The Magic Mirror - Russian folk tales. Magic mirror

Russian folktale

Once a girl went to the bathhouse, her uncle followed her - just through the door, she grabbed a basin full of boiling water and doused him from head to toe. He lay there for three weeks and barely recovered; terrible hatred gnawed at his heart, and he began to think: how to laugh off this ridicule? I thought and thought, and finally wrote a letter to my brother: your daughter is doing bad things, wandering around other people’s yards, doesn’t spend the night at home and doesn’t listen to me. The merchant received this letter, read it and became very angry; says to his son: “Your sister has disgraced the whole house! I don’t want to have mercy on her: go this very minute, chop the scoundrel into small pieces and bring her heart with this knife. Let good people not laugh at our kind-tribe!”

The son took a sharp knife and went home; I arrived in my hometown on the sly, without telling anyone, and began to scout around: how does such and such a merchant’s daughter live? Everyone praises her with one voice - they cannot boast enough: she is quiet, and modest, and knows God, and listens to good people. Having found out everything, he went to his sister; she was delighted, rushed to meet him, hugs him, kisses him: “Dear brother! How did the Lord bring you? What about our dear father? - “Oh, dear sister, don’t rush to rejoice. My arrival is not good: my father sent me and ordered your white body to be chopped into small pieces, your heart to be taken out and delivered to him on this knife.”

My sister started crying. “My God,” he says, “why such disfavor?” - “But for what!” - the brother answered and told her about his uncle’s letter. “Oh, brother, I’m not guilty of anything!” The merchant’s son listened to how and what happened and said: “Don’t cry, sister! I myself know that you are not guilty, and even though the priest did not order you to accept any excuses, I still don’t want to execute you. You’d better get ready and leave your father’s house wherever you look; God will not leave you!” The merchant's daughter did not think long, got ready for the journey, said goodbye to her brother and went where - she herself does not know. And her brother killed a yard dog, took out the heart, put it on a sharp knife and took it to his father. He gives him the dog’s heart: “So and so,” he says, “on your parental orders, I executed my sister.” - “Come on! Death for a dog!” - answered the father.

How long or how short did the red maiden wander around the white world, and finally entered a dense, dense forest: from behind the tall trees the sky was barely visible. She began to walk through this forest and accidentally came out into a wide clearing; in this clearing there is a white stone palace, around the palace there is an iron lattice. “Let me go,” the girl thinks, “I’ll go into this palace, not everyone is evil, maybe the worst will happen!” She enters the chambers - there is not a human soul in the chambers; I was about to turn back - suddenly two powerful heroes galloped into the courtyard, entered the palace, saw the girl and said: “Hello, beauty!” - “Hello, honest knights!” “Here, brother,” said one hero to another, “you and I were grieving that there was no one to manage our house; and God sent us a sister.” The heroes left the merchant's daughter to live with them, called her their own sister, gave her the keys and made her the mistress of the whole house; then they took out sharp sabers, pointed them at each other’s chests and made the following agreement: “If any of us dares to encroach on our sister, then we will chop him up without mercy with this very saber.”

Here is a red maiden living with two heroes; and her father bought overseas goods, returned home and a little later married another wife. This merchant's wife was of indescribable beauty and had a magic mirror; look in the mirror - you will immediately find out where everything is being done. Once the heroes gathered for a hunt and told their sister: “Be careful, don’t let anyone in until we arrive!” They said goodbye to her and left. At this very time, the merchant’s wife looked into the mirror, admired her beauty and said: “There is no one more beautiful than me in the world!” And the mirror answered: “You are good - no doubt about it! And you have a stepdaughter, she lives with two heroes in a dense forest - she’s even more beautiful!”

The stepmother did not like these speeches and immediately called the evil old woman to her. “Here,” he says, “here’s a ring for you; go into the dense forest, in that forest there is a white-stone palace, my stepdaughter lives in the palace; bow to her and give her this ring - say: brother sent it as a souvenir!” The old woman took the ring and went where she was told; comes to the white-stone palace, the red maiden saw her, ran out to meet her - she wanted, therefore, to try for news from her native side. “Hello, grandma! How did God bring you? Is everyone alive and well? - “They live, chew bread! My brother asked me to check on your health and sent me a ring as a gift; come on, show off!” The girl is so happy, so glad that it’s impossible to tell; She brought the old woman into the room, treated her to all sorts of snacks and drinks, and ordered her brother to bow deeply. After an hour, the old woman trudged back, and the girl began to admire the ring and decided to put it on her finger; put it on - and at that very moment she fell dead.

Two heroes arrive, enter the chambers, but the sister does not greet them: what is it? We looked into her bedroom; and she lies dead, doesn’t say a word. The heroes were inflamed: what was most beautiful was that death suddenly took hold! “We must,” they say, “put her in new clothes and put her in a coffin.” They began to clean up, and one noticed a ring on the red girl’s hand: “Is it really possible to bury her with this ring? Let me take it off, I’ll leave it as a souvenir.” As soon as he took off the ring, the red maiden immediately opened her eyes, sighed and came to life. “What happened to you, sister? Didn’t anyone come to see you?” - the heroes ask. “An old lady I know came from home and brought me a ring.” - “Oh, how naughty you are! After all, it was not for nothing that we punished you so that you wouldn’t let anyone into the house without us. Make sure you don’t do this next time!”

After some time, the merchant's wife looked into her mirror and found out that her stepdaughter was still alive and beautiful; she called the old woman, gave her a ribbon and said: “Go to the white-stone palace where my stepdaughter lives, and give her this gift; say: brother sent! Again the old woman came to the red maiden, told her about three boxes of different things and gave her the ribbon. The girl was delighted, tied a ribbon around her neck - and at that very moment fell onto the bed, dead. The heroes came from the hunt, looked - my sister was lying dead, they began to put her in new outfits and as soon as they took off the ribbon, she immediately opened her eyes, sighed and came to life. “What's wrong with you, sister? Was there an old woman again? “Yes,” he says, “an old woman came from home and brought me a ribbon.” - “Oh, what you are! After all, we asked you: don’t accept anyone without us!” - “Sorry, dear brothers! I couldn’t stand it, I wanted to hear news from home.”

A few more days passed - the merchant's wife looked in the mirror: her stepdaughter was alive again. She called the old woman. “Only,” he says, “a hair’s breadth!” Go to your stepdaughter, be sure to kill her!” The old woman took advantage of the time when the heroes went hunting, and came to the white stone palace; The red maiden saw her through the window, could not stand it, ran out to meet her: “Hello, grandma! How does God have mercy on you? - “As long as you’re alive, my dear!” I was wandering around the world and came here to visit you.” The red maiden brought her into the room, treated her to all sorts of snacks and drinks, asked about her relatives and ordered her to bow to her brother. “Okay,” says the old woman, “I will bow. But you, my dear, have no one to look for tea in your head? Let me look.” - “Look, grandma!” She began to look in the head of the red maiden and wove a magic hair into her braid; As soon as she wove this hair, the girl at that very moment became dead. The old woman grinned evilly and left quickly so that no one would catch her or see her.

