In one country - I forgot its name - there was an angry and grumpy old man as king. One day a merchant came to his palace, brought fresh fish in a basket and said:
- Buy this fish from me, king. You won't regret it.
The king glanced sideways at the fish:
“I have never seen such a fish in my kingdom.” Poisonous, or what?
- What you! — the merchant was frightened. - Order this fish to be fried, eat it - and you will immediately begin to understand the conversation of all the animals, fish and birds. Even the smallest bug will squeak something, and you will already know what it wants. You will become the smartest king on earth. You will become the smartest king on earth.
The king liked it. He bought fish from a merchant and, although he was stingy and greedy, he didn’t even haggle and paid what she asked. “Now,” the king thought and rubbed his bony hands, “I will be the smartest in the world and conquer the whole world. It’s amazing! Now my enemies will cry.”
The king called his servant, young Irzhik, and ordered him to fry fish for dinner.
- But only without cheating! - said the king to Irzhik. - If you eat even one piece of this fish, I will cut off your head. Irzhik brought the fish to the kitchen, looked at it and was even more surprised: he had never seen such a fish. Each fish scale glowed with multi-colored fire, like a rainbow. It was a pity to clean and fry such fish. But you can’t go against the royal order. Irzhik fries fish and can’t figure out whether it’s ready or not. The fish does not brown or become crusty, but becomes transparent.
“Who knows, she was fried or not,” thought Irzhik. “We must try.”
I took a piece, chewed it and swallowed it, as if it was ready. He chews and hears thin squeaky voices:
- And a piece for us too! And a piece for us too! F-f-fried fish!
Irzhik looked around. Nobody here. Only flies fly over the dish with fish.
- Yeah! - said Irzhik. - Now I'm beginning to understand something about this fish.
He took the dish with the fish and put it on the window, in the draft wind, so that the fish cooled. And outside the window, geese are walking through the yard and cackling quietly. Irzhik listened and heard one goose ask:
-Where are we going? Where shall we go?
And the other one answers:
- To the miller in the barley field! To the miller in the barley field!
- Yeah! “Irzhik said again and grinned: “Now I understand what kind of fish this is.” Perhaps one piece is not enough for me.
Irzhik ate the second piece of fish, then beautifully laid out the fish on a silver dish, sprinkled it with parsley and dill, and took the dish to the king.
From then on, Irzhik began to understand everything that the animals were talking about with each other. He learned that the life of animals is not as easy as people think - animals have grief and worries. From that time on, Irzhik began to feel sorry for the animals and tried to help every smallest animal if it was in trouble.
After lunch, the king ordered two riding horses and went for a walk with Irzhik. The king rode in front, and Irzhik followed him. Irzhik’s hot horse kept rushing forward. Irzhik could hardly restrain him. The horse neighed, and Irzhik immediately understood his words.
- Igo-go! - the horse neighed. - Come on, brother, let’s jump and move over this mountain in one fell swoop.
“It would be good,” the king’s horse answered him, “but this old fool is sitting on me.” He will also fall and break his neck. It won’t turn out well, after all, but he’s still a king.
“Well, let him break his neck,” said Irzhik’s horse. “Then you’ll be driving the young king, not this wreck.”
Irzhik laughed quietly. But the king also understood the conversation of the horses, looked back at Irzhik, poked his horse in the side with his boot and asked Irzhik:
- Why are you laughing, you impudent one?
“I remembered, Your Royal Grace, how today in the kitchen two cooks were pulling each other’s hair.”
- Look at me! - the king said threateningly.
He, of course, did not believe Irzhik, angrily turned his horse and galloped to his palace. In the palace, he ordered Irzhik to pour himself a glass of wine.
- But look, if you don’t add enough or overfill, I’ll order you to cut off your head!
Irzhik took a jug of wine and began to carefully pour wine into a heavy glass. And at this time two sparrows flew into the open window. They fly around the room and fight as they fly. One sparrow holds three golden hairs in its beak, and the other tries to take them away.
- Give it back! Give it back! They are mine! Thief!
- I'm not giving it! I caught them when the beauty was combing her golden braids. No one in the world has hair like this. I'm not giving it! Whoever she marries will be the happiest.
- Give it back! Beat the thief!
The sparrows became ruffled and, clutching themselves, flew out of the window. But one golden hair fell out of the beak, fell on the stone floor and rang like a bell. Irzhik looked around and... spilled wine.
- Yeah! - shouted the king. - Now say goodbye to life, Irzhik!
The king was glad that Irzhik spilled the wine and it would be possible to get rid of him. The king alone wanted to be the smartest in the world. Who knows, maybe this young and cheerful servant managed to try fried fish. Then he will be a dangerous rival for the king. But then the king came up with a good idea. He picked up a golden hair from the floor, handed it to Irzhik and said:
- So be it. I will probably have mercy on you if you find the girl who lost this golden hair and bring her to me as my wife. Take this hair and go. Search!
What was Irzhik to do? He took the hair, got ready for the journey and rode out of the city on horseback. And he doesn’t know where to go. He let go of the reins, and the horse trudged along the most deserted road. It's all overgrown with grass. Apparently it hasn't been driven for a long time. The road reached a high, dark forest. Irzhik sees: a fire is blazing at the edge of the forest, a dry bush is burning. The shepherds threw the fire, did not flood it, did not trample it, and the fire set the bush on fire. And under the bush there is an anthill. Ants run, fuss, drag their stuff from the anthill - ant eggs, dry bugs, caterpillars and various tasty grains. Irzhik hears the ants shouting to him:
- Help, Irzhik! Save! We're on fire!
Irzhik jumped off his horse, cut down a bush and extinguished the flame. The ants surrounded him with a ring, moved their antennae, bowed and thanked him:
- Thank you, Irzhik. We will never forget your kindness! And if you need help, rely on us. We will repay the good.
Irzhik drove into the dark forest. He hears someone squeaking pitifully. He looked around and saw: two little crows were lying under a tall spruce tree - they had fallen out of the nest - and squeaking:
- Help, Irzhik! Feed us! We are dying of hunger! Mother and father flew away, but we still don’t know how to fly.
The king deliberately gave Irzhik an old, sick horse - a real nag. The horse is standing, his legs are shaking, and it is clear that this trip is one torment for him. Irzhik jumped off his horse, thought, stabbed him and left the horse carcass for the crows - let them feed.
- Kar-r, Ir-rzhik! Ka-r-r! - the crows shouted joyfully. - We will help you for this!
Irzhik went further on foot. I walked through the dense forest for a long time, then the forest began to make more and more noise, more and more loudly, the wind was already bending the tops of the trees. And then the splash of waves added to the noise of the peaks, and Irzhik went out to the sea. Two fishermen were arguing on the sandy shore. One got a golden fish in the net, and the other demanded this fish for himself.
“My net,” one fisherman shouted, “mine and the fish!”
- Whose boat is it? - answered the other fisherman. “You wouldn’t have cast the net without my boat!”
