red fairy book

Chapter 11 Kosh, who can't die, is dead (2)
"Can we catch up?"

"It's just to plant some barley first, harvest it when it grows up, brew it into beer, sleep after drinking it, and then go after it in time."

Kosh caught up with Prince Ivan.

"I told you, don't see Maya again? Mowana." After he finished speaking, he took her away.

Prince Ivan stayed there alone, crying and crying, and went to see Maya Movana again, and Kosh was not at home again.

"Let's run, Maya!"

"Oh, Prince Ivan, he will catch us and tear you to pieces."

"Cut it, just cut it, I can't live without you."

They ran again.

When Kosh came home, his steed was sniffing down there again.

"What's the matter? Dear old horse, what's wrong with the smell?"

"Prince Ivan took Princess Maya away again."

Kosh flew over, caught Prince Ivan, cut him into pieces, put him in a bucket, coated with pitch, tied them with hoops, threw him into the sea, and threw Maya?Mowana took it home.

At this time, all the silverware that Prince Ivan left to his brothers-in-law turned black.

"Oh, the devil has succeeded, evidently!" they said.

The eagle hurried to the beach, brought the bucket up, and dragged it to the shore. The falcon brought back the life-saving water, and the crow brought back the death water.

Then the three of them got together, broke the barrel, took out the remains of Prince Ivan, washed them, and put them back together.The crow poured the water of death once, and the corpses solidified together.The body was complete, and the Falcon poured life-saving water again. Prince Ivan shook and stood up: "Aha, I slept so long!"

"You'll sleep longer without us," said his brothers-in-law. "Come, come to our house."

"Oh, no, brothers-in-law, I must go to Maya Mowana."

When he found her, he said to her, "You try to find out where Kosh the Immortal got such a fine horse."

Maya Mowana asked Kosh at the right time, and he replied: "Across twenty-seven lands and thirty countries, beyond the river of fire, lives Baba Yago. There is a mare She rode it around the world every day, and she had other good horses, and I watched her horses for three days, and she didn't lose any, and she gave me a colt as a token of gratitude."

"Then how did you cross the Flame River?"

"Oh, I have a handkerchief. With three swishes of the right hand, a bridge will come up, and the fire won't reach the bridge."

Maya Movana heard this, and told Prince Ivan, she also stole the handkerchief and gave it to him.He crossed the bridge and went to Baba Yago's house.

He had neither eaten nor drank all the way, and when he met a strange bird with its young, he said:

"I want to eat a bird."

"Don't eat, Prince Ivan!" replied the bird, "I will repay you sooner or later."

He walked on again.In the forest, I saw a beehive.

"I'll have some honey," he said.

"Don't touch my honey, Prince Ivan!" said the Queen Bee, "I will repay you later."

So, without moving, he walked on and came across a lioness and her cub.

"Anyway, I'm going to eat this little lion cub. I'm starving!" he said.

"Don't do that, Prince," pleaded the lioness, "I will repay you later."

"Okay, let's go," he said.

Hungry and dizzy he went, farther and farther, until at last he reached Baba Yago's house.Two holes surround the house in a circular shape, eleven of which have human heads on each, and No. 12 is still empty.

"Oh, Granny!"

"Ha, Prince Ivan! Where did you come from? Did you come here yourself, or did someone send you here?"

"I've come to ask you for a gallant horse."

"All right, Prince. You don't have to serve me for a year, but three days are enough. If you take good care of your horse, I'll give you one. If you don't, oh, you'll find to your distress, Your head is on the last hole outside."

Prince Ivan agreed to these conditions.Bayago gave him food and drink and told him to set to work.When he got the horse out into the grass, the horse put up its tail and fled in every direction.Before the prince could see clearly, the horse ran away out of sight.

Prince Ivan sat on the stone and wept bitterly.When the sun was setting, the strange bird flew up and woke him up, saying: "Stand up! Prince Ivan. The horses are home."

