The Fiery Horse
Once upon a time, there was a king. One day, a great misfortune befell him. Some invisible spirits attacked him, gouged out his eyes, and carried them away. The poor king became completely blind. One day, the eldest son said to his father:"Listen, father, give me a khurjin of gold, a good horse, and a saber. I will go and search for a cure for your eyes."
The father sighed:
"Ah, my son! Where will you find a cure for my eyes? But do as you wish. Take a khurjin of gold, go to the stable, take any horse you like, and ride off."
The next morning, the son set off. Whether he rode for a long time or not, only he knows. He reached a deep gorge, and in the gorge, flowers of unseen beauty were blooming. He thought to himself: "If these flowers cannot heal my father, then nothing will!"
He returned to his father's house and said:
"Light to your eyes, I have brought a cure."
The son mixed the flower petals, boiled them, and moistened his father's eyes with the flower infusion, but nothing came of it. The father asked:
"Listen, my son! Where did you gather these flowers?"
The son replied:
"I went to the land of India. In a deep gorge, I found flowers of unseen beauty, gathered them, and brought them back."
The father shook his head:
"Ah, my son! Twenty years ago, I fought with the king of India in that gorge in a koch (an Armenian national wrestling match). Our horses were tied in the gorge, and they fertilized the ground with their dung. That's why such flowers bloomed there. How could these flowers help me regain my sight?"
Time passed, and the middle son grew up.
"Father," he said, "give me a khurjin of gold and a good horse. I will go and search for a cure for your eyes."
The father replied:
"Ah, my son! All this is in vain, but do as you wish. Take a khurjin of gold and a good horse. Let's see what comes of this venture."
The middle son took the khurjin of gold, led a horse from the stable, and rode to distant lands. He traveled from country to country, from city to city, but found nothing. He reached a place in the steppe and saw seven springs of unseen beauty, gushing forth multicolored water. He thought: "If this water does not help my father, then nothing will." He drew water from each spring with a ladle and returned to his father's house. The servants said to the king:
"Light to your eyes! Your son has returned."
The father called his son, kissed him on the forehead, and asked:
"Did you bring a cure for my eyes?"
"Yes, I did."
The son took the water and washed his father's eyes, but again, nothing happened. The father asked:
"My son! Where did you bring this water from?"
"I went," he said, "to the land of Mtsir, and in the steppe, I saw seven multicolored springs. I thought: 'If this water does not heal my father, then nothing will.'"
"Nonsense," said the father. "These springs, my son, once belonged to me. Thirty years ago, I fought with demons, and they took them from me. The water in each spring was enchanted. Whoever drinks from one spring will become a human. From another, a deer. Whoever drinks from the third will turn into a wolf. The fourth spring is for elephants. Whoever drinks from it will become an elephant. The fifth is for rhinoceroses, and the last is for birds. So, my son, how could such water help my eyes?"
A long time passed. The youngest son grew up and approached his mother:
"Mother, I must find a cure for my father. Either I will find it, or I will lose my head."
The youngest son's mother loved him the most. She begged him:
"My son, give up this idea. You will not be able to find a cure."
But the son insisted:
"No, I will go and find it."
Seeing that she could not dissuade him, the mother said:
"My son, if you have decided to go, I will give you advice, but do not tell your father that I taught you. Go to your father and make him promise to give you what you ask for. Once he promises, say: 'Give me the Fiery Horse and the Fiery Sword, which grows seventy arshins with each strike.' If he gives them to you, then ride without fear."
As soon as the son heard this, he went to his father and said:
"Father, I am going to search for a cure for your eyes, but promise me you will fulfill one request."
The father said:
"My son, whatever you desire, I am ready to do for you. Whatever you wish, I will give you."
"Good," said the son, "since you have given your word, you will not go back on it. Give me the Fiery Horse and the Fiery Sword."
"Ah, my son! May he who advised you break his neck. Who told you this? Was it your mother?"
"No, father, my mother said nothing."
"Where did you learn of this?"
"I," said the son, "had a dream that you have such a Horse and such a Sword. An old man in my dream yesterday said: 'Your father has the Fiery Horse and the Fiery Sword. If he gives them to you, you may go and search for a cure for his eyes.'"
"Well," says the king, "I will give it to you, but return quickly."
The son asks:
"Why are you rushing me?" And the father replies:
"If other kings find out that my Fire Horse has left the city, they will attack me, take my kingdom, and kill me."
The king headed to the stables. The Fire Horse's stall was cleaner than the royal palace. In its manger, raisins were scattered. The king stroked the Horse's strong sides and whispered into its ear:
"Dear Horse, faithful friend, I entrust my son to you. Take care of him and bring him back safe and sound." Then he kissed the Horse on the forehead and left.
