Fairy tale “Goldilocks. Children's fairy tales online Czech Goldilocks

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Grateful snake

Polish fairy tale

Once upon a time, in a village there lived a poor peasant named Bartek. Everyone has horses and cows on the farm, but he has one gray duck, and even that one doesn’t lay eggs, it just runs after Bartek and quacks merrily. Bartek loved the duck: he would either pick an armful of fresh grass for it, or carry it to the crystal stream in his arms.

One day he went with a sieve to get juicy quinoa and green duckweed for his favorite. He’s walking, whistling—either the echo is answering him, or someone is imitating him—when he suddenly hears from under a juniper bush:

- Bartek, help!

He bent down lower and saw: a snake was lying under a bush, and on its head a crown of dew drops glittered, like a diamond.

Nothing other than the queen of snakes.

“Put me in the sieve,” the snake hissed, “and take me to that hill over there.” I won't be in debt.

“I’ll take it, Madam Queen,” Bartek bowed, “and no reward is needed.”

He brought the snake where he was ordered, and she said:

– Bend over, Bartek, lower! I wish to show you royal favor.

Bartek obeyed. The snake hissed, and it was as if a warm breeze blew on him.

– I gifted you with magical powers. Now you can whistle a thunderstorm and move rocks. Take your sieve and go down to the valley. There you will see an army, led by a king on a brown horse. Look, don’t forget about the magical power!

Bartek bowed to the snake and went his way. Suddenly, a horse's stomping and neighing were heard behind them - a king in a purple robe was galloping on a brown horse, followed by his army.

-Who are you? – the king called out to the peasant.

- Bartek, good king!

– Bartek, I’m tired and want to rest. Is there an inn nearby for an overnight stay?

“There is no tavern nearby, good king.”

- And the estate?

- And there is no estate, good king.

-Where can we find accommodation for the night? We definitely need to rest. It's no joke - we're going to war!

“Don’t disdain my hut then.”

So the king drives into Bartek’s yard and sees a gray duck.

- Hey, servants! I am hungry! Roast that duck!

Here Bartek fell to his knees in front of the king:

- Good king, don’t tell me to kill my duck! There is milk, bread, cereal in the house - eat for your health, just don’t touch my duck. I, my dear, went out and fed her, saved her from a hawk, sheltered her from the cold.

- How dare you, man, resist my royal will! - cried the king. - Hey, servants, catch the duck!

Then the peasant remembered the queen of snakes and how she whistled: the king was rushing through the air, only the purple mantle was fluttering, the soldiers were circling with autumn leaves in the wind. The wind carried the king onto the roof, the poor fellow seemed to have grown to it and screamed at the top of his voice:

- Guard! Help! Servants, come to me!

They just rush past, and Bartek is just making fun of himself.

“Well, king,” he says, “have you lost your appetite?” Give your royal word that you will not touch the duck, then I will stop the wind and you can go down.

“Your duck has given in to me,” the king groaned. - Please stop the wind!

Bartek whistled - the wind disappeared, and the king shouted:

- Hey, servants! Knit up the arrogant man and fry the duck for dinner!

- So you keep your royal word! Wait for it! - Bartek said and whistled again.

Lightning flashed. Thunder rumbled. The earth shook. A little more and the sky will fall on the king and his servants.

The cowardly king then asked for mercy, and Bartek again believed him, but not even a minute passed before he had to whistle again.

At this point the courtiers began to beg them for mercy. Bartek took pity on them, and in gratitude they gave him the royal crown.

- Be our king! - said the warriors. “We’re going to the capital, sit on the throne and rule us fairly.”

- How can I leave without my gray duck? - he says to the squad. “She suffered grief with me, let her now taste happiness and live in the palace.”

Bartek jumped into the saddle and kissed the duck right on the beak. Only in front of him is no longer a duck - the beautiful princess is sitting on a horse.

“The witch turned me into a duck, and you delivered me from an evil spell,” said the beauty.

They went to the royal palace and lived happily ever after, but the evil king stayed in a poor hut to live and chop wood.

Gift of the Black Goblin

Polish fairy tale

In one village there lived a poor man nicknamed Poor Man. He inherited a piece of land from his father: on the left was a swamp, on the right was sand, only in the middle was a narrow strip of earth, all covered in holes and pebbles. The man began to plow his strip for winter crops. Either the horse or the skeleton is barely dragging along, sweat is pouring down the man. Poor Man is tired, his stomach is cramping. He would like to rest and eat some bread that is hidden in his bosom. But work like that, and out of harm’s way, wrapped the edge in a linen rag and put it under a bush. He plows without raising his head: he does not look either to the left or to the right - neither at the barren sand, nor at the marshy swamp.

And beyond the swamp is a bottomless quagmire, teeming with goblins. The most arrogant of them, Black Goblin, got into the habit of crawling out of the swamp in broad daylight and messing with people. It was he who noticed the poor man’s rag with bread - he grabbed it and ran into the bushes. He lurked in anticipation: if the man discovered what was missing, he would curse the thief and call out the devils.

Then the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, the whole light turned golden, short shadows from trees and bushes lay on the wet ground.

At noon, Poor Man decided to kill the worm - but there was no bread!

– Who is it that covets the poor peasant’s bread? Apparently, a beggar even poorer than me was walking past. Then to your health!

Here Leshy began to guffaw, stamped his hooves, shook his horns, and fell into the swamp.

And the Vodyanoy was sitting there in a reed caftan, in a reed wreath, a green face, a huge belly. He redid all his affairs, sent out devils and devils to harm good people and lazed in the sun, and Black Goblin took it and returned.

- Why did you come? - asks Vodyanoy.

“I stole a piece of bread from a poor man,” Leshy creaked. “I thought he would scold us and call us devils, but he wished health to the one who ate his bread.”

“So his barns are probably full.” What's a piece of bread to him? – Vodyanoy shook his head.

- Yes, where is it! In the entire district you cannot find a poorer poor man. Now he won’t have poppy dew in his mouth until the evening.

The watery raised his eyebrows:

- Oh, you scoundrel! Or do goblins have no honor? Stole the last crust of bread from a poor man? Shame! Put the bread back!

- How can I get him back? It completely crumbled, and the birds pecked off the crumbs,” says Leshy.

The merman thought about it.

“If you can’t return the bread, you’ll be his servant.” Serve the man faithfully for three years, and until then, don’t let me see you!

The sun had already disappeared behind the distant forest when the hungry man trudged home.

He can barely drag his feet, and the nag keeps stumbling, the plow rattles on the stones, and a stranger meets him: green eyes like forest lakes, black hair like a raven’s wing, a ruddy face - blood and milk! The guy took the plow by the handles and said:

- Let me help you, master!

The guy whistled, and the old nag took off at a gallop like a young stallion! And when the stranger asked to be his worker, the man was completely amazed:

- Why do you need to serve a poor man? We ourselves live from hand to mouth, and here we have to pay you...

– I don’t need payment. Don’t drive me away - you’ll be happy,” the green-eyed one answers.

- Live for a week first - if you like it, stay forever.

Leshy settled with Goremyka and started with the horse: he cleans it, feeds it with choice oats, and gives it spring water to drink.

Less than a week had passed - it was as if the horse had been replaced.

He plows tirelessly, but if you harness him to a cart, you can’t hold the reins in your hands.

The farmhand brought the horse into strength and took care of the cow. Her milk made the men's children turn white and fat. “Oh yes, a farm laborer! - thinks Poor Man. “He eats little bread, but he works for seven people.”

- Stay with me and live. “I need such a worker,” he says to Leshy.

Three years flew by unnoticed. The man's bins are already full. What kind of poor guy is he now? His clothes are in good order, his face is smooth and ruddy, and the kids and his wife are completely unrecognizable.

And the farm laborer walked out the threshold in the dead of midnight, hit the ground, turned into Leshy and hurried to his native quagmire. And there is dancing, revelry - smoke like a yoke! Kikimoras with mermaids, goblins with demons, ghouls with ghouls dance in circles. A merman plays a pipe on a rotten stump. Black Leshy bowed to him and said:

- Here I am! My service is over. I served the peasant faithfully for three years.

- Well, stay with us and dance until the morning.

But Black Leshy doesn’t move from his place, scratching the back of his head, stepping from hoof to hoof.

- Why are you crumpling? - asks Vodyanoy.

- O lord of the unclean! I helped a man overcome his need. He returned the stolen bread a hundred times over. Is it really possible to leave Poor One in abundance?

- What did you come up with?

- Make fun of him a little goodbye.

“Make sure all your work doesn’t go to waste,” said Vodyanoy, clapped his green hands and cried out in a thunderous voice: “Demons and goblin, gather together!”

All the unclean ones huddled together in front of him. So and so, he tells them.

- Let him make fun of the man! - the demons, goblins, and kikimoras screamed, squealed, and neighed.

-Have it your way! You can play a joke on your master. Just don’t disgrace our demonic honor!

Black Leshy's eyes lit up:

- Don’t be afraid, I won’t put you to shame!

By morning the farm laborer returned and said to the Miserable:

- I served you, master, faithfully - the time has come for us to pay off and part.

- How much do you want?

- Just a measure of rye.

– Why do you need grain? You're not going to drag him on yourself, are you? – the man was surprised.

“Pour out the grain near the stove and give me a larger pot.” “I’ll cook the grain,” the farmhand laughed.

