The Serpent Groom

Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman, and they had seven daughters. Six of them had long, beautiful hair, but the seventh had a bald spot. One day, the old woman said to the old man:

"The serpent has golden flowers blooming. Take an axe and go cut them. Give the eldest and the second daughters a golden flower each, and bring me a plain white one."

The man took the axe, slung it over his shoulder, and set off, singing:

"Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun—I'll give the eldest a golden flower, dun-dun-dun-dun-dun—I'll give the second a golden flower..."

He began to chop the white flower but dropped his golden-bladed axe into the serpent's lair.

"Serpent, serpent, give me back my golden-bladed axe!"

"Wait, I'm getting up."

"Serpent, serpent, give me back my golden-bladed axe!"

"Wait, I'm putting on my socks."

"Serpent, serpent, give me back my golden-bladed axe!"

"Wait, I'm lighting the fire."

The old man grew angry and shouted:

"Hey, serpent, give me back my golden-bladed axe right now!"

"And what will you give me for it?"

"A good cat to catch mice."

"I already have a cat!"

"Then a dog to guard the gates."

"I already have a dog!"

"Then a hen to lay eggs."

"I already have a hen!"

"Then a sow with piglets!"

"I already have a sow with piglets!"

"I'll give you a good girl for a wife!"

"Bring her here quickly! If you bring her, you'll get your golden-bladed axe."

The father returned home and sat on an old millstone. The eldest daughter came and said:

"Father, oh father! Every day when you come home, you sit on the warm stove. But today you came and sat on the cold millstone. Don't hide it, tell me what happened to you?"

"I wanted to get you golden flowers, but I dropped my golden-bladed axe into the serpent's lair. And in exchange for the axe, the serpent demands one of you as his wife. Will you marry the serpent?"

"I won't, he's smelly."

The second daughter came and said:

"Father, oh father! Every day when you come home, you sit on the warm stove. But today you came and sat on the cold millstone. Don't hide it, tell me what happened to you?"

"I wanted to get you golden flowers, but I dropped my golden-bladed axe into the serpent's lair. And in exchange for the axe, the serpent demands one of you as his wife. Will you marry the serpent?"

"I won't, he's smelly!"

The old woman came and said:

"Every day when you come home, you sit on the warm stove. But today you came and sat on the cold millstone. Don't hide it, tell me what happened to you?"

"What's the use of telling you? You won't marry the serpent either! I was chopping a white flower and dropped my axe into the serpent's lair. And in exchange for the axe, the serpent demands one of our daughters as his wife."

The third daughter came and said:

"Father, oh father! Every day when you come home, you sit on the warm stove. But today you came and sat on the cold millstone. Don't hide it, tell me what happened to you?"

"I wanted to get you golden flowers, but I dropped my golden-bladed axe into the serpent's lair. And in exchange for the axe, the serpent demands one of you as his wife. Will you marry the serpent?"

"I won't, he's smelly."

The fourth daughter came and said:

"Father, oh father! Every day when you come home, you sit on the warm stove. But today you came and sat on the cold millstone. Don't hide it, tell me what happened to you?"

"I wanted to get you golden flowers, but I dropped my golden-bladed axe into the serpent's lair. And in exchange for the axe, the serpent demands one of you as his wife. Will you marry the serpent?"

"I won't, he's smelly!"

The fifth daughter came and said:

"Father, oh father! Every day when you come home, you sit on the warm stove. But today you came and sat on the cold millstone. Don't hide it, tell me what happened to you?"

"I wanted to get you golden flowers, but I dropped my golden-bladed axe into the serpent's lair. And in exchange for the axe, the serpent demands one of you as his wife. Will you marry the serpent?"

"I won't, he's smelly!"

The sixth daughter came and said:

"Father, oh father! Every day when you come home, you sit on the warm stove. But today you came and sat on the cold millstone. Don't hide it, tell me what happened to you?"

