The Daughter of Tsar Zarzand
Once upon a time, there lived a poor orphan named Aslan. He was called so because he possessed extraordinary strength. Aslan worked as a shepherd boy, but one day he caught a wolf and strangled it with his bare hands. Impressed, his master promoted him to the position of chief shepherd.Aslan was fearless. At night, he would take the flock far from the village, entrust it to the dogs, and go to sleep. He would place his bag with breakfast on a large rock. One night, he thought someone was stealing food from his bag.
When he went to sleep, there were four eggs and two flatbreads in the bag, but by morning, only two eggs and one flatbread remained. He decided to stay awake the next night to catch the thief who was sharing his bread without permission. He placed the bag on the rock, lay down, and pretended to sleep.
At midnight, he heard a rustling sound. Peeking through his lashes, Aslan saw a girl of unearthly beauty taking food from his bag. She broke off a piece of bread, drank some water, and was about to leave when the mountain opened like a gate before her. Just as she was about to disappear, Aslan jumped up and grabbed her by the clothes.
The girl said, "Let me go, I will only bring you sorrow."
"I fear nothing," replied Aslan. "You are so beautiful that I would gladly die for you."
"Thank you for your words," said the girl. "Since you are so kind and brave, I will tell you my story."
Beyond seven high mountains lies the kingdom of the fearsome King Zarzand. He is my father. A year ago, enemies attacked our land, and my father went to war with his army. While he was away, a three-headed demon flew over the seven mountains and took me to his palace. For forty days, he begged me to become his wife, but I refused. On the fortieth day, the demon fell ill and said to his mother, 'I will probably die and won't be able to marry her. Take this girl and hide her. Let no one ever become her suitor.'
And so, I found myself inside a mountain, in a dark cave. The demon's mother said to the stone, 'Stone, stone, shelter the daughter of King Zarzand. Let her stay here until a young man with a myrtle branch, aided by swallows, comes for her. When he touches you three times with this branch, release her. Until then, guard her fiercely and open only for one hour each night—exactly at midnight. If she does not wish to return by then, strike her dead. That is all. Now farewell. I must return to my stone grave.'
"I will save you, beauty," said Aslan.
He immediately quit his job and set off to find swallows. He wandered from house to house, village to village, but found no swallows. Suddenly, at the edge of a village, he saw a small house with two swallows flitting under its roof. He entered the house and saw an old woman lighting a candle.
"Greetings, mother," he said.
"Welcome," she replied.
"Mother, I am a stranger here and have no shelter for the night. Could you take me in?"
"Heaven sends the guest," she answered. "Come in." She fed him something, made a bed for him.
At dawn, Aslan woke up, left the house, and heard the swallows chirping. He listened closely and suddenly began to understand their language.
"Wife," said one swallow.
"What?" replied the other.
"Isn't this Aslan, who used to feed us breadcrumbs?"
"Yes, it's him."
"Why is he here?"
"He's looking for a way to free the captive."
"Well, let him kiss the old woman's hand three times when he leaves and say three times, 'Thank you, kind mother.' She will teach him."
Aslan went to the old woman and saw that she was already up.
"I must hurry, mother," he said to her.
As he bid her farewell, he kissed her hand three times and repeated, "Thank you, kind mother."
"You are a fine lad," the old woman said to him. "Go and fear nothing. You must defeat the three-headed demon to free the daughter of King Zarzand. Here are fourteen acorns. For fourteen days, you will travel to the demon's fortress, eating one acorn each day. They will make you even stronger. Here are two nuts. Once you leave the village, hide so no one sees you and crack them open. Here is also a jug of water and a bag of flour. The demon's mother guards the fortress. Splash water in her face, and she will sleep for three days. Near her, in a vase, is a green myrtle branch. Take it and hurry to the cave."
Aslan thanked the old woman and set off on his journey. He found a secluded spot, cracked the nuts open. From one emerged a fiery horse, and in the other were a sword, a shield, and splendid clothing. Aslan did everything as the old woman had instructed. He put the demon's mother to sleep, grabbed the green branch, and rode away on his horse.
