Anfusa - Golden Braids

Once upon a time, there lived a poor old woman. For seven years, the unfortunate woman had dreamed of eating lentil soup, but it never worked out. She would get lentils, but there was no onion; she would get an onion, but there was no oil; she would get oil, but there was no water—the nearby stream had dried up in the heat. As the saying goes, "A poor man planned to throw a wedding, but couldn't find musicians anywhere."

But finally, she gathered everything she needed. She poured lentils into a clay pot and went to the stream to wash them. At that moment, a young prince rode up to the bank to water his horse. The horse saw the pot of lentils, got scared, neighed, and refused to drink from the stream. The prince got angry, kicked the pot with his foot, and the lentils spilled into the water. The poor old woman couldn't bear it and shouted:

"What a wicked man you are! Know this: just as I dreamed of eating lentil soup for seven years, so shall you spend seven years searching for Anfusa with the golden hair and long braids."

Now, the prince had just been thinking of getting married, but he hadn't found a bride to his liking. He jumped on his horse and rode off to search for Anfusa with the golden hair and long braids. Wherever he went, he asked if the beautiful Anfusa with the golden hair and long braids lived there. But everywhere he was told that no one had ever heard of her or seen her.

One day, the prince arrived in a remote, desolate village at the very edge of the world and asked:

"Does Anfusa with the golden hair and long braids live here?"

Suddenly, he heard in response:

"She lives here. In that house over there."

The prince rode up and saw that the window was high, and there were no doors. How could he get inside? He noticed a tall pine tree nearby and climbed it. Suddenly, he saw a witch approaching. She came up to the house and shouted angrily:

"Anfusa with the golden hair and long braids, look out the window. Where is your beauty, your long braid?"

A girl of extraordinary beauty appeared at the window, lowered her long golden braid, and the witch climbed up it into the house. She ate, drank, and then climbed back down.

As soon as the witch disappeared, the prince climbed down from the pine tree, approached the window, and called out:

"Anfusa with the golden hair and long braids, look out the window. Where is your beauty, your long braid?"

Anfusa heard him, came to the window, lowered her braid, and the prince climbed up it into the house. He took a liking to the girl and decided to make her his wife. But she said:

"I don't mind. But you must hide for now. If my stepmother returns, she will eat you."

Anfusa wrapped the prince in a blanket and locked him in a large chest. Then she cleaned the house and mopped the floor so it wouldn't smell like a human.

When it grew dark, the stepmother returned and began sniffing around.

"Something smells like a human!" she said.

Her stepdaughter replied:

"You must have been among people, that's why it seems so."

At dawn, the witch left, and Anfusa unlocked the chest and let the prince out. They began to think and wonder how to escape from the witch. In the house, the chairs, the table, the spoons, and the bowls—everything could talk. To prevent them from betraying Anfusa and the prince, they tied their mouths shut and quickly fled.

As soon as they disappeared, the old witch appeared and began shouting:

"Anfusa with the golden hair and long braids, look out the window. Where is your beauty, your long braid?"

No one answered her.

The witch grew tired of waiting, extended her long claws, and climbed up the wall into the house. Inside, there was silence—their mouths were tied shut. But Anfusa had forgotten about the mortar. The mortar opened its mouth and said:

"A prince came here yesterday, and today Anfusa ran away with him."

The witch was furious. She rushed to the stable where a she-bear was kept, saddled her, and gave chase. She galloped and galloped, almost catching up to the fugitives.

The prince saw that things were going badly, caught a young deer grazing nearby, jumped on it, placed Anfusa in front of him, and they raced away at full speed. The witch caught up to them, grabbed the deer's tail, but it came off in her hands, and the deer raced on. Anfusa remembered that she had a comb with her and threw it behind her. A whole forest of thorny bushes grew behind them. The witch struggled through it on her bear, getting scratched all over. But she finally made it to the edge and raced after them with all her might. She was about to catch up to the fugitives again.

Anfusa saw that her stepmother was close, threw a towel behind her—and a wide sea spread out. The witch had to cross it by boat. Suddenly, a storm arose, overturned the boat, and the witch drowned along with her bear.

The prince and Anfusa safely reached his home. They had a merry wedding and began to live happily ever after. And I was at their wedding. They threw me a bone. I took it and trudged home. As I crossed the river, frogs under the bridge croaked:

"Ribbit, ribbit!"

I got scared and threw the bone at them. But I accidentally hit my neighbor, Argyris, in the leg. He's been limping ever since. If you don't believe me, go see for yourself.

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Anfusa - Golden Braids

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