Antipyretics for children are prescribed by a pediatrician. But there are emergency situations with fever when the child needs to be given medicine immediately. Then the parents take responsibility and use antipyretic drugs. What is allowed to be given to infants? How can you lower the temperature in older children? What medications are the safest?
In ancient times there lived a great king. He had three daughters, like full moons, and a son, as agile as a gazelle and beautiful as a summer morning.
One day three strangers came to the royal court. One carried a golden peacock, another carried a copper trumpet, and the third had a horse made of ivory and ebony.
What are these things? - asked the king.
“He who has a golden peacock,” answered the first stranger, “will always know what time it is.” As soon as one hour of the day or night passes, the bird flaps its wings and screams.
“He who has a copper pipe,” said the second, “should not be afraid of anything.” The enemy will still be far away, but the trumpet itself will blow and warn everyone of the danger.
And the third stranger said:
Anyone who has an ebony horse will go to any country he wants.
“I won’t believe you until I experience these things myself,” the king answered.
It was approaching noon, the sun was directly overhead, then the peacock flapped its wings and screamed. At that moment, a petitioner entered the gates of the palace. The trumpet suddenly blew out of nowhere. The king ordered the stranger to be searched, and the servants found a sword under his clothes. The stranger confessed that he wanted to kill the king.
“These are very useful things,” the king rejoiced. - What do you want to get for them?
Give me your daughter as a wife,” the first stranger asked.
“I also want to marry the princess,” said the second.
The king, without hesitation, took the peacock and the trumpet from them and gave them his daughters as wives.
Then a third stranger, the owner of an ebony horse, approached the king.
“O lord,” he said with a bow, “take yourself a horse and give me a third princess as my wife.”
“Don’t rush,” said the king. - We haven't tested your horse yet. At this time the king’s son came up and said to his father:
Let me mount this horse and test it.
Test him as you wish,” the king answered.
The prince jumped onto the horse, spurred it, pulled the bridle, but the horse stood rooted to the spot.
Have you lost your mind, you unfortunate thing?! - the king shouted at the stranger. - How dare you deceive the lord? Get away with your horse, otherwise I will order you to be thrown into prison.
But the stranger was not embarrassed. He approached the prince and showed him a small ivory button that was on the right side of the horse’s neck.
“Press this button,” he told the prince.
The prince pressed the button, and suddenly the horse rose to the clouds and flew faster than the wind. He rose higher and higher, and finally the prince completely lost sight of the earth. He felt dizzy and had to grab the horse’s neck with both hands to keep from falling. The prince already regretted that he mounted his horse and mentally said goodbye to life.
But then he noticed that the horse had exactly the same button on the left side of its neck. The prince pressed it, and the horse flew more slowly and began to descend. Then the prince again pressed the button on the right side - the horse again flew upward like an arrow and rushed like a whirlwind above the clouds. The prince was glad that he had discovered the secret of the horse and could control it. Excited by the fast ride on the magic horse, the prince began to fall and then rise. He experienced such pleasure from flying that no mortal had ever experienced before.
When the prince was tired, he pressed the button on the left side and began to descend. He descended all day until he finally saw land.
It was a foreign land, with lakes and fast streams, with green forests, where there was a lot of different game, and in the middle of the country stood a wonderful city with white palaces and cypress groves.
The prince sank lower and lower and finally directed his horse towards a palace built of golden bricks. The palace stood far from the city among rose gardens. The prince sank onto the roof of the palace and dismounted from his horse. He was surprised that everything around was so quiet, as if everything had died out. There was no noise, nothing disturbed the silence. The prince decided to spend the night here and go home in the morning. He sat down comfortably and began to watch how the night enveloped the treetops.
So he sat, leaning on the legs of a wooden horse, and looked down. Suddenly he noticed a light in the rose garden. It seemed to the prince that a star had descended into the garden, it was getting closer and closer, growing, breaking up into ten lights, and then the prince saw beautiful slave girls in silver veils with lamps in their hands.
They surrounded a girl, such a beauty that as soon as the prince looked at her, his heart sank. The girls entered the palace, and immediately the windows were illuminated with bright light, beautiful music began to play, and the air was filled with the wonderful smell of incense and amber.
The prince could not control himself, he unwound his turban and went down it to the window, from which the brightest light poured. Through the window he climbed into the room where the girls were sitting. They ran away screaming, and only the most beautiful one did not move from her place, as if he had bewitched her. She could not take her eyes off the prince's face. Love unexpectedly blossomed in their hearts.
They told each other about themselves. The beauty told the prince that she was the king's daughter. The king built this palace for her so that she would have somewhere to have fun when she gets bored in her father's house.
Meanwhile, the girls from the princess’s retinue ran to the palace, woke up the king and shouted:
King, help! An evil spirit flew through the window to the princess and does not let her go.
The king did not hesitate. He attached the sword to his belt and ran to the palace to the princess.
He burst into her room, thinking that he would see his crying daughter in the clutches of a terrible genie. But instead he found her talking with a handsome young man. The girl smiled cheerfully at him. Then the king was overcome with rage.
He rushed with a naked sword at the stranger, but the prince also drew his sword. The king did not dare to enter into a duel with the clever one, full of energy young men and lowered his sword.
Are you human or genie? - he shouted.
“I’m the same person as you,” the young man answered. “I am the son of a king and I ask you to give me your daughter as a wife.” And if you don’t give it, I’ll take it myself. The king was surprised to hear these bold words:
Just try it,” he exclaimed. - My army is in the city.
I will defeat all your warriors.
The prince did not think that the king would take him at his word.
Okay,” said the king, “I will give you a princess as a wife only when you have fought in the field with forty thousand horsemen.”
The prince was ashamed to admit to the princess that he was unable to do this, and he told the king that tomorrow he would fight with his army. The king invited the prince to spend the night in his palace, and all three headed there. In the palace, everyone waited for the morning in their own way. That morning it was to be decided whether the young stranger would become the king's son-in-law.
The prince immediately fell asleep like the dead: he was tired of the rapid flight above the clouds.
The king tossed and turned on his bed for a long time before falling asleep: he was afraid that his soldiers would kill the prince and he would lose his dear son-in-law. The princess did not sleep a wink all night, she was so afraid for her lover.
As soon as the sun rose, forty thousand horsemen lined up in the field outside the city, ready for battle. The king ordered the best horse from the royal stables to be brought for the prince, but the prince politely thanked him and said that he would only mount his own horse.
