Current page: 1 (total book has 4 pages)
Edward Uspensky
Down the magic river
Chapter 1
magic path
In one village, a city boy lived with a grandmother. His name was Mitya. He spent holidays in the village.
He spent the whole day swimming in the river and sunbathing. In the evenings, he climbed onto the stove, watched his grandmother spin her yarn, and listened to her fairy tales.
“And in Moscow everyone is knitting now,” the boy said to his grandmother.
“Nothing,” she answered, “soon they will start spinning.”
And she told him about Vasilisa the Wise, about Ivan Tsarevich and about the terrible Koshchei the Immortal.
And one morning his grandmother said to him:
- That's what. Take some goodies and go to my cousin's aunt - Egorovna. Stay with her, help with the housework. And she lives alone. The old one has completely become. That and look, it will turn into Baba Yaga.
“All right,” Mitya said.
He took the gifts and went along the path through the forest. Everything is straight and straight. As his grandmother told him. But the further he moved away from the village, the more he was surprised. The trees parted before him as if alive. The grass has become greener, and the flowers are more beautiful and fragrant.
And suddenly a big, big Gray Wolf ran out to meet the boy. Much more than those that usually sit in the zoo.
“Hello,” he said in a human voice. “Did you happen to see a goat here?” Gray like that?
Mitya was at first confused, and then said:
- No ... I did not see a goat.
“Hmmm,” Wolf said thoughtfully, “it means I won’t have breakfast today. He sat on his hind legs. - But the girl did not come across to you? So small, with a basket? In a red cap?
- No, - Mitya answered, - I didn’t come across a girl either.
- Hmm, - the Wolf drawled even more thoughtfully, - it means that I will be without lunch today! He turned and ran back into the forest.
The boy felt sorry for the Wolf, and he said:
“Would you like me to feed you?” I have a pie with me.
The wolf stopped.
- With what? With meat?
- No. With cabbage.
"I don't want to," Wolf said. - I'd like to eat some sausages. Do you have a sausage boy?
“Yes,” Mitya replied. - Only I'm afraid my grandmother will scold me.
What else is a grandmother? Wolf inquired.
Because gray wolves are always interested in other people's grandmothers and granddaughters.
- Grandmother Yegorovna. I'm going to her.
- For you, she may be a grandmother, - Wolf grinned, - but for me ... well, not even a bit. Don't worry, she won't scold you. You treat me, and I'll still be useful to you!
The path crossed the green meadow and ran down to the river.
A white mist hung over the river and smelled of milk. A bridge rose above the mist.
Is this river a milky one? the boy was surprised. “But no one told me about it.
He stopped in the middle of the bridge and watched for a long time how sunbeams ran along the light milky waves. Then he went on. His footsteps resounded in the silence, and multicolored bug-eyed frogs jumped into the milk from the jelly banks. They must have been made from jelly.
Then the path led the boy through a dark forest and ran into a low wooden fence. Behind the fence stood a dilapidated hut on chicken legs.
“Hut, hut,” said the boy, “come on, turn your back to the forest, and front to me!”
The hut turned.
- That's great! Mitya was surprised. - And now to the left! One-two!
The hut turned to the left.
- And now in place step by step march!
One-two! One-two! One-two ... One-two ... - the hut marched, raising dust. And one could hear how cups and saucers rattled and rolled on the shelves inside.
But then the window opened, and some old woman leaned out of it.
– What are you hooligans? What are you bullying? she screamed. “That’s how I’ll jump out, how I’ll jump out, how I’ll crack with a broom!”
“Hello,” Mitya said to her. - And you, grandmother, who? Are you Baba Yaga?
“Yes,” the old woman replied. - And who are you?
- I am Mitya.
- What else is Mitya?
- Ordinary, Sidorov.
- What should I do with you?
- Like what?
- And so. If you were Ivan Tsarevich, I would give you tea and put you to bed. If you were a boy Ivashka, I would boil you in a cauldron. And what should I do with Mitya, I won’t even know!
