The Brothers Grimm fairy tale The Three Feathers film. Children's stories online

Once upon a time there lived a king; he had three sons. Two of them were smart and sensible, but the third didn’t say much, he was simple-minded, and everyone called him the Fool.

Now the king has already grown old and become weak; He sees that he will soon have to die, but he could not decide which of his sons to inherit his kingdom. So he says to his sons:

Go wander around the world, and who will bring me the better work carpet, he will be the king after my death.

And so that there would be no dispute between them, he led them to the castle, took three feathers, blew on them, and they flew up; and he says:

Wherever they fly, you should go there too.

One feather flew to the east, another to the west, and the third took off, but did not fly far and soon sank to the ground. So one brother went to the right, the other went to the left, and they laughed at the Fool who remained near the third feather, where it fell.

The Fool sat down on the ground and became sad. Suddenly he noticed that where the feather lay, there was a passage to the dungeon. He lifted the door, saw that there was a staircase further, and he went down it. He went to another door, knocked, and heard someone insistently shouting from inside:

Green girl

You dried leg

Bone leg doggy,

Take a quick look

Who's standing there at the door?

The door opened, he saw a big, fat toad sitting in front of him, and around her there were many small toads. The fat toad asks him what he wants. He tells her:

I would like to receive the most beautiful and most delicately crafted carpet.

She called the young toad and said:

Green girl

You dried leg

Bone leg doggy,

Hey, come quickly

Bring the casket quickly!

A young toad brought a casket. A fat toad opened it, took out a carpet and gave it to the Fool. And that carpet was so beautiful and of such fine workmanship that no one in the whole world could have woven anything like it. He thanked her and climbed back upstairs.

And those two brothers considered their younger brother so stupid that they thought: he would never find anything and bring nothing.

“What else should we try to look for,” they said, and they took a coarse woolen scarf from the first shepherdess they came across and brought it home to the king.

At this very time the Fool came back and brought his beautiful carpet. When the king saw this, he was surprised and said:

To be fair, the kingdom should belong to the youngest son.

But the two brothers did not give their father peace, they began to talk and prove that it was impossible for Fool, who lacks even reason, to be king, and began to ask him for a new agreement.

This is what the father says:

The kingdom will be given to the one who brings me the most beautiful ring,” and he took the three brothers into the castle courtyard, took three feathers, blew on them, “and they rose into the air and flew in different directions, where the brothers were supposed to go.

The two older brothers went east and west again, and the Fool's feather fell to the ground, just at the very entrance to the dungeon. He went down again to the fat toad and told her that he needed to get the most beautiful ring. She immediately ordered her large casket to be brought, took out a ring from there and gave it to him. And it shone, strewn with precious stones, and was so beautiful that no goldsmith in the world could ever do anything like this.

The two older brothers laughed at the Fool that he was going to find Golden ring, and did not try to look for it at all, but took an old rim from the wheel, knocked off the nails from it and brought it to the king.

When the Fool showed his gold ring, the father said again:

The kingdom belongs to him.

But the two eldest kept pestering the king until, finally, he agreed to the third agreement and decided that he should receive the kingdom whoever brings home the most beautiful girl.

He took three feathers, blew on them, and they rose into the air and flew the same way as last time.

The Fool, without hesitation, went down to the fat toad and said:

I have to bring home the most beautiful girl.

But the toad answered:

The most beautiful? Oh, what are you doing! There is no such thing now, but you will still get it.

And she gave him a hollowed-out yellow turnip, drawn by six little mice. And the Fool says, completely saddened:

What should I do with them?

The toad answered:

And you put one of my little toads in it.

He took the first one that came to his hand and put it in a yellow cart; but as soon as she sat down in it, she immediately turned into a girl of magical beauty, a turnip into a carriage, and six little mice into horses. He kissed the girl, drove the horses and brought her to the king.

His brothers arrived later - they didn’t even try to find a beautiful girl, but took with them the first village women they came across. The king saw them and said:

The kingdom will belong to the youngest after my death.

But the two elders again shouted from all ears to the king:

We cannot allow the Fool to become king, and we demanded that preference be given to the one whose wife jumps through the ring that hangs in the middle of the hall. They thought like this: “The village women will be able to do this, because they are much stronger than this a tender girl“She will jump and will probably fall to her death.”

The old king agreed to this too. And then two village women jumped, slipped through the ring, but they were clumsy, fell and broke their rough arms and legs. And then the beautiful girl whom the Fool had brought jumped, and she slipped through easily, like a doe, and there was nothing further to argue about. So the Fool received the royal crown, and for many years he ruled wisely.

