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Tale of the twelve brothers. Fairy tale twelve months. Read online, download. Russian folk tale Russian folk tale twelve months

Once upon a time there lived a king and a queen; they lived in complete harmony and had twelve children and all were little boys.

So the king says to the queen: “If the thirteenth child you give birth to is a girl, then I will order all twelve boys to be killed so that she will have more wealth, and all our kingdom belongs to her alone.”

He ordered that twelve coffins be prepared, which were filled with shavings, and even a small headboard was placed in each; by his order, these coffins were placed in a special locked room, the key to which the king gave the queen and told no one to tell about it.

And so the mother began to grieve for whole days, so that the younger son, who was constantly with her (she named him Benjamin according to the Bible), asked her: “Dear mother, why are you so sad?” “My dear child,” she answered, “I dare not tell you this.” However, he did not leave her with questions until she went, unlocked the rooms and showed him twelve ready-made coffins filled with shavings. And his mother said to him: “My dear Benjamin, your father ordered these coffins to be prepared for you and for your eleven brothers, because he decided: if a girl is born to me, then he orders all of you to be killed and buried in these coffins.”

She said all this and wept; and the son consoled her and said: “Don’t cry, dear mother, we’ll somehow think of ourselves and leave him ourselves.”

And she answered him: “Go with your eleven brothers into the forest, and let one of you always stand guard on the highest tree that is found in the forest, and let him look at the castle tower. If my son is born, then I will order you to put up a white flag on the tower, and then you can all safely return home; if a daughter is born, then I will order you to put up a red flag on the tower, and then run as soon as possible, and God bless you. Every night I will get up and pray to God for you: in winter, so that you have a light near which you can warm yourself, and in summer, so that the heat does not overtake you. After that, she blessed her sons, and they went into the forest. All of them, in turn, climbed the highest of the forest oaks and stood there on guard, and looked at the tower of the castle.

When eleven days had passed and it was Benjamin's turn to climb, he saw that some flag was hoisted on the tower: but it was not a white, but a red-bloody flag, announcing death to all of them!

As soon as the brothers heard about this, they all boiled up with anger and said: “Are we condemned to death because of the girl?! So we swear that we will avenge ourselves: wherever we meet a girl on our way, she must die by our hand.

Then they went deep into the very thicket of the forest and in the most remote forest thicket they found a small enchanted house that stood empty-empty.

Then they said: “Here we will settle, and you, Benjamin, the youngest of us and the weakest, should be here constantly and do housekeeping; and all the rest of us will scour around, take care of food.

And so they went to wander through the forest and began to shoot hares, wild goats, birds and doves that were good for food: they took all this to Benjamin, and he already had to make a dinner out of it, with which they could all be satisfied.

So they lived in this house for ten years, and the years passed unnoticed by them.

The daughter, whom the queen gave birth to, managed to grow up in the meantime and was a beautiful and beautiful girl, and a golden star burned in her forehead. Once, when there was a big wash in the castle, she suddenly saw twelve men's shirts among the linen and asked her mother: “Whose are these twelve shirts? After all, they are too small for the father.

Then the mother answered her with great sorrow: "Dear child, these shirts are your twelve brothers." “But where are these twelve brothers? I have never heard of them before." The mother replied: One God know where they are now. Roam somewhere in the world."

Then she took the girl by the hand and, opening the cherished room, pointed out to her twelve coffins with shavings, with headboards. “These coffins,” she said, were meant for your brothers; but they secretly left before you were born.”

And told her how it was.

Then the girl said: "Dear mother, do not cry, I will go and look for my brothers."

And so she took twelve shirts with her and left the castle, and went straight into a large dense forest.

She walked all day, and in the evening she came to the enchanted house. She entered the house and met a boy in it, who asked her: “Where are you going and where?” and was not a little surprised that she was so beautiful and dressed up in a royal dress and a star burned in her forehead.

Then she answered: "I am a royal daughter and I am looking for my twelve brothers, and I will go even to the ends of the white world until I find them." At the same time, she pointed to twelve shirts that belonged to the royal brothers.

Then Benjamin saw that it was their sister, and said: “I am Benjamin, your younger brother».

And she began to cry for joy, and Benjamin too, and they kissed and had mercy from the bottom of their hearts.

Then he said: "Dear sister, there is some obstacle ... After all, we promised that every girl we meet will have to die, because because of the girl we had to leave our native kingdom." And she said, “So what? I will die willingly if by my death I can free my twelve brothers from exile. “No,” he answered, “you must not die; sit under this vat and sit until the other eleven brothers come; I'll deal with them somehow."

And so she did.

As night fell, the rest of the brothers returned from the hunt, and supper was ready for them. And when they were sitting at the table, they asked: “What do you hear new?” Benjamin answered: “Do you really know nothing?” “No,” they answered; and Benjamin continued: “How is that? You are roaming the forest, and I am sitting at home, but I know more than you!” "Well, then tell us!"

And he answered them: “And do you promise me everything that the first girl that we meet will not be killed?” “Yes, yes,” they shouted at once, “she must be pardoned. Well, tell me!” Then he said: “Our sister is here! ”, and lifted the vat, and the princess came out from under it in her rich clothes and with golden star in the forehead, and appeared to them so beautiful, tender and slender.

And they all rejoiced at her, threw themselves on her neck, kissed her and loved her with all their hearts.

And so she stayed with Benjamin in their house and began to help him in his work. And the rest of the eleven brothers were still roaming the forest, killing all kinds of game, wild goats, birds and doves, so that they had something to eat, and the sister and brother Benjamin took care to prepare food for them. She collected deadwood for fuel and roots for seasoning, and turned the pots around the fire, and supper was always on the table when her eleven brothers returned home. She generally kept order in the house, and made their beds clean and white, and the brothers were pleased with her and lived with her in great harmony.

After some time, it happened one day that Benjamin and his sister prepared an excellent meal for the brothers, and when they all came together, they sat down at the table and began to eat and drink merrily.

And behind the enchanted house there was a small garden, and in that garden grew twelve lilies. The sister decided to give the brothers pleasure, picked these twelve flowers and wanted to offer each of them a flower after dinner.

But as soon as she plucked the flowers, at the same moment her twelve brothers turned into twelve ravens and flew beyond the forest, and the house and garden all disappeared, as if it had never happened.

And the poor girl found herself alone in the wild forest, and when she began to look around, she saw an old woman nearby, who said to her: “My child, what have you done? Why did you pick those twelve white lilies? After all, these flowers were your brothers, and now they have forever turned into ravens.

The girl answered her with tears: “Is there really no way to save them?” “No,” the old woman answered, “there is only one remedy in the whole world, and even that is so difficult that you cannot save them by this means ... You yourself must be mute for seven years, you must neither speak nor laugh, and if you even if you utter one word, and up to seven years there will be at least one hour missing, then all your labors are lost, and one word of yours will kill all your brothers.

Then the girl said in her heart: “I certainly know that I will save my brothers,” and went through the forest, found herself tall tree, climbed on it and began to spin, and did not speak, did not laugh.

It happened, however, that one king went hunting in that forest, and that king had a large greyhound dog, which ran straight up to the tree on which the girl was sitting, began to circle around it and bark up. The king rode up to the tree, saw a beautiful princess with a golden star on her forehead, and was so delighted with her beauty that he called out to her directly if she wanted to be his wife. She didn't answer him, she just nodded her head. Then he himself climbed a tree, carried her out of there, put her on his horse and brought her home.