“I don’t need to cook,” the boy said. - After all, I brought you guests.
- From whom are the gifts?
- From my grandmother Glafira Andreevna. I am her grandson.
“Why didn’t you just say so?” So you are my cousin! And I wanted you with a broom! You wait. I instantly.
And in the hut something rustled, rustled, moved. Obviously, the floor was swept, a fresh tablecloth was laid down and clean dishes were taken out.
Finally the door swung open and the boy climbed the steps.
The house was clean and cool. Baba Yaga, with a big nose, smart and combed, was sitting at the table, and next to her was a small, musty and some kind of all green unfamiliar old woman.
- Why are you, grandmother, so wet? the boy asked her. - As if they got out of the swamp?
- And I got out of the swamp, - the old woman answered. “I live there, in the swamp. For a thousand years, probably!
- Wow! I have never heard of people living in the swamp. Yes, another thousand years!
“Of course,” said the old woman, offended. You have probably heard about Baba Yaga. What am I? I don't fly in a mortar. I don't feed Ivanov Tsareviches. I just live in a swamp, that's all!
- Yes, you know her! This is Kikimora swamp! Baba Yaga intervened. She lives right next door. Went out for a visit.
- You mean Kikimora? Then I know about you. You, together with Leshy, scare people in the forest. Right?
- What is there together! Expect help from him! You have to do everything yourself!
She calmed down a bit.
Still, it's nice - an outsider, a city boy, but knows something about you.
And they began to drink tea with lingonberry and cranberry jam.
And talk about this and that. About the fifth, about the tenth. About the thirteenth and fourteenth.
There was a saucer on the table, the old woman looked into it all the time. And an apple rolled on a saucer.
- And what's that? the boy asked.
- This is an apple - on a silver platter, - Baba Yaga answered. - A gift to me from Vasilisa the Wise. She came to visit, so she left. She comes up with a lot!
- What can you see on it, on this saucer?
- Yes, whatever you want. We all now know what is happening in our kingdom! Kikimora said.
- Sit closer and take a look. - Baba Yaga moved a stool to the boy.
Mitya looked ... and this is what he saw.
Chapter 2
Tsar Makar
On the bank of the wide Milky River stood the royal palace.
It was hot. Flies buzzed. From the heat, the milk turned sour in some places, and curdled milk turned out in the backwaters.
The palace is quiet. All the inhabitants hid somewhere from the unbearable heat of the sun.
And only in the throne room it was cool. Tsar Makar sat on the edge of the throne and watched as Gavril's servant slowly rubbed the floors.
- And how do you rub? How do you rub? the king shouted. "Who's cleaning the floors like that?" Well, give me! I'll teach you right now!
“You can’t, your Majesty,” Gavrila answered sedately. - It's not a royal business - to rub the floors. See who - the conversation will not turn around. You are already sitting, rest yourself.
- Ugh you! Makar sighed. “And what is my life like?” You can’t work with an ax - it’s undignified! You can’t rub the floors - it’s indecent! Well, tell me, Gavrila, do I have a place to live in this house?
“No,” answered Gavrila, “you don’t have to live in this house!”
“Well, tell me, Gavrila, have I seen anything good in my life?
“We didn’t, Your Majesty. You didn't see anything.
- No ... if you think about it, - said the king, - then there was something good.
- Well ... if you think about it, - Gavrila agreed, - then it was. It's clear. And he shuffled his brush again.
- Oh, you, “it was - it wasn’t” ... You won’t hear a good word from you! I’ll drop everything,” the king continued, “and go to the village to my grandmother. I will fish with a rod. Plow like all people. And in the evening I will play songs on the mound. Hey, Gavrila, - ordered the king, - give me a balalaika here!
“No, your majesty,” he replied. - You are not supposed to play the balalaika. This is not a royal job. I will give you a harp. Strum all day long.
He removed the harp from the wall and, slapping his bare feet, approached the king. Makar settled himself comfortably on the throne and sang:
In the dark forest, in the dark forest
In the dark forest, in the dark forest
Forest, forest...
