The Silver Saucer and the Filled Apple is a Russian folk tale. The Tale of the Silver Saucer and the Filled Apple

A fairy tale about a girl Maryushka, who asked her father to bring a silver saucer and an apple as a gift. The older sisters asked for new dresses and laughed at their sister’s request. But in vain, the gifts turned out to be magical...

Silver saucer and pouring apple read

Once upon a time there lived a man and a woman. They had three daughters. The two older ones loved to walk through the streets dressed in new clothes and show off in front of the mirror. And the youngest, Maryushka, did not hover in front of mirrors - she worked from morning to night. Maryushka's entire outfit is a sundress and a light brown braid down to her toes.
The older daughters laugh at the younger one, sort out their colorful outfits, and force Maryushka to work for themselves. But Maryushka is silent, works in the field, manages the farm, and cleans the house. That's how they lived.

One day a man was going to the market to sell hay. He called his daughters and asked:
— What kind of gifts should I buy you, how can I please you?
“Father, buy me an elegant dress, in silks and with unprecedented patterns,” the eldest asks.
“Bring me a scarlet dress, made of overseas velvet,” asks the middle one.

But Maryushka is silent, doesn’t ask for anything. The man himself asks her:
- What kind of gift do you need that Maryushka will please your eyes?
- Father, buy me a poured apple and a silver saucer.

The older sisters make fun of Maryushka:
- Why do you need an apple, fool?! Our garden is full of apples, each more beautiful than the next! Why do you need a saucer, you fool?! Feed the geese?
- No, my sisters, not for this. I will roll the apple on the saucer and repeat the words that my grandmother told me because I treated her to a roll.

The man looked at his older sisters reproachfully:
- Enough of making fun of your sister, everyone chose a gift after their hearts!

The man went to the market, but returned a few days later and brought gifts for his daughters - everything was as ordered.

The older sisters laugh at the younger one and admire their outfits. And Maryushka sat down and rolled an apple on a silver saucer and said:
- Roll the apple, roll, turn around the saucer, show the cities and meadows, forests and seas, mountains and steppes, all your native land. Suddenly everything around was lit up with a bright light, an apple was rolling on a saucer, and the whole Russian land was visible - an unwritten beauty. The elder sisters saw an unprecedented miracle, and envy overcame them. They wanted to exchange Maryushka’s toy for their outfits, but she refused. But they don’t know peace, they sit, think and wonder how to take possession of a saucer with an apple by deception or cunning.

They began to lure the younger sister into the forest, saying that we would go into the forest to pick berries. Maryushka agreed. They walk through the dark forest - there are no berries in sight. Maryushka sat down and rolled an apple on a plate, and she said:
- Roll the apple, roll, turn around the saucer, let the berries grow on the lawns and in the forest.

Suddenly the whole clearing became strewn with berries, just bend over and pick them up. When the sisters saw this miracle, envy completely clouded their minds. They grabbed a birch stick and killed Maryushka. And when they realized it, there was nothing left to do. They buried their youngest sister under a weeping willow. They took the apple and saucer for themselves, picked up baskets full of berries, and went home. The eldest daughters came to their home and began to lie to their father:
- Maryushka got lost in the forest, we couldn’t find her, apparently the wolves killed her.

The father was saddened, but there was nothing to do, you couldn’t turn back your youngest daughter. And at that time, a young shepherd was looking for a lost sheep, he saw a weeping willow tree, and under it there was a dug-up dirt - there were meadow flowers all around, and reeds had grown in the middle.
The shepherd cut the reeds for a new pipe, did not have time to bring it to his lips, but the pipe itself began to play and sang a song:
“Shepherd boy, play, play, a sad song, how my dear sisters ruined me, how they buried me under a willow tree for an apple and a saucer.”