The wedding was celebrated magnificently and cheerfully: but the king's bride did not speak or laugh.

When they had already lived for two years in complete harmony with each other, the king’s stepmother, an evil woman, began to whisper and slander the young queen to the king: “You took a simple beggar out of the forest, and who knows what godless deeds she does secretly from us! If she is definitely mute and cannot speak, then at least she could laugh; well, and whoever does not laugh, of course, has a bad conscience!” The king did not want to believe these slanders for a long time, but the old woman insisted on her own and accused her daughter-in-law of so many atrocities that the king finally allowed himself to be persuaded and sentenced his wife to death.

A large fire was lit in the courtyard of the royal castle, on which they were to burn it: and the king stood at the upper window of the castle and looked through tears at all these preparations, because he still loved his wife very much.

When she was already tied to a stake on a fire and the flames of the fire began to lick the edge of her clothes with long red tongues, the last moment of the cherished seven years had expired.

Then the whistle of wings was heard in the air, and twelve ravens appeared above the fire and sank to the ground: and as soon as they touched the ground, they turned into her brothers, who owed her their salvation. They scattered the fire, extinguished the flame, untied the sister from the post and began to caress and kiss her.

Now, when she could open her mouth and speak, she told the king why she was mute and never laughed.

The king was glad to know that she was innocent, and they all lived together in harmony until her death.

And the evil stepmother was put on trial, and the court sentenced her to be put in a barrel of boiling oil and poisonous snakes and she died an evil death.

