The Silver Deer

Once upon a time, there lived a very skilled archer. His arrows always hit the target directly. He never returned from a hunt empty-handed. But the archer was a slave, and everything he hunted, he gave to his master, who, in turn, gave it to the king.

One day, a herald announced that the king was marrying off his daughter, and all the boyars and commanders were ordered to appear at the palace. The archer's master also began preparing to go to the palace and ordered the hunter to shoot enough game in one day to fill nine carts, so he could take it to the king.

The master had given the archer a difficult task, but there was nothing to be done; the young man took his bow and arrows and went into the forest with the beaters. He hunted all day and filled nine carts with game. By evening, he was about to return home when suddenly the dogs drove a deer toward him. The hunter looked at the deer and was amazed—it was no ordinary deer, but a silver one! He took aim, drew his bowstring, but suddenly the deer spoke:

"Do not kill me, young man, and I will repay your kindness with kindness."

The hunter heard these words, was surprised, and asked:

"What kindness can a deer do for me, even if it is silver? Well, come closer, I won't harm you."

"Drop your bow, then I will come!" replied the deer.

The young man dropped his bow. The deer approached him and asked:

"Would you like me to make you the king's son-in-law?"

"You will make me the king's son-in-law?" the young man asked in surprise.

"Just say the word!" replied the deer.

"Very well, make me the king's son-in-law!"

"Now go and see your master off, then return to this very spot, whistle three times into a beech leaf, and I will come running."

The young man did as he was told. He saw his master off, returned to the forest, and whistled three times into a beech leaf. The deer came running and asked:

"Would you like to go to the competitions the king is holding?"

The young man was surprised:

"How can I go there? I am not a boyar or a commander. How can I go in such clothes? And I have no horse or weapons."

"Do not worry about that. I will become your horse. Reach under that stone and pull out two snakes. They will hiss, but do not be afraid. One will serve as your reins, and the other as your whip."

The young man did as the deer instructed. He pulled out the snakes, and as soon as he placed one in the deer's mouth, it turned into a magnificent white horse.

"Now cut a stick and scrape the moss off the stone where you found the snakes!" said the horse.

The young man again did as he was told. The stick immediately turned into a sharp saber, and under the moss, he found a robe embroidered with gold. The hunter changed his clothes, took the saber, bow, and arrows, jumped onto the horse, and rode to the palace.

When he arrived in the capital, the herald was just announcing that the king would give his daughter in marriage to whoever could outrun all the riders, shoot a fly in midair, and split a stone with a saber.

The competitions began. The hunter raced alongside the other contenders. Halfway through, he overtook everyone—his horse galloped faster than the wind and came in first. Then they began shooting at a flying fly. No one could hit it, except the hunter. Next came the task of splitting a stone. No one dared to attempt it. The horse whispered to the hunter to try his strength. The hunter swung his saber and split the stone in two.

Then the king gave his daughter in marriage to him. They celebrated the wedding, and the horse said to the hunter:

"I am returning to the forest. Here is a strand of my hair. When you need me, hold it to the fire, and I will come running!"

"Live free, deer!" replied the hunter. "Now I am the king's son-in-law, and I need nothing!" And he did not take the strand of hair.

Some time passed, and the hunter's former master began searching for his slave. He looked everywhere but could not find him. Then he went to the forest to see a witch and asked her where the archer had gone. The witch cast beans and told the boyar that the slave had become the king's son-in-law.

When the master heard this, he became furious and immediately reported to the king that his son-in-law was not a nobleman but a slave.

The king was enraged. He called his daughter and told her everything.

"I have long suspected this, father," replied the daughter. "At night, he often raves, and I realized you married me off to a simple peasant."

"Here is your true husband, my dear!" exclaimed the king, pointing to the boyar. "As for that deceiver, he must be punished. Tell me, daughter, what should we do with him?"

"Let's throw him into the sea and let the fish eat him!"

The king agreed and ordered the guards:

"Seize him, tie a large stone around his neck, and throw him into the sea!"

Then he said to the boyar:

"You will be my son-in-law. I grant you half the kingdom, a fine bow, and the marvelous saber of that deceiver."

The guards seized the hunter and took him to the sea. They tied a stone around his neck and threw him into the water. The young man sank to the bottom. Then a huge fish swam up to him, swallowed him, and he found himself in its stomach. The fish then swam to the shore, opened its mouth, and the young man emerged onto the beach. Near the shore, a forest began, and the young man wandered toward it. He ate some wild berries and lay down to rest. When he woke up, he saw the silver deer standing above him. The hunter, angered, grabbed the first stick he could find and swung at it.

"Wait, wait!" cried the deer. "I have come to save you!"

"Get away from me! It's because of you I got into trouble!"

