The Golden-Haired Girl

Once upon a time, there lived a woman. She had her own daughter and a stepdaughter. They also had a cow. Every day, the stepmother would send the cow out to pasture, give the stepdaughter a piece of bread, and say to her:

"Go and disappear, go tend the cow. Here's some bread for you, but don't eat it. Carry it around the meadow and bring it back. And take this spindle with you: while you're walking, spin some thread."

The hungry girl would spend whole days tending the cow and spinning thread. One day, the thread snapped, and the spindle rolled away. There was a hole in the ground, and the spindle fell into it. The stepdaughter looked down the hole and saw the mother of the vishap (a dragon) sitting underground, chewing on a piece of iron instead of bread and spinning thread.

The girl called out to her:

"Nani-jan, nani, give me back my spindle!"

The mother of the vishap replied:

"Who are you, so bold as to speak to me? Even birds don't fly here, and snakes don't slither here. Maybe you should come down?"

The stepdaughter went down, and the old woman said to her:

"Go and wash my head."

The girl began to wash her head and comb her hair, but the old woman's hair was like a pig's bristles, and it was full of all kinds of insects.

"How are my hairs?" the old woman asked.

"Good," the girl replied. "Soft and silky, just like my own mother's."

"You must be hungry," the old woman said. "Go and take some bread."

The girl went and took it, but it wasn't bread—it was dung. She held it, not knowing what to do. The old woman asked:

"Is my bread tasty?"

The girl replied:

"Tasty, nani-jan, very tasty, just like my own mother used to bake."

"Now, have some fermented cabbage."

The girl looked into the jar and saw a toad and a snake fermenting inside.

"Is it tasty?" the old woman asked.

The girl moved the jar away and said:

"Tasty, nani-jan, very tasty, just like my own mother used to ferment."

She didn't say anything unpleasant to the old woman. The old woman then said to the girl:

"Come here. Do you see two springs gushing from the ground? One has black water, and the other has white water. Don't touch the black water, but dip your head into the white water."

The girl did as she was told, and her hair turned to pure gold. The stepdaughter was frightened and said to the old woman:

"Oh, nani-jan, if my stepmother sees this, she'll pull out all my hair!"

"Don't worry," the old woman said. "I'll tie a scarf around your head."

"I'm still afraid to go back," the girl said. "My cow must be lost."

"It's not lost," said the mother of the vishap. "While you're tending her, press one horn—oil will flow from it, and press the other—honey will pour out. Eat and grow strong, become a beauty."

A few days passed. The girl grew strong and became as beautiful as a guri-peri (a fairy-like being).

"Go and disappear," the stepmother said to her. "How is it that you're becoming so beautiful? You don't eat anything, you just tend the cow. Tomorrow, my own daughter will go tend the cow, maybe she'll become a beauty too."

The next morning, the stepmother's daughter went to tend the cow. Her mother gave her kaymak (clotted cream), butter, cheese, and white bread.

"Eat," she said, "and become as beautiful as a guri-peri."

The stepmother's daughter went to the meadow. She spun the spindle a couple of times, the thread snapped, and the spindle fell into the hole. She approached the hole and saw the mother of the vishap sitting underground, chewing on iron and spinning thread.

"Hey," she shouted, "old hag, give me back my spindle!"

The mother of the dragon replied:

"Come down."

She went down, and the old woman told her to wash her head.

"Ugh," said the stepmother's daughter. "As if I'd touch your disgusting hair!"

The old woman said to her:

"Then go and eat a piece of bread, there it is."

"Ugh," said the stepmother's daughter. "As if I'd put such filth in my mouth!"

"Then have some fermented cabbage, there it is in the jar."

"Ugh," the stepmother's daughter spat again. "Are you crazy? That's a snake and a toad fermenting in the jar."

"Come here," the old woman said. "Do you see two springs gushing from the ground? One has white water, and the other has black water. Dip your head into the black water."

The stepmother's daughter dipped her head into the black water, and an donkey's tail grew from the back of her head. She returned home, and her mother cried out in despair:

"Slaughter that cow! Because of it, my daughter has grown a donkey's tail!"

The stepdaughter ran to the mother of the vishap and said:

"Nani-jan, they want to slaughter the cow! What should I do?"

The old woman said to her:

"Don't cry, child. Let them slaughter it. But after they eat the meat, collect all the bones and bury them in the ground. You'll see how well things turn out."

