Five Golden Fruits
Once upon a time, there lived a king, and in his kingdom grew a tall tree—so tall that its top could not be seen. The king was very eager to know just how high the tree was and what grew on it. He sent messengers to all corners of the kingdom, commanding them to announce: if there was a brave young man who could climb to the top of the tree and pluck its fruits, the king would give his daughter in marriage to that young man and bequeath him the kingdom. Many people came to try their luck, but no one succeeded in reaching the top, and some even fell from the tree and perished.A daring young man from a distant land decided to try his luck. He set off through a dense forest and encountered a shepherd. The young man asked the shepherd if he was on the right path. He noticed that the shepherd had some iron hooks on his feet, resembling animal claws. Curious, the young man inquired about them. The shepherd explained that with such hooks, he could quickly climb trees to escape wild beasts. Although the young man was dressed in fine attire, he offered to exchange clothes with the shepherd. But in addition, he asked for the iron claws. The shepherd laughed, thinking the passerby was joking: what a strange whim—to trade beautiful clothes for rags. However, seeing that the young man was serious, he agreed and, in exchange for the nobleman's clothes, also received a considerable sum of money.
The young man arrived in the royal city, changed his clothes, but kept the iron hooks with him. He went straight to the king, bowed low, and explained his purpose. The king granted him permission. The young man then took the iron claws, gathered enough provisions for seven days, and began to climb the tree. People watched in amazement at how skillfully he scaled the tree. Three days and three nights passed, and still, there was not a single branch on the trunk. Only on the fourth day did something resembling branches appear in the distance, and by the seventh day, he realized that it was not branches but a palace. He reached the palace and knocked on the iron door. Soon, footsteps were heard, the door opened, and he saw a beautiful maiden. She invited him in, led him to a silver hall, and treated him to various delicacies and wine. In the castle lived three enchanted maidens. The young man stayed the night with them—after all, he had not slept for a week.
In the morning, the maidens woke him, fed him delicious food, and then the most beautiful of them said:
"On your way to the top, you will encounter two more palaces. It will take you fourteen days to reach the first one. In that palace live six maidens, and they will tell you how to proceed further. Here is a piece of bread. When you feel hungry, thirsty, or tired, lick it, and immediately your hunger, thirst, and fatigue will vanish."
Ten days had already passed, and still, no castle was in sight. On the eleventh day, something glimmered in the distance, and by the fourteenth day, the young man knocked on the door of a marvelous palace made of pure gold. The maidens in the golden palace welcomed him as warmly as those in the silver one, fed him, gave him drink, and put him to bed. In the morning, they said:
"Above us, there is another palace. It will take you three weeks to reach it. There live nine maidens, and they will tell you how to reach the top of the tree."
As a farewell, the maidens gave him a piece of bread—just lick it, they said, and your hunger, thirst, and fatigue will disappear. In the third palace, built of precious stones and beautiful pearls, the young man was greeted just as warmly, fed, given drink, and allowed to stay the night. Here lived nine maidens, one of whom had golden hair. From her, the young man learned that it would take him a whole month to reach the top.
"There you will find five golden fruits," the maiden said, "three on the right and two on the left. Those on the right, you must cut with these scissors. But woe to us if you cut those on the left. The tree will sway violently and fall, taking the palaces with it, and we will all perish. Once you have done your task, descend to the ground immediately. A great multitude of people has gathered there, all eagerly awaiting your return: they want to know what fruits you have brought and to hear of your journey. But do not tell a single soul, not even the king, what you have seen and heard. And in the morning, wait for us by the main road. We will ride in a diamond carriage drawn by golden horses. Those horses run faster than birds. If you manage to touch the carriage, the spell will be broken; if not, the devil will take us to a castle without windows or doors."
The young man descended to the ground. There were countless people around, all eager to know what he had seen and why he had stayed so long in the tree. But he kept silent, even hiding his treasure from the king. Early the next morning, he rose at dawn and went to the agreed-upon spot to wait for the carriage. As the first rays of the sun appeared, a small cloud of dust billowed in the distance. Closer and closer it came, until finally it was right there; the carriage was now visible. But it rushed past like a whirlwind, and the young man didn’t even have time to touch it.
He was nearly overcome with grief. When he had calmed down a little, he went to the king, told him everything without holding back, showed him the three golden fruits, and said he would go searching the wide world for a castle without windows or doors. For two months now, the young man had been wandering the world, but there was no trace of such a castle.
