The Priceless Little Stone

I'll tell you a tale about Grandfather Pavel's priceless little stone. Grandfather Pavel was a shepherd. He had a sheepfold in the Balkan mountains, and every evening he would drive a dozen sheep into it. He also had a small house with a tiled roof, a kitten, and a puppy. But the poor mountain man didn’t even have a lamp to light his little room when it got dark.

One day, Grandfather Pavel was herding his flock along the edge of the forest when he suddenly heard a squeak—it sounded like someone whistling a tune, and so pitifully! He went into the forest, looked around, and saw: the trees were burning, the branches crackling, and under a charred stump, a colorful lizard writhed in the flames, crying out in a thin voice. The lizard saw the old man and began to plead:

"Shepherd, my brother, save me from the fire!"

"I would help you," replied Grandfather Pavel, "but I’m afraid to step into the fire—my feet will burn."

"Then stretch out your staff—I’ll grab onto it, and you can pull me out."

Grandfather Pavel stretched out his long shepherd’s staff to the lizard, and she coiled around it like a vine. The old man pulled her out of the fire. She recovered a little and said:

"Now I want to repay you. Follow me."

"What will you give me?" asked Grandfather Pavel.

"I am the daughter of the king of lizards," replied the lizard. "My father, the lizard king, lives in a deep, dark cave. On his head is a crown, and in that crown are nine priceless stones that shine like nine suns. I will give you one of those stones."

And so the lizard ran through the grass toward the river, and the old man followed her. They walked and walked until they reached the cave.

"Wait here at the entrance, and I’ll go fetch the stone," said the lizard.

Grandfather Pavel sat down on the ground. It began to grow dark. While the lizard was fetching the stone, it became completely dark. Finally, she came running back with the priceless stone in her mouth. As soon as the lizard emerged from the cave, the entire clearing lit up. The birds in the nearby trees flapped their wings and chirped—they thought the dawn had come, that the sun was rising.

"Take the stone," said the lizard, "and go home. When you get there, tap the stone three times on the ground and say, 'Appear before me, such and such!' Whatever you wish for, you will receive."

Grandfather Pavel took the shining stone, examined it—it was no bigger than a hazelnut—put it in his bag, and hobbled home. He drove his flock, and there on the doorstep sat the puppy and the kitten, waiting. The old man herded the sheep into the sheepfold, then entered the house and took out the stone. It sparkled so brightly that the entire house was illuminated. The puppy and the kitten even covered their eyes with their paws—they were afraid they might go blind.

After dinner, Grandfather Pavel said:

"Why should I ask the stone for anything else? I already have everything—a house, sheep, cheese, and now I even have light for my dinner!"

He lay down to sleep. He lay there for a while, but couldn’t fall asleep. He began to think and ponder: "Why didn’t I test the stone? I should ask it for something. What should I ask for? What should I ask for?.. Ah, I’ll ask for a white-stone palace."

The old man got out of bed, went to the shelf, and there the stone lay, glowing. Grandfather Pavel took the stone, tapped it three times on the ground, and said:

"Appear before me, a white-stone palace!"

No sooner had he said this than his little house shifted and disappeared, and in its place appeared a marvelous white-stone palace. The walls in the chambers were mirrored, the dishes were made of pure gold, and the tables and chairs were made of ivory. The old man marveled, walked through the rooms, examined everything, and then lay down on a soft downy featherbed, tucking the stone under his shirt.

And what do you think? That very evening, his neighbor, Ivan the shepherd, came to visit and said:

"I came to see if you’re alive and well. Let’s chat a bit, I can’t seem to sleep tonight... Hey, what’s this wonder? I can’t believe my eyes! Who built you such a palace?"

"The stone built it."

"What stone? Show it to me."

Grandfather Pavel reached under his shirt, took out the stone, and handed it to his neighbor. Ivan examined the stone:

"How did it happen that such a small stone built you an entire palace?"

