River of fairy tales. Unprofessional translation from Russian

Winter came, it became frosty. The cow gave no milk. And the man did not feed it – he grudged hay for the cow. It was hungry, became weaker and weaker and then died. The hens did not lay eggs. Frol was starving them as well. He was too greedy to give any millet to his hens. They died, too.

Frol was cold as he had no wood. He had nothing to eat, his harvest rotted in the field. The man had a quarrel with his neighbors, he became wicked and unsociable. He did not believe anybody and suspected everybody of stealing. And he was so greedy that he never put another word in.

And once, when it snowed heavily, his leaning and ruined house gave way, crackled heavily, and crumbled. The roof and the walls fell on the owner, and that was how he died.

His fellow villagers thought that Frol died because the house fell down on him. And only the old woman, his neighbor, knew that Frol died because of his greediness, not because the roof fell down. Because he did not follow the elder people’s advice and ate too much GreediBerry in the forest. He was too nosy. In reality, the poor Frol lost in this controversy between greediness and stupidity. And only his death cured him of greediness.

Scales of Life

It happened so that a caravan with goods from far-away countries was walking on the road. It was led by three brothers.

The elder brother was the caravan’s owner. Their father left him all his wealth in his will, because he was grown-up and was better versed in trading. His business was going well, he was sly and enterprising. He successfully made others work for himself and did not overstrain himself. He did not blow off his father’s fortune, but he increased it and managed to accumulate a lot of money. He became a rich and notable merchant in his town.

He was dressed smartly and looked neat. He was used to luxury and magnificence. He became fat because of easy life, and prosperity made him arrogant and presumptuous. A real self-complacent nobleman and master.

The middle brother was strong and nimble. He had a lot of heroics daring and brave agility. However, he did not like to work himself, either. He did not learn any good craft. He could not trade for this you should have intelligence and trickery, while nature gave him nothing but strength and dexterity. What he really liked was drunken parties and fights. That’s why he helped his elder brother in protecting goods and accompanied him in travels to defend him from highwaymen. He had beautiful shining armor on, a sword attached to his belt, and a beautiful shining helmet on his head. A real bully of a warrior.

The younger brother had nothing out of the ordinary. No skills of a merchant, no trickery, no strength, no military skills. But he was a kind, modest, easy-going, and hard-working youth. That’s why elder brothers always sent him on errands and let him do all hard and dirty work. He had to make a fire, put up a tent, cook some food and then clean up afterwards – that’s how they used him and ordered him about as they wished. And he did not mind. He did everything he was told well and with a smile. The elder brothers often sneered at the younger one, but he took no offence as he was peaceful and kind-hearted. And he loved his brothers, even though they were sometimes unjust to him. They gave him a lot of work to do, but never thanked him. He wore rags, ate what was left after his brothers and slept where he could. It was like he was not their brother, but a stranger whom they did not know. And he had to serve them like a slave – free of charge, at their first demand. Sometimes the middle brother, using his great strength, could give the younger one a cuff or offend him in another way. And he did that for no reason, just for fun.

The caravan had been returning home for many days. They passed the dry desert and dense forests, overcame high mountains. And once they stopped near a cave and decided to stay a night there. But this cave was not an ordinary one. The inscription on it said that there is a magic wishing rock inside. The elder and the middle brothers read it and got excited. They wanted to enter the cave at once to get what they dreamed of.

The younger brother tried to dissuade them:

«Don’t go there! What if there is something terrible there? It’s impossible to get something without giving anything back!»

«You are young and silly!» the elder brother retorted. «While I was trading, I learnt to dodge and trick so well that I can easily drive anyone crazy. If I have profit, I will wrap around my fingers any devil or Satan himself.»

«And I am so strong that I fear nobody. If need be, I will beat anybody and take away what I like,» the middle brother boasted. «Nobody will contest my power!»

And they hurried to the cave. The younger brother could not leave them and dragged behind.

When the travelers entered the cave, they saw a big flat rock. It was lying in the middle of the cave. It was half black and half white. On this unusual rock there were huge scales. One scale was light, bright and shining. It hurt to look at it – so blinding it was. The second scale was dark, and it emanated terrible cold. It was so powerful that fear reached your bones.

«Who will fulfill our wishes?» the elder brother shouted menacingly.

He liked to command and order everybody about. He was a rich owner and a noble merchant and did not want to rely upon somebody’s mercy. He was used to taking everything he needed using strength, money, slyness, or tricks.

As soon as he said that a huge rock closed the entrance to the cave. The walls and the vaulting started shaking, and the travelers found themselves in a trap. A column of fire water appeared above the black and white rock lying in the middle of the cave. It was not clear whether it was flowing fire or burning water. Then the Wish Fulfillment Spirit appeared out of this unusual column. It was strange, huge, and black and white, like the rock.

