Give Away What You Didn't Leave at Home

A man went hunting. For a long time, he wandered through forests and swamps but didn’t kill anything. Finally, he spotted an aurochs on a small island. It stood there, beautiful, like in a painting. The hunter shot, the aurochs jumped and dashed into the bushes. The hunter followed. He ran and ran, and before he knew it, he found himself stuck in a quagmire.

He tried with all his might to get out of the quagmire, but it was no use. The bog was pulling him in, sucking him down. It had already swallowed him up to his waist... The hunter saw death approaching. He began to call for help.

Suddenly, a frail, gray-haired old man with a long beard and bast shoes a fathom long appeared before him.

"Save me, kind man!" the hunter pleaded.

"Alright," said the old man, "I’ll save you, but not for free—give me what you didn’t leave at home."

The hunter thought and thought—what could he have not left at home? He couldn’t remember anything. Meanwhile, the quagmire had nearly swallowed him up to his neck: only his head and arms were above the surface. Well, there was no time to bargain...

"Take it," he said, "take what I didn’t leave at home, just save me quickly!"

"No, that’s not all," the old man chuckled. "You agree now, but later you might refuse."

"I won’t refuse..."

"To make sure you don’t, give me a written promise." The old man pulled out a piece of oxhide and a knife from his pocket and handed them to the hunter.

"Cut your little finger and sign this hide with your blood. That way, it’ll be more reliable."

The hunter signed the oxhide, and the old man grabbed him and carried him to dry land, then disappeared.

The hunter came to his senses after the terrible ordeal, wiped the mud off himself, and headed home. But as he walked, he felt a growing unease in his heart, as if he sensed trouble.

As soon as he crossed the threshold of his house, he was told:

"Where have you been for so long? Your wife has given birth to a son!"

When the hunter heard this, he was stunned:

his head spun, and his vision blurred. He had been a childless man. And now, here it was! He had finally gotten a son, but not for himself—for the bald devil!

Guests gathered for the christening. They drank and made merry. But the father sat like a dark cloud, crying. Whenever someone asked why he was crying, he said nothing. At first, they thought it was out of joy—understandable, he had finally gotten a son! But eventually, they stopped asking.

Meanwhile, the boy grew like yeast. He turned out to be so handsome and clever! They named him Yanka. His parents sent him to study, and he quickly surpassed all his peers. He was talented in everything—both work and learning.

People admired Yanka and envied the hunter. But the father only looked at him and cried.

Yanka grew into a fine young man, ready to marry, but his father grew sadder and sadder. One day, the son asked him:

"Tell me, father, why are you so unhappy? Why do you cry when you look at me? Am I not your son?"

The father wiped his tears and answered:

"No, son, you’re not mine... That’s why I cry."

And he told his son how he had sold him to the gray-haired old man.

After hearing this, Yanka said:

"If that’s the case, father, then farewell! I’ll either lose my head or get your promise back from the evil spirits. I don’t want you to cry your whole life!"

Yanka packed his things, took his bow, arrows, and bread, and set off on his journey.

After walking for a long or short time, he reached a river. The surroundings were so beautiful that he didn’t want to go any further. "Well, I’ll rest here for a bit and enjoy the view," Yanka decided. He lay down on the riverbank, behind a bush, and took out some bread. Just as he was about to eat, a flock of ducks flew by: eleven in front, and the twelfth was trying hard to catch up, with a kite circling around her. It was about to strike her with its sharp beak.

Yanka grabbed his bow and shot an arrow at the kite. He watched as the kite fell like a stone into the swamp, scattering feathers, while the duck landed right next to him.

The duck landed near Yanka, hit the ground, and turned into a girl so beautiful that no tale could describe her.

The beautiful girl bowed to Yanka and said:

"Thank you, kind young man!"

"Don’t mention it," Yanka replied, embarrassed.

"How can I not? You saved me from death. Who are you, and where are you going?"

Yanka told her everything about himself.

The girl looked at him with fear and said:

"So, it seems, you’re going to my father."

"Who is your father?"

"A sorcerer."

"No," said Yanka, "my father sold me to some old man with a long beard and bast shoes a fathom long..."

"That’s him! My father can turn into anyone. Now he walks around as a lord."

Yanka frowned, and the girl said:

"Don’t despair, my dear! You’ll perish without me, as many have before, but together we’ll think of something. Farewell!"

"Tell me, what’s your name?"

"Kasia."

The girl turned back into a gray duck, rose, and flew after her sisters.

Yanka went in the direction the ducks had flown and soon approached a manor. He knocked on the gate.

"What do you want?" the servants asked.
- I want to see the master.

The master came out—a fat lord in expensive foreign clothing.

- What do you have to say?