For three days, he rode without stopping. On the fourth day, he heard the demon and his mother galloping after him, about to catch up. Then the horse spoke in a human voice, "Scatter the flour in the wind."
Aslan scattered the flour, and an impassable forest grew before the demon. Aslan rode on. A day later, he heard the pursuit again.
"What should we do?" said the horse. "We must fight the demon."
Aslan turned his horse and charged at the demon. With a swing of his sword, he cut off one of the demon's three heads. The enraged demon lunged at him, but the horse dodged and kicked so hard that the demon staggered, and the youth managed to cut off another head. The demon broke off a piece of the mountain, crushed it, and began hurling stones at Aslan, but he shielded himself, and all the stones bounced off. The demon tried to break off another rock, but Aslan, on his fiery horse, flew at him and severed the third head.
Aslan turned his horse and galloped to the cave. He saw a huge lake blocking his path.
The horse said, "This is the demon's mother's doing. Pluck three hairs from my mane and throw them on the water."
Aslan plucked three hairs, threw them on the water, and they turned into a sturdy bridge. Aslan rode to the cave, struck the stone three times with the green branch, and said, "Stone, open, release the daughter of King Zarzand."
The princess came out and joyfully rushed to Aslan. He said, "Daughter of King Zarzand, I helped you, but a poor old woman helped me even more. It would be a shame if we forgot her and did not take her with us to your father's palace."
They both mounted the horse and rode to the old woman. She was delighted, quickly gathered her things, and said, "You ride on the horse, but I won't fall behind." She took off her headscarf, spread it on the ground, stepped onto it, and flew after them.
At the borders of King Zarzand's kingdom, before the seven mountains, a strong guard was posted. They would not let the daughter and her companions pass.
"Well," said the old woman. "We'll fly through the air." She spread her large shawl, everyone climbed onto it, and the shawl rose into the air, carrying them over all seven mountains. Aslan wanted to go to the king, but the girl stopped him, "Don't go. All the viziers wanted me to marry their sons. If they find out you are my suitor, they will harm you."
The old woman said, "Wait, I will go to the king myself."
The girl gave her a locket with her mother's portrait.
"If they don't believe you," she said, "show them this locket and say, 'My father is the mightiest, my mother is the gentlest.' That's what I used to say as a child, and then no one will doubt."
The old woman went to the palace and sat on the stone where matchmakers sit. A servant came and asked, "What do you want, old woman?"
"I have come to arrange a marriage for the daughter of King Zarzand."
"But the king has no daughter."
"How can that be? Take me to the king." They informed the king. The king said, "Who is this madwoman who dares to mock my grief?"
He looked at her from afar and was about to return to his chambers. But the old woman shouted, "My father is the mightiest, my mother is the gentlest!" Hearing these words, the king ordered her to be let in.
"Old woman," the king said to her. "A demon took my daughter. I have no daughter. But how do you know the words she used to say as a child?"
"She taught me herself," said the old woman and showed the locket.
Everything became clear. King Zarzand and the queen were overjoyed and immediately arranged a wedding feast. At the feast, the royal stableman approached Aslan and said, "A gadfly has flown into the stable. It's tormenting the horses so much that we fear they might go mad."
The old woman overheard this and said, "I will go to the stable myself."
She entered the stable, lit two dry twigs, and smoked out the pesky gadfly. She thought to herself that this was no ordinary gadfly. She decided to protect Aslan from the demon's mother's schemes.
That night, when everyone was asleep, the old woman quietly entered Aslan and the princess's room and stood at the head of the bed. At midnight, she heard a rustling sound. She saw a huge snake crawling. She grabbed a sharp trident and thrust it into the snake's head. The snake squealed and died. It turned out to be the demon's mother, who had turned into a snake to kill Aslan. The king and queen honored the old woman greatly. For seven days and seven nights, everyone feasted and celebrated. They achieved their goal. May you achieve yours as well.
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