The Spirit rolled in a thunderous voice:

«Welcome, strangers! The one who comes to me always has his wish fulfilled. I can do anything you want. But just one wish each and with a condition.»

«What condition?» the middle brother asked, fearlessly stepping forward.

He wanted to show his bravery and courage to his brothers very much. Moreover, he was a bully and liked all kinds of brawls and skirmishes.

«The condition is simple,» the Spirit roared. «Each of you will get what you deserve. All years and affairs in your life will lie on these scales. The time you lived perfectly, and your good deeds will fall on the light scale. And all the years lived in vain and unworthily and your bad deeds will be gathered on the black scale. If most of your life was good and kind and the light scale is heavier, your wish will be fulfilled to this extent. And if the lesser part of your life was good and kind and the black scale is heavier, you will lose even what you have. If you have more bad things than good things in your life and affairs, you may lose everything».

The elder and middle brothers agreed at once without much thinking. Each person considers himself to be good and kind. Everybody thinks highly of himself and is ready to blame others for bad deeds, but not himself. A person is more likely to justify himself than to admit his guilt.

The brothers decided that they have nothing to fear. They thought they had done many perfect things in their life. And even if they did something not quite good, there was not much of it. Their good deeds will cover over and above all the mistakes, minor faults, and bad deeds.

The elder brother was the first to approach the scales. Like most people, he was convinced of other people’s depravity and his innocence. He did not think much; he said that he wanted to have an enormous wealth. I wish to be richer than overseas merchants with whom I met and traded some time ago. He started to describe how much gold and semiprecious stones he wanted and what house he wished to have. He said in detail how many doors, windows, and rooms he would like it to have. He also remembered to describe the shops and goods he wanted to have. He wanted very much to be richer than all the merchants he knew. In a nutshell, he took explaining his wish seriously. It was quite understandable: he was a merchant, so he was used to counting and recounting everything. He counted every coin, every trifle.

The middle brother was not very modest, either. Confidence in his rightness and impunity replaced his conscience and shame a long time ago. He stepped forward and wished to be the strongest man on earth, so that nobody could ever beat him, and so that the story of his great strength would be spread all over the world. He said what swords, spears, armor and boots he needed for that.

Then he said how many kilos he wanted to lift with each arm and how accurately he wanted to shoot. And in the end, he ordered his favorite wine which sustained his power in revelries.

The younger brother smiled and said that he did not need anything. He had no great wishes, and as for those he has, he will fulfill them himself. And he started to persuade his brothers to leave the cave as soon as possible. He did not like it here; his heart felt that something was wrong.

This elder brother’s life was the first to fall on the scales. Wonderful balloons started to fly down from the sky. Each balloon contained a story from his life. The white balloons which fell on the light scale contained a good story from life, some good deed, or a well-meant initiative. And the dark balloons that fell on the black scale displayed bad deeds and evil thoughts of the elder brother.

He had few kind and good deeds in his life. Several times he donated some money to the temple. But during the next three years he mentioned how much he was donating to church. He wanted to convince everybody that it is only thanks to him that there is holiness and faith in their town. He gave a few coins to the poor, but he boasted everybody long after that and claimed to have spent a whole fortune on the poor and the needy.

As for evil deeds, he had ten times more of them. He cheated people while selling, replaced good products with bad ones. He dismissed a servant who had five children, and she nearly avoided starvation to death. He scolded his workers for no reason or fault. He told lies and cheated every day. In the end, the scales lopsided to the side of sins and evil ten times more than to the side of good.

And the brothers saw through the walls, in a magic mist, that their caravan and all the goods disappeared. They looked on the other side and were terrified: the elder brother’s house and the shop with all his possessions were burning in the town where they lived. In an instant, all his wealth disappeared. And even his clothes turned into rags. He was standing in the middle of the cave in wretched rags, poor and penniless. The elder brother burst into tears, started to yell, and tremble. He sniveled and fell to the ground, helpless and paralyzed.

The middle brother came to the scales and started to enumerate his good deeds. Brave and impudent though he was, he became more tense and serious when he saw what happened to his elder brother. But there was no backing space. And he really wanted to become the strongest person in the world.

It was difficult for him to remember good deeds. He remembered that once he defended an old lady from a drunkard. He helped a girl to carry a heavy pitcher to the house. He liked the young beauty and wanted to get acquainted with her, so he helped her. He hardly remembered a couple of other good deeds, and he could recollect no more. But he had four times as many evil deeds. He fought, stirred up trouble wishing to make a parade of his strength, and offended people who were weaker than him. And he spoiled so many other people’s things when he was drunk that it would take long to enumerate them. Dark balloons were falling and falling from the sky. In the end, the scale with bad deeds became much heavier than the light scale.