- Well, - said Yanka, - I'm looking for my master.

- Which one?

- The one to whom my father sold me when I was just born.

- Well, that would be me, your master.

- Forgive me, sir, - said Yanka, - but do you have a receipt from my father?

- Of course, I do.

- Then give it back to me, sir. My father grieves and cries, saying it all turned out so badly. I'll take it to him, and he'll calm down.

- Oh, you're quite the quick one! - laughed the lord. - First, serve me the required time, then I'll return it. And if you don't want to serve, I'll skin you alive.

- Then give me work, - said Yanka, - I'll serve. I'm no stranger to work. The lord took a thimble from his pocket and handed it to Yanka:

- By morning, scoop out my lake behind the house with this thimble, pick out all the fish, and sprinkle the bottom with yellow sand. It's an easy task.

Yanka went to the lake and started scooping water with the thimble. He scooped and scooped until evening, exhausted, but to no avail. He cried in despair and went to find Kasia to ask for advice on what to do.

He came to the yard, walked around—no one was in sight. He went to the far end of the yard. Lo and behold, there stood a small building: not quite a hut, not quite a shed... He approached it and suddenly heard a familiar voice calling him through the window:

- Hey, Yanka! I see you've completely forgotten me. He looked through the window, and there stood Kasia! Yanka entered the hut, greeted her, and told her about the impossible task her father had given him. The girl said:

- Don't worry, morning is wiser than evening. Go to sleep, and I'll think of something.

Yanka obeyed and went to sleep.

At midnight, Kasia went out to the porch, waved a magic wand, and instantly thirty young lads appeared before her—all identical.

- What do you command, miss?

- By morning, scoop out the lake, pick out all the fish, and sprinkle the bottom with yellow sand!

- Alright! - the lads replied and rushed off to complete the task.

In the morning, the girl woke Yanka.

- Go, - she said, - report to your father that everything is done. Just don't admit that I helped you; say you did it all yourself.

Yanka went and reported to the lord. He looked—and indeed, everything was done as he had ordered. The work was flawless—no faults to be found.

- Well done! - praised the lord. - You're a good worker, I see. If you keep this up, I'll give you the receipt and marry you to one of my daughters. I have twelve of them; choose any one you like. The only trouble is, I don't have a separate palace for you and your young wife. But I see you're a hardworking lad. So here's your task: build a palace overnight with as many rooms as there are days in a year, with a ceiling shining like the sky, with the sun, moon, and stars glowing on it, and a river flowing around it, with a golden and silver bridge spanning it, and a rainbow hanging over the bridge, its ends dipping into the water...

In short, it should be a sight to behold and a marvel to show off. Build such a palace, and I'll give you the receipt and my daughter as a bonus. Fail, and I'll skin you alive. Now go.

Yanka hung his head. "May you perish, you evil spirit! - he thought to himself. - The further it goes, the harder the tasks become. How am I supposed to build such a palace? I guess I'll have to go to Kasia again; maybe she can help."

He went to the girl and told her about the new task the sorcerer-lord had given him.

- This task is indeed harder than the first, - said Kasia, - but we'll think of something. Go and walk around the yard as if you're choosing a spot for the palace, and when it gets dark, come back here.

So he did. He walked around the yard, and when evening fell, he returned to the hut. After dinner, he asked Kasia:

- Why do all your sisters live with your mother in the palace, while you're in this hut on the outskirts?

- Because my mother is actually my stepmother. She doesn't want me living with her daughters.

- You know what, Kasia, - said Yanka, - your father promised to give me his daughter in marriage if I build the palace... So I'll ask him to give me you. What do you say to that?

Kasia frowned and shook her head:

- You don't know my father, dear! He won't just give me away. He'll line us all up and ask you to choose, and you won't recognize me...

- I will! - said Yanka. - How could I not recognize you?

- Unlikely! - sighed Kasia. - All my sisters look exactly alike—hair for hair, voice for voice. But if you really want to choose me, remember this sign: I'll have a white flower in my hair. And if my father asks you to choose a second time, there'll be a fly buzzing above my head. The third time, there'll be a green thread tied around my right pinky finger. Remember?

- Of course! I only want to choose you and no one else.

- Now, - said the girl, - go to sleep, for the night is already upon us.

Yanka lay down in the soft bed and fell asleep like a log. Kasia went out to the porch, waved her wand—and instantly thirty young lads appeared before her.

- What do you command, miss?

- Build a palace overnight with as many rooms as there are days in a year, with a ceiling shining like the sky, with the sun, moon, and stars glowing on it, and a river flowing around it, with a golden and silver bridge spanning it, and a rainbow hanging over the bridge, its ends dipping into the water...

- Alright, - the lads replied and rushed off to complete the task.