At the end of the third month, he got lost in a dark forest. At dawn, he saw a faint light in the distance, on a hill, and he turned in that direction. As he approached, he saw a crooked little hut. And in that hut lived the Moon. Boldly, he knocked on the rickety door, the rusty bolt rattled, the door opened, and—oh horror! The young man even recoiled: before him stood a terrifying old woman, holding a burning torch. She was as old as the world itself, as tall as an oak, as black as a coal, with eyes like saucers, hair like a horse’s mane, and so thin—just skin and bones. This old woman was the Moon’s mother. She glared at the guest and asked why he had come. The young man replied that he was searching for a castle without windows or doors and asked if she could show him the way. The old woman answered:
“I haven’t left my home for more than an hour in thousands of years. How would I know about such a castle? But my daughter, the Moon, probably knows—she travels the whole world every night. Now go away, or else trouble will come. The Moon will return soon, and if she finds you here, beware: she’ll tear you to pieces!”
The poor fellow begged the old woman not to send him away but to hide him in some corner and ask her daughter about the castle, and then tell him everything when the Moon left. He pleaded so tearfully that the old woman took pity and hid him under the stairs. Soon, the Moon came home and, from the threshold, sensed a human presence. She asked her mother if she was hiding someone. At first, the mother denied it, but the Moon grew so furious that she had to confess everything. The old woman begged for mercy and asked her daughter to help the poor man find the castle without windows or doors—if, of course, the Moon knew where it was. The Moon took pity on the young man, told him to come out from under the stairs, and said:
“I’d gladly help you, but I myself don’t know or have heard of such a castle. Know this: I have never illuminated the entire earth. Perhaps the castle is hidden in some desert I’ve never seen. You’d better go to the Sun—it sees more than I do. Maybe the Sun will show you the way to the castle.”
The young man wandered through the forest for a long time but couldn’t find the Sun’s home. Finally, he found it and went inside. Only the Sun’s mother was there. She was even older and more terrifying than the Moon’s mother. She too took pity on the guest, hid him, and promised to ask about the castle. When the Sun returned home that evening, it scolded its mother for letting a human into the house. Hearing this, the poor man came out and pleaded so sorrowfully for help that the Sun took pity and said:
“Perhaps such a castle exists on earth, but I don’t know of it. I don’t see every corner of the world. But the Wind—it blows through every crevice and must know everything in the world. Go to it!”
For three days, the young man searched for the Wind’s home. Finally, he found it. Fortunately, the Chief Wind was home at the time. The young man told him his sorrow and asked for help. The Wind listened carefully, and when the young man finished, it took a pipe and played it so loudly that all the winds in the world heard. They rushed to the Chief Wind, but none of them had heard of a castle without windows or doors. One wind arrived late—its leg had been hurting, and it had fallen behind. It arrived an hour later and told of the castle without windows or doors. If the Chief Wind didn’t believe it, he could go and see for himself. For the winds, it was no more than a quarter of an hour’s journey, but for a human, it would take years. Feeling sorry for the poor man, the Chief Wind ordered a large basket to be woven—it would be easier to carry him that way. The basket was woven, the young man climbed in, and the Chief Wind snatched it up and, in the blink of an eye, delivered him to the very castle.
The Wind began inspecting the castle, looking for a crack to slip inside. On the highest tower, it noticed a tiny hole. It squeezed through and rushed through the castle with such force that the walls shook. Inside the castle were eighteen maidens, as well as the devil and his mother. All the maidens except Golden-Hair were dead. Golden-Hair was considered the greatest sinner, and so the devil had condemned her to the greatest torment—to die last, so she would witness the suffering of her companions before her own death. The Wind grabbed the devil and hurled him through the hole with all its might, grinding him to dust. Then it seized the devil’s mother and shook her so hard that her bones cracked. It demanded she confess how the maidens had been killed. The old hag squirmed, insisting she knew nothing, as it was all her son’s doing. The Wind threatened to deal with her as it had with the devil if she kept lying. Terrified, the old devil-woman confessed everything. She also revealed how the maidens could be revived: in a cupboard was a sprinkler, and if they were sprinkled with it, they would come back to life. The Wind took the sprinkler, tested it on one maiden, and she came to life. Then it grabbed the old woman, threw her through the hole, and ground her to dust like the devil. One by one, it revived all the maidens and breathed strength into Golden-Hair, who was barely alive. It then carried them all, one by one, into the basket and destroyed the castle. The Wind safely delivered the rescued maidens and the young man to the royal palace. But the young man did not marry the princess—he married Golden-Hair. And they lived in love and harmony for many, many years.
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