A shepherd came to the village, and the pipe kept playing. The people gathered were amazed, they couldn’t understand what the pipe was playing about, and Father Maryushkin came, he heard this song, he guessed what the pipe was playing about. He called the older daughters - they heard the pipe song, were seriously scared, and told everything as it happened.
The father cried:
“Lead us, shepherd, to where you cut the pipe, and tie up my elder daughters and take them to the forest.”
The people took the older sisters into the forest and tied them to an ancient oak tree. And the shepherd and his father found Maryushka’s grave. They dug her out, and Maryushka seemed to be alive - even more beautiful than she had become, her cheeks filled with blush, as if she was sleeping in a deep sleep.
The priest remembered that there was living water in the royal house. And he went to the palace to bow to the king and ask for living water. A man comes to the palace and sees the king descending from the golden porch. The man bows at his feet, tells him everything as it is, and tells him the honest truth.
The king answers him:
- Take some live water for your daughter, and then return to me, along with your daughter and an apple and a saucer.
The man bowed to the king and thanked him for his great generosity. And he went home with some living water.
A man came home and poured live water on Maryushka. She immediately woke up and hugged her father. The father and daughter are happy, they rejoice, but they promised to return to the palace to the king. And they went to the royal court.
The Tsar came out onto the gilded porch, looked at Maryushka, and admired her. A beautiful girl appeared before him, the sun was clear, her blond braid reached to her toes, her eyes were the color of a clear sky.
The king asks Maryushka:
- Where are your apple and silver saucer?
Maryushka took out a saucer and an apple from the chest. She asked the king:
- What do you want to see, Sovereign? Your army, or the beauty of the Russian land?

The apple rolled on a silver platter - the royal troops and their power, and the Russian possessions and endless lands showing. The king was surprised at the unprecedented miracle, and Maryushka offered him her game as a gift:
“Take the Tsar Father a silver saucer and a pouring apple, you will see your kingdom and notice foreign enemies.”
The king said in response, having seen Maryushkina’s kind soul:
- You are your father’s gift - a wondrous miracle, keep it for yourself, have fun. And only your answer will do for me as a gift - Do you want to become my wife and rule the kingdom with me? your heart good will serve our people as truth and will embellish my life. Maryushka remained silent, only smiled modestly and blushed all over, she liked the king. And soon they had a wedding, and the people remembered Queen Maryushka for a long time, with her kind heart, because she cared about the people.

(Illustration by O. Kondakova, Tomsk Institute of Culture, 1990)

Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman. They had three daughters. The eldest and middle daughters are dressy girls, entertainers, and the third is a silent, modest one. The older daughters have colorful sundresses, chiseled heels, and gilded beads. And Mashenka has a dark sundress and bright eyes.

Masha has all her beauty - her light brown braid falls to the ground and touches the flowers. The older sisters are white-handed and lazy, and Mashenka is always at work from morning to evening: at home, in the field, and in the garden. And he flies over the beds, and pricks splinters, milks the cows, feeds the ducks. Whoever asks, Masha brings everything, doesn’t say a word to anyone, she’s ready to do everything.

The older sisters push her around and force her to work for themselves. But Masha is silent.

That's how we lived. One day a man was getting ready to take hay to the fair. He promises to buy gifts for his daughters. One daughter asks:

Buy me, father, silk for a sundress.

Another daughter asks:

And buy me some scarlet velvet.

But Masha is silent. The old man felt sorry for her:

What should I buy for you, Mashenka?

And buy me, dear father, a poured apple and a silver saucer.

The sisters laughed and grabbed their sides.

Oh yes Masha, oh yes little fool! Yes, we have a garden full of apples, take any, but what do you need a saucer for? Feed the ducklings?

No, sisters. I will begin to roll the apple on a saucer and pronounce the cherished words. The old lady taught me them because I served her kalach.

Okay,” says the man, “there’s no point in laughing at your sister!” I will buy a gift for everyone according to their heart.

Whether it’s close, whether it’s far, how long, how long he was at the fair, he sold hay, bought gifts. He brought blue silk to one daughter, scarlet velvet to another, and a silver saucer and a juicy apple for Mashenka. The sisters are very happy. They began to sew sundresses and laugh at Mashenka:

Sit with your apple, fool...

Mashenka sat down in the corner of the room, rolled a poured apple on a silver saucer, and sang and said:

Roll, roll, pouring apple, on a silver saucer, show me cities and fields, show me forests and seas, show me the heights of the mountains and the beauty of the skies, all of my dear Mother Rus'.