The heroes arrive, enter the rooms - the sister lies dead; For a long time they peered and looked closely to see if there was anything superfluous on it? No, you can't see anything! So they made a crystal coffin - so wonderful that you couldn’t even think of it, couldn’t imagine it, only say it in a fairy tale; they dressed the merchant's daughter in a shiny dress, like a bride to the crown, and placed her in a crystal coffin; That coffin was placed in the middle of the large chamber, and above it they placed a canopy of red velvet with diamond tassels with gold fringes, and twelve lamps were hung on twelve crystal pillars. After that, the heroes burst into burning tears; They were overcome with great melancholy. “What,” they say, “are we supposed to live on in this world? Let’s go and decide for ourselves!” They hugged, said goodbye to each other, went out onto the high balcony, held hands and rushed down; hit sharp stones and ended their lives.

Many, many years have passed. It happened that one prince was out hunting; He drove into a dense forest, sent his dogs loose in different directions, separated from the hunters and rode alone along a dead path. He drove and drove, and there was a clearing in front of him, in the clearing there was a white stone palace. The prince dismounted from his horse, climbed the stairs, and began to inspect the chambers; Everywhere the decorations are rich, luxurious, but the owner’s hand is not visible on anything: everything was abandoned a long time ago, everything was neglected! In one chamber there is a crystal coffin, and in the coffin lies a dead girl of indescribable beauty: there is a blush on her cheeks, a smile on her lips, as if she were alive, she is sleeping.

The prince approached, looked at the girl, and remained in place, as if an invisible force was holding him. He stands there from morning until late evening, unable to take his eyes off, anxiety in his heart: he was riveted by a girl’s beauty - wonderful, unprecedented, which cannot be found anywhere else in the whole world! And hunters have been looking for him for a long time; They were already scouring the forest, blowing trumpets, and raising voices - the prince was standing at the crystal coffin, hearing nothing. The sun set, the darkness deepened, and only then did he come to his senses - he kissed the dead girl and drove back. “Ah, your highness, where have you been?” - the hunters ask. “I was chasing an animal, but I got a little lost.” The next day, just before it’s light, the prince is getting ready to go hunting; galloped into the forest, separated from the hunters and along the same path arrived at the white-stone palace. Again I stood at the crystal coffin all day, not taking my eyes off the dead beauty; I only returned home late at night. On the third day, on the fourth everything was the same, and so a whole week passed. “What happened to our prince? - say the hunters. “Let us, brothers, keep an eye on him, make sure that no harm happens.”

So the prince went hunting, released his dogs through the forest, separated from his retinue and headed his way to the white-stone palace; The hunters immediately follow him, come to the clearing, enter the palace - there is a crystal coffin in the chamber, a dead girl lies in the coffin, the prince stands in front of the girl. “Well, Your Highness, it’s not for nothing that you’ve been lost in the forest for a whole week! Now we won’t be able to leave here until the evening.” They surrounded the crystal coffin, looked at the girl, admired her beauty, and stood in one place from morning until late evening. When it got completely dark, the prince turned to the hunters: “Do me, brothers, a great service: take the coffin with the dead girl, bring it and place it in my bedroom; Yes, quietly, secretly, so that no one finds out about it, does not find out. I will reward you in every possible way, I will reward you with a golden treasury, like no one has rewarded you.” - “Your will is to favor; and we, Tsarevich, are happy to serve you anyway!” - said the hunters, picked up the crystal coffin, took it out into the courtyard, set it up on horseback and took it to the royal palace; They brought it and placed it in the prince’s bedroom.

From that very day the prince stopped even thinking about hunting; he sits at home, doesn’t leave his room anywhere - he keeps admiring the girl. “What happened to our son? - the queen thinks. “It’s been a long time, but he’s still sitting at home, doesn’t leave his room and doesn’t let anyone in.” Did sadness or melancholy set in, or did you feign some kind of illness? Let me go look at him.” The queen enters his bedroom and sees a crystal coffin. How and what? She asked and found out and immediately gave the order to bury that girl, as was customary, in the damp earth.

The prince began to cry, went into the garden, picked wonderful flowers, brought them back and began to comb the dead beauty’s brown hair and cover her head with flowers. Suddenly a magic hair fell out of her braid - the beauty opened her eyes, sighed, rose from the crystal coffin and said: “Oh, how long I slept!” The prince was incredibly happy, took her hand, led her to her father, to her mother. “God gave it to me,” he says! I can't live without her for a single minute. Allow me, dear father, and you, dear mother, allow me to get married.” - “Get married, son! We won’t go against God, and we can’t look for such beauty in the whole world!” Tsars never stop for anything: an honest feast on the same day and even for a wedding.

The prince married a merchant's daughter and lives with her - he couldn't be happier. Some time passed - she decided to go in her own direction, to visit her father and brother; The prince, not averse to it, began to ask his father. “Okay,” says the king, “go, my dear children! You, prince, go on a detour by land, inspect all our lands and find out the order, and let your wife sail on the ship in a direct way.” So they prepared the ship for the voyage, dressed the sailors, appointed the initial general; The princess boarded the ship and went out to the open sea, and the prince went by land.

The leading general, seeing the beautiful princess, envied her beauty and began to flatter her; Why be afraid, he thinks, - after all, she is now in my hands, I do whatever I want! “Love me,” he says to the princess, “if you don’t love me, I’ll throw you into the sea!” The princess turned away, did not give him an answer, only burst into tears. One sailor overheard the general’s speeches, came to the princess in the evening and began to say: “Don’t cry, princess! Dress yourself in my dress, and I will put on yours; You go on deck, and I’ll stay in the cabin. Let the general throw me into the sea - I’m not afraid of that; Maybe I can handle it, I’ll swim to the pier: fortunately the land is close now!” They exchanged dresses; the princess went on deck, and the sailor lay down on her bed. At night, the leading general appeared in the cabin, grabbed the sailor and threw him into the sea. The sailor set off swimming and reached the shore by morning. The ship arrived at the pier, the sailors began to go ashore; The princess also went down, rushed to the market, bought herself a cook's clothes, dressed up as a cook and hired herself to serve in the kitchen for her own father.