The prince led the Horse into the courtyard and suddenly remembered that he had not taken the Sword. He called one of the servants and sent him to tell his father:
"Your son is already on the Horse; give him the Fire Sword."
What could the king do? He was terrified to part with the Sword, but he had given his word. He unlocked the door to the storeroom, took out the Fire Sword, handed it to his son, and said:
"For God's sake, return quickly!"
The son bid farewell to his father and rode off. Whether he rode for a long time or a short time, only he knows better. He arrived at a gloomy, desolate place. Darkness surrounded him; nothing could be seen, except for something lying on the ground and glimmering. He urged the Horse to approach the shiny object, but the Horse said:
"Do not go there; this glimmer threatens us with trouble." The youth did not listen.
"No, let's go and see what it is."
He approached and saw: a feather lying on the ground. He picked it up, tucked it into his coat, and rode on. Rain began to fall. The prince directed the Horse toward a cliff that loomed ahead. The Horse said:
"Listen, master, this gorge is a bad place; do not go there."
No matter how much the Horse tried to persuade him, the prince did not listen. They reached the cliff.
Suddenly, five bandits jumped out from behind the rocks and said:
"Welcome, lad."
They led the Horse aside, tied it up, and dragged the prince into a cave, seating him by the fire. They took the bag of gold his father had given him for the journey and said to their leader:
"Look, boss, a fine catch has fallen into our hands."
At night, when it was completely dark, the prince saw that the bandits did not light any fire, and he remembered the feather he had found. He took it out from his coat, and everything around lit up as if ten candles had been lit.
"Who's messing around there?" the leader exclaimed. Suddenly, he saw the feather shining like a bonfire. The leader said to his bandits: "Do not kill this lad; he may be useful to us."
In the evening, the bandits brought three sheep, sat around the fire, skewered the sheep whole, and began roasting them. They ate and gave a little to the prince.
During the meal, the leader asked:
"Lad, where did you get this feather?" The prince replied:
"I found it on the road." The leader ordered:
"Now find a whole bird with such feathers." The youth said:
"Boss, where would I find such a bird?"
"Find it wherever you can and bring it. If you don't, I'll cut off your head."
The youth asked for three days' time. That evening, he lay down to sleep but could not. At the first light of dawn, he went to the Fire Horse and wept bitterly.
"What happened? Why are you weeping so bitterly?" asked the Horse.
The youth replied:
"Curse the day we came here! We have fallen into great trouble. The leader ordered me to bring a bird with fiery feathers, or he will cut off my head."
"And when I warned you, why did you not listen?" exclaimed the Horse. "I should have thrown you under my hooves and trampled you, but I gave my word to your father to protect you. For twenty-five years, I ate your father's bread, and I cannot forget that. Since it has come to this, there is nothing to be done. Go and tell the leader this: 'Take forty times forty measures of wheat to an island in the thirtieth sea. Pile all the grain into a heap, and I will go catch the bird.'"
The prince went to the leader and repeated what the Horse had advised. The bandits went out onto the road. They stopped passersby and travelers, plundered wheat, and transported it to the island in the thirtieth sea. There, they piled it into a huge heap.
They returned and told the leader:
"It is done."
The leader called the prince and said:
"Lad, what you asked for has been done. Go and fetch the bird."
The prince rose, led out the Fire Horse, saddled it, and rode off. He rode and rode until he reached the thirtieth sea. He crossed to the island on the Horse. The Horse said:
"Dismount."
The youth stepped onto the ground. The Horse instructed him:
— Go hide in the pile of grain so that you can't be seen. Raise your hands up and stand still. In two hours, the birds will learn that there is wheat on the sea island and will come to peck at it. When they start pecking, their queen will arrive, stand on the very top, flap her wings, and say: "Look at the piece we've grabbed." When the birds begin to peck at the grain, it will sink, and as it sinks, the queen bird's legs will fall into your hands. That's when you grab her by the legs. The queen bird will flap her wings—all the birds will fly away, but you hold her tightly. She will flap her wings once and lift you an arshin off the ground. She will flap them a second time and lift you three arshins, and if she flaps them a third time, if you can hold her, she will be yours. But if you can't, she will lift you into the heavens, carry you away, drop you into the sea, and you will perish. Be careful.
As the Fiery Horse instructed the king's son, so he did. He hid in the grain and suddenly saw: hundreds of thousands of birds flew in, descended on the grain, began to peck at it, and the grain started to sink. Suddenly, the queen bird's legs fell right into the king's son's hands. The young man grabbed them tightly. The bird flapped its wings, trying to fly away, but the young man didn't let go. All the other birds flew away, leaving only the queen bird. She flapped her wings once—lifting the young man an arshin; she flapped them a second time—lifting him three arshins; she flapped them a third time, intending to lift him into the heavens, but he pulled her legs with such force that she could no longer fly into the sky. The young man threw the queen bird to the ground, and immediately the Fiery Horse ran up to him.