The mother had two daughters: one was her own, the other was her stepdaughter. She loved her mother very much, but she could not stand her stepdaughter, and all because Marushka was more beautiful than Olena. But Marushka did not know about her beauty, she could not have such an idea: as soon as her stepmother looks at her, she will frown. And she thought that, probably, something did not please her stepmother.
While Olena was dressing up and preening herself, she was walking around the room or chilling in the yard, she was walking on the street, Marushka cleaned the house, tidied up, cooked, washed, sewed, spun, wove, mowed grass for livestock, milked cows - she did all the work. And the stepmother scolds her and swears all day long. And it did not soften her that she patiently endured everything - on the contrary, from this she treated the poor girl worse and worse. And all because of the fact that Marushka became more beautiful every day, and Olena became more and more ugly.
And the stepmother thought: "What joy is it for me to keep a beautiful stepdaughter in the house? Guys will come to visit, they will fall in love with Marushka and will not want to love Olena."
She talked with Olena, and they thought up something that would never have occurred to anyone else.
Once - it was shortly after the New Year, in the bitter cold - Olena wanted to smell the violets. She says:
- Go, Marushka, into the forest, pick up a bouquet of violets for me. I want to pin it to my belt: I really want to smell the violets.
- My God! Dear sister, what's on your mind? Have you ever heard of violets growing under the snow? answered poor Marushka.
- Oh, you filthy bastard! How dare you talk when I order you? Olena shouted at her. “Get out now!” And if you don't bring me violets, I'll kill you!
And the stepmother drove Marushka out of the house, slammed the door behind her and locked it with a key.
Filled with tears, the girl went into the forest. There are whole snowdrifts of snow there, and nowhere is there a trace of a human foot. Marushka wandered through the forest for a long time. Hunger tormented her, frost cut through to the bones. Suddenly he sees a light in the distance. She went to that light and came to the top of the mountain. A big fire was burning there, and around the fire were twelve stones, and twelve people were sitting on those stones: three of them with white, gray beards, three younger, three even younger and three very young. They sit quietly, silently, motionlessly looking at the fire. It's been twelve months. January sat on the highest rock. His hair and beard were as white as snow, and he held a stick in his hand.
Marushka was frightened, completely dead with fear. But then she plucked up courage, came closer and asked:
- Good people, let me get warm, I'm shivering from the cold.
January nodded his head and asked her:
- Why did you come, girl? What are you looking for here?
- I came for violets, - answered Marushka.
“Now is not the time to pick violets, there is snow all around ...” January objected.
- I know, - said Marushka, - but my sister Olena and her stepmother ordered to bring them violets from the forest. And if I don't, they'll kill me. I humbly ask you, uncles, tell me, where can I pick violets?
Then January left his place, went up to the youngest month, gave him a stick in his hand and said:
- Brother Mart, now you sit upstairs, in my place.
The month of March climbed up to the highest stone and waved his stick over the fire. The fire shot up like a column, the snow began to melt, the trees were covered with buds, the grass turned green under the young beeches, and flower buds swayed in the grass. Spring has come. Among the bushes, hiding under the leaves, violets bloomed. And Marushka saw that the whole earth seemed to blue handkerchief covered.
- Tear quickly, Marushka, tear quickly! - began to rush her young Mart.
Marushka was delighted, began to pick the violets, and soon big bouquet. Then she said thanks for months and hurried home.
Olena was surprised, and her stepmother was surprised when they saw that she was hurrying home with violets. They opened the door for her, and the whole house was filled with the smell of violets.
- Where did you get them? Olena asked angrily.
- They grow high on the mountain, under the bushes. They are apparently invisible there, - Marushka answered calmly.
Olena tore the bouquet out of her hands, fastened it to her belt, began to smell it herself and let her mother smell it, but she did not say to her sister: "Smell."
The next day Olena was sitting by the stove, and she wanted berries.
- Go, Marushka, bring me berries from the forest.
- My God! Dear sister, what's on your mind? Has it ever been heard that berries grow under the snow?
- Oh, you filthy bastard! How dare you talk when I order you? Go now, and if you don't bring me any berries, I'll kill you! Olena threatened.
The stepmother drove Marushka out, slammed the door behind her and locked it with a key.
Filled with tears, the girl went into the forest. And there, drifts of snow stand like a wall and nowhere is a trace of a human. Marushka wandered through the forest for a long time. Hunger tormented her, frost cut through her bones. Suddenly he sees the same light in the distance. And again she, going to the light, came to the fire. Around him again sat twelve months, and above all - January, white and bearded, with a stick in his hand.
- Good people, let me get warm, I'm completely cold, - asked Marushka.
January nodded his head and asked her:
- Why did you come again, girl? What are you looking for here?
- She came for berries, - the girl answered.
“Why, it’s winter now, berries don’t grow in the snow,” said January.
- I know, - Marushka answered sadly. - Yes, Olena's sister and her stepmother told them to pick berries. And if I don't, they'll kill me. I humbly ask you, uncles, tell me where to pick berries?
Then January left his place, went up to the month that was sitting opposite him, and said:
- Brother June, sit down now in my place.
June climbed the highest rock and waved his stick over the fire. The fire soared three times higher, the snow melted in a few moments, the trees were covered with leaves, birds chirped all around, flowers bloomed everywhere. Summer has come. It became white and white under the bushes, as if white stars had been poured there, and these white stars began to turn into berries before our eyes, which ripened and turned red.
- Collect quickly, Marushka, collect quickly! - began to rush her affectionate June.
Marushka was delighted and quickly picked up an apron full of berries. Then she said thanks for months and hurried home.
Olena was surprised, and the stepmother was surprised when they saw that Marushka was in a hurry to go home and her apron was full of berries. They opened the door for her, and the whole house was filled with the smell of berries.
- Where did you get them? Olena asked angrily.
- They grow high on the mountain, they are apparently invisible there, - Marushka answered calmly.
Olena took the berries from her and ate her fill; the stepmother ate too. But they did not say to Marushka: "Take a berry for yourself."
Olena ate, and on the third day she wanted to taste the apple.
“Go, Marushka, into the forest, bring me ruddy apples,” she ordered.
- My God! Dear sister, what's on your mind? Has it ever been heard that apples ripen in winter?
- Oh, you filthy bastard! How dare you talk when I order you? Go now into the forest, and if you don't bring me ruddy apples, I'll kill you! Olena threatened.
The stepmother drove Marushka out of the house, slammed the door behind her and locked it.
Filled with tears, the girl went into the forest. Snowdrifts of snow stand there like a wall, and nowhere is there a trace of a human foot. Marushka wandered through the forest for a long time. Hunger tormented her, frost cut through her bones. All of a sudden; sees - in the distance again the same light; Marushka went to him and came to the fire. Twelve people - twelve months - sat around as if chained, and above all January, white and bearded, with a stick in his hand.
- Good people, let me warm up. The frost has completely pestered me, - asked Marushka.
January nodded his head and asked:
- Why did you come again, girl?
- She came for ruddy apples, - the girl answered.
- It's winter now. Do ruddy apples ripen in winter? January says.
“I know,” Marushka answered sadly. “But Olena and her stepmother threatened that if I didn’t bring them ruddy apples from the forest, they would kill me.” I beg you, uncles, help me again.
January left his place, went up to one of the older months, gave him a stick in his hand and said:
- Brother September, take my seat.
September climbed the highest rock and waved his stick. The fire shot up, the snow melted. But the leaves on the trees did not blossom, but, yellowed, gradually began to fall to the ground. Autumn has come. Didn't see Marushka bright colors and she wasn't looking for them. She looked only at the trees now. And suddenly I saw an apple tree, and on it, ruddy apples hang high, high at the ends of the branches.
- Shake, Marushka, shake quickly! September said.
Marushka shook the apple tree, and an apple fell from it; shook another time - another fell.
- Take it, Marushka, take it quickly and run home! September shouted.
She grabbed two apples, said thanks to the months and hurried home.
Olena was surprised, and the stepmother was surprised when Marushka returned. They opened it for her, and she gave them two apples.
- Where did you pick them up? Olena asked.
- They grow high on the mountain. There are many more, - answered Marushka.
As soon as she said that there were a lot of them, Olena attacked her:
- Oh, you filthy bastard! Why didn't you bring more? Is that right, she ate on the way?
- Dear sister, I did not eat a single piece. When I shook the tree for the first time, one apple fell. The second time shook - the second fell. And they didn't let me shake anymore. They shouted for me to go home,” said Marushka.
- Oh, so that you are not easy to take! Olena scolded and rushed to beat her.
The stepmother did not want to be left behind and grabbed a club. But Marushka did not fall into their hands, she ran to the kitchen and hid somewhere behind the stove. Gourmand Olena stopped scolding and pounced on the apple. She gave the other to her mother. They had never eaten such sweet apples in their lives. Tasted for the first time.
- Mom, give me a bag, I'll go to the forest myself. This rubbish will certainly eat everything along the way. And I will find that place and shake all the apples, even though the devil himself will attack me!
So Olena shouted, and her mother tried to dissuade her in vain. Olena hung her bag over her shoulder, threw a scarf over her head, wrapped herself up well and went into the forest. The mother only wringed her hands in despair at what her daughter was up to.
Olena came to the forest. Snowdrifts of snow stand there like a wall, and nowhere is there a trace of a human foot. Olena wandered, wandered, because the hunt for apples to eat drove her farther and farther - well, just torment! Suddenly she saw a light in the distance, went to it and came to the fire, around which twelve people were sitting - twelve months. But she did not bow to them, did not ask to let her go to the fire, but simply stretched out her hands and began to warm herself, as if the fire had been kindled for her.
- Why did you come? What do you need? January got angry.
"What are you asking me, you old fool?" It's none of your business where I go, why I go! - Olena cut off and went to the mountain, as if the apples were just waiting for her there.
January frowned and waved his stick over his head. In an instant, the sky was covered with clouds, the fire went out, snow fell, blew cold wind. Olena could not see anything a step ahead of her and more and more she was sinking into deep snowdrifts. Her hands and feet froze, her knees gave way, and finally she collapsed in exhaustion...
Olena's mother waits, looks out the window, goes out to look out the door. An hour passes, then another, but Olena is still gone and gone. “What, she can’t tear herself away from apples, or what? I’ll go and see for myself,” the mother decided, took her bag, wrapped herself in a shawl and went to look for her daughter.
The snow is falling thicker, the wind is blowing harder, the snowdrifts stand like walls. She walks through the snowdrifts, calls her daughter - not a single soul responds. She got lost, she does not know where she wandered, scolds Olena. Her hands and feet froze, her knees gave way, and she fell too... And Marushka cooked dinner at home, tidied up the hut and milked the cow. Neither Olena nor her mother is still there.
- Why are they taking so long? Marushka worries as she sits down at the spinning wheel in the evening.
She sits at the spinning wheel until late at night, and there is not a word about them.
- Oh my god! What happened to them? - worries kind girl and looks longingly out the window.
There is not a single soul there - only after the blizzard has subsided, the stars shine, the earth sparkles from snow, and the roofs crack from frost. Sadly Marushka lowered the curtain. In the morning she again began to wait for them both for breakfast and for dinner, but she did not wait for either Olena or her mother: both froze to death in the forest.
After them, Marushka was left with a house, a cow, a garden, a field and a meadow near the house. And spring came, and the owner of all this wealth was found - nice boy who married the kind Marushka, and they lived gloriously in love and peace. Peace and love are the most precious!

Do you know how many months in a year?

Twelve.

And what are their names?

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

As soon as one month ends, another immediately begins. And it has never happened before that February came before January left, and May would overtake April.

Months go one after another and never meet.

But people say that in the mountainous country of Bohemia there was a girl who saw all twelve months at once.

How did it happen? That's how.

In one small village there lived an evil and stingy woman with her daughter and stepdaughter. She loved her daughter, but her stepdaughter could not please her in any way. Whatever the stepdaughter does - everything is wrong, no matter how she turns - everything is in the wrong direction.

The daughter spent whole days on the feather bed and ate gingerbread, and the stepdaughter had no time to sit down from morning to night: either bring water, then bring brushwood from the forest, then rinse the linen on the river, then empty the beds in the garden.

She knew the winter cold, and the summer heat, and the spring wind, and the autumn rain. That is why, perhaps, she once had a chance to see all twelve months at once.

It was winter. It was the month of January. There was so much snow that they had to shovel it from the doors, and in the forest on the mountain the trees stood waist-deep in snowdrifts and could not even sway when the wind blew over them.

People sat in houses and stoked stoves.

At such and such a time, in the evening, the evil stepmother opened the door ajar and looked at how the blizzard was sweeping, and then returned to the warm stove and said to her stepdaughter:

You would go to the forest and pick snowdrops there. Tomorrow is your sister's birthday.