Suddenly a silver ringing sound was heard. The whole upper room was filled with light: an apple rolled on a saucer, poured on a silver one, and on the saucer all the cities are visible, all the meadows are visible, and the shelves in the fields, and the ships on the seas, and the height of the mountains, and the beauty of the sky: the clear sun rolls behind the bright month, the stars gather in a round dance, the swans sing songs in the creeks. The sisters looked at each other, and they themselves were filled with envy. They began to think and wonder how to lure a saucer with an apple from Mashenka. Masha doesn’t want anything, doesn’t take anything, and plays with the saucer every evening. Her sisters began to lure her into the forest:

Darling sister, let's go into the forest to pick berries and bring strawberries to mother and father.

The sisters went into the forest. There are no berries anywhere, no strawberries in sight. Masha took out a saucer, rolled an apple, and began to sing and say:

Roll, little apple, on a silver plate, show me where the strawberries grow, show me where the azure color blooms.

Suddenly there was a silver ringing sound, an apple rolled onto a silver saucer, and on the silver saucer all the forest places were visible. Where strawberries grow, where azure flowers bloom, where mushrooms hide, where springs gush, where swans sing in the creeks.

When the evil sisters saw this, their eyes clouded with envy. They grabbed a gnarled stick, killed Mashenka, buried it under a birch tree, and took the saucer with the apple for themselves.

We arrived home only in the evening. Full boxes of mushrooms and berries were brought, and the father and mother said:

Mashenka ran away from us. We went around the whole forest and didn’t find her; Apparently, the wolves ate the thicket.

The father tells them:

Roll the apple on the saucer, maybe the apple will show where our Mashenka is.

The sisters died, but we must obey. They rolled an apple on a saucer - the saucer does not play, the apple does not roll, no forests, no fields, no high mountains, no beautiful skies are visible on the saucer.

At that time, at that time, a shepherd was looking for a sheep in the forest, he saw a white birch tree standing, a tubercle dug under the birch tree, and azure flowers were blooming all around. Reeds grow among the flowers.

The young shepherd cut a reed and made a pipe. I didn’t even have time to bring the pipe to my lips, but the pipe itself plays and says:

Play, play, little pipe, play, little reed, amuse the young shepherdess. They ruined me, poor thing, killed me young, for a silver saucer, for a pouring apple.

The shepherd boy got scared, ran to the village, and told the people.

People gathered and gasped. Mashenka’s father also came running. As soon as he took the pipe in his hands, the pipe itself began to sing and say:

Play, play, little pipe, play, little reed, amuse your dear father. They ruined me, poor thing, killed me young, for a silver saucer, for a pouring apple.

The father cried:

Lead us, young shepherd, to where you cut the pipe.

The shepherd boy brought them to the forest on a hillock. Under the birch tree there are azure flowers, on the birch tree the titmouse birds sing songs.

They dug up the tubercle, and Mashenka was lying there. Dead, but more beautiful alive: there is a blush on her cheeks, as if the girl is sleeping.

And the pipe plays and says:

Play, play, pipe, play, reed. My sisters lured me into the forest, they ruined me, poor thing, for a silver saucer, for an apple. Play, play, pipe, play reed. Get, father, crystal water from the royal well.

The two envious sisters shook, turned white, fell to their knees, and confessed to their guilt.

Locked them under iron locks until the royal decree, high command.

And the old man got ready to go to the royal city for living water.

Whether it was soon or how long it took, he came to that city and came to the palace.

Here the king comes down from the golden porch. The old man bows to him and tells him everything.

The king tells him:

Take, old man, from my royal well of living water. And when your daughter comes to life, present her to us with a saucer, with an apple, with her little sisters.

The old man rejoices, bows to the ground, and takes home a bottle of living water.

As soon as he sprinkled Maryushka with living water, she immediately became alive and fell like a dove on her father’s neck. People came running and rejoiced. The old man and his daughters went to the city. They brought him to the palace chambers.

The king came out. He looked at Maryushka. The girl stands like a spring flower, her eyes - sunlight, the dawn is on your face, tears are rolling down your cheeks like pearls, falling.