Where is your horse? - asked the king.
“On the roof of the princess’s palace,” answered the prince.
The king thought that the prince was laughing at him: how could the horse get onto the roof? But the prince insisted on his own, and the king had no choice but to send his servants to the roof to get the horse. Soon two strong servants returned and brought a horse. He was so handsome that the king and his entourage opened their mouths in surprise. But they were even more surprised when they saw that this horse was made of wood.
Well, on this horse you cannot cope with my army,” said the king.
The prince did not answer a word, jumped on the magic horse, pressed the button on the right side, and the horse soared into the air like an arrow. Before the king and the soldiers had time to come to their senses, the horse and the prince were already so high that they seemed like a tiny swallow in the blue sky.
They waited and waited, but the rider on the magic horse did not return. The king went to the palace and told the princess what had happened. The princess began to sob; She told her father that she would not live without her lover, and went to the palace of golden bricks. She locked herself there, didn’t eat anything, didn’t sleep, and just grieved for her prince. Her father tried to persuade her to get the young stranger out of her head.
After all, this is still not a prince, but a sorcerer, unless anyone else can fly through the air,” said the king.
But no matter how much he convinced or begged, the princess was inconsolable and became seriously ill from melancholy.
Meanwhile, the prince on a magic horse rose so high that he lost sight of the earth. He enjoyed the flight and still missed the beautiful princess. But the young man decided that he would return to her only after he saw his father, who probably did not sleep from grief and worries about his son and was looking for him throughout the country. The prince flew and flew until he saw the towers of his native city below. He landed on the roof of the royal palace, dismounted from his horse and ran straight to his father.
How happy everyone was when they saw that the prince was alive and well! He told his father about how he learned to ride a horse, how he ended up in a distant foreign country and fell in love with a princess there. And then he asked what happened to the owner of the magic horse, that foreigner who wanted to take the king’s daughter as his wife as a reward.
This rogue was thrown into prison because you disappeared through his fault,” said the king.
Did you throw him into prison because he gave us such a wonderful thing? - exclaimed the prince. - After all, he rather deserves the whole court to fall on his face before him.
The king immediately ordered the stranger to be released from prison and granted him the highest court rank.
The stranger politely thanked him for this honor, but deep down he harbored a grudge. He wanted to marry the princess, but he didn’t get her. But the sorcerer did not give himself away and waited for an opportunity to take revenge.
Soon the prince became bored with his home. He could not find peace for himself and yearned for the princess from a distant foreign country. In vain the king begged his son not to expose himself to danger: the prince did not listen. One day he jumped on an ebony horse and flew away. He flew and flew until he found himself in that foreign country. The prince again sank onto the roof of the palace made of golden bricks, which stood in the middle of the rose gardens.
The princess lay in her room, pale and haggard, there was silence all around. But then someone pulled back the curtain and her lover entered the room. All illness disappeared from the princess as if by hand. Beaming, she jumped up from her bed and threw herself on the prince’s neck.
Do you want to go with me to my kingdom? - asked the prince. The girl nodded, and before the frightened maids had time to come to their senses, the prince picked her up and carried her to the roof of the palace. There he put her on a magic horse, jumped on its back and pressed the button on the right side. And now they were already flying above the clouds, huddled close to each other, intoxicated by the meeting and enchanted by the magical flight.
Below, in the palace of golden bricks, an alarm was raised, the servants called the king, but it was too late. The king tore out his hair and mourned his missing daughter. He thought that he was not destined to see her again.
And the prince and princess flew and flew and did not even remember the old king. Finally they found themselves above the city where the prince’s father ruled, and landed on the ground in one of the royal gardens. The prince hid the princess in a gazebo, around which lilies, daffodils bloomed, and jasmine smelled fragrant; He placed the wooden horse nearby, and he went to his father.
Everyone was happy that the prince had returned home again, and the king almost lost his mind with happiness. The prince told him that he had brought a beautiful bride and asked his father for permission to marry her. The Tsar thought that if the Tsarevich got married, he would forever give up these mad leaps through the air. Therefore, he immediately agreed to celebrate the wedding.
Residents began to decorate the city, and preparations for a luxurious wedding were underway everywhere.
The prince sent singers and girls with harps to the garden where the princess was hidden. He ordered a thousand nightingales to be released there so that they would brighten up her wait. And the stranger, the owner of the magic horse, harbored terrible anger in his heart and almost suffocated with anger when he saw the festive preparations. In order not to look at all this, he began to wander through the royal gardens. And it happened that he came to a gazebo surrounded by jasmine and daffodils. There he noticed his horse. The sage looked into the gazebo and saw a girl of rare beauty. The stranger immediately guessed that this was the prince’s bride, and decided that now he could take revenge on everyone for the insult and for the fact that his horse was taken away from him.
He entered the princess, bowed to the ground and said:
The prince, my lord, sent me here to hide you in another place. You are in danger here.
The princess, looking at his ugly face, was frightened. The sage immediately noticed this and said:
The prince is very jealous, so he sent me, the ugliest of his friends, after you, so that you would not like me.
The princess smiled. She was pleased that the prince was afraid for her. She extended her hand to the ugly stranger and walked out of the gazebo with him. The sage led the girl to the magic horse and said:
Get on your horse. The prince wanted you to ride on it.
The princess climbed onto the horse, the sage sat behind him, pressed the button on the right side, and the horse flew into the air so quickly that it immediately disappeared from sight.
After some time, the princess, alarmed that they were flying faster and faster, asked:
Are the royal gardens so huge that we have to fly for so long? Then the disgusting monster laughed evilly and said to the princess:
So know that I am a great wizard. I made this horse myself and took you away to take revenge on the prince.
The wizard began to boast of his power.
If I want,” he said, “all the stars will fall on my head, like wasps on a ripe plum.”
He had already invented this, but the princess didn’t care: when she heard his first words, she lost consciousness.
Meanwhile, a magnificent procession headed by the prince headed into the garden to take the princess to the royal palace, where a wedding dress was prepared for her. The prince was very surprised that he could not hear the music and singing of the nightingales. He left his retinue and ran to the gazebo in which the princess was hidden. But the gazebo was empty. Beside himself with horror, he ran out into the garden and only then noticed that the ebony horse had also disappeared. The prince called the princess, searched the jasmine thickets, but there was no trace of her. Then one of the harpist girls whom he sent to the garden told him that a stranger had come for the princess and that he had flown away with her on a wonderful horse. When the girl described the appearance of this man to the prince, he recognized him as the owner of the magic horse. The prince realized that the stranger had taken revenge on him for his insult. He almost lost his mind from grief, cursed the wizard and his evil fate, looked up, hoping to see a horse with the princess in the clouds. But even if the prince saw him, he still could not do anything.
