The Prophetic Dream

Once upon a time, there was a merchant who had two sons: Dmitry and Ivan. One evening, their father said to them:

"Well, children, whoever dreams of something tonight, tell me in the morning; but whoever hides their dream, I will order them to be executed."

The next morning, the eldest son came and told his father:

"Father, I dreamed that my brother Ivan was flying high in the sky on twelve eagles; and also that your favorite sheep had gone missing."

"And you, Vanya, what did you dream?"

"I won't tell!" replied Ivan.

No matter how much his father pressured him, he stubbornly insisted, repeating only: "I won't tell!" and "I won't tell!" The merchant became angry, called his clerks, and ordered them to take his disobedient son and tie him to a post on the main road.

The clerks seized Ivan and, as instructed, tied him tightly to the post. The poor young man suffered greatly: the sun scorched him, and hunger and thirst tormented him.

It so happened that a young prince was traveling along that road; he saw the merchant's son, took pity on him, and ordered him to be freed. He dressed Ivan in his own clothes, brought him to his palace, and began to question him:

"Who tied you to the post?"

"My own father was angry with me."

"What did you do wrong?"

"I didn't want to tell him what I dreamed about."

"Ah, how foolish your father is, to punish so harshly over such a trifle... What did you dream?"

"I won't tell, Prince!"

"What do you mean, you won't tell? I saved you from death, and now you want to be rude to me? Speak now, or it will go badly for you!"

"I didn't tell my father, and I won't tell you!"

The prince ordered him to be thrown into the dungeon; immediately, soldiers came and took him to a stone cell.

A year passed, and the prince decided to marry. He set off to a distant kingdom to woo Helen the Beautiful. The prince had a sister, and soon after his departure, she happened to walk near the dungeon.

Ivan, the merchant's son, saw her through the small window and called out in a loud voice:

"Have mercy, princess, set me free! Perhaps I can be of use. I know the prince has gone to woo Helen the Beautiful; but without me, he will not succeed in marrying her and may even lose his head. Surely you've heard how cunning Helen the Beautiful is and how many suitors she has sent to their deaths."

"And you would help the prince?"

"I would, but the falcon's wings are tied."

The princess immediately ordered him to be released from the dungeon.

Ivan, the merchant's son, gathered companions, and there were twelve of them in total, including Ivan. They looked like brothers—each the same height, with the same voice and hair. They dressed in identical coats, tailored to the same measure, mounted fine horses, and set off on their journey.

They traveled for one day, then two, then three; on the fourth day, they approached a dense forest and heard a terrible cry.

"Wait, brothers!" said Ivan. "Hold on for a moment; I'll go investigate that noise."

He jumped off his horse and ran into the forest; there, he saw three old men arguing in a clearing.

"Greetings, old men! What are you arguing about?"

"Ah, young man! We received three wondrous items from our father as an inheritance: an invisibility hat, a flying carpet, and swift-running boots; but for seventy years now, we've been arguing and cannot divide them."

"Would you like me to divide them for you?"

"Please do!"

Ivan, the merchant's son, drew his tight bow, nocked three arrows, and shot them in different directions. He told one old man to run to the right, another to the left, and sent the third straight ahead:

"Whoever brings back an arrow first will get the invisibility hat; the second will receive the flying carpet; and the last will take the swift-running boots."

The old men ran after the arrows, while Ivan, the merchant's son, took all the wondrous items and returned to his companions.

"Brothers," he said, "let your fine horses go free and climb onto my flying carpet."

Quickly, they all sat on the flying carpet and flew to the kingdom of Helen the Beautiful.

They arrived at her capital city, landed near the gates, and went to search for the prince. They came to his courtyard.

"What do you need?" asked the prince.

"Take us, good young men, into your service; we will serve you faithfully and wish you well from the bottom of our hearts."

The prince accepted them into his service and assigned them roles: some as cooks, others as stable hands, and so on.

That same day, the prince dressed in his finest clothes and went to present himself to Helen the Beautiful. She greeted him warmly, treated him to various delicacies and expensive drinks, and then began to ask:

"Tell me, prince, honestly, why have you come to us?"

"Well, Helen the Beautiful, I wish to propose to you; will you marry me?"

"Perhaps I will agree; but first, you must complete three tasks. If you succeed, I will be yours; if not, prepare your head for the sharp axe."

"Name the tasks!"

"Tomorrow, I will have something, but I won't say what; figure it out, prince, and bring me its match."
The prince returned to his quarters in great sorrow and grief. Ivan, the merchant's son, asked him:

- What’s wrong, prince? Why so gloomy? Did the beautiful Elena upset you? Share your sorrow with me, it will make you feel better.

- It’s like this, - replied the prince, - the beautiful Elena has given me such a riddle that no sage in the world can solve.