The king asks Maryushka:

Where is your saucer, pouring apple?

Maryushka took a saucer with an apple, rolled the apple down the silver saucer. Suddenly there was a ringing sound, and on a silver platter, one by one, the Russian cities were displayed, in them the regiments gathered with banners, stood in battle formation, governors in front of the formations, heads in front of the platoons, foremen in front of the dozens. And the shooting, and the shooting, the smoke formed a cloud - it hid everything from my eyes.

An apple rolls on a silver saucer. And on a silver platter the sea is agitated, ships are swimming like swans, flags are fluttering, guns are firing. And the shooting, and the shooting, the smoke formed a cloud - it hid everything from my eyes.

An apple rolls on a saucer, poured on a silver one, and on the saucer the whole sky flaunts; The sun is rolling clear behind the bright moon, the stars are gathering in a round dance, the swans are singing songs in the cloud.

The king is surprised at the miracles, and the beauty bursts into tears and says to the king:

Take my pouring apple, my silver saucer, just have mercy on my sisters, do not destroy them for me.

The king picked her up and said:

Your saucer is silver, but your heart is golden. Do you want to be my dear wife, a good queen for the kingdom? And for the sake of your request, I will have mercy on your sisters.

They arranged a feast for the whole world: they played so much that the stars fell from the sky; They danced so hard that the floors were broken. That's the whole fairy tale...

AND or there was a man and a woman. They had three daughters. The two older ones loved to walk through the streets dressed in new clothes and show off in front of the mirror. And the youngest, Maryushka, did not hover in front of mirrors - she worked from morning to night. Maryushka's entire outfit is a sundress and a light brown braid down to her toes.

The older daughters laugh at the younger one, sort out their colorful outfits, and force Maryushka to work for themselves. But Maryushka is silent, works in the field, manages the farm, and cleans the house. That's how they lived.

One day a man was going to the market to sell hay. He called his daughters and asked:
— What kind of gifts should I buy you, how can I please you?
“Father, buy me an elegant dress, in silks and with unprecedented patterns,” the eldest asks.
“Bring me a scarlet dress, made of overseas velvet,” asks the middle one.

But Maryushka is silent, doesn’t ask for anything. The man himself asks her:
- What kind of gift do you need that Maryushka will please your eyes?
- Father, buy me a poured apple and a silver saucer.

The older sisters make fun of Maryushka:
- Why do you need an apple, fool?! Our garden is full of apples, each more beautiful than the next! Why do you need a saucer, you fool?! Feed the geese?
- No, my sisters, not for this. I will roll the apple on the saucer and repeat the words that my grandmother told me because I treated her to a roll.

The man looked at his older sisters reproachfully:
- Enough of making fun of your sister, everyone chose a gift after their hearts!

The man went to the market, but returned a few days later and brought gifts for his daughters - everything was as ordered.

The older sisters laugh at the younger one and admire their outfits. And Maryushka sat down and rolled an apple on a silver saucer and said:
- Roll the apple, roll, turn around the saucer, show the cities and meadows, forests and seas, mountains and steppes, the whole native land. Suddenly everything around was lit up with a bright light, the apple rolls on the saucer, and in it the whole Russian land is visible - an unwritten beauty. The elder sisters saw an unprecedented miracle, and envy overcame them. They wanted to exchange Maryushka’s toy for their outfits, but she refused. But they don’t know peace, they sit, think and wonder how to take possession of a saucer with an apple by deception or cunning.

They began to lure the younger sister into the forest, saying that we would go into the forest to pick berries. Maryushka agreed. They walk through the dark forest - there are no berries in sight. Maryushka sat down and rolled an apple on a plate, and she said:
- Roll the apple, roll, turn around the saucer, let the berries grow on the lawns and in the forest.

Suddenly the whole clearing became strewn with berries, just bend over and pick them up. When the sisters saw this miracle, envy completely clouded their minds. They grabbed a birch stick and killed Maryushka. And when they realized it, there was nothing left to do. They buried their youngest sister under a weeping willow. They took the apple and saucer for themselves, picked up baskets full of berries, and went home. The eldest daughters came to their home and began to lie to their father:
- Maryushka got lost in the forest, we couldn’t find her, apparently the wolves killed her.