Having received what was due, the farmhand filled the grain with spring water from a source over which the roosters had never crowed. He boiled it, strained it, topped it up, poured it over - and at least let someone look over his shoulder. And then he calls the owner to the table.

- What is this? - Poor Man asks, pointing to a bottle with a clear, sharp-smelling liquid.

“This is a drink, take a sip,” the farmhand grinned.

- Ugh, disgusting! – Grimacing, Poor Man spat.

The farmhand became sad: was the joke really a failure?

– Didn’t you like my treat? Take another sip, respect!

The man drank a glass or two. My head began to buzz. The house began to shake. It seems to the man that the walls are about to collapse. He wants to jump to his feet - but where is he! He wants to say a word, but his tongue becomes tongue-tied. And the farm laborer burst out laughing and glared at the man so hard that his hair stood on end. Poor Man realized who served as his farmhand for three years, and out of grief, the third glass - pop. And he lay under the bench until the evening.

The poor woman has again settled in with Poor One, the lack of salt, there is ruin in the house - this is the cruel joke Black Goblin played on the peasant.

Magic apple tree

Polish fairy tale

Once upon a time, in ancient times, there lived a poor woman who had an only son named Vladislav. One day a woman went into the forest to pick raspberries for dinner.

On her way home she met an old woman who told her:

- Dear woman, please give me some berries and I will make your son happy.

The woman gave her a basket of berries, and the old woman ate all the raspberries. Then she said:

– Remember one thing: when your son finds a craft he likes, he will bring joy to you, benefit people, and he will be happy himself.

And she disappeared, as if she had fallen through the ground. And the woman wandered home, racking her brains over the old woman’s words and turning over in her mind all the crafts that exist in the world. On the way she met a tailor and asked:

- Tell me, what do you think is the most useful craft in the world?

“Of course, sewing,” the tailor answered proudly.

And his mother sent Vladislav to a tailor as an apprentice. After working at the tailor for a month, Vladislav returned home.

“Mother,” he said, “there is nothing pleasant in sewing.” The tailor sews expensive clothes for rich people, while the poor walk around in rags.

“Okay,” said the mother, “stay at home.”

After some time she met the shoemaker and asked him:

- Tell me, what is the best craft in the world?

- Of course, shoemaking.

And the delighted mother sent Vladislav as an apprentice to a shoemaker.

Vladislav worked for him for a month and returned home.

“Mother,” he said, “there is nothing pleasant or useful in sewing shoes.” The shoemaker makes shoes for the rich, but the poor go barefoot.

“Okay,” said the mother, “stay at home if that’s the case.”

After a little time, she met a gunsmith and asked him what the most useful craft in the world was.

“Of course, military,” the gunsmith answered confidently.

On the same day, his mother sent Vladislav to him.

After staying there for a month, Vladislav returned home.

“Mother,” he said, “I don’t like this craft.” A gunsmith makes weapons for both friends and enemies. He does not care.

Then his mother got angry and shouted:

“If you don’t like any craft, get out and herd the cows!”

And Vladislav became a shepherd. He watched the cows, played the pipe and felt very bad. Sitting one day in a clearing, he saw smoke coming from the thicket of the forest. Having run there, he discovered a huge white stone engulfed in flames. A large lizard was darting from side to side on a rock. Vladislav took a stick and helped the lizard get out of the fire. As soon as he did this, the lizard instantly turned into a little old lady.

- Hello, good young man! - she said. “You saved me, and I promised your mother to make you happy.” Come with me. Don't worry about the cows, my lizard servants will look after them.

The old woman led the young man into a deep cave. A beautiful golden apple tree with golden apples grew in it. On either side of her were piles of rubies and sapphires. The old woman turned to Vladislav and said:

– Choose what you like. If you take rubies, you will be the most beautiful young man in the world; if you want sapphires, you will be the richest, and if you like golden apples, then you will remain poor, but you will bring joy to your mother and benefit to people.

Without hesitating for a moment, Vladislav chose apples.

“You did the right thing, son,” said the old woman. - This is not an ordinary apple tree. Every morning she shakes off her leaves, and every evening golden apples appear on her. They can cure any disease. But you should never treat people for money - only selflessly.

Vladislav planted an apple tree in his garden, and that same evening all the sick in the village recovered. Soon, patients from neighboring villages learned about the miracles and flocked to Vladislav like a river. The king also learned about him. And at this time he just caught a cold and was lying in bed sick. The German doctor tried, but could not cure him, the French doctor also failed to alleviate his torment, and the Turkish doctor, with his wisdom, negated all the good that the first two had done. Therefore, the king ordered to find Vladislav and tell him to dig up his apple tree and deliver it to the palace, to the king. The servants carried out the order.

What could Vladislav do? He went into the forest to find a cave and ask the old woman for advice. She was already waiting for him, knowing what had happened.

The old lady said:

“I don’t have another apple tree, but I’ll give you these beans.” They will help you get the tree back. Remember: blue beans make noses grow, and yellow beans make them stay the same; with the help of green ones, horns grow, and red ones help them disappear without a trace.

Vladislav thanked her and went to the palace. He placed blue and green beans in front of the palace gates, and the royal cook bought them and cooked them for dinner. Oh my God, what happened here in the palace! The noses of all the courtiers were so long that they constantly touched each other. And the king and queen simply could not leave their bedroom, because the giant horns were in the way. The cook was urgently called and said that he had bought multi-colored beans from Vladislav. They called Vladislav, and he promised that he would save everyone from this scourge if his apple tree was returned to him.

The king was furious. But what was to be done? Don't walk around with horns on your head for the rest of your life! In addition, the apple tree did not take root in the royal garden and did not produce a single apple.

Vladislav dug up an apple tree, with the help of red and yellow beans, rid the royal subjects of horns and long noses and went home. As soon as he planted the apple tree in his garden, it blossomed, and by evening it was all covered with golden apples. This is how Vladislav treated people until the end of his life. Despite poverty, he was happy, people loved him, and his fame spread throughout the world.

golden bird

Polish fairy tale

Once upon a time, a very long time ago, there lived a king, near whose castle there was a beautiful garden.

A golden bird got into the habit of flying into that garden, and the king ordered his sons to catch it and place it in a golden cage in the royal palace, because one feather of this bird was worth more than the entire kingdom.

The princes went to the garden at night. The bird landed on a tree, and then the youngest son shot an arrow at it. The bird flew away, but the arrow touched the plumage, and one of its golden feathers fell to the ground. The young man picked up the feather, brought it to the king the next morning and told him about everything.

The king gathered a council, and all his advisers unanimously decided that it was imperative to get this bird.

The princes set off on their journey, each in his own way, relying on his own intelligence and intelligence, and each thought that he would be the one to find the golden bird.

Having walked some part of the way, the eldest son saw a fox at the edge of the forest and took aim at it with his gun.

Suddenly the fox screamed:

- Don't shoot me! I'll give you good advice. You went out in search of the golden bird and this evening you will arrive in a village where you will see two hotels - one opposite the other. One of them is brightly lit, and the guests live happily in it; but don’t go there, but rather stay in another one, even if you don’t like it.

“How can such a stupid beast give me sensible advice?” – thought the prince and pulled the trigger. But he missed, and the fox, spreading its tail, darted into the forest.

And the prince continued on his way and in the evening arrived at the village in which both hotels were located: in one of them they were having fun, singing and dancing, and the other looked pitiful and sad.

“I would be a fool,” he thought, “if I stuck my nose into this miserable hotel and passed by the one that is much better.”

So he wrapped himself in a cheerful one and lived there happily, forgetting about the bird, and about his father, and about all the good advice.

The second prince also had to meet a fox, who gave him good advice, but he did not pay any attention to that advice.

Secretly he arrived at two hotels and saw in one of them his older brother standing at the window from which the noise of fun could be heard. His brother called him. Need I say that the middle prince also stayed there?

And the king’s youngest son, at the edge of the forest, met a fox who asked him to spare her and gave him good advice.

The young man said:

- Be calm, little fox, I won’t do you any harm.

“And you won’t repent of it,” the fox answered him. - And to speed up your journey, get on my tail!

And as soon as he sat down, the fox rushed him through the forests and fields so quickly that his ears began to whistle.

When they approached the village, the young man said goodbye to the fox and followed her good advice: he stopped at a poor hotel, without even looking at another, and spent the night there quietly.

The next morning, when he left the village into the field, the fox was already waiting for him.

- I'll show you what to do next. Go straight and straight and you will come to a castle, in front of which the guards will lie; but don’t pay attention to her, as all the guards will be sound asleep. Walk between their rows straight into the castle, and in the castle - through all the rooms until you come to the one in which the golden bird sits in a wooden cage. There is an empty golden cage nearby. Be careful - don’t transfer the bird from a simple cage to a golden one, otherwise big trouble may happen to you.

Having said all this, the fox again offered her tail to the young man and rushed him forward so quickly that only his hair fluttered in the wind.

When the young man arrived at the castle, he saw everything that the fox had predicted for him.

The prince came to the room where the golden bird was sitting in a wooden cage, and the golden cage stood next to it.

And the young man thought that it would be strange if he left such a wonderful bird in a simple cage, when there was a beautiful, golden one nearby; so he opened the door of the wooden cage and transplanted the bird into the golden one. At the same moment the bird let out a piercing cry. The guards woke up, rushed into the room, grabbed the young man and took him to prison.