Will I open, will I open,
Will I break it, will I break it...
Here he stopped.
- Hey, Gavrila, what am I going to plow?
- Pashenka, Your Majesty, pashenka.
“Oh, yes,” the king agreed, and finished singing:
Pashenka, pashenka,
I will sow, I will sow
I will sow, I will sow...
Hey, Gavrila, what will I sow?
- Hemp flax, Your Majesty. Linen-hemp.
- Flax-hemp, flax-hemp! Makar repeated and ordered: “Hey, Gavrila, write down the words for me on a piece of paper.” Too bad the song is good!
“So I’m illiterate, Your Majesty.
“That’s right, that’s right,” Makar recalled. - Well, darkness in my kingdom!
The royal clerk Chumichka entered the hall.
“Your Majesty, the entire boyar thought has been assembled,” he said. “They are waiting for you.
– E-he-he! the king sighed. “Is the magic mirror ready?”
"It's all right, Your Majesty, don't worry!"
- Then let's go! But still, you know, Chumichka, - he said importantly, putting on the crown, - being a king is just as bad as not being a king!
- Great idea! exclaimed the clerk. I will definitely write this down in my book!
- It's stupidity, not a thought! Makar objected.
- Do not argue, your majesty! Don't argue! I know better. It's my job to write down your thoughts. For grandchildren. For them, your every word is gold!
“If so, write,” Makar agreed. - Yes, look, don’t make mistakes, so that I don’t blush in front of my grandchildren later!
Chapter 3
Boyar Duma
The Boyar Duma was buzzing like a beehive. The bearded boyars had not seen each other for a long time and now they were sharing the news.
- And I was in the village! shouted the boyar Morozov. - I swam in the river! I collected berries - viburnum, all kinds of raspberries!
Think village! - answered the boyar Demidov. - I went to the Blue Sea. Roasted on the sand.
- Well, what about your sea? objected the boyar Afonin. - Also unseen! I've sailed on a raft along the Milky River and then I am silent! I ate sour cream!
But then the heavy oak doors swung open, and the king solemnly entered the hall. In his hand he held a scroll. Behind him appeared the clerk Chumichka with a pen and an inkwell in a bag.
- Quiet! Quiet! the king tapped with his staff. - Look, make a noise!
The boyars fell silent.
- Everyone is here? Makar asked. - Or is there no one?
- Everything, everything! the boyars shouted from their seats.
- Let's check now. The king unfolded the scroll. - Boyar Afonin?
“Here,” answered the boyar Afonin, the one who sailed along the Milky River.
- Demidov?
- OK. And Morozov? Benchkin? Chubarov? Kara-Murza?
– Present!
- Fine. Well. The king laid down the scroll. - But I don’t see Kachanov. Where is he?
“And his grandmother fell ill,” Boyar Afonin explained. The most bearded and therefore the most important among the boyars.
- He has a grandmother, then he has a grandfather! Makar was angry. - I’ll put him in a closet, all his grandmothers will immediately recover.
At this time, two archers brought a magic mirror into the hall and removed the cover from it. The king went to the mirror and said:
Oh you, mirror, my light,
Please answer quickly:
Are we in trouble?
Is the enemy coming here?
The mirror darkened, and a guy in a white shirt appeared in it.
All is well in our kingdom! - he said. “And there is no danger for us. But there are troubles, even as many as two.
- And you, let's go in order, - ordered Chumichka. - In turn.
- First of all, the Nightingale the Robber showed up, escaped from custody. I've already robbed two merchants.
- What do we do? Makar asked.
- Streltsov must be sent, - answered Chumichka. - To catch the swindler!
- Right! It's true he says! the boyars shouted in unison.
“That’s right, that’s right,” Makar agreed. - Yes, it's expensive - to send archers. A lot of money is needed. And the horses will have to be torn off. And now the work is the most in the field.
- But what about it? exclaimed the clerk.
- Let's ask Vasilisa the Wise.
- What should I ask her? What is she, smarter than us, or what? shouted the boyar Afonin.
- Know smarter! Makar said sternly. - Since the people called her the Wise One. Hey, come to me!
A boy ran in in brand new red ankle boots.
- Here's what, little one, run to Vasilisa the Wise and ask her what to do with the Nightingale the Robber?
The boy nodded and ran out of the room. And the boyars began to wait, scratching their beards. Out of breath, the boy ran back.
- She says that pictures should be sent around the villages. Like, the Nightingale the Robber escaped. He is so old. Whoever catches it will be rewarded with half a barrel of silver. The men will immediately catch him.
- But it's a good idea! Makar said. - Is it true, boyars?
- Right!
- What is there! the boyars agreed.
And the guy in the mirror was waiting.
- Well, what is the second news? the king asked him.
- But what is it. The merchant Syromyatnikov from the Milk River took the sleeve to his gardens. Water the cabbage with milk. And dirty milk flows back into the river.
- That's what I see, the sour cream was somehow not like that! shouted the boyar Afonin. The one that floated on the Milky River.
- OK OK! The king raised his hand. – What are we going to do?
- Flog him. On the square in front of the people, my dear, - Chumichka said insinuatingly.
- It won't work! Merchants flog - the goods can not be seen! Makar objected.
- Gold words! the clerk agreed. How did I not think of this myself? This must be written down. This should be left for the grandchildren!
- Yes, you wait with your grandchildren! Hey little one! called the king of the runner. - Run back to Vasilisa. What will she advise?
- Uncle king, why do I keep running to her? Let's call her here, - said the boy.
- But where is it seen? Baba, let me into the royal thought! - Chumichka got excited.
- It is forbidden! the boyars shouted. - It's not a woman's business - to sit in a thought! Let him advise at home!
And the boy rushed for the answer. Five minutes later he reported to the king:
- She says, you need to take half a barrel of silver from the merchant! Immediately that merchant will grow wiser.
- And what? She's talking! shouted the boyar Morozov. - Then we'll give silver for the Nightingale the Robber. The one who catches it.
- Wow! Chumichka was surprised. - How he invents! For nothing that woman!
The king tapped his staff.
- Well, write it!
“There is one more news here,” the guy from the mirror said suddenly. “But I don’t know whether to say it or not?” Painfully unusual news. You can't have it for everyone.
The thought is silent.
- Your Majesty, - said Chumichka, - order the boyars: who knows how to keep a secret - let him stay, who does not know how - let him go home!
- So be it.
Makar agreed.
Boyar Chubarov immediately headed towards the exit.
- Well, to hell with it, this secret! If you don't know, don't talk!
- Now speak! the clerk ordered the mirror.
- So, - says the guy, - our king is going to leave us. Tired, he says. Tired, he says, to reign. He wants to go to the village.
- How so?! the clerk perked up. - And I?
He fell on his knees before the king:
- Do not destroy, the king-father! What is a kingdom without a king! Whose thoughts shall I write down?
- What, without me there will be no thoughts? Makar was surprised.
- What kind of thoughts are these, - Chumichka shouted, - if they are not royal ?!
- Nothing, nothing! Everything will be fine. There are boyars here, and Vasilisa the Wise, - Makar reassured him. - And my word is firm - I will leave. To Grandma. I will sunbathe like everyone else. Hay to mow. I will catch bream with a bait. Any questions?
- Eat! Eat! shouted the boyar Morozov. - What are you going to catch?
- How - for what? To the worm!
- Please speak! I ask for words! Morozov demanded. He got forward and spoke: - Dear boyars! Bream - he is a cunning fish. He won't go for the worm. It is necessary to take it for semolina porridge!
And they started a long fishing conversation.
Chapter 4
Scribe Chumichka
At that time, in Baba Yaga's hut, the saucer suddenly became cloudy and nothing could be seen.
- Why? Mitya asked.
“The Serpent Gorynych flew out to hunt,” Baba Yaga answered. “Now he will stir up all the air.” You won't see anything until the evening. Let him fail, wonderful! So that everything burst with him, at the most beautiful!