The girl looked at her stepmother: is she joking or is she really sending her into the forest? It's scary now in the forest! And what are snowdrops in the middle of winter? Before March, they will not be born, no matter how much you look for them. You will only disappear in the forest, get bogged down in snowdrifts.

And her sister says to her:

If you disappear, no one will cry for you. Go and don't come back without flowers. Here's a basket for you.

The girl began to cry, wrapped herself in a tattered scarf, and went out the door.

The wind will powder her eyes with snow, tears her handkerchief from her. She walks, barely stretching her legs out of the snowdrifts.

It's getting darker all around. The sky is black, it does not look at the earth with a single star, and the earth is a little lighter. It's from the snow.

Here is the forest. It's so dark in here you can't see your hands. The girl sat down on a fallen tree and sits. All the same, he thinks where to freeze.

And suddenly a light flashed far between the trees - as if a star was entangled among the branches.

The girl got up and went to this light. Drowning in snowdrifts, climbs over a windbreak. "If only, - he thinks, - the light does not go out!" And it does not go out, it burns brighter and brighter. Already there was a smell of warm smoke and it became audible how brushwood crackles in the fire. The girl quickened her pace and went out into the clearing. Yes, it froze.

Light in the clearing, as if from the sun. In the middle of the clearing, a large fire burns, almost reaches the very sky. And people are sitting around the fire - some are closer to the fire, some are farther away. They sit and talk quietly.

The girl looks at them and thinks: who are they? They don’t seem to look like hunters, even less like woodcutters: they are so smart - some in silver, some in gold, some in green velvet.

Young people are sitting near the fire, and old people are at a distance.

And suddenly one old man turned around - the tallest, bearded, eyebrows - and looked in the direction where the girl was standing.

She was frightened, wanted to run away, but it was too late. The old man asks her loudly:

Where did you come from, what do you need here?

The girl showed him her empty basket and said:

I need to collect snowdrops in this basket.

The old man laughed.

Is it in January something snowdrops? Wow what did you think!

I did not invent, - the girl answers, - but my stepmother sent me here for snowdrops and did not tell me to return home with an empty basket. Then all twelve looked at her and began to talk among themselves.

A girl is standing, listening, but she doesn’t understand the words - as if it’s not people talking, but trees making noise.

They talked and talked and were silent.

And the tall old man turned around again and asked:

What will you do if you do not find snowdrops? After all, before the month of March, they will not look out.

I'll stay in the forest, - the girl says. - I'll wait for the month of March. It’s better for me to freeze in the forest than to return home without snowdrops.

She said it and cried. And suddenly one of the twelve, the youngest, cheerful, in a fur coat on one shoulder, got up and went up to the old man:

Brother January, give me your place for an hour!

The old man stroked his long beard and said:

I would give in, but not to be Mart before February.

All right, - grumbled another old man, all shaggy, with a disheveled beard. - Give in, I won't argue! We all know her well: either you will meet her at the hole with buckets, or in the forest with a bundle of firewood. All months it has its own. We must help her.

Well, be your way, - said January.

He thumped the ground with his ice staff and spoke.

Do not crack, frosts,
In the reserved forest
By the pine, by the birch
Don't chew on the bark!
Full of crows for you
Freeze,
human habitation
Cool down!
The old man fell silent, and it became quiet in the forest. The trees stopped crackling from the frost, and the snow began to fall thickly, in large, soft flakes.

Well, now it's your turn, brother, - said January and gave the staff to his younger brother, shaggy February.

He tapped his staff, shook his beard and hummed:

Winds, storms, hurricanes,
Blow with all your might!
Whirlwinds, blizzards and snowstorms,
Play for the night!
Blow loudly in the clouds
Fly over the earth.
Let the snow run in the fields
White snake!
As soon as he said this, a stormy, wet wind rustled in the branches. spun snow flakes, white whirlwinds rushed across the earth.

And February gave his ice staff to his younger brother and said:

Now it's your turn, brother Mart.

The younger brother took the staff and hit the ground.

The girl looks, and this is no longer a staff. This is a large branch, all covered with buds.

Mart grinned and sang loudly, in all his boyish voice:

Run away, streams,
Spread, puddles,
Get out, ants!
After the winter cold!
Bear sneaking
Through the woods.
The birds began to sing songs
And the snowdrop blossomed.
The girl even threw up her hands. Where did the high drifts go? Where are the ice icicles that hung on every branch!

Under her feet is soft spring earth. Around dripping, flowing, murmuring. The buds on the branches have puffed up, and the first green leaves are already peeking out from under the dark peel.

The girl looks - she can’t look enough.

What are you standing for? Mart tells her. - Hurry up, my brothers gave us just one hour.

The girl woke up and ran into the thicket to look for snowdrops. And they are invisible! Under the bushes and under the stones, on the bumps and under the bumps - wherever you look. She took a full basket, a full apron - and rather again to the clearing, where the fire was burning, where the twelve brothers were sitting.

And there is already no fire, no brothers ... It is light in the clearing, but not as before. Light is not from fire, but from full month that rose above the forest.

The girl regretted that there was no one to thank her, and won home. And the month swam after her.

Feeling no legs under her, she ran to her door - and as soon as she entered the house, the winter blizzard hummed again outside the windows, and the moon hid in the clouds.

Well, what, - her stepmother and sister asked, - have you already returned home? Where are the snowdrops?

The girl did not answer, she only poured snowdrops out of her apron onto the bench and placed the basket next to her.

Stepmother and sister gasped:

Where did you get them?

The girl told them everything, as it was. They both listen and shake their heads - they believe and do not believe. It's hard to believe, but there's a whole bunch of snowdrops on the bench, fresh, blue ones. So it blows from them in the month of March!

The stepmother and daughter looked at each other and asked:

Haven't they given you anything else for months? Yes, I didn't ask for anything else.

That's stupid, so stupid! says the sister. - For once I met with all twelve months, but I didn’t ask for anything except snowdrops! Well, if I were you, I'd know what to ask. One - apples and sweet pears, the other - ripe strawberries, the third - white mushrooms, the fourth - fresh cucumbers!

Smart girl! - says the stepmother. - In winter, there is no price for strawberries and pears. We would sell it and how much money would we get! And this fool dragged snowdrops! Get dressed, daughter, warmly and go to the clearing. They won’t let you through, even though there are twelve of them, and you are alone.

Where are they! - the daughter answers, and she herself - hands in sleeves, a scarf on her head.

Her mother screams after her:

Put on mittens, fasten your coat!

And the daughter is already at the door. Run away into the woods!

Follows in her sister's footsteps, in a hurry. "It would be faster," he thinks, "to get to the clearing!"

The forest is getting thicker, getting darker. The snowdrifts are higher and higher, it stands like a windbreak wall.

“Oh,” the stepmother’s daughter thinks, “why did I just go to the forest! I would be lying at home in a warm bed now, but now go and freeze! You’ll still be lost here!”

And as soon as she thought this, she saw a light in the distance - as if an asterisk in the branches got tangled.

She went to the fire. She walked and walked and went out into the clearing. In the middle of the clearing a large fire is burning, and around the fire twelve brothers are sitting, twelve months old. They sit and talk quietly.

The stepmother's daughter came up to the fire itself, did not bow, did not say a friendly word, but chose a place where it was hotter, and began to warm herself.

The brothers-months fell silent. It became quiet in the forest. And suddenly the month of January struck the ground with his staff.