Information for parents: The Three Feathers is a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It tells how the king, before his death, thought about which of his sons he would leave the throne to. And he gave them a task... The fairy tale “Three Feathers” will be interesting for children aged 7 to 10 years.

Read the fairy tale Three Feathers

Once upon a time there lived a king, and he had three sons. Two are both smart and intelligent; and the third is not talkative and simpler than the elders, and that is why they called him a simpleton.

When the king-father began to grow old, weaken and was already thinking about his end, he himself did not know which of his sons should succeed him in governing the kingdom.

So he once told them: “Go around the world, and the one who brings me the best carpet, let him be king after my death.”

And so that there would be no dispute between the brothers about who should go where, he took them out in front of the castle, blew on three feathers and sent them flying through the air, saying: “As the feather flies, so the path lies behind it.”

One feather flew to the west, another to the east, and the third flew straight, flew away not far and soon fell to the ground.

So the brothers went: one to the right, the other to the left, and they also began to laugh at the simpleton, who had to stop near his feather, which had fallen to the ground.

He sat down near the feather and became sad. And suddenly he sees a door in the ground near the feather. He lifted the door, and under it there was a staircase going deep into the earth; he went down these stairs.

He went to another door, knocked and heard someone behind the door answering:

Baby girl!
Go check it out
Who's that knocking?
Outside our door.

The door opened, and the prince saw a large fat toad sitting in the dungeon among many small toads. The fat toad asked him what he wanted? He answered: “I would need the most beautiful and most expensive carpet.”

Then the toad called one of the young little toads and said to her:

Baby girl!
Go to the outhouse
And bring it quickly
Treasured chest!

A young little toad brought a chest, and a fat toad opened it, took it out and gave the simpleton prince such a wonderful carpet that no one could weave on earth. The prince thanked her and again rose from the dungeon to the ground.

Both older brothers, however, considered their younger brother so stupid that they thought: “He won’t find or bring anything... Why should we work in vain?”

They thought about it and took the coarse shawls from the first woman they came across and took them to the king.

By the same time, the simpleton also returned to the castle and brought his wonderful carpet; When the king saw that carpet, he marveled at it and said: “If we stick to our agreement, then the kingdom should be transferred to the youngest.”

But the two elders did not give their father peace and said: “Can this simpleton, who does not have enough intelligence for anything in life, be a king?” - and asked the father to make a new agreement.

Then the king said: “The one of you who brings me the best ring will inherit the kingdom!” - and led them out in front of the castle and released three feathers into the air, which they were supposed to follow.

The two elders again went east and west, and the feather of the simpleton prince flew straight in front of him and again fell next to the door to the dungeon.

And again he went down there and told the fat toad that he needed to find the best, most expensive ring.

She immediately ordered the chest to be brought and took out a ring from there, and that ring shone with precious stones and was so beautiful that no master on earth could make such a ring.

Both older brothers laughed at the simpleton brother who undertook to find the golden ring, and did not put any effort into finding the ring, but simply took the rim from the old wheel, knocked out the nails from it and brought it to the king.

When the simpleton showed his father his ring, the father repeated again: “He should be my heir!”

However, the two eldest did not stop pestering the father until he agreed to the third agreement and said that he would be inherited by the one who brought the most beautiful bride to the castle.

Once again he threw three feathers through the air, and they flew exactly the same as before.

So the simpleton prince came straight to the fat toad and told her that he must bring home the beauty to be his wife. “Hey, what are you up to! - said the toad. - Beauty! But you won’t always find it at hand... However, I’ll look for it for you.”

And she gave him a hollowed-out yellow turnip drawn by six mice. The simpleton became sad and asked her: “Where do I want this goodness?” The toad answered: “Take it and put one of my little toads there.”

Then he randomly grabbed one of the little toads and put it in a yellow turnip cart; and as soon as he planted it, the toad turned into a beautiful maiden, the carriage into a carriage, and the six mice into six horses. The simpleton prince kissed the maiden, hit the horses and brought the bride to the king-father.

His brothers also came for him; Those beauties didn’t bother looking for them, but simply grabbed the first women they came across and brought them to the palace.

As the king saw them, he decided so; " Younger son must inherit me!”

But the two elders immediately shouted: “Can we allow a simpleton to become king!” - and demanded that preference be given to the one whose wife would better jump through the ring hung in the middle of the hall.

They thought to themselves that their women would easily do this, because they were strong, and this weak, beautiful girl would probably kill herself as soon as she jumped.

The king agreed to this request as well.