The next morning there was a trial, and since the young man confessed everything, he was condemned to death. However, the king said that he was ready to give him life on one condition: if he undertakes to get for him a golden horse that rushes faster than the wind.

“If you get this horse,” said the king, “I will give you a golden bird as a reward.”

The prince set off on his journey, grieving and sighing, because he did not know where to look for the golden horse.

And suddenly, at the edge of the road, he saw his old friend in front of him.

“You see,” said the fox, “what happened because of your disobedience.” But don’t lose heart, I’ll help you and tell you how to get to the golden horse. Follow the straight road and you will reach a castle in which a golden horse stands in a stall. In front of the stable you will see grooms who will lie in rows and sleep soundly, so that you can calmly lead the golden horse out of the stable. But don’t forget one thing: take a simple saddle, wooden, upholstered in leather, and not gold, which will hang right next to you. It won't be very bad for you.

Then the fox offered him her tail and rushed him forward faster than before.

Everything happened as the fox predicted: the prince came to the stall where the golden horse stood, and a simple saddle was right there at hand. But when he had almost mounted the horse, it occurred to him: “It would be a shame for such a wonderful horse if I did not use a golden saddle, which suits him much better.” As soon as the horse felt the golden saddle on him, a loud neigh was heard.

The grooms woke up, grabbed the young man and threw him into prison. The next morning the court sentenced him to death. However, the king promised him pardon, and even a golden horse to boot, if he could get him the beautiful princess from the golden castle.

With sadness and sadness in his soul, the young man set off on the road, but luckily he soon met his faithful fox again.

“I should have left the fool to his fate,” said the fox, “but I feel sorry for you.” So be it, I will help you out of trouble once again. This path leads straight to the golden castle. You will arrive in the evening, and at night, when everything calms down, the beautiful princess will leave the castle to swim.

And as soon as she steps into the bathhouse, you jump up to her and kiss her. Then she will follow you and you can take her with you. Just be careful not to let the princess say goodbye to her parents, otherwise you will feel bad.

Then the fox handed him her tail, the prince sat astride him, and the fox rushed him at full speed across the mountains and valleys.

He arrived at the golden castle at the predicted time. He waited until midnight, when everything calmed down and fell asleep and the beautiful princess went from the castle to her bath. Then he jumped up to her and kissed her sugar lips.

The beauty said that she would willingly follow him, but she asked and begged him to allow her to say goodbye to her parents. At first the prince resisted her wishes, but since she fell in prayer at his feet with bitter tears, he gave in to her requests.

As soon as the princess approached her father’s bed, he woke up, and everyone who was in the castle jumped up after him. The young man was captured and put in prison.

The next morning the king said to him:

“Your life is in my hands, and you can earn pardon.” Remove the mountain that stands in front of my windows and blocks my view. You must complete the work in eight days. If you do, you will receive my daughter's hand as a reward.

The prince immediately set to work. He worked tirelessly on the mountain, but when after seven days he saw how little he had accomplished, he fell into great despondency and lost all hope for a successful outcome of the matter.

Towards the evening of the seventh day a fox appeared to him and said:

“You don’t deserve me to help you at all.” Well, so be it, go to bed, I’ll do all the work for you.

When the prince woke up the next morning and looked out the window, the mountain was no longer there.

The young man, completely happy with his unexpected luck, hurried to appear before the king. He announced that the agreement had been fulfilled, and the king, like it or not, had to keep his word and give his daughter to him.

So the young bride and groom left the castle and soon met a fox on the road.

“Well, now you have the best in your hands,” she said to the prince. “However, it wouldn’t hurt to have a golden horse for the beautiful princess from the golden castle.”

- How will you get it? - asked the young man.

“Here’s how: first, take the beauty to the king who sent you to the golden castle.” In the castle of that king, everyone will be very happy about the arrival of the princess and will willingly give you the golden horse. When they bring the horse to you, you immediately mount it and extend your hand to everyone in farewell. And lastly, extend your hand to the beautiful princess and, grasping it tightly, immediately throw her into the saddle and let the horse run at full speed! Then no one will catch up with you, because this horse rushes faster than the wind.

All this was successfully accomplished, and the prince managed to take away the beautiful princess on a golden horse.

And the fox did not lag behind them.

“Well, now I’ll help you get the golden bird.” When you approach the castle where she is being kept, leave the princess - I will take her under my protection. Then ride into the castle courtyard on your golden horse. As soon as they see him there, everyone will be happy and will bring you the golden bird. As soon as you grab the cage with your hand, immediately drive towards us at full speed to continue the journey with your beloved princess.

Everything happened as said, as if written, and the prince was about to return home with his treasures, but the fox said to him:

“Well, now you have to reward me for my help.”

- What do you want to reward? - asked the young man.

“When we meet you in our forest, you will have to shoot me and cut off my head and paws.”

“It would be a nice thank you for your services,” said the prince. - There’s no way I can do this.

The fox sighed heavily:

“Well, if you don’t want to do this for me, then I have to leave you.” However, before I go, I want to give you some good advice: never sit on the edge of a well.

And with these words she disappeared into the forest.

The young man thought: “What a sophisticated animal this fox is - he can’t think of anything! Frankly, it never occurred to me to sit on the edge of a well...”

So they arrived in the forest in which they once met a fox.

And since the heat was unbearable, and the forest was both cool and pleasant, the brothers said to the prince:

“Here, near the well, we’ll stop and rest, eat and drink.”

He agreed and sat down on the edge of the well while talking, not thinking about anything bad.

The brothers suddenly rushed at him, pushed him into the well, took possession of his queen, his golden bird and golden horse and went home to their father.

“Here, we brought you not only a golden bird,” they said, “but also a golden horse and a beautiful princess from the golden castle in addition.”

Everyone was immensely happy. But the horse didn’t eat anything and stood with his head down, and the bird didn’t sing, and the beautiful princess sat in the corner and cried.

Meanwhile, the younger brother did not die.

The well, fortunately for him, was dry, and the prince fell on the soft moss without causing himself any harm. However, he could not get out of the well.

And in this trouble, the faithful fox did not abandon him. She jumped into the well and scolded him for forgetting her advice.

“However, I cannot leave you in this position,” said the fox. “Well, I’ll get you out of trouble again, bring you into God’s light.”

She ordered him to grab her tail and hold on tightly. Soon the fox pulled the prince out of the well.

“Don’t think that all the dangers are over now,” said the fox. “Your brothers were not sure of your death and the entire forest was cordoned off by guards who were given orders to kill you immediately as soon as you appeared from the forest.”

A poor man was sitting at the edge of the forest at that time. The prince exchanged clothes with this poor fellow and, disguised, made his way to the royal palace.

No one recognized him, but everyone noticed that the golden bird in its cage suddenly began to whistle, the golden horse began to mulch hay, and the beautiful princess stopped shedding tears.

The king asked her in amazement:

- What does it mean?

And the beauty said to him:

“I don’t know why, but I was just so sad and sad, and now suddenly it’s become fun.” It seems to me that my real fiance has arrived here.

And she told the king everything that had happened, although both brothers threatened her with death if she betrayed them. The king ordered to call all the people in the castle to him. Along with the others, the young prince appeared in beggarly rags, but the beautiful princess immediately recognized him and threw herself on his neck.

The treacherous older brothers were immediately captured and executed, and the youngest was married to the beautiful princess, and the king appointed him as his heir.

Much time later, the prince somehow wandered into that same forest. There he met the fox again, and she said to him:

“Now you have everything you could wish for, but I cannot get rid of my misfortune, and my salvation depends on you.”

And again she began to ask him and pray that he would shoot her and cut off her head and paws.

The prince fulfilled this request, and the fox turned into a kind young man. And this fellow turned out to be the brother of the beautiful princess, who managed to get rid of the evil spell that weighed on him.

And from that time on, their happiness was complete, and their whole life was like a holiday.

In one country - I forgot its name - there was an angry and grumpy old man as king. One day a merchant came to his palace, brought fresh fish in a basket and said:

“Buy this fish from me, king, you won’t regret it.”

The king glanced sideways at the fish:

“I have never seen such a fish in my kingdom.” Poisonous, or what?

- What you! – the merchant was frightened. - Order this fish to be fried, eat it, and you will immediately begin to understand the conversation of all the animals, fish and birds. Even the smallest bug will squeak something, and you will already know what it wants. You will become the smartest king on earth.

The king liked it. He bought fish from a merchant and, although he was stingy and greedy, he didn’t even haggle and paid what she asked. Now,” the king thought and rubbed his bony hands, “I will be the smartest in the world and conquer the whole world.” This is amazing! Now my enemies will cry.

The king called his servant, young Irzhik, and ordered him to fry fish for dinner.

- But only without cheating! - said the king to Irzhik. “If you eat even one piece of this fish, I will cut off your head.”

Irzhik brought the fish to the kitchen, looked at it and was even more surprised: he had never seen such a fish. Each fish scale glowed with multi-colored fire, like a rainbow. It was a pity to clean and fry such fish. But you can’t go against the royal order.

Irzhik fries fish and can’t figure out whether it’s ready or not. The fish does not brown or become crusty, but becomes transparent.

Who knows if she was fried or not, Irzhik thought. - Need to try.

I took a piece, chewed it and swallowed it, as if it was ready. He chews and hears thin squeaky voices:

- And a piece for us too! And a piece for us too! F-f-fried fish!

