The Tale of the Little Candle

Once upon a time, there was—or perhaps there wasn’t—a great king. The king had three sons and three daughters. On his deathbed, the king summoned his sons and bequeathed to them:

"My children, I leave my entire kingdom to you. Live as you see fit, as your will dictates, but do not harm my three daughters. Marry them off to the first who asks for their hand."

He gave the youngest son a precious gemstone and said:

"Guard this well; it will help you in times of trouble."

Then he pointed to a black mountain and said:

"Do not go to that mountain, but you may go to the red and white ones to hunt—it is safe there."

The king died. His sons buried him with the honors befitting his royal status and donned mourning attire.

Two months passed. One evening, an owl flew in and perched on a large stone right by the palace doors. The owl sent a messenger to the brothers, asking for one of their sisters as his wife. The elder brothers grabbed their sticks: "Chase him away! Who would give their sister to an owl?"

But the youngest brother took the eldest sister by the hand, led her out, and gave her to the owl: "I will not break my father’s will," he said. The owl placed the girl on his shoulders and flew away.

The next day, a wolf came. The elder brothers gave the wolf the same response, but the youngest led out the middle sister and gave her to the wolf.

To cut the story short, on the third day, a falcon arrived, and the youngest brother gave him the youngest sister. The falcon placed her on his back and soared into the clouds.

Thus, the youngest brother married off all his sisters and thought: "I have fulfilled one part of my father’s will, but I will still go to the black mountain and see what is so dangerous there."

He went to hunt on the black mountain. He rode all day but killed nothing—no beast, no bird. He didn’t even find any plants. He spent the night there and rode out again the next morning. Still, he found nothing—everything was empty and dead.

He came to a lake. In the middle of the lake, a goose was swimming. It paddled awkwardly, as if its legs or wings were broken. The young man thought: "I’ve found nothing, killed nothing. At least I’ll shoot this goose, or hunger will consume me."

He took aim and fired, but he couldn’t hit the goose: every time he shot, the goose would dive and resurface far away. He shot and shot until he ran out of bullets, but he never hit the goose. Frustrated, he mounted his horse and chased the goose.

The goose darted here and there, sometimes swimming right under his horse’s feet, sometimes far away. It led him deep into a swamp and disappeared, while the rider and his horse fell into the water and began to drown. He managed to swim out, but he left his horse, armor, and weapons behind.

He emerged from the water, soaked and hungry, and saw a light flickering far off in the forest.

He walked toward the light. After a long walk, he came to a dwelling. All around, owls and other birds of the night were plowing, sowing, and doing all sorts of work. The young man approached and said:

"Hey, owls, kingdom of owls! Do you know how to greet or answer? Do you have a master or lord?"

"We know how to greet and answer, and we do have a lord," the owls replied. "Our lord has taken the daughter of the eastern king as his wife, so we are all celebrating."

"Show me, then, where your lord’s house is."

They pointed him to the largest and most beautiful house.

The young man headed toward the royal house and from afar recognized his eldest sister. She ran out to meet him, embraced him, and kissed him. They went inside, sat down, and caught up on everything.

That evening, the sister said to her brother:

"Brother, go into the other room now. The owl-king will come, and I fear he might harm you with his claws or beak."

That evening, the owl arrived, shed his owl form, and became a handsome young man. He greeted his wife and said:

"Why do I smell a human?"

"You’ve flown far and wide; perhaps you brought the human scent with you," his wife replied. "There’s no one else here."

Then she added:

"What would you do if my brother came here?"

"I would gouge out the eyes of the elder and middle brothers, but I would embrace and kiss the youngest."

"Well, my youngest brother is here," the wife said and brought out her brother.

The owl-king embraced the young man and kissed him. Then he asked why he had come. The youngest brother told him everything.

The owl-king said:

"That’s no goose; it’s a maiden. I chased her for three years and never caught her. How could you hope to catch her?"

"So I can’t catch her?" the young man asked.

"I can’t help you with this," said the owl-king, "but perhaps the wolf can teach you what to do."

The youngest brother went to the wolf. The wolf told him that he had chased the maiden for two years and never caught her. "Maybe the falcon can help you," the wolf said. So the youngest brother went to the falcon.

The falcon was overjoyed to see him. The brother told him everything that had happened.

"You’re chasing the wrong bird," the falcon said. "That’s no goose; it’s a maiden of unparalleled beauty, swimming in a goose’s skin. I chased her for a whole year, soaring into the sky and diving down at her, but as soon as she sensed the air move, she would dive to the bottom of the lake and hide. No one can catch her, and no one can help you with this. There’s only one dev—a one-sided dev—who might know how to catch her."

The youngest brother immediately set off to find the dev. He searched for a long time and finally saw someone standing on a mountain, as tall as a tree.

The young man approached the dev and said:
- Be well, father!
- Come from the other side, said the dev. You’re lucky you called me father, or else you’d be in trouble! How dare you come here to me?