Then two women jumped through the ring, but so hard and awkwardly that they fell to the ground and broke their rough arms and legs. Following them, the beautiful girl jumped easily and deftly, like a chamois, and no one began to contradict her.

So, thanks to her, the younger prince received a royal crown and ruled the country for many, many years wise and fair.

Translated by Boris Weiner

In ancient times, there lived a poor man, and he had a young son. And the poor man gave his only son as a worker for the bayou. And this bai often traveled to overseas countries to trade with foreign merchants.
And then one day the young man’s owner loaded his ship with all sorts of goods and set sail. long journey. The ship sailed for many days and many nights. And when he reached the very middle of the sea, the poor man’s son approached the bai:
“Would you allow me, agai,” he says, “to dive here and see if there is anything good at the bottom?” Wait for me for ten minutes; I’ll turn around in this time - okay, but if I don’t have time, go without me.
The horseman descended deep, to the very bottom of the sea. And suddenly it lit up bright light. And when the young man climbed back onto the ship, pearls and corals sparkled in his hands. He rested a little and returned to the owner:
- Shouldn’t I try, oh yeah, one more time?
The horseman dived again and again I shouted precious stones carried out He gives them to the owner, and he is apparently overcome by greed: he tells the poor man’s son to dive for the third time.
“Okay, if that’s the case,” the horseman says. - Only this one will be the last.
The horseman disappeared under the water for the third time. The sea has darkened, turned black - you can’t see anything even if you gouge out your eyes. Ten minutes passed, fifteen minutes, and still no sign of the brave man. The bai got tired of waiting, he ordered to give full speed and sailed on his way.
The horseman emerged from the water, looked around - and there was no trace of the ship..." Eh, apparently it’s my destiny to die here, - the guy thought. “Well, at least once again I’ll see the bottom of the sea...” He sank to the bottom again and wandered along it. And suddenly his hand touched something. I looked closer and there was no door handle! The poor man's son pulled the handle, the door opened, and water rushed in noisily. And she carried the horseman along with her. And when the door slammed, the young man saw that he was standing in a spacious room. In the red corner there was a seke, and a terrible diva was sleeping on it. As soon as the poor son had time to take a couple of steps, the marvel began to stir, and how he sneezed in his sleep!.. He sneezed, woke up and opened his eyes. He noticed the horseman and was angry that his sleep was disturbed.
- Where did you come from here? - speaks.
“So you sneezed me out yourself,” the young man replies.
Believed the diva.
“Okay, if so,” he says. - I’ll hire you as a worker. If you serve well, you will remain alive; if you serve poorly, you have yourself to blame: I’ll eat. Here's your first service. I'm leaving now and won't be back until tomorrow. Prepare dinner for me when I return, bigger and tastier, so that it’s waiting for me on the table.
He said so and disappeared.
The young man walked around the whole house, examined the yard and garden and began to cook dinner for the new owner. The diva returned the next day, ate, drank, and went to bed. And the horseman, as soon as the owner fell asleep, went back into the garden. That garden was large, and in the middle of it stood a palace. And the poor man’s son sees that someone is waving a handkerchief at him from the palace window - come here, they say. The young man came closer, and a beautiful girl was standing in the window.
“Oh, horseman,” she says to him, “you cook amazing food here, and your mother and father, oh how they miss you...
- How do you know my relatives?
“I know, I know,” he says, “I know everything.” You, horseman, come from such and such a city, and your father is a poor man, and your neighbors on one side are such and such, and on the other, such and such.
She said everything correctly as it is. And then:
“Get me out of here,” he asks. If you help me, I will enter your house with you...
- How can I do this?
- Take the keys from the diva’s ear and unlock the door to our palace, and then it’s not your concern.
The horseman returned to the house, pulled the keys out of the diva’s ear and, as was said, unlocked the doors to the palace. Twelve girls ran out of the doors, one more beautiful than the other, and disappeared in all directions - you couldn’t figure out which one to chase. The poor man's son was even taken aback. He hurried back into the house and put the keys in the diva’s ear.
The diva soon woke up and went to check the household. I looked around all the rooms, walked around the courtyard, and then decided to look into the palace. I opened the doors, but there were no beauties.
The diva thought for a short time:
- Come on, horseman, bring me my wings. What are they lying in the back room?
The horseman slowly went into the far room, found wings, but could not raise them.
“They’re too heavy and big,” he returned to the diva.