— Well done, my young master. Now climb onto my back, and let's go without wasting a second. Hold onto the bird, don't let go.
The young man jumped onto the Horse, spurring him on as they rode to the bandits' lair. The chieftain came out to meet them. Seeing that the young man had returned, he called the bandits and said:
— Take the Horse, tie it up, and give the young man something to eat. The chieftain took the bird from the young man's hands, gazing at it in admiration.
The bird was of extraordinary beauty, shining like the sun. The chieftain carried the bird away and placed it on a plane tree in the garden. He walked around it, unable to take his eyes off it.
A few more days passed. One day, the bandits said to the chieftain:
— The bird is very beautiful, but what good is it? It might die. It would be good to get its eggs. The chicks would hatch, and we would have them.
The chieftain asked:
— But where can we get the eggs?
— For the young man who brought the bird, what's the trouble in getting the eggs? — replied the bandits.
The chieftain called the young man and said to him:
— I am grateful to you for bringing me the bird. But what good is it? Get me its eggs. If you bring them, well and good; if not, I'll take your head.
The young man asked for three days' time, went to the Horse, and said:
— What trouble we're in! Now the chieftain demands the bird's eggs from me. Where can I get them? I don't even know where to look.
The Fiery Horse said:
— You're to blame. I warned you. But what can I do? I wouldn't leave you alive, but I can't break the promise I made to your father. Groom me and feed me.
The young man thoroughly groomed the Horse and gave him raisins. The Horse ate his fill. Then he led the Horse out and saddled him. The Horse said:
— Close your eyes, but hold onto me tightly so you don't fall.
The Horse soared into the sky. They flew for a while, then stopped, and the Horse said:
— Open your eyes.
The king's son opened his eyes and saw: they were standing by a high mountain.
The Horse said:
— Dismount.
The prince stepped onto the ground, and the Fiery Horse instructed him:
— Climb to the top of the mountain. There live three hovtas with their mother. Right now, the hovtas are probably asleep. When it's time for lunch, they will wake up and start eating. Near the hovtas' house, a fire is burning. On it is a large cauldron in which seven sheep are boiling. The hovtas' mother sits there, chewing a two-pound piece of resin. In her hands, she holds a spindle, spinning yarn. Her tail is like a huge log, her head like a large millstone weighing a hundred poods. Next to her grows a tree. In the tree is the bird's nest, and in the nest are four eggs. Climb the tree, take the eggs from the nest, put them in your pocket, and run back. If you don't make it in time, the hovtas will catch you and chew you alive. Be careful.
The Horse told all this to the king's son. The prince climbed the mountain, while the Horse stayed below. The prince saw: at the top of the mountain, a fire was burning, and on it was a large cauldron. Seven sheep were boiling in it, three hovtas were sleeping nearby, and an old woman sat at their heads, chewing resin and spinning yarn.
Boldly, the young man approached the fire, lit a pipe, then climbed the tree, took the eggs from the nest, and ran back to the Horse. The old woman noticed him and exclaimed:
— Look at this young man! No snake has crawled here on its belly, no bird has flown here on its wings, yet he came here and even stole the eggs. Hey, my sons, get up, we must chew this young man alive!
With these words, she clapped her hands. As she clapped, the hovtas woke up and asked:
— What, what happened, mother? Should we build or destroy the world?
— Well, — she said, — look over there, the young man is running. He climbed the tree and stole the eggs from the nest.
The hovtas rushed after the king's son to catch him, but he jumped onto the Fiery Horse's saddle and immediately rose into the sky. The hovtas realized they couldn't catch up with the Fiery Horse.
— Well done, you got the eggs, saved your head, — the chieftain said to the king's son.
Twenty-one days passed, the bird hatched its chicks, and the bandit chieftain was so overjoyed he didn't know what to do. One day, he gathered all the bandits and threw a great feast. During the feast, one of the bandits said:
— We seem to have everything, but still, something is missing. The chieftain asked:
— What are we missing? The bandits said:
— Chieftain, if your wife were a guri-peri girl, then you would lack nothing in the world.
The chieftain said:
— That would be good, of course, but where can we find a guri-peri girl?
— Eh, — said the bandits, — for the young man who brought the bird and got the eggs, it wouldn't be much trouble.
The chieftain said:
— If that’s the case, call the lad.
The bandits went and brought the tsar’s son. The ataman said to him:
— Lad, do you know why I called for you?
The tsar’s son asked:
— Why?
— You must go and bring back the guri-peri girl. If you don’t bring her, I’ll cut off your head.