The fishermen shouted more and more loudly, then they rolled up their sleeves, and the matter would have ended in a fight if Irzhik had not intervened.
- Stop making noise! - he said to the fishermen. - Sell me this fish, and divide the money among yourselves. And that's the end of it.
Irzhik gave the fishermen all the money he received from the king for the journey, took the golden fish and threw it into the sea. The fish wagged its tail, stuck its head out of the water and said:
- One good turn deserves another. When you need my help, call me. I'll come.
Irzhik sat down on the shore to rest. The fishermen ask him:
-Where are you going, good man?
- Yes, I’m looking for a bride for my old king. He ordered to get him a beauty with golden hair as his wife. Where can you find it?
The fishermen looked at each other and sat down on the sand next to Irzhik.
“Well,” they say, “you reconciled us, and we remember the good.” We'll help you. There is only one beauty with golden hair in the whole world. This is our king's daughter. You see an island on the sea, and on the island there is a crystal palace? That's where she lives, in this palace. Every day at dawn she combs her hair. Then such a golden dawn rises over the sea that we wake up from it in our hut and know that it’s time for us to go fishing. We will take you to the island. It’s almost impossible to recognize the beauty.
- Why so? - asks Irzhik.
- Because the king has twelve daughters, and the golden-haired one. And all twelve queens are dressed the same. And everyone has the same veil on their heads. The hair underneath is not visible. So your job, Irzhik, is difficult.
The fishermen transported Irzhik to the island. Irzhik went straight to the crystal palace to the king, bowed to him and told him why he came to the island.
- OK! - said the king. - I'm not a stubborn person. I will give my daughter in marriage to your king. But for this you must complete my tasks for three days. Is it coming?
- It's coming! - Irzhik agreed.
- Go and get some sleep from the road. Have a rest. My tasks are intricate. You can't solve them right away.
Irzhik slept well! The sea wind blew through the windows all night, the surf roared, and occasionally even small splashes flew onto the bed.
Irzhik got up in the morning and came to the king. The king thought and said:
- Here's your first task. My golden-haired daughter wore a pearl necklace around her neck. The thread broke and all the pearls scattered in the thick grass. Collect them all.
Irzhik went to the lawn where the princess scattered pearls. The grass is waist-deep, and so thick that the ground beneath it is not visible.
“Eh,” sighed Irzhik, “if only my ant friends were here, they would help me!”
Suddenly he hears a squeak in the grass, as if hundreds of tiny people were fidgeting around his feet.
- We are here! We are here! How can I help you, Irzhik? Collect pearls? Wait, we'll do it in a jiffy!
Ants ran in, waved their antennae and began to pull pearl after pearl to Irzhik’s feet. Irzhik barely had time to string them on a harsh thread. He collected the entire necklace and took it to the king. The king counted the pearls for a long time, got lost, and counted again.
- That's right! Well, okay, tomorrow I’ll give you a more difficult task.
Irzhik comes to the king the next day. The king looked at him slyly and said:
- What a problem! My golden-haired daughter was swimming and dropped a gold ring into the sea. I give you a day to get it.
Irzhik went to the sea, sat down on the shore and almost cried. The sea in front of him lies warm, clean and so deep that it’s even scary to think about.
“Eh,” says Irzhik, “if only there were a golden fish here, it would help me out!”
Suddenly, something flashed on the dark water in the sea, and a golden fish surfaced from the depths.
- Don't be sad! - she said to Irzhik. - I just saw a pike with a gold ring on its fin. - Be calm, I'll get it.
Irzhik waited for a long time until a golden fish with a gold ring on its fin finally swam out.
Irzhik carefully removed the ring from the fin so that the fish would not be hurt, thanked it and went to the palace.
“Well,” said the king, “you are obviously a clever man.” Come back tomorrow for the last task.
And the last task was the most difficult: to bring the king living and dead water. Where can I get it? Irzhik went wherever his eyes looked, reached the great forest, stopped and thought: “If only my little crows were here, they would...”
Before he had time to think it through, he hears the whistling of wings and croaking overhead, and sees familiar crows flying towards him. Irzhik told them his grief.
The crows flew away, they were gone for a long time, and then they rustled their wings again and brought Irzhik in their beaks two jars with living and dead water.
- Carr, carr, berry and be happy! Carr!
Irzhik took the bags and went to the crystal palace. He went out to the edge of the forest and stopped: between two trees a black spider wove a web, caught a fly in it, killed it and sits sucking the fly’s blood.
Irzhik splashed dead water on the spider. The spider died immediately - folded its legs and fell to the ground. Then Irzhik sprinkled the fly with living water. She came to life, beat her wings, buzzed, tore the web and flew away. And as she flew away, she said to Irzhik:
- Luckily for you, you revived me. I'll help you recognize Goldilocks.
Irzhik came to the king with living and dead water. The king even gasped, did not believe it for a long time, but tried dead water on an old mouse that was running through the palace room, and living water on a dried flower in the garden and was delighted. I believed it. He took Irzhik by the hand and led him into a white hall with a golden ceiling. In the middle of the hall there was a round crystal table, and behind it, on crystal chairs, sat twelve beauties, so similar to each other that Irzhik only waved his hand and lowered his eyes - how can you tell which one is Goldilocks! They all wear the same long dresses and the same white blankets on their heads. Not a hair is visible from underneath them.
“Well, choose,” says the king. - You guessed it - your happiness! If not, you will leave here alone, just as you came.
Irzhik raised his eyes and suddenly heard someone buzzing right next to his ear:
- J-i-i-i, go around the table. I'll give you a hint.
Irzhik looked: a small fly was flying above him. Irzhik slowly walked around the table, and the princesses sat with their eyes downcast. And everyone’s cheeks flushed equally. And the fly buzzes and buzzes:
- Not that one! Not that one! Not that one! But this one, the golden-haired one!
Irzhik stopped, pretended to still have doubts, then said:
- Here is the golden-haired princess!
- Your happiness! - shouted the king.
The princess quickly left the table, threw off the white coverlet, and her golden hair spilled over her shoulders. And immediately the whole hall sparkled with such shine from this hair that it seemed as if the sun had given all its light to the princess’s hair.
The princess looked straight at Irzhik and averted her eyes - she had never seen such a handsome and stately young man. The princess’s heart was beating heavily, but her father’s word was law. She will have to marry the old, evil king!
Irzhik took his bride to his master. He took care of her all the way, making sure that her horse did not stumble, so that a cold drop of rain did not fall on her shoulders. It was a sad return. Because Irzhik also fell in love with the golden-haired princess, but could not tell her about it.
The old, grumpy king chuckled with joy when he saw the beauty and ordered the wedding to be quickly prepared. And Irzhik said:
“I wanted to hang you on a dry branch for disobedience, so that the crows would eat your corpse.” But because you found me a bride, I declare royal favor to you. I will not hang you, but I will order your head to be cut off and buried with honor.
