The Golden Apple Tree
Once upon a time, there lived an old man and his wife. They had two daughters: the old man's daughter and the wife's daughter. The old man's daughter was named Galya, and the wife's daughter was named Yulya.The wife doted on her own daughter, pampering and spoiling her, while she treated the old man's daughter harshly, always trying to make her life miserable.
One day, the old man went to the market and bought a young bull. He brought it home and said to his daughters:
"You will take turns grazing it—one day you, and the next day the other."
On the first day, it was Galya's turn to take the bull to pasture. Her wicked stepmother gave her a spindle and a bag of flax.
"Listen," she said, "by the end of the day, you must spin all this flax, weave it into linen, bleach the cloth, and bring it home. If you don't, you won't live to see another day."
Galya led the bull out of the barn, patted its neck, and drove it to the pasture. As she walked, she wept bitter tears.
The bull asked:
"Maiden, maiden, with your golden braid, why are you crying?"
"How can I not cry, little bull? My stepmother has given me this bag of flax to spin, weave into linen, bleach, and bring home by evening... How can I possibly finish such a task in one day?"
"Don't cry," said the bull. "Take me to the silken grass, to the fresh dew, and we'll figure something out."
Galya led the bull to the silken grass and the fresh dew. The bull ate its fill, then said:
"Now, put the flax and spindle into my right ear. Then blow into my left ear and see what happens."
Galya did as the bull said. She placed the flax and spindle into its right ear, blew into the left ear, and watched. The flax began to spin itself, the linen wove itself, the cloth bleached itself, and rolled into a bundle...
When everything was done, Galya took the finished cloth and happily drove the bull home.
The wicked stepmother met her in the yard:
"Well, did you spin the flax?"
"I did," said Galya, showing her the finished cloth.
The stepmother clutched her head in disbelief: her stepdaughter had done such work! Soon, the neighbors came over, marveling at the fine linen Galya had woven. They praised her endlessly.
The next day, it was Yulya's turn to take the bull to pasture.
Her mother gave her a spindle and half a bag of flax.
"Spin this flax, my dear," she said, "and weave even finer linen than your stepsister did. I want people to praise you, not her."
Yulya took a thick stick and drove the bull. She kept hitting it with the stick as she went. The bull began to dart from side to side, and Yulya ran after it, cursing it with every word she knew. She ran and ran until she lost the spindle.
Somehow, she managed to drive the bull to a barren field, laid down the flax, and fell asleep. The bull trampled the flax into the mud with its hooves.
When Yulya woke up in the evening, she saw the flax ruined in the mud... She grabbed her stick and began beating the bull. The bull ran home, and she chased after it, screaming.
At home, her mother asked:
"Well, my dear, did you finish the work?"
"No," said Yulya.
"Why not?"
"The bull is to blame. Because of it, I lost the spindle, and then it trampled my flax into the mud."
The stepmother was furious with the bull. She went to the old man and said:
"Old man, slaughter the bull!"
"Have you lost your mind, woman?" the old man asked in surprise. "Why should we slaughter it?"
But the woman stomped her feet and lunged at the old man with her fists:
"If you don't slaughter it, I'll throw you and your daughter out!"
The old man had no choice—he agreed to slaughter the bull.
When Galya heard this, she ran to the barn, hugged the bull's neck, and wept.
"Maiden, maiden, with your golden braid, why are you crying?" asked the bull.
Galya told the bull what her wicked stepmother planned to do.
"Don't cry, maiden," said the bull. "Listen to what I tell you. When they slaughter me, take my liver and find a golden seed inside. Plant that seed in the garden near the house. That's all."
Galya did as the bull said.
From the seed grew an apple tree with golden apples.
Everyone who passed by the garden admired the golden apple tree.
One day, a handsome young hussar rode by. He saw the apple tree and stopped.
He reached out to pluck a golden apple, but the tree—ding, ding!—rose up out of his reach.
He lowered his hand, and the tree returned to its place.
Galya saw this from the window and said to her stepmother:
"I'll go pick an apple for that handsome hussar."
But the stepmother stomped her feet and screamed:
"I'll tear your head off!"
She grabbed Galya and hid her under a trough, then sent Yulya to the garden, thinking that her own daughter should be the one to pick the apple for the hussar, hoping he might fall in love with her.
Yulya approached the apple tree, but it—ding, ding!—rose up out of her reach.
Yulya grew angry and began cursing the tree with foul words.
Just then, a rooster strolled into the yard. It jumped onto the fence and crowed:
"Cock-a-doodle-doo! The old man's daughter is hidden under the trough, while the wife's daughter tries to steal her apples and marry the hussar!"
The hussar heard this, dismounted, and went into the house. He found the old man's daughter hidden under the trough. When he saw her, he couldn't take his eyes off her—she was so beautiful.
"Maiden," he called to her, "pick me a golden apple from your tree as a keepsake."
Galya approached the apple tree, and all the apples fell at her feet.
She gathered them into her apron and brought them to the hussar. He lifted her onto his horse, seated her beside him, and rode off to his family.
They held a grand wedding and lived happily ever after. They had a son, so handsome that his parents couldn't stop admiring him.
Meanwhile, the wicked stepmother couldn't sleep from envy, knowing the hussar had chosen the old man's daughter over her own. She kept thinking of ways to get rid of Galya.
One day, she said to her daughter:
"Go visit your sister. Invite her to go swimming and drown her..."
Yulya obeyed and went to visit her sister. She convinced her to go swimming. At the river, she said:
"Sit on the dock, sister, and I'll wash your back."
Galya sat on the dock, and Yulya pushed her into the water and ran home.
At home, they waited for Galya, but she didn't return. Her little son cried, and no one could comfort him. The nanny took him in her arms, walked along the riverbank, and called:
"Galya, Galya, your son is crying, he's hungry! The chickens are asleep, the geese are asleep, only he can't sleep, waiting for his mother..."
And she heard a voice from the water:
"Oh, it's hard for me to come to my son: a stone weighs down my feet, the water fills my eyes..."
The little son heard his mother's voice and cried even harder.
"Oh, I'm coming, my son, oh, I'm running," his mother replied. "I can't bear to hear you cry, my son."
The mother emerged from the water, fed her son, and he fell asleep. Then she returned to the water.
The nanny returned home and told what had happened by the river.
The next morning, the father took the golden apple and his son and went to the river. He called out:
"Galya, Galya, your son is crying, he's hungry! The chickens are asleep, the geese are asleep, only he can't sleep, waiting for you."
The mother heard his voice and replied:
"Oh, I'm coming, my son, oh, I'm running; I can't bear to hear you cry, my son."
She came ashore, fed her son, and he fell asleep.
Then the husband took the golden apple from his pocket and handed it to his wife. As soon as she took a bite, she woke up.
The husband was overjoyed and brought her home. They lived happily ever after.
As for the wicked stepmother and her daughter, they were never allowed to set foot in their home again.
More fairy tales