The tsar’s son asked for three days’ time. He went to the Fiery Horse and told him about his conversation with the ataman of the bandit gang. The Horse said:
— Well, all right, let’s go fetch the guri-peri girl. But first, go tell the ataman: let him order a harness weighing thirty poods for me.
The ataman immediately went to the blacksmith and brought the harness. The tsar’s son put the harness on the Fiery Horse. The Horse shook himself, and the harness tore apart. The Horse said:
— This is a bad harness. Go bring a forty-pood one.
The young man went to the ataman and said:
— Listen, ataman, my Horse tore this harness, he demands a forty-pood one.
The ataman brought a forty-pood harness. The Fiery Horse shook himself again and said:
— This harness is good, get on, let’s go.
The tsar’s son mounted the Horse and set off on his journey. Whether they traveled long or short, only they knew best. They reached the sea, and the sea seemed endless. The Horse said to the tsar’s son:
— Get down and let’s say goodbye. I must descend to the bottom of the sea. Who knows, maybe I won’t return. I’ll jump into the sea, and you sit here and watch the water. Soon you’ll see blood appear on the surface. But don’t be afraid, and soon after, a small box with medicine for your father’s eyes will float up. When you see it, grab it immediately and tuck it into your bosom. Wait a little longer, and I’ll come out of the sea and bring another horse. If I emerge, then you have nothing to fear, but if I don’t, run away and save yourself.
The tsar’s son sat on the shore and watched the water. He saw a bit of blood appear on the surface. After some time, the box floated up. He immediately reached out, grabbed it, and tucked it into his bosom. He waited, but the Horse was delayed. Suddenly, he saw the Fiery Horse emerge from the water, leading his sister, the Fiery Mare. She said to the Fiery Horse:
— My dear brother! Since I couldn’t leave you at the bottom of the sea, and instead you brought me to land, I’ll do whatever you command.
The Fiery Horse said:
— My dear sister! Help us get the guri-peri.
— All right, for your sake, I’ll do whatever is needed.
The Horse stayed on the shore, and the tsar’s son mounted the Fiery Mare. She immediately lifted him into the sky. She carried him across the sea, landed in front of a luxurious palace, and said:
— I’ll wait here, and you go into the palace.
The tsar’s son entered the palace and saw a girl of unparalleled beauty standing there. Her eyes shone with such light that it hurt to look at her face. She stood on a marble platform, with forty marble steps before her.
— Come up to me, she said to the young man.
— No, he replied, you come down to me.
With these words, he threw an apple onto the top step. The girl stepped down to pick up the apple, and he threw another onto the next step. And so he threw forty apples, one for each step, and the girl, without realizing it, descended to him. He grabbed the girl and rushed to the Fiery Mare. She instantly carried them across the sea to the Fiery Horse. The Fiery Horse said to the Mare:
— Well done, sister. My young master will ride you, and I’ll carry the beautiful guri-peri.
They arrived at the bandit ataman. The girl said to the tsar’s son:
— I know you want to hand me over to the bandit ataman, but I won’t go to him. I’ll free you from the bandits and become your wife.
That night, she lit two large bonfires and began heating water in huge cauldrons. She said to the bandit ataman:
— All right, I’ll be your wife, but first, wash yourself in warm water.
She led the tsar’s son to one of the cauldrons and said:
— Dip your hand in the water.
The young man’s hand turned white-white, even glowing faintly.
— See, the guri-peri said to the bandit ataman, see how his hand has become! The water in the second cauldron is even better. Climb into it, bathe, and we’ll have the wedding.
The bandit ataman climbed into the cauldron and was instantly boiled alive. The guri-peri girl bathed the tsar’s son in the other cauldron, and he became as beautiful and radiant as she was. The young man and the guri-peri girl mounted their Fiery Horses and headed to the city where the blind tsar lived. When they reached the city, they saw it was surrounded on all sides by enemy troops. The young man drew the Fiery Sword from its sheath, spurred the Fiery Horse, and charged at the enemies. The Fiery Horse neighed loudly. The tsar heard it, recognized his horse’s voice, and said:
— Thank God, my son has returned on the Fiery Horse. I won’t surrender the city keys.
In the morning, the tsar received news that the army surrounding the city had been defeated, that his son had returned with a girl and brought a small box. As soon as the son approached his father, he opened the box, took out his father’s eyes, which had been stolen by evil spirits, inserted them, and the tsar immediately regained his sight.
The tsar placed his crown on his youngest son’s head and made him tsar. He married him to the guri-peri girl. They celebrated the wedding for forty days and forty nights. Everyone rejoiced and couldn’t get enough of the festivities.
Three apples fell from the sky: one for the storyteller, one for the listener, and one for the one who took it to heart.
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