The princess was far, far away. In the evening, the stranger directed his horse to the ground, they landed on a green meadow through which a river flowed. Here he decided to rest. And it so happened that just at that time the king of that country was returning from hunting. He noticed the old man and the girl and ordered his retinue to stop. The king began to ask what kind of people they were and how they got to his country.
“I guess from your appearance and from the retinue that surrounds you that there is a king in front of me,” said the sage. - So forgive me that my sister and I are sitting in your meadow. We were very tired after a long journey.
O king! “He’s lying,” exclaimed the princess. - I'm not his sister. He forcibly took me away. Save me, oh lord, and I will be grateful to you to death. The king immediately ordered the ugly wizard to be tied up and a stretcher prepared for the princess. Then he began to examine the ebony horse. He liked the skillful work and ivory patterns, but neither the ugly sage nor the princess revealed to him the secrets of the magic horse. The king ordered the horse to be taken to the royal palace. He escorted the princess there and ordered the most beautiful chambers to be set aside for her. And the evil wizard who kidnapped the princess was thrown into prison by the royal servants.
It seemed that the princess had escaped danger. But she fell from the frying pan into the fire. The king fell in love with her passionately and did not let her leave the palace. Soon he told the girl that he wanted to marry her.
Meanwhile, the prince, her real groom, dressed in simple clothes, walked from city to city, from country to country, and asked everywhere about the ugly old man, the beautiful girl and the ebony horse; but no one could tell him about them. He walked like this for a long time, and many months passed until happiness finally smiled on him. In one of the cities at the market, merchants talked about how the king of a neighboring country, returning from a hunt, noticed a beautiful girl in the meadow. He freed her from the hands of the old freak and fell passionately in love with her. There is nothing surprising in all this. But the wooden horse is truly a miracle of miracles: it is decorated with ivory, and it cannot be distinguished from a living one.
As soon as the prince heard about this, his heart jumped with joy in his chest, and he immediately went to the neighboring country. He walked all night, and then a day and another night, and finally came to the royal capital. And in the city there was only talk about the beautiful girl whom the king fell madly in love with. But people said that the girl was out of her mind. The king did everything to cure her, but no means helped.
The prince without hesitation went to the royal palace and ordered to report himself as a skilled doctor from a distant country who could cure any ailment. The king was delighted and told him about how he found the princess and how she now does not eat, does not sleep, does not let anyone near her, tears expensive bedspreads to shreds and smashes wonderful mirrors and goblets to pieces.
The prince listened to him and said:
Before I begin to treat the princess, I must take a look at that ebony horse.
The king ordered the horse to be brought into the courtyard, and the prince carefully examined it. And when the young man saw that the horse was intact and that nothing had happened to him, and, most importantly, both buttons were in place, he said to the king:
Put a guard on this horse, and take me to the sick girl.
The king escorted him to the princess's room. The prince asked not to disturb him and went alone to his bride. As soon as the girl looked at him, she instantly recognized her lover in the disguised doctor. The princess almost lost her mind from joy. The prince told her what she had to do so that he could free her, and returned to the king.
O king, he said. - The girl is already better, but for her to be completely healed, I must cast another spell. Order the horse to be brought to the meadow where you found the girl. And let your servants bring the princess there.
The king, delighted that the foreign doctor would cure his bride, did everything the prince asked him to do. The horse was already standing in the meadow outside the city; the servants brought the princess there. The king himself, surrounded by courtiers, appeared there and waited to see what the doctor would do.
The prince put the princess on a magic horse, sat behind her and pressed a button on the horse’s neck on the right side. And then something happened that no one expected. Who would have thought that a wooden horse would fly into the air like an arrow, like a winged bird, and immediately rise to the clouds. While the frightened king came to his senses and ordered the soldiers to pull the bowstring and shoot at the fugitives, the magic horse was already so high that it seemed like a tiny midge.
And the prince and princess no longer thought about the poor king in love and rejoiced that fate had united them again. They flew over mountains and valleys until they finally found themselves in the prince’s homeland. They immediately celebrated a magnificent wedding, to which the princess’s father arrived with his retinue. He forgave them when he saw how much they loved each other, and decided to himself that his daughter was happily married. And again the whole city was festively decorated. People feasted and had fun for many nights in a row. The clear moon rejoiced at their happiness, looking out from the heavenly windows, and below, the whole earth was covered with jasmine flowers.
After the wedding, the prince wanted to ride a magic horse. He looked for him everywhere, but did not find him. The old king ordered the horse to be broken so that his son would never be able to rise into the skies. The prince felt sorry for the ebony horse, but he soon forgot about it: even without the horse the young man was happy. And when many years later he told his children about the magic horse, they did not believe him and thought it was a wonderful fairy tale.
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Ebony Horse (Arabian Tale)
They say that in ancient times, in a vast country called Persia, a wise and just king named Sabur, beloved by the people, ruled. And he had three daughters, each like the young moon, and a son, Prince Kumar, whose beauty and nobility were not inferior to the daylight.
The country prospered, and the king often organized luxurious feasts for court nobles and foreign guests. And each invitee was given generous gifts. But even the most pitiful beggar could come to the palace, and no one left its doors hungry.
On one of these feast days, three wise men came to the king. They knew that Sabur loved cunning mechanisms driven by magic and funny toys, and they hoped for a good reception.
The elders were skilled in crafts and inventions, possessed rare knowledge and comprehended the secrets of magic. They spoke different languages, for they came from different countries. One is from India. One is from Greece. And one is from the Maghreb.
An old man from India stepped forward. He bowed his head, respectfully greeted the king and placed a wonderful thing in front of him. And it was an archer forged from gold, wearing a helmet decorated with feathers and studded with diamonds. In his hands he held a long golden trumpet.
– Why this warrior? - asked the king. - And how will he serve me?
- Oh, incomparable! – The Indian bowed his turban. “Set him as a guard at the city gates.” Day and night he will guard your peace. If the enemy approaches the city, he will raise a trumpet, and its sound will kill any adversary.