There was nothing to do, the owner had to go himself. He put on his wings and set off after the girls. He caught up with the fugitives and locked them in the palace again.
The diva returned home, ate and drank, and disappeared again for the whole day. And the poor man's son went into the garden again. And from the window the same beauty gives him a voice:
- Well, horseman, apparently you don’t want to go home...
- No matter how much you want it, you want it, but what can you do...
- If you get me out of here and give your word to marry me, I will help you. I am the daughter of a padishah, and so are those girls you saw in the palace. He kidnapped all of us.
- Won’t it be like last time? - the horseman asks. “I let you out, but you immediately ran away.”
“Do it differently,” says the daughter of the padishah. - The diva will return, speak to you, and you remain silent. No matter what he said, not a single word in response. He asks if you want to eat - be silent. If he asks if you want to take a walk in the garden, keep quiet. He asks if you want to go home - keep quiet anyway. Div is very afraid of this. In a day or two he will become completely silky and will fulfill any of your requests.
So the young man did so. I didn’t talk to the owner for three days. The divas were very frightened. He became affectionate and promised to fulfill any desire of the horseman. Only then did the poor son open his mouth.
- I fell in love with the girl who lives in the garden, in the palace. Give her to me and let me go from here.
The diva reluctantly agreed. And the daughter of the padishah says to the horseman:
- Don't believe the miracle. He won’t give me up so easily, but will come up with a test for you. He will turn us into twelve mares of the same color and say: choose which is yours. Don’t rush, look first at which of us walks around, snorting, but doesn’t touch the food. This will be me. Then he will turn us into twelve doves and sprinkle us with grains of wheat. I will walk and coo, but I won’t even touch the wheat. For the third time we will become a dozen twin girls. The diva will ask which one is yours, and at this time I will fan my face with a handkerchief.
The young man remembered all this clearly. And the div the next day took the horseman to the girls and arranged a test - exactly as the beauty had predicted. First he turned everyone into twelve mares, sprinkled them with oats and said:
- Choose.
The horseman noticed that one mare walked around snorting and did not touch the oats.
“I like this one,” he says.
Turned beautiful divas into doves. The young man chose the one that cooed but didn’t come close to the grains. And then, among the twelve twins, I found the one I wanted.
There was nothing to do - the diva released the horseman, and he and the padishah’s daughter went home. And before setting off on the journey, the beauty gave the young man three bird feathers and a gold ring and said:
- Whenever you get into trouble, break these feathers one by one, and someone will help you. And never take off this ring: if you take it off, you’ll lose me...
Many days and nights passed, the young man and the girl passed through many countries before they reached home. The horseman’s mother and father are overjoyed: their only son has returned, and with his bride at that. They began to call guests and prepare the wedding.
The horseman celebrated his wedding and settled down at home with his young wife. And he took the gold ring off his hand and locked it in the chest. I forgot, apparently. That the beauty did not tell him to do this. And then one day the neighbors invited the horseman and his wife to visit. He went, but his wife refused: she didn’t want to, she said. The neighbors send for her, and she responds:
- I would have come, but there’s nothing to wear. Let my husband send me the key to the chest, where are the most beautiful dresses are lying.
They conveyed her words to her husband, and he took and sent her the key. And the wife unlocked the chest with that key, put the gold ring on her finger, turned into a bird and flew away to her parents. I just said goodbye to her:
- If he misses you, let him look for me through six states, in the seventh.
The horseman was greatly saddened and almost lost his mind from grief. And he decided to find his wife at all costs.
The poor man's son went by for a month, and a year went by. He passed through six states and finally reached the country where his beauty lived. I got there, but for a long time I couldn’t get into the padishah’s palace. Then he dressed himself as a beggar and began begging for alms right in front of the palace windows. The daughter of the padishah saw him through the window, recognized him and ordered the servants to bring him to her. The horseman entered her chambers, and his ex-wife said to him:
-Have you found me yet, horseman?.. Well, look around then, look at the roof of the palace.
The poor man's son turned around and saw eleven severed heads sticking out above the roof. And the daughter of the padishah called the viziers and said to them:
- Even though this man snatched me from the hands of the diva, I don’t want to live with him, to be his wife.
And the viziers began to decide the fate of the horseman. There was a quick trial, but a wrong one: they decided to cut off the poor man’s son’s head and display it twelfth on the roof. But then one of the viziers said:
- We will always have time to cut off his head. Let's better test We will arrange for a stranger. If he is a hero, if he has enough ingenuity and courage, he will remain alive, but if he turns out to be a coward, we will do as we decided.
They gave the horseman a day's time and said: hide during this time so that we don't find you. If you can do it - your happiness, we will find it - not to blow your head off.
And the poor son went wherever his eyes looked, as long as he could get away. He walked and walked and reached a dark forest. He went into the thicket, sat down on a stump and suddenly remembered the feathers that the padishah’s daughter had once given him. He took out one feather and broke it. And immediately a Lion appeared next to the horseman.
- Why did you call me, horseman? And why are you so sad?
- How can you not be sad? - the poor man's son answers. “In an hour, the period during which I must hide from the viziers expires.” If I don’t have time, they will cut off my head.
Lev came closer to the horseman.
“Come on, get in here,” and opened his mouth.
The horseman, without thinking twice, climbed into the mouth - and the Lion rushed into a distant gorge.
The viziers searched for the foreigner, the padishah's warriors searched, but they could not find him. Just by looking at magic mirror, and found out where he was hiding. “Eh, horseman,” they say, we would take your head off, but we can’t get there.” And Lev brought the horseman to the city and left him on the outskirts.
The horseman appeared at the palace.
“Okay, this time yours took it,” the viziers tell him. - Just don’t rejoice ahead of time. We'll give you one more day. If you fail to hide from us, you have yourself to blame.
Again the poor man's son set off on his journey. This time I reached the very sea. He sat down on the shore, remembered the feathers, took another one out of his pocket and broke it. And immediately a huge Turtle appeared nearby.
- Why are you, horseman, so sad? - asks.
“Why should I have fun?.. I only have five minutes left,” the horseman says. “If they find me now, they’ll cut my head off in an instant.”
“Come on, get into my mouth,” says the Turtle.
That’s what Dzhigit did. And the Turtle dived into the depths of the sea with a splash.
Meanwhile, the viziers have searched the whole city, but cannot find the horseman. They brought the old witch and looked in the magic mirror - the poor man’s son was nowhere to be found. Only a month later he showed up at the palace. He goes to see the daughter of the padishah, and she tells him:
- I don’t even want to talk to you! - and again he calls the vizier.
The viziers gathered. “At any cost,” they think, “we need to get rid of this stranger.”
“Well, here’s what, horseman,” they say, “you should hide in the third one, last time. The agreement is the same: if we find it, head off our shoulders.
And the poor man's son went to look for a place for the third time. Where to hide from the viziers. I walked for a long time and ended up at high mountain. He took the last feather out of his pocket and broke it. And then a huge bird landed in front of him. She asked him about everything and said:
- Don’t be sad, horseman, I’ll help you. Sit on top of me and close your eyes.
The young man jumped onto the bird's back, closed his eyes, and the bird carried him to unknown lands.
Now let's take a look at the palace. The soldiers turned everything upside down, they searched day and night, they searched for a week - it was not in vain that they were promised a generous reward if they found the horseman - but they just couldn’t find the fugitive.
At the end of the month, the poor man's son returns to the city. But the guards won’t let him into the palace. A horseman walks the streets and ponders how he can take revenge on the treacherous padishah’s daughter. I sat down on the river bank and thought. Suddenly he sees a beautiful girl walking through the water. The girl also saw the horseman.
- Who are you and what are you doing here? - asks.
The horseman told her everything about himself.
“I want to take revenge on the padishah’s daughter,” he says, “but I just don’t know how to get to the palace.”
“Eh, horseman, horseman,” sighs the beauty, “who trusts the padishah’s daughters these days?.. I’m a servant in the palace; If you promise to marry me, I will help you.
The horseman liked the girl, he agreed. Then the beauty picked up the young man and hit him to the ground. And he turned into a pin. The maid pinned a pin to her dress, picked up the buckets and returned to the palace. And then she entered the chambers of the padishah’s daughter and threw the pin on the floor. The pin immediately became a horseman. The maid took the sword from the wall and put it in the hand of the poor man’s son. The daughter of the padishah was frightened and fell to her knees:
“Spare me,” he begs, “I won’t do you any more harm.”
“No,” the horseman answers, “I can’t believe you,” and he cut off her head.
And the servant girl took another sword from the wall and put it in the other hand of the poor man’s son. The horseman went into the viziers' room and dealt with them. And then he became a padishah in this state and married a beautiful maid. They say they still live there.

