The Devil, the Bear, and the Hare

In a village, there lived an old man and an old woman, and they had three sons. They lived in poverty. When it came time for the old man to die, he divided all his possessions among his sons: to the eldest son, he gave a hand mill; to the middle son, a shepherd's horn; and to the youngest, some bast for making shoes.

When the father died, the eldest son took his mill and set off wherever his eyes led him. Suddenly, he saw a hut by the road. He climbed onto the roof, placed the millstones on the chimney, and sat down to wait. At night, robbers entered the hut, sat at the table, and began counting their money. Then he started grinding the millstones on the roof and threw them down the chimney. The robbers got scared, ran away, and left their money on the table. The eldest son climbed down from the roof, took the money, returned home, and began living richly, but he refused to share even bread with his brothers.

Seeing no other option, the middle brother took his horn and set off on his way. He walked and walked until he saw a guardhouse on the edge of the forest, and inside it was a locked-up bear. He sat by the door and began playing his horn. The bear roared so loudly that the whole guardhouse shook.

At that very moment, a gentleman rode by in a troika and asked:

"What are you doing here?"

"Guarding a beast."

"Show it to me!"

As soon as he opened the door and played the horn, the bear burst out and attacked the gentleman, killing him. The young man then mounted the troika and rode off. He became even richer than his elder brother, but he too refused to feed the youngest.

What could the youngest do? In despair, he took his bast and set off into the deep forest, eventually wandering into a large swamp. He sat on a hummock and began cutting the bast. A devil saw him, crawled out of the swamp, and asked:

"What are you planning to do?"

"I'm going to build a church here," the young man replied.

The devil got scared, ran to his elder, and said:

"There's a man who wants to build a church on our swamp!"

The elder ordered:

"Go and tell him he can take whatever he wants, just don't let him build a church here!"

The devil went and relayed the message, and the young man said:

"Fill this pit I've dug with gold."

The devils filled it, but they regretted giving away the gold. Then a devil named "Mighty" came to him.

"Let's wrestle. Whoever wins gets the gold."

The young man replied:

"Over there under the fir tree lies my old grandfather. Wrestle with him first, and then with me!"

The devil approached the fir tree, but there was a bear there.

"Let's wrestle!"

The bear began to maul the devil, who barely escaped with his life. He ran back to his elder and complained that the man was too strong. Then the elder sent another devil, named "Swift."

"Let's race," the devil said. "Whoever outruns the other gets the money."

The young man said:

"Over there under the fir tree sits my little son. Race with him first."

The devil approached the fir tree, but there was a hare there.

"Let's race!"

The hare got scared and ran off. The devil shouted:

"Wait, let's start together!" But the hare was already gone.

Once again, the devil went to his elder and lamented that the man had outrun him. Then a third devil, named "Whistler," came out.

"Let's have a whistling contest," he said. "Whoever whistles louder gets the gold."

"Alright, go ahead and whistle!"

The devil whistled so loudly that the forest shook. But the young man said:

"Tie your eyes shut, or else when I whistle, they'll pop out of your head!"

The devil tied his eyes with a handkerchief, and the young man hit him on the ear with a club, making him squeal.

"Let me whistle one more time!"

"Oh no, brother, don't whistle again! My eyes are already popping out. Take the money!"

The young man took the money and began living even richer than his brothers.

I bought some oats from a peasant, and that's the end of the tale.

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The Devil, the Bear, and the Hare

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