Who are you? - asks. - Where did it come from?

From home, - the stepmother's daughter answers. - Today you gave my sister a whole basket of snowdrops. So I followed in her footsteps.

We know your sister, ”says January-month,“ but we haven’t even seen you. Why did you complain to us?

For gifts. Let June, the month, pour strawberries into my basket, but larger. And July is the month of fresh cucumbers and white mushrooms, and the month of August is apples and sweet pears. And September is the month of ripe nuts. And October...

Wait, - says the month of January. - Do not be summer before spring, and spring before winter. Far from June. I am now the master of the forest, I will reign here for thirty-one days.

Look how angry! - says the stepmother's daughter. - Yes, I did not come to you - from you, except for snow and hoarfrost, you will not expect anything. to me summer months necessary.

The month of January frowned.

Look for summer in winter! - He speaks.

He waved his wide sleeve, and a snowstorm rose in the forest from the ground to the sky, covering both the trees and the clearing on which the brother-months were sitting. Behind the snow, even the fire was not visible, but only a fire was heard whistling somewhere, crackling, blazing.

The stepmother's daughter was scared. - Stop! - screams. - Enough!

Yes, where is it!

A blizzard is circling her, blinding her eyes, intercepting her spirit. She fell into a snowdrift, and covered her with snow.

And the stepmother waited, waited for her daughter, looked out the window, ran out the door - she was not there, and nothing more. She wrapped herself warmly and went into the forest. Can you really find someone in the thicket in such a snowstorm and darkness!

She walked, walked, searched, searched, until she herself froze.

And so they both remained in the forest to wait for the summer.

And the stepdaughter lived a long time in the world, grew up big, got married and raised children.

And she had, they say, a garden near the house - and such a wonderful one, such as the world has never seen. Earlier than everyone else, flowers bloomed in this garden, berries ripened, apples and pears poured. In the heat it was cool there, in a snowstorm it was quiet.

At this hostess all twelve months at once visit! people said.

Who knows - maybe it was.

The mother had two daughters: one was her own, the other was her husband. She loved her own very much, but she could not even look at her stepdaughter. And all because Marushka was more beautiful than her Olena. Marushka was unaware of her beauty and still could not understand why her stepmother would look at her in such a way that her eyebrows would frown. Olena, you know, dresses up and preens, walks around the rooms, walks around the yard or sticks out on the street, and meanwhile Marushka cleans up the house, cooks, washes, sews, spins, weaves, mows the grass, milks the cow - she does all the work. Every day her stepmother scolds her even more. But poor Marushka bears everything patiently. The evil woman took up arms against her completely, Marushka is getting prettier from day to day, and Olena is becoming even uglier. And then the stepmother decided: “There is no need for me to keep a beautiful stepdaughter in the house! The guys will come to the bride, Marushka will look at them, and they will turn away from my Olena.

She consulted with her daughter, and they thought of such things that kind people would not even dream of.

Once, and it was exactly after the New Year, I wished Olen to smell the violets. And it's freezing cold outside.

- Go, Marushka, into the forest and pick violets. I would like to attach them to my belt. I really want to smell the violets.

- What are you, dear sister! Have you heard of violets growing under the snow? - answers poor Marushka.

“Oh, you scoundrel, how dare you refuse when I order you!” Olena pounced on her. “If you don’t bring violets, it will be bad for you!”

The stepmother pushed the poor girl out the door and locked herself on the hook. With tears, Marushka wandered into the dense forest. The snow has piled up above the head and there is no trace of a person anywhere.

She wandered through the woods for a long time. Hunger torments, frost to the bone penetrates. It dies completely. And suddenly, in the distance, a light flashed. She went to the light and reached the very top of the mountain. And there a big fire is burning, twelve stones are lying around the fire, twelve people are sitting on those stones. Three old men, three younger, three even younger and three very young. They sit quietly like that, silently, staring at the fire. It was twelve months. The largest - January sat on the largest stone. His hair and beard are as white as snow, he holds a club in his hand.

Marushka was frightened, she is not breathing. But then she plucked up courage, came closer and said:

- Good people, let me warm myself, I'm completely cold. Big January nodded his head and asked:

- Why did you come, dear girl, what do you need here?

“I’m looking for a violet,” Marushka replies.

“Now is not the time for violets, the snow is lying,” January objects.

- Ah, I know! But Olena's sister and her stepmother ordered violets to be brought from the forest. And if I don’t bring it, I’ll have a bad time. Please, uncles, tell me where to look for them.

Then Big January got up, went up to the youngest of the months, thrust a club into his hands and said:

- Brother Mart, sit down in my place!

The month of March moved to the largest stone and waved his club over the fire. The fire flared up high, the snow began to melt, the trees were covered with buds, grass turned green under the beeches, flower buds appeared in the grass. Spring has come. In the bushes, among the foliage, violets bloomed. Before Marushka had time to come to her senses, the flowers had already covered the ground with a thick blue carpet.

- Quickly collect, Marushka, quickly! Mart told her. Marushka was delighted, quickly gathered flowers and tied them into a bouquet. I thanked the months with all my heart and hurried home.

Olena was surprised, her stepmother was surprised when Marushka came home.

She opened the door for her, and the whole house was filled with the scent of violets.

- Where did you get them? Olena asked angrily.

- There, high in the mountains grow under the bushes. They are apparently invisible there, - Marushka answers quietly.

Olena snatched the bouquet from her hands, sniffed it, and gave it to her mother to smell it and attached it to her dress. And she didn’t even give poor Marushka a sniff!

The next day, Olena collapsed by the stove and decided to eat strawberries. Shouts:

- Go, Marusha, to the forest and bring me berries!

- Oh, dear sister, what did you think of it! Have you ever heard of strawberries growing under the snow?

- Oh, you bastard! You are still talking! Get up, don't hesitate! If you don’t bring berries, don’t blow your head off! Olena is angry.

The stepmother pushed Marushka out of the house, slammed the doors behind her and threw the hook on.

Weeping, the poor thing wandered into the forest. Snow piled up above the head and nowhere was a trace of a person. She strayed, she strayed, hunger torments, cold penetrates to the bones. It dies completely.

He sees in the distance the same light as just now. Again, to the same fire comes out. And today they have been sitting around the fire for twelve months. Above all, Big January, gray-haired, bearded, with a club in his hand.

- Good people, let me warm up! I’m completely cold,” Marushka asks.

Big January nodded his head and asked:

- You came again, dear, what do you need today?

- Strawberries, - Marushka in response.

“Why, it’s winter in the yard, and berries don’t grow in the snow,” Big January was surprised.

“Oh, I know,” Marushka says sadly. - Only my sister Olena and her stepmother told me to gather strawberries. If I do not dial, they threaten that it will be bad for me. I beg you, uncles, tell me where I can look for strawberries?

Then Big January rose up, went up to the month that was sitting opposite, gave him a club and said:

“Brother June, take my seat!”

The month of June sat on the highest stone and twirled his club over the fire. The flame rose three times higher, the snow melted in a minute, the trees were covered with leaves, the birds chirp and sing, flowers are everywhere, summer has come. Under the bushes are a scattering of white stars. Right before our eyes, they turn into strawberries, fill with scarlet juice, and ripen.