The father was saddened, but there was nothing to do, you couldn’t turn back your youngest daughter. And at that time, a young shepherd was looking for a lost sheep, he saw a weeping willow tree, and under it there was a dug-up dirt - there were meadow flowers all around, and reeds had grown in the middle.
The shepherd cut the reeds for a new pipe, did not have time to bring it to his lips, but the pipe itself began to play and sang a song:
“Shepherd boy, play, play, a sad song, how my dear sisters ruined me, how they buried me under a willow tree for an apple and a saucer.”

A shepherd came to the village, and the pipe kept playing. The people gathered were amazed, they couldn’t understand what the pipe was playing about, and Father Maryushkin came, he heard this song, he guessed what the pipe was playing about. He called the older daughters - they heard the pipe song, were seriously scared, and told everything as it happened.
The father cried:
“Lead us, shepherd, to where you cut the pipe, and tie up my elder daughters and take them to the forest.”
The people took the older sisters into the forest and tied them to an ancient oak tree. And the shepherd and his father found Maryushka’s grave. They dug her out, and Maryushka seemed to be alive - even more beautiful than she had become, her cheeks filled with blush, as if she was sleeping in a deep sleep.
The priest remembered that there was living water in the royal house. And he went to the palace to bow to the king and ask for living water. A man comes to the palace and sees the king descending from the golden porch. The man bows at his feet, tells him everything as it is, and tells him the honest truth.
The king answers him:
- Take some live water for your daughter, and then return to me, along with your daughter and an apple and a saucer.
The man bowed to the king and thanked him for his great generosity. And he went home with some living water.
A man came home and poured live water on Maryushka. She immediately woke up and hugged her father. The father and daughter are happy, they rejoice, but they promised to return to the palace to the king. And they went to the royal court.
The Tsar came out onto the gilded porch, looked at Maryushka, and admired her. A beautiful girl appeared before him, the sun was clear, her blond braid reached to her toes, her eyes were the color of a clear sky.
The king asks Maryushka:
- Where are your apple and silver saucer?
Maryushka took out a saucer and an apple from the chest. She asked the king:
- What do you want to see, Sovereign? Your army, or the beauty of the Russian land?

The apple rolled on a silver platter - the royal troops and their power, and the Russian possessions and endless lands showing. The king was surprised at the unprecedented miracle, and Maryushka offered him her game as a gift:
“Take the Tsar Father a silver saucer and a pouring apple, you will see your kingdom and notice foreign enemies.”
The king said in response, having seen Maryushkina’s kind soul:
- You are your father’s gift - a wondrous miracle, keep it for yourself, have fun. And only your answer will do for me as a gift - Do you want to become my wife and rule the kingdom with me? Your kind heart will serve our people with truth and will embellish my life. Maryushka remained silent, only smiled modestly and blushed all over, she liked the king. And soon they had a wedding, and the people remembered Queen Maryushka for a long time, with her kind heart, because she took care of the people.

An old man lived with an old woman, and they gave birth to three daughters. Two girls are smart, and the third is called a fool.

Father was a fisherman. One day he caught a lot of fish and decided to go to the city. I went to town to do some shopping. Two smart daughters ask him:
- Father, buy us a silk sundress.
- I'll buy it.
But the fool doesn't ask for anything. And she was not a fool, but she was quiet and polite. Her name was Tanya. Her father went to her and asked:
- Why don’t you ask for anything, daughter? What should I buy you?
- I don’t need anything, father.
- How so? Your sisters are asking to buy silk sundresses, but you are not asking for anything.
- Buy me, father, a pouring apple - a golden saucer.

The old man finished his business and went to the city. He arrived in the city. I went to the market and bought a sundress for my older daughters, and bought a golden saucer for my youngest daughter. He bought gifts for everyone and went home.