Once upon a time there lived a poor man. He had one son, whom a poor man sent to serve his rich neighbor. The neighbor was a merchant and often sailed overseas for different goods. Once a rich man went to trade for big ship, and took the poor man’s son with him along with other servants. They sailed along the sea for a long time, and when they were already halfway behind, the young man asked the owner for permission to swim:

“Agai, will you allow me to reach the seabed in this place?” If I'm not back in ten minutes, continue on without me.

Bai agreed to wait for the young man. He dived and reached the very bottom. At that moment, the sea was illuminated with an unearthly radiance, and the young servant picked up a handful of corals and pearls from the bottom of the sea. He gave the jewelry to the owner, rested, and again asked to go to sea:

- Let me, oh yeah, dive again.

The merchant is waiting for the young man again. The poor man's son emerged with a handful of jewelry and gave them to the owner. The rich man wanted more pearls, so he asked the young man to dive again. He agreed, but warned that it was the last time he was diving.

A young man jumped into the sea, the water began to boil and became cloudy: he looked into the water and couldn’t see the brave man. The merchant waited about fifteen minutes, but the young man still did not emerge. Then he ordered to raise the anchor and continue sailing.

And the poor man's son swam out of the depths and saw that the ship was gone. “So my fate is to remain at the bottom of the sea,” he thought and dived for the last time. I got to the bottom and walked along it as if on dry land. Suddenly he got caught on something underwater. I looked more closely - and this is the door! And even with a pen! The young man pulled the door handle towards himself, it opened and water poured inside. The water pulled the young man into the room behind the door. At the far wall there was a couch on which a creepy-looking demon, a diva, was sleeping. The young man had not yet had time to look at the diva properly, but he suddenly began to spin around on his couch and sneezed so much that he woke up from his sneeze. The demon saw the young man and decided that it was he who woke him up. The diva asks the poor man's son:

- How did you get here?

The young man realized that it was impossible to tell the truth and replied:

- It came from your sneeze, oh great marvel!

The demon stopped getting angry and, scratching the back of his head, said:

- If so, you will live with me and serve me. If I like your service, that’s good, but if I don’t like it, I’ll eat it for dinner. I give you the first task: I will be gone until tomorrow, and during this time you prepare something for me to eat, and so that there is a lot of food, and that everything is tasty.

Leaving the young man alone in the room, the diva disappeared.

The poor man’s son, without hesitation for a long time, began to inspect the diva’s possessions: he walked around the house, looked into the yard, walked through the garden, and then began to cook food. In the morning, a terrible demon appeared as unexpectedly as it had disappeared the day before. The divas ate and drank, lay down on the bed and began snoring. And the young man decided to explore the garden again. The demon's domain was large; the garden could not be walked from edge to edge at one time, and in the center of this garden there was also a palace. The young man did not immediately notice that they were waving to him from the window of the palace, but when he noticed and came closer, he saw that it was some beautiful girl calling him.

The girl says to the poor man's son:

“Listen, well done, you hired yourself into the service of an evil demon, but at home your mother and father turned all their eyes on you, waiting for you, shed all their tears, grieving for you.”

– Who told you about my parents? – the young man was surprised.

“I’ll tell you something else,” the beauty answers him. And she told the young man everything about the city in which he was born, about his father and mother, and even about the names of all his neighbors. And then she began to ask him:

- Help me escape from the diva. Then I will follow you to the ends of the earth and become your wife.

- Tell me what I have to do for this! – the young man agreed.

“The diva keeps the keys to this palace in his ear.” While he is sleeping, take them out slowly and open the doors, and then we ourselves will decide what to do.

The young man went to the house where the diva was sleeping and took the keys to the palace from his ear. As soon as he had time to turn the keys in the lock, the doors opened, and a dozen beauties ran out of the doors, and they all immediately disappeared - and the young man did not even notice where. The young man was frightened by surprise. Where now to look for the beauty who was promised to be his wife? He returned to the diva’s house and hid the keys again in his ear.

When the demon had slept, he went to inspect his possessions: he walked through the house, looked into the yard, entered the palace - and it was empty. Div then began to call the young man:

“Bring me the wings, which I keep in the last room.”

The poor man's son went to the room about which the div spoke, saw huge wings there, tried to take them, but nothing came of it: he was beyond his strength to the common man Raise your diva wings. He went to the diva and said that he could not bring it - the wings were so large and heavy. The demon then himself went into the far room, took his wings, put them on, and flew away to catch the beauties. He brought all the girls back to the palace and locked the doors of the palace.

When the demon finished this job, he wanted to eat. He went home, ate and drank, and again disappeared somewhere. The young man, as soon as the owner crossed the threshold, immediately ran to the palace. And there his familiar beauty again calls him to the window:

“Aren’t you, good fellow, going home?”

“I would get ready, but you can’t run away from this diva so easily, as you can see,” the young man answers her.