Why do you call him amazing? And pretty? Mitya was surprised.
“Because you can’t scold him,” Baba Yaga explained. Whoever scolds him, he will eat him.
- And you will eat, grandmother?
“It won’t eat me,” the old woman answered. - Will choke. But you won't get into trouble!
- Grandmother, is your king Makar good? Mitya asked.
- Nothing, economic, fair. And he consults with Vasilisa the Wise.
- Well, what is she like, Vasilisa the Wise?
- Asked too! Yes, she is my niece! She came up with so many things - not to count! And walking boots! And an apple - on a saucer! And the flying carpet!
“Domovoy helps her,” Kikimora put in, “her assistant.”
“You know what, grandmother, but I like you at your place,” Mitya said to Baba Yaga. “May I stay here for a while?”
- Live all summer long! Baba Yaga answered. “Just don’t go where you don’t have to, that’s all.”
Evening came imperceptibly, and the saucer cleared up again. Mitya bent down and began to look. And again he saw the royal palace. Behind the palace was a bathhouse. Steam was coming out of the bath.
Tsar Makar, covered in soapy foam, was sitting on a bench, and Gavril's attendant whipped him with a broom.
- Bring on the park! Bring on the park! - His Majesty shouted, splashing foam. - As if you are not washing the king! Broom me, broom dear! Oooh!
Then the king thought:
“Hey, Gavrila, do you think the army won’t scatter here without me?” If I leave?
“It shouldn't, your majesty. Why would he run away?
- And how will he take it and run away!
- And what! Gavrila agreed. - Take it and run away. How long does it take to run away?
- OK. How about merchants? Will they stop trading with overseas countries?
- Merchants? No, of course not. Why should they stop?
- And how will they take it and stop?
- And what? They may stop. Stopping is not hard. This is possible in no time, - the servant agreed, whipping the king with a broom.
- Well, there will be no war here without me? How do you think?
- Must not be. Who needs it, this war?
- And how will the enemies attack, what then?
“And when they attack, then it will be,” Gavrila said confidently. - If they didn’t attack, then it’s another matter!
- Oh you! Makar got angry. - Sense from you! Run away, don't run away! Stop, don't stop! Attack, don't attack! And that's the way it works for you! I would have kept quiet.
And he, steamed, plunged into his thoughts.
... Meanwhile, the clerk Chumichka, with his hands behind his back, walked around the royal palace.
- And how can I be now? he reasoned. - I'll be lost. Who needs me now without a king? After all, now they will force me to work! They will send you to the kitchen.
And he ran to look for the royal daughter Nesmeyana.
... Nesmeyana with her servant Fyokla sat on the shore of a dry pond and roared at the top of her voice:
- Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh - mom! Oh-oh-oh - dad!
"Nesmeyana Makarovna," said Chumichka, "break away for a minute, there's work to be done."
- Which? Nesmeyana asked, having stopped crying.
- The king, your father, is going to leave us. Wants to go to the village. Here's the trouble!
- Yah?! daughter was surprised. - What village?
- What's the difference in what? Well, what's the difference?
- If we go to Marfino, that's good. And if in Pavshino, it's so bad!
Now the clerk was surprised:
- Why?
- Yes, because there is a gobbling bull! That's why.
“Princess, we need to save the kingdom, go talk to the priest.” He can only listen to you.
- I can not. I must cry,” said Nesmeyana. - When I pay a whole pond, they will give me a carriage.
“Well, Nesmeyanochka, dear,” begged Chumichka. - I'll pay for you. I'll try with Fyokla Sergeevna.
Nesmeyana went to the king, and Chumichka sat down in her place and wept bitter tears.
Half an hour later, Nesmeyana returned.
- Persuaded! - she said. - Everything is fine. Let's go to Marfino. Bulls don't butt there!
- You only think about bulls, dear Nesmeyana Makarovna! - Chumichka shouted.
In the hut on chicken legs, Baba Yaga, Mitya and Kikimora, without stopping, watched what the saucer showed. Until it faded again.