The next morning they cut off Irzhik’s head on the block. The golden-haired beauty began to sob and asked the king to give her the headless body and head of Irzhik. The king frowned, but did not dare to refuse the bride.
Goldilocks put her head to her body, sprinkled it with living water - the head grew back, not even a trace remained. She sprayed Irzhik a second time - and he jumped up alive, young and even more beautiful than he was before the execution. And he asked Goldilocks:
- Why did I fall asleep so soundly?
“You would have fallen asleep forever,” Goldilocks answered him, “if I had not saved you, dear.”
The king saw Irzhik and was dumbfounded: how did he come to life, and even become so beautiful. The king was a cunning old man and immediately decided to take advantage of this incident. He called the executioner and ordered:
- Cut off my head! And then let Goldilocks sprinkle some wonderful water on me. And I will come to life young and beautiful.
The executioner eagerly cut off the old king's head. But it was not possible to resurrect him. It was in vain that they poured all the living water on him. There must have been so much anger in the king that no amount of living water could help. The king was buried without tears, to the beat of drums. And since the country needed an intelligent and kind ruler, the people chose Irzhik as ruler - it was not for nothing that he was the wisest man in the world. And Goldilocks became Irzhik’s wife, and they lived a long and happy life.
And so ended this fairy tale about how the animals returned good for good, and how the king lost his head.
Once upon a time there lived a king. One day an unknown old woman came to him, brought fish and said: “Order this fish to be cooked and eat it today for lunch. Then you will understand everything that any animal says.”
The king paid the old woman generously, called his servant Irzhik and ordered him to prepare the fish for dinner.
“Just watch,” said the king, “don’t even try it yourself. Otherwise I won’t blow your head off.” Irzhik took the fish and carried it to the kitchen. “No, come what may, I’ll try what kind of fish it is,” he decided. When the fish was ready, Irzhik pinched off a small piece and swallowed it. At that very moment he heard what the chickens were talking about in the yard. As if nothing had happened, the young man took the dish to the royal chambers and put it on the table.
After dinner, the king ordered Irzhik to serve a goblet of wine.
Irzhik took the jug and began to pour wine. At this time, a bird flew into the open window. She held three golden hairs in her paws, and another was chasing her and chirped: “Give me back, give me back!” They are mine, not yours! “But I was the first to notice how they fell to the floor when Princess Goldilocks was combing her curls.” Then the second bird flew at the first and began to snatch its prey. Irzhik listened to the birds and poured the wine. It ended with the birds getting hit by a hair, and the third hair fell and, hitting the floor, rang like pure gold. The king guessed that Irzhik also understood the language of the birds, and shouted: “You spilled the wine because you listened to what the birds were arguing about!” Tomorrow they will hang you.” “Ah, dear king! – Irzhik exclaimed. “Spare me!”
“Didn’t I forbid you to try the magic fish,” said the king. - Okay, find Princess Goldilocks and bring her to my palace. Then I will have mercy on you."
Irzhik saddled his horse, took a bag of food and a wallet with money for the road, and rode wherever his eyes led him. He looks - at the edge of the forest a bush is burning, and under it is an anthill. “Irzhik, help us!” - the ants scream. Irzhik jumped off his horse and trampled the fire. “Thank you, Irzhik,” say the ants. “If you need help, just remember us.” Irzhik laughed and drove on. He drives up to a tall spruce tree. He looks: there is a nest at the top, and below two little crows squeal: “Help, Irzhik! Feed us! Irzhik untied the bag of food from the saddle and threw it to the crows. “Thank you, Irzhik,” the crows croaked. “If things get difficult for you, remember us.”
Irzhik went to the seashore.
And on the shore two fishermen are arguing: they can’t divide the fish they caught. “I will make peace between you, brothers,” says Irzhik. “Sell me your fish and split the money equally.” He gave all his money to the fishermen and released the fish into the sea. She splashed her tail cheerfully and said: “Thank you, Irzhik! If you ever need help, remember me."
And the fishermen found out from Irzhik where he was going and took him to the island where Goldilocks lived with her father in a crystal palace.
So Irzhik comes to the crystal palace, bows and asks the king to give Goldilocks in marriage to his master.
“I don’t know if your master is worth a bride like my daughter,” the king answers. “But if you solve three problems, I will give my daughter to your king, and if you don’t solve them, I will order you to be executed.”
The next morning, the king says to Irzhik: “My daughter had a pearl necklace, but the thread broke and the pearls scattered across the green lawn. Go and collect them."
Irzhik came to the lawn, and the lawn is wide - try to find the pearl grains! “Here,” the young man thinks, “you have to be an ant.” Before Irzhik had time to look back, the ants dragged pearls to his feet, every single one. Irzhik thanked the ants and took the pearls to the king.
The king was surprised that Irzhik found all the pearls so quickly. “Here’s another task for you,” he says. “My daughter was swimming in the sea and dropped a precious ring. Find him and bring him.”
Irzhik came to the sea and thought: “You have to be a fish, not a man, to solve such a problem.” Lo and behold, the fish is right there and brings him the ring. Irzhik thanked the fish and took the ring to the king.
The king praised him, and the next day he gave the young man a new task. “Now,” he says, “get me some living and dead water.”
Irzhik is going, he doesn’t know where. Only the prophetic raven knows where these springs emerge from the ground. As soon as he thought this, the crows flew to him with two vials: one containing living water, the other containing dead water. Irzhik thanked them and took both vials to the palace.
“You have completed all the tasks,” said the king-father, “I will give my daughter in marriage to your master.”
Irzhik brought Goldilocks to the palace of his king. The king was delighted; he could not see enough of the beautiful bride with golden hair. Now he ordered preparations for the wedding, and Irzhik thanked, forgave and made him his main adviser.
- END -
Czech folk tale retold
In one country the king was an angry and grumpy old man.
One day a fishmonger comes to him and says:
- Buy this fish from me, king. Order it to be fried, eat it, and you will begin to understand the language of all animals, fish and birds.
And although the king was stingy to the point of disgrace, he did not even bargain, but immediately called the young servant Irzhik and ordered him to fry the fish for dinner.
- Look! - King Irzhik threatened. “If you eat even a piece of this fish, I’ll cut off your head.”
Irzhik looks at the fish and is amazed: every scale shimmers like a rainbow. It’s a pity to clean and fry something like this, but who would disobey the royal order?
Irzhik is frying fish and has no idea whether it’s ready. “We must try,” thought Irzhik. He had just swallowed a little when he suddenly heard:
– And we’ll have a piece of f-f-fried fish!
Irzhik looked around - there was no one but flies.
Just then he realized about this fish and ate another piece.
After dinner, the king ordered two riding horses and went with Irzhik for a walk. Irzhik’s frisky horse rushes forward, and how he neighs:
- E-go-go! Let's gallop and jump over this mountain in one fell swoop.
“That would be good,” the king’s horse answers him, “but my old fool will break his neck.” It's a pity - the king is after all.
