The Grumpy Old Women and the Wise Little Girl

In a certain village, there lived two old women. One lived on one side of the river, the other—on the opposite side. Far and wide, tales spread of their quarrelsome nature. The sun would barely rise, and there they were on the riverbank—arguing, scolding each other until evening. And no one knew what they were fighting about, what they couldn't seem to share.

One of the old women had a granddaughter. Tired of listening to their daily squabbles, the girl said to her grandmother:

"Don’t go to the river, Grandma, don’t argue with the neighbor. She’ll calm down eventually."

"What are you saying, granddaughter! How can I leave that witch unanswered? I won’t let a single word of hers go unchallenged!" replied the old woman.

But then one day, the grandmother fell ill and took to her bed.

Early in the morning, the girl again heard the shouting of the quarrelsome old neighbor. She went down to the river and stood there, silent, listening to the spiteful old woman.

"Look at this one, this one… sitting on a donkey, chasing a donkey!" the old woman shouted at the girl. "Not even two inches tall, yet she puts on airs, doesn’t say a word, the little wretch! Just you wait, I’ll get to you now, I’ll drag you by your hair!"

She gathered up the hem of her dress and stepped into the river. The river wasn’t deep, but the stones were mossy and slippery. The quarrelsome woman made it halfway, slipped, and splashed into the water.

The girl felt sorry for the old woman and rushed to help her. She grabbed her by the arm, led her to the shore, and sat her down on a dry rock. She fixed the old woman’s disheveled hair and tied the scarf that had slipped off her head.

At first, the old woman was silent, but then she looked at her savior with tears in her eyes and began to cry bitterly. She felt ashamed before the little girl.

From that day on, the old woman never uttered a single harsh word again. And the villagers finally found peace.

More fairy tales

• The Great Eagle and the Hunter
• Chongurist
• The Tale of the Fawn and Helen the Beautiful
• Three Brothers - Three Kings
• The Son of Tushin and the Tsarevich