Irzhik looked around. Nobody here. Only flies fly over the dish with fish.

- Yeah! - said Irzhik. “Now I’m beginning to understand something about this fish.”

He took the dish with the fish and put it on the window, in the draft wind, so that the fish cooled. And outside the window, geese are walking through the yard and cackling quietly. Irzhik listened and heard one goose ask:

-Where are we going? Where shall we go? And the other one answers:

- To the miller in the barley field! To the miller in the barley field!

- Yeah! – Irzhik said again and grinned. “Now I understand what kind of fish this is.” Perhaps one piece is not enough for me.

Irzhik ate the second piece of fish, then beautifully laid out the fish on a silver dish, sprinkled it with parsley and dill, and took the dish to the king.

From then on, Irzhik began to understand everything that the animals were talking about with each other. He learned that the life of animals is not as easy as people think - animals have sorrows and worries. From that time on, Irzhik began to feel sorry for the animals and tried to help every smallest animal if it was in trouble.

After lunch, the king ordered two riding horses and went for a walk with Irzhik.

The king rode in front, and Irzhik followed him. Irzhik’s hot horse kept rushing forward. Irzhik could hardly restrain him. The horse neighed, and Irzhik immediately understood his words.

- Igo-go! - the horse neighed. “Come on, brother, let’s jump and move across this mountain in one fell swoop.”

“It would be good,” the king’s horse answered him, “but this old fool is sitting on me.” He will also fall and break his neck. It won't turn out well - after all, but still the king.

“Well, let him break his neck,” said Irzhik’s horse. “Then you’ll be driving the young king, not this wreck.”

Irzhik laughed quietly. But the king also understood the conversation of the horses, looked back at Irzhik, poked his horse in the side with his boot and asked Irzhik:

- Why are you laughing, you impudent one?

“I remembered, Your Royal Grace, how today in the kitchen two cooks were pulling each other’s hair.”

- Look at me! – the king said threateningly.

He, of course, did not believe Irzhik, angrily turned his horse and galloped to his palace. In the palace, he ordered Irzhik to pour himself a glass of wine.

- But look, if you don’t add enough or overfill, I’ll order you to cut off your head!

Irzhik took a jug of wine and began to carefully pour wine into a heavy glass. And at this time two sparrows flew into the open window. One sparrow holds three golden hairs in its beak, and the other tries to take them away.

- Give it back! Give it back! They are mine! Thief!

- I'm not giving it! I caught them when the beauty was combing her golden braids. No one in the world has hair like this. I'm not giving it! Whoever she marries will be the happiest.

- Give it back! Beat the thief!

The sparrows became ruffled and, clutching themselves, flew out of the window. But one golden hair fell out of the beak, fell on the stone floor and rang like a bell. Irzhik looked around and... spilled wine.

- Yeah! - shouted the king. - Now say goodbye to life, Irzhik!

The king was glad that Irzhik spilled the wine and it would be possible to get rid of him. The king alone wanted to be the smartest in the world. Who knows, maybe this young and cheerful servant managed to try fried fish. Then he will be a dangerous rival for the king. But then the king came up with a good idea. He picked up a golden hair from the floor, handed it to Irzhik and said:

- So be it. I will probably have mercy on you if you find the girl who lost this golden hair and bring her to me as my wife. Take this hair and go. Search!

What was Irzhik to do? He took the hair, got ready for the journey and rode out of the city on horseback. And he doesn’t know where to go. He let go of the reins, and the horse trudged along the most deserted road. It's all overgrown with grass. Apparently it hasn't been driven for a long time. The road reached a high, dark forest. Irzhik sees: a fire is blazing at the edge of the forest, a dry bush is burning. The shepherds threw the fire, did not flood it, did not trample it, and the fire set the bush on fire. And under the bush there is an anthill. Ants run, fuss, drag their good ant eggs, dry bugs, caterpillars and various tasty grains from the anthill. Irzhik hears the ants shouting to him:

- Help, Irzhik! Save! We're on fire! Irzhik jumped off his horse, cut down a bush and extinguished the flame. The ants surrounded him with a ring, moving their antennae, bowing and thanking him; “Thank you, Irzhik.” We will never forget your kindness! And if you need help, rely on us. We will repay the good.

Irzhik drove into the dark forest. He hears someone squeaking pitifully. He looked around and saw: two little crows were lying under a tall spruce tree - they had fallen out of the nest - and they squeaked:

- Help, Irzhik! Feed us! We are dying of hunger! Mother and father flew away, but we still don’t know how to fly.

The king deliberately gave Irzhik an old, sick horse - a real nag. The horse is standing, his legs are shaking, and it is clear that this trip is one torment for him. Irzhik jumped off his horse, thought, stabbed him and left the horse carcass for the crows - let them feed.

– Ksp-p, Ir-rzhik! Karr! – the crows shouted cheerfully. - We will help you for this!

Irzhik went further on foot. I walked through the dense forest for a long time, then the forest began to make more and more noise, more and more loudly, the wind was already bending the tops of the trees. And then the splash of waves added to the noise of the peaks, and Irzhik went out to the sea. Two fishermen were arguing on the sandy shore. One got a golden fish in the net, and the other demanded this fish for himself.

“My net,” one fisherman shouted, “mine and the fish!”

- Whose boat is it? - answered the other fisherman. “You wouldn’t have cast the net without my boat!”

The fishermen shouted more and more loudly, then they rolled up their sleeves, and the matter would have ended in a fight if Irzhik had not intervened.

- Stop making noise! - he said to the fishermen. – Sell me this fish, and divide the money among yourselves. And that's the end of it.

Irzhik gave the fishermen all the money he received from the king for the journey, took the golden fish and threw it into the sea. The fish wagged its tail, stuck its head out of the water and said:

- One good turn deserves another. When you need my help, call me. I'll come.

Irzhik sat down on the shore to rest. The fishermen ask him:

-Where are you going, good man?

- Yes, I’m looking for a bride for my old king. He ordered to get him a beauty with golden hair as his wife. Where can you find it?

The fishermen looked at each other and sat down on the sand next to Irzhik.

“Well,” they say, “you reconciled us, and we remember the good.” We'll help you. There is only one beauty with golden hair in the whole world. This is our king's daughter. You see an island on the sea, and on the island there is a crystal palace? That's where she lives, in this palace. Every day at dawn she combs her hair. Then such a golden dawn rises over the sea that we wake up from it in our hut and know that it’s time for us to go fishing. We will take you to the island. It’s almost impossible to recognize the beauty.

- Why so? – asks Irzhik.

- Because the king has twelve daughters, and the golden-haired one is one. And all twelve queens are dressed the same. And everyone has the same veil on their heads. The hair underneath is not visible. So your job, Irzhik, is difficult.

The fishermen transported Irzhik to the island. Irzhik went straight to the crystal palace to the king, bowed to him and told him why he came to the island - Okay! - said the king. – I am not a stubborn person. I will give my daughter in marriage to your king. But for this you must complete my tasks for three days. Is it coming?

- It's coming! – Irzhik agreed.

- Go get some sleep from the road. Have a rest. My tasks are intricate. You can't solve them right away.

Irzhik slept well! The sea wind blew through the windows all night, the surf roared, and occasionally even small splashes flew onto the bed.

Irzhik got up in the morning and came to the king. The king thought and said:

- Here's your first task. My golden-haired daughter wore a pearl necklace around her neck. The thread broke and all the pearls scattered in the thick grass. Collect them all.

Irzhik went to the lawn where the princess scattered pearls. The grass is waist-deep, and so thick that the ground beneath it is not visible.

“Eh,” Irzhik sighed, “if only my ant friends were here, they would help me!”

Suddenly he hears a squeak in the grass, as if hundreds of tiny people were fidgeting around his feet.

- We are here! We are here! How can I help you, Irzhik? Collect pearls? Wait, we'll do it in a jiffy!

Ants ran in, waved their antennae and began to pull pearl after pearl to Irzhik’s feet. Irzhik barely had time to string them on a harsh thread. He collected the entire necklace and took it to the king. The king counted the pearls for a long time, got confused, and counted again.

- That's right! Well, okay, tomorrow I’ll give you a more difficult task.

Irzhik comes to the king the next day. The king looked at him slyly and said:

- What a problem! My golden-haired daughter was swimming and dropped a gold ring into the sea. I give you a day to get it.

Irzhik went to the sea, sat down on the shore and almost cried. The sea in front of him lies warm, clean and so deep that it’s even scary to think about.

“Eh,” says Irzhik, “if only there were a golden fish here, it would help me out!”

Suddenly, something flashed on the dark water in the sea and a golden fish surfaced from the depths.

- Don't be sad! - she said to Irzhik. “I just saw a pike with a gold ring on its fin. - Don't worry, I'll get it.

Irzhik waited for a long time until a golden fish with a gold ring on its fin finally swam out.

Irzhik carefully removed the ring from the fin so that the fish would not be hurt, thanked it and went to the palace.

“Well,” said the king, “you are obviously a clever man.” Come back tomorrow for the last task.

And the last task was the most difficult: to bring the king living and dead water. Where can I get it? Irzhik went wherever his eyes looked, reached the great forest, stopped and thought: If only my little crows were here, they would...

Before he had time to think it through, he hears the whistling of wings and croaking overhead, and sees familiar crows flying towards him. Irzhik told them his grief.