The middle brother instantly turned into an infirm old man. A bonny and strong young man became feeble, humped, and miserable. His legs failed and grew weak. He sat down on the ground, put his head into his hands and burst into bitter tears.

The Wish Fulfillment Spirit looked at the younger brother and said:

«Everybody who comes here must have a wish. You cannot leave without making a wish. Because even leaving this place is a wish. Think well and say – what do you want? But don’t make a mistake. And I will weigh your life while you are thinking.»

The good and evil deeds of the younger brother started to fall down on the scales. But a surprise was awaiting them there. When all his deeds were put on the scales, they were of equal weight, and the scales stopped in balance.

«So, what is your wish?» The Spirit smiled thoughtfully.

«I told you the truth – I have no wishes. We came here and not only gained nothing, but also lost everything. And I’ve lost more than others. I’ve lost my brothers. Return my brothers and restore everything as it was before. Let them become as they were before. And I personally don’t need anything from you! This is my only wish.»

And as soon as the younger brother said these words, one more balloon fell down to the scale of good deeds. It became heavier than the black scale. His brothers were restored to their previous condition. The elder brother became a rich merchant and a respected man. And the middle brother became younger, and his strength and power returned to him.

The younger brother was surprised and asked the Wish Fulfillment Spirit:

«Why did it happen so? The scales showed an equal amount of good and evil in my life.»

The Spirit replied:

«As soon as you made your wish and it was not for you personally, but for your nearest and dearest, you made one more good thing. You refused your personal benefit for other people’s sake. And the scales moved to the side of the good. Now you can go in peace. But remember what happened in the cave. And don’t forget about these scales of life. You will encounter them once again at the end of your life.»

The stone wall of the cave opened and let the travelers out.

Since that time the three brothers never forgot that time would come, and they would have to answer for all their deeds on the earth. You cannot cheat the scales of life. So, you should hurry to do good things in order to somehow make up for the bad things we all do in the course of our life.

White Dove

It happened a long time ago. An old man lived somewhere, and he had three daughters. When his time came, he died. He left to his daughters as their dowry three things – a house, a pavilion, and an old dove house with a white dove.

The elder daughters quickly took charge of the dowry. The eldest daughter got the house. She took fancy to the beautiful building and said she would never move from there. The second daughter got to the pavilion and declared she was quite satisfied with this dwelling. As for the youngest daughter, the two elders decided to give her the ruined dove house and the white dove. Moreover, they said this pile of junk spoils their beautiful yard, so the youngest daughter should take her kennel with her and live somewhere else. Thus, they planned to get rid of the small old, ruined dove house as well as of their own sister. Sometimes it happens in life that the closest relatives become the bitterest enemies when it comes to sharing something.

The youngest daughter had nobody to seek help from. When the father was alive, he protected her from reproaches and mockery of the sisters. But he died and she was left all alone in the world.

«This ugly dove house will scare all the wooers off our houses!» the eldest sister considered.

She was already in her middle years and was very worried she could stay an old maid. As she became the mistress of a large house, she hoped to marry quickly. If not by love, then by dowry.

«Also, this old barn brings only problems. Down and droppings are everywhere in the yard!» the second sister agreed.

She «loved’ her elder sister so much she wished her secretly not only to never marry but also to get old, dry up and die as soon as possible. Then she thought to take over the house and to become the only mistress of the whole father’s legacy. That is why she didn’t need the youngest sister who was nothing but impediment to her wicked plans. She only wanted to chase the youngest one as soon and as far as possible.

Thus, the youngest sister has nothing left to do but to take the white dove from the dove house, put her in a cage and walk-up hill and down dale.

The elder sisters happy to get rid of the nuisance instantly chopped the old dove house to splinters and laughed over the youngest sister’s fate. They were glad to witness other people’s hardships more than to be happy for themselves.

The youngest daughter, the poor orphan, said goodbye to her father’s grave and took a long road to the rising sun. After a while she came to a large palace near the Silver Wood. An old noble lady lived there. She was very rich, strict, and evil. Moreover, she was capricious and arrogant. When she combed her hair, she thought she became wiser. She lived alone because she was not only a rich mistress but also a wicked witch. She didn’t want people to know she was a witch. In fact, she didn’t like people at all. She could put a jinx on somebody, hoodoo or even bedevil people. That is why she built the most impenetrable wall between her and people – the wall of lies, evil and stupidity.

The girl asked her to allow her to stay overnight. The lady let her in but first of all ordered her to clean the house, to cook some food and to sweep up the yard. She was very lazy and unkept. When she started to clean the house, it got even more chaotic after that.