“Listen, hero,” the girl tells him, “we are not here of our own free will: an evil demon took me and other girls from our homes, and we are all daughters of glorious padishahs.” Help us escape from the palace, and promise that you will marry me, and I will tell you how to return home quickly.

“I agree to help you, beauty, but you will run away again as soon as I let you out.”

“We won’t run away,” the beautiful captive promised the young man. – Do this: when the div appears at home, don’t talk to him. No matter what he said, no matter what he asked you, you remained silent, as if you had filled your mouth with water. He will offer you food, but you don’t answer. He will ask if you miss home, but you won’t even listen. And when he asks you to go for a walk, be silent. The demon doesn't like it when people don't talk to him. He will quickly get tired of your silence and will do whatever you ask.

The young man did as the beauty advised him. For three days he did not open his mouth, and did not say a single word to the diva. The demon became agitated and immediately began to address the young man kindly. And when the diva said that he would do whatever the young man asked, he said the following words:

“I saw a beautiful maiden standing in your garden in your palace, and I loved her with all my heart, I can’t live without her.” I ask you, O great marvel, allow me to take her with me and return home.

The demon gave his consent to the young man, but the beauty warned the poor man’s son:

“You can’t take a diva’s word for it, hero.” Before he lets me go, he will test you. First of all, he will put a spell on us all, and we will become a dozen brown horses. And the diva tells you to choose one of us. Walk slowly and see which horse will snort and not take feed, that’s me. After this, the div will make us twelve turtle doves, give us wheat to peck, and tell you to find me. Look carefully, which turtledove will coo but not peck at the food, it will be me. Then the diva will turn us into girls again, but we will all look the same. When he asks you to choose one of us, I will wave my handkerchief.

Every word of hers was imprinted on the young man’s heart. The next morning, the terrible diva brought him to the palace and did everything as the beauty told him. First of all, the div bewitched the captives and they became horses, and the div ordered the young man to choose a bride for himself. The young warrior pointed out to the diva that she did not eat oats. Then the demon bewitched the girls again, and they became turtle doves. The young man told the diva that he liked the bird that cooed but did not peck the grains. And for the third time he tested the wonder of the young man, inviting him to find his beloved of the girls, whom he made indistinguishable from each other. The poor man's son found his beauty when she waved her handkerchief.

The demon had to fulfill his promise and let the young man go home with the beauty. But before leaving the diva’s possessions, the girl gave the groom a gold ring and three bird feathers, saying:

“Wear my ring on your finger and don’t take it off, and if you take it off, you won’t see me again.” Keep the feathers with you too: they will help you out of any trouble, as long as you break it magic feather- You will immediately have an assistant.

Whether long or short, after many days of wandering, the young man and his bride arrived to the batyr’s parents. Father and mother can’t believe their eyes: the only missing son has returned alive, and with a beautiful bride at that. The wedding took place here.

The warrior and the daughter of the padishah began to live in their house. Only after the wedding, the young man forgot that the beauty asked him never to take off the gold ring, he put her gift in a locked chest and does not wear it. Once they invited a young man and his wife to visit a neighboring house. The girl didn’t want to visit, so the young man came alone. The neighbors waited and waited for his wife, but they went to call her, and she said:

- I can’t go to visit, I have nothing to wear. My husband took with him the key to the chest with my clothes. Let him give me this key, I’ll put on a beautiful dress and come.

The young man believed her words when the neighbors returned and told him why his wife refused to go visit, and he sent her the keys to the chest. The girl took out a ring from the chest, which the diva had given to the young man, put it on and turned into a bird, and flew out the window. The bird flew up to the young man and chirped before flying away completely:

- If you miss me, know that I flew to my parents in the thirtieth kingdom, look for me there.

The young man grieved for a long time, greatly missed his wife, and finally decided to go in search of his beautiful wife.

But the path to the thirtieth kingdom is not close. The hero trampled on more than one pair of boots before he reached the kingdom where his beloved had flown away. Only the young man was not allowed into the padishah’s palace. He began to think about how he could get to his wife, and came up with an idea. He put on beggar's rags, and under the windows of the palace he asked the rich lords to give him alms. The girl recognized his voice, looked out the window, and ordered him to be allowed into the palace. They brought the young man to her, and the beauty showed him on the roof of the palace, on which eleven heads of brave men were hanging on spears, and said:

– Whose heads do you think these are, hero? You saved me from a terrible demon, of course, but I no longer want to be your wife, your head will be the twelfth.