One saws, another planes, a third carves—the work is in full swing!

The next day, Yanka went out to the yard, and lo and behold—a new palace stood there, its roof touching the sky. A rainbow shone above the palace, and a silver-golden bridge glittered over the river.

Yanka entered the palace, looked up, and nearly went blind: the sun shone, the moon glowed, and the stars sparkled...

Yanka stood on the bridge, waiting for the lord.

The lord came out and marveled at the new palace.
"Well," says Yanke, "I see that you're no worse a master than I am. Well, I can't argue if you did all this yourself."

"Of course, I did," says Yanka. "Who else would have done it for me?"

"Good, if it's you. You worked hard, but not for someone else—for yourself. And while we're preparing for the wedding, I'll give you one more task. I have a horse, priceless, but with one problem: it's untamed. Tame it before the wedding..."

Yanka brightened up:

"Alright, sir, I'll tame it tomorrow."

And he thought to himself: "Well, this task will be the easiest for me!"

Meanwhile, the stepmother and her daughters came out to see the new palace. They liked it. And when the daughters found out that their father had promised to marry one of them off to such a skilled master, they all wanted to marry him.

Yanka talked with the lord and then went off, whistling, to Kasia.

He arrived and boasted that soon she would be his wife: now the lord had given him a task within his abilities!

"No," Kasia told him, "don't rejoice too soon. You think the lord will give you an ordinary horse? He's not that kind! It will be him, not a horse. You see, the lord doesn't believe that you drained the lake and built the palace yourself. That's why he wants to test you."

Yanka scratched behind his ear.

"So what should I do? How do I tame that devil?"

"Don't worry too soon, just go to sleep. Tomorrow will be clearer," Kasia reassured him. In the morning, Kasia woke Yanka up.

"Go," she said, "and tame the horse, since you agreed."

"I'm afraid," Yanka hesitated, "you scared me with that horse."

"Don't worry. You won't manage alone, but together we can do it."

And she handed him an iron rod.

"Here," she said, "with this, you won't be lost. As soon as the horse starts acting up—hit it with all your strength between the ears."

Yanka went to the stable. There stood a dappled horse: its eyes were bloodshot, flames shot from its nostrils, and smoke poured from its ears—it was impossible to approach!

Yanka walked up to the horse, tried to jump onto its back, but the horse reared up, soared to the ceiling, and neighed so loudly that the whole stable shook.

"Aha," said Yanka, "so you really are a devil's horse! Alright then. I've got just the thing for you!"

He crept up to the horse from the side and whipped it between the ears with the rod. The horse immediately dropped to its knees. And Yanka jumped on it! The horse reared up again—almost throwing Yanka off. But Yanka managed to hold on and started whipping it with all his might between the ears. The horse snorted, danced under him like a mad thing. But Yanka kept whipping it.

The horse twisted and turned around the stable like a snake, then saw—there was no way out: it burst out into the yard and raced into the open field. It flew, barely touching the ground with its hooves, and kept trying to throw Yanka off, to crush him beneath it.

The horse flew over fields, over mountains, rose above the forest, descended into deep ravines, and finally gave up: it turned back and walked at a steady pace.

Yanka returned to the stable, tied up the horse, and joyfully ran to Kasia.

"Well," said Kasia, "it seems you gave my father a good thrashing, since you came back alive."

"True!" laughed Yanka. "I did my best. I almost broke your little rod."

And without having dinner, Yanka collapsed into bed like a sack and fell into a deep, heroic sleep.

In the morning, Kasia woke him up.

"Now go to my father and ask him for the written agreement."

Yanka had breakfast and went to the lord. He arrived. The lord was sitting in his chair, gloomy, with his head bandaged. "Aha," thought Yanka, "you'll remember Kasia's rod!"

"Well," said the lord, "I keep my word—once you become my son-in-law, then I'll give you the agreement."

"Let it be so," agreed Yanka. "Show me your daughters."

The lord led Yanka to another room. There stood twelve girls, all identical, with the same voice, the same hair, and the same height. And an old lady walked around nearby...

Yanka walked around the girls once, twice, and noticed a white flower in the hair of the last girl. He approached her, took her hand, and led her to the lord.

"Here," he said, "this one caught my eye."

"Well, if that's the one," replied the lord, "all my daughters are the same. Take the one you like."

And the lady turned green with anger: the skilled master had chosen not her own daughter as his wife, but the unloved stepdaughter!

"No," she stomped her feet, "I don't agree: let him choose again!" The lord said:

"Let it be as you wish."

He blindfolded Yanka with a handkerchief, then untied it and said:

"Choose again!"

Yanka walked around the girls and saw—a fly was flying above one of them. "Ah," he remembered Kasia's words, "this must be her!"