So he brought gifts for his daughters. The older, smart daughters combed their hair, put on sundresses and went for a walk, while the youngest daughter stayed at home. She combed her hair, put on a shirt, sat down, put a golden saucer on her knees, and a poured apple on it and said:

As she said, this is how it all appeared:
And fields, and seas, And wide meadows, And shooting, and shooting, And the beauty of mountains, And the height of heaven.

The older daughters saw her apple and saucer and became jealous. So they ask their younger sister:
- Our dear sister, let us play with a pouring apple - a golden saucer.
- Play.
The sisters took a liquid apple - a golden saucer and began to play. The eldest said:
- Play, play, saucer, Roll, roll, apple: Show me the fields and the seas,
And wide meadows, And shooting, and shooting, And the beauty of the mountains, And the heights of heaven!

As she said, this is how all this appeared to the sisters:
And fields, and seas, And shooting, and firing, And wide meadows, And the beauty of mountains, And the height of heaven.

The older sisters fell in love with the pouring apple - a golden saucer, and they began to persuade the younger sister:
- Give us, sister, a pouring apple - a golden saucer, and we will give you our silk sundresses.
- No, sisters, that cannot be done. A pouring apple - a golden saucer - a treasured gift from the priest! Ask your father - he might buy it for you, but I don’t need a silk sundress.

The older sisters are very angry with the younger one, but they don’t tell her about it. Some time passed, when the younger sister forgot about everything, they began to persuade her:
- Come with us to the forest to pick strawberries.
“Come on, sisters,” Tanya answers them. She went with them. The sisters came to the dense forest, took her and killed her. They killed Tanya, buried him under a tree, and took the liquid apple - a golden saucer - for themselves.

The older sisters came home from the forest and sang to their father:
- And our little fool has gone somewhere. And we looked for her, looked for her, clicked, clicked, but never found her.
-Where did she go? - asks the father.
- We don’t know... maybe the biryukki tore it to pieces.

The father loved his younger daughter and doted on her. He cried hard for Tanya. He does not believe his older daughters that the youngest is lost, and even more does not believe that she is not alive in the world. My father cried for a week, cried for another and a third, and still couldn’t believe that his Tanya was no longer alive. “Go, you envious people, they took her into the forest and abandoned her,” he thinks to himself.

There was a shepherd in the village. He drove the lambs to graze in the forest where the sisters took Tanya. He drove and drove his herd - and came across a hillock-grave in the forest. A reed grew on that grave. He sat down on a hillock to rest, took out a knife and thought: “I’ll cut a reed, make a pipe and play on it.”

He cut a reed, made a pipe and started playing.
He plays the pipe, and the pipe plays guitar:
- There were all three of us sisters, We went into the forest for strawberries, For strawberries, for raspberries... My dear sisters killed me, My dear sisters ruined me and sold me out of the world - For a pouring apple, For a golden saucer.

The shepherd was amazed. He thinks he imagined it. So he decided to play again. He plays the pipe for himself, and the pipe plays guitar, and says plaintively in a girlish voice:

Evening has come, a shepherd is driving a flock of lambs into the village. He drove it to the village, walked along the run and played the pipe, and the pipe played guitar and said pitifully in a girlish voice:
- We were all three sisters. We went into the forest for strawberries, for strawberries, for raspberries... My sisters killed me, my sisters ruined me and sold me out of the world - for a pouring apple, for a golden saucer.

The father heard these words, hurried to the shepherd, and asked him:
- Give me the pipe. The shepherd gave him a pipe.
So the father started playing on it, and the pipe itself started playing:
- My dear father, my dear mother... We went into the forest for strawberries, For strawberries, for raspberries... My dear sisters killed me, My dear sisters ruined me and sold me from the world - For a pouring apple, For a golden saucer.

Then the father began to cry bitterly. He cried and asked the shepherd where he found such a pipe. He told him everything. Then the father went into the forest. The shepherd pointed out the hillock to him. The father found a tubercle, dug up the ground, and saw Tanya lying there. He took out his daughter, and she was dead. He brought his daughter home. Then the old sorceress told him:
- Go to the king and get living water from his well. Spray your daughter with that water, she will come to life.

And the older sisters-villains, when they saw the murdered woman, began to cry. They roar, howl, and tear out their hair. They became afraid.