“If this is true,” the king rejoiced, “you can take from me whatever you want.”
The Greek took a step forward and, falling on his face, kissed the ground between the king’s shoes. He placed in front of him a large silver nest in which sat a golden peacock surrounded by twenty-four golden chicks.
– Is this bird just for beauty and fun? - asked the king.
And the sage answered:
- Oh, insightful! This peacock is counting the hours of the day and night. After each hour, he hits the correct number of chicks with his beak. And so on until the last, twenty-fourth hour disappears. And when the month ends, the full moon will roll out of its beak.
“If your words are true,” said the king, “you can take from me what you want.”
And the last sage approached the king. And behind him came the slaves and brought in a horse carved from black ebony. A fancy pattern curled across the golden leather saddle, and the bridle was adorned with an emerald. King Sabur was amazed at the beauty of the wonderful horse and asked:
– Is this horse suitable for use or decoration?
- Oh, incomparable! - said the sage from the Maghreb. “This horse can soar into the clouds and in a single moment take its rider to places that you couldn’t get to in a year.”
The king admired all these miracles and wished to experience them right away. At a sign from the elder from India, the golden archer raised his trumpet, and a sound was heard that shook the walls of the palace. The Greek wound the peacock with a golden key, and it began to peck the chicks, marking noon. And the sage from the Maghreb saddled a black horse, soared into the sky and, emerging from the clouds, descended to the ground.
The king accepted the gifts of the sages with pleasure and said:
“Now I’m ready to fulfill my promises.” Demand what you wish to receive in exchange for these amazing wonders.
It must be said that the fame of the beauty of the three princesses reached the most remote ends of the earth. And the sages said in one voice:
“Give us your daughters as wives, and we will become your devoted sons-in-law.”
The king was so fascinated by magical things that, without thinking for a moment, he agreed and ordered the vizier to immediately begin preparing three weddings.
And the princesses hid behind the curtains and heard everything that was said. They looked with horror at the old men whom their father intended to be their husbands. These elders, as one, were unspeakably ugly. But the most disgusting of them was the Maghreb. Small, bow-legged, with a face as yellow and shriveled as an apricot, with tiny red eyes and a huge nose hanging like a pear between his cheeks. Sparse rotten teeth stuck out in his mouth, and his hair looked like a matted lump of dry grass.
The youngest daughter, who was to marry this freak, flexible as a vine, tender and beautiful as a rose petal, disappeared in horror into her chambers. Not daring to contradict her father, she buried her face in the pillows and sobbed in despair. 
It happened that her brother, Prince Kumar, was passing by. Hearing the girl’s bitter sobs, he went in to her and asked who dared to offend his beloved younger sister?
- Oh, woe is me! – the young maiden shed tears. “My father is giving me to the ugly freak in exchange for some wooden horse.” It’s better to die, it’s better to spend your whole life on the street among the poor and homeless!
The prince, shocked by her words, hurried to his father.
- Is it true, oh fair king! - he exclaimed. “Is it true that you are ready to give my sister to the old sorcerer in exchange for a wooden horse?”
Hearing these words, the Maghrebian was instantly filled with hidden anger. He realized that the prince could stand between him and the desired reward.
“But, my son,” the king tried to calm him down, “you have not yet seen the wonderful horse given to us by this sage.” He just flew into the skies before our eyes!
Kumar, who was an excellent horseman, frowned.
“Show me this horse,” he demanded, “I’ll saddle it myself and see what miracles it performs.”
The Maghrebian with a sly smile helped the prince into the saddle. But no matter how much the rider spurred the horse, or urged it, or pulled the reins, it did not move.
“Show him what needs to be done,” the king ordered.
“Let him touch the lifting lever, which is hidden on the right side of the horse’s neck,” said the elder.
As soon as the prince carried out the advice of the Maghreb, the horse soared into the sky and disappeared from sight along with the rider.
Eastern fairy tale
In ancient times there lived a great king. He had three daughters, like full moons, and a son, as agile as a gazelle and beautiful as a summer morning.
One day three strangers came to the royal court. One carried a golden peacock, another carried a copper trumpet, and the third had a horse made of ivory and ebony.
What are these things? - asked the king.
“He who has a golden peacock,” answered the first stranger, “will always know what time it is.” As soon as one hour of the day or night passes, the bird flaps its wings and screams.
“He who has a copper pipe,” said the second, “should not be afraid of anything.” The enemy will still be far away, but the trumpet itself will blow and warn everyone of the danger.
And the third stranger said:
Anyone who has an ebony horse will go to any country he wants.
“I won’t believe you until I experience these things myself,” answered the king.
It was approaching noon, the sun was directly overhead, then the peacock flapped its wings and screamed. At that moment, a petitioner entered the gates of the palace. The trumpet suddenly blew out of nowhere. The king ordered the stranger to be searched, and the servants found a sword under his clothes. The stranger confessed that he wanted to kill the king.
“These are very useful things,” the king rejoiced. - What do you want to get for them?
Give me your daughter as a wife,” asked the first stranger.
“I also want to marry the princess,” said the second.
The king, without hesitation, took the peacock and the trumpet from them and gave them his daughters as wives.
Then a third stranger, the owner of an ebony horse, approached the king.
“O lord,” he said with a bow, “take yourself a horse and give me a third princess as my wife.”
“Don’t rush,” said the king. “We haven’t tested your horse yet.” At this time the king’s son came up and said to his father:
Let me mount this horse and test it.
Test him as you wish,” answered the king.
The prince jumped onto the horse, spurred it, pulled the bridle, but the horse stood rooted to the spot.
Have you lost your mind, you unfortunate thing?! - the king shouted at the stranger. - How dare you deceive the lord? Get away with your horse, otherwise I will order you to be thrown into prison.
But the stranger was not embarrassed. He approached the prince and showed him a small ivory button that was on the right side of the horse’s neck.
“Press this button,” he told the prince.
The prince pressed the button, and suddenly the horse rose to the clouds and flew faster than the wind. He rose higher and higher, and finally the prince completely lost sight of the earth. He felt dizzy and had to grab the horse’s neck with both hands to keep from falling. The prince already regretted that he mounted his horse and mentally said goodbye to life.