A little later, the prince comes to the merchant. “Hello,” he says, “father! Accept your son-in-law, because I am married to your daughter. Where is she? Al hasn’t been there yet?” And then the initial general appears with a report: “So and so, Your Highness! A misfortune happened: the princess was standing on the deck, a storm arose, rocking began, her head began to spin - and before she could blink, the princess fell into the sea and drowned!” The prince strained and cried, but you can’t turn him back from the bottom of the sea; Apparently, this is her destiny! The prince stayed with his father-in-law for some time and ordered his retinue to prepare for departure; the merchant gave a big feast at parting; Merchants, boyars, and all his relatives gathered to see him: his brother, the evil old woman, and the chief general were there.

They drank, ate, cooled off; one of the guests says: “Listen, honest gentlemen! If you keep drinking and drinking, it won’t do any good; Let’s tell better stories.” - "OK OK! - they shouted from all sides. - Who will start? One doesn’t know how, the other is not good at it, and the third has lost his memory of wine. What should I do? The merchant clerk responded: “We have a new cook in the kitchen, he has traveled a lot in foreign lands, he has seen many different wonders and is such a master at telling fairy tales - guess what!” The merchant called that cook. “Sweat,” he says, “my guests!” The cook-princess answers him: “What should I tell you: a fairy tale or an incident?” - “Tell something that happened!” - “Perhaps, it’s possible to have a blast, only with this agreement: whoever interrupts me will get a plague in the forehead.”

Everyone agreed to this. And the princess began to tell everything that happened to her. “So and so,” he says, “the merchant had a daughter; the merchant went overseas and instructed his brother to look after the girl; Uncle coveted her beauty and doesn’t give her a moment of peace...” And Uncle hears that they are talking about him and says: “This, gentlemen, is not true!” - “Oh, don’t you think it’s true? Here's a plague to your forehead! " After that, it came to the stepmother, how she interrogated the magic mirror, and to the evil old woman, how she came to the heroes in the white stone palace - and the old woman and stepmother shouted in one voice: “What nonsense! This cannot be." The princess hit them on the forehead with a chumichka and began to tell how she lay in a crystal coffin, how the prince found her, revived her and married her, and how she went to visit her father.

The general realized that things were not going well, and asked the prince: “Let me go home; I have a headache!” - “Nothing, sit for a while!” The princess began to talk about the general; Well, he couldn’t bear it either. “All this,” he says, “is not true!” With a blow to his forehead, the princess threw off her chef’s dress and revealed herself to the prince: “I’m not a cook, I’m your lawful wife!” The prince was delighted, and so was the merchant; they rushed to hug and kiss her; and then they began to judge the court; the evil old woman and her uncle were shot at the gate, the stepmother-sorceress was tied to a stallion by the tail, the stallion flew into an open field and scattered her bones through the bushes, along the yarugs; The prince sent the general to hard labor, and in his place he gave a sailor, who saved the princess from trouble. From that time on, the prince, his wife and the merchant lived together - happily ever after.

And I wrote a letter to my brother: your daughter is doing bad things, wandering around other people’s yards, doesn’t spend the night at home and doesn’t listen to me. The merchant received this letter, read it and became very angry; says to his son: “Your sister has disgraced the whole house! I don’t want to have mercy on her: go this very minute, chop the scoundrel into small pieces and bring her heart with this knife. Let good people not laugh at our kind-tribe!”

Everyone agreed to this. And the princess began to tell everything that happened to her. “So and so,” he says, “the merchant had a daughter; the merchant went overseas and instructed his brother to look after the girl; uncle covets her beauty and does not give her a moment of peace...” And uncle hears that they are talking about him and says: “This, gentlemen, is not true!” - “Oh, don’t you think it’s true? Here's a plague to your forehead! " After that, it came to the stepmother, how she interrogated the magic mirror, and to the evil old woman, how she came to the heroes in the white stone palace - and the old woman and stepmother shouted in one voice: “What nonsense! This cannot be." The princess hit them on the forehead with a chumichka and began to tell how she lay in a crystal coffin, how the prince found her, revived her and married her, and how she went to visit her father.

Magic mirror (fairy tale version 1)