Father went to the king living water to take from the well, and the king asks:
- What do you need water for?
The father told everything to the king. Then the king said to him:
- If the girl wakes up, then bring her to me, and let her take everything with her.
The father came home and splashed water on his dead daughter. She stood up. He took his daughter, a juicy apple and a golden saucer and took her to the king.
We arrived before the king. As soon as the king looked at the old man’s daughter, he fell in love with Tanya. The king forced her to play with a pouring apple - a golden saucer. Tanya took the liquid apple - a golden saucer and said:

Play, play, saucer,
Roll, roll, bullseye:
Show me the fields and seas,
And wide meadows,
And shooting, and firing,
And the beauty of the mountains,
And the height of heaven!

As Tanya said, everything immediately presented itself:

And fields and seas,
And wide meadows,
And shooting, and shooting,
And the beauty of the mountains
And the height of heaven.

Then the king said to himself: “This is the kind of girl I should take as my wife.” I thought and thought, and then asked the fisherman’s daughter:
-Will you marry me?
“I’ll go,” Tanya answers, “only, Father Tsar, let my sisters live with me.” I feel sorry for them, don't punish them! Let them live with us.
“Let them live,” said the king.
The king got married. They began to live. They live and love each other. The Tsar doted on Tanya: she was both beautiful and polite.

Her sisters envy her, but they can’t do anything. So the fisherman’s daughter lives with the king, and the envious sisters get angry. They lived like this for a long time, and now the king sees all sorts of bad things happening to his wife’s sisters. He endured, endured, and even drove them out of his state. I drove it away and calmed down. After that, the Tsar and Tanya began to live well and get along well and make good money.

I visited them and drank honey beer.

AND or there was a peasant and his wife. They had three daughters, all three beauties. The eldest two are lazy and dressy, they could all sit and preen themselves; and the third, youngest, Alyonushka, is hard-working and modest. Alyonushka was more beautiful than all the sisters.

Alyonushka takes care of everything: she will clean the hut, and prepare dinner, and tend the garden, and bring water. She was affectionate with her parents and friendly to people. Her father and mother loved her more than all their daughters. And this made the older sisters jealous. Once father and mother went to the field. A poor old woman came up to the house and asked for bread. The older sisters didn’t even want to talk to her, but Alyonushka brought the old woman a roll of bread and walked her out the gate.

“Thank you, girl,” said the old woman. “For your kindness, here’s some advice for you: when your father goes to the fair, ask him to buy you a silver saucer and a juicy apple for fun.” You will roll an apple on a saucer and say:

Roll, roll, apple,

On a silver platter

Show me on a platter

Cities and fields

And forests and seas,

And the heights of the mountains,

And the beauty of heaven.

And if you are in need, girl, I will help you. Remember: I live on the edge of a dense forest and it takes exactly three days and three nights to get to my hut.

The old woman said these words and went into the forest.

How long or how little time has passed, the peasant gathered for the fair.

He asks his daughters:

What gifts should you buy?

One daughter asks:

Buy me, father, some kumac for a sundress.

Another says:

Buy me a patterned chintz.

And Alyonushka asks:

My dear light-father, buy me a silver saucer and a pouring apple.

The peasant promised his daughters to fulfill their request and left.

He returned from the fair and brought gifts for his daughters: one - patterned calico, the other - calico for a sundress, and Alyonushka - a silver saucer and an apple. The older sisters rejoice at the gifts, but they laugh at Alyonushka and wait to see what she will do with the silver saucer and the juicy apple.

But she doesn’t eat the apple, she sat down in the corner, rolled the apple on a saucer and said:

Roll, roll, apple,

On a silver platter

Show me on a platter

Cities and fields

And forests and seas,

And the heights of the mountains,

And the beauty of heaven.

An apple rolls on a saucer, poured on a silver one, and on the saucer all the cities are visible, villages in the fields, and ships on the seas, and the height of the mountains, and the beauty of the sky, the clear sun and the bright moon are circling, the stars are gathering in a round dance; Everything is so wonderful that it can’t be said in a fairy tale or written with a pen.

The sisters looked at them, they were overcome with envy, they wanted to lure Alyonushka’s saucer with the apple out of her hands. But Alyonushka doesn’t take anything in return.

Then the sisters decided to take away the saucer with the apple from her by deception and force. They walk around and talk:

Darling Alyonushka! Let's go to the forest to pick berries and pick strawberries.

Alyonushka agreed, gave the saucer with the apple to her father and went with her sisters into the forest.

Alyonushka wanders through the forest, picking berries, and her sisters lead her further and further. They took her into the thicket, attacked Alyonushka, killed her and buried her under a birch tree, and late in the evening they came to her father and mother and said:

Alyonushka ran away from us and disappeared. We walked around the entire forest without coughing. Apparently the wolves ate her.

Father and mother cried bitterly, and the sisters asked their father for a saucer and an apple.

No,” he answers them, “I won’t give the saucer with the apple to anyone.” Let them be in memory of Alyonushka, my beloved daughter.

He put the apple and saucer in the casket and locked it.

A lot of time has passed. At dawn, a shepherd drove his flock past the forest. One sheep fell behind and went into the forest. The shepherd boy went through the forest to look for the sheep. He sees a slender white birch tree standing, and under it there is a tubercle, and on it there are scarlet and azure flowers around, and above the flowers there is a reed.

The shepherd boy cut a reed, made a pipe, and - a wonderful miracle, a wonderful miracle - the pipe itself sings and says:

Play, play, little shepherd,

Play slowly

Play lightly.

They killed me, poor thing,

They put it under a birch tree,

For a silver saucer

For a pouring apple.

A shepherd came to the village, and the pipe kept singing its song.

People listen - they are amazed, they question the shepherd.

“Good people,” says the shepherd, “I don’t know anything.” I was looking for a sheep in the forest and saw a hillock, flowers on the hillock, and a reed above the flowers. I cut a reed, made myself a pipe, and the pipe itself plays and pronounces.

Alyonushka’s father and mother happened to be here, and they heard the shepherd boy’s words. The mother grabbed the pipe, and the pipe itself began to sing and say:

Play, play, dear mother,

Play slowly

Play lightly.

They killed me, poor thing,

They put it under a birch tree,

For a silver saucer

For a pouring apple.

The hearts of the father and mother sank when they heard these words.

Lead us, shepherd,” said the father, “to where you cut the reed.”

Father and mother followed the shepherd into the forest, and the people went with them. We saw a tubercle with scarlet and azure flowers under a birch tree. They began to tear apart the tubercle and found the murdered Alyonushka.

The father and mother recognized their beloved daughter and cried inconsolable tears.

Good people, they ask, who killed and ruined her?

Here the father took the pipe, and the pipe itself sings and says:

Play, play, father of light,

Play slowly

Play lightly.

My sisters invited me to the forest,

They killed me, poor thing,

They put it under a birch tree,

For a silver saucer

For a pouring apple.

You go, go, father of light,

To the edge of the dense forest,

There is a plank hut there,

A good old lady lives there,

It will give living water in a bottle.

Sprinkle me a little with that water -

I'll wake up, wake up from a heavy sleep,

From heavy sleep, from the sleep of death.

Then father and mother went to the edge of the dense forest. They walked for exactly three days and three nights and reached a forest hut. An ancient old woman came out onto the porch. Her father and mother asked her for living water.

“I will help Alyonushka,” the old woman answers, “for her kind heart.”

She gave them a bottle of living water and said:

Pour a handful of native soil into the bottle - without it the water will not have any power.

The father and mother bowed to the ground and thanked the old woman, and went back.

They came to the village, poured, as the old woman ordered, a handful of their native soil into a bottle of living water, took the feverish sisters with them and went into the forest. And the people went with them.

We came to the forest. The father sprinkled living water on his daughter and Alyonushka came to life. And the evil sisters got scared, turned whiter than a sheet and confessed everything. People grabbed them, tied them up and brought them to the village.

People gathered here. And they decided to punish the evil sisters with terrible punishment - to drive them away from their native land. And so they did.

And Alyonushka again began to live with her father and mother, and they loved her more than ever.