"You are to blame yourself," replied the deer. "If you had taken the strand of hair, I would have known immediately that you were in trouble. It's good I arrived in time!"

"It wasn't you who saved me, but a big fish!"

"Yes, but that fish was me. When I learned they wanted to throw you into the sea, I rushed to help you, but I didn't make it in time. So I turned into a fish and brought you to the shore."

"Thank you, deer," said the young man. "Forgive me for my unjust words. And help me get out of here."

"I cannot help you anymore. I no longer have such power. But I will give you a flower with three petals. It will help you. When the first trouble comes, eat the green petal. When the second trouble comes, eat the blue petal. And when you reach the capital, eat the scarlet petal. And remember, your happiness lies in the first tooth that falls out, the first splinter that flies off, and a beautiful girl."

Having said this, the deer stamped its hoof and disappeared. The hunter set off on his journey. He walked and walked through the forest, but there was no end in sight. Suddenly, huge monsters leaped out of the thicket and charged at him. The hunter quickly ate the green petal and immediately turned into a lizard. He darted into the grass and escaped. The monsters were left far behind, and before him stretched the sea. He walked along the shore and soon found himself back at the same spot. The hunter realized he was on an island and could not cross the sea. Then he ate the blue petal, and at that moment, a rainbow appeared over the sea. The hunter walked across the rainbow like a bridge, crossed the sea, and headed for the capital. Before entering the city, he ate the last, scarlet petal, and immediately turned into a magnificent bay horse. He frolicked in the meadow, then ran into the courtyard of a poor old couple. The old woman saw the horse, rushed to the gates, slammed them shut, and called her husband. The old man came, looked at the horse, shook his head, and said:

"This horse is not for us! Let's sell it to the king."

"Very well," agreed the old woman.

The old man took the horse to the capital. There, a crowd of onlookers immediately surrounded him—everyone wanted to see the marvelous horse. The king also heard about the horse and came out onto the balcony to see it, but he saw nothing. He then sent his son-in-law to take a look at the steed. As soon as the son-in-law saw the horse, he gave the old man a full purse of gold for it. Then he jumped onto the horse to ride it, but the horse reared and threw the rider off. The son-in-law fell to the ground and nearly died. Furious, he ordered the horse to be killed. At that moment, a young and beautiful maid was passing through the capital. She saw the horse, petted it, and wept:

"Such a beautiful horse, yet it must die for the whim of the king's son-in-law. If he cannot stay in the saddle, he shouldn't have mounted."

Then the horse whispered to the girl:

"If you pity me, when I am killed, take my front tooth and bury it in the garden by the palace."

The maid agreed to fulfill his request. When the executioners killed the horse, its front tooth fell out. The girl picked it up, took it to the garden, and buried it in front of the royal palace. By evening, a marvelous tree had grown in that spot. When its leaves rustled, they sang a song. In the morning, a large crowd gathered around the extraordinary tree—everyone wanted to see it. The king's son-in-law also came. But as soon as he approached the tree, the song ceased, and the branches grew thorns. The branches lashed at the son-in-law, tearing him to shreds.

Enraged, the king's son-in-law ordered the tree to be cut down. The maid heard this and exclaimed:

"Such a beautiful tree, yet they will cut it down for the whim of the son-in-law!"

Then the tree rustled:

"If you want to save me, pick up the first splinter that flies off when they start cutting me and throw it into the lake!"

The girl did as she was told. As soon as she threw the splinter into the lake, it turned into a golden duck. The king's son-in-law saw the duck, grabbed his bow, and shot at it, but the arrow missed, as the duck swam to the opposite shore. He shot a second time, but again missed. Only on the third shot did the duck somersault in the water. Then the son-in-law undressed and jumped into the lake to retrieve it. But as soon as he entered the water, the duck, which had only pretended to be dead, rose into the air and flew to the clothes the son-in-law had left behind. There, it struck the ground and turned into a man. The man dressed, took the bow, arrows, and saber, and headed for the city.

The king's son-in-law looked toward the shore, saw his former slave, panicked, and drowned out of fear.

The hunter made his way to the palace. The gates were locked, and guards began shooting at him from the towers. He grabbed his bow and shot down all the guards. Then he broke through the iron gates and entered the palace. The king's daughter saw him, rushed to him, and begged for mercy, lying that she loved him.

The hunter asked her:

"Why did you order me to be thrown into the sea?"

"I was mistaken then. But you are still alive."

"Very well," replied the hunter, "now I will order you and your father to be thrown into the sea. We'll see if you manage to survive!"

And he ordered the king and his daughter to be thrown into the sea. The king and his wicked daughter drowned, and the hunter became the king and married the maid. He ruled the country for a long time and did much good for the people.

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The Silver Deer

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