The crows flew away, they were gone for a long time, and then they rustled their wings again and brought Irzhik in their beaks two containers with living and dead water.

- Carr, carr, berry and be happy! Carr! Irzhik took the bags and went to the crystal palace. He went out to the edge and stopped: between two trees a black spider wove a web, caught a fly in it, killed it and sits sucking the fly’s blood. Irzhik splashed dead water on the spider. The spider died immediately - folded its legs and fell to the ground. Then Irzhik sprinkled the fly with living water.

She came to life, beat her wings, buzzed, tore the web and flew away. And as she flew away, she said to Irzhik:

- Luckily for you, you revived me. I'll help you recognize Goldilocks.

Irzhik came to the king with living and dead water. The king even gasped, didn’t believe it for a long time, but tried dead water on an old mouse that was running through the palace room, and live water on a dried flower in the garden and was delighted. I believed it. He took Irzhik by the hand and led him into a white hall with a golden ceiling. In the middle of the hall there was a round crystal table, and behind it, on crystal chairs, sat twelve beauties, so similar to one another that Irzhik only waved his hand and lowered his eyes - how can you tell which one is Goldilocks! They all wear the same long dresses, and the same white blankets are on their heads. Not a hair is visible from underneath them.

“Well, choose,” says the king. - You guessed it - your happiness! If not, you will leave here alone, just as you came.

Irzhik raised his eyes and suddenly heard someone buzzing right next to his ear:

- J-i-i-i, go around the table. I'll give you a hint.

Irzhik looked: a small fly was flying above him. Irzhik slowly walked around the table, and the princesses sat with their eyes downcast. And everyone’s cheeks flushed equally. And the fly buzzes and buzzes:

- Not that one! Not that one! But this one, the golden-haired one!

Irzhik stopped, pretended to still have doubts, then said:

- Here is the golden-haired princess!

- Your happiness! - shouted the king. The princess quickly left the table, threw off the white coverlet, and her golden hair spilled over her shoulders. And immediately the whole hall sparkled with such shine from this hair that it seemed as if the sun had given all its light to the princess’s hair.

The princess looked straight at Irzhik and averted her eyes - she had never seen such a handsome and stately young man. The princess’s heart beat heavily, but her father’s word is law. She will have to marry the old, evil king!

Irzhik took his bride to his master. He took care of her all the way, making sure that her horse did not stumble, so that a cold drop of rain did not fall on her shoulders. It was a sad return. Because Irzhik also fell in love with the golden-haired princess, but could not tell her about it.

The old, grumpy king chuckled with joy when he saw the beauty and ordered the wedding to be quickly prepared. And Irzhik said:

“I wanted to hang you on a dry branch for disobedience, so that your corpse would be eaten by crows!” But because you found me a bride, I declare royal favor to you. I will not hang you, but I will order your head to be cut off and buried with honor.

The next morning they cut off Irzhik’s head on the block. The golden-haired beauty began to sob and asked the king to give her the headless body and head of Irzhik. The king frowned, but did not dare to refuse the bride.

Goldilocks put her head to her body, sprinkled it with living water - the head grew back, not even a trace remained. She sprayed Irzhik a second time - and he jumped up alive, young and even more handsome than he was before the execution, and asked Goldilocks:

- Why did I fall asleep so soundly?

“You would have fallen asleep forever,” Goldilocks answered him, “if I had not saved those darlings.”

The king saw Irzhik and was dumbfounded: he was the one who came to life, and even became so handsome. The king was a cunning old man and immediately decided to take advantage of this incident. He called the executioner and ordered:

- Cut off my head! And then let Goldilocks sprinkle some wonderful water on me. And I will come to life young and beautiful.

The executioner eagerly cut off the old king's head. But it was not possible to resurrect him; it was in vain that they poured all the living water on him. There must have been so much anger in the king that no amount of living water could help. The king was buried without tears, to the beat of drums. And since the country needed an intelligent and kind ruler, the people chose Irzhik as ruler - it was not for nothing that he was the wisest man in the world. And Goldilocks became Irzhik’s wife, and they lived a long and happy life.

And so ended this fairy tale about how the animals returned good for good and how the king lost his head.

Once upon a time there lived a blacksmith who was so poor, he could not have been poorer. Once upon a time, business was going well for him, but suddenly the blacksmith’s craft stopped feeding him, and his wife and children, a little less, were asking for food. And it got to such a point that our poor fellow only had seven pennies left in the house. And then there are the kids whining and wanting bread. What are you going to do here? So the blacksmith thought: “I’ll hang myself! I bought a rope with my last money. I came to the forest, chose a taller tree and a stronger branch, and began to adjust the rope. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a black woman! Dressed in black and with a black face! And let’s dissuade him. Sin, they say, this is an abomination!’ Our blacksmith was dumbfounded, stood, stood and walked away.
Are you really going to leave yourself? Again he threw the rope over the branch. And the black woman is right there. And again for my own. The blacksmith stands there, not breathing. But as soon as Chernyavka disappeared, the blacksmith decided to hang himself again.
And suddenly Chernyavka seemed to grow out of the ground and say:
- Don’t you dare, blacksmith, hang yourself! I will help you in your trouble, I will give you as much gold as your heart desires. But you promise to give me what you have at home, but you don’t even know about it!
- What is it that I don’t know about in my house, other than grief and misfortune? “Some kind of nonsense,” the blacksmith decided and agreed.
“Then get what you promised,” said Chernyavka and poured him a full bag of money. - And I will appear for what I promised in exactly seven years! - and then disappeared, as if she had never existed.
The blacksmith ran home. He comes running cheerfully and puts the gold on the table. That's why everyone was happy. My wife admires the shiny coins.
They bought food. Children jump and laugh. Finally, we've eaten our fill! One boasts to the other about who has filled their belly tighter.
The blacksmith began to tell where such wealth came from:
“So,” he says, “it’s some kind of nonsense, not worth talking about - I had to promise that I would give away something that I don’t know about, but it’s in the house!”
My wife was almost scared to death. She had been expecting a baby for a long time, but did not dare to speak, and then the child under her heart moved!
“What have you done, hubby,” the poor thing cried, “you sold your own child, and besides, it was not born yet!”
The blacksmith gasped, but there’s nothing to do! Having given your word, hold on.
OK. Soon the blacksmith's daughter was born. Such a beauty. The hair is golden, the star is burning in the forehead. That's what they called her - Goldilocks. Her parents loved her, cherished her and cared for her as best they could. But they will remember that she seems to be their daughter, but it seems not theirs, and they will immediately feel sad.
And now the girl is seven years old. Hour after hour, minute after minute, a black carriage thundered under the windows, Chernyavka came out of the carriage and took Goldilocks to her.
With crying and lamentations, the whole family escorted the carriage to the outskirts. They would have continued to run, but Chernyavka strictly ordered it. The family returned home in tears and sadness, as if they were never destined to see the sweet girl again.
Cherniavka and Goldilocks raced in a black carriage through impenetrable forests and bare fields until they reached a beautiful, huge castle. Cherniavka showed Goldilocks the whole castle, led her through ninety-nine rooms and said:
- This is where you, my child, will live from now on. Ninety-nine rooms to clean. Walk wherever you want, live wherever your heart desires. But you couldn’t even take a peek into the hundredth room, otherwise you’d have a bad time! We'll see you in seven years, but for now, live, don't be bored!
She said and immediately disappeared. And for seven whole years there was no news of her! Our Goldilocks lived quietly and peacefully in the castle. She walked through ninety-nine rooms, sweeping, cleaning, washing and cleaning, everything sparkled like gold. But I didn’t even glance at the hundredth. Although, oh how I wanted it! It even made it difficult to sleep.
Seven years passed and Chernyavka appeared.
- Well, how? Have you looked into the last room? - she asked.
- No! - answered Goldilocks.
Chernyavka was satisfied. She knew that the girl was telling the truth. Again she punished the same as the first time, and disappeared for another seven years.
Our Goldilocks cleans up the ninety-nine magnificent rooms, walks around, making sure everything sparkles like a mirror. Year flies by year, as if in a dream. And then one day, when the seventh year was coming to an end, she walked through the castle and dreamed: Chernyavka would praise her for her purity and brilliance. And he hears lovely music coming from the hundredth room. Like a chamois, Goldilocks rushed to the door. And the music becomes more and more tender and affectionate. The girl pressed the handle and - fuck! The doors opened and she found herself in the room. And there are twelve bewitched people sitting around the table. They froze in place as an evil spell overtook them. Another one stands behind the door and says to Goldilocks:
- Goldilocks, don’t give us away for anything in the world! No matter how much Chernyavka torments you, don’t talk about what you saw in this room. If you utter even a word, you will be cursed for life, but we will remain cursed forever!
And again everything fell silent, as if numb, and Goldilocks, beside herself with fear, jumped out of the hundredth room and rushed away. She didn’t even notice how Chernyavka appeared in front of her. She already knew that the girl had seen the last room. She shook her finger and said:
- Goldilocks, Goldilocks, what have you done! You looked into the hundredth room! Tell me, what did you see there?
But our Goldilocks is silent, as if she had swallowed her tongue. Chernyavka began to threaten her with terrible punishments, but Goldilocks was silent, not a sound. Here Chernyavka says:
“If you don’t answer right now what you saw in that room, I’ll throw you into a deep well and make you mute forever!”
And it's true. The evil Chernyavka threw her into a deep well and cast a spell on her. Now, besides Chernyavka, she could no longer talk to anyone.
Goldilocks woke up on a sandy mound. And oh, amazingly, he sees some kind of passage leading underground. She started running. Everything forward and forward until I found myself in a beautiful clearing. Here she stayed. And she lived on roots and berries. But Chernyavka came here too and kept demanding to know what she saw in the hundredth room.
But Goldilocks never said anything.
Not far from the clearing, a young king was hunting in the forests. And he came across the sleeping Goldilocks. She looks, unable to see enough, where did such a beauty come from here? And the longer he looked, the sweeter she became to him. I finally decided to wake her up, take her to my palace and marry her. Let people judge as they want.
He woke me up quietly and began asking who and where from. And she, poor thing - mute - remains silent and silent. The king decided that it was out of fear or shame. He asks if he will go to the palace with him, and she just nods her head. The young king brought her to his place, ordered her to be dressed in a luxurious dress and, without thinking for a long time, got married.
Goldilocks never spoke. But her husband loved her very much and they lived in perfect harmony. A year has passed. The queen is expecting a baby. And she herself becomes sadder and sadder. As if he was afraid of some kind of trouble. The day came and the young queen brought a boy into the world. The hair is golden, the star is burning in the forehead. You couldn't find a happier king in the whole world! He orders all neighbors to be called to a feast so that his joy can be shared.
But soon his joy turned into great sadness. Why so? But listen to this:
At night, Chernyavka appeared to Goldilocks and began to threaten that if she did not say what she saw in the last room, then she would strangle her son with golden hair. Goldilocks trembled with horror, like a blade of grass in a thunderstorm, but said nothing.
- And you yourself will have a hard time! - Chernyavka keeps threatening. But Goldilocks is silent, not a sound!
The evil Chernyavka strangled the sweet boy, smeared blood on Goldilocks’ lips and immediately disappeared.
It is impossible to say in a fairy tale, nor to describe with a pen how scared everyone was when they saw this picture in the morning. The king turned pale as death, but said nothing. The entire castle was searched, everyone was strictly questioned, but they never found out who could have done this. They began to talk about whether it was Goldilocks herself, because there was blood on her lips. And she, innocent, cannot utter a word in her defense. Others called for her to be sentenced to death. But the king did not want to see or hear anything, because he loved her. And they began to live kindly, as before. A year passed and Goldilocks brought into the world a girl with golden hair and a golden star in her forehead. How happy the king was! To prevent more trouble from happening, he ordered that a faithful guard be placed in the room where Goldilocks and her child slept for the night.
It's just in vain. The Chernyavka bewitched the guards and they fell into a deep sleep. She stood in front of Goldilocks and threatened:
- I’ll find out what you saw in that room anyway! And you will be lost! I will kill the baby, but the king orders you to be burned alive!
But Goldilocks is silent as stone. Chernyavka strangled the girl, Goldilocks smeared her lips with blood. And so it was.
In the morning the child was found dead. But the guards did not see anyone and did not hear any rustle or sound in the room.
The king was angry that this was happening in his palace. He ordered to look for the evil enemy even more strictly. They searched and searched, but found no one.
At this point everyone around openly began to say that there was no one but the queen to strangle the child. After all, there were only guards in her room. And her lips are bleeding! And everything is silent, he won’t say a word! These speeches reached the king, he hesitated and himself ordered that Goldilocks be condemned to death. At the stake! In front of all the subjects!
They took Goldilocks out of town. Tied to a pole. They set fire to brushwood underfoot. Suddenly a carriage crashed straight into the crowd and stopped in front of Goldilocks. Chernyavka comes out of the carriage and says:
- You see, my words have come true: now the end will come for you. Tell me, at least now, what did you see in the last room of my castle?
But Goldilocks was silent. No matter how hard Chernyavka tried, she could not achieve anything.
The smoke and flames had already reached Goldilocks and suddenly, lo and behold! Chernyavka’s face turned white and her whole appearance changed. She ordered the fire to be lit immediately, because Goldilocks is innocent! And she said:
- It’s your happiness and mine that you didn’t answer me. With this you freed me and those twelve from evil spells. Otherwise, we would all be lost forever and ever, and you with us!
And he gives her - where did they come from - two of her children, alive! And in the blink of an eye she disappears along with the carriage!
And at that very moment Goldilocks spoke and told the king everything that had happened. The king does not believe his eyes or ears. Yes, if it is so, then it means nothing else! To celebrate, the king does not know what to do: take the golden children in his arms or hug Goldilocks and beg for forgiveness. Then he brought his wife and children to the castle, they now began to live peacefully. And they found the blacksmith father and transported him and his whole family to their castle.