- Well, that’s no big trouble! Go to sleep; the morning is wiser than the evening. Tomorrow we’ll figure it out.

The prince went to bed, and Ivan, the merchant's son, put on his invisible hat and his swift-running boots—and off he went to the palace to see the beautiful Elena. He entered her bedroom directly and listened. Meanwhile, the beautiful Elena was giving an order to her favorite maid:

- Take this expensive fabric and bring it to the shoemaker: let him make a shoe for my foot, and as quickly as possible.

The maid ran off as ordered, and Ivan followed her.

The shoemaker immediately set to work, quickly made the shoe, and placed it on the windowsill. Ivan, the merchant's son, took the shoe and quietly hid it in his pocket.

The poor shoemaker was in a flurry—his work had disappeared right under his nose! He searched and searched, rummaged through every corner—all in vain! "What a wonder!" he thought. "It seems the devil has played a trick on me!" There was nothing to do but take up the needle again, make another shoe, and bring it to the beautiful Elena.

- How slow you are! - said the beautiful Elena. - How long it took you to make one shoe!

She sat down at her worktable and began to embroider the shoe with gold, adorn it with large pearls, and set it with precious stones.

And Ivan was right there, taking out his shoe and doing the same: whatever stone she picked, he chose the same; wherever she placed a pearl, he did the same.

When the beautiful Elena finished her work, she smiled and said:

- I wonder what the prince will show up with tomorrow!

"Wait," thought Ivan, "it’s not yet clear who will outsmart whom!"

He returned home and went to bed; at dawn, he got up, dressed, and went to wake the prince. He woke him and handed him the shoe.

- Go, - he said, - to the beautiful Elena and show her the shoe—this is her first riddle!

The prince washed up, dressed up, and galloped off to his bride. Her rooms were full of guests—all the boyars and nobles, the wise men. As soon as the prince arrived, music began to play, the guests jumped to their feet, and the soldiers stood at attention.

The beautiful Elena brought out the shoe, adorned with large pearls and set with precious stones; she looked at the prince and smiled. The prince said to her:

- A fine shoe, but without its pair, it’s useless! It seems I must gift you another one just like it!

With these words, he took the other shoe from his pocket and placed it on the table. All the guests clapped their hands and shouted in unison:

- Bravo, prince! He is worthy to marry our sovereign lady, the beautiful Elena.

- We shall see! - replied the beautiful Elena. - Let him solve another riddle.

That evening, the prince returned home even gloomier than before.

- Enough, prince, don’t grieve! - said Ivan, the merchant's son. - Go to sleep; the morning is wiser than the evening.

He put him to bed, then put on his swift-running boots and invisible hat and ran off to the palace to see the beautiful Elena. At that very moment, she was giving an order to her favorite maid:

- Go quickly to the poultry yard and bring me a duckling. The maid ran to the poultry yard, and Ivan followed her. The maid grabbed the duckling, and Ivan grabbed the drake, and they both returned the same way.

The beautiful Elena sat at her worktable, took the duckling, adorned its wings with ribbons, and its crest with diamonds. Ivan, the merchant's son, watched and did the same with the drake.

The next day, the beautiful Elena had guests again, and again there was music. She released her duckling and asked the prince:

- Have you guessed my riddle?

- I have, beautiful Elena! Here is a mate for your duckling, - and he immediately released the drake...

All the boyars shouted in unison:

- Bravo, prince! He is worthy to marry the beautiful Elena!

- Wait, let him solve the third riddle first. That evening, the prince returned home so gloomy that he didn’t even want to speak.

- Don’t grieve, prince, just go to sleep; the morning is wiser than the evening, - said Ivan, the merchant's son.

He quickly put on his invisible hat and swift-running boots and ran off to see the beautiful Elena. She was preparing to go to the blue sea, got into her carriage, and raced off at full speed; but Ivan, the merchant's son, didn’t fall behind by a single step.

The beautiful Elena arrived at the sea and began to call for her grandfather. The waves stirred, and an old man rose from the water—his beard was golden, and his hair was silver. He came ashore:

- Greetings, granddaughter! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you: my hair is all tangled—comb it for me.

He lay down on her lap and fell into a sweet slumber. The beautiful Elena combed her grandfather’s hair, and Ivan, the merchant's son, stood behind her.

She saw that the old man had fallen asleep and pulled out three silver hairs; but Ivan, the merchant's son, didn’t take three hairs—he grabbed a whole bunch. The old man woke up and shouted:

- What are you doing! That hurts!

- Forgive me, grandfather! It’s been a long time since I combed your hair, and it’s all tangled.

The old man calmed down and soon fell asleep again. The beautiful Elena pulled out three golden hairs; but Ivan, the merchant's son, grabbed his beard and almost tore it all off.

