Fairy tales: Fisherman's son
There lived a fisherman with his wife and they had an only son. Before his death, the fisherman said to his wife:
- I have worked a lot in my lifetime, but have not seen anything good. I have only one desire - let our son get his bread by another craft.
When the boy turned sixteen, mother and son went to the city. At the bazaar, the boy saw fishing nets. He began to beg and beg his mother to buy him these nets.
“No, sonny,” the mother replied, “and don’t ask. Before he died, your father took my word that you would not be a fisherman.
But the son was stubborn. He fell at his mother's feet, began to beg, plead, grabbed the nets and did not let go.
She had to buy fishing nets, the Son put them on his shoulders and went home joyful.
The next morning the son of the fisherman went to the sea. He threw the nets into the water, pulled out - he looks, got into the net only a frog. He threw the frog back into the sea and threw the net again, and again the same frog was caught. Again he put the frog into the water, threw the nets a third time, and pulled out the same frog for the third time.
“Well, - thought the son of the fisherman, - there is no fish, even if the frog gets it, you see, this is my destiny”.
The guy took the frog, brought it home and threw it near the door, and he sat down by the fire. The mother returned from the church, she sees her sad son sitting by the hearth.
- Why are you sad, son? - asked the mother.
- How can I not be sad, mother, - answered the son, - from the very morning I threw nets, but I caught only one frog.
- Do not grieve, son, it seems that your fate is like this.
In the morning, the mother went to church, and the son went to work in the field. They returned home, they saw: someone swept the house, brought water, washed the dishes and cooked dinner, in a word, did everything that was needed around the house.
Mother and son were surprised. They thought and wondered who it might be, but they could not understand.
The same thing happened the next day.
Then the son said to his mother:
- Mother, let me hide behind the door and see who's in charge.
The mother left, and the son hid behind the door. He waited a lot, you never know, but then he saw how the frog he had caught jumped out of the corner and jumped to the hearth. She looked around, saw that no one was in the room, croaked once - she became the size of a chicken, croaked again - she became the size of a sheep, and as she croaked for the third time, her skin burst, she threw it off and turned into a girl, and so beautiful that neither eat nor drink, just look at her.
The girl cleaned the beds, swept, brought water, washed the dishes, cleaned the manure, cooked dinner, wanted to put a broom in its place, then she saw a guy outside the door. She rushed to take her skin and put it on, but the guy grabbed her by the hem and did not let go.
The girl began to beg, beg that he let her go, but nothing helped. The guy took the frog skin and threw it into the fire.
The mother returned from the church and saw that the son was sitting by the hearth, and next to him was a girl, so beautiful that everything around her was illuminating with her beauty.
The mother was overjoyed when she found out that the frog had turned into such a beautiful girl. The son of a fisherman got married with a girl and began to live like a king.
And they had an old woman next door. The old woman went to the king and said:
- Long life to you, king. Here and there a mother and son live, and they have a girl worthy of a king. Send an army, let them bring her for you.
The tsar immediately equipped an army, so large that if it entered the forest, the trees would die, but would enter the sea, the sea would dry up.
As the girl saw the army, she took a saber and killed the whole army, left only one soldier to go as a messenger to the king and deliver this message to him.
The king was angry, he wanted to take off the head of that old woman, and she says to him:
- Come on, king, twice as many troops, this time will bring that girl.
The king sent twice as many troops. And the girl again took the saber and killed all the king's army, leaving only one person alive so that he could bring the message to the king.
The tsar called the old woman to him in order to cut off her head because she wasted his army in vain, and the old woman says:
- Long life to you, king. Punish this fellow to bring a mare from behind the seven mountains, the mother of forty horses. If he cannot cope, then cut off his head and take his wife for yourself.
The king obeyed her, called the fisherman's son to him and ordered him to bring the mare from behind the seven mountains, or else not to take his head off. The son of the fisherman asked the king for three days. He returned home sad, sat down by the hearth. The wife asked what the king needed and why he was so sad.
