Once upon a time there lived a family – a mother, a father, and two children, a boy and a girl. They lived in happiness but one day the mother got sick and died. After a while the father decided to marry again to another woman. She did not want her stepchildren at all. So she laid down the condition that she would marry the man only if he got rid of his children. The father was wondering what to do but finally he decided to follow her words. He took the children and told them:
‘Let’s go to the forest – we have to chop wood for the winter!’
The boy took his comb, the girl took her fuller’s earth and they went. They reached the forest and the father said:
‘I will go deep into the forest to chop woods. You, children, sit here and wait for me!’
When he distanced he tied a pumpkin to the branches of a tree. There was a strong wind this day. When it was blowing it was shaking the branches of the tree and the pumpkin was bumping against it. Therefore it produced sounds similar to those produced by an ax chopping trees. So the children thought their father was around. Meanwhile the father left and did not come back.
The time passed and it started to become dark. It became cold and the brother began collecting wood for lighting a fire. The sister became cold and hungry as well. She started to cry. The boy tried to calm her down:
‘Wait, sister, wait! Don’t cry, our father will come to take us!’
It became dark but the father was not coming yet. The boy understood everything, took some mud, put a fruit inside, and made a round loaf of bread. He put it in the fire to bake it:
‘Do not cry, sister, the bread will be ready right now!’
Suddenly a turtle-dove came and an old man with long white beard appeared. The children were not grown up enough so they did not understand that neither the turtle-dove was a turtle-dove, nor the old man was an old man but their mother and God himself.
The children started to chase away the turtle-dove but she was not afraid. It was standing near them. They caught her and first wanted to eat it as they were very hungry but then they felt pity on it and let it go. The old man asked the boy:
‘What have you put in the fire, lad?’
‘I am ashamed to tell you, old man. I have lied to my sister that I was making bread. She is very hungry. We have not eaten the whole day. I wish I could only feed her!’
God turned around three times, knocked with his stick and made a big, taste loaf of bread of the mud that was in the fire. He fed the children while the turtle-dove was cooing happily around them. Then God asked:
‘What will you do now, children? How will you sleep her?’
‘We do not know, old man.’ – they answered.
He turned around again, knocked with the stick and suddenly a tent appeared. The fire warmed the tent, and the children fell asleep. When they got up on the morning, the boy said:
‘Now, sister, I will go hunting!’
He made a bow and disappeared in the forest. In the evening he came back with many hares, does and deer. And they started to live like this.
The time passed and the children grew up. They forgave their father and started to miss him. Once they decided to find him – maybe he had changed his mind and would welcome them. They went to the town and found their father’s town. During all these years the father has regretted about what he had done. When he saw the children he welcomed them immediately.
Years passed again. The children grew up. The girl became a beautiful maiden. The stepmother however did not allow her to show out because she still hated her. Moreover she had a daughter from her first husband – and ugly and awful girl.
Once the king went to water his horse at the fountain from which the beautiful girl used to take water. The stepmother had ordered her to hide immediately if anybody appeared. So when the king came the girl followed her order and hid in crown of the tree. But her beauty reflected in the water and the king fell in love.
‘Who are you, girl? Why are you hiding? Come down! I want to see you!’
The girl however was afraid of her stepmother so she quickly jumped from the tree and ran away. She dropped one of the shoes in the haste. The king took it with himself. When he came back to the palace he decide to find out which the shoes were. He started to go about from house to house.
When the stepmother learnt about the story she said:
‘I will hide my stepdaughter and I will show my own daughter!’
When the king knocked on the door the stepmother ordered the beautiful girl to hide under the wash-tub. Then she welcomed the suite and introduced her ugly daughter.
‘This is, Your Majesty, the girl you have seen!’
‘If this is her, let her try the shoe!’
The daughter tried the shoe but it did not fit. Meanwhile the cock came around and started to crow: ‘The ugly daughter is in front of you, Your Majesty, the beautiful one is under the wash-tub!’
When the stepmother heard this she chased away the cock.
‘Go to hell! Get away from here! You are lying to the king!’
But the cock continued: ‘The golden girl is under the wash-tub, the ugly one is in front of you!’
Then the king kicked the wash-tub and saw the beautiful girl. He recognized her immediately and when she tried the shoe it matched completely.
‘This is the girl!’ – the king said.
‘Then take her, Your Majesty!’ – the father agreed.
‘No! – the stepmother refused. – I do not give my daughter so easily. I want you and your people come with a carriage and bring food and drink so we will set the table. Then I will give you my daughter!’
The king agreed and brought the endowment – food and drinks, gold and money.
‘You will be first in your carriage, - the stepmother said – and your future wife will sit with me so I can feel last delight from her presence.
They dressed the bride and she sat in the second carriage together with the bride. The whole day before this the stepmother kept the girl hungry. Now she gave her salty bread. As soon as she tried it the stepmother took one of her eyes out. The bread was so salty that the girl did not even feel the pain. The only thing she thought of was how to find some water. The stepmother gave her a water-skin of water and while the girl was drinking she took out the other eye. Then she threw her from the carriage out in the cattle-shed and dressed her ugly daughter in the wedding dress.
When they brought the future wife of the king he looked at her and exclaimed angry:
‘This is not my girl! This one is so ugly! Throw her and her mother in the cellar! They will become my servants!’
After this every night the people in the castle were hearing from the stable sad woman weeping and singing. They took the golden girl from the cellar. When the prince saw her he exclaimed:
‘This is my girl! Who dared to take her eyes?! I will give a jag of gold to the man who finds and brings her eyes back!’
His people searched the whole kingdom but did not find anything. Then the king said:
‘Bring my new servants!’
And he found the eyes of the golden girl in her stepmother. He put them on her face.
‘Now, - the king ordered – tie the two servants to a horsetail and whip 42 lashes to the horse. Let him go and drag them around the whole kingdom!’
They made a big wedding. They still live happy somewhere – the king and the golden girl.