Prince Ivan got up and went home.Baba Yago flew into a rage at her herd, screaming:
"What are you doing back here?"

"We had to come back," said the horses, "a flock of birds came flying from all directions, and nearly pecked out our eyeballs."

"Okay, okay, don't go to the grass tomorrow, let's spread out in the woods."

Prince Ivan slept all night.The next morning, Baba Yago said to him, "Be careful, Prince, if you don't look down on the horses and lose even one of them, I'll put your head in that hole!"

He drove the horses away from the house, and the horses put up their tails and disappeared into the woods.The prince sat down on the stone again and wept, and then he fell asleep.When the sun went down, the lioness came.

"Get up, Prince! The horses are home."

Prince Ivan went back.Baba Yago got even angrier and screamed, "What are you doing back here?"

"What shall we do? Hordes of beasts are chasing us and tearing us to pieces."

"Okay, let's go to the sea tomorrow."

Prince Ivan slept another night.Early the next morning, Baba Yago said to him: "Prince, if you don't look down on the horses, even if you lose only one, I will put your head on that hole!"

He drove the horses away from the house, and the horses cocked their tails, escaped his view, and jumped into the sea with only their necks sticking out of the water.

Prince Ivan sat on the stone, wept and fell asleep.When the sun was setting, a bee flew up and said, "Get up, Prince Ivan! The horses are gone. But don't let Baba Yago see you when you go home, go to the stable, and hide behind the manger, and you You'll see a poor colt rolling in a dunghill, ride it away in the dead of night."

Prince Ivan got up, slipped into the stable, and hid behind the manger.Baba Yago was still angry at her horse, screaming, "What are you doing back?"

"We couldn't help but come back. A lot of bees flew over and made us bleed!"

Baba Yago went to bed.In the middle of the night Prince Ivan stole the poor pony, saddled himself, jumped on its back, and ran to the River of Fire.He shook the handkerchief three times by the river, and a magnificent bridge emerged out of nowhere, spanning both sides of the river.Prince Ivan crossed the bridge, waving the handkerchief twice with his left hand.

The bridge is still on the river, but it is so small!
When Baba Yago got up in the morning and found the foal gone, she ran after it, and sat in her mortar, pounding him with a hammer, and urging him to hurry.

When she rushed to the flame river, she looked at it, said to herself: "A bridge!" and rushed onto the bridge.But she was halfway there when the bridge cracked in two and Baba Yago fell into the river.

Now, she is dead!

Prince Ivan fed the pony on the green, and it turned into an amazing war horse.Prince Ivan rode it to Maya?Mowana there.She ran out, put her arms around his neck, and cried, "How did God let you live so far?"

"That's it," he said. "Come with me now."

"I am afraid, Prince Ivan! If he catches you, he will cut you into pieces again!"

"No, he can't chase us at all! I have a horse now, and it can fly like a bird." So they got on the horse and went away.

When Kosh came home, his steed was sniffing down there again.

"What's the matter? Dear old horse, what's wrong with the smell?"

"Prince Ivan took Princess Maya away again. Can we catch up?"

"God knows, his horse is better than mine!"

"No, go after it!" said the undead Kosh.

After a while he overtook Prince Ivan, jumped to the ground, and was about to chop him up with his dagger.

At this moment, Prince Ivan's war horse kicked the undead Kosh severely, smashing his skull, and Ivan killed him with a stick.

Then Prince Ivan built a pile of wood, cremated the mortal Kosh, and scattered his ashes in the wind.Maya?Movana mounted Kosh's horse, and Prince Ivan mounted his own, and they went to see the crow, the eagle, and then the falcon, and were all warmly welcomed.

"Oh, Prince Ivan, we didn't expect to see you again! All this trouble is because of this beautiful girl! There is no other girl as beautiful as her in all the world!"

The masters entertained them with a feast, and then they returned to their lands.

(End of this chapter)