- How can I not be sad, - said the son of the fisherman, - what the king could not do with his army, he ordered me to do it alone. He told me to bring a mare from behind the seven mountains, a mother of forty horses, but if I don’t bring it, he’ll blow my head off.
“Why grieve about such trifles,” his wife told him. - Go, ask the king for seven loads of cotton and seven buckets of wine.
He received all this and brought it home, and his wife says to him:
- You will walk for seven days, cross one torus every day, and on the slope of the seventh mountain you will see a spring. Take seven loads of cotton, plug the spring with them, and then drain the water from the spring pool and pour wine into it. The mare will come, get drunk on wine, get drunk. Then you jump on it and drive it straight to the royal palace.
The son of the fisherman heard this, and his heart was relieved. He took these seven loads of cotton and seven buckets of wine and set off. Every day he passed one mountain, finally reached the seventh mountain and found that spring. He saw the footprints of a mare near the spring, and he became afraid. The son of the fisherman hammered the spring with cotton, released the water from the pool, filled it with wine, and hid himself. Whether the son of the fisherman waited long or short, but soon the mare appeared. And he heard the patter of her hooves even earlier. The mare's whinnying echoed in the mountains and gorges. The fisherman's son looked out fearfully from behind the trees, saw fire escaping from the mare's nostrils, trembled like a willow branch, and his heart sank into his heels.
The mare approached the spring, crouched down to it and began to drink. The more she drank, the more thirst tormented her. The mare drank all the wine, to the last drop.
The mare got drunk, and then the fisherman's son came out of his hiding place, jumped on her and drove her to the royal chambers. He covered the seven-day journey in a day, and. gave the mare to the king.
The king saw that he had not achieved anything by cunning, summoned the son of the fisherman to him and said:
“You must find a bride worthy of me. If you can't, give me your wife. Otherwise I'll blow your head off.
In the evening the son of the fisherman returned home and sat down gloomily by the hearth.
- What did the king say and why are you so gloomy? His wife asked.
- How can I not frown! The king said - either you will find a bride worthy of me, or you will give me your wife.
- What are you grieving about trifles! Ask the king, his ring, a dog, a pahlevan and seven large rams, and I will teach you how to find a girl worthy of a king.
The fisherman did as his wife told him, and she advised him how to find a bride for the king.
And the son of the fisherman set off.
On the way, he killed and ate one of the seven sheep, and threw the fat tail to the dog. I slaughtered another ram for pakhlevan. Pakhlevan also ate the meat, and threw the fat tail to the dog. Whether they walked for a long time, or for a short time, they saw a man lying near the lake. This man drank water from the lake and kept repeating: “Oh, water for me; water, I'm dying of thirst! "
The son of a fisherman with a pakhlevan was surprised that the man had drunk almost all of the lake and even asked for it, and they praised him for his prowess.
- What kind of prowess is this, - answered the man, - here is the son of the fisherman, that daring. They say he brought a mare, the mother of forty horses, from behind the seven mountains for the king. Where are you going? Will you take me with you?
- Why not take, where there are two, there and three there will be something to do.
The son of a fisherman killed a ram for a daredevil who drinks water. He also ate the meat, and threw the fat tail to the dog.
They went on.
Whether they walked for a long time, or shortly, they reached the mill with seven millstones. We entered there and saw: a man was sitting there, taking handfuls of flour from under the millstones, eating and shouting aloud:
- Oh, bread to me, bread, I'm dying of hunger!
The fisherman's son was surprised and praised the man for his prowess.
“This prowess is not great,” said the man eating the flour. - A real daredevil is the son of a fisherman. They say he brought a mare for the king from behind the seven mountains, the mother of forty horses. Where are you going? Will you take me with you?
“Why not take it,” said the fisherman's son. - Where there are three, there and the four will find what to do.
He also killed a ram for this daring man. He ate the meat, and threw the fat tail to the dog. They went on.
Whether they walked for a long time or for a short time, they saw two people standing, each on his own mountain. A rope is tied to the tops of the mountains, and on it are two huge millstones. One of those standing on the mountain with his little finger pushed away the millstone, and he went down the rope to the other, and he pushed him back.