But then he noticed that the horse had exactly the same button on the left side of its neck. The prince pressed it, and the horse flew slower and began to descend. Then the prince again pressed the button on the right side - the horse again flew upward like an arrow and rushed like a whirlwind above the clouds. The prince was glad that he had discovered the secret of the horse and could control it. Excited by the fast ride on the magic horse, the prince began to fall and then rise. He experienced such pleasure from flying that no mortal had ever experienced before.
When the prince was tired, he pressed the button on the left side and began to descend. He descended all day until he finally saw land.
It was a foreign land, with lakes and fast streams, with green forests, where there was a lot of different game, and in the middle of the country stood a wonderful city with white palaces and cypress groves.
The prince sank lower and lower and finally directed his horse towards a palace built of golden bricks. The palace stood far from the city among rose gardens. The prince sank onto the roof of the palace and dismounted from his horse. He was surprised that everything around was so quiet, as if everything had died out. There was no noise, nothing disturbed the silence. The prince decided to spend the night here and go home in the morning. He sat down comfortably and began to watch how the night enveloped the treetops.
So he sat, leaning on the legs of a wooden horse, and looked down. Suddenly he noticed a light in the rose garden. It seemed to the prince that a star had descended into the garden, it was getting closer and closer, growing, breaking up into ten lights, and then the prince saw beautiful slave girls in silver veils with lamps in their hands.
They surrounded a girl, such a beauty that as soon as the prince looked at her, his heart sank. The girls entered the palace, and immediately the windows were illuminated with bright light, beautiful music began to play, and the air was filled with the wonderful smell of incense and amber.
The prince could not control himself, he unwound his turban and went down it to the window, from which the brightest light poured. Through the window he climbed into the room where the girls were sitting. They ran away screaming, and only the most beautiful one did not move from her place, as if he had bewitched her. She could not take her eyes off the prince's face. Love unexpectedly blossomed in their hearts.
They told each other about themselves. The beauty told the prince that she was the king's daughter. The king built this palace for her so that she would have somewhere to have fun when she gets bored in her father's house.
Meanwhile, the girls from the princess’s retinue ran to the palace, woke up the king and shouted:
King, help! An evil spirit flew through the window to the princess and does not let her go.
The king did not hesitate. He attached the sword to his belt and ran to the palace to the princess.
He burst into her room, thinking that he would see his crying daughter in the clutches of a terrible genie. But instead he found her talking with a handsome young man. The girl smiled cheerfully at him. Then the king was overcome with rage.
He rushed with a naked sword at the stranger, but the prince also drew his sword. The king did not dare to engage in a duel with the dexterous young man, full of strength, and lowered his sword.
Are you human or genie? - he shouted.
“I’m the same person as you,” the young man answered. “I am the son of a king and I ask you to give me your daughter as a wife.” And if you don’t give it, I’ll take it myself. The king was surprised to hear these bold words:
He entered the princess, bowed to the ground and said:
Just try it,” he exclaimed. - My army is in the city.
I will defeat all your warriors.
The prince did not think that the king would take him at his word.
Okay,” said the king, “I will give you a princess as a wife only when you have fought in the field with forty thousand horsemen.”
The prince was ashamed to admit to the princess that he was unable to do this, and he told the king that tomorrow he would fight with his army. The king invited the prince to spend the night in his palace, and all three headed there. In the palace, everyone waited for the morning in their own way. That morning it was to be decided whether the young stranger would become the king's son-in-law.
The prince immediately fell asleep like the dead: he was tired of the rapid flight above the clouds.
The king tossed and turned on his bed for a long time before falling asleep: he was afraid that his soldiers would kill the prince and he would lose his dear son-in-law. The princess did not sleep a wink all night, she was so afraid for her lover.
As soon as the sun rose, forty thousand horsemen lined up in the field outside the city, ready for battle. The king ordered the best horse from the royal stables to be brought for the prince, but the prince politely thanked him and said that he would only mount his own horse.
Where is your horse? - asked the king.
“On the roof of the princess’s palace,” answered the prince.
The king thought that the prince was laughing at him: how could the horse get onto the roof? But the prince insisted on his own, and the king had no choice but to send his servants to the roof to get the horse. Soon two strong servants returned and brought a horse. He was so handsome that the king and his entourage opened their mouths in surprise. But they were even more surprised when they saw that this horse was made of wood.
Well, on this horse you cannot cope with my army,” said the king.
The prince did not answer a word, jumped on the magic horse, pressed the button on the right side, and the horse soared into the air like an arrow. Before the king and the soldiers had time to come to their senses, the horse and the prince were already so high that they seemed like a tiny swallow in the blue sky.
They waited and waited, but the rider on the magic horse did not return. The king went to the palace and told the princess what had happened. The princess began to sob; She told her father that she would not live without her lover, and went to the palace of golden bricks. She locked herself there, didn’t eat anything, didn’t sleep, and just grieved for her prince. Her father tried to persuade her to get the young stranger out of her head.
After all, this is still not a prince, but a sorcerer, unless anyone else can fly through the air,” said the king.
But no matter how much he convinced or begged, the princess was inconsolable and became seriously ill from melancholy.
Meanwhile, the prince on a magic horse rose so high that he lost sight of the earth. He enjoyed the flight and still missed the beautiful princess. But the young man decided that he would return to her only after he saw his father, who probably did not sleep from grief and worries about his son and was looking for him throughout the country. The prince flew and flew until he saw the towers of his native city below. He landed on the roof of the royal palace, dismounted from his horse and ran straight to his father.
How happy everyone was when they saw that the prince was alive and well! He told his father about how he learned to ride a horse, how he ended up in a distant foreign country and fell in love with a princess there. And then he asked what happened to the owner of the magic horse, that foreigner who wanted to take the king’s daughter as his wife as a reward.
This rogue was thrown into prison because you disappeared through his fault,” said the king.
Did you throw him into prison because he gave us such a wonderful thing? - exclaimed the prince. “After all, he rather deserves to have the whole court fall on his face before him.”
The king immediately ordered the stranger to be released from prison and granted him the highest court rank.
The stranger politely thanked him for this honor, but deep down he harbored a grudge. He wanted to marry the princess, but he didn’t get her. But the sorcerer did not give himself away and waited for an opportunity to take revenge.
Soon the prince became bored with his home. He could not find peace for himself and yearned for the princess from a distant foreign country. In vain the king begged his son not to expose himself to danger: the prince did not listen. One day he jumped on an ebony horse and flew away. He flew and flew until he found himself in that foreign country. The prince again sank onto the roof of the palace made of golden bricks, which stood in the middle of the rose gardens.
