In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a rich merchant, an eminent man. He had a lot of all kinds of wealth, expensive overseas goods, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury; and that merchant had three daughters, all three beautiful, and the youngest was the best; and he loved his daughters more than all his wealth, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury - for the reason that he was a widower and he had no one to love; He loved the older daughters, but he loved the younger daughter more, because she was better than everyone else and was more affectionate towards him. So that merchant is going on his trade affairs overseas, to distant lands, to the distant kingdom, to the thirtieth state, and he says to his dear daughters: “My dear daughters, my good daughters, my pretty daughters, I am going on my merchant business.” to distant lands, to the distant kingdom, the thirtieth state, and whether I travel for a long time or not, I don’t know, and I order you to live without me honestly and peacefully; and if you live without me honestly and peacefully, then I will bring you such gifts as you want, and I will give you three days to think, and then you will tell me what kind of gifts you want.” They thought for three days and three nights and came to their parent, and he began to ask them what gifts they wanted. The eldest daughter bowed to her father’s feet, and was the first to say to him: “Sir, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black sable furs, nor Burmita pearls, but bring me a golden crown of semi-precious stones, and so that there will be such light from them as from a full month, as from the red sun, and so that there is they are as light in a dark night as in the middle of a white day.” The honest merchant thought about it and then said: “Okay, my dear, good and pretty daughter: I will bring you such a crown; I know a man overseas who will get me such a crown; and one overseas princess has it, and it is hidden in a stone storage room, and that storage room is located in a stone mountain, three fathoms deep, behind three iron doors, behind three German locks. The work will be considerable: but for my treasury there is no opposite.” The middle daughter bowed at his feet and said: “Sir, you are my dear father! Don’t bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black Siberian sable furs, nor a necklace of Burmitz pearls, nor a gold semi-precious crown, but bring me a tovalet made of oriental crystal, solid, immaculate, so that, looking into it, I can see all the beauty under heaven and so that, looking at it, I would not grow old and my girlish beauty would increase.” The honest merchant became thoughtful and, after thinking for who knows how long, says the following words to her: “Okay, my dear daughter, good and pretty, I will get you such a crystal toilette; and the daughter of the King of Persia, a young princess, has an indescribable, indescribable and indescribable beauty: and that Tuvalet is buried in a high stone mansion, and he stands on a stone mountain, the height of that mountain is three hundred fathoms, behind seven iron doors, behind seven with German locks, and there are three thousand steps leading to that mansion, and on each step there stands a Persian warrior day and night, with a damask saber, and the queen carries the keys to those iron doors on her belt. I know such a man overseas, and he will get me such a toilet. Your work as a sister is harder: but for my treasury there is no opposite.” The youngest daughter bowed at her father’s feet and said this: “Sir, you are my dear father! Don’t bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black Siberian sables, nor a Burmita necklace, nor a semi-precious crown, nor a crystal Touvette, but bring me scarlet flower, which could not be more beautiful in this world.” The honest merchant thought more deeply than before. Whether he spent a lot of time thinking or not, I can’t say for certain; having thought it over, he kisses, caresses, caresses his beloved younger daughter and says the following words: “Well, you gave me a harder job than my sisters: if you know what to look for, then how not to find it, but how to find something that you yourself don’t know? It’s not hard to find a scarlet flower, but how can I know that there is nothing more beautiful in this world? I’ll try, but don’t ask for a gift.” And he sent his daughters, good and handsome, to their maiden mansions. He began to get ready to hit the road, to the distant lands overseas. How long it took, how much he planned, I don’t know and don’t know: soon the fairy tale is told, but not soon the deed is done. He went on his way, down the road. Here an honest merchant travels through foreign lands overseas, through unknown kingdoms; he sells his goods at exorbitant prices, buys others at exorbitant prices; he exchanges goods for goods and more, with the addition of silver and gold; Loads ships with golden treasury and sends them home. He found a treasured gift for his eldest daughter: a crown with semi-precious stones, and from them it is light on a dark night, as if on a white day. He also found a treasured gift for his middle daughter: a crystal toilette, and in it all the beauty of heaven is visible, and, looking into it, a girl’s beauty does not age, but increases. He just can’t find the treasured gift for his youngest beloved daughter, a scarlet flower, the most beautiful of which would not be in this world. He found in the gardens of the kings, royals and sultans many scarlet flowers of such beauty that he could neither tell a fairy tale nor write them with a pen; Yes, no one gives him guarantee that there is no more beautiful flower in this world; and he himself doesn’t think so. Here he is riding along the road, with his faithful servants, through the shifting sands, through dense forests, and out of nowhere, robbers, Busurman, Turkish and Indian filthy infidels flew at him; and, seeing the inevitable disaster, the honest merchant abandons his rich caravans with his faithful servants and runs into the dark forests. “Let me be torn to pieces by fierce beasts, rather than fall into the hands of filthy robbers and live out my life in captivity, in captivity.” He wanders through that dense forest, impassable, impassable, and as he goes further, the road becomes better, as if the trees part before him, and the frequent bushes move apart. He looks back - he can’t stick his hands in, he looks to the right - there are stumps and logs, he can’t get past the sideways hare, he looks to the left - and even worse. The honest merchant marvels, thinks he can’t figure out what kind of miracle is happening to him, but he goes on and on: the road is rough under his feet. He walks day from morning to evening, he does not hear the roar of an animal, nor the hiss of a snake, nor the cry of an owl, nor the voice of a bird: everything around him has died out. Then the dark night came: all around him it would be enough to prick out an eye, but under his feet there was little light. So he walked, almost until midnight, and began to see a glow ahead, and he thought: “The forest is apparently on fire, so why should I go there to certain death, inevitable?” He turned back - you can’t go, right, left - you can’t go; leaned forward - the road was rough. “Let me stand in one place, maybe the glow will go in the other direction, or away from me, or it will go out completely.” So he stood there, waiting; but that was not the case: the glow seemed to be coming towards him and it seemed to be getting lighter around him; he thought and thought and decided to go forward. You can't have two deaths, you can't avoid one. The merchant crossed himself and went forward. The further you go, the brighter it becomes, and it almost became like white day, and you can’t hear the noise and crackling of a fireman. At the end he comes out into a wide clearing, and in the middle of that wide clearing stands a house, not a house, a palace, not a palace, but a royal or royal palace, all on fire, in silver and gold and in semi-precious stones, all burning and shining, but there is no fire to be seen ; The sun is exactly red, it’s hard for the eyes to look at it. All the windows in the palace are open, and consonant music is playing in it, such as he has never heard. He enters a wide courtyard, through a wide, open gate; the road was made of white marble, and on the sides there were fountains of water, tall, large and small. He enters the palace along a staircase covered with crimson cloth and with gilded railings; entered the upper room - there was no one; in the second, in the third - there is no one, in the fifth, tenth - there is no one; and the decoration everywhere is royal, unheard of and unprecedented: gold, silver, oriental crystal, ivory and mammoth. The honest merchant marvels at such unspeakable wealth, and doubly marvels at the fact that there is no owner; not only the owner, but also no servants; and the music doesn’t stop playing; and at that time he thought to himself: “Everything is fine, but there is nothing to eat,” and a table grew up in front of him, cleaned up, sorted out: in gold and silver dishes there were sugar dishes and foreign wines and honey drinks. He sat down at the table without hesitation: he got drunk, ate his fill, because he had not eaten for a whole day; the food is such that it’s impossible to even say - just as soon as you swallow your tongue, and he, walking along the forests and sands, is very hungry; He got up from the table, but there was no one to bow to and no one to say thank you for the bread or the salt. Before he had time to get up and look around, the table with food was gone, and the music was playing incessantly. The honest merchant marvels at such a wonderful miracle and such a wondrous marvel, and he walks through the decorated chambers and admires them, and he himself thinks: “It would be nice to sleep and snore now,” and he sees a carved bed standing in front of him, made of pure gold, on crystal legs , with a silver canopy, with fringe and pearl tassels; the down jacket lies on her like a mountain, soft, swan-like down. The merchant marvels at such a new, new and wonderful miracle; He lies down on the high bed, draws the silver curtains and sees that it is thin and soft, as if silk. It became dark in the room: exactly at dusk, and the music was playing as if from afar, and he thought: “Oh, if only I could see my daughters in a dream,” and he fell asleep for the same minute.

In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a rich merchant, an eminent man. He had a lot of all kinds of wealth, expensive goods from overseas, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury, and that merchant had three daughters, all three were beautiful, and the youngest was the best; and he loved his daughters more than all his wealth, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury - for the reason that he was a widower and he had no one to love; He loved the older daughters, but he loved the younger daughter more, because she was better than everyone else and was more affectionate towards him.

So that merchant is going on his trade affairs overseas, to distant lands, to the distant kingdom, to the thirtieth state, and he says to his dear daughters:
- My dear daughters, my good daughters, my beautiful daughters, I am going on my merchant business to distant lands, to the distant kingdom, the thirtieth state, and you never know, how much time I travel - I don’t know, and I punish you to live honestly without me and peacefully, and if you live without me honestly and peacefully, then I will bring you such gifts as you yourself want, and I will give you three days to think, and then you will tell me,
what kind of gifts do you want?
They thought for three days and three nights and came to their parent, and he began to ask them what gifts they wanted.
The eldest daughter bowed at her father’s feet and was the first to say to him:
- Sir, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black sable furs, nor Burmita pearls, but bring me a golden crown of semi-precious stones, and so that there will be such light from them as from a full month, as from the red sun, and so that there is It is light in a dark night, as in the middle of a white day. The honest merchant thought for a moment and then said:
- Okay, my dear daughter, good and pretty, I will bring you such a crown; I know a man overseas who will get me such a crown; and one overseas princess has it, and it is hidden in a stone storage room, and that storage room is located in a stone mountain, three fathoms deep, behind three iron doors, behind three German locks. The work will be considerable: yes, for my treasury there is no opposite.
The middle daughter bowed at his feet and said:
- Sir, you are my dear father! Don’t bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black Siberian sable furs, nor a necklace of Burmitz pearls, nor a gold semi-precious crown, but bring me a tovalet made of oriental crystal, solid, immaculate, so that, looking into it, I can see all the beauty under heaven and so that, looking at it, I would not grow old and my girlish beauty would increase.
The honest merchant became thoughtful and, after thinking for who knows how long, he says to her these words:

Okay, my dear, good and pretty daughter, I’ll get you such a crystal toilette; and the daughter of the king of Persia, a young princess, has an indescribable, indescribable and unknown beauty; and that Tuvalet was buried in a high stone mansion, and he stood on a stone mountain, the height of that mountain was three hundred fathoms, behind seven iron doors, behind seven German locks, and there were three thousand steps leading up to that mansion, and on each step stood a warrior Persian, day and night, with a naked damask saber, and the princess carries the keys to those iron doors on her belt. I know such a man overseas, and he will get me such a toilet. Your work as a sister is harder, but for my treasury there is no opposite.
The youngest daughter bowed at her father’s feet and said this:
- Sir, you are my dear father! Don’t bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black Siberian sables, nor a Burmita necklace, nor a semi-precious crown, nor a crystal tovalet, but bring me a scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world.
The honest merchant thought more deeply than before. Whether he spent a lot of time thinking or not, I can’t say for certain; having thought about it, he kisses, caresses, caresses his youngest daughter, his beloved, and says these words:
- Well, you gave me a harder job than my sisters: if you know what to look for, then how can you not find it, and how can you find something that you don’t know? It’s not hard to find a scarlet flower, but how can I know that there is nothing more beautiful in this world? I will try, but don’t ask for a gift.
And he sent his daughters, good and handsome, to their maiden houses. He began to get ready to hit the road, to the distant lands overseas. How long it took, how much he planned, I don’t know and don’t know: soon the fairy tale is told, but not soon the deed is done. He went on his way, down the road.
Here an honest merchant travels to foreign lands overseas, to unprecedented kingdoms; he sells his goods at exorbitant prices, buys other people's at exorbitant prices, he exchanges goods for goods and even more, with the addition of silver and gold; Loads ships with golden treasury and sends them home.

He found a treasured gift for his eldest daughter: a crown with semi-precious stones, and from them it is light on a dark night, as if on a white day. He also found a treasured gift for his middle daughter: a crystal toilette, and in it all the beauty of heaven is visible, and, looking into it, a girl’s beauty does not age, but increases. He just can’t find the treasured gift for his youngest, beloved daughter - a scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world.

He found in the gardens of the kings, royals and sultans many scarlet flowers of such beauty that he could neither tell a fairy tale nor write them with a pen; Yes, no one gives him guarantee that there is no more beautiful flower in this world; and he himself doesn’t think so.
Here he is traveling along the road with his faithful servants through the shifting sands, through dense forests, and out of nowhere, robbers, Busurmans, Turkish and Indians, flew at him, and, seeing the inevitable trouble, the honest merchant abandoned his rich caravans with his servants faithful and runs into the dark forests. “Let me be torn to pieces by fierce beasts, rather than fall into the hands of filthy robbers and live out my life in captivity in captivity.”
He wanders through that dense forest, impassable, impassable, and as he goes further, the road becomes better, as if the trees part before him, and the frequent bushes move apart. He looks back - he can’t stick his hands in, he looks to the right - there are stumps and logs, he can’t get past the sideways hare, he looks to the left - and even worse.
The honest merchant marvels, thinks he can’t figure out what kind of miracle is happening to him, but he goes on and on: the road is rough under his feet. He walks day from morning to evening, he does not hear the roar of an animal, nor the hiss of a snake, nor the cry of an owl, nor the voice of a bird: everything around him has died out. Now the dark night has come; All around him it would be prickly to poke out his eyes, but under his feet there is little light.
Here he goes, almost until midnight, and he began to see a glow ahead, and he thought:
“Apparently, the forest is burning, so why should I go there to certain death, inevitable?”

He turned back - you can’t go, right, left - you can’t go; leaned forward - the road was rough. “Let me stand in one place, maybe the glow will go in the other direction, or away from me, or go out completely.”
So he stood there, waiting; but that was not the case: the glow seemed to be coming towards him, and it seemed to be getting lighter around him; he thought and thought and decided to go forward. Two deaths cannot happen, but one cannot be avoided. The merchant crossed himself and went forward. The further you go, the brighter it becomes, and it almost became like white day, and you can’t hear the noise and crackling of a fireman.
At the end he comes out into a wide clearing and in the middle of that wide clearing stands a house, not a house, a palace, not a palace, but a royal or royal palace, all on fire, in silver and gold and in semi-precious stones, all burning and shining, but there is no fire to be seen; The sun is exactly red, and it’s hard for your eyes to look at it. All the windows in the palace are open, and consonant music is playing in it, such as he has never heard.
He enters a wide courtyard, through a wide open gate; the road was made of white marble, and on the sides there were fountains of water, tall, large and small. He enters the palace along a staircase covered with crimson cloth and with gilded railings; entered the upper room - there was no one; in another, in a third - there is no one; on the fifth, tenth – there is no one; and the decoration everywhere is royal, unheard of and unprecedented: gold, silver, oriental crystal, ivory and mammoth.

"The Scarlet Flower"

The Tale of the Housekeeper Pelageya

The fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" was written down by the famous Russian writer Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov (1791 - 1859). He heard it as a child during his illness. The writer talks about it this way in the story “The Childhood Years of Bagrov the Grandson”: “My speedy recovery was hindered by insomnia... On the advice of my aunt, they once called the housekeeper Pelageya, who was a great master of telling fairy tales and whom even my late grandfather loved to listen to... Pelageya came, not young, but still white and ruddy... she sat down by the stove and began to speak, in a little sing-song voice: “In a certain kingdom, in a certain state...”

Need I say that I did not fall asleep until the end of the fairy tale, that, on the contrary, I did not sleep longer than usual?

The next day I listened to another story about “The Scarlet Flower.” From then on, until my recovery, Pelageya told me every day one of her many fairy tales. More than others I remember “The Tsar Maiden”, “Ivan the Fool”, “The Firebird” and “The Snake Gorynych”.

In the last years of his life, while working on the book “The Childhood Years of Bagrov the Grandson,” Sergei Timofeevich remembered the housekeeper Pelageya, her wonderful fairy tale “The Scarlet Flower” and wrote it down from memory. It was first published in 1858 and has since become our favorite fairy tale.

In a certain (1) kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a rich merchant, an eminent man.

He had a lot of all kinds of wealth, expensive goods from overseas, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury (2) and that merchant had three daughters, all three were beautiful, and the youngest was the best; and he loved his daughters more than all his wealth, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury - for the reason that he was a widower and he had no one to love; He loved the older daughters, but he loved the younger daughter more, because she was better than everyone else and was more affectionate towards him.

So that merchant is going on his trade affairs overseas, to distant lands, to the distant kingdom, to the thirtieth state, and he says to his dear daughters:

“My dear daughters, my good daughters, my beautiful daughters, I am going on my merchant business to distant lands, to the distant kingdom, the thirtieth state, and you never know, how much time I travel - I don’t know, and I punish you to live honestly without me and peacefully, and if you live without me honestly and peacefully, then I will bring you such gifts as you want, and I give you three days to think, and then you will tell me what kind of gifts you want.”

They thought for three days and three nights and came to their parent, and he began to ask them what gifts they wanted. The eldest daughter bowed at her father’s feet and was the first to say to him:

“You are my dear sir, my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade (3), nor black sable furs, nor Burmitz pearls (4), but bring me a golden crown of semi-precious stones, and so that there will be such light from them as from the full month, as from the red sun, and so that it will give light on a dark night, as in the middle of a white day.”

The honest merchant thought for a moment and then said:

“Okay, my dear daughter, good and pretty, I’ll bring you such a crown; I know a man overseas who will get me such a crown; and one overseas princess has it, and it’s hidden in a stone storeroom, and it’s standing "that storeroom is in a stone mountain, three fathoms deep, behind three iron doors, behind three German locks. The work will be considerable: but for my treasury there is no opposite."

The middle daughter bowed at his feet and said:

“My dear sir, my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black Siberian sable furs, nor a necklace of Burmitz pearls, nor a semi-precious gold crown, but bring me a touvet (5) made of oriental crystal, solid, immaculate, so that, looking into it, I saw all the beauty under heaven, and so that, looking into it, I would not grow old and my girlish beauty would increase.”

The honest merchant became thoughtful and, after thinking for who knows how long, he says to her these words:

“Okay, my dear daughter, good and pretty, I will get you such a crystal toilette; and the daughter of the king of Persia, a young princess, has it, an unspeakable, indescribable and indescribable beauty; and that toilette is buried in a high stone mansion, and it stands on a stone mountain, the height of that mountain is three hundred fathoms, behind seven iron doors, behind seven German locks, and three thousand steps lead to that mansion, and on each step there stands a Persian warrior, day and night, with a damask saber, and the keys to "The princess wears those iron doors on her belt. I know such a man overseas, and he will get me such a toilet. Your work as a sister is harder, but for my treasury there is no opposite."

The youngest daughter bowed at her father’s feet and said this:

“My dear sir, my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black Siberian sables, nor a Burmita necklace, nor a semi-precious crown, nor a crystal toilette, but bring me a scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world.”

The honest merchant thought more deeply than before. Whether he spent a lot of time thinking or not, I can’t say for certain; having thought about it, he kisses, caresses, caresses his youngest daughter, his beloved, and says these words:

“Well, you gave me a harder job than my sisters: if you know what to look for, then how can you not find it, but how can you find something that you yourself don’t know? It’s not hard to find a scarlet flower, but how can I know that there is nothing more beautiful in this world?” “I’ll try, but don’t ask for a gift.”

And he sent his daughters, good and handsome, to their maiden houses. He began to get ready to hit the road, to the distant lands overseas. How long it took, how much he planned, I don’t know and don’t know: soon the fairy tale is told, but not soon the deed is done. He went on his way, down the road.

Here an honest merchant travels to foreign lands overseas, to unprecedented kingdoms; he sells his goods at exorbitant prices, buys other people's at exorbitant prices, he exchanges goods for goods and even more, with the addition of silver and gold; Loads ships with golden treasury and sends them home. He found a treasured gift for his eldest daughter: a crown with semi-precious stones, and from them it is light on a dark night, as if on a white day. He also found a treasured gift for his middle daughter: a crystal toilette, and in it all the beauty of heaven is visible, and, looking into it, a girl’s beauty does not age, but increases. He just can’t find the treasured gift for his youngest, beloved daughter - a scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world.

He found in the gardens of the kings, royals and sultans many scarlet flowers of such beauty that he could neither tell a fairy tale nor write them with a pen; Yes, no one gives him guarantee that there is no more beautiful flower in this world; and he himself doesn’t think so. Here he is riding along the road with his faithful servants through the shifting sands, through dense forests, and out of nowhere, robbers, Busurmans, Turkish and Indians, flew at him, and, seeing the inevitable trouble, the honest merchant abandons his rich caravans with his faithful servants and runs into the dark forests. “Let me be torn to pieces by fierce beasts, rather than fall into the hands of filthy robbers and live out my life in captivity in captivity.”

He wanders through that dense forest, impassable, impassable, and as he goes further, the road becomes better, as if the trees part before him, and the frequent bushes move apart. Looks back. - he can’t stick his hands in, he looks to the right - there are stumps and logs, he can’t get past the sideways hare, he looks to the left - and even worse. The honest merchant marvels, thinks he can’t figure out what kind of miracle is happening to him, but he goes on and on: the road is rough under his feet. He walks day from morning to evening, he does not hear the roar of an animal, nor the hiss of a snake, nor the cry of an owl, nor the voice of a bird: everything around him has died out. Now the dark night has come; All around him it would be prickly to poke out his eyes, but under his feet there is little light. Here he goes, almost until midnight, and he began to see a glow ahead, and he thought:

“Apparently, the forest is burning, so why should I go there to certain, inevitable death?”

He turned back - you can’t go, right, left -

can't go; leaned forward - the road was rough. “Let me stand in one place, maybe the glow will go in the other direction, or away from me, or it will go out completely.”

So he stood there, waiting; but that was not the case: the glow seemed to be coming towards him, and it seemed to be getting lighter around him; he thought and thought and decided to go forward. Two deaths cannot happen, but one cannot be avoided. The merchant crossed himself and went forward. The further you go, the brighter it becomes, and it almost became like white day, and you can’t hear the noise and crackling of a fireman.

At the end he comes out into a wide clearing and in the middle of that wide clearing stands a house, not a house, a palace, not a palace, but a royal or royal palace, all on fire, in silver and gold and in semi-precious stones, all burning and shining, but there is no fire to be seen; the sun is exactly red, and it’s hard for the eyes to look at it. All the windows in the palace are open, and consonant music is playing in it, such as he has never heard.

He enters a wide courtyard, through a wide open gate;

the road was made of white marble, and on the sides there were fountains of water, tall, large and small. He enters the palace along a staircase covered with crimson (7) cloth, with gilded railings; entered the upper room - there was no one; in another, in a third - there is no one; on the fifth, tenth - there is no one; and the decoration everywhere is royal, unheard of and unprecedented: gold, silver, oriental crystal, ivory and mammoth.

The honest merchant marvels at such unspeakable wealth, and doubly marvels at the fact that there is no owner; not only the owner, but also no servants;

and the music doesn’t stop playing; and at that time he thought to himself:

“Everything is fine, but there is nothing to eat” - and a table grew up in front of him, cleared away: in gold and silver dishes there were sugar dishes (8), and foreign wines, and honey drinks. He sat down at the table without hesitation (9), got drunk, ate his fill, because he had not eaten for a whole day; the food is such that it is impossible to even say - just look at it, you will swallow your tongue, but he, walking through the forests and sands, became very hungry; He got up from the table, but there was no one to bow to and no one to say thank you for the bread or the salt. Before he had time to get up and look around, the table with food was gone, and the music was playing incessantly.

The honest merchant marvels at such a wonderful miracle and such a wondrous marvel, and he walks through the decorated chambers and admires them, and he himself thinks: “It would be nice to sleep and snore now” - and he sees a carved bed standing in front of him, made of pure gold, on crystal legs, with a silver canopy, fringe and pearl tassels; the down jacket lies on her like a mountain, soft, swan-like down.

The merchant marvels at such a new, new and wonderful miracle;

He lies down on the high bed, draws the silver curtains and sees that it is thin and soft, as if silk. It became dark in the room, just like twilight, and the music was playing as if from a distance, and he thought: “Oh, if only I could see my daughters in my dreams!” - and fell asleep at that very moment.

The merchant wakes up, and the sun has already risen above the standing tree. The merchant woke up, and suddenly he couldn’t come to his senses: all night he saw in a dream his kind, good and beautiful daughters, and he saw his eldest daughters: the eldest and the middle, that they were cheerful and cheerful, and only the youngest daughter, his beloved, was sad; that the eldest and middle daughters have rich suitors and that they are going to get married without waiting for his father’s blessing; the youngest daughter, beloved, a real beauty, doesn’t even want to hear about suitors until her dear father returns. And his soul felt both joyful and not joyful.

He got up from the high bed, his dress was all prepared, and a fountain of water beats into a crystal bowl; He gets dressed, washes himself and doesn’t marvel at the new miracle: there is tea and coffee on the table, and with them a sugar snack. Having prayed to God, he ate, and he began to walk around the chambers again, so that again he could admire them in the light of the red sun. Everything seemed better to him than yesterday. Now he sees through the open windows that around the palace there are strange, fruitful gardens and flowers blooming of indescribable beauty. He wanted to take a walk through those gardens.

He goes down another staircase made of green marble, copper malachite, with gilded railings, and goes straight into the green gardens. He walks and admires: ripe, rosy fruits hang on the trees, just begging to be put into his mouth, and sometimes, looking at them, his mouth waters; the flowers are blooming beautifully, double, fragrant, painted with all sorts of colors; unprecedented birds fly: as if lined with gold and silver on green and crimson velvet, they sing heavenly songs; fountains of water gush out high, and when you look at their height, your head falls back; and the spring springs run and rustle along the crystal decks.

An honest merchant walks around and marvels; His eyes widened at all such wonders, and he didn’t know what to look at or who to listen to. Whether he walked for so long or for little time is unknown:

soon the tale is told, but not soon the deed is done. And suddenly he sees a scarlet flower blooming on a green hillock, a beauty unprecedented and unheard of, which cannot be said in a fairy tale or written with a pen. An honest merchant's spirit is occupied; he approaches that flower; the scent from the flower flows in a steady stream throughout the garden;

The merchant’s arms and legs began to shake, and he said in a joyful voice:

“Here is a scarlet flower, which is not more beautiful in this world, which my youngest, beloved daughter asked me for.”

And, having uttered these words, he came up and picked a scarlet flower. At that same moment, without any clouds, lightning flashed and thunder struck, and the earth began to shake under his feet - and a beast grew up, as if from the earth, before the merchant, a beast not a beast, a man not a man, but some kind of monster, scary and shaggy , and he roared in a wild voice:

“What have you done? How dare you pluck my reserved, beloved flower from my garden? I treasured it more than the apple of my eye (10) and every day I was consoled by looking at it, and you deprived me of all the joy in my life. I am the owner of the palace and garden, I received you as a dear guest and invitee, fed you, gave you something to drink and put you to bed, and you somehow paid for my goods? Know your bitter fate: you will die an untimely death for your guilt!..”

"You may die an untimely death!"

The honest merchant's fear made him lose his temper; he looked around and saw that from all sides, from under every tree and bush, from the water, from the earth, an unclean and countless force was creeping towards him, all ugly monsters. He fell to his knees in front of his big master, a furry monster, and said in a plaintive voice:

“Oh, you are, honest lord, beast of the forest, miracle of the sea: I don’t know, I don’t know how to exalt you! Don’t destroy my Christian soul for my innocent impudence, don’t order me to be chopped down and executed, order me to utter a word. But I have I have three daughters, three beautiful daughters, good and pretty; I promised to bring them a gift: the eldest daughter - a gem crown, the middle daughter - a crystal toilette, and the youngest daughter - a scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world.

I found gifts for the older daughters, but I could not find gifts for the younger daughter; I saw such a gift in your garden - a scarlet flower, the most beautiful in this world, and I thought that such an owner, rich, rich, glorious and powerful, would not feel sorry for the scarlet flower that my youngest daughter, my beloved, asked for. I repent of my guilt before Your Majesty. Forgive me, unreasonable and stupid, let me go to my dear daughters and give me a scarlet flower as a present for my youngest, beloved daughter. I will pay you the gold treasury that you demand."

Laughter rang through the forest, as if thunder had thundered, and the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, said to the merchant:

“I don’t need your golden treasury: I have nowhere to put mine.

There is no mercy for you from me, and my faithful servants will tear you into pieces, into small pieces. There is one salvation for you.

I will let you go home unharmed, I will reward you with an uncountable treasury, I will give you a scarlet flower, if you give me an honest merchant’s word and a note from your hand that you will send in your place one of your good, handsome daughters; I will not do her any harm, and she will live with me in honor and freedom, just as you yourself lived in my palace. I’ve become bored of living alone, and I want to get myself a comrade.”

So the merchant fell on the damp ground, shedding burning tears; and he will look at the forest beast, at the miracle of the sea, and he will remember his daughters, good, beautiful, and even more than that, he will scream in a heart-rending voice: the forest beast, the miracle of the sea, was painfully terrible. For a long time, the honest merchant is killed and sheds tears, and he says in a plaintive voice:

“Honest sir, beast of the forest, miracle of the sea! And what should I do if my daughters, good and handsome, do not want to go to you of their own free will? Shouldn’t I tie their hands and feet and send them by force? And what way to "Can I get to you? I've been traveling to you for exactly two years, but to what places, along what paths, I don't know."

The beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, will speak to the merchant:

“I don’t want a slave: let your daughter come here out of love for you, of her own will and desire; and if your daughters do not go of their own free will and desire, then come yourself, and I will order you to be executed with a cruel death. How can you come to me? "It's not your problem; I'll give you a ring from my hand: whoever puts it on his right little finger will find himself wherever he wants in a single moment. I give you time to stay at home for three days and three nights."

The merchant thought and thought and thought strongly and came up with this: “It’s better for me to see my daughters, give them my parental blessing, and if they don’t want to save me from death, then prepare for death as a Christian duty and return to the forest beast, the miracle of the sea.” . There was no falsehood on his mind, and therefore he told what was on his thoughts. The forest beast, the miracle of the sea, already knew them; Seeing his truth, he did not even take the notes from him (11), but took the gold ring from his hand and gave it to the honest merchant.

And only the honest merchant managed to put it on his right little finger when he found himself at the gates of his wide courtyard; At that time, his rich caravans with faithful servants entered the same gate, and they brought treasury and goods three times as much as before. There was a noise and hubbub in the house, the daughters jumped up from behind their hoops, and they were embroidering silk flies (12) in silver and gold;

They began (13) to kiss their father, to be kind to him, and to call him various affectionate names, and the two older sisters fawned over him even more than the younger sister. They see that the father is somehow unhappy and that there is a hidden sadness in his heart. His elder daughters began to question him whether he had lost his great wealth;

the younger daughter does not think about wealth, and she says to her parent:

“I don’t need your riches; wealth is a matter of gain, but reveal to me your heartfelt grief.”

And then the honest merchant will say to his dear, good and handsome daughters:

“I did not lose my great wealth, but gained three or four times the treasury; but I have another sorrow, and I will tell you about it tomorrow, but today we will have fun.”

He ordered to bring traveling chests, bound with iron;

He got his eldest daughter a golden crown, Arabian gold, does not burn in fire, does not rust in water, with semi-precious stones;

takes out a gift for the middle daughter, a toilette for oriental crystal;

takes out a gift for his youngest daughter, a golden jug with a scarlet flower. The eldest daughters went crazy with joy, took their gifts to the high towers and there in the open they amused themselves with them to their fill. Only the youngest daughter, my beloved, saw the scarlet flower, shook all over and began to cry, as if something had stung her in the heart. As her father speaks to her, these are the words:

“Well, my dear, beloved daughter, don’t you take your desired flower? There is nothing more beautiful in this world.”

The youngest daughter took the scarlet flower even reluctantly, kisses her father’s hands, and she herself cries burning tears. Soon the older daughters came running, they tried (14) their father’s gifts and could not come to their senses from joy. Then they all sat down at oak tables, at stained tablecloths (15), at sugar dishes, at honey drinks; They began to eat, drink, cool off, and console themselves with affectionate speeches.

In the evening the guests arrived in large numbers, and the merchant’s house became full of dear guests, relatives, saints, and hangers-on. The conversation continued until midnight, and such was the evening feast, the likes of which the honest merchant had never seen in his house, and where everything came from, he could not guess, and everyone marveled at it: gold and silver dishes, and outlandish dishes, such as never before We haven’t seen them in the house.

The next morning the merchant called his eldest daughter to him, told her everything that had happened to him, everything from word to word, and asked: does she want to save him from cruel death and go to live with the beast of the forest, with the miracle of the sea? The eldest daughter flatly refused and said:

The honest merchant called his other daughter, the middle one, to his place, told her everything that had happened to him, everything from word to word, and asked if she wanted to save him from cruel death and go to live with the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea? The middle daughter flatly refused and said:

“Let that daughter help out her father, for whom he got the scarlet flower.”

The honest merchant called his youngest daughter and began to tell her everything, everything from word to word, and before he could finish his speech, the youngest daughter, his beloved, knelt before him and said:

“Bless me, my lord, my dear father: I will go to the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, and I will live with him. You got a scarlet flower for me, and I need to help you out.”

The honest merchant burst into tears, he hugged his youngest daughter, his beloved, and spoke to her these words:

“My dear, good, pretty, younger and beloved daughter, may my parental blessing be upon you, that you rescue your father from a cruel death and, of your own free will and desire, go to live a life opposite to the terrible beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea. You will live. You are in his palace, in great wealth and freedom, but where that palace is - no one knows, no one knows, and there is no way to it, neither on horseback, nor on foot, nor for the flying beast (16) nor for the migratory bird. We will not have anything from you. "No hearing, no news, and even less so from us. And how can I live out my bitter life, not seeing your face, not hearing your kind words? I part with you forever and ever, even as you live, I bury you in the ground."

And the youngest, beloved daughter will say to her father:

“Don’t cry, don’t be sad, my dear sir; my life will be rich, free: I won’t be afraid of the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, I will serve him with faith and truth, fulfill his will of the Lord, and maybe he will take pity on me. Don’t mourn me alive as if I were dead: maybe, God willing, I’ll return to you.”

The honest merchant cries and sobs, but is not consoled by such speeches.

The older sisters, the big one and the middle one, came running and started crying all over the house: see, they feel so sorry for their little sister, their beloved; but the younger sister doesn’t even seem sad, doesn’t cry, doesn’t groan, and is getting ready for a long, unknown journey. And he takes with him a scarlet flower in a gilded jug.

The third day and third night passed, the time had come for the honest merchant to part, to part with his youngest, beloved daughter; he kisses, has mercy on her, pours burning tears on her and places his parental blessing on her on the cross. He takes out the ring of a forest beast, a miracle of the sea, from a forged casket, puts the ring on the right little finger of his youngest, beloved daughter - and at that very moment she was gone with all her belongings.

She found herself in the palace of the forest beast, the miracle of the sea, in tall stone chambers, on a bed made of carved gold with crystal legs, on a down jacket of swan down, covered with golden damask (17) she did not move from her place, she lived here for a whole century , lay down to rest and woke up.

Consonantal music began to play, such as she had never heard in her life.

She got up from her downy bed and saw that all her belongings and a scarlet flower in a gilded jug were standing right there, laid out and arranged on green tables of copper malachite, and that in that room there was a lot of goodness and belongings of all kinds, there was something to sit and lie on, there was There is something to dress up in, something to look at. And there was one wall all mirrored, and another wall gilded, and the third wall all silver, and the fourth wall made of ivory and mammoth bone, all decorated with semi-precious yachts; and She thought: “This must be my bedchamber.”

She wanted to examine the whole palace, and she went to examine all its high chambers, and she walked for a long time, admiring all the wonders; one chamber was more beautiful than the other, and more and more beautiful than what the honest merchant, her dear sir, told. She took her favorite scarlet flower from a gilded jug, she went down into the green gardens, and the birds sang their songs of paradise to her, and the trees, bushes and flowers waved their tops and bowed down before her; fountains of water began to flow higher and the springs began to rustle louder; and she found that high place, an anthill (18) on which an honest merchant picked a scarlet flower, the most beautiful of which is not in this world. And she took that scarlet flower out of the gilded jug and wanted to plant it in its original place; but he himself flew out of her hands and grew back to the old stem and blossomed more beautifully than before.

She marveled at such a wonderful miracle, a wondrous wonder, rejoiced at her cherished scarlet flower and went back to her palace chambers; and in one of them there is a table set, and as soon as she thought: “Apparently, the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, is not angry with me, and he will be a merciful lord to me,” when fiery words appeared on the white marble wall:

“I am not your master, but an obedient slave. You are my mistress, and whatever you want, whatever comes to your mind, I will do with pleasure.”

She read the fiery words, and they disappeared from the white marble wall, as if they had never been there. And the thought dawned on her to write a letter to her parent and give him news about herself. Before she had time to think about it, she saw paper lying in front of her, a golden pen with an inkwell. She writes a letter to her dear father and her dear sisters:

“Don’t cry for me, don’t grieve, I live in a palace with a forest beast, a miracle of the sea, like a princess; I don’t see or hear him, but he writes to me on the white marble wall in fiery words; and he knows everything that I have on his mind, and at that very moment he does everything, and he does not want to be called my master, but calls me his mistress.”

Before she had time to write the letter and seal it, the letter disappeared from her hands and eyes, as if it had never been there.

The music began to play louder than ever, sugar dishes, honey drinks, and all the utensils were made of red gold. She sat down at the table cheerfully, although she had never dined alone; she ate, drank, cooled off, and amused herself with music. After lunch, having eaten, she went to bed; the music began to play quietly and further away - for the reason that it would not disturb her sleep.

After sleep, she got up cheerfully and went for a walk again through the green gardens, because before lunch she had not had time to walk around half of them and look at all their wonders. All the trees, bushes and flowers bowed before her, and the ripe fruits - pears, peaches and juicy apples - climbed into her mouth. After walking for a considerable time, almost until the evening, she returned to her lofty chambers, and she saw: the table was set, and on the table there were sugar dishes and honey drinks, and all of them were excellent.

After dinner she entered that white marble chamber where she had read fiery words on the wall, and she again saw the same fiery words on the same wall:

“Is my lady satisfied with her gardens and chambers, food and servants?”

“Don’t call me your mistress, but always be my kind master, affectionate and merciful. I will never step out of your will. I thank you for all your treats. Better than your high chambers and your green gardens cannot be found in this world: then how can I not be content? I have never seen such miracles in my life. I have not yet come to my senses from such a marvel, only I am afraid to rest alone; in all your high chambers there is not a human soul."

Fiery words appeared on the wall:

“Do not be afraid, my beautiful lady: you will not rest alone, your hay girl (19), faithful and beloved, is waiting for you; and there are many human souls in the chambers, but you don’t see or hear them, and they are all with me We will protect you day and night: we will not let the wind blow on you (20), we will not let even a speck of dust settle.”

And the merchant’s young daughter, a beautiful woman, went to rest in her bedchamber, and saw: her hay girl, faithful and beloved, was standing by the bed, and she was standing almost alive from fear; and she rejoiced at her mistress, and kisses her white hands, hugs her playful legs. The mistress was also glad to see her, and began to ask her about her dear father, about her older sisters and about all her maiden servants; after that she began to tell herself what happened to her at that time; They didn’t sleep until the white dawn.

And so the merchant’s young daughter, a beautiful woman, began to live and live. Every day new, rich outfits are ready for her, and decorations are such that they have no price, neither in a fairy tale nor in writing; Every day I have new, excellent treats and fun:

riding, walking with music in chariots without horses or harness through dark forests; and those forests parted in front of her and gave her a wide, wide and smooth path. And she began to do needlework, girlish needlework, embroidering flies with silver and gold and trimming fringes with fine pearls; she began to send gifts to her dear father, and gave the richest fly to her affectionate owner, and to that forest animal, a miracle of the sea; and day by day she began to go more often to the white marble hall, to speak kind words to her merciful master and to read on the wall his answers and greetings in fiery words.

You never know, how much time has passed: soon the fairy tale is told, but not soon the deed is done - the young merchant’s daughter, a written beauty, began to get used to her life;

She no longer marvels at anything, is not afraid of anything; invisible servants serve her, serve her, receive her, ride her in horseless chariots, play music and carry out all her commands. And she loved her merciful master day by day, and she saw that it was not for nothing that he called her his mistress and that he loved her more than himself; and she wanted to listen to his voice, she wanted to have a conversation with him, without going into the white marble chamber, without reading fiery words.

She began to beg and ask him about it; Yes, the forest beast, the miracle of the sea, does not quickly agree to her request, he is afraid to frighten her with his voice; she begged, she begged her kind owner, and he could not be opposite to her, and he wrote to her for the last time on the white marble wall in fiery words:

“Come today to the green garden, sit in your beloved gazebo, plaited with leaves, branches, flowers, and say this:

"Speak to me, my faithful slave."

And a little later the merchant’s young daughter, a beautiful woman, ran into the green gardens, entered her beloved gazebo, plaited with leaves, branches, flowers, and sat down on a brocade bench; and she says breathlessly, her heart is beating like a caught bird, she says these words:

“Do not be afraid, my kind and gentle lord, to frighten me with your voice: after all your mercies, I will not be afraid of the roar of an animal; speak to me without fear.”

And she heard exactly who sighed behind the gazebo, and a terrible voice was heard, wild and loud, hoarse and hoarse, and even then he spoke in an undertone. At first the merchant’s young daughter, a beautiful woman, shuddered when she heard the voice of the forest beast, the miracle of the sea, but she only controlled her fear and did not show that she was afraid, and soon his kind and friendly words, his intelligent and reasonable speeches, she began to listen and listened, and her heart felt joyful.

From that time on, from that time on, they began to talk, almost all day long - in the green garden during festivities, in the dark forests during skating sessions, and in all the high chambers. Only the young merchant’s daughter, the written beauty, will ask:

“Are you here, my good, beloved sir?”

The forest beast, the miracle of the sea, answers:

“Here, my beautiful lady, is your faithful slave, unfailing friend.”

Little or much time has passed: soon the tale is told, the deed is not soon done, - the young daughter of the merchant, a written beauty, wanted to see with her own eyes the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, and she began to ask and beg him about it. He doesn’t agree to this for a long time, he’s afraid of scaring her, and he was such a monster that he couldn’t be said in a fairy tale or written down with a pen; not only people, but wild animals were always afraid of him and fled to their dens. And the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, spoke these words:

“Don’t ask me, don’t beg me, my beautiful lady, my beloved beauty, to show you my disgusting face, my ugly body. You have become accustomed to my voice;

you and I live in friendship, in harmony with each other, respectfully, we are not separated, and you love me for my unspeakable love for you, and when you see me, terrible and disgusting, you will hate me, the unfortunate one, you will drive me out of sight, and separated from you, I will die of melancholy."

The young merchant's daughter, a beautiful woman, did not listen to such speeches, and began to beg more than ever, swearing that she would not be afraid of any monster in the world and that she would not stop loving her merciful master, and she spoke to him these words:

“If you are an old man, be my grandfather, if you are Seredovich (21), be my uncle, if you are young, be my sworn brother, and while I am alive, be my heartfelt friend.”

For a long, long time, the forest animal, the miracle of the sea, did not succumb to such words, but could not resist the requests and tears of its beauty, and says this word to her:

“I cannot be opposite to you for the reason that I love you more than myself; I will fulfill your desire, although I know that I will ruin my happiness and die an untimely death. Come to the green garden in the gray twilight, when the red sun sets behind the forest, and say: “Show yourself to me, faithful friend!" - and I will show you my disgusting face, my ugly body. And if it becomes unbearable for you to stay with me any longer, I don’t want your bondage and eternal torment: you will find it in your bedchamber, "under your pillow, my gold ring. Put it on your right little finger - and you will find yourself with your dear father and will never hear anything about me."

The young merchant’s daughter, a real beauty, was not afraid, she was not afraid, she firmly relied on herself. At that time, without hesitating a minute, she went into the green garden to wait for the appointed hour, and when the gray twilight came, the red sun sank behind the forest, she said: “Show yourself, my faithful friend!” - and from afar a forest beast, a miracle of the sea, appeared to her: it passed only across the road and disappeared into the dense bushes; and the merchant’s young daughter, a beautiful woman, did not see the light, clasped her white hands, screamed in a heart-rending voice and fell on the road without memory. Yes, and the beast of the forest was terrible, a miracle of the sea: crooked arms, animal claws on the hands, horse legs, great camel humps in front and back, all shaggy from top to bottom, boar tusks protruded from the mouth, a hooked nose like a golden eagle, and the eyes were owls.

After lying down for how long, who knows how long, the young merchant’s daughter, a beautiful woman, came to her senses, and heard: someone was crying next to her, shedding bitter tears and saying in a pitiful voice:

“You have ruined me, my beautiful beloved, I will no longer see your beautiful face, you will not even want to hear me, and it has come for me to die an untimely death.”

And she became pitiful and ashamed, and she mastered her great fear and her timid girlish heart, and she spoke in a firm voice:

“No, don’t be afraid of anything, my kind and gentle lord, I won’t be more frightened by your terrible appearance, I won’t be separated from you, I won’t forget your mercies; show yourself to me now in your former form; I was just scared for the first time.”

A forest animal, a miracle of the sea, appeared to her, in its terrible, disgusting, ugly form, but it did not dare to come close to her, no matter how much she called him; They walked until the dark night and had the same conversations as before, affectionate and reasonable, and the merchant’s young daughter, a beautiful woman, did not sense any fear. The next day she saw a forest animal, a miracle of the sea, in the light of the red sun, and although at first she was frightened when she saw it, she did not show it, and soon her fear completely passed away. Here they began to talk more than ever: almost day after day, they were not separated, at lunch and dinner they ate sugar dishes, cooled off with honey drinks, walked through green gardens, rode without horses through dark forests.

And a lot of time has passed: soon the fairy tale is told, but not soon the deed is done. So one day, in a dream, a young merchant’s daughter, a beautiful woman, dreamed that her father was lying unwell; and an incessant melancholy fell upon her, and in that melancholy and tears the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, saw her, and began to spin violently and began to ask: why is she in anguish, in tears? She told him her bad dream and began to ask him for permission to see her dear father and her dear sisters. And the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, will speak to her:

“And why do you need my permission? You have my gold ring, put it on your right little finger and you will find yourself in the house of your dear father. Stay with him until you get bored, and only I will tell you: if you are in exactly three days and three “If you don’t come back at night, I won’t be in this world, and I’ll die that very minute, for the reason that I love you more than myself, and I can’t live without you.”

She began to assure with cherished words and oaths that exactly one hour before three days and three nights she would return to his lofty chambers. She said goodbye to her kind and merciful owner, put a gold ring on her right little finger and found herself in the wide courtyard of an honest merchant, her dear father. She goes to the high porch of his stone chambers; the servants and servants of the courtyard ran up to her and made noise and shouting; the kind sisters came running and, when they saw her, they were amazed at her maiden beauty and her royal, royal attire; The white men grabbed her by the arms and led her to her dear father; and the father is not well. I lay there, unhealthy and joyless, remembering her day and night, shedding burning tears; and he did not remember with joy when he saw his dear, good, comely, younger, beloved daughter, and he marveled at her maiden beauty, her royal, royal attire.

They kissed for a long time, showed mercy, and consoled themselves with affectionate speeches. She told her dear father and her older, kind sisters, about her life with the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, everything from word to word, without hiding any crumbs. And the honest merchant rejoiced at her rich, royal, royal life, and marveled at how she was accustomed to looking at her terrible master and was not afraid of the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea; He himself, remembering him, trembled in his trembling. The older sisters, hearing about the countless wealth of the younger sister and about her royal power over her master, as if over her slave, became envious.

A day passes like a single hour, another day passes like a minute, and on the third day the older sisters began to persuade the younger sister so that she would not return to the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea. “Let him die, that’s his way...” And the dear guest, the younger sister, became angry with the elder sisters, and said these words to them:

“If I pay my kind and affectionate master for all his mercies and ardent, unspeakable love with his fierce death, then I will not be worth living in this world, and it is worth giving me then to wild animals to be torn to pieces.”

And her father, an honest merchant, praised her for such good speeches, and it was ordered that, exactly one hour before the due date, she should return to the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, a good, comely, younger, beloved daughter. But the sisters were annoyed, and they conceived a cunning deed, a cunning and unkind deed; They took and set all the clocks in the house a whole hour ago, and the honest merchant and all his faithful servants, the courtyard servants, did not know it.

And when the real hour came, the young merchant’s daughter, a written beauty, began to ache and ache in her heart, something began to wash her away, and she looked every now and then at her father’s, English, German watches - but still she went into the distant path. And the sisters talk to her, ask her about this and that, detain her. However, her heart could not bear it;

the youngest daughter, beloved, written beauty, said goodbye to the honest merchant, her father, received the parental blessing from him, said goodbye to the older, dear sisters, to the faithful servants, the courtyard servants, and, without waiting a single minute before the appointed hour, she put a gold ring on right little finger and found herself in a white-stone palace, in the lofty chambers of a forest beast, a miracle of the sea, and, marveling that he did not meet her, she shouted in a loud voice:

“Where are you, my good lord, my faithful friend? Why don’t you meet me? I returned before the appointed time, an hour and a minute.”

There was no answer, no greeting, the silence was dead; in the green gardens the birds did not sing heavenly songs, the fountains of water did not gush and the springs did not rustle, and music did not play in the high chambers. The heart of the merchant's daughter, a beautiful woman, trembled; she sensed something unkind; She ran around the high chambers and green gardens, calling in a loud voice to her good master -

There is no answer anywhere, no greeting and no voice of obedience (22). She ran to the anthill, where her favorite scarlet flower grew and adorned itself, and she saw that the forest animal, a miracle of the sea, was lying on the hillock, clasping the scarlet flower with its ugly paws. And it seemed to her that he had fallen asleep while waiting for her, and was now fast asleep.

The merchant's daughter, a beautiful woman, began to wake him up little by little,

He doesn't hear; she began to wake him up, grabbed him by the furry paw - and saw that the forest animal, a miracle of the sea, was lifeless, lying dead...

Her clear eyes grew dim, her quick legs gave way, she fell to her knees, wrapped her white hands around the head of her good master, an ugly and disgusting head, and screamed in a heart-rending voice:

“You get up, wake up, my dear Friend, I love you like a desired groom!..”

And as soon as she uttered these words, lightning flashed from all sides, the earth shook from great thunder, a stone thunder arrow struck the anthill, and the young merchant’s daughter, a beautiful woman, fell unconscious. Whether she lay unconscious for how long or how long, I don’t know; only, having woken up, she sees herself in a high, white marble chamber, she is sitting on a golden throne with precious stones, and a young prince, a handsome man, on his head with a royal crown, in gold-plated clothes, hugs her; in front of him stands his father and sisters, and around him a great retinue is kneeling, all dressed in brocades of gold and silver. And the young prince, a handsome man with a royal crown on his head, will speak to her:

“You fell in love with me, beloved beauty, in the form of an ugly monster, for my kind soul and love for you; love me now in human form, be my desired bride.

The evil sorceress was angry with my late parent, the glorious and mighty king, stole me, still a small child, and with her satanic witchcraft, unclean power, turned me into a terrible monster and cast such a spell so that I could live in such an ugly, disgusting and terrible form for everyone man, for every creature of God, until there is a red maiden, no matter what her family and rank, who loves me in the form of a monster and wishes to be my lawful wife - and then the witchcraft will all end, and I will again become a young man as before and look pretty. And I lived as such a monster and a scarecrow for exactly thirty years, and I brought eleven red maidens into my enchanted palace, you were the twelfth.

Not a single one loved me for my caresses and pleases, for my kind soul. You alone fell in love with me, a disgusting and ugly monster, for my caresses and pleasures, for my kind soul, for my unspeakable love for you, and for this you will be the wife of a glorious king, a queen in a mighty kingdom.”

Then everyone marveled at this, the retinue bowed to the ground.

The honest merchant gave his blessing to his youngest daughter, his beloved, and the young prince-royalty. And the elder, envious sisters, and all the faithful servants, the great boyars and the military cavaliers, congratulated the bride and groom, and without hesitation they began to have a merry feast and the wedding, and began to live and live, make good money. I was there myself, I drank beer and honey, it flowed down my mustache, but it didn’t get into my mouth.

Notes

(1) In some - in some. There are many old words in the tale; it is written as it was told by the housekeeper Pelageya.

(2) Treasury - money.

(3) Brocade - silk fabric woven with gold or silver threads.

(4) Burmitz pearls are especially large and round pearls.

(5) Toilet - toilet, mirror.

(6) Inda - even.

(7) Karmazin - bright red.

(8) Dishes - food, dishes.

(9) Without hesitation - without doubt, without fear.

(10) To keep more than the apple of one's eye - to protect, to keep something more than one's eyes.

(11) Handwritten entry - receipt.

(12) Fly - here: a wide towel.

(13) Let's start - start.

(14) Tried - here: looked, tried on.

(15) A broken tablecloth is a tablecloth woven with patterns.

(16) Jumping - swift, fast.

(17) Kamka - silk colored fabric with patterns.

(18) Ant - here: overgrown with grass (ant).

(19) The hay girl is a servant.

(20) Venuti - to blow, to blow.

(21) Seredovich is a middle-aged man.

Sergey Aksakov - Scarlet Flower, read the text

See also Sergey Aksakov - Prose (stories, poems, novels...):

BURAN
INTRODUCTION I would not print the following passage, that is, the description...

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In many of our provinces there was a custom, and now it exists...

Fairy tale The Scarlet Flower summary:

The fairy tale “The Scarlet Flower” tells how a rich merchant had three beloved daughters. The merchant wanted to buy gifts for his daughters. The elders asked for decorations, and the youngest asked for a Scarlet flower. The merchant quickly bought jewelry for the eldest daughters, but Alenky could not find the flower anywhere.

Fleeing from robbers, the merchant ended up in a royal palace with a beautiful garden. And he found there a Scarlet flower, which was guarded by a monster. The monster was angry with the merchant because he picked the flower. And the monster asked, in exchange for the merchant’s life, for one of his daughters to come to him for love, and gave him a magic ring. And the merchant found himself at home. He told his daughters what happened to him. But neither the eldest nor the middle daughter agreed to go to the monster. Only the youngest decided to help her father out.

The youngest daughter began to live in a beautiful palace and was already accustomed to such a life, but she really wanted to see her father. The monster allowed her to see her father, but warned her that if she did not return in three days, he would not be in this world.

But the youngest daughter was late due to the fault of her sisters and found the monster dead. But when she confessed her love to the monster, it turned into a handsome prince. And they got married.

This fairy tale teaches us about good relationships between parents and children, devotion, compassion, that one must keep one’s promised word and that one should not judge a person by appearance, because his soul can be kind and beautiful.

Fairy tale The Scarlet Flower read:

In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a rich merchant, an eminent man. He had a lot of all kinds of wealth, expensive goods from overseas, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury, and that merchant had three daughters, all three were beautiful, and the youngest was the best. And he loved his daughters more than all his wealth, for the reason that he was a widower and had no one to love. He loved the older daughters, but he loved the younger daughter more, because she was better than everyone else and was more affectionate towards him.

So that merchant is going on his trade affairs overseas, to distant lands, to the distant kingdom, to the thirtieth state, and he says to his dear daughters:

My dear daughters, my good daughters, my beautiful daughters, I am going on my merchant business to distant lands, to the distant kingdom, the thirtieth state, and you never know, how much time I travel, I don’t know. I order you to live without me honestly and peacefully, and if you live without me honestly and peacefully, then I will bring you such gifts as you want, and I give you three days to think, and then you will tell me what kind of gifts you want.

They thought for three days and three nights and came to their parent, and he began to ask them what gifts they wanted.

The eldest daughter bowed at her father’s feet and was the first to say to him:

Sir, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black sable furs, nor Burmita pearls, but bring me a golden crown of semi-precious stones, and so that there will be such light from them as from a full month, as from the red sun, and so that there is It is light in a dark night, as in the middle of a white day.

The honest merchant thought for a moment and then said:

Okay, my dear, good and pretty daughter, I will bring you such a crown. I know a man overseas who will get me such a crown. And one overseas princess has it, and it is hidden in a stone storage room, and that storage room is located in a stone mountain, three fathoms deep, behind three iron doors, behind three German locks. The work will be considerable: yes, for my treasury there is no opposite.

The middle daughter bowed at his feet and said:

“Sir, you are my dear father! Don’t bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black Siberian sable furs, nor a necklace of Burmitz pearls, nor a gold semi-precious crown, but bring me a tuvalet (mirror) made of oriental crystal, solid, immaculate, so that, looking into it, I can see everything the beauty of heaven and so that, looking into it, I would not grow old and my girlish beauty would increase.

The honest merchant became thoughtful and, after thinking for who knows how long, he says to her these words:

Okay, my dear, good and pretty daughter, I’ll get you such a crystal toilette; and the daughter of the King of Persia, a young princess, has an indescribable, indescribable and indescribable beauty. And that Tuvalet was buried in a high stone mansion, and he stood on a stone mountain.

The height of that mountain is three hundred fathoms, behind seven iron doors, behind seven German locks, and three thousand steps lead to that mansion, and on each step there stands a Persian soldier, day and night, with a damask saber, and he carries the keys to those iron doors. princess on the belt. I know such a man overseas, and he will get me such a toilet. Your work as a sister is harder, but for my treasury there is no opposite.

The youngest daughter bowed at her father’s feet and said this:

Sir, you are my dear father! Don’t bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black Siberian sables, nor a Burmita necklace, nor a semi-precious crown, nor a crystal tovalet, but bring me a scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world.

The honest merchant thought more deeply than before. Whether he spent a lot of time thinking or not, I can’t say for certain. Lost in thought, he kisses, caresses, caresses his youngest daughter, his beloved, and says:

Well, you gave me a harder job than my sisters: if you know what to look for, how can you not find it, and how can you find something that you don’t know? It’s not hard to find a scarlet flower, but how can I know that there is nothing more beautiful in this world? I will try, but don’t ask for a gift.

And he sent his daughters, good and handsome, to their maiden houses. He began to get ready to hit the road, to the distant lands overseas. How long it took, how much he planned, I don’t know and don’t know: soon the fairy tale is told, but not soon the deed is done. He went on his way, down the road.

Here an honest merchant travels to foreign lands overseas, to unprecedented kingdoms; he sells his goods at exorbitant prices, buys others' goods at exorbitant prices, he exchanges goods for goods and even more, with the addition of silver and gold. He loads the ships with golden treasury and sends them home. He found a treasured gift for his eldest daughter: a crown with semi-precious stones, and from them it is light on a dark night, as if on a white day. He also found a treasured gift for his middle daughter: a crystal toilette, and in it all the beauty of heaven is visible, and, looking into it, a girl’s beauty does not age, but increases.

He just can’t find the treasured gift for his youngest, beloved daughter - a scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world. He found in the gardens of the kings, royals and sultans many scarlet flowers of such beauty that he could not tell in a fairy tale or write with a pen. Yes, no one gives him guarantee that there is no more beautiful flower in this world, and he himself does not think so.

Here he is traveling along the road with his faithful servants through the shifting sands, through dense forests, and out of nowhere, robbers, Busurmans, Turkish and Indians, flew at him, and, seeing the inevitable trouble, the honest merchant abandoned his rich caravans with his servants faithful and runs into the dark forests.

Let me be torn to pieces by fierce beasts, rather than fall into the hands of filthy robbers and live out my life in captivity in captivity.

He wanders through that dense forest, impassable, impassable, and as he goes further, the road becomes better, as if the trees part before him, and the frequent bushes move apart. Looks back. - he can’t stick his hands in, he looks to the right - there are stumps and logs, he can’t get past the sideways hare, he looks to the left - and even worse.

The honest merchant marvels, thinks he can’t figure out what kind of miracle is happening to him, but he goes on and on: the road is rough under his feet. He walks day from morning to evening, he does not hear the roar of an animal, nor the hiss of a snake, nor the cry of an owl, nor the voice of a bird: everything around him has died out.

The dark night has come. All around him it would be enough to poke out his eyes, but under his feet there is little light. Here he goes, almost until midnight, and he began to see a glow ahead, and he thought:

Apparently the forest is burning, so why should I go there to certain, inevitable death?

He turned back - you can’t go, right, left - you can’t go. He leaned forward - the road was rough.

Let me stand in one place, and maybe the glow will go in the other direction, or away from me, or go out completely.

So he stood there, waiting. But that was not the case: the glow seemed to be coming towards him, and it seemed to be getting lighter around him. He thought and thought and decided to go forward. Two deaths cannot happen, but one cannot be avoided. The merchant crossed himself and went forward. The further you go, the brighter it becomes, and it almost became like broad daylight, and you can’t hear the noise and crackling of a fireman.

At the end he comes out into a wide clearing and in the middle of that wide clearing stands a house, not a house, a palace, not a palace, but a royal or royal palace, all on fire, in silver and gold and in semi-precious stones, all burning and shining, but there is no fire to be seen, just like the sun red, it’s even hard to look at. All the windows in the palace are open, and consonant music is playing in it, such as he has never heard.

He enters a wide courtyard, through a wide open gate. The road was made of white marble, and on the sides there were fountains of water, tall, large and small. He enters the palace along a staircase covered with red cloth and gilded railings. I entered the upper room - there was no one, in the second, in the third - there was no one. At the fifth, tenth - there is no one. And the decoration everywhere is royal, unheard of and unprecedented: gold, silver, oriental crystal, ivory and mammoth.

The honest merchant marvels at such unspeakable wealth, and even more so at the fact that there is no owner. Not only the owner, but also the servants are missing, and the music does not stop playing. And at that time he thought to himself:

Everything is fine, but there is nothing to eat! - and a table rose in front of him, cleaned and sorted: in gold and silver dishes there were sugar dishes, foreign wines, and honey drinks. He sat down at the table without hesitation (no doubt, fears), got drunk, and ate his fill, because he had not eaten for a whole day.

The food is such that it’s impossible to even say - just look at it, you’ll swallow your tongue, but he, walking through the forests and sands, became very hungry. He got up from the table, but there was no one to bow to and no one to say thank you for the bread or the salt. Before he had time to get up and look around, the table with food was gone, and the music was playing incessantly.

The honest merchant marvels at such a wonderful miracle and such a wondrous wonder, and he walks through the decorated chambers and admires, and he himself thinks:

It would be nice to sleep and snore now... - and he sees standing in front of him a carved bed, made of pure gold, on crystal legs, with a silver canopy, with fringe and pearl tassels. The down jacket lies on her like a mountain, soft, swan down.

The merchant marvels at such a new, new and wonderful miracle. He lies down on the high bed, draws the silver curtains and sees that it is thin and soft, as if silk. It became dark in the room, just like twilight, and the music was playing as if from a distance, and he thought:

Oh, if only I could see my daughters in my dreams! - and fell asleep at that very moment.

The merchant wakes up, and the sun has already risen above the standing tree. The merchant woke up, and suddenly he couldn’t come to his senses: all night he saw in a dream his kind, good and beautiful daughters, and he saw his elder daughters: the eldest and the middle, that they were cheerful and cheerful, and only the youngest daughter, his beloved, was sad.

That the eldest and middle daughters have rich suitors and that they are going to get married without waiting for his father’s blessing. The beloved youngest daughter, a real beauty, doesn’t even want to hear about suitors until her dear father returns. And his soul felt both joyful and not joyful.

He got up from the high bed, his dress was all prepared, and a fountain of water beats into a crystal bowl. He gets dressed, washes himself and doesn’t marvel at the new miracle: there is tea and coffee on the table, and with them a sugar snack. Having prayed to God, he ate, and he began to walk around the chambers again, so that again he could admire them in the light of the red sun. Everything seemed better to him than yesterday. Now he sees through the open windows that around the palace there are strange, fruitful gardens and flowers blooming of indescribable beauty. He wanted to take a walk through those gardens.

He goes down another staircase made of green marble, copper malachite, with gilded railings, and goes straight into the green gardens. He walks and admires: ripe, rosy fruits hanging on the trees, just asking to be put into his mouth, even looking at them, his mouth waters. The flowers bloom beautifully, double, fragrant, painted with all sorts of colors.

Birds fly unprecedentedly: as if lined with gold and silver on green and crimson velvet, they sing heavenly songs. The water fountains gush out high, and even looking at their height makes your head fall back. And the spring springs run and rustle along the crystal decks.

An honest merchant walks around and marvels; His eyes widened at all such wonders, and he didn’t know what to look at or who to listen to. Whether he walked for so long or for little time is unknown.

Soon the fairy tale is told, but not soon the deed is done. And suddenly he sees a scarlet flower blooming on a green hillock, a beauty unprecedented and unheard of, which cannot be said in a fairy tale or written with a pen. An honest merchant's spirit takes over. He approaches that flower: the smell from the flower flows in a steady stream throughout the garden. The merchant’s arms and legs began to shake, and he said in a joyful voice:

Here is a scarlet flower, the most beautiful in the world, which my youngest, beloved daughter asked me for.

And, having uttered these words, he came up and picked a scarlet flower. At that same moment, without any clouds, lightning flashed and thunder struck, even the earth shook under his feet - and a beast grew up, as if from the earth, in front of the merchant, not a beast, a man not a man, but some kind of monster, scary and shaggy , and he roared in a wild voice:

What did you do? How dare you pluck my reserved, favorite flower from my garden? I treasured him more than the apple of my eye and every day I was consoled by looking at him, but you deprived me of all the joy in my life. I am the owner of the palace and garden, I received you as a dear guest and invitee, fed you, gave you something to drink and put you to bed, and somehow you paid for my goods? Know your bitter fate: you will die an untimely death for your guilt!

May you die an untimely death!

The honest merchant's fear made him lose his temper; he looked around and saw that from all sides, from under every tree and bush, from the water, from the earth, an unclean and countless force was creeping towards him, all ugly monsters. He fell to his knees in front of his big master, a furry monster, and said in a plaintive voice:

Oh, you are, honest lord, beast of the forest, miracle of the sea: how to exalt you - I don’t know, I don’t know! Do not destroy my Christian soul for my innocent impudence, do not order me to be chopped down and executed, order me to say a word. And I have three daughters, three beautiful daughters, good and pretty; I promised to bring them a gift: for the eldest daughter - a gem crown, for the middle daughter - a crystal toilette, and for the youngest daughter - a scarlet flower, no matter what is more beautiful in this world.

I found gifts for the older daughters, but I could not find gifts for the younger daughter. I saw such a gift in your garden - a scarlet flower, the most beautiful in this world, and I thought that such an owner, rich, rich, glorious and powerful, would not feel sorry for the scarlet flower that my youngest daughter, my beloved, asked for.

I repent of my guilt before Your Majesty. Forgive me, unreasonable and stupid, let me go to my dear daughters and give me a scarlet flower as a present for my youngest, beloved daughter. I will pay you the gold treasury that you demand.

Laughter rang through the forest, as if thunder had thundered, and the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, said to the merchant:

I don’t need your golden treasury: I have nowhere to put mine. There is no mercy for you from me, and my faithful servants will tear you into pieces, into small pieces. There is one salvation for you. I will let you go home unharmed, I will reward you with an uncountable treasury, I will give you a scarlet flower, if you give me your word of honor as a merchant and a note from your hand that you will send in your place one of your good, pretty daughters.

I will not do her any harm, and she will live with me in honor and freedom, just as you yourself lived in my palace. I'm getting bored of living alone, and I want to get a friend.

So the merchant fell on the damp ground, shedding burning tears. And he will look at the forest beast, at the miracle of the sea, and he will remember his daughters, good, beautiful, and even more than that, he will scream in a heart-rending voice: the forest beast, the miracle of the sea, was painfully terrible. For a long time, the honest merchant is killed and sheds tears, and he says in a plaintive voice:

Mister honest, beast of the forest, miracle of the sea! But what should I do if my daughters, good and handsome, do not want to come to you of their own free will? Should I not tie their hands and feet and send them by force? And how can I get there? I have been traveling to you for exactly two years, but to what places, along what paths, I don’t know.

The beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, will speak to the merchant:

I don’t want a slave: let your daughter come here out of love for you, of her own will and desire. And if your daughters do not go of their own free will and desire, then come yourself, and I will order you to be executed with a cruel death. How to come to me is not your problem. I will give you a ring from my hand: whoever puts it on his right little finger will find himself wherever he wants in an instant. I give you time to stay at home for three days and three nights.

The merchant thought and thought deeply and came up with this:

It’s better for me to see my daughters, give them my parental blessing, and if they don’t want to save me from death, then prepare for death as a Christian duty and return to the forest beast, the miracle of the sea.

There was no falsehood on his mind, and therefore he told what was on his thoughts. The forest beast, the miracle of the sea, already knew them. Seeing his truth, he did not even take the note from him, but took the gold ring from his hand and gave it to the honest merchant.

And only the honest merchant managed to put it on his right little finger when he found himself at the gates of his wide courtyard. At that time, his rich caravans with faithful servants entered the same gate, and they brought treasury and goods three times as much as before. There was noise and hubbub in the house, the daughters jumped up from behind their hoops, and they were embroidering silk towels with silver and gold.

They began to kiss their father, be kind to him, and call him various affectionate names, and the two older sisters fawned over him even more than the younger sister. They see that the father is somehow unhappy and that there is a hidden sadness in his heart. His elder daughters began to question him whether he had lost his great wealth. The youngest daughter does not think about wealth, and she says to her parent:

I don’t need your riches, wealth is a matter of gain, but tell me your heartfelt grief.

And then the honest merchant will say to his dear, good and handsome daughters:

I did not lose my great wealth, but gained three or four times the treasury; But I have another sadness, and I will tell you about it tomorrow, and today we will have fun.

He ordered to bring traveling chests, bound with iron. He got his eldest daughter a golden crown, Arabian gold, which does not burn in fire, does not rust in water, with semi-precious stones.

He takes out a gift for the middle daughter, a toilette for oriental crystal.

He takes out a gift for his youngest daughter, a golden jug with a scarlet flower.

The eldest daughters went crazy with joy, took their gifts to the high towers and there in the open they amused themselves with them to their fill.

Only the youngest daughter, my beloved, saw the scarlet flower, shook all over and began to cry, as if something had stung her in the heart. As her father speaks to her, these are the words:

Well, my dear, beloved daughter, don’t you take your desired flower? There is nothing more beautiful than him in this world.

The youngest daughter took the scarlet flower even reluctantly, kisses her father’s hands, and she herself cries burning tears. Soon the older daughters came running, looked, they tried on their father’s gifts and could not come to their senses with joy. Then they all sat down at oak tables, at patterned tablecloths, at sugar dishes, at honey drinks. They began to eat, drink, cool off, and console themselves with affectionate speeches.

In the evening the guests arrived in large numbers, and the merchant’s house became full of dear guests, relatives, saints, and hangers-on. The conversation continued until midnight, and such was the evening feast, the likes of which the honest merchant had never seen in his own house, and where it came from, he could not guess, and everyone marveled at it: gold and silver dishes, and outlandish dishes, such as had never been seen before. haven't seen the house.

In the morning the merchant called his eldest daughter to him, told her everything that had happened to him, everything from word to word, and asked: does she want to save him from cruel death and go to live with the beast of the forest, with the miracle of the sea? The eldest daughter flatly refused and said:

The honest merchant called his other daughter, the middle one, to his place, told her everything that had happened to him, everything from word to word, and asked if she wanted to save him from cruel death and go to live with the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea?

The middle daughter flatly refused and said:

Let that daughter help out her father, for whom he got the scarlet flower.

The honest merchant called his youngest daughter and began to tell her everything, everything from word to word, and before he could finish his speech, the youngest daughter, his beloved, knelt before him and said:

Bless me, my lord, my dear father: I will go to the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, and I will live with him. You got a scarlet flower for me, and I need to help you out.

The honest merchant burst into tears, he hugged his youngest daughter, his beloved, and spoke to her these words:

My dear, good, pretty, younger and beloved daughter, may my parental blessing be upon you, that you rescue your father from cruel death and, of your own free will and desire, go to live a life opposite to the terrible beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea. You will live in his palace, in great wealth and freedom.

But where is that palace - no one knows, no one knows, and there is no way to it, neither on horseback, nor on foot, nor for a jumping (fast) animal, nor for a migratory bird. There will be neither hearing nor news from you to us, and even less to you from us. And how can I live out my bitter life, not seeing your face, not hearing your kind words? I part with you forever and ever, even as I live, I bury you in the ground.

And the youngest, beloved daughter will say to her father:

Don’t cry, don’t be sad, my dear sir! My life will be rich, free: I will not be afraid of the forest beast, the miracle of the sea, I will serve him with faith and truth, fulfill his master’s will, and maybe he will take pity on me. Don’t mourn me alive as if I were dead: maybe, God willing, I will return to you.

The honest merchant cries and sobs, but is not consoled by such speeches.

The older sisters, the big one and the middle one, came running and started crying all over the house: see, they feel so sorry for their little sister, their beloved. But the younger sister doesn’t even seem sad, doesn’t cry, doesn’t groan, and is getting ready to go on a long, unknown journey. And he takes with him a scarlet flower in a gilded jug.

The third day and third night passed, the time had come for the honest merchant to part, to part with his youngest, beloved daughter. He kisses, has mercy on her, pours burning tears on her and places his parental blessing on her on the cross. He takes out the ring of a forest beast, a miracle of the sea, from a forged casket, puts the ring on the right little finger of his youngest, beloved daughter - and at that very moment she was gone with all her belongings.

She found herself in the palace of the forest beast, the miracle of the sea, in tall stone chambers, on a bed of carved gold with crystal legs, on a down jacket of swan down, covered with gold damask (silk fabric with patterns). She didn’t leave her spot, she lived here for a whole century, she just lay down to rest and woke up.

Consonantal music began to play, such as she had never heard in her life. She got up from her downy bed and saw that all her belongings and a scarlet flower in a gilded jug were standing right there, laid out and arranged on green tables of copper malachite, and that in that room there was a lot of goodness and belongings of all kinds, there was something to sit and lie on, there was There is something to dress up in, something to look at.

And there was one wall all mirrored, and the other wall was gilded, and the third wall was all silver, and the fourth wall was made of ivory and mammoth bones, all decorated with semi-precious yachts. And she thought:

This must be my bedchamber.

She wanted to examine the whole palace, and she went to examine all its high chambers, and she walked for a long time, admiring all the wonders; one chamber was more beautiful than the other, and more and more beautiful than what the honest merchant, her dear sir, said. She took her favorite scarlet flower from a gilded jug, she went down into the green gardens, and the birds sang their songs of paradise to her, and the trees, bushes and flowers waved their tops and bowed down before her.

Fountains of water began to flow higher and the springs began to rustle louder; and she found that high place, an anthill (overgrown with ant grass) on which an honest merchant picked a scarlet flower, the most beautiful of which is not in this world. And she took that scarlet flower out of the gilded jug and wanted to plant it in its original place, but it itself flew out of her hands and grew to the old stem and blossomed more beautiful than before.

She marveled at such a wonderful miracle, a wondrous wonder, rejoiced at her cherished scarlet flower and went back to her palace chambers; and in one of them there is a table set, and only she thought: “Apparently, the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, is not angry with me, and he will be a merciful lord to me,” when fiery words appeared on the white marble wall:

I am not your master, but an obedient slave. You are my mistress, and whatever you wish, whatever comes to your mind, I will do with pleasure.

She read the fiery words, and they disappeared from the white marble wall, as if they had never been there. And the thought dawned on her to write a letter to her parent and give him news about herself. Before she had time to think about it, she saw paper lying in front of her, a golden pen with an inkwell. She writes

a letter to my dear father and my dear sisters:

Don’t cry for me, don’t grieve, I live in the palace of the forest beast, the miracle of the sea, like a princess. I don’t see or hear him himself, but he writes to me on the white marble wall in fiery words. And he knows everything that is on my thoughts, and at that very moment he fulfills everything, and he does not want to be called my master, but calls me his mistress.

Before she had time to write the letter and seal it, the letter disappeared from her hands and eyes, as if it had never been there.

The music began to play louder than ever, sugar dishes, honey drinks, and all the utensils were made of red gold. She sat down at the table cheerfully, although she had never dined alone in her life. She ate, drank, cooled off, and amused herself with music.

After lunch, having eaten, she went to bed. The music began to play quietly and further away - for the reason that it would not disturb her sleep. After sleep, she got up cheerfully and went for a walk again through the green gardens, because before lunch she had not had time to walk around half of them and look at all their wonders.

All the trees, bushes and flowers bowed before her, and the ripe fruits - pears, peaches and juicy apples - climbed into her mouth. After walking for a considerable time, almost until the evening, she returned to her lofty chambers, and she saw: the table was set, and on the table there were sugar dishes and honey drinks, and all of them were excellent.

After dinner she entered that white marble chamber where she had read fiery words on the wall, and she again saw the same fiery words on the same wall:

Is my lady satisfied with her gardens and chambers, food and servants?

Don’t call me your mistress, but be always my kind master, affectionate and merciful. I will never step out of your will. Thank you for all your treats. Better than your lofty chambers and your green gardens cannot be found in this world: then how can I not be content? I have never seen such miracles in my life. I still haven’t come to my senses from such a miracle, but I’m afraid to rest alone. In all your high chambers there is not a human soul.

Fiery words appeared on the wall:

Do not be afraid, my beautiful lady: you will not rest alone, your hay girl (maid), faithful and beloved, is waiting for you. And there are many human souls in the chambers, but you don’t see or hear them, and all of them, together with me, protect you day and night: we won’t let the wind blow on you, we won’t let even a speck of dust settle.

And the merchant’s young daughter, a beautiful woman, went to rest in her bedchamber, and saw: her hay girl was standing by the bed, faithful and beloved, and she was standing almost alive from fear. And she rejoiced at her mistress, and kisses her white hands, hugs her playful legs.
The mistress was also happy with her, and began to ask her about her dear father, about her older sisters and about all her maiden servants. After that, she began to tell herself what happened to her at that time. They did not sleep until the white dawn.

And so the merchant’s young daughter, a beautiful woman, began to live and live. Every day new, rich outfits are ready for her, and the decorations are such that they cannot be worth mentioning in a fairy tale or writing with a pen. Every day I have new, excellent treats and fun: riding, walking with music in chariots without horses or harnesses through the dark forests.
And those forests parted in front of her and gave her a wide, wide and smooth path. And she began to do handicrafts, girls’ handicrafts, embroider flies (towels) with silver and gold and trim fringes with frequent pearls.

She began to send gifts to her dear father, and gave the richest fly to her affectionate owner, and to that forest animal, a miracle of the sea. And day by day she began to go more often to the white marble hall, to speak kind words to her merciful owner and to read on the wall his answers and greetings in fiery words.

You never know, how much time has passed: soon the fairy tale is told, but not soon the deed is done, - the young merchant’s daughter, a written beauty, began to get used to her life. She no longer marvels at anything, is not afraid of anything. Invisible servants serve her, serve her, receive her, ride her in chariots without horses, play music and carry out all her commands.
And she loved her merciful master day by day, and she saw that it was not for nothing that he called her his mistress and that he loved her more than himself.

She wanted to listen to his voice, she wanted to have a conversation with him, without going into the white marble chamber, without reading fiery words. She began to beg and ask him about this, but the forest beast, the miracle of the sea, did not quickly agree to her request, he was afraid of frightening her with his voice. She begged, begged her kind owner, and he could not be opposite to her, and he wrote to her in the last time on the white marble wall with fiery words:

Come today to the green garden, sit in your beloved gazebo, plaited with leaves, branches, flowers, and say this: - Talk to me, my faithful slave.

And a little later, the merchant’s young daughter, a beautiful woman, ran into the green gardens, entered her beloved gazebo, plaited with leaves, branches, flowers, and sat down on a brocade bench. And she says breathlessly, her heart is beating like a caught bird, she says these words:

Do not be afraid, my kind and gentle lord, to frighten me with your voice: after all your mercies, I will not be afraid of the roar of an animal. Talk to me without fear.

And she heard exactly who sighed behind the gazebo, and a terrible voice was heard, wild and loud, hoarse and hoarse, and even then he spoke in an undertone. At first the merchant’s young daughter, a beautiful woman, shuddered when she heard the voice of the forest beast, the miracle of the sea, but she only controlled her fear and did not show that she was afraid, and soon his kind and friendly words, his intelligent and reasonable speeches, she began to listen and listened, and her heart felt joyful.

From that time on, from that time on, they began to talk, almost all day long - in the green garden during festivities, in the dark forests during skating sessions, and in all the high chambers. Only the young merchant’s daughter, the written beauty, will ask:

Are you here, my good, beloved sir?

The forest beast, the miracle of the sea, answers:

Here, my beautiful lady, is your faithful slave, unfailing friend.

Little or much time has passed: soon the tale is told, the deed is not soon done, - the young daughter of the merchant, a written beauty, wanted to see with her own eyes the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, and she began to ask and beg him about it. He doesn’t agree to this for a long time, he’s afraid of scaring her, and he was such a monster that he couldn’t be said in a fairy tale or written down with a pen.
Not only people, but wild animals were always afraid of him and ran away to their dens. And the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, spoke these words:

Don’t ask, don’t beg me, my beautiful lady, my beloved beauty, to show you my disgusting face, my ugly body. You've gotten used to my voice. You and I live in friendship, in harmony with each other, respectfully, we are not separated, and you love me for my unspeakable love for you, and when you see me, terrible and disgusting, you will hate me, the unfortunate one, you will drive me out of sight, and being apart from you I will die of boredom.

The young merchant's daughter, a beautiful woman, did not listen to such speeches, and began to beg more than ever, swearing that she would not be afraid of any monster in the world and that she would not stop loving her merciful master, and she spoke to him these words:

If you are an old man, be my grandfather, if you are a Seredovich (middle-aged), be my uncle, if you are young, be my sworn brother, and while I am alive, be my dear friend.

For a long, long time, the forest animal, the miracle of the sea, did not succumb to such words, but could not resist the requests and tears of its beauty, and says this word to her:

I cannot be opposite to you for the reason that I love you more than myself. I will fulfill your desire, although I know that I will ruin my happiness and die an untimely death. Come to the green garden in the gray twilight, when the red sun sets behind the forest, and say: “Show yourself, faithful friend!” - and I will show you my disgusting face, my ugly body.
And if it becomes unbearable for you to stay with me any longer, I don’t want your bondage and eternal torment: you will find in your bedchamber, under your pillow, my gold ring. Put it on your right little finger - and you will find yourself with your dear father and will never hear anything about me.

The young merchant’s daughter, a real beauty, was not afraid, she was not afraid, she firmly relied on herself. At that time, without missing a minute, she went into the green garden to wait for the appointed hour, and when the gray twilight came, the red sun sank behind the forest, she said:

Show yourself to me, my faithful friend! - and from afar a forest animal, a miracle of the sea, appeared to her: it passed only across the road and disappeared into the dense bushes. And the merchant’s young daughter, a beautiful woman, did not see the light, clasped her white hands, screamed in a heart-rending voice and fell on the road without memory.
Yes, and the beast of the forest was terrible, a miracle of the sea: crooked arms, animal claws on the hands, horse legs, great camel humps in front and back, all shaggy from top to bottom, boar tusks protruded from the mouth, a hooked nose like a golden eagle, and the eyes were owls.

After lying down for how long, who knows how long, the young merchant’s daughter, a beautiful woman, came to her senses, and heard: someone was crying next to her, shedding bitter tears and saying in a pitiful voice:

You have ruined me, my beautiful beloved, I will no longer see your beautiful face, you will not even want to hear me, and it has come for me to die an untimely death.

And she became pitiful and ashamed, and she mastered her great fear and her timid girlish heart, and she spoke in a firm voice:

No, do not be afraid of anything, my kind and gentle lord, I will not be more afraid of your terrible appearance, I will not be separated from you, I will not forget your mercies. Show yourself to me now in your previous form, I was only scared for the first time.

A forest animal, a miracle of the sea, appeared to her, in its terrible, disgusting, ugly form, but it did not dare to come close to her, no matter how much she called to it. They walked until the dark night and had the same conversations as before, affectionate and reasonable, and the merchant’s young daughter, a beautiful woman, did not sense any fear.
The next day she saw a forest animal, a miracle of the sea, in the light of the red sun, and although at first she was frightened when she saw it, she did not show it, and soon her fear completely passed away.

Here they began to talk more than ever: almost day after day, they were not separated, at lunch and dinner they ate sugar dishes, cooled off with honey drinks, walked through green gardens, rode without horses through dark forests.

And a lot of time has passed: soon the fairy tale is told, but not soon the deed is done. So one day, in a dream, a young merchant’s daughter, a beautiful woman, dreamed that her father was lying unwell. And an incessant melancholy fell upon her, and in that melancholy and tears the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, saw her, and began to spin violently and began to ask: why is she in anguish, in tears?
She told him her bad dream and began to ask him for permission to see her dear father and her dear sisters. And the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, will speak to her:

And why do you need my permission? You have my gold ring, put it on your right little finger and you will find yourself in the house of your dear father. Stay with him until you get bored, and I’ll just tell you: if you don’t come back in exactly three days and three nights, then I won’t be in this world, and I’ll die that very minute, for the reason that I love you more than myself, and I can’t live without you.

She began to assure with cherished words and oaths that exactly one hour before three days and three nights she would return to his lofty chambers. She said goodbye to her kind and merciful owner, put a gold ring on her right little finger and found herself in the wide courtyard of an honest merchant, her dear father. She goes to the high porch of his stone chambers. The servants and servants ran up to her and started making noise and screaming. The kind sisters came running and, when they saw her, they were amazed at her maiden beauty and her royal attire. The white men grabbed her by the arms and led her to her dear father.

But father is not well. I lay there, unhealthy and joyless, remembering her day and night, shedding burning tears. And he did not remember with joy when he saw his dear, good, comely, younger, beloved daughter, and he marveled at her maiden beauty, her royal, royal attire.

They kissed for a long time, showed mercy, and consoled themselves with affectionate speeches. She told her dear father and her older, kind sisters, about her life with the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, everything from word to word, without hiding any crumbs.

And the honest merchant rejoiced at her rich, royal, royal life, and marveled at how she was accustomed to looking at her terrible master and was not afraid of the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea. He himself, remembering him, trembled in his trembling. The older sisters, hearing about the countless wealth of the younger sister and about her royal power over her master, as if over her slave, even became envious.

A day passes like a single hour, another day passes like a minute, and on the third day the older sisters began to persuade the younger sister so that she would not return to the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea. “Let him die, that’s his way...” And the dear guest, the younger sister, became angry with the elder sisters, and said these words to them:

If I pay my kind and affectionate master for all his mercies and ardent, unspeakable love with his fierce death, then I will not be worth living in this world, and it is worth giving me then to wild animals to be torn to pieces.

And her father, an honest merchant, praised her for such good speeches, and it was ordered that, exactly one hour before the due date, she should return to the beast of the forest, the miracle of the sea, a good, comely, younger, beloved daughter. But the sisters were annoyed, and they conceived a cunning deed, a cunning and unkind deed. They took and set all the clocks in the house a whole hour ago, and the honest merchant and all his faithful servants, the courtyard servants, did not know it.

And when the real hour came, the young merchant’s daughter, a written beauty, began to ache and ache in her heart, something began to wash her away, and she looked every now and then at her father’s, English, German watches - but still she went into the distant path. And the sisters talk to her, ask her about this and that, detain her.

However, her heart could not bear it. The youngest daughter, beloved, written beauty, said goodbye to the honest merchant, her dear father, received the parental blessing from him, said goodbye to the older, kind sisters, to the faithful servants, the courtyard servants, and, without waiting a single minute before the appointed hour, she put a gold ring on right little finger and found herself in a white-stone palace, in the lofty chambers of a forest beast, a miracle of the sea, and, marveling that he did not meet her, she shouted in a loud voice:

Where are you, my good sir, my faithful friend? Why don't you meet me? I returned before the appointed time, a whole hour and a minute.

There was no answer, no greeting, the silence was dead. In the green gardens the birds did not sing heavenly songs, the fountains of water did not gush and the springs did not rustle, and music did not play in the high chambers. The heart of the merchant's daughter, a beautiful woman, trembled; she sensed something evil. She ran around the high chambers and green gardens, calling in a loud voice to her good master - there was no answer anywhere, no greeting and no voice of obedience (response voice).

She ran to the anthill, where her favorite scarlet flower grew and adorned itself, and she saw that the forest animal, a miracle of the sea, was lying on the hillock, clasping the scarlet flower with its ugly paws. And it seemed to her that he had fallen asleep while waiting for her, and was now fast asleep. The merchant's daughter, a beautiful woman, began to wake him up little by little, but he did not hear. She began to wake him up more firmly, grabbed his furry paw - and saw that the forest animal, a miracle of the sea, was lifeless, lying dead...

Her clear eyes grew dim, her quick legs gave way, she fell to her knees, wrapped her white hands around the head of her good master, an ugly and disgusting head, and screamed in a heart-rending voice:

You get up, wake up, my dear Friend, I love you like a desired groom!

And as soon as she uttered these words, lightning flashed from all sides, the earth shook from great thunder, a stone thunder arrow struck the anthill, and the young merchant’s daughter, a beautiful woman, fell unconscious. How long or how long she lay unconscious, I don’t know.

Only, having woken up, she sees herself in a high, white marble chamber, she is sitting on a golden throne with precious stones, and a young prince, a handsome man, on his head with a royal crown, in gold-plated clothes, hugs her. In front of him stands his father and his sisters, and around him a great retinue is kneeling, all dressed in gold and silver brocade. And the young prince, a handsome man with a royal crown on his head, will speak to her:

You fell in love with me, beloved beauty, in the form of an ugly monster, for my kind soul and love for you. Love me now in human form, be my desired bride.

The evil sorceress was angry with my late parent, the glorious and mighty king, stole me, still a small child, and with her satanic witchcraft, unclean power, turned me into a terrible monster and cast such a spell so that I could live in such an ugly, disgusting and terrible form for everyone man, for every creature of God, until there is a red maiden, no matter what her family and rank, who loves me in the form of a monster and wishes to be my lawful wife - and then the witchcraft will all end, and I will again become a young man as before and look pretty.

And I lived as such a monster and a scarecrow for exactly thirty years, and I brought eleven red maidens into my enchanted palace, you were the twelfth.

Not a single one loved me for my caresses and pleases, for my kind soul. You alone fell in love with me, a disgusting and ugly monster, for my caresses and pleasures, for my kind soul, for my unspeakable love for you, and for this you will be the wife of a glorious king, a queen in a mighty kingdom.

Then everyone marveled at this, the retinue bowed to the ground. The honest merchant gave his blessing to his youngest daughter, his beloved, and the young prince-royalty. And the elder, envious sisters, and all the faithful servants, the great boyars and the military cavaliers, congratulated the bride and groom, and without hesitation they began to have a merry feast and the wedding, and began to live and live, make good money.

And I was there, I drank honey, it flowed down my mustache, but it didn’t get into my mouth.

» The Scarlet Flower

In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a rich merchant, an eminent man. He had a lot of all kinds of wealth, expensive goods from overseas, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury, and that merchant had three daughters, all three were beautiful, and the youngest was the best; and he loved his daughters more than all his wealth, pearls, precious stones, gold and silver treasury - for the reason that he was a widower and he had no one to love; He loved the older daughters, but he loved the younger daughter more, because she was better than everyone else and was more affectionate towards him.

So that merchant is going on his trade affairs overseas, to distant lands, to the distant kingdom, to the thirtieth state, and he says to his dear daughters:
- My dear daughters, my good daughters, my beautiful daughters, I am going on my merchant business to distant lands, to the distant kingdom, the thirtieth state, and you never know, how much time I travel - I don’t know, and I punish you to live honestly without me and peacefully, and if you live without me honestly and peacefully, then I will bring you such gifts as you yourself want, and I will give you three days to think, and then you will tell me,
what kind of gifts do you want?

They thought for three days and three nights and came to their parent, and he began to ask them what gifts they wanted.
The eldest daughter bowed at her father’s feet and was the first to say to him:
- Sir, you are my dear father! Do not bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black sable furs, nor Burmita pearls, but bring me a golden crown of semi-precious stones, and so that there will be such light from them as from a full month, as from the red sun, and so that there is It is light in a dark night, as in the middle of a white day. The honest merchant thought for a moment and then said:
- Okay, my dear daughter, good and pretty, I will bring you such a crown; I know a man overseas who will get me such a crown; and one overseas princess has it, and it is hidden in a stone storage room, and that storage room is located in a stone mountain, three fathoms deep, behind three iron doors, behind three German locks. The work will be considerable: yes, for my treasury there is no opposite.

The middle daughter bowed at his feet and said:
- Sir, you are my dear father! Don’t bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black Siberian sable furs, nor a necklace of Burmitz pearls, nor a gold semi-precious crown, but bring me a tovalet made of oriental crystal, solid, immaculate, so that, looking into it, I can see all the beauty under heaven and so that, looking at it, I would not grow old and my girlish beauty would increase.
The honest merchant became thoughtful and, after thinking for who knows how long, he says to her these words:
- Okay, my dear daughter, good and pretty, I’ll get you such a crystal toilette; and the daughter of the king of Persia, a young princess, has an indescribable, indescribable and unknown beauty; and that Tuvalet was buried in a high stone mansion, and he stood on a stone mountain, the height of that mountain was three hundred fathoms, behind seven iron doors, behind seven German locks, and there were three thousand steps leading up to that mansion, and on each step stood a warrior Persian, day and night, with a naked damask saber, and the princess carries the keys to those iron doors on her belt. I know such a man overseas, and he will get me such a toilet. Your work as a sister is harder, but for my treasury there is no opposite.

The youngest daughter bowed at her father’s feet and said this:
- Sir, you are my dear father! Don’t bring me gold and silver brocade, nor black Siberian sables, nor a Burmita necklace, nor a semi-precious crown, nor a crystal tovalet, but bring me a scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world.

The honest merchant thought more deeply than before. Whether he spent a lot of time thinking or not, I can’t say for certain; having thought about it, he kisses, caresses, caresses his youngest daughter, his beloved, and says these words:
- Well, you gave me a harder job than my sisters: if you know what to look for, then how can you not find it, and how can you find something that you don’t know? It’s not hard to find a scarlet flower, but how can I know that there is nothing more beautiful in this world? I will try, but don’t ask for a gift.

And he sent his daughters, good and handsome, to their maiden houses. He began to get ready to hit the road, to the distant lands overseas. How long it took, how much he planned, I don’t know and don’t know: soon the fairy tale is told, but not soon the deed is done. He went on his way, down the road.

Here an honest merchant travels to foreign lands overseas, to unprecedented kingdoms; he sells his goods at exorbitant prices, buys other people's at exorbitant prices, he exchanges goods for goods and even more, with the addition of silver and gold; Loads ships with golden treasury and sends them home. He found a treasured gift for his eldest daughter: a crown with semi-precious stones, and from them it is light on a dark night, as if on a white day. He also found a treasured gift for his middle daughter: a crystal toilette, and in it all the beauty of heaven is visible, and, looking into it, a girl’s beauty does not age, but increases. He just can’t find the treasured gift for his youngest, beloved daughter - a scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world.