The fisherman's son praised them for their prowess.
- What is this prowess, - they answered, - but we heard that the son of the fisherman brought for the king from the seven mountains a mare, the mother of forty horses. This is real prowess. Where are you going yourself, won't you take us with you?
- Why not take it, - said the son of the fisherman, - where there are four, there will be a case for six.
He killed two rams. They ate the meat, but the fat tail dogs threw it and went on.
Whether they walked for a long time, or shortly, they met a man who was standing on his head, asked him what he was doing ”And he explained: I was listening, they say, where and what they were saying.
The fisherman's son praised him for his prowess.
- Well, this prowess is not great. I know a real daredevil, the son of a fisherman, who brought a mare for the king from across the seven mountains. Where are you going? Won't you take me with you?
- Why not take it, - answers the son of the fisherman, - where there are six, there will be a case for seven.
He killed the last ram, fed the sage, threw the fat tail to the dog, and they went on.
Whether they walked for a long time or for a short time, they reached the royal chambers.
They went and sat on a stone for matchmakers. Nazirs and Vizirs went out to them, asked what kind of people they were. The fisherman's son replied that they were the people of such and such a king and came to ask for a bride.
The vezirs reported to the king, and he ordered to ask how much gold they brought with them. As the king learned that they had no gold at all, he ordered:
- Feed these people and let them go in peace. It is not for them, hicks, to marry my daughter.
They prepared a large cauldron of food for them, brought it. The eater of flour said:
“Until I taste dinner, my master will not eat it.
He pushed the cauldron towards him, destroyed everything in a minute, and licked the cauldron clean.
- Bring more food, I didn't eat it properly.
Seven cauldrons of food were brought for each of them. The next day, the king found out about this and was frightened. He thought of giving them such a difficult task that they could not cope with it.
- Bring, - said the king, - a dog so that she and my dog fight.
The son of the fisherman brought his dog, he grabbed the king's dog by the neck and instantly strangled it.
Then the tsar demanded to expose pakhlevan, who could fight with his pakhlevan. And the pakhlevan took the tsar's hand and squeezed it so hard that he broke his bone. The king saw that they could not be taken by force, and decided to destroy them with cunning. He ordered to let water into their room so that they choke. But the drinker kissed the door with his mouth and drank all the water in one sitting. Having tried this remedy, the king sent poisoned food to the guests, but the fisherman's son threw the ring into the food, and the poison separated from the food. They put aside their food, did not eat it.
“All right, I’m giving you my daughter,” said the king. “But you must take her palace with you.
Then the son of the fisherman asked the sage if he knew what the king was thinking of doing next. The sage replied that the king had already lost hope of getting rid of them, and tomorrow, as soon as dawn, he would give them the girl.
The next day, the daredevils who were moving the millstones were about to take away the palaces of the tsar's daughter, but the tsar did not let her.
“I believe you will carry it away,” he said. “Take my daughter and leave.
The daredevils set off on their way. On the way, we parted - each turned to his own place, to his native land. And the son of a fisherman with a king's daughter, a pakhlevan and a dog came to his king.
The king, meanwhile, brought the wife of the fisherman's son to his palace. Hearing that he had returned, the king ordered to poison the water in the bath, and the son of the fisherman offered to swim from the road.
The son of the fisherman guessed what was the matter, and told the king to go swimming with him, they say, he was afraid of him alone, but he didn’t trust anyone else. As soon as they entered the bath, the guy threw the royal ring into the water, and at the same moment all the poison rose to the surface of the water.
Then he pushed the king into the water, the king swelled and burst.
The fisherman's son put on the royal clothes and sat on the royal throne. He became a king, and his wife became a queen. And the girl he brought with him he passed off as his pahlevan. Then the king, brought his mother to the palace, celebrated the wedding for seven days and seven nights, had fun.
Three apples fell from the sky: one to the one who told, the other to the one who listened, the third to the whole world.