The princess lay in her room, pale and haggard, there was silence all around. But then someone pulled back the curtain and her lover entered the room. All illness disappeared from the princess as if by hand. Beaming, she jumped up from her bed and threw herself on the prince’s neck.
Do you want to go with me to my kingdom? - asked the prince. The girl nodded, and before the frightened maids had time to come to their senses, the prince picked her up and carried her to the roof of the palace. There he put her on a magic horse, jumped on its back and pressed the button on the right side. And now they were already flying above the clouds, huddled close to each other, intoxicated by the meeting and enchanted by the magical flight.
Below, in the palace of golden bricks, an alarm was raised, the servants called the king, but it was too late. The king tore out his hair and mourned his missing daughter. He thought that he was not destined to see her again.
And the prince and princess flew and flew and did not even remember the old king. Finally they found themselves above the city where the prince’s father ruled, and landed on the ground in one of the royal gardens. The prince hid the princess in a gazebo, around which lilies, daffodils bloomed, and jasmine smelled fragrant; He placed the wooden horse nearby, and he went to his father.
Everyone was happy that the prince had returned home again, and the king almost lost his mind with happiness. The prince told him that he had brought a beautiful bride and asked his father for permission to marry her. The Tsar thought that if the Tsarevich got married, he would forever give up these mad leaps through the air. Therefore, he immediately agreed to celebrate the wedding.
Residents began to decorate the city, and preparations for a luxurious wedding were underway everywhere.
The prince sent singers and girls with harps to the garden where the princess was hidden. He ordered a thousand nightingales to be released there so that they would brighten up her wait. And the stranger, the owner of the magic horse, harbored terrible anger in his heart and almost suffocated with anger when he saw the festive preparations. In order not to look at all this, he began to wander through the royal gardens. And it happened that he came to a gazebo surrounded by jasmine and daffodils. There he noticed his horse. The sage looked into the gazebo and saw a girl of rare beauty. The stranger immediately guessed that this was the prince’s bride, and decided that now he could take revenge on everyone for the insult and for the fact that his horse was taken away from him.
He entered the princess, bowed to the ground and said:
The prince, my lord, sent me here to hide you in another place. You are in danger here.
The princess, looking at his ugly face, was frightened. The sage immediately noticed this and said:
The prince is very jealous, so he sent me, the ugliest of his friends, after you, so that you would not like me.
The princess smiled. She was pleased that the prince was afraid for her. She extended her hand to the ugly stranger and walked out of the gazebo with him. The sage led the girl to the magic horse and said:
Get on your horse. The prince wanted you to ride on it.
The princess climbed onto the horse, the sage sat behind him, pressed the button on the right side, and the horse flew into the air so quickly that it immediately disappeared from sight.
After some time, the princess, alarmed that they were flying faster and faster, asked:
Are the royal gardens so huge that we have to fly for so long? Then the disgusting monster laughed evilly and said to the princess:
So know that I am a great wizard. I made this horse myself and took you away to take revenge on the prince.
The wizard began to boast of his power.
If I want,” he said, “all the stars will fall on my head, like wasps on a ripe plum.”
He had already invented this, but the princess didn’t care: when she heard his first words, she lost consciousness.
Meanwhile, a magnificent procession headed by the prince headed into the garden to take the princess to the royal palace, where a wedding dress was prepared for her. The prince was very surprised that he could not hear the music and singing of the nightingales. He left his retinue and ran to the gazebo in which the princess was hidden. But the gazebo was empty. Beside himself with horror, he ran out into the garden and only then noticed that the ebony horse had also disappeared. The prince called the princess, searched the jasmine thickets, but there was no trace of her. Then one of the harpist girls whom he sent to the garden told him that a stranger had come for the princess and that he had flown away with her on a wonderful horse. When the girl described the appearance of this man to the prince, he recognized him as the owner of the magic horse. The prince realized that the stranger had taken revenge on him for his insult. He almost lost his mind from grief, cursed the wizard and his evil fate, looked up, hoping to see a horse with the princess in the clouds. But even if the prince saw him, he still could not do anything.
The princess was far, far away. In the evening, the stranger directed his horse to the ground, they landed on a green meadow through which a river flowed. Here he decided to rest. And it so happened that just at that time the king of that country was returning from hunting. He noticed the old man and the girl and ordered his retinue to stop. The king began to ask what kind of people they were and how they got to his country.
“I guess from your appearance and from the retinue that surrounds you that there is a king in front of me,” said the sage. - So forgive me that my sister and I are sitting in your meadow. We were very tired after a long journey.
O king! “He’s lying,” exclaimed the princess. - I'm not his sister. He forcibly took me away. Save me, oh lord, and I will be grateful to you to death. The king immediately ordered the ugly wizard to be tied up and a stretcher prepared for the princess. Then he began to examine the ebony horse. He liked the skillful work and ivory patterns, but neither the ugly sage nor the princess revealed to him the secrets of the magic horse. The king ordered the horse to be taken to the royal palace. He escorted the princess there and ordered the most beautiful chambers to be set aside for her. And the evil wizard who kidnapped the princess was thrown into prison by the royal servants.
It seemed that the princess had escaped danger. But she fell from the frying pan into the fire. The king fell in love with her passionately and did not let her leave the palace. Soon he told the girl that he wanted to marry her.
Meanwhile, the prince, her real groom, dressed in simple clothes, walked from city to city, from country to country, and asked everywhere about the ugly old man, the beautiful girl and the ebony horse; but no one could tell him about them. He walked like this for a long time, and many months passed until happiness finally smiled on him. In one of the cities at the market, merchants talked about how the king of a neighboring country, returning from a hunt, noticed a beautiful girl in the meadow. He freed her from the hands of the old freak and fell passionately in love with her. There is nothing surprising in all this. But the wooden horse is truly a miracle of miracles: it is decorated with ivory, and it cannot be distinguished from a living one.
As soon as the prince heard about this, his heart jumped with joy in his chest, and he immediately went to the neighboring country. He walked all night, and then a day and another night, and finally came to the royal capital. And in the city there was only talk about the beautiful girl whom the king fell madly in love with. But people said that the girl was out of her mind. The king did everything to cure her, but no means helped.