The youngest sister was very hard-working and behaved well. During her life in the father’s house, she learned a lot of things: wash, cook and keep the house clean. She knew how to do everything quickly and well. The elder sisters didn’t like to work. They were more worried about the wooers, so they spent their days looking out of the windows afraid to miss their happiness. All the housework was the youngest sister’s responsibility, that’s why the orphan was used to the hard work.

The girl did everything she was told quickly and well. She swept up the yard with the broom, cooked a lot of food and even repaired the porch of the house.

The lady saw it all and said:

«You are a smart and hard-working girl. I think I’ll let you to live with me. You will be my housemaid. You will take care of me and entertain me. And if you do something wrong, I will lock you in the closet. It is so dark in there, and there are lots of huge hungry rats. If they don’t eat you overnight, they’ll bite you all over for sure. And if you decide to run, I will find you anyway because I’m a witch and I know lots of things. So, abide. You will work for me all your life! If you abide to my kindness and favor, you will live. Otherwise, I’ll simply rot you!»

The youngest sister burst into ears but nothing doing, she had to stay. She had nowhere to go. She had no one to help or support her. Her own sisters chased her from her father’s house, and her father died. That’s why she had nothing to do but abide and stay with the lady-witch.

Thus, the girl started to work over the palace night and day. She had to please her wicked mistress and follow all her whims. For example, the lady invented special tasks for the girl. The orphan did everything quick and well. The witch saw the girl did everything, sneaked up and spoiled everything. And after that she scolded the poor housemaid threatening her with the closet full of rats.

One day the wicked witch hurt the poor girl so much with her criticism, shouts, and abuse that the little housemaid returned to her small cell and burst into tears.

«I am so poor, and nobody loves me! Nobody wants a poor orphan. Now I have to live with the wicked witch and suffer all my life. I will never marry, never have children. All I will have been pokes and clouts from the mean old witch! And she will give me to the rats eventually. So, my life will end without even having started!»

Suddenly she heard a human voice – it was the white dove in the cage:

«Don’t cry my young mistress; don’t be so sad and frustrated. I can help you.»

The girl was surprised but didn’t wipe her tears.

«How could you help? You are so small and weak.»

«Don’t look at my small body. Small kindness is always stronger than any big evil. Hang a tiny silver bell on my neck and let me out of the cage. I’ll invent something to get you out of this mess.»

The orphan listened to the dove. She tied a small silver bell to the dove’s neck and let her out of the window.

«Ding Ding-a-ling,» the silver bell rings.

The white dove flew to the witch’s bedroom and sat on the window.

«Good morning, my fair lady, good morning beauty! How very beautiful and pretty you are! There is no other woman in this world more beautiful than you.»

The witch was pleased with such words. She loved herself very much, and she thought herself to be the prettiest and the loveliest woman in the world. She looked in the mirror: turned her right side, twisted her left side, jerked her shoulders, and bowed her head. Then fell to the pillows filled with down and sighed heavily:

«You tell the truth, stupid bird. But what is the good of the fact I’m so beautiful? Men don’t even know what a beauty is wasted for nothing! I have nobody to admire my prettiness. Nobody to pray over my magnitude. Nobody to worship my feet.»

«I can find you a young prince, handsome and brave. I have one in view actually. He wants to marry for a very long time, but he couldn’t find a decent wife. He wants somebody as graceful and regal as you. But first you have to coax him and to lure him to your palace. And then you know what to do, how to seduce, hitch up and bewitch a man. I’m not qualified to teach you this art.»

«You lie, you feathery gossipmonger!» The witch did not believe the dove, but her eyes lit up, she got up all excited. «Are there still any wooers worthy of my beauty?»

The white dove described the young prince in all details, told her about his exploits and braveness. And when she told her of his fortune, the greedy witch had no doubts that wooer was really worthy of her incredible beauty. She was even surprised such a man was not her husband yet.

«Tell your housemaid to bake tasty pies and sweet cookies,» the dove continued. «Then send her with these gifts to the prince. Let her leave it all at the doors to his palace in secret so that nobody can see her. I will do the rest.»

The orphan was young but a very good cook. She was so good at it, and her cooking was so tasty, even the witch had to admit she had never seen such a good cook.

The sun hadn’t risen yet when the old lady woke up the girl and ordered her to bake a lot of tasty gifts. Then she gave her a horse and sent her to the place indicated by the white dove. At that she ordered strictly to leave all the gifts in secret at the doors of the prince’s palace and get back as soon as possible.

The housemaid was shy and obedient. She did everything she was told and was back by the evening.

And the white dove, when the girl left the gifts at the doors of the prince’s palace, flew down, sat on the hanaper’s handle, and started to ring the little silver bell.

«Ding-a-ling Ding-a-ling,» the silver bell rings.