Be the king of the king and raise one hell of a good dacha. After the punishment, the woman died, and she married another, worse one, like the first; ale dacha hell of the first wife for yayo haroshchaya. One day the guard’s wife came to the chandelier and tried: “Lustro, chandelier! Why am I good?” - “You’re good, ale your paserbitsa3 yashche bad!” - said 4 chandelier. That Kruleva showed the lackey the weight of the caretaker on the patsyr5, there I will forget and bring my heart to the plates. The footman immediately brought the king to the patsyr, told her everything that the king said, and the name of the king killed the dog, took out the hearts and the sticks on the plate, gave it to the king; and I will tell you that I went wherever I wanted.
Kruleva's lord was glad that she had taken care of her paserbitsa, who was so cruel to herself; and the princess, parting from the footman, went to where her eyes were wandering. Idze yana dak idze - already there is a palace in the forest, and even there, all sorts of things have been collected and there is nothing. Yana hadzila and then the palaces, hadzila, there are already twelve men dancing; and these men were twelve brothers of the Karalevich, who lived in the summer palaces. Hadzili yanya in all sorts of ways, even in one of them we even knew the lady. Look at me, every time I look at her; If not the Muggles pagadzitsa8, then they recognized me as their sister and respected the nobles.
Taya Kruleva was so sad that she was not a paserbian; And yet another time, prez tsyakavost10, the chandelier fell and tried: “Lustro, chandelier! Why am I good?” - “You are good, and your paserbitsa is even worse - among the twelve brothers of Karelevich.” Kruleva showed her gratitude to her grandmother-enchantress and, having given her a lot of pennies, said: “Look to me that my little lady hasn’t been here for three days!” - "Of good!" - said the enchantress, climbed behind the edge11 and walked away. I went to the palace where the kingdom lived, and even there I didn’t find anyone else - only the hell of the kingdom, sitting face down. Kraleina, the fucking woman, immediately said that I was a success and began to inquire: is she atkul? “I am going on a pilgrimage in the future, in case I earn money; I craft and sell needles, hairpins, peppers and other goods.” - “Well, packages!” - said the queen. This woman began to show peppers, and the king’s adzin fell12, she began to cry in pain - as long as the woman died, and she ruled. She fingered the edge of that pepper for a long time, and then put it on her finger. As soon as I was happy, I became unlivable.
The brothers yelped from the fire13 and immediately ran away from their sister14. The entrance is very different - it’s almost as if it’s not chewing. The brothers cried and cried, and then they began to figure out how to settle another adzene15; As soon as they started to figure it out, they already knew the first scene; As soon as I knew the difference, the queen awed and, ustavshi, said: “I slept so deliciously!” - “You were asleep, but you were not alive; “You don’t have to be acharava,” said the brothers. “Geta, music16, woman, who I bought a pepper, enchanted me.” The brothers, leaving the next day, shouted that the palace should never be allowed to pass.
Kruleva’s friend walked and tortured the chandelier, and it just said that “you’re good, and your lady friend is even worse.” The ruler immediately sent a message to this enchantress and told her to finally leave the world as a guardian. This woman moved behind the barn17 and went to the palace where the kingdom lived. The bastard fell akno kraleeny and became gavarits patsyary18. Kraleina, pachushy, said that she had taken out three pennies and sent the woman to justice. The footman who carried the pennies to the woman would be in hell 19 and fall into the hairpin that the woman gave. That lackey of the same day, crushed, never knew the hairpin, panes ya and kraleeny and adda. Kraleina thought that this hairpin was her, she took it - she smoothed it out. As soon as I settled down, I became unlivable. Brothers, who arrived, walked and packed it, and there they found it dead; They started to sort things out, and the king didn’t move. Yana worked for her srebny trine20 got stuck in some forest and hung there on the other side.
Kruleva, cleaning up, asked from the chandelier: what is good? And the chandelier said that “you are the most beautiful in the whole world.” Kruleva was glad that there was no one who would be good for me. One day in the forest where the throne of the kingdom hung, some kings were scorching from afar. The king's dogs, as if they were chasing hares, even as far as the throne where the king hung. Kralevich palatseў horseback21 for the dogs. The dogs threw the hare and began to eat22 on the lake23, where the trumpet hung. Kralevich, who attacked the dogs for throwing a hare, beat them; Ale yak fell "ehaў, so blazing at the eye of the hole ўdarya. Ён glance уоу and і ў ў ў ў ў ў сръбный trumpet; ў it is infected with people and і seem ў ў ў ў trіnka know, settle the matter 25 і vyazі dadomu, і there pastav It's all different - so if no one The people of the king immediately took the trumpet, together with the king's house and the pastavili of the pack.
The next day, the king himself arrived home, immediately after his packing, the hellish 26 trun, and there the great noble lady, and she got so stuck 27 that she didn’t go anywhere. The Radzitsy28 of the ruler themselves did not know that he was a slave, that such a son was boring29 and did not let anyone go to his pack. One day he sat down with his friends, and after he left, he learned the top of the line and began to choose the heels from the head and stick in his surdut30; And as soon as I took out one hairpin, the panna came out. She started to take her away and started to find out what happened to her? Yana told the prince about everything and also fell in love with him. We sat down all day, and the next day we went and wished that they were blessed. Those who went there, they told everyone, and the nobles were glad that their son was happy, and they were praised. Nyadzel31 was growing up32, and daddy and daddy were traveling with him. When my father and I arrived, the dacha told everyone: how my mother wanted to live in the world, how she was a twelve-royal prince, and after how I knew her, how she repented. Father hated to put his little wife on the iron harrows, but the dacha wouldn’t allow it. The next day there would be a ball, at which the royal twelve were also present; And I would have been there, there was honey, it was bubbling at Baradze’s, but Rotse’s was not there.

Links:
1 Best.
2 To the mirror.
3 Stepdaughter.
4 Answered.
5 Walk.
6 Instead.
7 Palace.
8 Agree.
9 I'm sure.
10 Out of curiosity.
11 I dressed up as a merchant.
12 The princess liked one.
13 From the hunt.
14 Greet.
15 Wear a different dress.
16 It must be probably.
17 Beggar woman.
18 The Lord's Prayer, and prayer in general.
19 Agreed.
20 Silver coffin.
21 On horseback.
22 Bark.
23 Up.
24 Embittered.
25 On the cart.
26 Opened it.
27 Fell in love.
28 Parents.
29 Boring, sad.
30 Frock coat, caftan (?).
31 Sunday.
32 Wedding.

Magic mirror (fairy tale version 2)