When the cow was slaughtered, the stepdaughter wept bitterly. She didn't eat the meat but collected all the bones.

"Go and disappear," the stepmother said to her. "What do you need those bones for?"

"I want to bury them," the stepdaughter replied.

The stepmother and her daughter mocked and teased her, but she kept collecting the bones. She gathered all the bones and buried them by the doorstep.

Some time passed—who knows how long—and the mother and daughter decided to go on a pilgrimage. The stepmother scattered millet on the floor and said:

"Gather every grain and fill this basin with your tears."

They left, and the stepdaughter gathered the millet grain by grain and wept. At that moment, an unfamiliar old woman entered the house and said:

"Why are you crying, girl, and why are you gathering millet grain by grain? What's happened to you?"

"Nothing, nani-jan. I just feel sad. I'm gathering the millet so I won't sit idle."

The old woman objected:

"That's not the truth."

The girl saw that she couldn't deceive the old woman and told her everything.

The old woman said:

"May sorrow fall upon the heads of those who torment a poor orphan. Take a broom and sweep up the millet, pour water into the basin, throw in a pinch of salt, and that's it."

The old woman left, and the stepdaughter did as she was told.

She went to the doorstep where the cow's bones were buried. She thought: I'll see what came of it. And suddenly, she couldn't believe her eyes—a fiery, beautiful horse stood by the doorstep. A bundle with intricate patterns was tied to the horse's saddle. The stepdaughter unwrapped it—inside was a dress the likes of which the world had never seen, and a pair of shiny shoes. The stepdaughter put on the dress, slipped on the shoes, and became as beautiful as a guri-peri. She jumped onto the horse and galloped after her stepmother and stepsister to the pilgrimage. People couldn't take their eyes off her. The beauty dismounted, prayed, and then galloped back. She rode so fast that she didn't notice when one of her shoes fell off and flew into the river.

At home, she unbridled the horse, let it out to the meadow, hid the clothes under the doorstep, put on her tattered dress, and sat by the wall.

The stepmother and stepsister returned from the pilgrimage.

"Go and disappear," the stepmother said to the stepdaughter. "You, such a ragged thing, call yourself a girl? If only you could see the beauty who came to the pilgrimage: golden curls flowing down her shoulders, her dress sparkling, and a fiery horse dancing beneath her."

The stepdaughter replied:

"What can I do? You didn't take me with you to see such a sight."

"Go and disappear," they replied. "We should have taken you so the fiery horse would trample you."

In the evening, the royal horses were led to the watering hole. But the horses wouldn't go into the river—they saw something sparkling in the water and shied away. The servants went to the king and said: "The horses won't drink, there's something sparkling in the river."

The king said:

"Cast a net and pull out whatever is sparkling."

The servants cast the net and saw—a small, shiny shoe. They took it to the king. The king said:

"If the shoe is so beautiful, how beautiful must its owner be! Find her, and I'll marry my son to her."

The servants began trying the shoe on all the girls, but it didn't fit anyone. They went through seven villages and finally came to the stepmother's house. The stepmother's daughter tried very hard to put on the shiny shoe, but it was no use.

The servants said:

"Let this ragamuffin try it on too. The king ordered that everyone must try it."

The stepdaughter put on the shoe, and it fit her perfectly.

"Now," the servants said, "wait. The king will come to arrange the marriage of this girl to his son."

Two days later, the king arrived with his entourage at their house. The stepmother quickly shoved the stepdaughter into the tandoor (clay oven), covered it, and placed a stone on top. She dressed up her own daughter in fine clothes and sat her on the divan. The king arrived, and they began to feast. Suddenly, a rooster flew into the house, perched on the tandoor, and crowed:

"Cock-a-doodle-doo, the donkey's tail is on the divan, and the golden curls are in the tandoor!"

The stepmother hit it and chased it away, but it flew onto the divan and crowed again:

"Cock-a-doodle-doo, the donkey's tail is on the divan, and the golden curls are in the tandoor!"

The king ordered:

"Open the tandoor!"

They opened it and saw: the golden-haired girl was sitting, huddled in the corner. They pulled her out. They wanted to change her clothes, but she said:

"No need."

She took out her clothes from under the doorstep and turned into a beautiful guri-peri. The stepmother and her daughter were shamed and driven away, and then the golden-haired girl's wedding to the king's son was arranged.

As their cherished wishes came true, so may yours come true as well. Fairy girl