- Quickly collect, Marushka, quickly! June ordered her. Marushka was delighted, she collected a full apron. I thanked the good months and hurried to the house.

Olena wondered, the stepmother wondered. The doors were opened and the smell of wild strawberries spread throughout the house.

- Where did you get it? Olena asked angrily. And Marushka said softly:

- On the high mountain, its there darkness-darkness!

Olena ate her fill of berries and her stepmother ate her fill. But Marushka was not even offered a taste. And on the third day, Olena wanted ruddy apples.

- Go, Marusha, into the forest and bring me ruddy apples! - screams.

- Oh, sister, dear, what are you doing! Who ever heard that apples ripen in winter?

- Oh, you scoundrel, you will talk to me! If I say, get ready and run into the forest! You won't bring fresh apples, beware! Olena threatens.

The stepmother pushed Marushka out into the cold, slammed the door behind her and closed the latch. Weeping, the poor thing trudged into the forest. The snow is above the head and nowhere is a trace of a person. She wandered for a long time. Hunger torments, the cold penetrates to the bones. Was going to die. Suddenly she sees a light, she moved into the light, went out to the fire. Twelve months sit around the fire as if chained. And above all is Big January, gray-haired and bearded, with a club in his hand.

- Let me warm up kind people! I’m completely lost from the cold,” Marushka pleaded.

Big January nodded his head and asked:

Why are you here again, girl?

“For ruddy apples,” Marushka cries.

“Red apples do not ripen in the cold,” Big January was surprised.

“I know,” Marushka says sadly. - Yes, only Olena and mother threaten to deal with me if I don’t bring apples. I beg you, dear uncles, help me this time too.

Then Big January got up from his seat, went up to one of the months, which was older, gave him a club in his hands and said:

- Sit down, brother October, in my place!

October sat down in the main place, spun his club over the fire. The flame soared up, the snow disappeared, the leaves on the trees hang yellow, little by little they fly around. Autumn. There are no flowers, and Marushka is not looking for them. Looking for an apple tree. And here is an apple tree and ruddy apples hang high in the branches.

- Shake, Marushka, quickly! October told her.

Marushka shook the tree, one apple fell off, another time she shook it, the second apple fell off.

“Take it, Marushka, and hurry home!” October screams. Marushka obeyed, thanked her for the good months from the bottom of her heart, and ran to the house.

Olena was surprised, the stepmother was surprised when they saw the girl. They opened the door, and she gives them two apples.

- Where did you pick them up? Olena asks.

- High on the mountain. There are still a lot of them,” said Marushka.

- Oh, you such-and-such, scoundrel, why did you bring only two? Apparently, she ate the rest on the way? Olena pounced on her.

“No, dear sister, I haven’t eaten one. When I shook the apple tree for the first time, one apple fell off, the second time I shook it, the second one fell off. And I was not told to shake anymore. They told me to run home! Marushka says.

- May you be thunderstruck! - Olena scolds and is about to rush to beat Marushka. Her stepmother is already giving her a stick. But Marushka dodged, rushed into the kitchen and climbed under the stove. The greedy deer clung to one apple, the mother took the second. They had never eaten such sweet apples in their lives.

- Give me, mom, a fur coat, I myself will go into the forest! This scoundrel will gobble up everything on the way again. I'll find that place, even if it's in hell and a bunch of apples! I'm not afraid of the devil!

In vain mother dissuaded. She put on Olena's fur coat, tied a scarf around her head and went into the forest. The mother breaks her arms on the threshold, she is afraid for her girl.

Olena got to the forest. Snow - above the head. Not a trace to be seen. She strayed, she strayed, but the ruddy apples beckon her further and further, as if someone were pushing her from behind.

Suddenly he sees a light in the distance. She is there, coming to the fire. There are twelve people around, they have been sitting for twelve months. Without saying hello, without asking, she stretched out her hands to the fire, began to warm herself, as if only for her the fire had been kindled.

- Why did you come? What do you need here? Big January asked discontentedly.

"What do you care, you old fool!" Wherever I want, I go there! - Olena snapped and leaned into the forest, as if ripe apples were waiting for her there.

Big January frowned, twirled his club over the fire. At that very moment the sky darkened, the fire died down, a cold wind blew, a snowstorm began, not a single light was visible. The further Olena goes, the deeper she gets stuck in the snow. He scolds Marusha and the whole wide world. She froze to the bone, her legs gave way, and the angry Olena fell down, as if she had been cut down.

And Olena's mother is waiting, looking out of the window, jumping out onto the porch. Time runs, but Olena is still missing.

- Can't stop eating apples, or what else happened? I'll go look, she decided.

She put on a fur coat, covered herself with a scarf and wandered after her daughter.

And the snow is getting thicker, the wind is getting colder, snowdrifts are rising like walls. She wanders waist-deep in the snow, calling to Olen. But not a soul around. The stepmother got lost, curses the whole wide world with Olena together. She froze to the bone, her legs gave way and she fell to the ground, as if she had been cut down.

And at home Marushka managed to cook dinner, feed and milk the cow. But Olena and her stepmother are still missing, as if not.

– Where did they disappear to? Marushka is worried. It's already evening. She sat down at the spinning wheel. She sat until the very night. The spindle has been full for a long time, but there is no hearing or spirit from them.

“Probably something happened to them,” the kind girl worries and looks out the window with longing. And there is not a soul, only the stars sparkle after a blizzard. Pure snow lies on the ground, roofs crackle in the frost. The second day has come. I don't have them. Breakfast arrived. Then lunch. . . So I didn't wait. No Olena, no stepmother. Both were frozen in the forest.

Marushka left a house, a cow, a garden and a field and a meadow near the house. And spring came and the owner was found. Handsome guy. He married Marushka and they lived in love and peace.

After all, peace and harmony are the most precious things.

The magic hunter lived in a remote valley an old hunter. And he was fed only by hunting. There was a lake not far from his house. He used to float on this lake on a raft and where he sees something, he will definitely catch it.

Once a flock of ducks flew to the lake. Shoot one at a time - you’ll disperse the rest, you have to take them all at once: he’s like that, he’s figuring it out like that. He remembered how the hunters told him that if a duck swallows a snake, then the snake will slip through it and come out from behind, and another one will immediately swallow it, it will get out of this one, the third one will grab it, and the ducks will hang on the snake strung.

Well. The hunter twisted a long, long rope, greased it with fat, climbed into the reeds with his raft, let the rope into the water, sits, does not breathe. Ducks have flown in, quacking, tadpoles make their living. Suddenly they see a rope! The first swallowed, she slipped through it, the second swallowed, then the third, the fourth, and then all the others. The rope was long. The hunter tied the second end tightly to his belt.

He brought his raft to the middle of the lake and clapped his hands. The ducks were frightened, rose up and flew away. And there are many of them, a whole flock, they raised the hunter up. Who knows how it all would have ended if the ducks had not flown over his little house. A pipe sticks out on the roof. So our hunter grabbed it and got down the pipe right into his kitchen. The ducks were killed, plucked, gutted, fried, and ate one after another with gusto. Painfully delicious!

“Oh, how could I not be starving,” he thought, when the ducks were finished. - Well, while I'm full, I'll go wander around the wide world, maybe I'll get something!

He walks through the mountains, through the valleys, and the moon shines in the sky. He sees - some person is standing at the moon aiming.

Why are you aiming at the moon?

