How Ivan Outsmarted the Devils
Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived an old man and his wife. They had three sons. They lived in poverty, barely making ends meet, surviving from bread to kvass.The old woman passed away, and soon it was the old man's time to go. Before his death, he called his sons and said to them:
"I haven't accumulated much wealth for you, so I'll divide what I have."
He gave the eldest son a yellow cat, the middle son a pair of millstones, and the youngest son, Ivan, a bundle of bast for making sandals.
After dividing his possessions, he soon passed away. The brothers lived for a while, ate their father's bread, and then began to think about how to earn a living.
The eldest brother took the yellow cat under his arm and set off to seek his fortune.
He walked for a long time or a short time—who knows?—when night caught him on the road. He came across a hut and asked to spend the night. The people inside said:
"Oh, dear traveler, we are overrun with mice and rats—we can't get rid of them. And you, a newcomer, they'll devour you."
"Don't worry," said the traveler, "maybe I'll manage to spend the night somehow."
The family went to sleep on the loft, while the traveler lay down on the floor with his cat.
In the morning, the family woke up and saw a pile of dead mice and rats on the floor. Next to the traveler sat a yellow creature, purring softly.
In those parts, people had never seen cats and knew nothing about them.
They begged the traveler:
"Brother, dear, sell us your little beast!"
"No," said the traveler, "this creature is not for sale."
The people told their king about the miraculous creature. The king summoned the traveler. The traveler spent one night at the king's palace, and the cat caught a whole mountain of mice. The king couldn't believe his eyes.
"Ask for whatever you want," said the king, "but sell us your little beast."
"Cover him in silver, and then you can have him," said the traveler. The king had no choice but to agree. The traveler held his cat by the front paws and stood him on his hind legs.
"Now, pour the silver!" he said. The king poured all his silver—and covered the cat.
The traveler took the silver and returned home. He built a fine house, started a farm, got married, and lived happily ever after.
The middle brother looked at him and said:
"I'll go out into the world with my millstones. Maybe they'll bring me fortune too."
He took the millstones under his arms and set off.
He walked for a long time or a short time—who knows?—when night caught him on the road. He saw a small hut on the edge of the forest. He went inside—no one was there. He climbed onto the loft with his millstones and fell asleep.
During the night, robbers entered the hut, poured a pile of money onto the floor, and began dividing it.
Meanwhile, the traveler wanted to turn over in his sleep but accidentally knocked over his millstones. They crashed to the floor with a loud noise. The robbers panicked and fled, leaving the money behind.
The traveler climbed down from the loft, took the money, and went home. He, too, lived well, just like his older brother.
The youngest brother, Ivan, looked at them and said:
"It's time for me to seek my fortune."
He took his bundle of bast and set off into the world. He walked for a long time or a short time—who knows?—until his sandals wore out. He sat on a hummock in the middle of a swamp and began cutting strips of bast to weave new sandals.
Suddenly, a devil jumped out of the swamp. He looked at Ivan and asked:
"What are you doing, Ivan?"
"Can't you see? I'm making ropes."
"Why?"
"I'm going to drag you devils out of the swamp and sell you at the market for a penny each. That's how I'll earn money for a house. There are plenty of you here."
"Wait, Ivan, don't do that. Take whatever you want, just don't drag us out of the swamp."
"Fill my hat with gold, and I won't." The devil dove into the swamp to fetch gold, while Ivan dug a deep hole and placed his holey hat over it.
The devil brought a sack of gold and poured it into the hat, but it didn't even cover the bottom. He shook his head, fetched another sack, and poured it in—barely filling the hat.
"Now, lift it!" said the devil. "I'll help you, or you won't manage."
"Don't worry," said Ivan, "I'll manage." But the devil insisted: "Lift the hat in front of me!" Ivan lifted the hat, and the devil saw that the gold had fallen into the hole.
"Ah, no," the devil stomped, "you tricked me! I'll go to my boss and see what he says."
The devil went to his boss, who sent the strongest devil, Krepysh, to deal with Ivan.
Krepysh jumped out of the swamp and said to Ivan:
"Whoever overcomes the other gets the gold." Ivan looked at Krepysh and thought, "It won't be easy to beat you!" But he didn't show any fear. He glanced around and saw a bear lying under a spruce tree.
"Well," said Ivan to the devil, "why should I fight you myself? I'm afraid you'll be left in pieces. Over there lies my old grandfather—fight him first, and we'll see how strong you are."
The devil ran to the bear.
"Hey, old man, let's wrestle!"
The bear stood up, grabbed the devil, and began choking him—the devil barely survived. He stopped fighting, ran back to his boss, and told him that even Ivan's old grandfather had beaten him.
The boss then sent his fastest runner, Letun, to Ivan.
Letun jumped out of the swamp and said to Ivan:
"Let's race: whoever outruns the other gets the gold."
Ivan looked around and saw a hare lying under a bush.
"Eh," he said to Letun, "first, outrun my youngest son, and then try me."
The devil chased the hare, but the hare got scared and darted into the bushes—disappearing without a trace.
The devil ran back and forth but couldn't catch the hare. He returned to his boss. The boss got angry and sent a third devil, Svistun, to Ivan.
Svistun jumped out of the swamp and said to Ivan:
"Whoever whistles louder gets the money."
"Alright," said Ivan, "whistle!" The devil whistled so loudly that the swamp shook and the forest shed its leaves.
It was Ivan's turn to whistle. He thought for a moment and said:
"Here's the thing, Svistun: tie your eyes shut, or when I whistle, they'll pop out of your head."
The devil got scared and tied his eyes with a cloth.
"Whistle!" he said.
Ivan picked up a stick and whistled it across the devil's forehead—the devil crumpled to the ground.
"Wait," said Ivan, "that was just a soft whistle. Let me try a louder one."
"Oh, no!" the devil wailed. "That's enough for me. Take your gold, just don't whistle anymore." Ivan took the gold and returned home.
More fairy tales