The young man told him everything about himself, and the dev said:
- I was the king of all devs. I had eight wives. But I wanted this girl as my ninth wife. I decided to kidnap her. Her home is far from here, and every night she returns from the lake to her house. I snuck into her house and hid, but she found out and unleashed wind, rain, and hail upon me. I ran for my life, almost crossing the border of her domain. I had already stepped onto my own land with one foot when she struck me with the wind, and I turned to stone halfway.

Know this: if someone comes to her as a guest, she will welcome them kindly and not harm them. But if someone desires her as a wife, they must make her say three words. If they fail, they will lose their head. It would have been better if she had killed me outright, so I wouldn’t have left my native land! added the dev.

The young man thanked him and went on his way. He walked and walked until he reached the girl’s house. He entered and lay down on the divan, thinking, “I know so many tales and poems, surely I can make her talk?”

By evening, the girl came and lay down opposite him. She was so beautiful that the young man completely forgot everything he had ever known or heard. Time passed, and he couldn’t bring himself to speak. He lay there in silence, thinking, “When this night passes, my head will be cut off in the morning, just like the others.”

Then he remembered the gemstone his father had given him before his death. “When else will this stone be useful if not now?” he thought. He took out the stone and said to it:
- Now help me, if you can!

A candle burned at the girl’s feet. The young man placed his gemstone near the candle.

The gemstone began speaking to the candle:
- Little candle, do you see how troubled our masters are? Let’s talk and tell them something to amuse them.

- How can I? said the candle. My head is all in flames. I was lit in the evening, and by morning I’ll burn out completely.

- Then I’ll tell a story, said the gemstone, and began:
- A priest, a tailor, and a carpenter were walking and spent the night in the forest. They lit a fire and sat by it. When they wanted to sleep, they said, “We must take turns keeping watch so no beast eats us at night.” They drew lots.

The carpenter was the first to keep watch. The priest and the tailor fell asleep, and the carpenter, to stay awake, took out his tools and made a beautiful wooden woman. He leaned her against a spruce tree.

When the carpenter’s turn ended, the tailor began his watch. He saw the wooden woman and, to stay awake, began making her clothes. He sewed a rich dress, dressed her like a bride, and leaned her against the tree.

Then the priest took his turn. He saw the woman under the tree and thought, “Is she a devil?” He shouted, “Are you a human or a devil?” The woman didn’t answer. “Who are you, unfortunate one?” asked the priest. Still, she didn’t make a sound.

The priest was brave. He approached, grabbed her hand, and was about to throw her into the fire when he realized she was made of wood. Understanding what had happened, he took out a cross and a Gospel, prayed, and brought the woman to life.

What do you say, little candle? Whose woman is she—the carpenter’s, the tailor’s, or the priest’s? asked the gemstone.

- How can I know? said the candle. My head is all in flames. I’ll burn out by morning.

The beauty on her divan scolded the candle:
- Oh, you wretched thing! How can you not know? Haven’t you lived with me? Say it’s the carpenter’s—he started it. If he hadn’t made her, who would the tailor have dressed or the priest brought to life?

“That’s one,” thought the young man.

- Now it’s your turn, little candle! said the gemstone.

- How can I tell stories? My head is all in flames, said the candle.

- Then I’ll tell another one, said the gemstone, and began:
- Three men were walking: a runner, a fortune-teller, and a healer. The runner couldn’t sit still—he wanted to run. He said to the fortune-teller, “Look into the dish of fate, brother—maybe someone is sick. The healer can prepare medicine, and I’ll run to deliver it. We’ll heal them.”

The fortune-teller looked into the dish of fate and said, “In one kingdom, a prince is sick. He can be healed.” The healer prepared the medicine, the runner took off the millstones from his feet, ran to deliver it, and cured the prince.

What do you say, little candle? Who cured the prince—the runner, the fortune-teller, or the healer?

- How can I know? said the candle. I have enough troubles of my own. My head is all in flames.

- Oh, you cursed thing! shouted the girl. Say it’s the one who delivered the medicine!

“That’s two,” thought the young man.

- Now you tell something, little candle, said the gemstone. I’ve been telling stories, and you’ve been silent.

- How can I tell stories? I’m all in flames, said the candle.

- Then I’ll tell another one, if you don’t mind, said the gemstone, and began:
- A husband, his wife, and her brother were walking. Robbers attacked them, robbed them, and cut off the heads of both men. The wife wept, mourning her husband and brother.

Suddenly, doves perched on a tree, dropped a branch, and said, “If the woman knew, she could pass this branch over the dead, and they would come back to life.” The woman heard, took the branch, passed it over the dead, and brought them back to life. But, unfortunately, the husband’s head grew onto the brother’s body, and the brother’s head grew onto the husband’s body.

What do you say, little candle? Whose wife should the woman be?

- How can I know? I’m burning out, I’m losing consciousness, said the candle.

- Oh, you cursed thing! shouted the girl, even rising from her seat. Haven’t you lived with me? Can’t you even answer? Say she should be the wife of the one with her husband’s head!

- And you’ll be mine, said the young man, embracing the beauty and kissing her.

They celebrated their wedding, and our tale ends here.

↑ To the top

The Tale of the Little Candle

More fairy tales