- And what? - he answers. Do you see the rock on the moon? An owl built a nest on it. And the rogue does not want to stick his head out so that I shoot her.

- Do not touch, you, an owl, let the owlets incubate. Let's go better wander around the world with me, look for happiness.

They go, they go, they see a man standing, staring at the lawn beyond the forest, and that lawn is at least ten versts away.

– What are you staring at? How would you not be left without eyes! they say.

"Why don't I stare!" - he answers. “I take care of my roast. Deer go to graze on that lawn. As soon as the first one runs out of the forest, I will see him and, in one fell swoop, I will jump over the lawn and grab the deer. Here I will be hot!

- Drop it. Empty business! Let's go with us to search for happiness in the wide world! Persuaded. Then the three of them go on. They walked and walked, they saw a peasant near the palace. All in chains entangled.

- Where are you going in chains? they ask.

- How to where? I don't have a tree on my farm! So I want to tie some wood with chains and drag it closer to me, so that the laborers do not have to go far for firewood.

Our travelers helped him to drag the forest, and for this he treated them with milk and butter. But they persuaded him. He went with them to seek happiness together.

They walked, walked, they saw an old man sitting on a stone. He plugged one nostril, blowing and blowing into the other.

- Why are you blowing?

- Why do I blow? See, there on the mountain windmill? I blow in one nostril to grind. And if he blew into two nostrils, it would be blown to pieces.

- Quit playing with the windmill, let's go with us to look for happiness. The man agreed. Let's all go together.

They walked and walked to the Turkish lands and there, in front of the most important Turk, they began to show their tricks. Pasha invited them to dine with him as a reward.

At the table, our friends boast to themselves that since childhood they only drink Tokay wine, and therefore they know how to do everything in the world. The pasha's wife wanted to try at least a drop of this wine.

- Eka unseen, Tokay wine, - says the hunter, - we still won’t get out from the table, but my people will put it on your table!

“Well,” the pasha shook his head, “I would like to see who can run so quickly to Tokay Mountain.”

The hunter replies:

- Yeah right now!

- Good. If there is a glass of Tokay wine on the table for dinner, you will get as much gold as you can carry. But no - the head is off his shoulders, - the pasha said firmly.

OK. The swift-footed one jumped to Tokai. And nothing comes back. The pasha's wife is angry and wants to leave.

Well, look where he's been! the hunter shouted to Sharp-eyed.

He looked, he sees Fast-footed sleeping on the foothills under a branchy pear tree. Sharp-eyed grabbed his bow and shot a pear. She fell asleep right on the nose. He woke up and now he is already at the table, serving the pasha's wife a glass of wine. The Pasha and his wife drank Tokay. It can be seen that the wine hit them hard in the head, because they sent their servant with our heroes to the cellar for gold. For a long time the servant does not return back. Pasha sent a soldier after him.

- Trouble struck, my pasha! the soldier is running. They locked the servant in the basement, and then the strong man wrapped the entire basement in chains and dragged him along with all the treasures to his ship. There they are swimming.

The pasha jumped to his feet, after him the soldiers hurried to their fastest ship and set off in pursuit of the fugitives. Here is overtaken.

- What are you, old man? - the hunter says to Duyvetr, - prove that you eat porridge not without reason!

The old man settled down in the stern, blew one nostril into his sails, the other into the pasha's ship. And the Turkish ship flew off for ten miles! Pasha almost burst with anger! And friends safely reached their country. They divided the gold equally and live and live to this day, if they have not yet spent all the wealth.

Berona in a kingdom far away, in a far away state, beyond the Red Sea, behind an oak rock, where the light is sheathed with boards so that the earth does not fall there, there lived a king. And that king had a garden, and in the garden there was a tree, which has no equal in beauty in the whole world.

Whether this tree bears fruit or will someday, no one knows. But to learn hunting, especially to the king. Whoever looks into his kingdom, immediately leads the king to a tree to look and say when, in his opinion, and what fruits it will bring. Only neither their own nor foreigners could say that.

The king had to convene gardeners, guessers and wise men from all over the state to determine when and with what fruits the tree would be covered. They got together, sat down, stared for a long time, but none of them managed to answer like that.

Suddenly an old man appears and says:

- What fruits this tree will give birth to, none of us is given to know. For there are no more such trees in the whole wide world. But I'll tell you what I heard when I was just a little boy, from an old man, and to this day I haven't told anyone. This tree buds every night at exactly eleven, flowers bloom at a quarter to twelve, golden fruits ripen at a quarter to twelve, and at twelve someone, I don’t know who, cuts them off. The old man fell silent, and the king cried out in a loud voice:

- Hey, we need to check whether this is so or not. And if everything is correct, pick the golden fruits. The tree is mine, because it grows in my garden! Who will take care of this today?

- I'll take it! the eldest son answers the king.

On that, they decided that he would go to guard the golden fruits that very night.

Evening came. The eldest son went to the garden, took with him wine and roasted meat and settled himself comfortably. Sits, looks at the tree, waiting for what will happen. But everything was quiet, not even a leaf moved. It struck eleven and the tree was suddenly covered with buds. It struck a quarter past eleven, the buds burst and beautiful flowers appeared. Half struck and the flowers turned into a brilliant ovary. The ovary began to grow before our eyes, and at three-quarters of the twelfth the tree was covered with beautiful golden apples. The king's son opened his mouth, he couldn't see enough. He wants to pick apples, only a step towards the tree stepped, suddenly thunder struck, lightning flashed, clouds gathered, rain poured down. A sleepy wind blew on him, he fell asleep and overslept dead sleep until morning. I woke up, and the tree was already empty, there were no golden apples, as there were none, and it is not known who robbed them in a thunderstorm. Sadly, the prince wandered to his father and told what had happened to him.

“Well, if you are of little use,” said the middle brother, “I will go!” I'll figure out who goes to our apple tree and grab him!

The king agreed.

It began to get dark, and the middle son was already sitting in the garden under a tree, eating meat and pies. Silence everywhere. But as it struck eleven, the buds began to burst on the tree. A quarter past eleven struck, beautiful flowers bloomed. Half an hour struck, the flowers became a brilliant ovary, and in three quarters the whole tree was covered with shiny golden apples. The average prince did not hesitate, climbed a tree, wants to pick apples.

Suddenly, for no apparent reason, he was burned by a great frost. Gloom and darkness fell to the ground, everything was covered with ice. The king's son's feet slide on the ice, move apart, he fell from the apple tree. Then a sleepy wind blew and the king's son fell asleep like a dead man.

I woke up in the morning, and the tree was empty. I am ashamed to return to my father with nothing, but there is nothing to do. And I had to tell everything as it is.

The king is both wonderful and annoying. She doesn’t even hope that anyone will be able to find out who picks apples and where they go afterward.

Here the youngest prince approaches his father. No one in the house noticed him, because, probably, he did not boast like his brothers, but only played the pipe plaintively.

“Father,” he says, “let me guard the tree, like my brothers, maybe I’ll be more lucky!”

- Where are you going, if the brothers couldn’t! the father says. - Stay away and don't get bored!

But the younger prince asked until his father agreed.

