Vikhrev's Gifts

Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman. They lived in great poverty, having nothing but a single bag of rye. One day, the old man asked his wife:

"Granny, granny, what should we do with this rye?"

"Go to the mill, grind the rye, and we'll bake some bread," she replied.

So the old man went to the mill, ground the rye, and carried the flour back home.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a whirlwind swept in and scattered all the flour. The old man returned home with an empty bag.

"Granny, granny, what are we going to do? The whirlwind scattered all our flour!"

"Go, old man, find the whirlwind and demand compensation!" she said.

The old man set off to find the whirlwind. He walked and walked for a long time until he came to a dense forest. There, he saw a small hut. He entered the hut and found an old woman sitting inside. She asked:

"What brings you here, good man?"

"I'm looking for the whirlwind."

"Why do you need the whirlwind?"

"It scattered my flour, and I want to demand compensation!"

"Well," said the old woman, "you've come to the right place. This is the whirlwind's hut, and I am his mother!"

She fed the old man and told him to wait for the whirlwind. After some time, the whirlwind arrived. His mother asked him:

"Why did you scatter this man's flour? Now he has no bread!"

The whirlwind replied:

"Don't worry, old man, I'll give you a fine gift in return for your flour!"

And he handed him a tablecloth.

The old man asked:

"What kind of tablecloth is this? What am I supposed to do with it?"

"This is no ordinary tablecloth," said the whirlwind. "Just say, 'Hey, tablecloth, tablecloth, roll out, spread out, and give me food and drink, all that exists in the world!' and it will provide you with everything."

The old man took the tablecloth and headed home. After walking a short distance, he thought:

"Let me test this and see if the whirlwind tricked me."

So he said:

"Hey, tablecloth, tablecloth, roll out, spread out, and give me food and drink, all that exists in the world!"

The tablecloth rolled out, spread out, and all kinds of delicious food appeared on it.

The old man was amazed. He ate his fill, rolled up the tablecloth, and continued home. Night fell, and he asked for shelter in a house along the way. A wealthy woman lived there, who had become rich through deceit and cunning. She let the old man in and began to question him:

"Where are you coming from, old man?"

"I went to the whirlwind to demand compensation for my flour."

"What did the whirlwind give you?"

"He gave me a tablecloth."

"What kind of tablecloth is it?"

"It's not an ordinary one. If you say, 'Hey, tablecloth, tablecloth, roll out, spread out, and give me food and drink, all that exists in the world!' it will provide everything."

"Leave your tablecloth in the hallway, old man. No one here will take it."

The old man obeyed and left the tablecloth in the hallway. The woman kept him talking while she called her daughter and whispered:

"Take the old man's tablecloth and replace it with ours!"

The daughter did as she was told: she took the old man's tablecloth and hid it, replacing it with their own.

In the morning, the old man got up, tucked the tablecloth under his arm, and set off for home.

When he arrived, he said:

"Well, old woman, now we'll never go hungry! Sit down at the table!"

They sat down, and the old man took out the tablecloth and commanded:

"Tablecloth, tablecloth, roll out, spread out, and give us food and drink, all that exists in the world!"

But the tablecloth didn't move. The old woman got angry and chased the old man out of the house.

"Go back to the whirlwind!"

The old man returned to the dense forest. He walked and walked until he found the whirlwind's hut again. He entered and began to scold:

"You shameless whirlwind! You tricked me! Your tablecloth doesn't work!"

The whirlwind brought out a little ram and said:

"Here, old man, take this ram. Just say, 'Ram, ram, shake yourself, and give me gold and silver!' and it will provide."

The old man took the ram and headed home.

He walked and walked and stopped for the night at the same house. The woman let him in and asked:

"What kind of ram is this?"

"The whirlwind gave me this ram. If I say, 'Ram, ram, shake yourself, and give me gold and silver!' it will provide."

"Show me!"

"Bring me a mat, hostess!"

The woman brought a mat. The old man spread it out, placed the ram on it, and said:

"Ram, ram, shake yourself, and give me gold and silver!"

The ram shook itself, and gold and silver poured out.

The woman saw this and swapped the ram during the night.

In the morning, the old man took the woman's ram and went home. When he arrived, he said:

"Well, old woman, now we'll always have money! Bring me a mat!"

The old woman brought the mat.

The old man placed the ram on the mat and commanded:

"Ram, ram, shake yourself, and give us gold and silver!"

But the ram just stood there.

The old woman chased the old man out of the house:

"Go back to the whirlwind and demand compensation for our flour!"

The old man went back to the whirlwind's hut. The whirlwind listened to him and gave him a horn:

"Take this horn, old man. Now all your belongings will return to you. Just say, 'Out of the horn, everything in abundance!'"

The old man set off for home and thought, "Let me test this horn!" So he said:

"Out of the horn, everything in abundance!"

Out jumped some young men with clubs and began to beat the old man. Luckily, he realized what to do and shouted:

"Everything back into the horn!"

The young men with clubs immediately disappeared back into the horn, and the old man continued on his way.

"Well," he thought, "thank you, whirlwind! You've taught me a lesson. Now I know what to do!"

He reached the house where he had stayed before and asked for shelter again. The woman quickly opened the door, let him in, and asked:

"What kind of horn is that, old man?"

"The whirlwind gave me this horn. It provides whatever you want. Just say, 'Out of the horn, everything in abundance!'"

The old man said this and left the room, leaving the horn on the table. As soon as he stepped outside, the woman grabbed the horn and said:

"Out of the horn, everything in abundance!"

As soon as she said this, the young men with clubs jumped out and began to beat her. They beat and beat her! She screamed at the top of her lungs:

"Old man, old man! Help me!"

"Will you give me back my tablecloth and ram?"

"I didn't take them!"

"Ah, you didn't? Well, then, keep beating her, lads!"

"Oh, old man, I'll give them back, just save me!"

Then the old man said:

"Everything back into the horn!"

The young men with clubs immediately disappeared back into the horn. The woman returned the tablecloth and the ram to the old man. He went home.

When he arrived, he brought his wife all the gifts from the whirlwind, and they lived happily ever after, free from want and sorrow.

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Vikhrev's Gifts

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