“Well, let him break his neck,” said Irzhik’s horse. “You will be driving the young king, not this wreck.”
Irzhik couldn’t help but laugh. But the king also understood the horses’ conversation, looked back at Irzhik and asked:
- Why are you laughing, impudent one?
– I remembered how today two cooks pulled each other’s hair.
- Look at me! - the king threatened.
At home, he ordered Irzhik to pour a glass of wine:
“If you don’t add enough or too much, I’ll order you to cut off your head!”
But while Irzhik was filling the glass, two sparrows flew into the open window, quarreling.
One holds three golden hairs in his beak, and the other tries to take them away.
- Give it back! They are mine! Thief!
- No way! I caught them when the beauty was combing her golden braids. No one else in the world has hair like this. Her husband will be the happiest man.
The sparrows, grappling, flew out the window. But one golden hair fell on the stone floor and rang like a bell. Irzhik looked around and spilled the wine.
- Yeah! - shouted the king. - Say goodbye to life!
Then the king saw a golden hair on the floor and said, handing it to Irzhik:
“However, I will probably have mercy on you if you find me a girl who has lost this golden hair and bring her to my wife.”
Nothing to do. Irzhik took the hair and rode out of the city on horseback.
Soon he came across a flaming anthill. Irzhik hears the ants shouting to him:
- Save me, Irzhik! Help! We're on fire!
Irzhik jumped off his horse and extinguished the flame. Ants surrounded him:
- Thank you! If you need help, call.
Irzhik drove into a dark thicket and heard someone squeaking pitifully: under a tall spruce tree, two crows that had fallen from the nest were lying and begging:
- Help, Irzhik! Feed us, we are dying of hunger!
The king deliberately gave Irzhik not a horse, but an old sick nag: the poor thing’s legs are trembling, and it is clear that the trip is sheer torment for her. Irzhik stabbed her and left her to the crows.
- Kar-r, Irzhik! Car-r! - they cheered up. – We will help you for this too!
Irzhik reached the sandy shore, where two fishermen were arguing. The nets of one of them brought a golden fish, and the other demanded this fish for himself.
“My net,” one fisherman shouts, “that means the fish are mine!”
- Whose boat is it? - answers the other. “You wouldn’t have cast the net without my boat!”
“Sell me this fish,” Irzhik suggested to the fishermen, “and divide the money equally.”
Irzhik gave the fishermen everything he received from the king for the journey, and threw the golden fish into the sea. The fish waved its tail, stuck its head out of the water and said:
“If you need my help, call me, I’ll come.”
And the fishermen of Irzhik ask:
-Where are you going, good man?
“I’m looking for a bride for my old king—a beauty with golden hair.”
The fishermen looked at each other:
“You reconciled us, and we remember good things.” There is only one beauty with golden hair in the whole world. This is our king's daughter. Do you see an island on the sea? There, in the crystal palace, she lives. No matter the dawn, she combs her hair. Then such a golden dawn rises over the sea that we wake up in our huts, knowing that it’s time to go fishing. We will take you to the island, but you won’t recognize the beauty. The king has twelve daughters, but the golden-haired one is only one. All twelve queens are dressed identically and hide their hair under identical veils.
Irzhik bowed to the king of the island and told him why he had come.
“I don’t mind giving my daughter in marriage to your king!” - said the king. “But first, complete my three tasks.” Here's your first one. My golden-haired daughter wore a pearl necklace around her neck and tore it - all the pearls scattered. Collect them all.
Irzhik went to the lawn where the princess had scattered pearls; behind the waist-deep grass, you couldn’t see the ground.
“Oh,” sighed Irzhik, “if only the ants could come here!”
And here they are:
- What do you want, Irzhik?
The ants ran in and began to drag pearl after pearl to Irzhik’s feet. He barely had time to string. Having collected the entire necklace, Irzhik took it to the king. The king counted the pearls:
- That's right! Tomorrow your task will be more difficult.
The next day the king says:
“My golden-haired daughter was swimming and dropped a gold ring into the sea. Get it - you have a day to live.
“Oh,” thought Irzhik, looking around the expanses of the sea, “golden fish should come here!”
Suddenly a golden fish appeared on the surface and said to Irzhik:
“I saw a pike with a gold ring on its fin, I’ll get it.”
When the fish returned with a gold ring on its fin, Irzhik thanked her and took the find to the palace.
- What a trickster! - the king praised. – Come back tomorrow for the last task.
And the king wished to bring him living and dead water. Irzhik went wherever his eyes looked... Suddenly he heard the whistling of wings and croaking overhead. Irzhik told the crows about his grief - they brought water. Irzhik took it and went to the crystal palace. He went out to the edge of the forest and saw: between two trees a black spider had woven a web, caught a fly in it and killed it. Irzhik splashed dead water on the spider - it immediately folded its legs and fell to the ground.
Then Irzhik sprinkled living water on the fly. It came to life, fluttered its wings, broke the web and, flying away, buzzed:
“I’ll help you recognize Goldilocks.”
Having received living and dead water, the king led Irzhik by the hand to a round crystal table, at which twelve beauties sat on crystal chairs, like two peas in a pod: identical dresses, identical white veils on their hair.
“Well, choose,” says the king.
Irzhik raised his eyes and heard a fly right next to his ear:
– Ju-ju, I’ll tell you.
Irzhik slowly walked around the table, and the princesses equally blushed. But you can't fool a fly:
- Not that one. Not that one. Not that one. Here she is - Goldilocks!
Irzhik pointed at her. Here the princess threw off her white veil, and her golden hair scattered over her shoulders. She looked at Irzhik and looked down: she had never seen such a handsome and stately young man. And you will have to marry the old evil king!
Yes, and Irzhik fell in love without memory.
The grumpy king, seeing the beauty, ordered the wedding and execution to be quickly prepared.
- Because you found me a bride, here is my royal favor. I order your head to be cut off and buried with honor.
The next morning they cut off Irzhik’s head. Goldilocks began to cry and begged the king for Irzhik’s body and head. She put his head to his body, sprinkled it with living water - and he jumped up alive, and even more beautiful than he was before the execution.
The king, seeing Irzhik, froze. He called the executioner and ordered:
- Cut off my head!
The executioner willingly cut off the head of the old king, and the people chose Irzhik as the new ruler. Goldilocks became his wife, and they lived happily ever after.
Goldilocks (Czech fairy tale)
In one country - I forgot its name - there was an angry and grumpy old man as king. One day a merchant came to his palace, brought fresh fish in a basket and said:
- Buy this fish from me, king. You won't regret it.
The king glanced sideways at the fish:
“I have never seen such a fish in my kingdom.” Poisonous, or what?
- What you! – the merchant was frightened. “Order this fish to be fried, eat it, and you will immediately begin to understand the conversation of all the animals, fish and birds.” Even the smallest bug will squeak something, and you will already know what it wants. You will become the smartest king on earth.