In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a widower merchant; he had a son, a daughter, and a brother... At one time, this merchant is going to go to foreign lands, buy various goods, takes his son with him, and leaves his daughter at home; He calls his brother and says to him: “I entrust to you, dear brother, my entire house and household, and I earnestly ask: look after my daughter more closely, teach her to read and write, and do not allow her to be spoiled!” After that, the merchant said goodbye to his brother and daughter and set off on his journey. And the merchant’s daughter was already old and of such indescribable beauty that even if you walked around the world, you wouldn’t find another like her! An unclean thought came into his uncle’s head, it gave him no rest day or night, and he began to pester the red maiden. “Either,” he says, “commit a sin to me, or you won’t live in the world; and I myself will disappear and kill you!..”
Once a girl went to the bathhouse, her uncle followed her - just through the door, she grabbed a basin full of boiling water and doused him from head to toe. He lay there for three weeks and barely recovered; terrible hatred gnawed at his heart, and he began to think: how to laugh off this ridicule? I thought and thought, and finally wrote a letter to my brother: your daughter is doing bad things, wandering around other people’s yards, doesn’t spend the night at home and doesn’t listen to me. The merchant received this letter, read it and became very angry; says to his son: “Your sister has disgraced the whole house! I don’t want to have mercy on her: go this very minute, chop the scoundrel into small pieces and bring her heart with this knife. Let good people not laugh at our kind-tribe!”
The son took a sharp knife and went home; I arrived in my hometown on the sly, without telling anyone, and began to scout around: how does such and such a merchant’s daughter live? Everyone praises her with one voice - they cannot boast enough: she is quiet, and modest, and knows God, and listens to good people. Having found out everything, he went to his sister; she was delighted, rushed to meet him, hugs him, kisses him: “Dear brother! How did the Lord bring you? What about our dear father? - “Oh, dear sister, don’t rush to rejoice. My arrival is not good: my father sent me and ordered your white body to be chopped into small pieces, your heart to be taken out and delivered to him on this knife.”
My sister started crying. “My God,” he says, “why such disfavor?” - “But for what!” - the brother answered and told her about his uncle’s letter. “Oh, brother, I’m not guilty of anything!” The merchant’s son listened to how and what happened and said: “Don’t cry, sister! I myself know that you are not guilty, and even though the priest did not order you to accept any excuses, I still don’t want to execute you. You’d better get ready and leave your father’s house wherever you look; God will not leave you!” The merchant's daughter did not think long, got ready for the journey, said goodbye to her brother and went where - she herself does not know. And her brother killed a yard dog, took out the heart, put it on a sharp knife and took it to his father. He gives him the dog’s heart: “So and so,” he says, “on your parental orders, I executed my sister.” - “Come on! Death for a dog!” - answered the father.
How long or how short did the red maiden wander around the white world, and finally entered a dense, dense forest: from behind the tall trees the sky was barely visible. She began to walk through this forest and accidentally came out into a wide clearing; in this clearing there is a white stone palace, around the palace there is an iron lattice. “Let me go,” the girl thinks, “I’ll go into this palace, not everyone is evil, maybe the worst will happen!” She enters the chambers - there is not a human soul in the chambers; I was about to turn back - suddenly two powerful heroes galloped into the courtyard, entered the palace, saw the girl and said: “Hello, beauty!” - “Hello, honest knights!” “Here, brother,” said one hero to another, “you and I were grieving that there was no one to manage our house; and God sent us a sister.” The heroes left the merchant's daughter to live with them, called her their own sister, gave her the keys and made her the mistress of the whole house; then they took out sharp sabers, pointed them at each other’s chests and made the following agreement: “If any of us dares to encroach on our sister, then we will chop him up without mercy with this very saber.”
Here is a red maiden living with two heroes; and her father bought overseas goods, returned home and a little later married another wife. This merchant's wife was of indescribable beauty and had a magic mirror; look in the mirror - you will immediately find out where everything is being done. Once the heroes gathered for a hunt and told their sister: “Be careful, don’t let anyone in until we arrive!” They said goodbye to her and left. At this very time, the merchant’s wife looked into the mirror, admired her beauty and said: “There is no one more beautiful than me in the world!” And the mirror answered: “You are good - no doubt about it! And you have a stepdaughter, she lives with two heroes in a dense forest - she’s even more beautiful!”
The stepmother did not like these speeches and immediately called the evil old woman to her. “Here,” he says, “here’s a ring for you; go into the dense forest, in that forest there is a white-stone palace, my stepdaughter lives in the palace; bow to her and give her this ring - say: brother sent it as a souvenir!” The old woman took the ring and went where she was told; comes to the white-stone palace, the red maiden saw her, ran out to meet her - she wanted, therefore, to try for news from her native side. “Hello, grandma! How did God bring you? Is everyone alive and well? - “They live, chew bread! My brother asked me to check on your health and sent me a ring as a gift; come on, show off!” The girl is so happy, so glad that it’s impossible to tell; She brought the old woman into the room, treated her to all sorts of snacks and drinks, and ordered her brother to bow deeply. After an hour, the old woman trudged back, and the girl began to admire the ring and decided to put it on her finger; put it on - and at that very moment she fell dead.
Two heroes arrive, enter the chambers, but the sister does not greet them: what is it? We looked into her bedroom; and she lies dead, doesn’t say a word. The heroes were inflamed: what was most beautiful was that death suddenly took hold! “We must,” they say, “put her in new clothes and put her in a coffin.” They began to clean up, and one noticed a ring on the red girl’s hand: “Is it really possible to bury her with this ring? Let me take it off, I’ll leave it as a souvenir.” As soon as he took off the ring, the red maiden immediately opened her eyes, sighed and came to life. “What happened to you, sister? Didn’t anyone come to see you?” - the heroes ask. “An old lady I know came from home and brought me a ring.” - “Oh, how naughty you are! After all, it was not for nothing that we punished you so that you wouldn’t let anyone into the house without us. Make sure you don’t do this next time!”
After some time, the merchant's wife looked into her mirror and found out that her stepdaughter was still alive and beautiful; she called the old woman, gave her a ribbon and said: “Go to the white-stone palace where my stepdaughter lives, and give her this gift; say: brother sent! Again the old woman came to the red maiden, told her about three boxes of different things and gave her the ribbon. The girl was delighted, tied a ribbon around her neck - and at that very moment fell onto the bed, dead. The heroes came from the hunt, looked - my sister was lying dead, they began to put her in new outfits and as soon as they took off the ribbon, she immediately opened her eyes, sighed and came to life. “What's wrong with you, sister? Was there an old woman again? “Yes,” he says, “an old woman came from home and brought me a ribbon.” - “Oh, what you are! After all, we asked you: don’t accept anyone without us!” - “Sorry, dear brothers! I couldn’t stand it, I wanted to hear news from home.”
A few more days passed - the merchant's wife looked in the mirror: her stepdaughter was alive again. She called the old woman. “Only,” he says, “a hair’s breadth!” Go to your stepdaughter, be sure to kill her!” The old woman took advantage of the time when the heroes went hunting, and came to the white stone palace; The red maiden saw her through the window, could not stand it, ran out to meet her: “Hello, grandma! How does God have mercy on you? - “As long as you’re alive, my dear!” I was wandering around the world and came here to visit you.” The red maiden brought her into the room, treated her to all sorts of snacks and drinks, asked about her relatives and ordered her to bow to her brother. “Okay,” says the old woman, “I will bow. But you, my dear, have no one to look for tea in your head? Let me look.” - “Look, grandma!” She began to look in the head of the red maiden and wove a magic hair into her braid; As soon as she wove this hair, the girl at that very moment became dead. The old woman grinned evilly and left quickly so that no one would catch her or see her.
The heroes arrive, enter the rooms - the sister lies dead; For a long time they peered and looked closely to see if there was anything superfluous on it? No, you can't see anything! So they made a crystal coffin - so wonderful that you couldn’t even think of it, couldn’t imagine it, only say it in a fairy tale; they dressed the merchant's daughter in a shiny dress, like a bride to the crown, and placed her in a crystal coffin; That coffin was placed in the middle of the large chamber, and above it they placed a canopy of red velvet with diamond tassels with gold fringes, and twelve lamps were hung on twelve crystal pillars. After that, the heroes burst into burning tears; They were overcome with great melancholy. “What,” they say, “are we supposed to live on in this world? Let’s go and decide for ourselves!” They hugged, said goodbye to each other, went out onto the high balcony, held hands and rushed down; hit sharp stones and ended their lives.