The daughter of the padishah called the courtiers and conveyed her decision to them. The courtiers had already gathered to lead the young man to execution, but one of them suggested first testing the poor man’s son:

“It’s never too late to take your head off your shoulders; if he doesn’t complete our task, we’ll cut off his head, and if he does, we’ll let him go.”

Other courtiers agreed with him and came up with the following test for the young man: he had to hide from them in a day so that the viziers could not find him, and if he found him, they would cut off his head and put it on the roof.

How could the young man know where in that kingdom he could hide? He went where his feet led him. So he got to the thicket of the forest, sat down on a stump to rest, and a magic feather, once given to him by his bride, fell out of his bosom. The young man broke the pen, and at the same moment Leo appeared in front of him and spoke to the young man like a human being:

- How can I help you, hero? What is the reason for your sadness?

The young man told Lev that he did not know how to hide from the viziers of the padishah, and if he did not hide, then he would not live. The lion opened his giant mouth and ordered the young man to hide in it. So he did, and Lev hid in a cave that was in a reserved gorge.

The courtiers searched for the young man for a long time, but could not find him anywhere. But they had a more wonderful mirror, which showed everything that was hidden. The viziers saw the young man in this mirror, but they did not know how to get him out of the Lion’s mouth. The lion took the young man to the outskirts of the city and said goodbye to him there. And the poor man's son returned to the palace.

“You hid well, hero,” the courtiers praised him, “but that’s not enough.” Hide again tomorrow. And if it doesn’t work out, then your daring little head will hang on the roof of the palace.

What to do? The young man had to look for a secluded place again, but nowhere could he find one. A young man came to the sea coast, sat down on the sand to rest, and then the second magic feather fell out of his pocket. The poor man's son broke the feather in half and saw a large Turtle in front of him.

- What happened, good job? Why is the hero not cheerful, hanging his head low? – the Turtle spoke human voice.

“I have nothing to rejoice at,” her young man replies, “before I have time to hide from the padishah’s courtiers, they will execute me.”

“Don’t worry,” said the Turtle. - Hide in my mouth.

The young man climbed into the Turtle’s mouth, and she dived into the water and sank to the bottom.

The padishah's courtiers searched for the young man throughout the area, but found no trace of him. They called the witch and looked into the wonderful mirror: neither the witch nor the mirror helped them find the hero. While they were looking for him, the moon became round, and then again turned into a thin moon. Here the young man returned to the palace. But the daughter of the padishah does not want to see or hear him, she again called the courtiers and ordered them to execute the young man.

Then the courtiers say to the poor man’s son:

“Let’s try again: if you hide well this time, we’ll let you go, but if not, it’s your own fault.”

The young man again had to hide on the wrong side. He went to the mountains, and in the evening he reached a mountain, the top of which was hidden in the clouds. The young man remembered about the third feather, found it in his pocket, and broke it. At the same moment I found myself in front of him big bird, and began to ask the guy about his trouble. And when he told the bird that he had to hide from the padishah’s viziers, the bird ordered the young man to sit on its back and close his eyes. The young man obeyed the bird, closed his eyes, and the bird flew high above the mountain and carried him far, far away.

Meanwhile, the padishah's servants, viziers and warriors were looking for the young man in the city and outside the city, in the forest, in the mountains and at sea. The daughter of the padishah promised a good reward to the one who found the hero. But no one managed to find him.

A whole month passed before the young man returned. Only he was not allowed into the palace again. The hero harbored a grudge against his ex-wife. He reached the river and began to think about how he could take revenge on the padishah’s daughter. At this time, a girl came to the river for water. The girl was beautiful, and the young man involuntarily fell in love with her. And she noticed the stranger and asked:

- Why are you sitting by the river, hero?

The young man told her his whole story, and also told her that he wanted to take revenge on his ex-wife.

“Didn’t you know, hero, that the daughters of the padishah cannot be trusted?” - the beauty tells him. - I know how to help you. I serve in the palace.

The young man was delighted and asked the girl to help him. The maid took the poor man's son and hit him on the ground: he turned around with a pin, and the girl attached him to her clothes. The beauty picked up the jugs of water and hurried back to the palace. A girl came into the room of the padishah’s daughter, took off the pin, and dropped it on the floor. The pin turned back into a young man. The maid saw a sword on the wall, took it and gave it to the hero. When I saw ex-wife sword, she began to ask the young man for forgiveness and mercy, promising that she would not touch him again. But the hero didn’t believe her, waved his sword and killed the padishah’s treacherous daughter. And then he went to the viziers’ chambers and cut them all down with his saber.

The batyr became the ruler of the entire kingdom and took as his wife a maid who helped him. They say that they are still alive and happy there.