Stranger, we advise you to read the fairy tale “Goldilocks (Czech fairy tale)” to yourself and your children, this is a wonderful work created by our ancestors. Everyday issues are an incredibly successful way, with the help of simple, ordinary examples, to convey to the reader the most valuable centuries-old experience. Every time you read this or that epic, you feel the incredible love with which the images of the environment are described. Devotion, friendship and self-sacrifice and other positive feelings overcome all that oppose them: anger, deceit, lies and hypocrisy. It is amazing that with empathy, compassion, strong friendship and unshakable will, the hero always manages to resolve all troubles and misfortunes. Reading such creations in the evening, the pictures of what is happening become more vivid and rich, filled with a new range of colors and sounds. Probably due to the inviolability of human qualities over time, all moral teachings, morals and issues remain relevant at all times and eras. The fairy tale "Goldilocks (Czech Fairytale)" will be fun to read online for free for both children and their parents, the kids will be happy about the good ending, and moms and dads will be happy for the kids!

In one country - I forgot its name - there was an angry and grumpy old man as king. One day a merchant came to his palace, brought fresh fish in a basket and said:
- Buy this fish from me, king. You won't regret it. The king glanced sideways at the fish:
- I have never seen such a fish in my kingdom. Poisonous, or what?
- What you! - the merchant was frightened. - Order this fish to be fried, eat it - and you will immediately begin to understand the conversation of all the animals, fish and birds. Even the smallest bug will squeak something, and you will already know what it wants. You will become the smartest king on earth.
The king liked it. He bought fish from a merchant and, although he was stingy and greedy, he didn’t even haggle and paid what she asked. “Now,” the king thought and rubbed his bony hands, “I will be the smartest in the world and conquer the whole world. This is amazing! Now my enemies will cry.”
The king called his servant, young Irzhik, and ordered him to fry fish for dinner.
- But only without cheating! - said the king to Irzhik. - If you eat even one piece of this fish, I will cut off your head.
Irzhik brought the fish to the kitchen, looked at it and was even more surprised: he had never seen such a fish. Each fish scale glowed with multi-colored fire, like a rainbow. It was a pity to clean and fry such fish. But you can’t go against the royal order.
Irzhik fries fish and can’t figure out whether it’s ready or not. The fish does not brown or become crusty, but becomes transparent.
“Who knows, she was fried or not,” thought Irzhik. “We must try.”
I took a piece, chewed it and swallowed it - as if it was ready. He chews and hears thin squeaky voices:
- And a piece for us too! And a piece for us too! F-f-fried fish! Irzhik looked around. Nobody here. Only flies fly above
dish with fish.
“Aha!” said Irzhik. “Now I’m beginning to understand something about this fish.”
He took the dish with the fish and put it on the window, in the draft wind, so that the fish cooled. And outside the window, geese are walking through the yard and cackling quietly. Irzhik listened and heard one goose ask:
-Where shall we go? Where shall we go? And the other one answers:
- To the miller in the barley field! To the miller in the barley field!
- Yeah! “Irzhik said again and grinned: “Now I understand what kind of fish this is.” Perhaps one piece is not enough for me.
Irzhik ate the second piece of fish, then beautifully laid out the fish on a silver dish, sprinkled it with parsley and dill, and took the dish to the king.
From then on, Irzhik began to understand everything that the animals were talking about with each other. He learned that the life of animals is not as easy as people think - animals have grief and worries. From that time on, Irzhik began to feel sorry for the animals and tried to help every smallest animal if it was in trouble.
After lunch, the king ordered two riding horses and went for a walk with Irzhik.
The king rode in front, and Irzhik followed him. Irzhik’s hot horse kept rushing forward. Irzhik could hardly restrain him. The horse neighed, and Irzhik immediately understood his words.
- Igo-go! - the horse neighed. “Come on, brother, let’s gallop and move over this mountain in one fell swoop.”
“It would be good,” the king’s horse answered him, “but this old fool is sitting on me.” He will also fall and break his neck. It won't turn out well - after all, but still the king.
“Well, let him break his neck,” said Irzhik’s horse. “Then you will carry the young king, and not this wreck.”
Irzhik laughed quietly. But the king also understood the conversation of the horses, looked back at Irzhik, poked his horse in the side with his boot and asked Irzhik:
- Why are you laughing, you impudent one?
“I remembered, Your Royal Grace, how today in the kitchen two cooks were pulling each other’s hair.”
- Look at me! - the king said threateningly.
He, of course, did not believe Irzhik, angrily turned his horse and galloped to his palace. In the palace, he ordered Irzhik to pour himself a glass of wine.
- But look, if you don’t add enough or overfill, I’ll order you to cut off your head!
Irzhik took a jug of wine and began to carefully pour wine into a heavy glass. And at this time two sparrows flew into the open window. They fly around the room and fight as they fly. One sparrow holds three golden hairs in its beak, and the other tries to take them away.
- Give it back! Give it back! They are mine! Thief!
- I'm not giving it! I caught them when the beauty was combing her golden braids. No one in the world has hair like this. I'm not giving it! Whoever she marries will be the happiest.
- Give it back! Beat the thief!
The sparrows became ruffled and, clutching themselves, flew out of the window. But one golden hair fell out of the beak, fell on the stone floor and rang like a bell. Irzhik looked around and... spilled wine.
- Yeah! - shouted the king. - Now say goodbye to life, Irzhik!
The king was glad that Irzhik spilled the wine and it would be possible to get rid of him. The king alone wanted to be the smartest in the world. Who knows, maybe this young and cheerful servant managed to try fried fish. Then he will be a dangerous rival for the king. But then the king came up with a good idea. He picked up a golden hair from the floor, handed it to Irzhik and said:
- So be it. I will probably have mercy on you if you find the girl who lost this golden hair and bring her to me as my wife. Take this hair and go. Search!
What was Irzhik to do? He took the hair, got ready for the journey and rode out of the city on horseback. And he doesn’t know where to go. He let go of the reins, and the horse trudged along the most deserted road. It's all overgrown with grass. Apparently it hasn't been driven for a long time. The road reached a high, dark forest. Irzhik sees: a fire is blazing at the edge of the forest, a dry bush is burning. The shepherds threw the fire, did not flood it, did not trample it, and the fire set the bush on fire. And under the bush there is an anthill. Ants run, fuss, drag their stuff from the anthill - ant eggs, dry bugs, caterpillars and various tasty grains. Irzhik hears the ants shouting to him:
- Help, Irzhik! Save! We're on fire!
Irzhik jumped off his horse, cut down a bush and extinguished the flame. The ants surrounded him with a ring, moved their antennae, bowed and thanked him:
- Thank you, Irzhik. We will never forget your kindness! And if you need help, rely on us - We will repay for your kindness.
Irzhik drove into the dark forest. He hears someone squeaking pitifully. He looked around and saw: two little crows were lying under a tall spruce tree - they had fallen out of the nest - and they squeaked:
- Help, Irzhik! Feed us! We are dying of hunger! Mother and father flew away, but we still don’t know how to fly.
The king deliberately gave Irzhik an old, sick horse - a real nag. The horse is standing, his legs are shaking, and it is clear that this trip is one torment for him.
Irzhik jumped off his horse, thought, stabbed him and left the horse carcass for the crows - let them feed.
- Kar-r, Ir-rzhik! Karr! - the crows shouted cheerfully. - We will help you for this!
Irzhik went further on foot. I walked through the dense forest for a long time, then the forest began to make more and more noise, more and more loudly, the wind was already bending the tops of the trees. And then the splash of waves added to the noise of the peaks, and Irzhik went out to the sea. Two fishermen were arguing on the sandy shore. One got a golden fish in the net, and the other demanded this fish for himself.
“My net,” one fisherman shouted, “mine and the fish!”
- Whose boat is it? - answered the other fisherman. “You wouldn’t have cast the net without my boat!”
The fishermen shouted more and more loudly, then they rolled up their sleeves, and the matter would have ended in a fight if Irzhik had not intervened.
- Stop making noise! - he said to the fishermen. - Sell me this fish, and divide the money among yourselves. And that's the end of it.