Many, many years have passed. It happened that one prince was out hunting; He drove into a dense forest, sent his dogs loose in different directions, separated from the hunters and rode alone along a dead path. He drove and drove, and there was a clearing in front of him, in the clearing there was a white stone palace. The prince dismounted from his horse, climbed the stairs, and began to inspect the chambers; Everywhere the decorations are rich, luxurious, but the owner’s hand is not visible on anything: everything was abandoned a long time ago, everything was neglected! In one chamber there is a crystal coffin, and in the coffin lies a dead girl of indescribable beauty: there is a blush on her cheeks, a smile on her lips, as if she were alive, she is sleeping.
The prince approached, looked at the girl, and remained in place, as if an invisible force was holding him. He stands there from morning until late evening, unable to take his eyes off, anxiety in his heart: he was riveted by a girl’s beauty - wonderful, unprecedented, which cannot be found anywhere else in the whole world! And hunters have been looking for him for a long time; They were already scouring the forest, blowing trumpets, and raising voices - the prince was standing at the crystal coffin, hearing nothing. The sun set, the darkness deepened, and only then did he come to his senses - he kissed the dead girl and drove back. “Ah, your highness, where have you been?” - the hunters ask. “I was chasing an animal, but I got a little lost.” The next day, just before it’s light, the prince is getting ready to go hunting; galloped into the forest, separated from the hunters and along the same path arrived at the white-stone palace. Again I stood at the crystal coffin all day, not taking my eyes off the dead beauty; I only returned home late at night. On the third day, on the fourth everything was the same, and so a whole week passed. “What happened to our prince? - say the hunters. “Let us, brothers, keep an eye on him, make sure that no harm happens.”
So the prince went hunting, released his dogs through the forest, separated from his retinue and headed his way to the white-stone palace; The hunters immediately follow him, come to the clearing, enter the palace - there is a crystal coffin in the chamber, a dead girl lies in the coffin, the prince stands in front of the girl. “Well, Your Highness, it’s not for nothing that you’ve been lost in the forest for a whole week! Now we won’t be able to leave here until the evening.” They surrounded the crystal coffin, looked at the girl, admired her beauty, and stood in one place from morning until late evening. When it got completely dark, the prince turned to the hunters: “Do me, brothers, a great service: take the coffin with the dead girl, bring it and place it in my bedroom; Yes, quietly, secretly, so that no one finds out about it, does not find out. I will reward you in every possible way, I will reward you with a golden treasury, like no one has rewarded you.” - “Your will is to favor; and we, Tsarevich, are happy to serve you anyway!” - said the hunters, picked up the crystal coffin, took it out into the courtyard, set it up on horseback and took it to the royal palace; They brought it and placed it in the prince’s bedroom.
From that very day the prince stopped even thinking about hunting; he sits at home, doesn’t leave his room anywhere - he keeps admiring the girl. “What happened to our son? - the queen thinks. “It’s been a long time, but he’s still sitting at home, doesn’t leave his room and doesn’t let anyone in.” Did sadness or melancholy set in, or did you feign some kind of illness? Let me go look at him.” The queen enters his bedroom and sees a crystal coffin. How and what? She asked and found out and immediately gave the order to bury that girl, as was customary, in the damp earth.
The prince began to cry, went into the garden, picked wonderful flowers, brought them back and began to comb the dead beauty’s brown hair and cover her head with flowers. Suddenly a magic hair fell out of her braid - the beauty opened her eyes, sighed, rose from the crystal coffin and said: “Oh, how long I slept!” The prince was incredibly happy, took her hand, led her to her father, to her mother. “God gave it to me,” he says! I can't live without her for a single minute. Allow me, dear father, and you, dear mother, allow me to get married.” - “Get married, son! We won’t go against God, and we can’t look for such beauty in the whole world!” Tsars never stop for anything: an honest feast on the same day and even for a wedding.
The prince married a merchant's daughter and lives with her - he couldn't be happier. Some time passed - she decided to go in her own direction, to visit her father and brother; The prince, not averse to it, began to ask his father. “Okay,” says the king, “go, my dear children! You, prince, go on a detour by land, inspect all our lands and find out the order, and let your wife sail on the ship in a direct way.” So they prepared the ship for the voyage, dressed the sailors, appointed the initial general; The princess boarded the ship and went out to the open sea, and the prince went by land.
The leading general, seeing the beautiful princess, envied her beauty and began to flatter her; Why be afraid, he thinks, - after all, she is now in my hands, I do whatever I want! “Love me,” he says to the princess, “if you don’t love me, I’ll throw you into the sea!” The princess turned away, did not give him an answer, only burst into tears. One sailor overheard the general’s speeches, came to the princess in the evening and began to say: “Don’t cry, princess! Dress yourself in my dress, and I will put on yours; You go on deck, and I’ll stay in the cabin. Let the general throw me into the sea - I’m not afraid of that; Maybe I can handle it, I’ll swim to the pier: fortunately the land is close now!” They exchanged dresses; the princess went on deck, and the sailor lay down on her bed. At night, the leading general appeared in the cabin, grabbed the sailor and threw him into the sea. The sailor set off swimming and reached the shore by morning. The ship arrived at the pier, the sailors began to go ashore; The princess also went down, rushed to the market, bought herself a cook's clothes, dressed up as a cook and hired herself to serve in the kitchen for her own father.
A little later, the prince comes to the merchant. “Hello,” he says, “father! Accept your son-in-law, because I am married to your daughter. Where is she? Al hasn’t been there yet?” And then the initial general appears with a report: “So and so, Your Highness! A misfortune happened: the princess was standing on the deck, a storm arose, rocking began, her head began to spin - and before she could blink, the princess fell into the sea and drowned!” The prince strained and cried, but you can’t turn him back from the bottom of the sea; Apparently, this is her destiny! The prince stayed with his father-in-law for some time and ordered his retinue to prepare for departure; the merchant gave a big feast at parting; Merchants, boyars, and all his relatives gathered to see him: his brother, the evil old woman, and the chief general were there.
They drank, ate, cooled off; one of the guests says: “Listen, honest gentlemen! If you keep drinking and drinking, it won’t do any good; Let’s tell better stories.” - "OK OK! - they shouted from all sides. - Who will start? One doesn’t know how, the other is not good at it, and the third has lost his memory of wine. What should I do? The merchant clerk responded: “We have a new cook in the kitchen, he has traveled a lot in foreign lands, he has seen many different wonders and is such a master at telling fairy tales - guess what!” The merchant called that cook. “Sweat,” he says, “my guests!” The cook-princess answers him: “What should I tell you: a fairy tale or an incident?” - “Tell something that happened!” - “Perhaps, it’s possible to have a blast, only with this agreement: whoever interrupts me will get a plague in the forehead.”
Everyone agreed to this. And the princess began to tell everything that happened to her. “So and so,” he says, “the merchant had a daughter; the merchant went overseas and instructed his brother to look after the girl; Uncle coveted her beauty and doesn’t give her a moment of peace...” And Uncle hears that they are talking about him and says: “This, gentlemen, is not true!” - “Oh, don’t you think it’s true? Here's a plague to your forehead! " After that, it came to the stepmother, how she interrogated the magic mirror, and to the evil old woman, how she came to the heroes in the white stone palace - and the old woman and stepmother shouted in one voice: “What nonsense! This cannot be." The princess hit them on the forehead with a chumichka and began to tell how she lay in a crystal coffin, how the prince found her, revived her and married her, and how she went to visit her father.
The general realized that things were not going well, and asked the prince: “Let me go home; I have a headache!” - “Nothing, sit for a while!” The princess began to talk about the general; Well, he couldn’t bear it either. “All this,” he says, “is not true!” With a blow to his forehead, the princess threw off her chef’s dress and revealed herself to the prince: “I’m not a cook, I’m your lawful wife!” The prince was delighted, and so was the merchant; they rushed to hug and kiss her; and then they began to judge the court; the evil old woman and her uncle were shot at the gate, the stepmother-sorceress was tied to a stallion by the tail, the stallion flew into an open field and scattered her bones through the bushes, along the yarugs1; The prince sent the general to hard labor, and in his place he gave a sailor, who saved the princess from trouble. From that time on, the prince, his wife and the merchant lived together - happily ever after.