The old man screamed terribly, jumped to his feet, and threw himself into the sea.

"Now the prince is caught!" thought the beautiful Elena. "He’ll never get such hairs."

The next day, her guests gathered again; the prince arrived as well. The beautiful Elena showed him the three silver hairs and the three golden ones and asked:
- Have you ever seen such a wonder anywhere?
- You’ve found something to boast about! Do you want me to give you a whole bunch of them?

He took out and handed her a lock of golden hair and a lock of silver hair.

Elena the Beautiful grew angry, ran to her chamber, and began to look into her magic book: was the prince guessing on his own, or was someone helping him? And she saw in the book that it wasn’t him who was clever, but his servant, Ivan, the merchant’s son.

She returned to the guests and pressed the prince:
- Send me your favorite servant.
- I have twelve of them.
- Send the one named Ivan.
- They are all named Ivan!
- Fine, she said, let them all come! But in her mind, she thought, “I’ll find the guilty one without your help!”

The prince gave the order, and soon twelve fine young men, his loyal servants, appeared at the palace; all looked exactly alike, same height, same voice, same hair.

- Who among you is the eldest? Elena the Beautiful asked.
They all shouted at once:
- I am the eldest! I am the eldest!

“Well,” she thought, “I won’t find out anything this way!”—and she ordered eleven plain goblets to be brought, and a twelfth, golden one, from which she always drank herself. She filled the goblets with expensive wine and began to treat the young men.

None of them took a plain goblet; they all reached for the golden one and began to snatch it from one another, making a great noise and spilling the wine!

Elena the Beautiful saw that her trick had failed; she ordered the young men to be fed, given drink, and put to sleep in the palace.

That night, when everyone was fast asleep, she came to them with her magic book, looked into it, and immediately recognized the guilty one. She took scissors and cut a lock of hair from his temple.

“By this mark, I’ll recognize him tomorrow and order his execution.”

In the morning, Ivan, the merchant’s son, woke up, touched his head—and his temple was shorn. He jumped out of bed and began to wake his comrades:
- Stop sleeping, trouble is near! Take the scissors and cut your temples.

An hour later, Elena the Beautiful called them to her and began to search for the guilty one... What a wonder? Whomever she looked at, all had their temples shorn. In frustration, she grabbed her magic book and threw it into the oven.

After that, she could no longer refuse; she had to marry the prince. The wedding was merry; for three days, the people celebrated, for three days the taverns and inns stood open—whoever wished could come, eat, and drink at the state’s expense!

When the feasts ended, the prince prepared to travel to his kingdom with his young wife, and he sent the twelve fine young men ahead.

They left the city, spread out a flying carpet, sat on it, and rose above the clouds; they flew and flew and landed right by the dense forest where they had left their good horses.

As soon as they stepped off the carpet, lo and behold—an old man with an arrow came running to them. Ivan, the merchant’s son, gave him the invisibility cap. Then another old man came running and received the flying carpet, and then a third—he got the swift-running boots.

Ivan said to his comrades:
- Saddle the horses, brothers, it’s time to set off.

They immediately caught the horses, saddled them, and rode to their homeland.

They arrived and went straight to the princess; she was overjoyed to see them and asked about her brother: how he had married and when he would return home?

- How shall I reward you, she asked, for such service?

Ivan, the merchant’s son, replied:
- Put me in the dungeon, in my old place.

No matter how the princess tried to persuade him, he insisted: the soldiers took him and led him to the dungeon.

A month later, the prince arrived with his young wife; the welcome was grand: music played, cannons fired, bells rang, and so many people gathered that you could walk on their heads!

The boyars and all ranks came to present themselves to the prince; he looked around and asked:
- Where is Ivan, my faithful servant?
- He, they said, is sitting in the dungeon.
- In the dungeon? Who dared to imprison him?

The princess said to him:
- You yourself, brother, were angry with him and ordered him to be kept in strict confinement. Remember, you asked him about some dream, and he wouldn’t tell you?
- Could it really be him?
- It’s him; I temporarily released him to you.

The prince ordered Ivan, the merchant’s son, to be brought to him, threw his arms around his neck, and asked him not to hold a grudge for the past wrong.

- You know, prince, Ivan said to him, everything that happened to you was known to me in advance; I saw it all in a dream. That’s why I didn’t tell you about the dream.

The prince rewarded him with the rank of general, endowed him with rich estates, and let him live in the palace.

Ivan, the merchant’s son, sent for his father and elder brother, and they all began to live together, prospering and accumulating wealth.

More fairy tales

• The Bear and the Dog
• The Tale of the Rejuvenating Apples and the Living Water
• At the Pike's Command" (or "By the Pike's Will")
• The Frog Princess
• The Argumentative Wife