The king liked it. He bought fish from a merchant and, although he was stingy and greedy, he didn’t even haggle and paid what she asked. “Now,” the king thought and rubbed his bony hands, “I will be the smartest in the world and conquer the whole world. This is amazing! Now my enemies will cry.”
The king called his servant, young Irzhik, and ordered him to fry fish for dinner.
- But only without cheating! - said the king to Irzhik. “If you eat even one piece of this fish, I will cut off your head.”
Irzhik brought the fish to the kitchen, looked at it and was even more surprised: he had never seen such a fish. Each fish scale glowed with multi-colored fire, like a rainbow. It was a pity to clean and fry such fish. But you can’t go against the royal order.
Irzhik fries fish and can’t figure out whether it’s ready or not. The fish does not brown or become crusty, but becomes transparent.
“Who knows whether she was fried or not,” thought Irzhik. - Need to try".
I took a piece, chewed it and swallowed it - as if it was ready. He chews and hears thin squeaky voices:
- And a piece for us too! And a piece for us too! F-f-fried fish!
Irzhik looked around. Nobody here. Only flies fly over the dish with fish.
- Yeah! - said Irzhik. “Now I’m beginning to understand something about this fish.”
He took the dish with the fish and put it on the window, in the draft wind, so that the fish cooled. And outside the window, geese are walking through the yard and cackling quietly. Irzhik listened and heard one goose ask:
-Where are we going? Where shall we go?
And the other one answers:
- To the miller in the barley field! To the miller in the barley field!
- Yeah! – Irzhik said again and grinned: “Now I understand what kind of fish this is.” Perhaps one piece is not enough for me.
Irzhik ate the second piece of fish, then beautifully laid out the fish on a silver dish, sprinkled it with parsley and dill, and took the dish to the king.
From then on, Irzhik began to understand everything that the animals were talking about with each other. He learned that the life of animals is not as easy as people think - animals have grief and worries. From that time on, Irzhik began to feel sorry for the animals and tried to help every smallest animal if it was in trouble.
After lunch, the king ordered two riding horses and went for a walk with Irzhik.
The king rode in front, and Irzhik followed him. Irzhik’s hot horse kept rushing forward. Irzhik could hardly restrain him. The horse neighed, and Irzhik immediately understood his words.
- Igo-go! - the horse neighed. “Come on, brother, let’s jump and fly over this mountain in one fell swoop.”
“It would be good,” the king’s horse answered him, “but this old fool is sitting on me.” He will also fall and break his neck. It won’t turn out well - after all, but still the king.
“Well, let him break his neck,” said Irzhik’s horse. “Then you’ll be driving the young king, not this wreck.”
Irzhik laughed quietly. But the king also understood the conversation of the horses, looked back at Irzhik, poked his horse in the side with his boot and asked Irzhik:
- Why are you laughing, you impudent one?
“I remembered, Your Royal Grace, how today in the kitchen two cooks were pulling each other’s hair.”
- Look at me! – the king said threateningly.
He, of course, did not believe Irzhik, angrily turned his horse and galloped to his palace. In the palace, he ordered Irzhik to pour himself a glass of wine.
“But look, if you don’t add enough or overfill it, I’ll order you to cut off your head!”
Irzhik took a jug of wine and began to carefully pour wine into a heavy glass. And at this time two sparrows flew into the open window. They fly around the room and fight as they fly. One sparrow holds three golden hairs in its beak, and the other tries to take them away.
- Give it back! Give it back! They are mine! Thief!
- I'm not giving it! I caught them when the beauty was combing her golden braids. No one in the world has hair like this. I'm not giving it! Whoever she marries will be the happiest.
- Give it back! Beat the thief!
The sparrows became ruffled and, clutching themselves, flew out of the window. But one golden hair fell out of the beak, fell on the stone floor and rang like a bell. Irzhik looked around and... spilled wine.
- Yeah! - shouted the king. - Now say goodbye to life, Irzhik!
The king was glad that Irzhik spilled the wine and it would be possible to get rid of him. The king alone wanted to be the smartest in the world. Who knows, maybe this young and cheerful servant managed to try fried fish. Then he will be a dangerous rival for the king. But then the king came up with a good idea. He picked up a golden hair from the floor, handed it to Irzhik and said:
- So be it. I will probably have mercy on you if you find the girl who lost this golden hair and bring her to my wife. Take this hair and go. Search!
What was Irzhik to do? He took the hair, got ready for the journey and rode out of the city on horseback. And he doesn’t know where to go. He let go of the reins, and the horse trudged along the most deserted road. It's all overgrown with grass. Apparently it hasn't been driven for a long time. The road reached a high, dark forest. Irzhik sees: a fire is blazing at the edge of the forest, a dry bush is burning. The shepherds abandoned the fire, did not flood it, did not trample it, and the fire caused the bush to catch fire. And under the bush there is an anthill. Ants run, fuss, drag their stuff from the anthill - ant eggs, dry bugs, caterpillars and various tasty grains. Irzhik hears the ants shouting to him:
- Help, Irzhik! Save! We're on fire!
Irzhik jumped off his horse, cut down a bush and extinguished the flame. The ants surrounded him with a ring, moved their antennae, bowed and thanked him:
- Thank you, Irzhik. We will never forget your kindness! And if you need help, rely on us. We will repay the good.
Irzhik drove into the dark forest. He hears someone squeaking pitifully. He looked around and saw: two little crows were lying under a tall spruce tree - they had fallen out of the nest - and they squeaked:
- Help, Irzhik! Feed us! We are dying of hunger! Mother and father flew away, but we still don’t know how to fly.
The king deliberately gave Irzhik an old, sick horse - a real nag. The horse is standing, his legs are shaking, and it is clear that this trip is one torment for him.
Irzhik jumped off his horse, thought, stabbed him and left the horse carcass for the crows - let them feed.
- Kar-r, Ir-rzhik! Car-r! – the crows shouted cheerfully. - We will help you for this!
Irzhik went further on foot. I walked through the dense forest for a long time, then the forest began to make more and more noise, more and more loudly, the wind was already bending the tops of the trees. And then the splash of waves added to the noise of the peaks, and Irzhik went out to the sea. Two fishermen were arguing on the sandy shore. One got a golden fish in the net, and the other demanded this fish for himself.
“My net,” one fisherman shouted, “mine and the fish!”
- Whose boat is it? - answered the other fisherman. “You wouldn’t have cast the net without my boat!”
The fishermen shouted more and more loudly, then they rolled up their sleeves, and the matter would have ended in a fight if Irzhik had not intervened.
- Stop making noise! - he said to the fishermen. – Sell me this fish, and divide the money among yourselves. And that's the end of it.
Irzhik gave the fishermen all the money he received from the king for the journey, took the golden fish and threw it into the sea. The fish wagged its tail, stuck its head out of the water and said:
- One good turn deserves another. When you need my help, call me. I'll come.
Irzhik sat down on the shore to rest. The fishermen ask him:
-Where are you going, good man?
