Work Text:
At the foot of a mountain so old that even a century-old oak tree remembers it as a decrepit old woman, there is a wonderful forest. Tall fir trees stretched out every night to all the new stars that appeared and faded on the horizon, getting higher and higher. Wild bushes of raspberries, blueberries and rosehip swirled in a circle, dragging their ripe fruits of an unprepared traveler deep into the wilds, from where not a single living soul returned. Occasionally a brown fox flashed under the bushes of wild honeysuckle. Her cunning eyes only stopped for a second on something, and the proud fox ran on. In a lonely, bare clearing, without a swamp cranberry bush grew. Someone says that the swamp was hiding under the carpet moss and was so dangerous that even if you easily stepped on a green carpet, you could disappear forever. Not a single living person in a good mind walked through this forest, even though it was famous for its countless riches. People were weak before the power that lurked in this mountain forest. Only one forester managed to enter that forest once and not drown in its power. The forester's house stood at the very edge of the forest — then a bare plateau began, covered with snow closer to the top.
A forester lived in that house with his little son, who was 10 years old. It was the most beautiful and affectionate child in the world — small sparrow eyes, a neat nose, wonderful lips, as if they were always stained with blackberries and a whistling laugh. The boy loved to laugh and loved to make people laugh. The forester father could not get enough of it — his love for his son was so deep and strong that no secret swamp and no mountain storm could measure up to it.
One winter evening, the forester was sitting by the open window. The night decided to cover the spruce forest with a transparent gray fog, which fell like a soft light blanket on the thorny branches and got tangled in them until morning. Suddenly, a low growl was heard from afar, and a huge animal face appeared under the window, white as snow from the top of the mountain. The wolf looked appraisingly at the forester and came closer.
"Good night, human," the wild beast rumbled.
"Good night, beast. Where are you from here?"
"From a distant kingdom that is further south, but closer to the north. Tell me your name, human."
"My name is Ikkaku, I am an old forester who lives on this edge. What do you want from me?"
"I want to take your child as a legal spouse."
"But I have no daughters." the old forester frowned.
"It doesn't matter. Go ask your son if he is ready to become the king of my kingdom.
And the old forester went towards the room of the only child. Stopping at the door, the man leaned on the wooden jamb and sighed heavily. He was sorry to wake Iruka, he was still so small, and therefore the forester thought:
"I'll be damned forever, like those who die without repentance, if I give this child to the beast king as a spouse."
And without asking his son anything, the old forester returned to the huge wolf that was still standing under the window.
"My son don't want to be your king."
Then the terrible beast became angry, clawed at the forester's face, and tore out one of his eyes. And that was that.
Barely enduring the pain, the old forester retired to his room and did not leave it until dawn.
In the morning, Iruka worriedly asked what happened to his eye, to which Ikkaku only brushed it aside - he was out getting firewood this morning and hadn't noticed the thorny branch.
That evening again the old forester was sitting by the window, and again the menacing beast came running to his house.
"What do you want, Beast King?"
"I want to marry your child."
"I already told you, he doesn't want to be yours."
The huge beast became angry again, lunged at the old forester, ripped out his other eye, and was gone. This time the forester howled in pain, and a frightened Iruka came running in to the scream.
"Father, what's wrong with you? Who ripped out your eyes?"
"The Beast King did it because you did not want to marry him."
"Father," said the boy, wiping the blood from his father's forehead, "I cannot argue with you and have never had such a habit. But I did not refuse to marry the Beast King."
Ikkaku was silent, thought deeply and said:
"All right. Take me to bed and don't come in until I call."
Iruka did as his father commanded. The next night, the forester called his son again.
"Take me to the room where the Beast King plucked out my eyes and leave me alone."
Iruka did as his father ordered. Again the fog to the spruce branches, again night descended on the mountain slopes. A wolf's growling was heard in the distance, and the huge beast reappeared in front of the window of the house.
"What do you want, Beast King?"
"I want to marry your child."
"Beast King, you will take my son as your husband."
Then the huge wolf returned his eyes to the old woodsman and growled:
"Tell my bridegroom to be ready tomorrow at dawn and let him wear his wedding crown."
At dawn the whole ground was white with wolves that had come running in during the night. Near the house, under an old century-old oak, they set up an altar, at the foot of which sat the Beast King. When the wedding candles were lit, a priest in full vestment and a servant who had run after him came out of the woods. After the wedding, the priest and the servant went back into the woods and never appeared again.
The Beast King still sat there without moving.
"Take my husband to his father."
Iruka was taken to his father's house, and the wolf approached Ikkaku.
"Have your son stay with you until noon. After that, my wolves will take him to our kingdom."
And he fled northward.
At noon, the newlywed was already standing on the threshold of the log house.
"Farewell, my father! I am leaving my native country and our home. I will be taken away to a foreign land, and I will never, never return!"