"I wanted to get you golden flowers, but I dropped my golden-bladed axe into the serpent's lair. And in exchange for the axe, the serpent demands one of you as his wife. Will you marry the serpent?"

"I won't, he's smelly!"

The seventh daughter came and said:

"Father, oh father! Every day when you come home, you sit on the warm stove. But today you came and sat on the cold millstone. Don't hide it, tell me what happened to you?"

"What's the use of telling you? The serpent needs a beautiful wife, not a bald one. I don't even know if he'll take you or not."

"But I agree to marry the serpent!"

"If you agree, then go!"

"Only go and ask the serpent for a big comb first!"

The father went to the serpent:

"Serpent, oh serpent, my seventh daughter agrees to marry you, but she asks for a big comb first."

The serpent gave him a big comb. The old man took it and returned home.

The seventh daughter stood at the gate, combing her hair and saying:

"The first time I comb—I'll reach the big road."

"The second time I comb—I'll reach the serpent's lair."

"The third time I comb—I'll reach the green canal!"

In an instant, the girl combed her hair and set off on her journey.

An ox carried rouge, a horse carried powder.

A camel carried ten pieces of brocade.

Sparrows carried a rope with a red end.

Swallows carried bottles of multicolored wine.

A golden ram carried a washbasin.

The old man brought his daughter to the serpent, and the serpent returned the golden-bladed axe.

The girl entered the serpent's lair and became his wife.

One day, the second daughter said:

"Mother, let me visit my younger sister!"

"Go and visit her!"

The girl set off. As she walked, she met a shepherd.

"Tell me, shepherd, where does my younger sister live?"

"And who is your younger sister?"

"The serpent's wife."

"Cross the mountain—go down the slope. Dig through a pile of dung as high as a house. There you'll find the serpent's lair."

The girl began to scold the shepherd.

"Aren't you ashamed to lie! Who would live in a pile of dung?"

The girl walked on.

Suddenly, she met a swineherd.

"Tell me, swineherd, where does my younger sister live?"

"And who is your younger sister?"

— The Serpent's Wife.

— Cross the mountain, and you'll descend the slope. Dig through a pile of dung as tall as a house, and there you'll find the serpent's den.

— Fool, you fool! Who would live in a pile of dung?

The girl said this and walked on.

She crossed the mountain, descended the slope, and dug through the pile of dung as tall as a house. She looked—and indeed, there was a den. The girl began to call out:

— Little sister, oh little sister!

— Has my elder sister come?

— You guessed wrong.

— Has my second sister come?

— Now you've guessed it!

— Come inside!

The second sister entered the house, and the younger one began to treat her. After the second sister had eaten, the younger one said:

— Hide quickly. The serpent will return any moment.

No sooner had she hidden than the serpent entered.

— What's this smell, huh?

— I washed my face.

— When you wash your face, it smells clean.

— I combed my hair.

— When you comb your hair, it smells like combed hair.

— I put on a different dress!

— Tell the truth, or I'll beat you!

— My second sister came to visit me!

— Where is she?

— I hid her under the big tub so you wouldn't kill her.

— You fool! Let's lift the tub. I want to see her!

They lifted the tub, and the second sister crawled out from under it and stayed to live with them. One day, the serpent left the house, and the second sister said to the younger one:

— Let me wear your socks, sister, let's see if we look alike.

— How could we not look alike, when we were born of the same mother?

— Let me wear your pants, sister, let's see if we look alike.

— How could we not look alike, when we were born of the same mother?

— Let me wear your earrings, sister, let's go to the river and see if we look alike.

— How could we not look alike, when we were born of the same mother?

They went to the river. The second sister pushed the younger one into the water and returned home alone.

The serpent came home and asked:

— Where did your second sister go?

— She went back home.

— Why didn't she stay another day or two?

— She had too much to do!

— Why is your face suddenly pockmarked?

— Better not ask. We went to play in the pea field, my sister ran, and I chased after her. I fell right into the peas—that's why there are marks on my face. It still hurts.