The prince without hesitation went to the royal palace and ordered to report himself as a skilled doctor from a distant country who could cure any ailment. The king was delighted and told him about how he found the princess and how she now does not eat, does not sleep, does not let anyone near her, tears expensive bedspreads to shreds and smashes wonderful mirrors and goblets to pieces.
The prince listened to him and said:
Before I begin to treat the princess, I must take a look at that ebony horse.
The king ordered the horse to be brought into the courtyard, and the prince carefully examined it. And when the young man saw that the horse was intact and that nothing had happened to him, and, most importantly, both buttons were in place, he said to the king:
Put a guard on this horse, and take me to the sick girl.
The king escorted him to the princess's room. The prince asked not to disturb him and went alone to his bride. As soon as the girl looked at him, she instantly recognized her lover in the disguised doctor. The princess almost lost her mind from joy. The prince told her what she had to do so that he could free her, and returned to the king.
O king,” he said. “The girl is already better, but for her to be completely healed, I must cast another spell.” Order the horse to be brought to the meadow where you found the girl. And let your servants bring the princess there.
The king, delighted that the foreign doctor would cure his bride, did everything the prince asked him to do. The horse was already standing in the meadow outside the city; the servants brought the princess there. The king himself, surrounded by courtiers, appeared there and waited to see what the doctor would do.
The prince put the princess on a magic horse, sat behind her and pressed a button on the horse’s neck on the right side. And then something happened that no one expected. Who would have thought that a wooden horse would fly into the air like an arrow, like a winged bird, and immediately rise to the clouds. While the frightened king came to his senses and ordered the soldiers to pull the bowstring and shoot at the fugitives, the magic horse was already so high that it seemed like a tiny midge.
And the prince and princess no longer thought about the poor king in love and rejoiced that fate had united them again. They flew over mountains and valleys until they finally found themselves in the prince’s homeland. They immediately celebrated a magnificent wedding, to which the princess’s father arrived with his retinue. He forgave them when he saw how much they loved each other, and decided to himself that his daughter was happily married. And again the whole city was festively decorated. People feasted and had fun for many nights in a row. The clear moon rejoiced at their happiness, looking out from the heavenly windows, and below, the whole earth was covered with jasmine flowers.
After the wedding, the prince wanted to ride a magic horse. He looked for him everywhere, but did not find him. The old king ordered the horse to be broken so that his son would never be able to rise into the skies. The prince felt sorry for the ebony horse, but he soon forgot about it: even without the horse the young man was happy. And when many years later he told his children about the magic horse, they did not believe him and thought it was a wonderful fairy tale.
In ancient times there lived a great king. He had three daughters, like full moons, and a son, as agile as a gazelle and beautiful as a summer morning.
One day three strangers came to the royal court. One carried a golden peacock, another carried a copper trumpet, and the third had a horse made of ivory and ebony.
What are these things? - asked the king.
“He who has a golden peacock,” answered the first stranger, “will always know what time it is.” As soon as one hour of the day or night passes, the bird flaps its wings and screams.
“He who has a copper pipe,” said the second, “should not be afraid of anything.” The enemy will still be far away, but the trumpet itself will blow and warn everyone of the danger.
And the third stranger said:
Anyone who has an ebony horse will go to any country he wants.
“I won’t believe you until I experience these things myself,” the king answered.
It was approaching noon, the sun was directly overhead, then the peacock flapped its wings and screamed. At that moment, a petitioner entered the gates of the palace. The trumpet suddenly blew out of nowhere. The king ordered the stranger to be searched, and the servants found a sword under his clothes. The stranger confessed that he wanted to kill the king.
“These are very useful things,” the king rejoiced. - What do you want to get for them?
Give me your daughter as a wife,” the first stranger asked.
“I also want to marry the princess,” said the second.
The king, without hesitation, took the peacock and the trumpet from them and gave them his daughters as wives.
Then a third stranger, the owner of an ebony horse, approached the king.
“O lord,” he said with a bow, “take yourself a horse and give me a third princess as my wife.”
“Don’t rush,” said the king. - We haven't tested your horse yet. At this time the king’s son came up and said to his father:
Let me mount this horse and test it.
Test him as you wish,” the king answered.
The prince jumped onto the horse, spurred it, pulled the bridle, but the horse stood rooted to the spot.
Have you lost your mind, you unfortunate thing?! - the king shouted at the stranger. - How dare you deceive the lord? Get away with your horse, otherwise I will order you to be thrown into prison.
But the stranger was not embarrassed. He approached the prince and showed him a small ivory button that was on the right side of the horse’s neck.
“Press this button,” he told the prince.
The prince pressed the button, and suddenly the horse rose to the clouds and flew faster than the wind. He rose higher and higher, and finally the prince completely lost sight of the earth. He felt dizzy and had to grab the horse’s neck with both hands to keep from falling. The prince already regretted that he mounted his horse and mentally said goodbye to life.
But then he noticed that the horse had exactly the same button on the left side of its neck. The prince pressed it, and the horse flew more slowly and began to descend. Then the prince again pressed the button on the right side - the horse again flew upward like an arrow and rushed like a whirlwind above the clouds. The prince was glad that he had discovered the secret of the horse and could control it. Excited by the fast ride on the magic horse, the prince began to fall and then rise. He experienced such pleasure from flying that no mortal had ever experienced before.
When the prince was tired, he pressed the button on the left side and began to descend. He descended all day until he finally saw land.
It was a foreign land, with lakes and fast streams, with green forests, where there was a lot of different game, and in the middle of the country stood a wonderful city with white palaces and cypress groves.
The prince sank lower and lower and finally directed his horse towards a palace built of golden bricks. The palace stood far from the city among rose gardens. The prince sank onto the roof of the palace and dismounted from his horse. He was surprised that everything around was so quiet, as if everything had died out. There was no noise, nothing disturbed the silence. The prince decided to spend the night here and go home in the morning. He sat down comfortably and began to watch how the night enveloped the treetops.
So he sat, leaning on the legs of a wooden horse, and looked down. Suddenly he noticed a light in the rose garden. It seemed to the prince that a star had descended into the garden, it was getting closer and closer, growing, breaking up into ten lights, and then the prince saw beautiful slave girls in silver veils with lamps in their hands.
They surrounded a girl, such a beauty that as soon as the prince looked at her, his heart sank. The girls entered the palace, and immediately the windows were illuminated with bright light, beautiful music began to play, and the air was filled with the wonderful smell of incense and amber.
