The Prince and His Uncle
There was a man who had three sons: two were smart, and the third was a fool.One day, the man decided to plant peas, but someone—no one knew who—started trampling his pea field. The father saw that everything was crushed, flattened, and trampled, so he said to his sons:
"My dear children! We must keep watch and see who is trampling our peas!"
The eldest son went first to keep watch. When midnight came, he was overcome by sleep—the peas were trampled, but he saw nothing.
Then it was the middle brother's turn to keep watch—and he also saw nothing.
"Well, I'll go," said the fool. "I won't miss it!"
"You? You can't even sing properly! What will you do?" his brothers replied. But the fool went to keep watch anyway, taking with him a cartload of bast (tree bark) and a pound of tobacco. When sleep started to overcome him, he sniffed more tobacco to stay awake.
Then, a mighty hero named Nikanor arrived at the pea field, let his horse graze, and lay down to sleep like a hero. The fool, seeing this, tied him up with the bast while he was asleep. He bound Nikanor tightly and went to his father.
"Well," he said, "I caught the thief!" The father came and looked:
"How did you, a fool, manage to overpower such a strong man?" The news reached the king that such a hero had been captured. The king immediately sent word:
"Who caught him?"
They told him it was the fool. The king then ordered:
"Bring the fool to me!" They brought him, and the king asked:
"How can we transport him here?" The fool replied:
"Here's how it must be done: we need twelve horses, sixty men, and an iron cart—then we can load Nikanor the hero onto the cart and bring him here."
They brought the hero to the king.
"Now, fool," asked the king, "where should we put him, and how should we secure him so he doesn't escape?" The fool said:
"Dig a pit twenty arshins deep, line it with iron walls, and pile heavy logs on top—that will hold him!"
They lined the pit with iron walls, piled logs on top, and placed Nikanor the hero inside, with a regiment of soldiers to guard him. The fool hooked the ropes with a hook, cut the bast, and freed the hero. The king rewarded the fool and sent him home.
One day, the king's children were walking in the garden, shooting golden arrows. The youngest prince, Ivan Tsarevich, shot an arrow that landed in Nikanor the hero's window.
"Ah, Nikanor the hero, give me back my arrow!"
"Help me," said Nikanor the hero. "Order at least one log to be rolled away—then I'll give you your arrow, and I'll even give you three more!"
Ivan Tsarevich strained and managed to remove one log himself. Nikanor the hero gave him the golden arrow and said:
"Now, Ivan Tsarevich, you will be a servant, a shepherd, and a cook, and then you will be Ivan Tsarevich again."
Nikanor the hero broke out of his prison, defeated the entire regiment, and escaped. The king came, saw the destruction, and was horrified:
"Who released the hero?"
The soldiers lay wounded and beaten: one had his arm torn off, another his leg broken. They told the king:
"It was Ivan Tsarevich who released him." The king was furious and summoned kings and princes from different lands. They gathered, and the king consulted them.
"What should I do with my son, Ivan Tsarevich? After all, royal children are neither executed nor hanged."
They advised him to give the prince a servant and let him go wherever he pleased.
Ivan Tsarevich left his father and walked for a long time until he grew thirsty. He came to a well, looked in, and saw the water was too far down to reach. He said to his servant:
"Ah, Vanka, what should we do?"
"Well, Ivan Tsarevich," said Vanka, "hold my feet, and I'll drink. Then I'll hold you so you can drink. Otherwise, you won't reach the water—it's too far."
Vanka drank first, then held Ivan Tsarevich as he drank. Ivan Tsarevich drank his fill:
"Now, Vanka, pull me up!" But Vanka replied:
"No! You be Vanka, and I'll be Ivan Tsarevich."
"What nonsense are you spouting, fool!"
"You're the fool! If you don't agree, I'll drown you in the well!"
"Fine! Don't drown me. You be Ivan Tsarevich, and I'll be Vanka." And so they agreed. They arrived in the capital city and went straight to the royal palace. The imposter prince walked ahead, crossing himself improperly and bowing clumsily, while the real prince followed behind, crossing himself correctly and bowing properly. The king welcomed them warmly.
"Stay with me," he said.
The imposter Vanka began to boast:
"Ah, what a servant I have! He tends the livestock so well! When he drives the horses, each horse grows a golden mane, a golden tail, and stars on its sides. When he drives the cows, each cow grows golden horns, a golden tail, and stars on its sides."
The king put Ivan Tsarevich in charge of the horses. Ivan Tsarevich drove the herd into the open field, but all the horses ran away. He sat down and wept bitterly.
"Ah, Nikanor the hero, what have you done to me? What will I do now?"
Suddenly, Nikanor the hero appeared before him.
"What do you need, Ivan Tsarevich?" he asked. Ivan Tsarevich told him of his troubles.
"Don't worry! Let's go together, gather the horses, and drive them to my youngest sister. She will do everything the king commanded."
They drove the herd to the youngest sister, who indeed worked her magic, fed and watered the guests, and sent them on their way. Ivan Tsarevich drove the horses back to the royal palace; each horse now had a golden mane, a golden tail, and stars on its sides. The imposter Vanka sat by the window.
"Ah, the scoundrel! He did it, he really did it! Clever, so clever!" he said. Then the king ordered Ivan Tsarevich to drive the cows:
"Make sure the same is done, or I'll have you shot at the gates!"
Ivan Tsarevich wept bitterly and drove the cows, watching over them all day.
"Ah, friend Nikanor, appear before me!"
Nikanor the hero appeared, and they drove the cows to his middle sister. She gave each cow golden horns, golden tails, and stars on their sides. She fed the guests, gave them drink, and sent them on their way.
Ivan the Tsarevich is herding cows, while Vanka the Adopted sits by the window.
"Ah," he says, "I wanted to ruin him, but no—he’s done it again!" The Tsar sees this and exclaims:
"What a shepherd! Look at the horses and cows he’s brought—what a sight to behold!" Vanka says to him:
"He even cooks well for me!" The Tsar immediately sends him to the kitchen; Ivan the Tsarevich goes to work under the cooks, weeping bitterly.
"Lord! I know nothing; they’re all slandering me."
Then the Tsar decides to marry his daughter to the Adopted one. But suddenly, a three-headed serpent writes to him: "If you do not give your daughter to me, I will slaughter all your forces and take you captive."
The Tsar says to his intended son-in-law:
"What should I do?" Vanka replies:
"Father, let’s deploy our forces; perhaps we’ll prevail!" They deploy their forces and prepare for battle. Meanwhile, Ivan the Tsarevich begs the cooks:
"Uncles, let me go and watch the battle; I’ve never seen one before." They say:
"Go and watch!"
He goes to the open field and says:
"Friend Nikanor, appear before me." Nikanor the Hero appears before him.
"Whatever you wish, Ivan the Tsarevich, I will do." Ivan asks:
"How can we scatter this battle and defeat the enemies? Do me this service."
"That’s a small task, not a service!"
Nikanor the Hero rides out, scatters the enemy forces, and slaughters them all.
"Well, now we can have the wedding!" says the Tsar.
But suddenly, a six-headed serpent writes: "If you do not give your daughter to me, I will slaughter all your forces and take you captive!"
"Ah, what should we do?" the Tsar asks. Vanka says:
"There’s no choice—we must deploy our forces; perhaps God will help us!"
They deploy their army against the serpent’s forces. Ivan the Tsarevich again begs the cooks:
"Uncles, let me go and watch."
"Go, but come back quickly." He goes to the open field and says:
"Ah, friend Nikanor, appear before me!" Nikanor the Hero appears:
"Whatever you wish, I will do for you."
"How can we defeat this force?" Nikanor replies:
"I’ll ride out and work for you!"
He charges at the serpent’s army and utterly destroys it.
"Well," says the Tsar, "now we can have the wedding—nothing will stop us!"
They prepare for the wedding, but then a twelve-headed serpent writes: "If you do not give your daughter to me, I will slaughter all your forces, take you captive, and burn your kingdom to ashes!" They must deploy their army again. "If the serpent starts winning," the Tsar thinks, "I’ll give him my daughter willingly, so long as he spares the kingdom."
Ivan the Tsarevich begs the cooks:
"Uncles, let me go and watch."
"Go, but come back quickly!"
He goes to the open field, whistles, and shouts in his loud voice:
"Friend Nikanor, appear before me!" Nikanor the Hero appears:
"Well, brother Ivan the Tsarevich, now we have a real task! Mount your horse, and let’s ride: I’ll take on the twelve-headed serpent, and you’ll deal with his twelve warrior companions."
Ivan the Tsarevich mounts his horse and rides behind Nikanor the Hero to face the enemy. They fight, slash, and destroy the serpent’s forces.
In the battle, Ivan the Tsarevich is wounded in the arm; he turns his horse and rides straight to the Tsar’s carriage. The princess takes off her shawl, tears it in half, and uses one half to bandage his arm. Ivan the Tsarevich charges back at the serpent and defeats his entire army. Afterward, he returns to his place, lies down, and falls into a deep, heroic sleep.
Meanwhile, the wedding preparations are underway in the palace. The cooks notice:
"Where has our young cook gone?"
They run to look for him and find him asleep. They try to wake him—but no matter how hard they try, he won’t wake. One cook grabs a mallet:
"I’ll hit him, let him perish!" He strikes him once, twice; Ivan the Tsarevich wakes up.
"Ah, brothers, I overslept!" He begs: "Uncles, don’t tell anyone I slept so long." They say:
"Come on, fool, hurry up, so we don’t get scolded because of you!"
They bring him to the kitchen and make him clean pots. The princess notices half of her shawl on him:
"Show me, Vanka! Where did you get this shawl?" He confesses:
"The Adopted one is not the Tsarevich—I am!" And he tells her everything that happened.
The princess takes him by the hand and leads him to her father:
"Here is my true betrothed, not that servant!" The Tsar asks him:
"How did this happen?"
"So and so," he says.
The Tsar marries his daughter to Ivan the Tsarevich and punishes the Adopted one.
And I was there, I drank honey-wine, it ran down my mustache but didn’t reach my mouth; they served beluga sturgeon, but I left without supper.
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This is a traditional Russian folktale, rich with folklore motifs and magical elements. Let me know if you'd like further clarification!
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