— And why are your feet so big now?

— I was running on the road, lost my shoes, and my feet started growing and became big...

Early in the morning, the serpent went to the river to water his horse, and on the shore sat a green parrot with a red beak. Seeing the serpent, it began to scold him, so eloquently:

— Shameless serpent, shameless serpent, don't creep into your sister-in-law's bosom.

The serpent said nothing and returned home.

The next day, the serpent went again to water his horse, and the parrot began to scold him once more:

— Shameless serpent, shameless serpent, don't creep into your sister-in-law's bosom.

The serpent brought the horse home and said:

— Well, I had a good laugh just now. There's a green parrot with a red beak sitting on the riverbank, shouting, "Shameless serpent, shameless serpent, don't creep into your sister-in-law's bosom!"

— Nasty creature! Let it shout all it wants!

On the third day, the serpent went again to water his horse, and the parrot scolded him once more.

The serpent thought, "Maybe this is my wife turned into a parrot," and said:

Sharp tongue, wicked tongue,
If you're not my wife—quickly sit on the horse,
If you are my wife—crawl into my sleeve.

He raised his arm, and the parrot flew straight into his sleeve.

The serpent brought the parrot home and said:

— Feed this parrot well, take care of it, and don't let the cat eat it.

The serpent left. The second sister began to comb her hair and wash her face. And the parrot started again:

Don't look in my mirror, you wretch!
Don't admire your dog face, you ugly thing!
Don't touch my comb, you shameless one!
Don't comb your dog head, you vile creature!

The second sister bit her lips in anger. The next day, the serpent prepared to leave, and she said to him:

— Bring me some water, and make it a lot!

The serpent brought her a full tub. She began to comb her hair and wash her face, and the parrot shouted again:

Don't look in my mirror, you wretch!
Don't admire your dog face, you ugly thing!
Don't touch my comb, you shameless one!
Don't comb your dog head, you vile creature!

The second sister jumped up, grabbed the parrot, and drowned it in the tub. Then she said:

— Let's see how you'll scold me now.

The serpent returned home and asked:

— I don't hear my parrot. Where has it gone?

— I told you not to bring so much water, but you filled the tub to the brim. The parrot fell in and drowned.

The serpent said nothing, only wept bitterly.

The second sister began to make soup from the parrot. She cooked it, gave the bones to the serpent, and kept the meat for herself. The serpent didn't eat, but the second sister took a bite, didn't notice a bone, and choked. Enraged, she took the meat, threw it outside, dug a hole, and buried the parrot's meat. Not a day passed before a date palm grew in that spot. The fruit was sour, terribly sour. The second sister went outside, got caught on the tree, tore her socks and pants. She wanted to go back inside, but a swarm of wasps rose from the tree and began to sting her.

Her husband came out, looked—instead of torn socks, he had new ones, and a golden ball appeared on his hat. He went back, looked—his new socks turned into satin, and a silver ball appeared on his hat.

The second sister became furious, chopped down the tree, made a bench out of it, and said to the serpent:

— Sit down and rest.

The serpent sat, and it was comfortable and peaceful for him. The second sister sat, but a thorn came out of the bench and pricked her so hard she wanted to scream. In her anger, the second sister chopped up the bench and threw it into the stove.

At midnight, the serpent heard something tapping, like a loom. He looked, and it was the seventh sister weaving silk. She was weaving, almost crying. The serpent hugged her, and she said to him:

— Serpent, serpent, don't hug me, my bones haven't grown yet. Take some snow—make a dress for me from it, take a wild plum flower—make a face for me from it, take branches—make bones for me from them. And I will become as I was before.

And so the serpent did. The younger daughter became even more beautiful. The serpent drove the wicked second sister away, and he and his wife began to live happily again.

More fairy tales

• The Emperor and the Mouse
• When the Earth Turns to Gold
• The Amazing Adventures of the Masters
• The Maiden-Voivode
• How the Fox Was Taught a Lesson