Probably, it was the Serpent Gorynych who was returning home from hunting.
- You'll see tomorrow! Now go to sleep!
It was late. Kikimora said goodbye to them and went into her swamp. Mitya lay down on a bench under the window and fell asleep very quickly.
And Baba Yaga fiddled with the stove for a long time. She washed the dishes and muttered under her breath something eternal, Babino Yagina.
Chapter 5
Vasilisa the Wise
The next day, early in the morning, Baba Yaga woke the boy.
- Here's a bucket for you. Run to the river for milk, and pick up sour cream in a jar.
Mitya took a bucket, put a lid in it, and jumped over the dewy grass towards the river. Sun was shining. Black thunderclouds floated from that unfabulous side. But over the river they melted and turned into pleasant white clouds.
Mitya leaned down from the bridge and scooped up some sour cream and milk. And then he noticed some strange red stones on the shore.
He picked one up and saw that it was real cheese, Dutch, or maybe Yaroslavl.
- Miracles, and more! the boy said. He put the cheese under his arm and quickly ran home.
They had breakfast with Baba Yaga and went out onto the warm, sun-warmed porch.
Baba Yaga began to speak:
- There, far, far away, you see a big mountain?
I see, grandma.
This mountain is cursed. No matter how many people went there, no one came home!
- Why?
- That's fun!
"You're having fun," the old woman agreed. - What about parents? They need a son, not a goat! ..
“Grandma,” Mitya interrupted her, “is it possible to look into a magic saucer only in the evenings?”
- Why? Watch all day long. When there is time!
- Let's see then?
“Come on,” Baba Yaga said. She took out a saucer and placed it in the middle of the table.
Then Kikimora came, and the three of them began to watch what happened next.
This time they saw the blue tower of Vasilisa the Wise. Near the tower the clerk Chumichka was spinning. He stood by the porch, listened to what was going on inside, and knocked. Nobody responded. Then he pushed open the door and entered. The door behind him immediately closed, and the lock clicked. He must have been magical. Or English.
It was the workshop of Vasilisa. Old books stood on the shelves, unprecedented flowers grew on the windows. Something was cooking in a cast-iron pot on the stove. Some kind of healing potion.
The scribe lifted the lid and sniffed.
A large table blocked off the workshop. On it were various tools and two bottles of living and dead water. Hats, bags, boots and other things were neatly arranged on a bench against the wall. In the corner stood a forged chest, and next to it was a dish with red and green apples.
Chumichka picked everything up, touched and examined. And things were calm. But as soon as he opened the chest, a heavy club jumped out and began to beat the clerk on the sides.
– Are you out of your mind? - Chumichka shouted. - Guard! Oh oh! Mother! Oh oh! Fathers! Kill!
There was a slight chime, and Vasilisa the Wise entered the house. Her dress was embroidered with fabulous flowers, and on her head was a kokoshnik with crystal pendants.
- Club, in place! Vasilisa ordered. The club calmed down and went into the chest.
“Excuse me, mother! - the clerk began to justify himself. “I accidentally opened the chest. I didn't want to, but he took it and opened it. And how this beater will pop out!
Vasilisa smiled.
- Do not be sad! But we did a great job with you. The club was tested. So tell me, how does it work? Fine?
- Well, it works well! - Chumichka rubbed the bruised places. - But why is she beating her own?
- And that's why he beats, so that they don't get into other people's affairs! Your happiness is that you have not yet tasted an old apple. Grandpa would have left.
Vasilisa took a self-shaking purse from the bench and shook out several copper nickels.
“Here, put it on the bruises.” It will immediately become easier.
The clerk tried the nickels on his teeth, held them for a while near the bruises, and slipped them imperceptibly into his pocket.
- What did you complain about? asked Vasilisa the Wise.
“But with what,” answered Chumichka. “Tell me, mother, who is the strongest person in our kingdom?”
– Perhaps, Koschey the Immortal. He is the strongest. And what?
- Yes, nothing. And where is he now?
“But I won’t say that. You will know a lot - you will soon grow old!