- Yes, I’m looking for a bride for my old king. He ordered to get him a beauty with golden hair as his wife. Where can you find it?
The fishermen looked at each other and sat down on the sand next to Irzhik.
“Well,” they say, “you reconciled us, and we remember the good.” We'll help you. There is only one beauty with golden hair in the whole world. This is our king's daughter. You see an island on the sea, and on the island there is a crystal palace? That's where she lives, in this palace. Every day at dawn she combs her hair. Then such a golden dawn rises over the sea that we wake up from it in our hut and know that it’s time for us to go fishing. We will take you to the island. It’s almost impossible to recognize the beauty.
- Why so? – asks Irzhik.
- Because the king has twelve daughters, and the golden-haired one. And all twelve queens are dressed the same. And everyone has the same veil on their heads. The hair underneath is not visible. So your task, Irzhik, is difficult.
The fishermen transported Irzhik to the island. Irzhik went straight to the crystal palace to the king, bowed to him and told him why he came to the island.
- OK! - said the king. - I'm an unstubborn person. I will give my daughter in marriage to your king. But for this you must complete my tasks for three days. Is it coming?
- It's coming! – Irzhik agreed.
- Go get some sleep from the road. Have a rest. My tasks are intricate. You can't solve them right away.
Irzhik slept well! The sea wind blew through the windows all night, the surf roared, and occasionally even small splashes flew onto the bed.
Irzhik got up in the morning and came to the king. The king thought and said:
- Here's your first task. My golden-haired daughter wore a pearl necklace around her neck. The thread broke and all the pearls scattered in the thick grass. Collect them all.
Irzhik went to the lawn where the princess scattered pearls. The grass is waist-deep and so thick that the ground beneath it is not visible.
“Eh,” Irzhik sighed, “if only my ant friends were here, they would help me!”
Suddenly he hears a squeak in the grass, as if hundreds of tiny people are fiddling around his feet:
- We are here! We are here! How can I help you, Irzhik? Collect pearls? Wait, we'll do it in a jiffy!
Ants ran in, waved their antennae and began to pull pearl after pearl to Irzhik’s feet. Irzhik barely had time to string them on a harsh thread.
He collected the entire necklace and took it to the king. The king counted the pearls for a long time, got lost, and counted again.
- That's right! Okay, tomorrow I’ll give you a more difficult task.
Irzhik comes to the king the next day. The king looked at him slyly and said:
- What a problem! My golden-haired daughter was swimming and dropped a gold ring into the sea. I give you a day to get it.
Irzhik went to the sea, sat down on the shore and almost cried. The sea in front of him lies warm, clean and so deep that it’s even scary to think about.
“Eh,” says Irzhik, “if only there were a golden fish here, it would help me out!”
Suddenly, something flashed on the dark water in the sea, and a golden fish surfaced from the depths.
- Don't be sad! - she said to Irzhik. “I just saw a pike with a gold ring on its fin. Don't worry, I'll get it!
Irzhik waited for a long time until a golden fish with a gold ring on its fin finally swam out.
Irzhik carefully removed the ring from the fin so that the fish would not be hurt, thanked it and went to the palace.
“Well,” said the king, “you are obviously a clever man.” Come back tomorrow for the last task.
And the last task was the most difficult: to bring the king living and dead water. Where can I get it? Irzhik went wherever he looked, reached the great forest, stopped and thought:
“If my crows were here, they would...”
Before he had time to think about it, he hears the whistling of wings and croaking overhead and sees familiar crows flying towards him.
Irzhik told them his grief.
The crows flew away, they were gone for a long time, and then they rustled their wings again and brought Irzhik in their beaks two containers with living and dead water.
- Carr, carr, berry and be happy! Carr!
Irzhik took the bags and went to the crystal palace. He went out to the edge and stopped: between two trees a black spider wove a web, caught a fly in it, killed it and sits sucking the fly’s blood. Irzhik splashed dead water on the spider. The spider died immediately - folded its legs and fell to the ground. Then Irzhik sprinkled the fly with living water. She came to life, beat her wings, buzzed, tore the web and flew away. And as she flew away, she said to Irzhik:
- Luckily for you, you revived me. I'll help you recognize Goldilocks.
Irzhik came to the king with living and dead water. The king even gasped, he didn’t believe it for a long time, but he tried dead water on an old mouse that was running through the palace room, and living water on a dried flower in the garden and was delighted. I believed it. He took Irzhik by the hand and led him into a white hall with a golden ceiling. In the middle of the hall there was a round crystal table, and behind it, on crystal chairs, sat twelve beauties, so similar to one another that Irzhik only waved his hand and lowered his eyes - how can you tell which one is Goldilocks! They all wear the same long dresses and the same white blankets on their heads. Not a hair is visible from underneath them.
“Well, choose,” says the king. - You guessed it - your happiness! If not, you will leave here alone, just as you came.
Irzhik raised his eyes and suddenly heard something buzzing right next to his ear.
- Live, go around the table. I'll give you a hint.
Irzhik looked: a small fly was flying above him. Irzhik slowly walked around the table, and the princesses sat with their eyes downcast. And everyone’s cheeks flushed equally. And the fly buzzes and buzzes:
- Not that one! Not that one! Not that one! But this one, the golden-haired one!
Irzhik stopped, pretended to still have doubts, then said:
- Here is the golden-haired princess!
- Your happiness! - shouted the king.
The princess quickly left the table, threw off the white coverlet, and her golden hair scattered over her shoulders. And immediately the whole hall sparkled with such shine from this hair that it seemed as if the sun had given all its light to the princess’s hair.
The princess looked straight at Irzhik and averted her eyes: she had never seen such a handsome and stately young man. The princess’s heart beat heavily, but her father’s word is law. She will have to marry the old evil king!
Irzhik took his bride to his master. He took care of her all the way, making sure that her horse did not stumble, so that a cold drop of rain did not fall on her shoulders. It was a sad return. Because Irzhik also fell in love with the golden-haired princess, but could not tell her about it.
The grumpy old king chuckled with joy when he saw the beauty and ordered the wedding to be quickly prepared. And Irzhik said:
“I wanted to hang you on a dry branch for disobedience, so that your corpse would be eaten by crows.” But because you found me a bride, I declare royal favor to you. I will not hang you, but I will order your head to be cut off and buried with honor.
The next morning they cut off Irzhik’s head on the block. The golden-haired beauty began to sob and asked the king to give her the headless body and head of Irzhik. The king frowned, but did not dare to refuse the bride.
Goldilocks put her head to her body, sprinkled it with living water - the head grew back, not even a trace remained. She sprayed Irzhik a second time - and he jumped up alive, young and even more beautiful than he was before the execution. And he asked Goldilocks:
- Why did I fall asleep so soundly?
“You would have fallen asleep forever,” Goldilocks answered him, “if I had not saved you, dear.”
The king saw Irzhik and was dumbfounded: how did he come to life, and even become so beautiful! The king was a cunning old man and immediately decided to take advantage of this incident. He called the executioner and ordered:
- Cut off my head! And then let Goldilocks sprinkle some wonderful water on me. And I will come to life young and beautiful.
