The Daughter of the Sun

Once upon a time, or perhaps not, there lived three brothers. They lived in poverty. One day, their mother was cleaning the bread chest and found three forgotten grains. The brothers plowed three fields and sowed the three grains. The elder brothers sowed the outer fields, and the youngest sowed the middle one. The crops sprouted, heavy ears of grain grew, and the brothers' hearts filled with joy at the sight of the bountiful harvest. But then the thunderer Elijah raged in the sky, bringing heavy black clouds, and hail destroyed the middle field. The entire harvest was lost.

The youngest brother was disheartened—he alone was unlucky! But what could he do? He took his sickle and set off on a journey to see if he truly was unlucky.

He walked a long way, or perhaps not so far, and came to a rich man's wheat field. The field was enormous—it would take a hundred days to harvest all the grain.

"What will you give me," the poor man asked the field's owner, "if I harvest all the grain in your field in one day?"

"I'll give you half the harvest," said the rich man.

The young man swung his sickle and began to harvest the grain and bind it into sheaves. He had only one sheaf left to tie when the sun began to set. The young man took off his hat, bowed to the sun, and pleaded:

"Don't set yet, Sun, wait a little longer!" But the sun did not wait and set. The owner came, and the last sheaf was not tied. The young man threw his sickle to the ground and said to the rich man:

"It seems I truly am unlucky. Farewell, I'll go my own way."

The Unlucky One walked on. He came to a village and hired himself out to a rich man for three years to tend sheep, with the agreement that not a single sheep or even a strand of wool would be lost in those three years. In return, the owner promised the young man half the flock.

Three years passed. All the sheep were safe, and the flock had grown so large that the earth could barely bear it.

On the last day, as the Unlucky One was herding the sheep into the pen, a wolf suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It grabbed a sheep and was gone.

The young man was disheartened, threw his staff to the ground, and set off to seek his fortune elsewhere.

The Unlucky One wandered aimlessly. The sun burned him with its rays. Exhausted, he sat down to rest by a river. He refreshed himself with cold water, ate what little he had in his bundle, drank some water, and stretched out on the grass in the shade of a large walnut tree.

Suddenly, three maidens, the daughters of the Sun, descended from the sky. They took off their dresses and began to bathe. The water sparkled from their beauty. The maidens splashed in the river, then came out, dressed, and were about to fly away when the Unlucky One grabbed the youngest and would not let her go. She had to stay on earth.

The poor man built a hut on the edge of the forest, and they began to live there.

The Sun's daughter had a ring, and it was no ordinary ring—whatever you wished for, it would grant. If you placed the ring on the ground, a tablecloth would spread out, and if you placed it on the tablecloth, food and drink would appear.

One day, the king was hunting in that forest. All day he hunted and only managed to shoot one pheasant. The king grew hungry and ordered his vizier to roast the pheasant. The vizier noticed the hut on the edge of the forest and sent a servant there.

The servant greeted the master—it was the Unlucky One—and asked permission to prepare dinner for the king. The Unlucky One lit a fire, the servant skewered the bird, and began to roast it.

Just then, the Sun's daughter came out into the yard. Her beauty stunned the servant. He stared at her—he couldn't take his eyes off her: he had never seen anyone more beautiful! He opened his mouth and forgot about the pheasant. The pheasant burned on all sides, almost turning to charcoal.

The servant returned to the king empty-handed. The king was furious and wanted to punish the careless servant.

"Hear me, great sovereign," the servant pleaded. "I am not to blame, there is a woman of unparalleled beauty there! No one between heaven and earth is more beautiful than her! I couldn't help but stare at her and didn't notice the pheasant burning."

The king decided to see if the servant was telling the truth and rode with his viziers to the Unlucky One's hut.

The master came out to greet the guests.

The king and the viziers dismounted.

The Unlucky One first took care of the horses: he passed the ring over them, and each horse had a bag of barley around its neck. Then he invited the guests to sit on the lawn in front of the hut. He placed the ring in front of them, and a tablecloth spread out, laden with various dishes.

The king was amazed. He couldn't understand where it all came from.

The Unlucky One couldn't resist and called his wife: he wanted to show off her beauty to the king. The Sun's daughter came out and nearly blinded everyone with her radiance.

It was painful to look at her, and yet impossible to look away! Black envy filled the king's heart. And the simpleton Unlucky One even boasted about the magic ring.

The king returned to his palace and locked himself in with his viziers to devise a plan to take the magic ring and the beautiful wife from the Unlucky One. They thought for three days and finally came up with a plan. They sent servants and brought the Unlucky One to the palace.

"It seems you can do anything," the king said to the Unlucky One. "Bring me milk from the buffalo that lives beyond the highest mountain. If you don't bring it, I'll have your head!"

No one in the world could approach that fierce buffalo.

The Unlucky One asked the king for a rope and set off for the highest mountain.

He crossed nine mountains and finally reached the highest one. He saw a huge buffalo grazing on the slope.
She noticed a man and spoke to him in a human voice:

"Fool, take care of your own hide! Mine is two spans thick—you won't be able to pierce it, you puny human!"

"I didn't come to kill you, just to take a look! People say so many wondrous things about you," replied Unlucky.

He stepped closer and, in an instant, threw a rope over the buffalo—he had lassoed her! Unlucky brought the buffalo to the royal court.

"Here's your buffalo, Your Majesty. Order your servants to milk her—I don't know how much milk you need!"

The king hadn't expected to see the lad alive and grew angry at his viziers for not coming up with a harder task. The king didn't know how to respond to Unlucky and, in his frustration, said:

"Take a jug of buffalo milk, climb that plane tree, and come back down, but make sure the milk curdles by then. If it doesn't curdle, I'll have you strangled like a kitten."

Unlucky realized that strength and skill alone wouldn't solve this problem, so he went to consult his wife on how to handle such a difficult task.

"What's the ring for? Dip it into the jug—the milk will curdle in an instant," said the Sun's daughter.

They gave Unlucky a jug filled to the brim with milk. He climbed to the very top of the tall plane tree, dipped the ring into the milk, and deftly climbed back down. He presented the jug to the king, and inside was thick curdled milk—so firm you could cut it with a knife!

The king nearly burst with frustration but didn't show it. He realized that magic must have been involved.

"Tell me, what miracle allowed you to curdle the milk so quickly?" demanded the king.

"One you wouldn't understand!" Unlucky smirked.

"Fine, since you're so clever and skilled, bring me the eldest daughter of the Sun as my bride! I give you three years, three months, three weeks, and three days. If you don't deliver her on time, I'll take your wife."

Unlucky grew despondent, returned home, and told his wife about the new trouble.

"Don't fret," said the Sun's daughter. "Take the ring. It will roll and lead you to my father's domain."

Unlucky prepared for the long journey. The ring rolled, and Unlucky followed it.

The ring rolled to the blue sea and stopped.

Unlucky saw a fish lying by the shore, barely breathing, so swollen was it.

"Help me, human," pleaded the fish. "I can't move."

"I'd like to help, but I don't know how," said Unlucky.

"You're going to the Sun, human. Ask the Sun how to help me!"

The ring rolled on. It reached a wide field where peasants were plowing the land. Their plowshare kept breaking.

The plowmen asked Unlucky where he was headed. They rejoiced when they learned he was going to the Sun.

"Ask the Sun how to solve our problem," they begged Unlucky.

The ring rolled further and reached the slope of a high mountain. On the slope, shepherds were tending their sheep. They learned where Unlucky was going and rejoiced.

"Ask the Sun why our sheep die in the summer," they asked Unlucky.

The ring rolled up the slope and stopped at the hooves of a deer. On the deer's head grew a poplar tree—tall, so tall that its top disappeared into the clouds.

"Where are you going, human?" asked the deer.

"I'm going to the sky, to fetch the eldest daughter of the Sun."

"Climb the poplar tree. Golden steps will lead you to the Sun's tower. But first, give me some grass—I haven't eaten in three years."

Unlucky thanked the deer, gathered fresh green grass—three whole armfuls—and placed it before him. Then he climbed the poplar tree.

The Sun sank lower in the sky, and Unlucky climbed higher up the tree. Soon he reached the golden steps. Unlucky made it to the tower. One half of it was gold, the other silver. In the golden half, the Sun rested; in the silver half, the Moon.

The Sun still illuminated the earth, and the Moon came out to meet Unlucky. She asked the man what business had brought him. Unlucky explained the dire need that had sent him on this arduous journey.

"The Sun will return soon," said the Moon. "I hope it doesn't burn you to ashes."

The Moon turned Unlucky into a needle and stuck him into a pillar. The Sun returned and immediately sensed the scent of a human.

"Who has entered our domain? Why is there a human scent here?" grumbled the Sun.
— Maybe it smells like a human, maybe it seems like one,— replied the Moon.— But what if your son-in-law comes to us, will you scorch him?

— No, I won’t touch him, I swear by my light! Oh, if only I could catch a glimpse of him!

At that, the Moon, without delay, turned Unlucky back into a human.

The Sun greeted its son-in-law warmly and kindly asked why he had come.

Unlucky told the Sun what the envious king demanded of him, and also shared his own story: how he had suffered at the hands of the thunderer Elias, the wolf, and even the Sun itself.

— What’s done is done,— the Sun smiled.— Rest from your journey in my garden. I’ll give you my word later.

The Sun led Unlucky to its heavenly garden.

The poor man walked, looking around in amazement: some trees were in bloom, others were covered in tender green leaves, and on others, exotic fruits were ripening.

__Sit and rest. Food will be brought to you. You’ll see the wolf and the thunderer Elias,— the Sun said and left Unlucky alone.

The wolf came and spread a tablecloth before Unlucky. The thunderer Elias came and brought food and drink.

Unlucky lashed out at the thunderer Elias:

__Why did you destroy my field with hail? Why did you ruin my harvest? What harm did I ever do to you?

Unlucky beat the thunderer with his hefty club, striking him until he had vented his anger.

Then the young man turned to the wolf:

— Why did you steal a sheep from my flock? For three years, I didn’t sleep a wink, I didn’t let a single wool fall from a sheep, and because of you, I failed to keep my promise at the last moment.

He asked, but didn’t wait for an answer—he beat the wolf, nearly skinning him alive.

Having settled the score with both, Unlucky sat down to eat. A little later, the Sun came to him.

— Well, my son, are you satisfied? Have you repaid your offenders?— it asked Unlucky.— I, too, am guilty before you. And to make amends, I’ll rid you of the wicked king. Return to earth and tell him: “You shall not be the Sun’s son-in-law. You shall become a hare, and your viziers—wolves.”

Unlucky thanked the Sun and told it about the fish, the plowmen, and the shepherds.

— Help them, bright Sun! You know everything, you can do anything.

— Strike the fish hard on its belly; it swallowed a bag of money, and that’s why it’s swollen. Tell the plowmen to replace their wooden plowshares with iron ones, and they won’t break. And the sheep should be sheared in spring. It’s too hot for them in summer, that’s why they die.

Unlucky bid farewell to the Sun and descended to earth on golden steps.

A ring rolled ahead, and Unlucky followed it. The ring rolled to the slope of a mountain where shepherds were grazing their sheep. Unlucky approached them and said:

— I haven’t forgotten about you. I asked the Sun how to help you. Shear the sheep in spring; it’s too hot for them in summer, that’s why they die.

The ring rolled further, reaching a wide field where plowmen were working. Unlucky approached them and said:

— I haven’t forgotten about you either. I asked the Sun how to help you. Replace your wooden plowshares with iron ones, and they won’t break.

The ring rolled on and led Unlucky to the seashore. A fish lay by the shore, swollen and barely breathing.

— Have you forgotten about me, human? Did you find out how to help me?— the fish asked Unlucky.

— No, I haven’t forgotten, and I’ll help you.

He struck the fish on its belly, and a bag of money fell out. The ring rolled on—straight to the royal palace. The envious king didn’t expect Unlucky, never thought he’d return alive. The king turned black with rage.

— You shall not be the Sun’s son-in-law, king. You shall become a hare, and your viziers—wolves!

As soon as Unlucky spoke these words, the king turned into a hare, and his viziers became wolves. The wolves tore the hare to pieces.

Unlucky returned home to his beautiful wife and told her everything that had happened. His wife rejoiced that her husband had returned safe and sound and had managed to save her from the envious king.

And that’s the end of the tale.

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The Daughter of the Sun

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