Irzhik gave the fishermen all the money he received from the king for the journey, took the golden fish and threw it into the sea. The fish wagged its tail, stuck its head out of the water and said:
- One good turn deserves another. When you need my help, call me. I'll come.
Irzhik sat down on the shore to rest. The fishermen ask him:
-Where are you going, good man?
- Yes, I’m looking for a bride for my old king. He ordered to get him a beauty with golden hair as his wife. Where can you find it?
The fishermen looked at each other and sat down on the sand next to Irzhik.
“Well,” they say, “you reconciled us, and we remember the good.” We'll help you. There is only one beauty with golden hair in the whole world. This is our king's daughter. You see an island on the sea, and on the island there is a crystal palace? That's where she lives, in this palace. Every day at dawn she combs her hair. Then such a golden dawn rises over the sea that we wake up from it in our hut and know that it’s time for us to go fishing. We will take you to the island. It’s almost impossible to recognize the beauty.
- Why so? - asks Irzhik.
- Because the king has twelve daughters, and the golden-haired one. And all twelve queens are dressed the same. And everyone has the same veil on their heads. The hair underneath is not visible. So your job, Irzhik, is difficult.
The fishermen transported Irzhik to the island. Irzhik went straight to the crystal palace to the king, bowed to him and told him why he came to the island.
- OK! - said the king. “I am not a stubborn person.” I will give my daughter in marriage to your king. But for this you must complete my tasks for three days. Is it coming?
- It's coming! - Irzhik agreed.
- Go get some sleep from the road. Have a rest. My tasks are intricate. You can't solve them right away.
Irzhik slept well! The sea wind blew through the windows all night, the surf roared, and occasionally even small splashes flew onto the bed.
Irzhik got up in the morning and came to the king. The king thought and said:
- Here's your first task. My golden-haired daughter wore a pearl necklace around her neck. The thread broke and all the pearls scattered in the thick grass. Collect them all.
Irzhik went to the lawn where the princess scattered pearls. The grass is waist-deep, and so thick that the ground beneath it is not visible.
“Eh,” Irzhik sighed, “if only my ant friends were here, they would help me!”
Suddenly he hears a squeak in the grass, as if hundreds of tiny people are fiddling around his feet:
- We are here! We are here! How can I help you, Irzhik? Collect pearls? Wait, we'll do it in a jiffy!
Ants ran in, waved their antennae and began to pull pearl after pearl to Irzhik’s feet. Irzhik barely had time to string them on a harsh thread.
He collected the entire necklace and took it to the king. The king counted the pearls for a long time, got lost, and counted again.
- That's right! Okay, tomorrow I’ll give you a more difficult task. Irzhik comes to the king the next day. The king is cunning
looked at him and said:
- What a problem! My golden-haired daughter was swimming and dropped a gold ring into the sea. I give you a day to get it.
Irzhik went to the sea, sat down on the shore and almost cried. The sea in front of him lies warm, clean and so deep that it’s even scary to think about.
“Eh,” says Irzhik, “if only there were a golden fish here, it would help me out!”
Suddenly, something flashed on the dark water in the sea, and a golden fish surfaced from the depths.
- Don't be sad! - she said to Irzhik. “I just saw a pike with a gold ring on its fin.” “Be calm, I’ll get it.”
Irzhik waited for a long time until a golden fish with a gold ring on its fin finally swam out.
Irzhik carefully removed the ring from the fin so that the fish would not be hurt, thanked it and went to the palace.
“Well,” said the king, “you are obviously a clever man.” Come back tomorrow for the last task.
And the last task was the most difficult: to bring the king living and dead water. Where can I get it? Irzhik went wherever he looked, reached the great forest, stopped and thought:
“If my crows were here, they would...”
Before he had time to think about it, he hears the whistling of wings overhead, croaking, and sees familiar crows flying towards him.
Irzhik told them his grief.
The crows flew away, they were gone for a long time, and then they rustled their wings again and brought Irzhik in their beaks two containers with living and dead water.
- Carr, carr, berry and be happy! Carr!
Irzhik took the bags and went to the crystal palace. He went out to the edge and stopped: between two trees a black spider wove a web, caught a fly in it, killed it and sits sucking the fly’s blood. Irzhik splashed dead water on the spider. The spider died immediately - folded its legs and fell to the ground. Then Irzhik sprinkled the fly with living water. She came to life, beat her wings, buzzed, tore the web and flew away. And as she flew away, she said to Irzhik:
- Luckily for you, you revived me. I'll help you recognize Goldilocks.
Irzhik came to the king with living and dead water. The king even gasped, did not believe it for a long time, but tried dead water on an old mouse that was running through the palace room, and living water on a dried flower in the garden and was delighted. I believed it. He took Irzhik by the hand and led him into a white hall with a golden ceiling. In the middle of the hall there was a round crystal table, and behind it, on crystal chairs, sat twelve beauties, so similar to each other that Irzhik only waved his hand and lowered his eyes - how can you tell which one is Goldilocks! They all wear the same long dresses and the same white blankets on their heads. Not a hair is visible from underneath them.
“Well, choose,” says the king. “You guessed it - your happiness!” If not, you will leave here alone, just as you came.
Irzhik raised his eyes and suddenly heard something buzzing right next to his ear.
- J-i-i-i, go around the table. I'll give you a hint. Irzhik looked: a small fly was flying above him. Irzhik
He walked slowly around the table, and the princesses sat with their eyes downcast. And everyone’s cheeks flushed equally. And the fly buzzes and buzzes:
- Not that one! Not that one! Not that one! But this one, the golden-haired one! Irzhik stopped, pretended to still have doubts, then said:
- Here is the golden-haired princess!
- Your happiness! - shouted the king.
The princess quickly left the table, threw off the white coverlet, and her golden hair spilled over her shoulders. And immediately the whole hall sparkled with such shine from this hair that it seemed as if the sun had given all its light to the princess’s hair.
The princess looked straight at Irzhik and averted her eyes: she had never seen such a handsome and stately young man. The princess's heart was beating heavily, but her father's word was law. She will have to marry the old, evil king!
Irzhik took his bride to his master. He took care of her all the way, making sure that her horse did not stumble, so that a cold drop of rain did not fall on her shoulders. It was a sad return. Because Irzhik also fell in love with the golden-haired princess, but could not tell her about it.
The old, grumpy king chuckled with joy when he saw the beauty and ordered the wedding to be quickly prepared. And Irzhik said:
“I wanted to hang you on a dry branch for disobedience, so that your corpse would be eaten by crows.” But because you found me a bride, I declare royal favor to you. I will not hang you, but I will order your head to be cut off and buried with honor.
The next morning they cut off Irzhik’s head on the block. The golden-haired beauty began to sob and asked the king to give her the headless body and head of Irzhik. The king frowned, but did not dare to refuse the bride.
Goldilocks put her head to her body, sprinkled it with living water - the head grew back, not even a trace remained. She sprayed Irzhik a second time - and he jumped up alive, young and even more beautiful than he was before the execution. And he asked Goldilocks:
- Why did I fall asleep so soundly?
“You would have fallen asleep forever,” Goldilocks answered him, “if I had not saved you, dear.”
The king saw Irzhik and was dumbfounded: how did he come to life, and even become so beautiful! The king was a cunning old man and immediately decided to take advantage of this incident. He called the executioner and ordered:
- Cut off my head! And then let Goldilocks sprinkle some wonderful water on me. And I will come to life young and beautiful.
The executioner eagerly cut off the old king's head. But it was not possible to resurrect him. It was in vain that they poured all the living water on him. There must have been so much anger in the king that no amount of living water could help. The king was buried without tears, to the beat of drums. And since the country needed an intelligent and kind ruler, the people chose Irzhik as ruler - it was not for nothing that he was the wisest man in the world. And Goldilocks became Irzhik’s wife, and they lived a long and happy life.
And so ended this fairy tale about how the animals returned good for good and how the king lost his head.

In one country the king was an angry and grumpy old man.

One day a fishmonger comes to him and says:

- Buy this fish from me, king. Order it to be fried, eat it, and you will begin to understand the language of all animals, fish and birds.

And although the king was stingy to the point of disgrace, he did not even bargain, but immediately called the young servant Irzhik and ordered him to fry the fish for dinner.

- Look! - King Irzhik threatened. “If you eat even a piece of this fish, I’ll cut off your head.”

Irzhik looks at the fish and is amazed: every scale shimmers like a rainbow. It’s a pity to clean and fry something like this, but who would disobey the royal order?

Irzhik is frying fish and has no idea whether it’s ready. “We must try,” thought Irzhik. He had just swallowed a little when he suddenly heard:

– And we’ll have a piece of f-f-fried fish!

Irzhik looked around - there was no one but flies.

Just then he realized about this fish and ate another piece.

After dinner, the king ordered two riding horses and went with Irzhik for a walk. Irzhik’s frisky horse rushes forward, and how he neighs:

- E-go-go! Let's gallop and jump over this mountain in one fell swoop.

“That would be good,” the king’s horse answers him, “but my old fool will break his neck.” It's a pity - the king is after all.

“Well, let him break his neck,” said Irzhik’s horse. “You will be driving the young king, not this wreck.”

Irzhik couldn’t help but laugh. But the king also understood the horses’ conversation, looked back at Irzhik and asked:

- Why are you laughing, impudent one?

– I remembered how today two cooks pulled each other’s hair.

- Look at me! - the king threatened.

At home, he ordered Irzhik to pour a glass of wine:

“If you don’t add enough or too much, I’ll order you to cut off your head!”

But while Irzhik was filling the glass, two sparrows flew into the open window, quarreling.

One holds three golden hairs in his beak, and the other tries to take them away.

- Give it back! They are mine! Thief!

- No way! I caught them when the beauty was combing her golden braids. No one else in the world has hair like this. Her husband will be the happiest man.

The sparrows, grappling, flew out the window. But one golden hair fell on the stone floor and rang like a bell. Irzhik looked around and spilled the wine.

- Yeah! - shouted the king. - Say goodbye to life!

Then the king saw a golden hair on the floor and said, handing it to Irzhik:

“However, I will probably have mercy on you if you find me a girl who has lost this golden hair and bring her to my wife.”

Nothing to do. Irzhik took the hair and rode out of the city on horseback.

Soon he came across a flaming anthill. Irzhik hears the ants shouting to him:

- Save me, Irzhik! Help! We're on fire!

Irzhik jumped off his horse and extinguished the flame. Ants surrounded him:

- Thank you! If you need help, call.

Irzhik drove into a dark thicket and heard someone squeaking pitifully: under a tall spruce tree, two crows that had fallen from the nest were lying and begging:

- Help, Irzhik! Feed us, we are dying of hunger!

The king deliberately gave Irzhik not a horse, but an old sick nag: the poor thing’s legs are trembling, and it is clear that the trip is sheer torment for her. Irzhik stabbed her and left her to the crows.

- Kar-r, Irzhik! Car-r! - they cheered up. – We will help you for this too!

Irzhik reached the sandy shore, where two fishermen were arguing. The nets of one of them brought a golden fish, and the other demanded this fish for himself.

“My net,” one fisherman shouts, “that means the fish are mine!”

- Whose boat is it? - answers the other. “You wouldn’t have cast the net without my boat!”

“Sell me this fish,” Irzhik suggested to the fishermen, “and divide the money equally.”

Irzhik gave the fishermen everything he received from the king for the journey, and threw the golden fish into the sea. The fish waved its tail, stuck its head out of the water and said:

“If you need my help, call me, I’ll come.”

And the fishermen of Irzhik ask:

-Where are you going, good man?

“I’m looking for a bride for my old king—a beauty with golden hair.”

The fishermen looked at each other:

“You reconciled us, and we remember good things.” There is only one beauty with golden hair in the whole world. This is our king's daughter. Do you see an island on the sea? There, in the crystal palace, she lives. No matter the dawn, she combs her hair. Then such a golden dawn rises over the sea that we wake up in our huts, knowing that it’s time to go fishing. We will take you to the island, but you won’t recognize the beauty. The king has twelve daughters, but the golden-haired one is only one. All twelve queens are dressed identically and hide their hair under identical veils.

Irzhik bowed to the king of the island and told him why he had come.

“I don’t mind giving my daughter in marriage to your king!” - said the king. “But first, complete my three tasks.” Here's your first one. My golden-haired daughter wore a pearl necklace around her neck and tore it - all the pearls scattered. Collect them all.

Irzhik went to the lawn where the princess had scattered pearls; behind the waist-deep grass, you couldn’t see the ground.

“Oh,” sighed Irzhik, “if only the ants could come here!”

And here they are:

- What do you want, Irzhik?

The ants ran in and began to drag pearl after pearl to Irzhik’s feet. He barely had time to string. Having collected the entire necklace, Irzhik took it to the king. The king counted the pearls:

- That's right! Tomorrow your task will be more difficult.

The next day the king says:

“My golden-haired daughter was swimming and dropped a gold ring into the sea. Get it - you have a day to live.

“Oh,” thought Irzhik, looking around the expanses of the sea, “golden fish should come here!”

Suddenly a golden fish appeared on the surface and said to Irzhik:

“I saw a pike with a gold ring on its fin, I’ll get it.”

When the fish returned with a gold ring on its fin, Irzhik thanked her and took the find to the palace.

- What a trickster! - the king praised. – Come back tomorrow for the last task.

And the king wished to bring him living and dead water. Irzhik went wherever his eyes looked... Suddenly he heard the whistling of wings and croaking overhead. Irzhik told the crows about his grief - they brought water. Irzhik took it and went to the crystal palace. He went out to the edge of the forest and saw: between two trees a black spider had woven a web, caught a fly in it and killed it. Irzhik splashed dead water on the spider - it immediately folded its legs and fell to the ground.

Then Irzhik sprinkled living water on the fly. It came to life, fluttered its wings, broke the web and, flying away, buzzed:

“I’ll help you recognize Goldilocks.”

Having received living and dead water, the king led Irzhik by the hand to a round crystal table, at which twelve beauties sat on crystal chairs, like two peas in a pod: identical dresses, identical white veils on their hair.

“Well, choose,” says the king.

Irzhik raised his eyes and heard a fly right next to his ear:

– Ju-ju, I’ll tell you.

Irzhik slowly walked around the table, and the princesses equally blushed. But you can't fool a fly:

- Not that one. Not that one. Not that one. Here she is - Goldilocks!

Irzhik pointed at her. Here the princess threw off her white veil, and her golden hair scattered over her shoulders. She looked at Irzhik and looked down: she had never seen such a handsome and stately young man. And you will have to marry the old evil king!

Yes, and Irzhik fell in love without memory.

The grumpy king, seeing the beauty, ordered the wedding and execution to be quickly prepared.

- Because you found me a bride, here is my royal favor. I order your head to be cut off and buried with honor.

The next morning they cut off Irzhik’s head. Goldilocks began to cry and begged the king for Irzhik’s body and head. She put his head to his body, sprinkled it with living water - and he jumped up alive, and even more beautiful than he was before the execution.

The king, seeing Irzhik, froze. He called the executioner and ordered:

- Cut off my head!

The executioner willingly cut off the head of the old king, and the people chose Irzhik as the new ruler. Goldilocks became his wife, and they lived happily ever after.