In the distant kingdom, in a fairy-tale state, there lived a tsar-sovereign. And the king had a beautiful daughter, Vasilisa. The king was widowed early and did not dare to bring his stepmother. He lived with his daughter and doted on her. He was ready to fulfill any whim immediately. Vasilisa will ask to bring a flower from overseas, she will hurt herself, spend a lot of money from the treasury, and get a wonder. If someone else were Vasilisushka, she would have been spoiled long ago, but she wouldn’t. The princess had a kind and gentle disposition. She did not give her father any instructions. Only sometimes he would ask me to bring a book. She was really eager to read. He will sit by the window, throw his embroidery into a corner and plunge into sweet dreams of a good fellow, of dangerous fairy-tale adventures and, of course, of love, real and all-consuming.

So, the young princess whiled away her days reading books, waiting for the arrival of the one and only one along with her matchmakers. Fortunately, she was very pretty and overseas princes had already repeatedly sent her precious gifts. The rumor about Vasilisa's beauty and meekness quickly spread throughout the entire earth. And he reached all the way to Koshchei the Immortal. He did not bother himself with long courtship, but simply threatened the Tsar and Father in impolite tones. Scared to death, the king decided to hide his little blood from his adversary in a high mansion behind seven locks. So that not a single enemy gets into Vasilisa’s chambers! And he ordered the messengers to spread the news throughout the kingdom, about the accursed Koshchei, about half the kingdom as a dowry, about the beautiful princess, ready for marriage.

Vasilisa herself did not dare to contradict the priest. Of course, I didn’t want to marry the first person I met. But more than that, I didn’t want to go down the aisle with the eternal monster Koshchei. Swallowing tears, the beautiful maiden went into voluntary seclusion. So that it would not be boring to languish while waiting, a loving father from abroad wrote out for her a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful thing. She only saw this with Olenka from the thirtieth kingdom.

The king got a silver Mirror for a lot of money. And that Mirror was not simple, but enchanted. If you look closely at it, say the cherished words, and touch the twisted frame with the tip of your pen, you can see all those who have the same thing. Even enchanted princesses who live beyond the seven seas. Even the Swan King, from the ocean!!!

A special little book was attached to the magical thing. What you write in a book with a goose feather will appear on your interlocutor’s mind. The book was enchanted so that the pages, after sending the message, would become clean again. A sorcerer called for the occasion taught how to save what was written, so that on long winter evenings there would be something to re-read at night.

Vasilisa liked the new fun. Not right away of course. But, once or twice, and now she is already impatient, constantly confused, writing long messages to distant kingdoms. At one time, the young princess was embarrassed, looking at multi-colored pictures instead of girls’ faces. And then I realized that other hermits, fearing the evil eye, hide in a variety of ways. Vasilisa herself was afraid of Koshchei more than anything in the world, and therefore did not hide her face. Let them look, she has nothing to be ashamed of!

So her evenings passed with empty talk about outfits and grooms. But one day, before she had time to say the cherished words, suddenly an invitation from some Vasily flashed in the mirror. Vasilisa was surprised and frightened, but curiosity prevailed over caution, and the quill pen timidly wrote:

- Who are you?

The answer came immediately. After reading it, the young princess turned beet red.

- I am Vasily Tsarevich, Olenka’s sworn brother. I was looking for you, Vasilisa. All my life I was looking only for you.

The princess felt invisible wings grow behind her back. “Here it is,” the Heart rejoiced. - Here he is, my prince. He was looking for me...” The pen suddenly became disobedient, thoughts scattered in different directions. The Voice of Reason turned into a thin squeak. True, this squeak was too persistent.

- How did you know about me, good fellow? - asked Vasilisa, holding her breath. She dreamed of a romantic story. So that everything would be like in a Real Romance. Vasily Tsarevich did not disappoint her.
- For the first time, I saw you in a dream. And he immediately began searching all over the world. He walked hundreds of miles, swam across seven seas, climbed mountains, walked through dense forests. And nowhere did my heart find you. I saw many beauties, but they were all just a pale reflection of you. Desperate, I came to visit my named sister, Olenka. She was so happy to see us that she accidentally knocked over her mirror. She waved her sleeve, and the mirror broke. I felt sorry for her. So I decided to go to the witch at the river, so that she could cast a spell over the wonder and fix everything that had been damaged. No sooner said than done. I came to the vile witch, but she didn’t want to let me go! While she was casting spells over the Mirror, she had to carry out several dangerous assignments, and then, in addition, talk seriously and make a little threat. It’s good that the sword is always with me, otherwise I don’t know how I would have gotten out of there. I returned back to Olenka, already dark. I didn’t wake up my sister, let her rest. I went to bed, but I couldn’t sleep. So curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to take a look at the beauties at least with one eye! Who knows, maybe my betrothed is hiding behind seven locks in a high mansion? The one that I once dreamed about. I know that it is inappropriate for a good young man to be curious, but how can he resist the temptation? To understand and feel your Love, it is not enough to look at a girl’s face. It is necessary for the heart to respond. Otherwise, you marry, like my friend Ivan Tsarevich, a beautiful girl, and then it turns out that the wife is a real witch. You must have heard that story? Everyone in the kingdom was gossiping about her!

Vasilisa remembered that story well. I just didn’t like to remember. And who likes to go through their own mistakes in their mind?! At that time, even before Koshcheev’s ever-memorable matchmaking, she was friends with one Kikimora. She ran to visit the swamps and discussed hairstyles and outfits. Kikimora, although a dark girl, communicated with Baba Yaga herself. Who they were to each other, Vasilisa still didn’t understand. And why should she, the king’s daughter, delve into the family ties of any undead?!