He went to the garden in the evening and grabbed his pipe. Not far from the tree he stopped and began to play, only the echo responded. It strikes eleven, the tree has gone bud, and you know he plays the pipe. A quarter hit, the flowers turned into a small shiny ovary. The ovary grows, swells, and three-quarters of the whole tree is already shining with beautiful golden apples. And the prince plays everything, plaintively and plaintively.

At twelve o'clock there was a noise and twelve white doves descended on the tree. They turned into beautiful girls. But the most beautiful among them is the princess. The young prince forgot his tune. I forgot about the golden apples, I can’t take my eyes off the unprecedented beauty. And the golden beauty picked the golden apples, went down to him and said:

“So far I have been picking golden apples, now it’s your turn.” I threw up at midnight, you will throw up at noon.

- Who are you and where are you from? asked her royal son.

“I am Berona of the Black City,” she replied, and immediately disappeared.

For a long time the royal son looked after her, and then turned his gaze to the tree, as if hoping to see her there. . .

He finally came to his senses and wandered home. He saw his father from a distance shouting, rejoicing:

- I guarded, I guarded, now I know everything!

“And if you guarded me,” said the king, “where are the golden apples?” I don't have golden apples yet. But they will! After all, I now know that every night at twelve the beautiful Berona from the Black City appears behind them. But every day at noon I will pick apples. Berona said so.

The father was delighted, patted his son on the back, praised him. Finally, he will have golden apples.

The old king rejoiced, and younger son every day, at exactly noon, he picked golden apples. All of them in one hour. But the prince became pensive, from day to day more and more sad, because he could not forget Berona. At first I hoped that when he picks apples, she will appear. But Berona did not appear, and the golden apples grew sick of him. He began to ask his father to let him leave the house.

The king resisted for a long time, did not want to let his younger son go. But then he agreed, maybe he will have more fun when he returns. And the prince, having received permission, immediately got ready to go. He took one servant with him, more weapons and plenty of food.

Our travelers go through forests, fields, bypass rivers and mountains, states and seas. We went all over the world from end to end, but about the Black City and the beautiful Berona nowhere is there a rumor or a spirit. And their strength is already running out and the provisions are over, but they go further and further. We finally got to a castle.

And that castle belonged to Baba Yaga, while the golden Berona was her daughter. They approached the castle, Baba Yaga came out to meet them, greeted them affectionately, and asked what they needed.

“We came,” the prince answers, “to find out if you know anything about the Black City and the golden Berona.

- How not to know, we know, my children! Baba Yaga says. - Oh, we know! Berona comes to my garden every day at noon to bathe. If you want, you can see her.

Baba Yaga sensed that this was the groom, but she did not show it.

Noon is approaching and the young prince goes into the garden. The witch saw, called her servant to her. She flattered herself and persuaded him to follow the master and try to see Berona first. And then do what she says. For a generous reward. She gave a pipe in her hands and said:

- As soon as you see Berona, play this pipe. Your master will immediately fall asleep.

The prince was walking in the garden, and the servant was waiting for the golden Berona. It struck twelve. There was a sound of wings and twelve white doves descended on the trees and turned into twelve beauties. The most beautiful of them, like the clear sun, is the golden Berona. The servant was stunned by such beauty. I almost forgot that the old woman punished him. But he came to his senses in time and whistled on the pipe. The prince immediately fell asleep, sleeps like the dead, cannot wake up. The golden Berona came up to him, looked tenderly, and walked away.

As soon as she left, the king immediately woke up. The servant told him that the golden Berona had already been here and looked at him affectionately. The prince asks why the servant did not wake him up. He complained that it was so, they say, it turned out, but he didn’t say anything about the witch’s pipe.

The next day, again, the prince was going to the garden. Again Baba Yaga called the servant aside. She whispered something in her ear, put something into her hand and held out a pipe. The servant noticed where Berona was coming from and rushed there.

He heard that the doves were flying, saw a golden gleam, whistled into the tune, and the prince fell fast asleep.

Berona went up to the sleeping man, looked at him sadly and kindly, and withdrew. The prince woke up and, learning that Berona had come again, was angry with himself for falling asleep, and with the servant for not waking him up. Yes, what can you do? Kohl was, so it was! I decided on the third day not to sleep, even though the grass did not grow! The day is leaning towards noon, the prince went to the garden, walks back and forth, rubbing his eyes so as not to fall asleep and finally see his unspeakable joy. Yes, all in vain! After all, the old woman again persuaded the servant.

As soon as the golden Berona appeared among the trees, the servant blew loudly and the master fell asleep so soundly, even cut into pieces. Golden Berona went up to the prince, looked at him pitifully and said:

“Innocent soul, you sleep and don’t know who interferes with your happiness,” and pearls rolled from her golden eyes instead of tears.

Then she turned and, together with her friends, picked flowers and sprinkled flowers on the prince. And she said to the servant:

“Tell your master to hang his hat one hook below, then he will have me.”

She looked at the prince again and disappeared.

The prince immediately woke up and began to ask the servant if the golden Berona had appeared and where these flowers had come from. The servant told him everything, including how she looked at him with tears, how she sprinkled him with these flowers, and what she told him to convey.

The king's son was saddened, deep in thought. I realized that nothing would come of it and leaned away from Baba Yaga. And all the way he racked his brains about what Beronin's order could mean. And suddenly he has a dream, as if the golden Berona comes to him and says:

“As long as you have this servant, you will not have me. He was persuaded, it is he who interferes with you in everything.

The prince began to think about what he should do with the unfaithful servant. But as soon as he decides to execute him, he will change his mind again. He did not want to believe that his own servant had betrayed him. And again everything went on in the old way.

However, the further the servant goes, the more he leads and opposes his master by the nose. The prince began to reprimand him, and he snapped. Here the prince could not restrain himself, drew his saber and cut off the servant's head. Black blood gushed out, and the body fell through the ground.

- Why did you grab it? - the prince asks the devils.

- And because of the father's inheritance, - the devils answer, - here is the casing, here are the boots, here is the whip.

- Are you crazy or something, because of such junk to fight? The queen laughs.

- Look you! Because of old! These things are not easy! Put on the jacket, not a single devil will see you! Put on your boots and take off into the sky. And you click a whip, you will immediately get where you think. Each of us wants to take possession of all three things, because one cannot do anything without the other.

- All right, damn it! I will reconcile you now. Run, all three of you, to that mountain, and leave your things here! Whoever runs here first at my sign will get them all.

Stupid devils believed and rushed up the mountain! Meanwhile, the prince put on a sheepskin coat, put on his boots, snapped a whip and thought that he wanted to get into the Black City.

And now it flies over the mountains, over the houses, it is not known over which country, and suddenly it turns out to be the gates of the Black City. He takes off his jacket and boots and immediately meets one of the beauties that flew in with the golden Verona. The girl rushed to tell her mistress who showed up here. Verona does not believe. Where can he get here? He sends another to look. She returned, “yes,” she says, “here he is. He sends a third, and she repeats the same thing. Here Verona herself came out to the gate.

And there her darling is standing. Verona cried with joy, and instead of tears, pearls rolled from her eyes.

But here, out of nowhere, three devils come running, shouting:

“Give us back our jacket, boots and whip!”

The prince threw things at them and they rushed away.

So the prince met with the golden Verona. She took him to the palace, showed him all her principality. They looked like each other, rejoiced at each other, and got married. He became king, and she along with him. So they lived happily and for a long time, and for how long - we have not heard about it.