Grandfather Pavel told him how it happened, then put the stone back under his shirt. The neighbors talked and talked, and soon began to yawn.

"Stay the night in my palace, Ivan," invited Grandfather Pavel.

"Where should I sleep?"

"Lie down next to me on this featherbed."

Ivan lay down next to the old man and waited for him to fall asleep. As soon as Grandfather Pavel was asleep, Ivan reached under his shirt, grabbed the stone, tapped it three times on the ground, and said:

"Appear before me, four mighty warriors, lift this palace, and carry it across the Danube."

No sooner had he spoken these words than four warriors appeared, lifted the palace, and carried it away. Ivan left with the stone, and Grandfather Pavel stayed behind. In the morning, he woke up, looked around—and what did he see? There was no palace, no priceless stone. Only the old tiled-roof house remained, with the puppy and the kitten inside. The old man wept bitter tears. The sheep felt sorry for him and began to bleat. The kitten grew sad, and the puppy looked downcast. Then the kitten said to the puppy:

"Let’s go across the Danube to get Grandfather’s stone."

"Let’s go," said the puppy.

They set off on their journey. They walked and walked—crossed the entire Danube plain and reached the wide, calm Danube River.

"I can swim," said the puppy, "but you can’t. Climb onto my back, and I’ll take you to the other side."

The kitten climbed onto his friend’s back, and they swam across the Danube. They walked a little farther and reached the palace. They waited in the garden until it grew dark, then climbed through an open window. And there they saw: Ivan was sleeping on the featherbed, and he had hidden the stone in his mouth, under his tongue.

"How can we get the stone out of his mouth?" asked the puppy.

"I’ll tell you," replied the kitten. "I’ll dip my tail in the pepper shaker and tickle Ivan’s nose. He’ll sneeze, and the stone will fall out of his mouth."

The kitten did as he said. He dipped his tail in the pepper shaker, tickled Ivan’s nose, Ivan sneezed, and the stone fell out of his mouth. The kitten grabbed the stone and ran. The puppy followed. They ran and ran, reached the Danube, and the kitten climbed onto the puppy’s back again. The puppy swam, and halfway across the river, he said:

"What a strange stone! Let me take a look at it!"

"Not now," said the kitten, "you might drop it in the water. We’ll look at it when we reach the shore."

"Give it to me now," growled the puppy, "or I’ll throw you off my back. If you fall into the water, you’ll drown."

The kitten got scared and said:

"Here, take it!"

The puppy reached for the stone, but couldn’t hold onto it—the stone fell into the water. The animals climbed onto the shore and cried.

A fisherman with a fishing rod happened to pass by and asked them:

"Why are you crying?"

"We’re hungry," replied the kitten.

The fisherman cast his line into the water, caught a big fish, and threw it to the puppy and the kitten.

"Here," he said, "don’t cry anymore!"

The kitten and the puppy carried the fish into the willow thicket and began to eat. And what do you think they found in its belly? They found the stone. Here’s how it happened: the fish had been standing in the water with its mouth open. The stone fell into the water, and the fish swallowed it.

How happy the little animals were! They ran back across the Danube plain, reached Grandfather Pavel’s sheepfold, and saw the old man lying on the ground, crying. The animals rolled the stone right up to his head. Suddenly, the light from the stone shone into the old man’s eyes. Grandfather Pavel grabbed the stone, tapped it three times on the ground, and shouted:

"Appear before me, Ivan, but not just any way—in a sack!"

No sooner had he said this than a sack appeared, with Ivan inside. Grandfather Pavel took his staff and began to beat the sack. He gave the thief a good thrashing, untied the sack, and chased Ivan away. Then he put the stone back in his bag and said:

"I don’t need any palace—Ivan would just steal it again. I know his tricks!"

And Grandfather Pavel went off to tend his sheep. From then on, every evening he placed the stone on the shelf, and it lit up the house. And when the old man died, the lizard came running and took the stone away.

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The Priceless Little Stone

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