He took her hand and led her to the lord.

"Well," said the lord, "take this one: they're all the same to me."

And the lady stomped and shouted again:

"I don't agree! Let him choose a third time!" The lord blindfolded Yanka again, then untied it—and there stood twelve girls again, all identical.

Yanka started looking closely at their hands and noticed a green thread on the little finger of one girl's right hand.

"Let this one be my wife," he said to the lord.
There was nothing to be done—the sorcerer had to give him a receipt.

"Tomorrow we'll have the wedding," said the lord, "and you will live in a new palace."

The young couple went to Kasia's hut to prepare for the wedding. Kasia said to Yanka:

"We won't hold the wedding at my father's place, but at yours."

"Why?" asked Yanka. "After all, our palace is here!"

"We need to run away from here, or my evil stepmother will destroy us," said Kasia.

At midnight, when everyone in the palace was fast asleep, they slipped out of the hut and ran to Yanka's parents.

In the morning, the lords and ladies woke up—waiting for the young couple: it was time to celebrate the wedding. But the young ones were sleeping for a long time.

They sent servants to wake them up.

The servants approached the hut. They called and called—no one answered. They peeked inside—it was empty. The servants returned and told the lord.

The lord was furious, and the lady cried out:

"Hey, messengers, chase them! Bring them back, dead or alive!"

The messengers jumped on their horses and galloped at full speed. They flew through the forests, through the woods—they picked up the trail.

"Well, now they won't escape us!" said the messengers.

Meanwhile, Kasia pressed her ear to the ground and listened.

"The ground is rumbling, the wind is howling," she said. "They're chasing us..."

"What should we do?" asked Yanka.

"I'll turn into a sheep, and you'll be a shepherd. If they ask you if you've seen a lad and a girl on this road, say you haven't."

Kasia waved a twig, and everything happened as she had planned.

The messengers approached:

"Hey, shepherd, have you seen a lad and a girl on this road?"

"No," replied the shepherd. "I've been grazing here since morning, and I haven't seen anyone."

The messengers circled around—no trace. They returned and told the lords:

"We didn't catch anyone. We only met a shepherd with a sheep. We asked him, and he said he's been grazing since morning and hasn't seen anyone."

"That was them!" shouted the lady. "Chase them again!"

The messengers rushed back. "Well," they thought, "now we'll catch that shepherd and sheep for sure!"

Meanwhile, Kasia and Yanka ran as fast as they could.

And again, they felt the chase behind them. Kasia waved the twig—and turned into a green garden, while Yanka became a gardener.

The pursuers arrived:

"Hey, gardener, have you seen a lad and a girl on this road?"

"No," said the gardener. "I haven't. I've been tending this garden for ten years, and I've never seen a lad and a girl."

"What about a shepherd with a sheep?"

"Haven't seen that either."

The messengers returned.

"Seems we lost the trail," they said. "We only met a gardener near the garden, but he said he's been tending it for ten years and hasn't seen a lad and a girl or a shepherd with a sheep."

"Ah, you fools!" shouted the lady. "You should have chopped down the garden and the gardener—that was them! No, we can't rely on you. We'll have to chase them ourselves."

The lord turned into a wolf, and the lady into a she-wolf, and they ran after the fugitives. They raced so fast that dust rose in a column, and the wind whistled.

Kasia heard the new chase and said:

"That's my father and stepmother flying after us. They're not easy to fool. But let's try: I'll turn into a deep lake, and you'll be a drake. Swim on the lake, but don't let anyone catch you."

She waved the twig—and became a lake, while Yanka became a drake.

The wolf and she-wolf ran up to the lake.

"The lake is her!" shouted the she-wolf. "Now we can't do anything to her. But we'll catch the drake—that's Yanka himself! Then she'll follow him."

The wolf and she-wolf jumped into the lake and started chasing the drake. But he would dive, then fly high above the water...

The wolf and she-wolf chased the drake until they were exhausted and sank to the bottom. That was the end of them.

Yanka and Kasia returned to their original forms. They took each other's hands and calmly went to Yanka's parents to celebrate the wedding.

It was a noisy wedding. Everyone ate, drank, and had fun. And Yanka's father celebrated along with everyone.

I was at that wedding, drank mead and wine—it ran down my mustache but didn't reach my mouth. They gave me glass boots, a wax hat, and a paper coat. And I went home, dancing as I walked. I walked and walked, then stumbled on a stone, and the boots—ding, ding!—shattered. Rain poured—my coat got soaked and fell off my shoulders. Then the sun came out—and the hat melted. I went home empty-handed. I came back, sat on the porch, and told you this tale.

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Give Away What You Didn't Leave at Home

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