A Belarusian version of a Russian folk tale about a self-viewing mirror that cannot lie and tells only the truth.
The tale was translated into Belarusian when the Belarusians belonged to the Kingdom of Poland. Why did Polish vocabulary appear in the text? But it was also spoken in Russian, only in the Polish-Belarusian lexicon.
I heard this tale from Bogdan Kutsyk in the village of Novaya Chara in 1983. Through the common efforts of himself, his wife Maria, and two or three of their children, this story was retold at the festive table accompanied by national Belarusian bulba and Russian vodka.
Thirty years passed and I didn’t even remember this episode of my life. But when I started collecting Russian fairy-tale folklore, this spoken but not written down fairy tale came to my mind, and I was able to fully reproduce it.
This very ability of Russian fairy tales to be easily remembered is its miracle and magic.
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There was a king and a queen and they had only one daughter, very good and beautiful.
Then the king’s wife died, and he married another, she was very beautiful, just like his first wife. But the daughter from his first wife was even more beautiful.
The king's new wife had a magic mirror, we don't know how she got it. And this mirror spoke only the truth.
One day, the king’s new wife approached her mirror and asked him affectionately:
- A mirror, a mirror! Am I good?
“You’re good,” the mirror answers, “but your stepdaughter is even better than you.”
The queen ordered her footman to take her stepdaughter to the barnyard, kill her there and bring her heart on a plate.
The footman now took the princess to the courtyard, told her everything that the queen ordered, and only instead of the princess he killed the dog, took out its heart and, putting it on a plate, took it to the queen. And he told the princess to go wherever she wanted.
The Queen was very glad that her stepdaughter, her more beautiful one, was no longer there. And the princess said goodbye to the kind footman and went where her eyes would take her.
She walks like this for a day, then another, eating berries, completely emaciated, looking fat somehow, there is a palace in the forest. She went there, there was no one, and all the rooms were tidy.
She walked around that palace, walked, and then twelve men arrived. And these men were twelve prince brothers who lived in their summer palace.
They walked through all the rooms, and in one, the last one, they found a maiden.
They looked at her, and everyone wanted to marry her. But they could not agree among themselves, then they took her as their sister and revered her very much.
But the queen was sure that her stepdaughter was no longer alive. Once, when sovereigns from different countries came to visit, the queen, having dressed up for the exit, asked her magic mirror:
- Mirror, tell me, am I good?
“You are good,” answered the mirror, which did not know how to lie, “but your stepdaughter is still good.” Twelve prince brothers have her for a sister.
The queen immediately called the sorceress grandmother to her. She gave her a lot of pennies and punished her:
- Make sure that my stepdaughter is not in this world in three days!
- Fine! - said the sorceress, dressed as a merchant and went to the summer palace of the kings.
He comes to the palace where the princess lived, and the princes went hunting, the princess was left alone. Sits just under the window.
The princess saw the merchant, ordered her to be brought to her and began to question her about who she was and where she came from?
- I go around the world to earn something. I am a merchant and have needles, pins, rings and other goods for sale.
- Well, show me what you have! - said the princess.
She started showing off the rings, and the princess liked one, paid even more than the merchant wanted, and sent her on her way.
The princess fingered that ring for a long time, and then put it on her finger.
As soon as she put it on, she immediately became lifeless.
The brothers had just arrived here from hunting and now ran to greet their sister.
They enter her room, and she lies lifeless.
The brothers cried, cried, and then began to figure out how to bury her. They had just started to sort it out when the youngest of the brothers took off the ring. As soon as he took off the ring, the princess came to life and, standing up, said:
- How deliciously I slept!
- You weren’t sleeping, but you were lifeless. “Someone has charmed and bewitched you,” the brothers said.
- This is most likely the woman from whom I bought the ring. It was she who fascinated me.
The brothers, leaving on the second day, ordered that she should not let anyone into the palace.
And at this time the Queen again came to the mirror to ask, and the mirror told her the same thing:
- You are good, and your stepdaughter is even good.
The Queen immediately sent a sorceress. The woman came and the queen ordered her to remove her hated stepdaughter from this world.
That sorceress woman this time cleaned up the beggar woman and went to the summer palace of the princes, where the Queen lived.
She went under the Queen’s window and began to beg for alms.
The princess, hearing her prayer, took pity on her and ordered the footman to take three money to the beggar.
The footman who brought the money to the beggar woman was thanked by the beggar woman; she gave him a gold pin for the princess. She told me to stick it in my hair if I had a headache. the pain will subside immediately.
So the footman took this pin to the Queen and gave it to her.
The princess put it on the table, and in the evening her head began to spin, and she stuck a pin in her hair. Yes, as soon as she stuck it in, she became lifeless.
The brothers, having arrived, went to her room and there they found her dead body. They started to take it apart, just like the first time, they took off the rings and the dress, but didn’t see the pin. The princess did not come to life.
They thought about what to do with her. and although she was lifeless, she did not look dead.
The prince brothers decided not to bury her in the ground. They made a silver coffin for her, carried her on their shoulders into a dense forest, and there they hung her on silver chains on a mighty oak tree. Let someone find someone to disenchant her.
And at this time the Queen again asked everything and asked her magic mirror whether she was good? And the mirror said that yes, you are the best in the whole world.
The Queen was very glad that there was no one who was good to her.
Once upon a time, in the forest where the Queen was hanging in a silver coffin, a certain prince from another kingdom was hunting.
The king's dogs chased the hares and ran all the way to the coffin where the Queen hung.
The prince flew on horseback after the dogs. The dogs threw the hare and began yapping at the oak tree, at the top where the coffin hung.
The prince began to swear at the dogs for abandoning the hares and wanted to beat them. But as soon as he approached the oak tree, a sparkle from above hit his eyes.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened his eyes and looked up, he saw a silver coffin. He immediately called his people and ordered that coffin to be removed. When he looked into the coffin, he saw there a maiden of extraordinary beauty that it was impossible to take his eyes off. He immediately fell in love with her.
The prince ordered the coffin with the girl to be placed on a cart and taken home. There they put him in his room so that no one could see.
On the second day, the prince himself came home, entered his room, and began to admire this wondrous beauty, so much so that he even stopped leaving the house.
The prince's parents did not know what to do. Their son became sad and did not let anyone into his room.
One fine day he was sitting in his room and began to pick out hairpins from the girl’s head. And so he took out the witch's pin, and as soon as he took it out, the maiden came to life.
She stood up and walked around the room, as if she had not been lying dead for many days. And she was even more beautiful. He started to question her, what happened to her? She told the prince about what happened to her, what kind of family she was. And then the prince said that she should become his wife. And she also fell in love with him.
So they sat in the room all day, and the next day they went to their parents to be blessed.
Arriving there, to the prince’s parents, they told everything, and the parents were very glad that their son stopped being sad and became cheerful as before. So they blessed them.
On the very first Sunday there was a wedding, and at the wedding we went to see the Queen’s father.
Arriving at her father, the daughter told how her stepmother wanted to drive her away from the White World, how twelve princes had her, how the prince found her and how they got married.
The father wanted to force his wife Korolev to use iron harrows, but the daughter begged her father not to do this.
The next day there was a ball, at which those twelve princes were also present.
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They called me, but they didn’t let me go further than the kitchen, but they treated me well to what was left of the kings, queens, and princes. And I realized that even though they are kings, they are not eaters.
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