The executioner eagerly cut off the old king's head. But it was not possible to resurrect him. It was in vain that they poured all the living water on him. There must have been so much anger in the king that no amount of living water could help. They buried the king without tears, to the beat of drums. And since the country needed an intelligent and kind ruler, the people chose Irzhik as ruler - it was not for nothing that he was the wisest man in the world. And Goldilocks became Irzhik’s wife, and they lived a long and happy life.
And so ended this fairy tale about how the animals returned good for good and how the king lost his head.
From the book Yesterday Today Never author Ippolitov Arkady Viktorovich From the book Essays, articles, reviews author From the book Morphology of a “magic” fairy tale author Propp VladimirIX. The fairy tale as a whole First Plant (Urpflanze) will be the most amazing creature in the world. Nature itself will envy me. With this model and the key to it, it will then be possible to invent plants ad infinitum, which must be consistent, that is, which, although not
From the book Historical Roots of a Fairy Tale author Propp Vladimir6. Fairy tale and ritual It has long been noted that a fairy tale has some connection with the area of cults, with religion. Strictly speaking, a cult, a religion, can also be called an institution. However, just as the system is manifested in institutions, the institution of religion is manifested in
From the book Poetics of Myth author Meletinsky Eleazar Moiseevich10. Fairy tale and myth But if we consider ritual as one of the manifestations of religion, then we cannot ignore another manifestation of it, namely, myth. There is a huge literature on the relationship of fairy tales to myth, which we will completely ignore here. Our goals are not immediate
From the book Successes of Clairvoyance author Lurie Samuil Aronovich2. Fairy tale as a genre. We have identified the sources of individual motives. We found out that the connection, their sequence, is also not a random phenomenon. But this still does not explain the fact of the emergence of a fairy tale as such. What is the oldest stage of storytelling? We already know from
From the book Thought Armed with Rhymes [Poetic anthology on the history of Russian verse] author Kholshevnikov Vladislav Evgenievich From the book Lectures on Shakespeare author Auden Wystan Hugh From the book MMIX - Year of the Ox author Romanov Roman From the book Volume 3. Confusion-grass. Satire in prose. 1904-1932 by Black SashaThe Winter's Tale April 30, 1947 "The Winter's Tale" is a successful adaptation of "Pericles." The themes remain the same: separation and reunion, death and rebirth, storm and music. In Pericles, good and evil are concentrated at different poles. The hero of "Pericles" is pitiful, he simply suffers. It's not
From the book I Love and I Hate author Moskvina Tatyana Vladimirovna From the book Universal Reader. 3rd grade author Team of authorsTECHNICIANS* (FAIRY TALE) The German scientist von der Quacke came to his War Ministry. In front of the door, a soldier stands in full ammunition, as if glued to his chest. “What do you need?” “I brought the invention,” he points to the bundle. “Come in.” One hundred and thirtieth today. Ek carries you! Got up
From the book Literature 5th grade. A textbook-reader for schools with in-depth study of literature. Part 1 author Team of authors From the book Scary German Tales author Volkov Alexander VladimirovichTwo Brothers (Fairy Tale) Two brothers lived in one village; they plowed the land and sowed grain. The older brother had no children; the younger brother had four small children. The brothers lived so harmoniously that it was a pleasure to look at them. One autumn their bread was ripe, they harvested it and divided it equally
From the author's bookFolklore fairy tale A fairy tale is one of the most beloved genres among people. She entered a person’s life from childhood and accompanied him until his death. The ability to tell fairy tales was highly valued in Rus'. A folk tale is the main epic genre of oral folklore.
From the author's bookA fairy tale is a lie. Reliability is not at all a predicate of truth, or, better to say, that reliability has nothing to do with truth. Shestov L.I. On the Scales of Job As a term, as a narrative addressed to children, and as a work of professional storytellers, fairy tale
Once upon a time there lived a blacksmith who was so poor, he could not have been poorer. Once upon a time, business was going well for him, but suddenly the blacksmith’s craft stopped feeding him, and his wife and children, a little less, were asking for food. And it got to such a point that our poor fellow only had seven pennies left in the house. And then there are the kids whining and wanting bread. What are you going to do here? So the blacksmith thought: I’ll hang myself! I bought a rope with my last money. He came to the forest, chose a taller tree and a stronger branch, and began to adjust the rope. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a black woman! Dressed in black and with a black face! And let's talk him out of it. Sin, they say, is an abomination! Our blacksmith stood dumbfounded, stood, stood, and moved away.
Are you really going to leave yourself? Again he threw the rope over the branch. And the black woman is right there. And again for my own. The blacksmith stands there, not breathing. But as soon as Chernyavka disappeared, the blacksmith decided to hang himself again.
And suddenly Chernyavka seemed to grow out of the ground and say:
- Don’t you dare, blacksmith, hang yourself! I will help you in your trouble, I will give you as much gold as your heart desires. But you promise to give me what you have at home, but you don’t even know about it!
- What is it that I don’t know about in my house, other than grief and misfortune? “Some kind of nonsense,” the blacksmith decided and agreed.
“Then get what you promised,” said Chernyavka and poured him a full bag of money. - And I will appear for what I promised in exactly seven years! - and then disappeared, as if she had never existed.
The blacksmith ran home. He comes running cheerfully and puts the gold on the table. That's why everyone was happy. My wife admires the shiny coins.
They bought food. Children jump and laugh. Finally, we've eaten our fill! One boasts to the other about who has filled their belly tighter.
The blacksmith began to tell where such wealth came from:
“So,” he says, “it’s some kind of nonsense, not worth talking about - I had to promise that I would give away something that I don’t know about, but it’s in the house!”
My wife was almost scared to death. She had been expecting a baby for a long time, but did not dare to speak, and then the child under her heart moved!
“What have you done, hubby,” the poor thing cried, “you sold your own child, and besides, it was not born yet!”
The blacksmith gasped, but there’s nothing to do! Having given your word, hold on.
OK. Soon the blacksmith's daughter was born. Such a beauty. The hair is golden, the star is burning in the forehead. That's what they called her - Goldilocks. Her parents loved her, cherished her and cared for her as best they could. But they will remember that she seems to be their daughter, but it seems not theirs, and they will immediately feel sad.
And now the girl is seven years old. Hour after hour, minute after minute, a black carriage thundered under the windows, Chernyavka came out of the carriage and took Goldilocks to her.
With crying and lamentations, the whole family escorted the carriage to the outskirts. They would have continued to run, but Chernyavka strictly ordered it. The family returned home in tears and sadness, as if they were never destined to see the sweet girl again.
Cherniavka and Goldilocks raced in a black carriage through impenetrable forests and bare fields until they reached a beautiful, huge castle. Cherniavka showed Goldilocks the whole castle, led her through ninety-nine rooms and said:
- This is where you, my child, will live from now on. Ninety-nine rooms to clean. Walk wherever you want, live wherever your heart desires. But you couldn’t even take a peek into the hundredth room, otherwise you’d have a bad time! We'll see you in seven years, but for now, live, don't be bored!