- And it is not necessary! And it is not necessary! I don’t need to know this,” Chumichka agreed. “I'm just so interested. Out of curiosity.
- Oh, you're cunning, clerk! Vasilisa said. - And Koschei is a state secret. And not everyone needs to know about it.
She took a bronze bell from the table and rang it. Her assistant came in - a short and big-headed uncle Brownie.
“Here, uncle, take the guest,” Vasilisa told him. - Give him some tea. And things are waiting for me.
- And what? And drink. I have just boiled tea, - answered the Brownie.
He and Chumichka went into the upper room. The brownie busied himself with the cups and saucers, and the clerk sat down on a bench by the stove and began to question his uncle.
“Listen, here you are working for Vasilisa the Wise for a year, but you don’t know many things,” he said.
- Is that what I don't know?
“But who is the strongest man in the kingdom?”
- Strongest? Uncle thought about it. – Yes, perhaps, Nikita Kozhemyaka. Vasilisa Afanasievna measured his strength with horses. So he pulled eight horses.
- But no! The strongest in our kingdom will be Koschey the Immortal, - objected Chumichka.
The brownie thought about it.
- It's right. Yes, only he, Koshchei, has a secret. If he, Koschei, is alone, then any boy can handle him! But if he has friends or an army, then there is no one stronger. Then he will knock over a hundred-year-old oak tree with his sword. He is not afraid of fire, or water, or anything at all.
“You see, but you didn’t know that,” said Chumichka.
- How did you not know? - Uncle was taken aback. - I knew!
- Yes?! - exclaimed Chumichka. - And you tell me then, where is he, Koschey the Immortal, now?
- And in the basement of the king, he is chained! It's been there for two hundred years!
Just then, the sound of horses was heard outside the window.
- What's this? Has anyone come to you? the clerk asked.
“No, on the contrary,” answered the uncle. Vasilisa Afanasievna left. To Lukomorye for living water. Living water has come out of us.
“Interesting, interesting,” muttered the clerk. He got up from the stool. - Well, I'm going, uncle. Good health to you!
- I don't want to, uncle. There is no appetite.
... - He's up to something stupid! Baba Yaga exclaimed when the fabulous city was no longer visible.
- Who? Mitya asked.
Yes, this clerk. That's who. If I were there, I would look after him, my dear!
- Grandma, how far is it to get there? Mitya asked.
- Oh, you fool! Yes, as long as you get, you will stop five pairs of shoes.
“But I figured out how to get there!” Will you just take me with you?
- Okay, talk. But I won't go on foot!
“And you don’t have to walk,” Mitya answered. - Does the hut have legs?
“Yes,” said Baba Yaga.
- Here we are in the hut and go. Why would her feet disappear?
Baba Yaga was amazed:
- Good job! I have been living in a hut for three hundred years, but this never crossed my mind! Now I will show this Chumichka. And I became old to fly in a mortar. And the age is not the same!
“Actually, it’s a tricky idea! Kikimora said. - And ride around the kingdom. And you can stay with Vasilisa the Wise!
“When are we going, grandma?”
- Yeah right now! - answered the old woman. - We have nothing to gather. Everything is in our house!
She went down to the cellar, picked up potatoes for the journey, took off the linen that was drying in the yard, and gave Kikimore the last orders:
- Look after my garden. Cabbage fields, carrots propoli. If any prince appears, say that I am not there - she left for the capital. Yes, they are tired. Three visit each day. Feed, drink and put everyone to sleep! An inn has been set up! And if there is no me, they will start to respect me.
“That’s right, that’s right,” agreed Kikimora. - There is no life from them, from the princes. Don't worry about the garden. I will do everything.
Mitya and Baba Yaga went out onto the porch, and Mitya ordered:
- Hut, hut, march forward step by step!
Baba Yaga's hut stomped on the spot, took a few hesitant steps and ran forward, cheerfully creaking logs. Apparently, she had long wanted to stretch her chicken legs.
And the lakes, forests, fields and all kinds of other open spaces floated towards.