The wolves picked up their king and carried him to their kingdom of cold and ice, where no flowers and trees grow, no birds sing, and no sweet fruit grows. They flew three thousand miles in a couple of hours and by the time the sun was just beginning to set, the young king was already standing at the castle gates.
"Thank you, beasts. I will not forget your faithful service. Now eat your supper and go to bed. It's time for you to rest."
The wolves scattered, and the king entered the castle. It was so huge that there was no end in sight to the corridors and halls, hung with paintings from ceiling to floor. Candles were burning everywhere, all the fireplaces were lit, but not a soul was to be seen anywhere. The young king wandered through the castle for a long time until he finally came to the richly decorated dining room. The table was overflowing with food and wine. But there was only one utensil on the table. The king sat down at the table, but did not touch either the food or the drink. He thought of his dear father and was very homesick.
After an hour, the king found the bedchamber. He lay down on his bed, pulled up the golden cloth curtain, and, without extinguishing his candles, waited.
As soon as midnight struck, a muffled roar was heard. It was the beastly king returning home for the night. He stopped outside the door of the room where his spouse was waiting for him.
"My spouse, put out the candles."
Iruka blew out the candles, and the wolf entered in the darkness.
"Remember what I tell you, young husband. I was once king over men. Now I am king of the wild beasts: an evil sorcerer has turned me and all my people into wolves. But it is foretold that our trial will come to an end. And you can help it. I hope that you will do your duty. But you are only ten years old and you won't be my true husband until seven years from now. Until then, don't ever try to see me. If you disobey, you will bring great misfortune upon yourself, upon me and upon my people."
"I am ready to serve you, king."
And then Iruka heard the beastly king take off his wolf skin in the darkness and approach the bed. Iruka became frightened. He reached out his hand and felt the icy cold of the naked sword that the king had placed between them.
A few hours before dawn, the beast rose again, pulled its hide over itself, and fled without a word.
From then on, it was like this every morning and every evening. Iruka, though afraid of the beast husband, grew to love him because he saw that he was mighty and brave.
The poor boy soon got bored with such a life, for he didn't even have anyone to talk to. And to amuse himself a little, every morning he practiced with a sword in a wonderful garden that grew near the castle, and then for the rest of the day he went for a walk in the surroundings. Until nightfall, he wandered the plains, among the snow and ice. And he never met a single living soul.
One morning, while walking, the king went far from the castle and saw a wonderful forest that was so similar to the one in which he grew up.
Iruka set off. He walked for seven hours along the path until he came to a miserable hut on the bank of a stream.
An old laundress, so swarthy that she looked more like a twisted old stump, was standing knee-deep in water in the creek.
She was holding black laundry in her hands, as if it had been smeared with coal. The old woman tried in vain to wash it, muttering something to herself.
"Hello, laundress," said the young king. "I'll help you wash the laundry, it's black as soot."
"Thank you, my child."
As soon as Iruka's hand touched the laundry, somehow it became whiter than milk foam. The laundress looked at this miracle and clapped her hands.
"The laundry is over! The king's young consort had arrived!"
Then she looked at Iruka.
"Thank you, young lord. I've waited a long time for you to come. But your spouse, our king, should have given you advice on your first night. Remember it, don't forget it. Though it's all useless to say. What is meant to be, shall come true. Go back, child, and come back when you need help."
Iruka returned to the castle, and his life went on as usual. Seven years passed without one day. Iruka has grown, matured, and his hand is almost fused to the blade he learns to wield every day. Seven years have passed, and one day remains since the beast king became engaged to the young Iruka.
"The deadline is coming to an end," thought the young king, "One day later, one day earlier, it's almost over. Tonight I will find out what my husband is like."
For the night, Iruka lit a candle and hid it in a secluded place, so that the room was still dark. He crawled under the terry blanket and waited. Toward midnight, the beastly growl and clawing of claws on the old floor came again. Iruka heard him take off his skin, lay down in his bed, and put his naked sword between them. After a few minutes, the beast fell asleep.
Iruka quietly got up, pulled out a hidden candle, and pointed the light at his spouse. Instead of the huge horrible beast in the bed there was a wonderful young man, beautifully resembling a rising moon.
Iruka sighed in shock and flinched, causing his hand to twitch and a hot drop of wax to fall directly onto the sleeping king's face. The fearsome beast awoke.
"Iruka!" he exclaimed. "You have brought great misfortune upon me, upon yourself, upon my people. At first light our ordeal should have ended. I would have been a true husband to you, as you see me now... And now we must part! The evil sorcerer who holds me in his power will do with me as he pleases. But what has been done cannot be undone, nor can tears help sorrow. I forgive you the evil you have done to me. Please go quickly. You don't need to see what's going to happen here."
"No!" Iruka cried out. "I've been training hard for seven years; I'm strong enough to take out the wizard!"
The wolf shook its head sullenly, pushed its wet nose into the betrothed's hand and wiped two tear drops from its tail.