She said and immediately disappeared. And for seven whole years there was no news of her! Our Goldilocks lived quietly and peacefully in the castle. She walked through ninety-nine rooms, sweeping, cleaning, washing and cleaning, everything sparkled like gold. But I didn’t even glance at the hundredth. Although, oh how I wanted it! It even made it difficult to sleep.
Seven years passed and Chernyavka appeared.
Well, how? Have you looked into the last room? - she asked.
- No! - answered Goldilocks.
Chernyavka was satisfied. She knew that the girl was telling the truth. Again she punished the same as the first time, and disappeared for another seven years.
Our Goldilocks cleans up the ninety-nine magnificent rooms, walks around, making sure everything sparkles like a mirror. Year flies by year, as if in a dream. And then one day, when the seventh year was coming to an end, she walked through the castle and dreamed: Chernyavka would praise her for her purity and brilliance. And he hears lovely music coming from the hundredth room. Like a chamois, Goldilocks rushed to the door. And the music becomes more and more tender and affectionate. The girl pressed the handle and - fuck! The doors opened and she found herself in the room. And there are twelve bewitched people sitting around the table. They froze in place as an evil spell overtook them. Another one stands behind the door and says to Goldilocks:
- Goldilocks, don’t give us away for anything in the world! No matter how much Chernyavka torments you, don’t talk about what you saw in this room. If you utter even a word, you will be cursed for life, but we will remain cursed forever!
And again everything fell silent, as if numb, and Goldilocks, beside herself with fear, jumped out of the hundredth room and rushed away. She didn’t even notice how Chernyavka appeared in front of her. She already knew that the girl had seen the last room. She shook her finger and said:
- Goldilocks, Goldilocks, what have you done! You looked into the hundredth room! Tell me, what did you see there?
But our Goldilocks is silent, as if she had swallowed her tongue. Chernyavka began to threaten her with terrible punishments, but Goldilocks was silent, not a sound. Here Chernyavka says:
“If you don’t answer right now what you saw in that room, I’ll throw you into a deep well and make you mute forever!”
And it's true. The evil Chernyavka threw her into a deep well and cast a spell on her. Now, besides Chernyavka, she could no longer talk to anyone.
Goldilocks woke up on a sandy mound. And oh, amazingly, he sees some kind of passage leading underground. She started running. Everything forward and forward until I found myself in a beautiful clearing. Here she stayed. And she lived on roots and berries. But Chernyavka came here too and kept demanding to know what she saw in the hundredth room.
But Goldilocks never said anything.
Not far from the clearing, a young king was hunting in the forests. And he came across the sleeping Goldilocks. She looks, unable to see enough, where did such a beauty come from here? And the longer he looked, the sweeter she became to him. I finally decided to wake her up, take her to my palace and marry her. Let people judge as they want.
He woke me up quietly and began asking who and where from. And she, poor thing - mute - remains silent and silent. The king decided that it was out of fear or shame. He asks if he will go to the palace with him, and she just nods her head. The young king brought her to his place, ordered her to be dressed in a luxurious dress and, without thinking for a long time, got married.
Goldilocks never spoke. But her husband loved her very much and they lived in perfect harmony. A year has passed. The queen is expecting a baby. And she herself becomes sadder and sadder. As if he was afraid of some kind of trouble. The day came and the young queen brought a boy into the world. The hair is golden, the star is burning in the forehead. You couldn't find a happier king in the whole world! He orders all neighbors to be called to a feast so that his joy can be shared.
But soon his joy turned into great sadness. Why so? But listen to this:
- At night Cherniavka came to Goldilocks and began to threaten that if she did not say what she saw in the last room, then she would strangle her son with golden hair. Goldilocks trembled with horror, like a blade of grass in a thunderstorm, but said nothing.
- And you yourself will have a hard time! - Chernyavka keeps threatening. But Goldilocks is silent, not a sound!
The evil Chernyavka strangled the sweet boy, smeared blood on Goldilocks’ lips and immediately disappeared.
It is impossible to say in a fairy tale, nor to describe with a pen how scared everyone was when they saw this picture in the morning. The king turned pale as death, but said nothing. The entire castle was searched, everyone was strictly questioned, but they never found out who could have done this. They began to talk about whether it was Goldilocks herself, because there was blood on her lips. And she, innocent, cannot utter a word in her defense. Others called for her to be sentenced to death. But the king did not want to see or hear anything, because he loved her. And they began to live kindly, as before. A year passed and Goldilocks brought into the world a girl with golden hair and a golden star in her forehead. How happy the king was! To prevent more trouble from happening, he ordered that a faithful guard be placed in the room where Goldilocks and her child slept for the night.
It's just in vain. The Chernyavka bewitched the guards and they fell into a deep sleep. She stood in front of Goldilocks and threatened:
- I’ll find out what you saw in that room anyway! And you will be lost! I will kill the baby, but the king orders you to be burned alive!
But Goldilocks is silent as stone. Chernyavka strangled the girl, Goldilocks smeared her lips with blood. And so it was.
In the morning the child was found dead. But the guards did not see anyone and did not hear any rustle or sound in the room.
The king was angry that this was happening in his palace. He ordered to look for the evil enemy even more strictly. They searched and searched, but found no one.
At this point everyone around openly began to say that there was no one but the queen to strangle the child. After all, there were only guards in her room. And her lips are bleeding! And everything is silent, he won’t say a word! These speeches reached the king, he hesitated and himself ordered that Goldilocks be condemned to death. At the stake! In front of all the subjects!
They took Goldilocks out of town. Tied to a pole. They set fire to brushwood underfoot. Suddenly a carriage crashed straight into the crowd and stopped in front of Goldilocks. Chernyavka comes out of the carriage and says:
- You see, my words have come true: now the end will come for you. Tell me, at least now, what did you see in the last room of my castle?
But Goldilocks was silent. No matter how hard Chernyavka tried, she could not achieve anything.
The smoke and flames had already reached Goldilocks and suddenly, lo and behold! Chernyavka’s face turned white and her whole appearance changed. She ordered the fire to be lit immediately, because Goldilocks is innocent! And she said:
- It’s your happiness and mine that you didn’t answer me. With this you freed me and those twelve from evil spells. Otherwise, we would all be lost forever and ever, and you with us!
And he gives her - where did they come from - two of her children, alive! And in the blink of an eye she disappears along with the carriage!
And at that very moment Goldilocks spoke and told the king everything that had happened. The king does not believe his eyes or ears. Yes, if it is so, then it means nothing else! To celebrate, the king does not know what to do: take the golden children in his arms or hug Goldilocks and beg for forgiveness. Then he brought his wife and children to the castle, they now began to live peacefully. And they found the blacksmith father and transported him and his whole family to their castle.