About the Golden-Haired Youth and Maiden

Once upon a time, there lived a man who had three daughters. They had no mother, but a wicked, cruel stepmother. To the stepmother, her husband's daughters were like thorns in her eyes.

The stepmother pretended to be ill and said to her husband:

"If you get rid of the girls, I will recover; if not, I will die."

The old man pondered: how could he get rid of his daughters? He thought and thought and finally decided:

"Come, children, let’s go gather apples. I know a good apple tree."

They went, taking a carpet with them. Under the apple tree, a large pit had been dug. The old man spread the carpet over the pit, covered it with leaves, climbed the tree, and said to his daughters:

"I will shake the apples down, and you hold hands, run together, and gather them."

The old man shook the tree, the daughters held hands, ran, stepped on the carpet, and it collapsed. All three girls, along with the apples, fell into the pit.

The old man climbed down from the tree and trudged home.

The girls sat in the pit and cried. They grew hungry, and the eldest said:

"Sisters, eat me, I can’t bear this suffering any longer!"

"No, eat me, I can’t endure my pain," said the middle sister.

But the youngest prayed to the kind spirits:

"Let one of my hands become a spade, and the other a shovel."

One of her hands turned into a spade, the other into a shovel. She dug the earth with the spade and scooped it out with the shovel. She dug and dug until she reached the royal stables. Her hands returned to normal. In the stables, horses stood eating raisins and almonds.

The girl approached, ate her fill, and took some for her sisters. She kept sneaking into the royal stables, stealing raisins and almonds.

The horses grew thin. The stablemen reported to the king:

"We feed the horses raisins and almonds, but they keep getting thinner and thinner."

The king set guards to watch. The guards saw the girl come and scoop raisins and almonds into her apron. They caught her and started leading her away.

"Where are you taking me?" asked the youngest sister.

"To the king."

"Wait, let me bring my sisters, and you can take us all together."

"Very well."

They brought all three sisters to the king, and the girls told him everything.

The king asked the eldest sister:

"What can you do?"

"I can weave a carpet so large that your entire kingdom could sit on it, and there would still be room left."

"And what can you do?" the king asked the middle sister.

"I can cook a meal so filling that it will fit in an eggshell, yet it will feed all your people."

"And you?" the king asked the youngest.

"I can give birth to golden-haired children—a boy and a girl," said the youngest.

The king married the youngest sister and gave the older ones to his advisors.

Time passed, and the queen gave birth to golden-haired children. The older sisters grew envious. They stole the children, replaced them with puppies, threw the golden-haired children into the mill wheel, and reported to the king:

"Your wife has given birth to puppies, not golden-haired children."

The king was furious:

"Take her, tie her to the gates: let passersby spit in her face and smear her chest with soot."

They tied the poor woman to the gates, and people spat in her face and smeared her chest with soot.

Meanwhile, the miller heard children crying and went to investigate. He saw a boy and a girl stuck in the mill wheel.

"Since God has not given me children of my own, I will adopt these," said the miller. He took the golden-haired children, built them a house, and settled them there.

Time passed, and the children grew.

One day, the king held a feast. He invited all his subjects—men and women.

The golden-haired brother and sister also went. As they passed through the gates, they saw the woman tied there, with people spitting in her face and smearing her chest with soot. The golden-haired siblings washed her chest, kissed her, and caressed her face with a rose.

The guests gathered at the king’s feast, sat down, and began talking. The golden-haired boy stood up and said to the king:

"That woman tied to the gates is my mother, and you, king, are my father."

The king did not believe him.

The boy took a dry grapevine from the table and said:

"If this is true, and she is my mother, let this vine turn green and bear clusters of grapes."

Then he took a roasted pheasant and said:

"If this is true, and you, king, are my father, let this pheasant come to life, jump onto the vine, and flap its wings."

As soon as he spoke, the vine in his hands turned green, and ripe, juicy grapes hung from it. The pheasant came to life, flew onto the vine, and flapped its beautiful wings.

The king rejoiced, embraced his children, and kissed them.

They brought the mother, dressed her in royal robes, and honored her as a queen. The evil sisters were banished far beyond the high mountains, so they could never find their way back.

Epilogue:

Death there, feast here,
Chaff there, flour here.
I left my saddle in Mtskheta,
My harness on the Aragvi,
May victory be yours,
All who live by kindness.

More fairy tales

• Learn a Craft
• The Hornet
• The Son of the Raven
• The Tale of Goremika—the Great Eater
• Two Beardless Deceivers