"Take my sword," the beast swung its tail briefly toward the bed. "Someday you will use it to save the kingdom."
Iruka took the sword, tucked it into its rich diamond sheath, and left the castle walls. At that time the terrible sorcerer, who held the entire retinue of the Beast King in fear, chained him in heavy steel chains, carried him to a high cliff, and soldered it with lead and brimstone. At the old sorcerer's whistle two snakes crawled out: the first, snow-white, was to guard the king by day, and the second, blue-black, by night.
At this time the young king went wherever he could see and was in tears. And he himself did not notice how he reached the familiar forest, near which there was a brook, and on the bank of the brook stood the old hut of the poor laundress.
"Poor thing," the old woman said as soon as she saw the young prince, "What I predicted has happened. But you did me a favor once. I will help you. Put on this pair of iron shoes, and in them go in search of your husband. He is a prisoner of the sorcerer, on top of a high rock, on an island in the middle of the sea. Here's a pouch that never runs out of bread, no matter how much you eat. Here is a hollowed-out gourd, in which there will always be wine, no matter how much you drink from it. Here is ambergris for you to rub on your sword to slice blue grass, the grass that sings by night and by day, the grass that crushes iron. When your iron shoes burst, it will be the hour of liberation for the Beast King."
"Thank you very much, laundress!"
And the king left.
Three days later he came to a land where there is neither night nor moon, where the sun always shines. Here he wandered for a whole year. When he was hungry and thirsty, there was always bread in his pouch and wine in his gourd. When he wanted to sleep, he lay down on the ground and took a nap. By the end of the year he had found grass, blue from top to root, blue as blooming flax.
The king took out the ambergris, rubbed his sword with it, and approached the clearing.
"King," said the blue grass, "Do not cut me with your sword. I am the blue grass, but I am not the grass that sings by night and day, not the grass that crushes iron.
The king put the sword away in its sheath and went on his way.
Three days later he came to a land where there is no day, where the moon always shines. Here he wandered for a year. When he was hungry and thirsty, he always had bread in his bag and wine in his gourd. When he wanted to sleep, he lay down on the ground and took a nap. By the end of the year he had found blue grass, blue from top to root, blue as blooming flax.
The blue grass sang:
"I am the blue grass and I sing night and day. I am the blue grass and I sing night and day."
Iruka immediately took out ambergris, rubbed it on his sword and came to the wondrous clearing.
"King," said the blue grass, "do not cut me with your sword. I am the blue grass, I sing by night and by day. But I am not the grass that crushes iron."
And the king put his sword back in its sheath and went on his way.
After three days, he came to a land where neither sun nor moon shines, and where black night always reigns. Here he wandered for a year. When he was hungry and thirsty, he always found bread in his bag and wine in his gourd. When he wanted to sleep, he would lie down on the ground and doze off. Toward the end of the year, he heard singing in the darkness:
"I am the blue grass, the one that sings night and day, the one that crushes iron. I am the blue grass, the one that sings night and day, the one that crushes iron."
The king drew his sword, rubbed with ambergris, and strode in the darkness toward the place where the singing was heard. And suddenly his iron shoes burst: he stepped on the blue grass, the same grass that sings by night and by day, the grass that crushes iron.
The king swung his sword and cut the grass down in one fell swoop; the sword remained intact, and the grass continued to sing.
The king picked up the blue grass and walked on, barefoot through the thorns, cutting through the impenetrable darkness. A splash was heard, and Iruka saw the outline of a boat.
He sat down at the oars and set out into the open sea. For a whole week Iruka saw neither day nor night, neither water nor sky. On the eighth day he sailed to the island and saw the Beast King chained to the top of a high rock.
When he saw the king, a huge white snake lunged at him, exposing its giant sharp fangs. Iruka immediately drew his sword and swung a bundle of grass that wouldn't stop singing.
The snake, enchanted by the singing, fell asleep, but the same singing woke the second, nocturnal one. Her blue-black scales gleamed in the sunlight. The sword in the sovereign's hands gleamed just as brightly and severed the black head. With the same sword, Iruka cut down the white basilisk as well.
Then he touched the singing grass to the forty-pound chain with which the Beast King was restrained. The chain fell apart.
And at the same moment, the grass faded and stopped singing. And the beastly king took on human form and stood up, straight and proud as Caesar.
"Thank you, my betrothed!"
And from all four corners of the world reached out to him packs of wolves. They ran up to the king and immediately took their former, human form. When everyone was assembled, the king said:
"My faithful people, our suffering is over. Look out there, into the distance. This is the king, my faithful friend, coming for us with seven thousand ships. In a month we shall all be in our own country."
And since the exiled people set foot in their native land, fruit trees have blossomed everywhere, vines have returned to their former strength, and flowers have spread their beautiful petals again. And that country was ruled by two wise kings, and the kingdom knew no more misfortune.