulberries grow everywhere. Soon the worms began to spit out the thread and began to weave cocoons from it.
And then one day, when the daughter-in-law and the old woman’s daughter were sitting at home, unwinding the cocoons, black clouds sailed from the north-west, and after them a black whirlwind flew in, one end touched the very sky, the other began to spread across the earth of vengeance. Trees are swayed, uprooted from the ground, roofs are blown off houses. The girl didn’t even have time to gasp before the whirlwind swirled around her and rushed away with it. The daughter-in-law began to rush around and even began to cry. She rushed after the black whirlwind, and he threw trees and branches at her feet so that she could be scratched all over, and he threw sand and stones so that her hands could be wounded. And she still runs. He falls, gets to his feet, runs again. He doesn’t remember himself, the whirlwind catches up, shouts:
- Prince of the mountains, give up my sister!
A black whirlwind rushed off into the mountains, and the daughter-in-law followed. Here the wretched mulberry's eyes were obscured, and she did not notice where the black whirlwind suddenly disappeared. She searches on the Front Mountain, wanders along the Western Mountain, her thick, strong soles are worn out. Searching for day, searching for night, the thorny thorn tore her dress to shreds. He searches and searches and can’t find his sister. He can’t even pick up a trace of her.
Spring has passed, summer has passed, autumn has arrived. Every blade of grass in the mountains knew that the poor woman was looking for her sister, and it spread under her feet to make her walk softer. Every apple tree in the mountains knew about this and handed out its branches with ripe fruits to the poor woman. And all the birds knew about it. And they decided to save her from the cold. They plucked their down, tore out their feathers and threw them to their daughter-in-law. The fluff and feathers swirled like snowflakes and covered the poor woman.
The next day the north wind blew, and the daughter-in-law turned into a beautiful bird, down and feathers grew on her body. She flies and shouts:
- Zhao gu, zhao gu! I'm looking for a sister, I'm looking for a sister!
The cold weather has passed, spring has come again. And the beautiful bird keeps flying among the emerald trees and shouting:
- Zhao gu, zhao gu! I'm looking for a sister, I'm looking for a sister!
A bird flies over endless fields, flies across the blue sky with white clouds and shouts:
- Zhao gu, zhao gu! I'm looking for a sister, I'm looking for a sister!
How many months have passed, how many years have passed, and she still flies and screams. People feel sorry for the bird, and they nicknamed it Zhaogu - I'm looking for my sister!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru