An Arabian tale about a magic horse. The Ebony Horse The Tale of the Ebony Horse

Eastern fairy tale

In ancient times there lived a great king. He had three daughters, like full moons, and a son, as agile as a gazelle and beautiful as a summer morning.

One day three strangers came to the royal court. One carried a golden peacock, another carried a copper trumpet, and the third had a horse made of ivory and ebony.

What are these things? - asked the king.

“He who has a golden peacock,” answered the first stranger, “will always know what time it is.” As soon as one hour of the day or night passes, the bird flaps its wings and screams.

“He who has a copper pipe,” said the second, “should not be afraid of anything.” The enemy will still be far away, but the trumpet itself will blow and warn everyone of the danger.

And the third stranger said:

Anyone who has an ebony horse will go to any country he wants.

“I won’t believe you until I experience these things myself,” answered the king.

It was approaching noon, the sun was directly overhead, then the peacock flapped its wings and screamed. At that moment, a petitioner entered the gates of the palace. The trumpet suddenly blew out of nowhere. The king ordered the stranger to be searched, and the servants found a sword under his clothes. The stranger confessed that he wanted to kill the king.

“These are very useful things,” the king rejoiced. - What do you want to get for them?

Give me your daughter as a wife,” asked the first stranger.

“I also want to marry the princess,” said the second.

The king, without hesitation, took the peacock and the trumpet from them and gave them his daughters as wives.

Then a third stranger, the owner of an ebony horse, approached the king.

“O lord,” he said with a bow, “take yourself a horse and give me a third princess as my wife.”

“Don’t rush,” said the king. “We haven’t tested your horse yet.” At this time the king's son came up and said to his father:

Let me mount this horse and test it.

Test him as you wish,” answered the king.

The prince jumped onto the horse, spurred it, pulled the bridle, but the horse stood rooted to the spot.

Have you lost your mind, you unfortunate thing?! - the king shouted at the stranger. - How dare you deceive the lord? Get away with your horse, otherwise I will order you to be thrown into prison.

But the stranger was not embarrassed. He approached the prince and showed him a small ivory button that was on the right side of the horse’s neck.

“Press this button,” he told the prince.

The prince pressed the button, and suddenly the horse rose to the clouds and flew faster than the wind. He rose higher and higher, and finally the prince completely lost sight of the earth. He felt dizzy and had to grab the horse’s neck with both hands to keep from falling. The prince already regretted that he mounted his horse and mentally said goodbye to life.

But then he noticed that the horse had exactly the same button on the left side of its neck. The prince pressed it, and the horse flew slower and began to descend. Then the prince again pressed the button on the right side - the horse again flew upward like an arrow and rushed like a whirlwind above the clouds. The prince was glad that he had discovered the secret of the horse and could control it. Excited by the fast ride on the magic horse, the prince began to fall and then rise. He experienced such pleasure from flying that no mortal had ever experienced before.

When the prince was tired, he pressed the button on the left side and began to descend. He descended all day until he finally saw land.

It was a foreign land, with lakes and fast streams, with green forests, where there was a lot of different game, and in the middle of the country stood a wonderful city with white palaces and cypress groves.

The prince sank lower and lower and finally directed his horse towards a palace built of golden bricks. The palace stood far from the city among rose gardens. The prince sank onto the roof of the palace and dismounted from his horse. He was surprised that everything around was so quiet, as if everything had died out. There was no noise, nothing disturbed the silence. The prince decided to spend the night here and go home in the morning. He sat down comfortably and began to watch how the night enveloped the treetops.

So he sat, leaning on the legs of a wooden horse, and looked down. Suddenly he noticed a light in the rose garden. It seemed to the prince that a star had descended into the garden, it was getting closer and closer, growing, breaking up into ten lights, and then the prince saw beautiful slave girls in silver veils with lamps in their hands.

They surrounded a girl, such a beauty that as soon as the prince looked at her, his heart sank. The girls entered the palace, and immediately the windows were illuminated with bright light, beautiful music began to play, and the air was filled with the wonderful smell of incense and amber.

The prince could not control himself, he unwound his turban and went down it to the window, from which the brightest light poured. Through the window he climbed into the room where the girls were sitting. They ran away screaming, and only the most beautiful one did not move from her place, as if he had bewitched her. She could not take her eyes off the prince's face. Love unexpectedly blossomed in their hearts.

They told each other about themselves. The beauty told the prince that she was the king's daughter. The king built this palace for her so that she would have somewhere to have fun when she gets bored in her father's house.

Meanwhile, the girls from the princess’s retinue ran to the palace, woke up the king and shouted:

King, help! An evil spirit flew through the window to the princess and does not let her go.

The king did not hesitate. He attached the sword to his belt and ran to the palace to the princess.

He burst into her room, thinking that he would see his crying daughter in the clutches of a terrible genie. But instead he found her talking with a handsome young man. The girl smiled cheerfully at him. Then the king was overcome with rage.

He rushed with a naked sword at the stranger, but the prince also drew his sword. The king did not dare to engage in a duel with the dexterous young man, full of strength, and lowered his sword.

Are you human or genie? - he shouted.

“I’m the same person as you,” the young man answered. “I am the son of a king and I ask you to give me your daughter as a wife.” And if you don’t give it, I’ll take it myself. The king was surprised to hear these bold words:

He entered the princess, bowed to the ground and said:

Just try it,” he exclaimed. - My army is in the city.

I will defeat all your warriors.

The prince did not think that the king would take him at his word.

Okay,” said the king, “I will give you a princess as a wife only when you have fought in the field with forty thousand horsemen.”

The prince was ashamed to admit to the princess that he was unable to do this, and he told the king that tomorrow he would fight with his army. The king invited the prince to spend the night in his palace, and all three headed there. In the palace, everyone waited for the morning in their own way. That morning it was to be decided whether the young stranger would become the king's son-in-law.

The prince immediately fell asleep like the dead: he was tired of the rapid flight above the clouds.

The king tossed and turned on his bed for a long time before falling asleep: he was afraid that his soldiers would kill the prince and he would lose his dear son-in-law. The princess did not sleep a wink all night, she was so afraid for her lover.

As soon as the sun rose, forty thousand horsemen lined up in the field outside the city, ready for battle. The king ordered the best horse from the royal stables to be brought for the prince, but the prince politely thanked him and said that he would only mount his own horse.

Where is your horse? - asked the king.

“On the roof of the princess’s palace,” answered the prince.

The king thought that the prince was laughing at him: how could the horse get onto the roof? But the prince insisted on his own, and the king had no choice but to send his servants to the roof to get the horse. Soon two strong servants returned and brought a horse. He was so handsome that the king and his entourage opened their mouths in surprise. But they were even more surprised when they saw that this horse was made of wood.

Well, on this horse you cannot cope with my army,” said the king.

The prince did not answer a word, jumped on the magic horse, pressed the button on the right side, and the horse soared into the air like an arrow. Before the king and the soldiers had time to come to their senses, the horse and the prince were already so high that they seemed like a tiny swallow in the blue sky.

They waited and waited, but the rider on the magic horse did not return. The king went to the palace and told the princess what had happened. The princess began to sob; She told her father that she would not live without her lover, and went to the palace of golden bricks. She locked herself there, didn’t eat anything, didn’t sleep, and just grieved for her prince. Her father tried to persuade her to get the young stranger out of her head.

After all, this is still not a prince, but a sorcerer, unless anyone else can fly through the air,” said the king.

But no matter how much he convinced or begged, the princess was inconsolable and became seriously ill from melancholy.

Meanwhile, the prince on a magic horse rose so high that he lost sight of the earth. He enjoyed the flight and still missed the beautiful princess. But the young man decided that he would return to her only after he saw his father, who probably did not sleep from grief and worries about his son and was looking for him throughout the country. The prince flew and flew until he saw the towers of his native city below. He landed on the roof of the royal palace, dismounted from his horse and ran straight to his father.

How happy everyone was when they saw that the prince was alive and well! He told his father about how he learned to ride a horse, how he ended up in a distant foreign country and fell in love with a princess there. And then he asked what happened to the owner of the magic horse, that foreigner who wanted to take the king’s daughter as his wife as a reward.

This rogue was thrown into prison because you disappeared through his fault,” said the king.

Did you throw him into prison because he gave us such a wonderful thing? - exclaimed the prince. “After all, he rather deserves to have the whole court fall on his face before him.”

The king immediately ordered the stranger to be released from prison and granted him the highest court rank.

The stranger politely thanked him for this honor, but deep down he harbored a grudge. He wanted to marry the princess, but he didn’t get her. But the sorcerer did not give himself away and waited for an opportunity to take revenge.

Soon the prince became bored with his home. He could not find peace for himself and yearned for the princess from a distant foreign country. In vain the king begged his son not to expose himself to danger: the prince did not listen. One day he jumped on an ebony horse and flew away. He flew and flew until he found himself in that foreign country. The prince again sank onto the roof of the palace made of golden bricks, which stood in the middle of the rose gardens.

The princess lay in her room, pale and haggard, there was silence all around. But then someone pulled back the curtain and her lover entered the room. All illness disappeared from the princess as if by hand. Beaming, she jumped up from her bed and threw herself on the prince’s neck.

Do you want to go with me to my kingdom? - asked the prince. The girl nodded, and before the frightened maids had time to come to their senses, the prince picked her up and carried her to the roof of the palace. There he put her on a magic horse, jumped on its back and pressed the button on the right side. And now they were already flying above the clouds, huddled close to each other, intoxicated by the meeting and enchanted by the magical flight.

Below, in the palace of golden bricks, an alarm was raised, the servants called the king, but it was too late. The king tore out his hair and mourned his missing daughter. He thought that he was not destined to see her again.

And the prince and princess flew and flew and did not even remember the old king. Finally they found themselves above the city where the prince’s father ruled, and landed on the ground in one of the royal gardens. The prince hid the princess in a gazebo, around which lilies and daffodils bloomed, and jasmine smelled fragrant; He placed the wooden horse nearby, and he went to his father.

Everyone was happy that the prince had returned home again, and the king almost lost his mind with happiness. The prince told him that he had brought a beautiful bride and asked his father for permission to marry her. The Tsar thought that if the Tsarevich got married, he would forever give up these mad leaps through the air. Therefore, he immediately agreed to celebrate the wedding.

Residents began to decorate the city, and preparations for a luxurious wedding were underway everywhere.

The prince sent singers and girls with harps to the garden where the princess was hidden. He ordered a thousand nightingales to be released there so that they would brighten up her wait. And the stranger, the owner of the magic horse, harbored terrible anger in his heart and almost suffocated with anger when he saw the festive preparations. In order not to look at all this, he began to wander through the royal gardens. And it happened that he came to a gazebo surrounded by jasmine and daffodils. There he noticed his horse. The sage looked into the gazebo and saw a girl of rare beauty. The stranger immediately guessed that this was the prince’s bride, and decided that now he could take revenge on everyone for the insult and for the fact that his horse was taken away from him.

He entered the princess, bowed to the ground and said:

The prince, my lord, sent me here to hide you in another place. You are in danger here.

The princess, looking at his ugly face, was frightened. The sage immediately noticed this and said:

The prince is very jealous, so he sent me, the ugliest of his friends, after you, so that you would not like me.

The princess smiled. She was pleased that the prince was afraid for her. She extended her hand to the ugly stranger and walked out of the gazebo with him. The sage led the girl to the magic horse and said:

Get on your horse. The prince wanted you to ride on it.

The princess climbed onto the horse, the sage sat behind him, pressed the button on the right side, and the horse flew into the air so quickly that it immediately disappeared from sight.

After some time, the princess, alarmed that they were flying faster and faster, asked:

Are the royal gardens so huge that we have to fly for so long? Then the disgusting monster laughed evilly and said to the princess:

So know that I am a great wizard. I made this horse myself and took you away to take revenge on the prince.

The wizard began to boast of his power.

If I want,” he said, “all the stars will fall on my head, like wasps on a ripe plum.”

He had already invented this, but the princess didn’t care: when she heard his first words, she lost consciousness.

Meanwhile, a magnificent procession headed by the prince headed into the garden to take the princess to the royal palace, where a wedding dress was prepared for her. The prince was very surprised that he could not hear the music and singing of the nightingales. He left his retinue and ran to the gazebo in which the princess was hidden. But the gazebo was empty. Beside himself with horror, he ran out into the garden and only then noticed that the ebony horse had also disappeared. The prince called the princess, searched the jasmine thickets, but there was no trace of her. Then one of the harpist girls whom he sent to the garden told him that a stranger had come for the princess and that he had flown away with her on a wonderful horse. When the girl described the appearance of this man to the prince, he recognized him as the owner of the magic horse. The prince realized that the stranger had taken revenge on him for his insult. He almost lost his mind from grief, cursed the wizard and his evil fate, looked up, hoping to see a horse with the princess in the clouds. But even if the prince saw him, he still could not do anything.

The princess was far, far away. In the evening, the stranger directed his horse to the ground, they landed on a green meadow through which a river flowed. Here he decided to rest. And it so happened that just at that time the king of that country was returning from hunting. He noticed the old man and the girl and ordered his retinue to stop. The king began to ask what kind of people they were and how they got to his country.

“I guess from your appearance and from the retinue that surrounds you that there is a king in front of me,” said the sage. - So forgive me that my sister and I are sitting in your meadow. We were very tired after a long journey.

O king! “He’s lying,” exclaimed the princess. - I'm not his sister. He forcibly took me away. Save me, oh lord, and I will be grateful to you to death. The king immediately ordered the ugly wizard to be tied up and a stretcher prepared for the princess. Then he began to examine the ebony horse. He liked the skillful work and ivory patterns, but neither the ugly sage nor the princess revealed to him the secrets of the magic horse. The king ordered the horse to be taken to the royal palace. He escorted the princess there and ordered the most beautiful chambers to be set aside for her. And the evil wizard who kidnapped the princess was thrown into prison by the royal servants.

It seemed that the princess had escaped danger. But she fell from the frying pan into the fire. The king fell in love with her passionately and did not let her leave the palace. Soon he told the girl that he wanted to marry her.

Meanwhile, the prince, her real groom, dressed in simple clothes, walked from city to city, from country to country, and asked everywhere about the ugly old man, the beautiful girl and the ebony horse; but no one could tell him about them. He walked like this for a long time, and many months passed until happiness finally smiled on him. In one of the cities at the market, merchants talked about how the king of a neighboring country, returning from a hunt, noticed a beautiful girl in the meadow. He freed her from the hands of the old freak and fell passionately in love with her. There is nothing surprising in all this. But the wooden horse is truly a miracle of miracles: it is decorated with ivory, and it cannot be distinguished from a living one.

As soon as the prince heard about this, his heart jumped with joy in his chest, and he immediately went to the neighboring country. He walked all night, and then a day and another night, and finally came to the royal capital. And in the city there was only talk about the beautiful girl whom the king fell madly in love with. But people said that the girl was out of her mind. The king did everything to cure her, but no means helped.

The prince without hesitation went to the royal palace and ordered to report himself as a skilled doctor from a distant country who could cure any ailment. The king was delighted and told him about how he found the princess and how she now does not eat, does not sleep, does not let anyone near her, tears expensive bedspreads to shreds and smashes wonderful mirrors and goblets to pieces.

The prince listened to him and said:

Before I begin to treat the princess, I must take a look at that ebony horse.

The king ordered the horse to be brought into the courtyard, and the prince carefully examined it. And when the young man saw that the horse was intact and that nothing had happened to him, and, most importantly, both buttons were in place, he said to the king:

Put a guard on this horse, and take me to the sick girl.

The king escorted him to the princess's room. The prince asked not to disturb him and went alone to his bride. As soon as the girl looked at him, she instantly recognized her lover in the disguised doctor. The princess almost lost her mind from joy. The prince told her what she had to do so that he could free her, and returned to the king.

O king,” he said. “The girl is already better, but for her to be completely healed, I must cast another spell.” Order the horse to be brought to the meadow where you found the girl. And let your servants bring the princess there.

The king, delighted that the foreign doctor would cure his bride, did everything the prince asked him to do. The horse was already standing in the meadow outside the city; the servants brought the princess there. The king himself, surrounded by courtiers, appeared there and waited to see what the doctor would do.

The prince put the princess on a magic horse, sat behind her and pressed a button on the horse’s neck on the right side. And then something happened that no one expected. Who would have thought that a wooden horse would fly into the air like an arrow, like a winged bird, and immediately rise to the clouds. While the frightened king came to his senses and ordered the soldiers to pull the bowstring and shoot at the fugitives, the magic horse was already so high that it seemed like a tiny midge.

And the prince and princess no longer thought about the poor king in love and rejoiced that fate had united them again. They flew over mountains and valleys until they finally found themselves in the prince’s homeland. They immediately celebrated a magnificent wedding, to which the princess’s father arrived with his retinue. He forgave them when he saw how much they loved each other, and decided to himself that his daughter was happily married. And again the whole city was festively decorated. People feasted and had fun for many nights in a row. The clear moon rejoiced at their happiness, looking out from the heavenly windows, and below, the whole earth was covered with jasmine flowers.

After the wedding, the prince wanted to ride a magic horse. He looked for him everywhere, but did not find him. The old king ordered the horse to be broken so that his son would never be able to rise into the skies. The prince felt sorry for the ebony horse, but he soon forgot about it: even without the horse the young man was happy. And when many years later he told his children about the magic horse, they did not believe him and thought it was a wonderful fairy tale.

Page 1 of 5

Ebony Horse (Arabian Tale)

They say that in ancient times, in a vast country called Persia, a wise and just king named Sabur, beloved by the people, ruled. And he had three daughters, each like the young moon, and a son, Prince Kumar, whose beauty and nobility were not inferior to the daylight.

The country prospered, and the king often organized luxurious feasts for court nobles and foreign guests. And each invitee was given generous gifts. But even the most pitiful beggar could come to the palace, and no one left its doors hungry.
On one of these feast days, three wise men came to the king. They knew that Sabur loved cunning mechanisms driven by magic and funny toys, and they hoped for a good reception.
The elders were skilled in crafts and inventions, possessed rare knowledge and comprehended the secrets of magic. They spoke different languages, for they came from different countries. One is from India. One is from Greece. And one is from the Maghreb.

An old man from India stepped forward. He bowed his head, respectfully greeted the king and placed a wonderful thing in front of him. And it was an archer forged from gold, wearing a helmet decorated with feathers and studded with diamonds. In his hands he held a long golden trumpet.

– Why this warrior? - asked the king. - And how will he serve me?
- Oh, incomparable! – The Indian bowed his turban. “Set him as a guard at the city gates.” Day and night he will guard your peace. If the enemy approaches the city, he will raise a trumpet, and its sound will kill any adversary.
“If this is true,” the king rejoiced, “you can take from me whatever you want.”
The Greek took a step forward and, falling on his face, kissed the ground between the king’s shoes. He placed in front of him a large silver nest in which sat a golden peacock surrounded by twenty-four golden chicks.
– Is this bird just for beauty and fun? - asked the king.
And the sage answered:
- Oh, insightful! This peacock is counting the hours of the day and night. After each hour, he hits the correct number of chicks with his beak. And so on until the last, twenty-fourth hour disappears. And when the month ends, the full moon will roll out of its beak.
“If your words are true,” said the king, “you can take from me what you want.”
And the last sage approached the king. And behind him came the slaves and brought in a horse carved from black ebony. A fancy pattern curled across the golden leather saddle, and the bridle was adorned with an emerald. King Sabur was amazed at the beauty of the wonderful horse and asked:
– Is this horse suitable for use or decoration?
- Oh, incomparable! - said the sage from the Maghreb. “This horse can soar into the clouds and in a single moment take its rider to places that you couldn’t get to in a year.”

The king admired all these miracles and wished to experience them right away. At a sign from the elder from India, the golden archer raised his trumpet, and a sound was heard that shook the walls of the palace. The Greek wound the peacock with a golden key, and it began to peck the chicks, marking noon. And the sage from the Maghreb saddled a black horse, soared into the sky and, emerging from the clouds, descended to the ground.

The king accepted the gifts of the sages with pleasure and said:
“Now I’m ready to fulfill my promises.” Demand what you wish to receive in exchange for these amazing wonders.
It must be said that the fame of the beauty of the three princesses reached the most remote ends of the earth. And the sages said in one voice:
“Give us your daughters as wives, and we will become your devoted sons-in-law.”
The king was so fascinated by magical things that, without thinking for a moment, he agreed and ordered the vizier to immediately begin preparing three weddings.

And the princesses hid behind the curtains and heard everything that was said. They looked with horror at the old men whom their father intended to be their husbands. These elders, as one, were unspeakably ugly. But the most disgusting of them was the Maghreb. Small, bow-legged, with a face as yellow and shriveled as an apricot, with tiny red eyes and a huge nose hanging like a pear between his cheeks. Sparse rotten teeth stuck out in his mouth, and his hair looked like a matted lump of dry grass.

The youngest daughter, who was to marry this freak, flexible as a vine, tender and beautiful as a rose petal, disappeared in horror into her chambers. Not daring to contradict her father, she buried her face in the pillows and sobbed in despair.

It happened that her brother, Prince Kumar, was passing by. Hearing the girl’s bitter sobs, he went in to her and asked who dared to offend his beloved younger sister?

- Oh, woe is me! – the young maiden shed tears. “My father is giving me to the ugly freak in exchange for some wooden horse.” It’s better to die, it’s better to spend your whole life on the street among the poor and homeless!

The prince, shocked by her words, hurried to his father.
- Is it true, oh fair king! - he exclaimed. “Is it true that you are ready to give my sister to the old sorcerer in exchange for a wooden horse?”
Hearing these words, the Maghrebian was instantly filled with hidden anger. He realized that the prince could stand between him and the desired reward.
“But, my son,” the king tried to calm him down, “you have not yet seen the wonderful horse given to us by this sage.” He just flew into the skies before our eyes!
Kumar, who was an excellent horseman, frowned.
“Show me this horse,” he demanded, “I’ll saddle it myself and see what miracles it performs.”
The Maghrebian with a sly smile helped the prince into the saddle. But no matter how much the rider spurred the horse, or urged it, or pulled the reins, it did not move.
“Show him what needs to be done,” the king ordered.
“Let him touch the lifting lever, which is hidden on the right side of the horse’s neck,” said the elder.
As soon as the prince carried out the advice of the Maghreb, the horse soared into the sky and disappeared from sight along with the rider.

Chit R. Plyatt

TALE ABOUT THE MAGIC HORSE

Arabian tale
Read by Rostislav Plyatt

This happened in ancient times. It occurred to the powerful ruler to get rid of the young Scheherazade; It was his custom to kill his many wives one after another. But I must say that nowhere in the world could one find such a beauty, and even an expert in telling magical, whimsical tales in which miracles did not end, but followed each other...
And so, in order to delay the day of her death, Scheherazade began to tell fairy tales. Her endless fairy tale lasted a thousand and one nights, and the mighty, formidable ruler, like a child, listened to them and asked for more and more...
Thus, says the old legend, the famous tales of the Arabian Nights were born. Sheheraada not only escaped death then, she lived in these tales for many centuries. And he still lives!
Arabian tales... They are about many things - about miracles and sorcerers, about huge, powerful and incredibly evil genies, about beautiful Peri girls, about unrighteous and good kings, brave princes, about kidnappings and dangers.
And now we will hear an Arabic tale - about miracles, about wizards and a brave prince. True, Prince Hasan is not quite like those brave knights we meet in many fairy tales. Most often, they go to distant lands on their faithful horses to get some miracle. They have a whole camping equipment behind them, huge swords in their belts, which were forged by the most skilled gunsmiths, and loyal servants always ride next to them... Yes, you can’t go on such trips lightly.
But our hero Hassan had no intention of going anywhere, much less as far as he happened to. Therefore, he had no other weapon except his own intelligence and cunning, and he did not think about any miracle, because he lived quite well in the royal palace; he was the only son of the great king, and his father, of course, spoiled him.
...One day three great sages came to the king. Each one had something in his hands for which he hoped to receive a great reward. We won’t talk about the first two, who invented really useful and beautiful things. But the third one...
In his hands was... a horse, only, of course, not an ordinary one, but a magical one. It was made of ivory and ebony. But this horse looked just like a living one, only it didn’t move or breathe...
Of course, this sage was very smart and learned, but, as we learn later, he was also an evil, ugly old man. Neither the tsar nor the prince knew this yet. The sage looked with contempt at the gifts of the other two and began to boast of his own. “Oh, lord! - he said in his raspy voice. “These gifts are worth nothing compared to my horse.” Have you ever seen horses flying through the air? And when the sage started talking about the reward, the king did not rush into it, but wanted to test the horse first. It was then that Hasan appeared next to him. He jumped on a wooden horse and... “flew faster”!
True, the prince did not know at all where he was flying. However, he not only did not crash, but, thanks to the magic horse and his dexterity, he put the old sage to shame and obtained the most wonderful miracle in the world. One can imagine how the king behaved when he saw that his only son was flying away to God knows where... but it is much more difficult to imagine what he did when Hassan returned with his miracle and a wooden horse. Perhaps the best thing to do now is to put on the record and listen to a fairy tale about a magic horse, an evil sage, a cunning prince and a wondrous wonder!
N. Puchkina

■ W 0>m
apt. j 1-5. tsema yaa-.^-.

They say that in ancient times there was a great king of significant rank, and he had three daughters, like full moons and blooming gardens, and a son - like a month. And when the king was sitting one day on the throne of his kingdom, suddenly three wise men came to him, and one of them had a peacock made of gold, another had a trumpet of copper, and the third had a horse made of ivory and ebony. “What are these things and what are the benefits of them?” - asked the king. And the owner of the peacock said: “The usefulness of this peacock is that every time one hour of the night or day passes, it flaps its wings and screams.” And the owner of the trumpet said: “If the trumpet is placed on the gate of the city, it will be like a guard for him, and when a thief enters this city, she will shout at him, and he will be recognized and grabbed by the hands.” And the owner of the horse said: “O lord, the usefulness of this horse is that if a person sits astride it, the horse will take him to whatever country he wants.” “I will not reward you until I test the usefulness of these things,” said the king, and then he tested the peacock and was convinced that it was as its owner said, and he tested the trumpet and saw that it was as its owner said. . And then the king said to both sages: “Wish something from me!” And they answered: “We desire that you give each of us a daughter from your daughters as a wife.”

And then the third sage, the owner of the horse, came forward and kissed the ground in front of the king and said: “O king of time, reward me just as you rewarded my comrades.” “First I will try what you brought,” said the king. And then the king’s son came up and said: “O father, I will mount this horse and try it and test its usefulness.” “Oh, my child, test him as you wish,” answered the king. And the prince got up and sat on the horse and slowly moved his legs, but the horse did not move. “O sage, where is the speed of his running that you talk about?” - asked the prince. And then the sage approached the prince and showed him the lifting screw and said: “Turn this screw!” And the prince turned the screw, and suddenly the horse moved and flew with the prince to the clouds, and flew with him all the time until he disappeared. And then the prince was confused and regretted that he had mounted the horse, and said: “Truly, the sage made a trick to destroy me! There is no power and strength except with Allah, the high, the great!”

And he began to examine the horse and, looking at it, suddenly saw on the right shoulder something similar to a rooster’s head and the same thing on the left shoulder. And the prince said to himself: “I don’t see anything on the horse except these two pegs.” And he began to turn the peg that was on his right shoulder; but the horse flew with him quickly, rising through the air, and the prince left the peg. And he looked at his left shoulder and saw another peg and turned it; and when the prince turned the left peg, the horse’s movements slowed down and changed from ascending to descending, and the horse all the time, little by little, carefully descended with the prince to the ground...”

Three hundred and fifty eighth night

When the three hundred and fifty-eighth night came, she said: “It came to me, O happy king, that when the prince turned the left peg, the horse’s movement slowed down and changed from ascending to descending, and the horse all the time, little by little, carefully descended with the prince to the ground .

And when the prince saw this and recognized the usefulness of the horse, his heart was filled with joy and joy, and he thanked Allah the great for the mercy he showed him when he saved him from death. And he descended without ceasing all day, since during his ascent the earth moved away from him, and he turned the horse’s muzzle as he wanted while the horse was descending, and if he wanted, he descended on the horse, and if he wanted, he rose.

And when the prince succeeded in what he wanted from the horse, he directed it towards the land and began to look at the countries and cities that were there, which he did not know, since he had never seen them. And among what he saw was a city built in the best possible way, and it stood in the middle of green land, blooming, with trees and canals, and the prince thought to himself and said: “Oh, if only I knew the name of this city and what climate is it in! And then he began to circle around this city and examine it to the right and to the left; and the day turned and the sun was approaching sunset, and the prince said to himself: “I will not find a better place to spend the night than this city. I will spend the night here, and in the morning I will go to my kingdom and inform my relatives and my father about what happened, and tell him what my eyes saw.”

And he began to look for a place that was safe for himself and for his horse, where no one would see him, and suddenly he noticed a palace in the middle of the city, towering in the air, and this palace was surrounded by a thick wall with high loopholes. And the prince said to himself: “Truly, this place is wonderful!” And he began to move the peg, which lowered the horse, and flew down until it landed right on the roof of the palace. And then he got off his horse and praised Allah the great and began to walk around the horse, examining it and saying: “I swear by Allah! Verily, the one who made you is a skilled sage! And if Allah extends the time appointed for me and returns me whole to my country and to my relatives and brings me together with my parent, I will do this sage every good and show him extreme mercy.” And he sat on the roof of the palace until he learned that the people had fallen asleep, and he was tormented by hunger and thirst, for since he had parted with his father he had not eaten anything. And then he said to himself: “There cannot be supplies in a palace like this!” And he left the horse in one place and went for a walk and look for some food. And he saw a staircase and went down it and saw a courtyard lined with marble, and he was surprised at this place and the fact that it was well built, but he did not hear any noise in the palace and did not see a living person.

And he stopped in confusion and began to look to the right and to the left, not knowing where to go, and then he said to himself: “There is nothing better for me than to return to the place where my horse is and spend the night there, and when morning comes, I will mount my horse and ride..."

And the morning overtook Shahrazad, and she stopped her permitted speech.

Three hundred fifty-ninth night

When the three hundred and fifty-ninth night came, she said: “It came to me, O happy king, that the prince said to himself: “There is nothing better for me than to spend the night near my horse, and when morning comes, I will sit on my horse and ride.”

And as he stood speaking these words to his soul, he suddenly saw a light that was approaching the place where he stood. And the prince peered into this light and saw that he was moving with a crowd of slaves, and among them walked a radiant girl with a figure like the letter alif, reminiscent of the bright moon, as the poet said about her:

She came without an appointment, in the darkness of the night.

Like the moon shining in a dark sky.

Oh slender! There are no people similar to Nes

By the brilliance of her beauty and the light of her appearance,

I cried out when my eyes saw her beauty:

“Praise be to Him who created all from condensed blood!”

I want to protect her from human eyes by saying:

“Say: “God save me, the people, and the dawn!”

And that girl was the daughter of the king of this city, and her father loved her with a strong love, and because of his love for her he built this palace, and whenever the princess's chest was embarrassed, she came there with her slaves and stayed there for a day, or two days, or more, and then returned to her palace. And it so happened that she came that evening to have fun and have fun, and walked among her slaves, and with her was a eunuch girded with a sword. And when she entered this palace, they spread out carpets and lit braziers with incense and began to play and have fun, and when everyone was playing and having fun, the prince suddenly rushed at the eunuch and hit him once in the face and knocked him down, and he took his sword and rushed at the slaves who were with the princess, and dispersed them to the right and left.

And when the princess saw his beauty and charm, she said to him: “Perhaps you are the one who wooed me from my father yesterday, but he refused you and said that you were ugly in appearance? I swear by Allah, my father lied when he said such words, and you are nothing less than handsome!

And the son of the king of India wooed the princess from her father, but the king refused him because he was disgusting in appearance, and the princess thought that he was the one who wooed her. And she came up to the young man and hugged him, and kissed him, and lay with him, and the slave girls said to her: “O lady, this is not the one who wooed you from your father, since he was ugly, but this one is beautiful. And the one who wooed you from your father, and he rejected him, is not fit to be a servant of this, and this young man, O lady, is of great rank.”

Then the slave girls approached the lying eunuch and brought him to his senses, and the eunuch jumped up, frightened, and began to look for his sword, but did not find it in his hand, and the slave girls said to him: “He who took your sword and knocked you down, sitting with the princess." And the king instructed this eunuch to guard his daughter, fearing for her the vicissitudes of fate and the blows of chance.

And the eunuch stood up and went to the curtain and lifted it, and saw that the princess was sitting with the prince and they were talking, and when he saw them, the eunuch said to the prince: “O my lord, are you one of the people or the genies?” - “Woe to you, O most vile of slaves! - exclaimed the prince. “How can you consider the children of the kings of Khosroes to be wicked devils?”

And he took the sword in his hand and said: “I am the king’s son-in-law, he married me to his daughter and ordered me to go in to her.” And the eunuch, hearing these words from him, said: “O lord, if you are one of the people, as you claim, then she is suitable only for you, and you have more rights to her than the other.” Then the eunuch went to the king, shouting (and he tore his clothes and sprinkled earth on his head). And when the king heard his cry, he asked him: “What has happened to you? You have troubled my soul. Tell me quickly and be brief.” “O king,” answered the eunuch, “help your daughter: Satan from the genies took power over her in the guise of a man, having the image of the king’s son, go to him!” And when the king heard these words from the eunuch, he set out to kill him and exclaimed: “What, you didn’t look after my daughter, and this misfortune befell her?” And then the king went to the palace where his daughter was, and, having arrived there, (found the slaves standing.

"What happened to my daughter?" - he asked them. And the wasp answered: “O king, we were sitting with her and before we knew it, this young man, who was like the full moon (and we have never seen a more beautiful face), rushed at us, and in his hands he had a naked sword. And we asked him who he was, and he claimed that you married him to your daughter. And we know nothing more than this, and we do not know whether he is a man or a genie, but he is chaste and polite and does not do anything bad.”

And when the king heard their words, his ardor cooled down, and he began to lift the curtain little by little, little by little - and he saw that the prince was sitting with his daughter, and they were talking, and the prince had the most beautiful image, and his face was like a luminous moon.

And the king could not restrain himself out of jealousy for his daughter, and lifted the curtain, and entered with a naked sword in his hand, and rushed at them like a ghoul, and when the prince saw him, he asked the princess: “Is this your father?” And she answered: “Yes...”

And the morning overtook Shahrazad, and she stopped her permitted speech.

Three hundred and sixtieth night

When night came, adding up to three hundred and sixty, she said: “It came to me, O happy king, that the prince saw the king with a drawn sword in his hand (and he flew at (them like a ghoul), and asked the princess: “Is this your father?" And she answered: "Yes!" And then the prince jumped to his feet and, taking the sword in his hands, shouted at the king with terrible screams and stunned him and wanted to rush at him with the sword. And the king realized that the prince was faster than him, and He sheathed his sword and stood until the prince reached him, and then he greeted him kindly and asked: “O young man, are you one of the people or the genies?” - “If I had not observed my duty to you and respect for your daughter, I would shed your blood! How do you raise me to the devils, when I am one of the children of the kings of Khosroes, who, if they wanted to take the kingdom from you, would shake your greatness and power and take away from you everything that is in your homeland! " - exclaimed the prince. And, hearing his words, the king felt respect for him and was afraid of harm from him for himself. “If you are one of the royal children, as you claim,” he said to him, “then how did you enter my palace without my permission and disgraced my dignity and penetrated my daughter? You say that you are her husband, and you claim that I married you to her, and I killed kings and kings’ sons when they wooed her. Who will save you from my rage? After all, if I call my slaves and servants and tell them to kill you, they will kill you immediately. Who will free you from my hands? And the prince, hearing these words, said to the king: “Truly, I am surprised at you and your little insight! Do you want a better husband for your daughter than me? And have you seen anyone with a stronger soul and more abundant rewards and stronger power, troops and assistants than me?” “No, I swear by Allah,” the king answered, “but I would like, O young man, for you to woo her in the presence of witnesses, and I would marry you to her, and if I marry you secretly, you will disgrace me with her.” “You said well,” answered the prince, “but only, O king, if your slaves, servants and troops gather and kill me, as you said, you will disgrace yourself, and people will believe you and not believe you. And, in my opinion, you should do, O king, as I tell you.” - “Say your word!” - said the king. And the prince said to him: “I’ll tell you what: either you and I will fight one on one, and whoever kills his opponent will be closer to power and has more rights to it, or you will leave me tonight, and when the time comes morning, you will bring your troops and detachments of servants to me. Tell me how many there are?” “They number forty thousand horsemen, besides the slaves who belong to me, and besides their entourage, and their number is the same,” answered the king. And the prince said: “When the day rises, bring them out to me and tell them...”

And the morning overtook Shahrazad, and she stopped her permitted speech.

Three hundred sixty-first night

When the three hundred and sixty-first night came, she said: “It has come to me, O happy king, that the prince said to the king: “When the day rises, bring them out to me and tell them: “This man is wooing my daughter on the condition that will fight you all.

And he claims that he will defeat you and conquer you and that you cannot cope with him.” And then let me fight them; and if they kill me, this will best hide your secret and preserve your honor, and if I defeat them and subjugate them, then the king will wish for someone like me to “mark me as a son-in-law.” And the king, having heard the prince’s words, approved of his opinion and accepted his advice, although he found his words strange and was horrified by the prince’s intention to fight with all the troops that he had described to him.

And then they sat talking, and after that the king called the eunuch and ordered him to go to the vizier at the same hour and minute with the order to gather all the soldiers and so that they put on weapons and mount their horses.

And the eunuch went to the vizier and conveyed to him what the king commanded, and then the vizier demanded the commanders of the army and the nobles of the kingdom and ordered them to mount their horses and ride out, putting on military armor; I'm here what happened to them. As for the king, he kept talking with the prince, since he liked his speech, intelligence and upbringing.

And while they were talking, suddenly morning came, and the king rose and went to his throne and ordered his soldiers to mount their horses. He brought the prince an excellent horse from his best horses and ordered him to be saddled and dressed in good harness, but the prince said to him: “O king, I will not mount the horse until I look at the troops and see them.” “Let it be as you wish,” the king answered him. And then the king went, and the young man walked in front of him, and they reached the square, and the prince saw the troops and their numbers.

And the king shouted: “O assembly of people, a young man has come to me who is wooing my daughter, and I have never seen anyone more beautiful than him, and stronger in heart, and more terrible in anger. He claims that he will overcome you and defeat you alone, and declares that even if you reached a hundred thousand, you would, in his opinion, be but a few. When you fight with him, lift him up on the teeth of spears and on the ends of swords - truly, he has taken on a great task! And then the king said to the prince: “O my son, here they are, do with them what you want.” And the young man answered him: “O king, you are unfair to me. How can I fight them when I am on foot and they are on horseback?” “I ordered you to mount your horse, but you refused. Here are the horses, choose the one you want,” said the king. “I don’t like any of your horses, and I will only mount the one on which I arrived,” answered the prince, “Where is your horse?” - asked the king. And the prince replied: “It is above your palace.” - “Where is my palace?” - asked the king. And the young man answered: “On the roof.” And hearing this, the king exclaimed: “This is the first manifestation of the disorder of your mind! Woe to you! How can there be a horse on the roof? But now it will become clear where your truth is and where your lies are.”

And the king turned to one of his entourage and said: “Go to my palace and deliver what you find on the roof.” And people began to be surprised at the young man’s words and said to one another: “How will this horse get down the stairs from the roof? Truly, this is something we have never heard before.”

And the one whom the king sent to the palace climbed to the very top and saw that the horse was standing there, and he had never seen a horse better than this. And this man approached the horse and began to examine it, and it turned out that it was made of ebony and ivory. And one of the king’s close associates also stood up with him, and, seeing such a horse, they began to laugh and said: “And on a horse like this there will be what the young man mentioned! We think that he is nothing short of possessed! But his case will become clear to us..."

And the morning overtook Shahrazad, and she stopped her permitted speech.

Three hundred sixty-second night

When the three hundred and sixty-second night came, she said: “It came to me, O happy king, that the king’s entourage, seeing the horse, began to laugh and said: “And on a horse like this there will be what the young man mentioned!” We think that he is nothing less than possessed, but his position will become clear to us, and perhaps his work (Great!”

And then they picked up the horse and carried it in their arms until they brought it before the king and placed it in front of him, and the people gathered around the horse, looking at it and marveling at its beautiful appearance and the beauty of its saddle and bridle. And the king also liked the horse, and he was extremely surprised by it, and then he asked the prince: “O young man, is this your horse?” “Yes, O king, this is my horse, and you will soon see amazing things in him,” answered the young man. And the king said to him: “Take your horse and mount it.” “I will sit on it only when the warriors move away from it,” said the young man. And the king ordered the soldiers who stood around the horse to move away from him within the flight of an arrow, and then the young man said: “O king, here I will sit on my horse and rush at your troops and disperse them to the right and to the left and make their hearts split.” “Do what you want, and do not spare them, they will not spare you,” said the king. And the prince went to his horse and sat on it, and the soldiers lined up opposite him and said to one another: “When the young man is between the ranks, we will raise him on the teeth of spears and on the blades of swords.” And one of them exclaimed: “I swear by Allah, this is a disaster! How will we kill this young man with a beautiful face and a beautiful figure! And someone else said: “I swear by Allah, you will reach it only after a great deed! The young man did such a thing only because he knows the valor of his soul and his superiority.”

And when the prince mounted his horse, he turned the lifting screw, and eyes were drawn to him to see what he wanted to do. And his horse became agitated and thrashed and began to make the most outlandish movements that horses make, and his insides were filled with air, and then the horse rose and flew upward through the air. And when the king saw that the young man was rising and flying upward, he shouted to his army: “Woe to you, grab him before he leaves you!” And his viziers and governors said to him: “O king, who can overtake a flying bird? This is nothing other than the great sorcerer from whom Allah saved you. Glorify the great Allah for the danger at his hands!”

And the king returned to his palace after he saw what he saw, and when he arrived at the palace, he went to his daughter and told her what had happened to the prince in the square, and saw that she was very sad about him and about her separation from him. And then she got sick and lay down on the pillows. And when her father saw that she was in such a state, he pressed her to his chest and kissed her between the eyes and said to her: “O my daughter, praise Allah the great and thank him for freeing us from this evil sorcerer!” And he began to repeat to her what he had seen and tell her how the prince rose into the air. But the princess did not listen to her father’s words, and her crying and groaning intensified, and then she said to herself: “I swear by Allah, I will not eat food or drink anything until Allah unites me with him.” And the girl’s father, the king, was overcome with great concern because of this, and the condition of his daughter was difficult for him, and he began to grieve for her in his heart, but every time he addressed his daughter with affection, her love for the prince only intensified... "

And the morning overtook Shahrazad, and she stopped her permitted speech.

Three hundred sixty-third night

When the three hundred and sixty-third night came, she said: “It dawned on me, O happy king, that the king began to grieve for her in his heart, but every time he addressed his daughter with affection, her love for the prince only intensified.

This is what happened to the king and his daughter. As for the prince, he rose into the air and was left alone with himself and began to remember the beauty and charm of the girl. And he learned from those close to the king what the name of the city was and the name of the king and his daughter. And this city was the city of Sanaa.

And then the prince sped up and approached his father's city and flew around the city and headed towards his father's palace. He went down to the roof and left the horse there, and, going down to his parent, went in to him and saw that he was sad and sad because of the separation from his son. And when the prince's father saw him, he rose and embraced him and pressed him to his chest, and rejoiced at him with great joy. And then the prince, having met his father, asked him about the sage who made the horse, and said: “Oh, father, what did fate do to him?” And his father replied: “May Allah not bless the sage and the moment when I saw him! It was he who was the reason for our separation from you, and he has been in captivity, oh my child, since the day you hid from us.”

And the prince ordered the sage to be released and taken out of prison and brought to him. And when the sage appeared before him, the prince rewarded him with a robe of favor and showed him extreme mercy, but the king did not marry him to his daughter. And the sage became angry with great anger and regretted what he had done, and he realized that the prince had learned the secret of the horse and how it moved.

And then the king said to his son: “It is best, in my opinion, that you do not approach this horse and do not mount it ever after today, since you do not know its properties and are deceived about it.” And the prince told his father about what happened to him with the daughter of the king, the holder of power in that city, and what happened to him with her father. And the father said: “If the king wanted to kill you, he probably would have killed you, but your life is destined to be extended.”

And then grief arose in the prince because of his love for the daughter of the king, Lord San; and he went up to the horse and sat on it and turned the lifting screw, and the horse flew with him through the air and ascended to the clouds of heaven. When morning came, the young man's father missed him and could not find him, and he went up to the roof saddened and saw his son rising through the air.

And the king was saddened by the separation from his son and began to repent in every possible way that he did not take the horse and did not hide his secret, and thought to himself: “I swear by Allah, if my son returns to me, I will not leave this horse, so that my heart will calm down.” regarding my son! And he returned to crying and wailing..."

And the morning overtook Shahrazad, and she stopped her permitted speech.

Three hundred sixty-fourth night

When the three hundred and sixty-fourth night came, she said: “It has come to me, O happy king, that the king returned to weeping and lamentation, and this is what happened to him.

As for his son, he flew through the air until he stopped over the city of Sanaa. He descended in the place where he had descended for the first time, and walked stealthily until he reached the room of the king’s daughter, but he did not find either the girl, or her slaves, or the eunuch who was guarding her, and this made him feel heavy. And then he began to walk around the palace, looking for the princess, and found her in another room, not in her room, where he met her, and the princess was lying on pillows, and there were slave girls and nannies around her. And the prince came in to them and greeted them, and, hearing his words, the princess rose and hugged him and began to kiss him between the eyes and press him to her chest. “Oh lady,” the prince told her, “you have made me yearn all this time.” And the princess exclaimed: “It was you who made me sad, and if your absence had lasted, I would have died, without a doubt!” “Oh lady,” asked the prince, “how do you look at what happened to me with your father and what he did to me? If it weren’t for my love for you, O temptation of people, I would probably have killed him and made him an edification for those watching. But just as I love you, I love him for your sake.” - “How could you leave me, and is life pleasant for me without you?” - said the girl. And the prince asked her: “Will you listen to me and listen to my words?” “Say what you want, I will agree to whatever you call me to do, and I will not contradict you in anything,” answered the princess. “Let’s go with me to my country and to my kingdom,” the prince said then. And the princess replied: “With love, it’s my pleasure!”

And the prince, hearing her words, rejoiced greatly and, taking the princess by the hand, made her promise this, swearing in the name of Allah the great. And after that, he went up with her to the roof of the palace, and, sitting on his horse, sat the girl behind, pressed her to him and tied her tightly, and then turned the lifting screw, which was on the horse’s shoulder, and the horse rose with them to the top. air. And the slave girls screamed and informed the king, the girl’s father, and her mother, and they hastily climbed to the roof of the palace. And the king turned his eyes upward and saw an ebony horse flying with them through the air, and he became alarmed, and his anxiety became great.

And he shouted and said: “O prince, I ask you, for the sake of Allah, have pity on me and have pity on my wife and do not separate us from our daughter!” But the prince did not answer him. And then the prince thought that the girl regretted the separation from her mother and father, and asked her: “O temptation of time, do you want me to return you to your father and mother?” But she answered: “O sir, I swear by Allah, I don’t want this! I only want to be with you, wherever you are, because love for you distracts me from everything, even from my father and mother.” And the prince, hearing her words, rejoiced with great joy.

And he set off the horse with the girl quietly, so as not to alarm her, and flew with her until he saw a green meadow, on which there was a stream with flowing water,

And the prince went down there, and they ate and drank, and then the prince sat on his horse and put the girl behind, tying her tightly with ropes, out of fear for her, and flew with her, and flew through the air until he reached his city. father, and then his joy intensified. And then he wanted to show the girl the abode of his power and the kingdom of his father and inform her that the kingdom of his father was greater than the kingdom of her father, and, settling down in one of the gardens where his father walked, he took her to the gazebo prepared for his father, and, placing an ebony horse at the door of this gazebo, ordered the girl to guard him: “Sit here until I send you my messenger, I am going to my father to prepare a palace for you and show you my power,” said Tsarevich And the girl was delighted to hear these words from him and said: “Do what you want!..”

And the morning overtook Shahrazad, and she stopped her permitted speech.

Three hundred sixty-fifth night

When the three hundred and sixty-fifth night came, she said: “It has come to my attention, O happy king, that the girl was delighted when she heard these words from the prince, and said to him: “Do what you want!” And it occurred to her that she would enter the city only with pomp and honor, as befits someone like her.

And the prince left her and walked until he reached the city, and came to his father. And his father, having withered him, rejoiced and went to meet him and said: “Welcome!” And the prince said to his father: “Know that I brought the princess, about whom I informed you, and left her outside the city, in one of the gardens, and came to tell you about her, so that you gather those close to you and go out to meet her and show her your power and troops and bodyguards." And the king answered: “With love and pleasure!” And then, at that very moment, he ordered the inhabitants to decorate the city with beautiful jewelry and clothes and what they kept in the treasuries of the Dari, and arranged a room for the princess, decorated with green, red and yellow brocade, and seated the slaves in this room - Indian, Rumian and Abyssinian, and laid out wondrous treasures.

And then the prince left this room and those who were in it, and came before everyone else to the garden and entered the gazebo where he had left the girl, and began to look for her, until he found her, and did not find the horse. And he began to hit himself in the face, and tore his clothes, and began to circle around the garden with a stunned mind, but then he returned to reason and said to himself: “How did she know the secret of this horse when I did not inform her of anything? Perhaps the Persian sage who made the horse attacked her and took her in retribution for what my father did to him?

And the prince called the guards of the garden and asked them who was passing by them, and said: “Did you see anyone pass by you and enter this garden?” And the watchmen replied: “We did not see anyone enter this garden except the Persian sage - he came to collect useful herbs.” And, hearing their words, the prince was convinced that it was this sage who took the girl..."

And the morning overtook Shahrazad, and she stopped her permitted speech.

Three hundred sixty-sixth night

When the three hundred and sixty-sixth night came, she said: “It came to me, O happy king, that, having heard their words, the prince was convinced that it was this sage who took the girl. And according to a predetermined command, it was so that when the prince left the girl in the gazebo in the garden and went to his father’s palace to prepare it, the Persian sage entered the garden, wanting to collect some useful herbs, and smelled the musk and incense with which it was saturated place - and this fragrance was the smell of the princess. And the sage followed this task until he reached that gazebo, and he saw that the horse, which he had made with his own hand, was standing at the door of the gazebo. When the sage saw the horse, his heart was filled with joy and joy, as he was very sorry for the horse that had left his hands. And he went up to the horse and checked all its parts, and it turned out that they were intact. And the sage wanted to get on his horse and fly, but he said to himself: “I’ll definitely see what the prince brought with him and left here with his horse.” And he entered the gazebo and saw the princess sitting, and she was like a shining sun in a clear sky. And, seeing her, the sage realized that this girl was of high rank and that the prince took her and brought her on a horse and left her in this gazebo, while he himself went to the city to bring those close to him and introduce her into the city with respect and honor. And then the sage entered the girl and kissed the ground in front of her, and the girl raised her eyes and looked at him and saw that he was very ugly in appearance and his appearance was vile. "Who are you?" - she asked him. And the sage replied: “O lady, I am sent from the prince. He sent me to you and told me to transfer you to another garden, close to the city.” And the girl, hearing these words from him, asked: “Where is the prince?” And the sage answered: “He is in the city with his father and will come to you now with a magnificent retinue.” “Oh so-and-so,” the girl said to him, “hasn’t the prince found anyone to send to me except you?” And the sage laughed at her words and said to her: “O lady, do not let the ugliness of my face and my vile deception deceive you.” view. If you had received from me what the prince received, you would probably have praised my work. The prince chose me to send to you because of my ugly appearance and frightening appearance, since he is jealous and loves you, and if not for this, he has so many slaves, slaves, servants, eunuchs and servants that it would be impossible to count.” .

And when the girl heard the words of the sage, they entered her mind, and she believed him and rose..."

And the morning overtook Shahrazad, and she stopped her permitted speech.

Three hundred sixty-seventh night

When the three hundred and sixty-seventh night came, she said: “It has come to me, O happy king, that when the Persian sage told the girl about the circumstances of the prince, she believed his words, and they entered her mind.

And she stood up and put her hand in the hand of the sage and said: “O father, what did you bring with you so that I could sit on?” And the sage answered her: “O lady, the horse on which you arrived. You will ride it." “I can’t ride it alone,” the girl said. And when the sage heard this from her, he smiled and realized that he had captured her. “I’ll sit with you myself,” he told her and then he sat down. I sat the girl behind and pressed her to me and tightened the ropes on her, but she didn’t know what he wanted to do with her.

And then the sage moved the lifting screw, and the inside of the horse was filled with air, and it moved and trembled, and rose up, and flew until the city disappeared.

And the girl said: “Hey, you, where is what you said about the prince when you claimed that he sent you to me?” And the sage answered: “May Allah disfigure the prince! He is nasty and evil." - “Woe to you! - exclaimed the princess. “How can you contradict your master’s orders in what he ordered you?” “He is not my master,” answered the sage. - Do you know who I am? “No, I only know about you that you made yourself known,” answered the princess. And the sage exclaimed: “My story was only a trick with you and the prince. All my life I grieved about this horse that is under you - this is my creation, but the prince took possession of it; and now I captured him and you too and burned the prince’s heart, just as he burned my heart, and from now on he will never have power over the horse. But calm my heart and cool my eyes - I am more useful to you than he.”

And the princess, hearing his words, began to hit herself in the face and shouted: “Oh woe! I didn’t get my beloved, and I didn’t stay with my father and mother!” And she cried bitterly because of what had befallen her, and the sage continually flew with her to the land of the Rums until he landed on a green meadow with streams and trees. And there was this meadow near the city, and in the city there was a king of high rank.

And it happened that on that day the king of this city went out to hunt and take a walk, and passed by that meadow and saw that the sage was standing, and the horse and the girl were standing next to him. And before the sage had time to come to his senses, the king’s servants flew at him and took him and the girl and the horse and put everyone in front of the king, and when the king saw the ugly appearance of the sage and his vile appearance and saw the beauty and charm of the girl, he said to her: “O lady “What is the connection between this old man and you?” And the sage hastened to answer and said: “This is my wife and my uncle’s daughter.” But the girl, hearing these words, declared him a liar and said: “O king, I swear by Allah, I do not know him and he is not my husband, but he took me by force, by cunning.” And when the king heard these words, he ordered to beat the sage, and they beat him so much that he almost died. And then the king ordered him to be taken to the city and thrown into prison, and this was done to him. And after that the king took the girl and the horse from him, but he did not know what was the matter with the horse and how it moved.

This is what happened to the sage and the girl. As for the king's son, he put on his travel clothes and took what he needed from the money and left, being in the worst condition. He quickly went, unraveling the tracks and looking for the girl, and went from country to country and from city to city and asked about the ebony horse. Everyone was amazed at him and considered his words amazing.

And the prince spent some time in this position, but, despite many questions and searches, he did not pick up the trail of the girl and the horse. And then he went to the city of the girl's father and asked about her there, but he heard no news about her and found the girl's father sad because of her disappearance. And the prince returned back and headed to the lands of the rums and began to look for the girl with the horse there and ask about her...”

And the morning overtook Shahrazad, and she stopped her permitted speech.

Three hundred and sixty-eighth night

When the three hundred and sixty-eighth night came, she said: “It came to me, O happy king, that the prince headed to the lands of the Rums and began to look for traces of the girl with the horse and ask about them.

And it happened that he stopped at one khan and saw a crowd of merchants who were sitting and talking, and sat close to them and heard one of them say: “O my friends, I saw a miracle of miracles.” - “What is this?” asked him. And he said: “I was in one region, in such and such a city (and he mentioned the name of the city in which the girl was), and I heard its inhabitants telling a strange story, and this is this: the king of the city left one day hunting and trapping together with a crowd of confidants and nobles, and when they rode out onto the plain and passed by a green meadow, they saw a man standing there, next to whom a woman was sitting, and with them was an ebony horse. As for the man, he was ugly in appearance and had a terrifying appearance, but the girl was beautiful and charming, brilliant and perfect, slender and proportionate. Well, a horse made of ebony is a miracle, and no one has seen a horse more beautiful and better made.” - “And what did the king do with them?” - asked those present. And the merchant said: “The king seized the man and asked him about the girl, and he began to claim that she was his wife and his uncle’s daughter, but the girl declared his words false. And the king took her from him and ordered him to be beaten and thrown into prison. As for the ebony horse, I don’t know anything about it.”

And when the prince heard the words of the merchant, he approached him and began to question him carefully and quietly, and he told him the name of the city and the name of its king. And, having learned the name of the city and the name of its king, the prince spent the night in joy, and when morning came, he left and rode, and rode until he reached that city. But when he wanted to enter there, the gatekeepers grabbed him and wanted to bring him to the king so that he would ask him about his circumstances, the reason for his coming to this city and what craft he knew.

But the arrival of the prince in this city happened in the evening hour, and it was such a time when it was impossible to enter the king or consult with him. And the gatekeepers took him and brought him to prison to put him there. And when the jailers saw the beauty of the prince and his charm, it seemed difficult for them to take him to prison, and they put him in their place, outside the prison. And when they brought food, the prince ate with them to his heart's content, and after finishing the meal, they began to talk, and the jailers turned to the prince and asked: “What country are you from?” “I am from the country of Fars, the country of the Khooroi,” answered the prince. And the jailers, hearing his words, laughed, and one of them said: “O Khosroite, I heard the speeches of people and their stories and observed their circumstances, but I did not see or hear a person more deceitful than the Khosroite who is with us.” in prison". “And I have never seen a uglier appearance or a more disgusting image,” said another. “What did you learn from his lies?” - asked the prince. And the jailers said: “He claims to be a wise man. The king saw him on the road when he was going hunting, and with him was a woman of unprecedented beauty, charm, brilliance and perfection, slender and proportionate, and there was also a horse made of ebony with him, and I have never seen a horse better than this. As for the girl, the king has her, and he loves her, but this woman is possessed, and if that man were a sage, as he claims, he would probably have cured her. The king diligently treats her, and his goal is to cure her of what happened to her; As for the ebony horse, it is in the king’s treasury. And the ugly-looking man who was with her is in our prison.

And when night falls, he cries and sobs, grieving for himself, and does not let us sleep..."

And the morning overtook Shahrazad, and she stopped her permitted speech.

Three hundred sixty-ninth night

When the three hundred and sixty-ninth night came, she said: “It has come to my attention, O happy king, that the people assigned to the prison told the prince about the Persian sage who was in their prison, and how he cries and sobs. And it occurred to the prince to come up with a plan by which he would achieve his goal. And when the gatekeepers wanted to sleep, they took the prince to prison and locked the door behind him, and he heard the sage crying and lamenting about himself and saying in Persian in his complaints: “Woe is me for what I have brought upon myself and against the prince, and for what I did to the girl when I did not leave her, but did not achieve what I wanted. And all this because I had a bad idea: I was looking for for myself what I do not deserve and what is not suitable for someone like me; and whoever seeks what is not suitable for him ends up where I ended up.”

And when the prince heard the words of the Persian, he spoke to him in Persian and said to him: “How long will this crying and howling last? Would you like to see if something has befallen you that has not befallen another?” And the Persian, having heard the words of the prince, began to complain to him about his situation and the hardships that he was experiencing. And the next morning the gatekeepers took the prince and brought him to their king and notified the king that the prince came to the city yesterday, at a time when it was impossible to enter the king.

And the king began to question the prince and said to him: “What country are you from, what is your name, what is your craft, and why did you come to this city?” And the prince replied: “As for my name, it is in Persian Kharje, and my country is the country of Fars, and I am from people of science, and in particular I know the science of healing. I heal the sick and the possessed and go to different lands and cities to acquire knowledge beyond my knowledge, and when I see a sick person, I heal him. This is my craft." And, having heard the words of the prince, the king rejoiced greatly and exclaimed: “O worthy sage, you came to us at a time of need before you.” And he told him about the incident with the girl and said: “If you cure and cure her of demon possession, you will have from me everything that you require.” And when the prince heard the king’s words, he said: “May Allah exalt the king! Describe to me everything that you saw in her as a possessed person, and tell me how many days ago this demonic possession happened to her and how you captured her with a horse and a sage.” And the king told him about this matter from beginning to end and then said: “The sage is in prison.” And the prince asked: “O happy king, what did you do with the horse that was with her?” “Oh, young man,” answered the king, “I still have it in one of the rooms.” And the prince said to himself: “It is best, in my opinion, to examine the horse and see him first of all; if he is safe and nothing happened to him, then everything I want will come true; and if I see that his movements have stopped, I will come up with a trick to free myself.”

And then he turned to the king and said: “O king, I should look at the said horse, maybe I will find something in it that will help me heal the girl.” - “With love and desire!” - answered the king, and then he stood up and, taking the prince by the hand, led him to the horse. And the prince began to walk around the horse and check it, looking at what condition it was in, and saw that the horse was intact and that nothing had happened to it. And then the prince rejoiced greatly and exclaimed: “May Allah exalt the king! I want to go in to the girl and see what’s wrong with her, and I ask Allah and hope that healing will come through my hands with the help of a horse, if Allah the Great wants.” And then he ordered the horse to be guarded.

And the king went with him to the room where the girl was, and the prince, entering her, saw that she was struggling and falling, as usual, but she was not possessed and did this so that no one would approach her.

And, seeing her in such a state, the prince said to her: “There will be no trouble with you, O temptation of people.” And then he began to speak to her carefully and kindly and let her recognize him. And when the princess recognized him, she cried out with a great cry, and unconsciousness covered her, so strong was the joy that she experienced. And the king thought that this attack was because she was afraid of him. And the prince put his mouth to her ear and said: “O temptation of people, save my blood and your blood from shedding and be patient and steadfast; truly, this is the place where patience and skillful calculation in cunning are needed so that we free ourselves from this oppressive king. And the trick is that I will go out to him and say: “Her illness is from a spirit from the genies, and I guarantee you that she will be cured.” And I will set a condition for him to unfasten the chains on you, and then this spirit will leave you; and when the king comes to you, speak to him in good words, so that he can see that you have been cured with my help, then everything that we want will come true.” And the girl said: “I listen and obey!” And then the prince left her and went to the king, cheerful and joyful, and said: “O happy king, by your happiness, her illness and her treatment are over, and I cured her for you. Get up and go in to her, and soften your words, and treat her carefully and promise her what will make her happy - then everything that you want from her will come true...”

And the morning overtook Shahrazad, and the ode stopped her permitted speech.

Three hundred seventy seventieth night

When the night came, completing three hundred and seventy, she said: “It has come to me, O happy king, that when the prince introduced himself as a sage, he went in to the girl and let her recognize him and told her about the plan that he would use, and the princess said: “I listen and obey!” And then the prince left her and went to the king and said to him: “Get up, go to her! Soften your words and promise her something that will make her happy, then everything you want from her will come true.”

And the king went in to the girl, and she, seeing the king, stood up and kissed the ground in front of him and said: “Welcome!” And the king rejoiced greatly at this, and then he ordered the slaves and eunuchs to carefully serve the girl and take her to the bathhouse and prepare jewelry and clothes for her. And the slave girls came to the princess and greeted her, and she answered their greetings with the gentlest language and the best words, and then they dressed her in dresses from the clothes of the kings and put a necklace of precious stones around her neck.

And the princess was taken to the bathhouse and served on her, and then she was taken out of the bathhouse, like the full moon. And, coming to the king, she greeted him and kissed the ground before him. And the king was overcome with great joy, and he said to the prince: “All this is by your blessing, may Allah multiply your breaths for us!” “She will be completely healed and her work will be completed,” said the prince, “if you go out with all your bodyguards and warriors to the place where you found her, and let the ebony horse that was with you be with you.” with her: I will speak to her spirit there, imprison him and kill him, and he will never return to her.” And the king answered him: “With love and desire!” And then they carried the ebony horse to the meadow where they found the girl, the horse and the Persian sage.

And then the king and his troops mounted their horses, and the king took the girl with him, and the people did not know what he wanted to do. And when everyone reached that meadow, the prince, who introduced himself as a sage, ordered the girl and the horse to be placed far from the king and the soldiers, as far as the eye could reach, and said to the king: “With your permission, I will light incense and read spells and imprison the spirit here so that he never returned to her; and then I will sit on the ebony horse and put the girl behind - and when I do this, the horse will move and ride, and I will get to you, and the matter will be over. And after that, do whatever you want with her.” And when the king heard his words, he rejoiced greatly. And then the prince sat on the horse and placed the girl behind (and the king and all the soldiers looked at him) and pressed her to him and tightened the ropes on her and after that turned the lifting screw - and the horse rose into the air with him, and the soldiers looked at the prince , but he did not disappear from their eyes.

And the king spent half a day waiting for his return, but the prince did not return, and the king lost hope and began to repent with great repentance and regretted the separation from the girl, and then he returned with the troops to his city.

That's what happened to him. As for the prince, he headed towards the city of his father, joyful and contented, and flew until he landed on his palace. And he settled the girl in the palace and calmed down about her, and then he went to his father and mother and greeted them and informed them of the girl’s arrival, and they rejoiced greatly at this. And this is what happened to the prince, the horse and the girl.

As for the king of the Rums, having returned to his city, he shut himself up in his palace, sad and sad. And his viziers came to him, “I began to console him, and said: “The one who took the girl is a sorcerer, and glory to Allah, who saved you from his witchcraft and deceit.” And they did not leave the king until he forgot the slave. As for the prince, he arranged great feasts for the inhabitants of the city..."

And the morning overtook Shahrazad, and she stopped her permitted speech.

Three hundred and seventy-first night

When the three hundred and seventy-first night came, she said: “It came to me, O happy king, that the prince arranged great feasts for the inhabitants of the city, and they spent a whole month celebrating, and then the prince went in to the girl, and they rejoiced at each other. great joy. And this is what happened to them. And his father broke the ebony horse and stopped its movements.

And then the prince wrote a letter to the girl’s father and mentioned in it about her circumstances and said that he had married her and she was in the best position with him. He sent a letter to the king with the messenger and sent with him gifts and expensive rarities. And when the messenger reached the city of the girl's father, that is, Sanaa in Yemen, he delivered a letter and gifts to this king. And he, having read the letter, was greatly educated and accepted the gifts; I showed respect to the messenger, and then he prepared a luxurious gift for his son-in-law, the king’s son, and sent it to him with that messenger. And the messenger returned with a gift to the prince and informed him that the king, the girl’s father, was delighted when information about his daughter reached him, and he was overcome with great joy.

And the king began to write to his son-in-law every year and give him gifts, and they continued to do this until the king, the father of the young man, died, and he took power after him in the kingdom. And he was fair to his subjects and walked with them in a way pleasing to Allah. And the countries submitted to him, and the slaves obeyed him, and they lived the sweetest and healthiest lives, until the Destroyer of pleasures and the Destroyer of assemblies came to them, destroying palaces and inhabiting graves. Let there be praise to the living, undying One, in whose hand is the visible and invisible kingdom!

In ancient times there lived a great king. He had three daughters, like full moons, and a son, as agile as a gazelle and beautiful as a summer morning.

One day three strangers came to the royal court. One carried a golden peacock, another carried a copper trumpet, and the third had a horse made of ivory and ebony.

What are these things? - asked the king.

“He who has a golden peacock,” answered the first stranger, “will always know what time it is.” As soon as one hour of the day or night passes, the bird flaps its wings and screams.

“He who has a copper pipe,” said the second, “should not be afraid of anything.” The enemy will still be far away, but the trumpet itself will blow and warn everyone of the danger.

And the third stranger said:

Anyone who has an ebony horse will go to any country he wants.

“I won’t believe you until I experience these things myself,” answered the king.

It was approaching noon, the sun was directly overhead, then the peacock flapped its wings and screamed. At that moment, a petitioner entered the gates of the palace. The trumpet suddenly blew out of nowhere. The king ordered the stranger to be searched, and the servants found a sword under his clothes. The stranger confessed that he wanted to kill the king.

“These are very useful things,” the king rejoiced. - What do you want to get for them?

Give me your daughter as a wife,” asked the first stranger.

“I also want to marry the princess,” said the second.

The king, without hesitation, took the peacock and the trumpet from them and gave them his daughters as wives.

Then a third stranger, the owner of an ebony horse, approached the king.

“O lord,” he said with a bow, “take yourself a horse and give me a third princess as my wife.”

“Don’t rush,” said the king. “We haven’t tested your horse yet.” At this time the king's son came up and said to his father:

Let me mount this horse and test it.

Test him as you wish,” answered the king.

The prince jumped onto the horse, spurred it, pulled the bridle, but the horse stood rooted to the spot.

Have you lost your mind, you unfortunate thing?! - the king shouted at the stranger. - How dare you deceive the lord? Get away with your horse, otherwise I will order you to be thrown into prison.

But the stranger was not embarrassed. He approached the prince and showed him a small ivory button that was on the right side of the horse’s neck.

“Press this button,” he told the prince.

The prince pressed the button, and suddenly the horse rose to the clouds and flew faster than the wind. He rose higher and higher, and finally the prince completely lost sight of the earth. He felt dizzy and had to grab the horse’s neck with both hands to keep from falling. The prince already regretted that he mounted his horse and mentally said goodbye to life.

But then he noticed that the horse had exactly the same button on the left side of its neck. The prince pressed it, and the horse flew slower and began to descend. Then the prince again pressed the button on the right side - the horse again flew upward like an arrow and rushed like a whirlwind above the clouds. The prince was glad that he had discovered the secret of the horse and could control it. Excited by the fast ride on the magic horse, the prince began to fall and then rise. He experienced such pleasure from flying that no mortal had ever experienced before.

When the prince was tired, he pressed the button on the left side and began to descend. He descended all day until he finally saw land.

It was a foreign land, with lakes and fast streams, with green forests, where there was a lot of different game, and in the middle of the country stood a wonderful city with white palaces and cypress groves.

The prince sank lower and lower and finally directed his horse towards a palace built of golden bricks. The palace stood far from the city among rose gardens. The prince sank onto the roof of the palace and dismounted from his horse. He was surprised that everything around was so quiet, as if everything had died out. There was no noise, nothing disturbed the silence. The prince decided to spend the night here and go home in the morning. He sat down comfortably and began to watch how the night enveloped the treetops.

So he sat, leaning on the legs of a wooden horse, and looked down. Suddenly he noticed a light in the rose garden. It seemed to the prince that a star had descended into the garden, it was getting closer and closer, growing, breaking up into ten lights, and then the prince saw beautiful slave girls in silver veils with lamps in their hands.

They surrounded a girl, such a beauty that as soon as the prince looked at her, his heart sank. The girls entered the palace, and immediately the windows were illuminated with bright light, beautiful music began to play, and the air was filled with the wonderful smell of incense and amber.

The prince could not control himself, he unwound his turban and went down it to the window, from which the brightest light poured. Through the window he climbed into the room where the girls were sitting. They ran away screaming, and only the most beautiful one did not move from her place, as if he had bewitched her. She could not take her eyes off the prince's face. Love unexpectedly blossomed in their hearts.

They told each other about themselves. The beauty told the prince that she was the king's daughter. The king built this palace for her so that she would have somewhere to have fun when she gets bored in her father's house.

Meanwhile, the girls from the princess’s retinue ran to the palace, woke up the king and shouted:

King, help! An evil spirit flew through the window to the princess and does not let her go.

The king did not hesitate. He attached the sword to his belt and ran to the palace to the princess.

He burst into her room, thinking that he would see his crying daughter in the clutches of a terrible genie. But instead he found her talking with a handsome young man. The girl smiled cheerfully at him. Then the king was overcome with rage.

He rushed with a naked sword at the stranger, but the prince also drew his sword. The king did not dare to engage in a duel with the dexterous young man, full of strength, and lowered his sword.

Are you human or genie? - he shouted.

“I’m the same person as you,” the young man answered. “I am the son of a king and I ask you to give me your daughter as a wife.” And if you don’t give it, I’ll take it myself. The king was surprised to hear these bold words:

Just try it,” he exclaimed. - My army is in the city.

I will defeat all your warriors.

The prince did not think that the king would take him at his word.

Okay,” said the king, “I will give you a princess as a wife only when you have fought in the field with forty thousand horsemen.”

The prince was ashamed to admit to the princess that he was unable to do this, and he told the king that tomorrow he would fight with his army. The king invited the prince to spend the night in his palace, and all three headed there. In the palace, everyone waited for the morning in their own way. That morning it was to be decided whether the young stranger would become the king's son-in-law.

The prince immediately fell asleep like the dead: he was tired of the rapid flight above the clouds.

The king tossed and turned on his bed for a long time before falling asleep: he was afraid that his soldiers would kill the prince and he would lose his dear son-in-law. The princess did not sleep a wink all night, she was so afraid for her lover.

As soon as the sun rose, forty thousand horsemen lined up in the field outside the city, ready for battle. The king ordered the best horse from the royal stables to be brought for the prince, but the prince politely thanked him and said that he would only mount his own horse.

Where is your horse? - asked the king.

“On the roof of the princess’s palace,” answered the prince.

The king thought that the prince was laughing at him: how could the horse get onto the roof? But the prince insisted on his own, and the king had no choice but to send his servants to the roof to get the horse. Soon two strong servants returned and brought a horse. He was so handsome that the king and his entourage opened their mouths in surprise. But they were even more surprised when they saw that this horse was made of wood.

Well, on this horse you cannot cope with my army,” said the king.

The prince did not answer a word, jumped on the magic horse, pressed the button on the right side, and the horse soared into the air like an arrow. Before the king and the soldiers had time to come to their senses, the horse and the prince were already so high that they seemed like a tiny swallow in the blue sky.

They waited and waited, but the rider on the magic horse did not return. The king went to the palace and told the princess what had happened. The princess began to sob; She told her father that she would not live without her lover, and went to the palace of golden bricks. She locked herself there, didn’t eat anything, didn’t sleep, and just grieved for her prince. Her father tried to persuade her to get the young stranger out of her head.

After all, this is still not a prince, but a sorcerer, unless anyone else can fly through the air,” said the king.

But no matter how much he convinced or begged, the princess was inconsolable and became seriously ill from melancholy.

Meanwhile, the prince on a magic horse rose so high that he lost sight of the earth. He enjoyed the flight and still missed the beautiful princess. But the young man decided that he would return to her only after he saw his father, who probably did not sleep from grief and worries about his son and was looking for him throughout the country. The prince flew and flew until he saw the towers of his native city below. He landed on the roof of the royal palace, dismounted from his horse and ran straight to his father.

How happy everyone was when they saw that the prince was alive and well! He told his father about how he learned to ride a horse, how he ended up in a distant foreign country and fell in love with a princess there. And then he asked what happened to the owner of the magic horse, that foreigner who wanted to take the king’s daughter as his wife as a reward.

This rogue was thrown into prison because you disappeared through his fault,” said the king.

Did you throw him into prison because he gave us such a wonderful thing? - exclaimed the prince. “After all, he rather deserves to have the whole court fall on his face before him.”

The king immediately ordered the stranger to be released from prison and granted him the highest court rank.

The stranger politely thanked him for this honor, but deep down he harbored a grudge. He wanted to marry the princess, but he didn’t get her. But the sorcerer did not give himself away and waited for an opportunity to take revenge.

Soon the prince became bored with his home. He could not find peace for himself and yearned for the princess from a distant foreign country. In vain the king begged his son not to expose himself to danger: the prince did not listen. One day he jumped on an ebony horse and flew away. He flew and flew until he found himself in that foreign country. The prince again sank onto the roof of the palace made of golden bricks, which stood in the middle of the rose gardens.

The princess lay in her room, pale and haggard, there was silence all around. But then someone pulled back the curtain and her lover entered the room. All illness disappeared from the princess as if by hand. Beaming, she jumped up from her bed and threw herself on the prince’s neck.

Do you want to go with me to my kingdom? - asked the prince. The girl nodded, and before the frightened maids had time to come to their senses, the prince picked her up and carried her to the roof of the palace. There he put her on a magic horse, jumped on its back and pressed the button on the right side. And now they were already flying above the clouds, huddled close to each other, intoxicated by the meeting and enchanted by the magical flight.

Below, in the palace of golden bricks, an alarm was raised, the servants called the king, but it was too late. The king tore out his hair and mourned his missing daughter. He thought that he was not destined to see her again.

And the prince and princess flew and flew and did not even remember the old king. Finally they found themselves above the city where the prince’s father ruled, and landed on the ground in one of the royal gardens. The prince hid the princess in a gazebo, around which lilies and daffodils bloomed, and jasmine smelled fragrant; He placed the wooden horse nearby, and he went to his father.

Everyone was happy that the prince had returned home again, and the king almost lost his mind with happiness. The prince told him that he had brought a beautiful bride and asked his father for permission to marry her. The Tsar thought that if the Tsarevich got married, he would forever give up these mad leaps through the air. Therefore, he immediately agreed to celebrate the wedding.

Residents began to decorate the city, and preparations for a luxurious wedding were underway everywhere.

The prince sent singers and girls with harps to the garden where the princess was hidden. He ordered a thousand nightingales to be released there so that they would brighten up her wait. And the stranger, the owner of the magic horse, harbored terrible anger in his heart and almost suffocated with anger when he saw the festive preparations. In order not to look at all this, he began to wander through the royal gardens. And it happened that he came to a gazebo surrounded by jasmine and daffodils. There he noticed his horse. The sage looked into the gazebo and saw a girl of rare beauty. The stranger immediately guessed that this was the prince’s bride, and decided that now he could take revenge on everyone for the insult and for the fact that his horse was taken away from him.

He entered the princess, bowed to the ground and said:

The prince, my lord, sent me here to hide you in another place. You are in danger here.

The princess, looking at his ugly face, was frightened. The sage immediately noticed this and said:

The prince is very jealous, so he sent me, the ugliest of his friends, after you, so that you would not like me.

The princess smiled. She was pleased that the prince was afraid for her. She extended her hand to the ugly stranger and walked out of the gazebo with him. The sage led the girl to the magic horse and said:

Get on your horse. The prince wanted you to ride on it.

The princess climbed onto the horse, the sage sat behind him, pressed the button on the right side, and the horse flew into the air so quickly that it immediately disappeared from sight.

After some time, the princess, alarmed that they were flying faster and faster, asked:

Are the royal gardens so huge that we have to fly for so long? Then the disgusting monster laughed evilly and said to the princess:

So know that I am a great wizard. I made this horse myself and took you away to take revenge on the prince.

The wizard began to boast of his power.

If I want,” he said, “all the stars will fall on my head, like wasps on a ripe plum.”

He had already invented this, but the princess didn’t care: when she heard his first words, she lost consciousness.

Meanwhile, a magnificent procession headed by the prince headed into the garden to take the princess to the royal palace, where a wedding dress was prepared for her. The prince was very surprised that he could not hear the music and singing of the nightingales. He left his retinue and ran to the gazebo in which the princess was hidden. But the gazebo was empty. Beside himself with horror, he ran out into the garden and only then noticed that the ebony horse had also disappeared. The prince called the princess, searched the jasmine thickets, but there was no trace of her. Then one of the harpist girls whom he sent to the garden told him that a stranger had come for the princess and that he had flown away with her on a wonderful horse. When the girl described the appearance of this man to the prince, he recognized him as the owner of the magic horse. The prince realized that the stranger had taken revenge on him for his insult. He almost lost his mind from grief, cursed the wizard and his evil fate, looked up, hoping to see a horse with the princess in the clouds. But even if the prince saw him, he still could not do anything.

The princess was far, far away. In the evening, the stranger directed his horse to the ground, they landed on a green meadow through which a river flowed. Here he decided to rest. And it so happened that just at that time the king of that country was returning from hunting. He noticed the old man and the girl and ordered his retinue to stop. The king began to ask what kind of people they were and how they got to his country.

“I guess from your appearance and from the retinue that surrounds you that there is a king in front of me,” said the sage. - So forgive me that my sister and I are sitting in your meadow. We were very tired after a long journey.

O king! “He’s lying,” exclaimed the princess. - I'm not his sister. He forcibly took me away. Save me, oh lord, and I will be grateful to you to death. The king immediately ordered the ugly wizard to be tied up and a stretcher prepared for the princess. Then he began to examine the ebony horse. He liked the skillful work and ivory patterns, but neither the ugly sage nor the princess revealed to him the secrets of the magic horse. The king ordered the horse to be taken to the royal palace. He escorted the princess there and ordered the most beautiful chambers to be set aside for her. And the evil wizard who kidnapped the princess was thrown into prison by the royal servants.

It seemed that the princess had escaped danger. But she fell from the frying pan into the fire. The king fell in love with her passionately and did not let her leave the palace. Soon he told the girl that he wanted to marry her.

Meanwhile, the prince, her real groom, dressed in simple clothes, walked from city to city, from country to country, and asked everywhere about the ugly old man, the beautiful girl and the ebony horse; but no one could tell him about them. He walked like this for a long time, and many months passed until happiness finally smiled on him. In one of the cities at the market, merchants talked about how the king of a neighboring country, returning from a hunt, noticed a beautiful girl in the meadow. He freed her from the hands of the old freak and fell passionately in love with her. There is nothing surprising in all this. But the wooden horse is truly a miracle of miracles: it is decorated with ivory, and it cannot be distinguished from a living one.

As soon as the prince heard about this, his heart jumped with joy in his chest, and he immediately went to the neighboring country. He walked all night, and then a day and another night, and finally came to the royal capital. And in the city there was only talk about the beautiful girl whom the king fell madly in love with. But people said that the girl was out of her mind. The king did everything to cure her, but no means helped.

The prince without hesitation went to the royal palace and ordered to report himself as a skilled doctor from a distant country who could cure any ailment. The king was delighted and told him about how he found the princess and how she now does not eat, does not sleep, does not let anyone near her, tears expensive bedspreads to shreds and smashes wonderful mirrors and goblets to pieces.

The prince listened to him and said:

Before I begin to treat the princess, I must take a look at that ebony horse.

The king ordered the horse to be brought into the courtyard, and the prince carefully examined it. And when the young man saw that the horse was intact and that nothing had happened to him, and, most importantly, both buttons were in place, he said to the king:

Put a guard on this horse, and take me to the sick girl.

The king escorted him to the princess's room. The prince asked not to disturb him and went alone to his bride. As soon as the girl looked at him, she instantly recognized her lover in the disguised doctor. The princess almost lost her mind from joy. The prince told her what she had to do so that he could free her, and returned to the king.

O king,” he said. “The girl is already better, but for her to be completely healed, I must cast another spell.” Order the horse to be brought to the meadow where you found the girl. And let your servants bring the princess there.

The king, delighted that the foreign doctor would cure his bride, did everything the prince asked him to do. The horse was already standing in the meadow outside the city; the servants brought the princess there. The king himself, surrounded by courtiers, appeared there and waited to see what the doctor would do.

The prince put the princess on a magic horse, sat behind her and pressed a button on the horse’s neck on the right side. And then something happened that no one expected. Who would have thought that a wooden horse would fly into the air like an arrow, like a winged bird, and immediately rise to the clouds. While the frightened king came to his senses and ordered the soldiers to pull the bowstring and shoot at the fugitives, the magic horse was already so high that it seemed like a tiny midge.

And the prince and princess no longer thought about the poor king in love and rejoiced that fate had united them again. They flew over mountains and valleys until they finally found themselves in the prince’s homeland. They immediately celebrated a magnificent wedding, to which the princess’s father arrived with his retinue. He forgave them when he saw how much they loved each other, and decided to himself that his daughter was happily married. And again the whole city was festively decorated. People feasted and had fun for many nights in a row. The clear moon rejoiced at their happiness, looking out from the heavenly windows, and below, the whole earth was covered with jasmine flowers.

After the wedding, the prince wanted to ride a magic horse. He looked for him everywhere, but did not find him. The old king ordered the horse to be broken so that his son would never be able to rise into the skies. The prince felt sorry for the ebony horse, but he soon forgot about it: even without the horse the young man was happy. And when many years later he told his children about the magic horse, they did not believe him and thought it was a wonderful fairy tale.