The prince could not control himself, he unwound his turban and went down it to the window, from which the brightest light poured. Through the window he climbed into the room where the girls were sitting. They ran away screaming, and only the most beautiful one did not move from her place, as if he had bewitched her. She could not take her eyes off the prince's face. Love unexpectedly blossomed in their hearts.
They told each other about themselves. The beauty told the prince that she was the king's daughter. The king built this palace for her so that she would have somewhere to have fun when she gets bored in her father's house.
Meanwhile, the girls from the princess’s retinue ran to the palace, woke up the king and shouted:
King, help! An evil spirit flew through the window to the princess and does not let her go.
The king did not hesitate. He attached the sword to his belt and ran to the palace to the princess.
He burst into her room, thinking that he would see his crying daughter in the clutches of a terrible genie. But instead he found her talking with a handsome young man. The girl smiled cheerfully at him. Then the king was overcome with rage.
He rushed with a naked sword at the stranger, but the prince also drew his sword. The king did not dare to engage in a duel with the dexterous young man, full of strength, and lowered his sword.
Are you human or genie? - he shouted.
“I’m the same person as you,” the young man answered. “I am the son of a king and I ask you to give me your daughter as a wife.” And if you don’t give it, I’ll take it myself. The king was surprised to hear these bold words:
Just try it,” he exclaimed. - My army is in the city.
I will defeat all your warriors.
The prince did not think that the king would take him at his word.
Okay,” said the king, “I will give you a princess as a wife only when you have fought in the field with forty thousand horsemen.”
The prince was ashamed to admit to the princess that he was unable to do this, and he told the king that tomorrow he would fight with his army. The king invited the prince to spend the night in his palace, and all three headed there. In the palace, everyone waited for the morning in their own way. That morning it was to be decided whether the young stranger would become the king's son-in-law.
The prince immediately fell asleep like the dead: he was tired of the rapid flight above the clouds.
The king tossed and turned on his bed for a long time before falling asleep: he was afraid that his soldiers would kill the prince and he would lose his dear son-in-law. The princess did not sleep a wink all night, she was so afraid for her lover.
As soon as the sun rose, forty thousand horsemen lined up in the field outside the city, ready for battle. The king ordered the best horse from the royal stables to be brought for the prince, but the prince politely thanked him and said that he would only mount his own horse.
Where is your horse? - asked the king.
“On the roof of the princess’s palace,” answered the prince.
The king thought that the prince was laughing at him: how could the horse get onto the roof? But the prince insisted on his own, and the king had no choice but to send his servants to the roof to get the horse. Soon two strong servants returned and brought a horse. He was so handsome that the king and his entourage opened their mouths in surprise. But they were even more surprised when they saw that this horse was made of wood. oskazkah.ru - website
Well, on this horse you cannot cope with my army,” said the king.
The prince did not answer a word, jumped on the magic horse, pressed the button on the right side, and the horse soared into the air like an arrow. Before the king and the soldiers had time to come to their senses, the horse and the prince were already so high that they seemed like a tiny swallow in the blue sky.
They waited and waited, but the rider on the magic horse did not return. The king went to the palace and told the princess what had happened. The princess began to sob; She told her father that she would not live without her lover, and went to the palace of golden bricks. She locked herself there, didn’t eat anything, didn’t sleep, and just grieved for her prince. Her father tried to persuade her to get the young stranger out of her head.
After all, this is still not a prince, but a sorcerer, unless anyone else can fly through the air,” said the king.
But no matter how much he convinced or begged, the princess was inconsolable and became seriously ill from melancholy.
Meanwhile, the prince on a magic horse rose so high that he lost sight of the earth. He enjoyed the flight and still missed the beautiful princess. But the young man decided that he would return to her only after he saw his father, who probably did not sleep from grief and worries about his son and was looking for him throughout the country. The prince flew and flew until he saw the towers of his native city below. He landed on the roof of the royal palace, dismounted from his horse and ran straight to his father.
How happy everyone was when they saw that the prince was alive and well! He told his father about how he learned to ride a horse, how he ended up in a distant foreign country and fell in love with a princess there. And then he asked what happened to the owner of the magic horse, that foreigner who wanted to take the king’s daughter as his wife as a reward.
This rogue was thrown into prison because you disappeared through his fault,” said the king.
Did you throw him into prison because he gave us such a wonderful thing? - exclaimed the prince. - After all, he rather deserves the whole court to fall on his face before him.
The king immediately ordered the stranger to be released from prison and granted him the highest court rank.
The stranger politely thanked him for this honor, but deep down he harbored a grudge. He wanted to marry the princess, but he didn’t get her. But the sorcerer did not give himself away and waited for an opportunity to take revenge.
Soon the prince became bored with his home. He could not find peace for himself and yearned for the princess from a distant foreign country. In vain the king begged his son not to expose himself to danger: the prince did not listen. One day he jumped on an ebony horse and flew away. He flew and flew until he found himself in that foreign country. The prince again sank onto the roof of the palace made of golden bricks, which stood in the middle of the rose gardens.
The princess lay in her room, pale and haggard, there was silence all around. But then someone pulled back the curtain and her lover entered the room. All illness disappeared from the princess as if by hand. Beaming, she jumped up from her bed and threw herself on the prince’s neck.
Do you want to go with me to my kingdom? - asked the prince. The girl nodded, and before the frightened maids had time to come to their senses, the prince picked her up and carried her to the roof of the palace. There he put her on a magic horse, jumped on its back and pressed the button on the right side. And now they were already flying above the clouds, huddled close to each other, intoxicated by the meeting and enchanted by the magical flight.
Below, in the palace of golden bricks, an alarm was raised, the servants called the king, but it was too late. The king tore out his hair and mourned his missing daughter. He thought that he was not destined to see her again.
And the prince and princess flew and flew and did not even remember the old king. Finally they found themselves above the city where the prince’s father ruled, and landed on the ground in one of the royal gardens. The prince hid the princess in a gazebo, around which lilies, daffodils bloomed, and jasmine smelled fragrant; He placed the wooden horse nearby, and he went to his father.
Everyone was happy that the prince had returned home again, and the king almost lost his mind with happiness. The prince told him that he had brought a beautiful bride and asked his father for permission to marry her. The Tsar thought that if the Tsarevich got married, he would forever give up these mad leaps through the air. Therefore, he immediately agreed to celebrate the wedding.
Residents began to decorate the city, and preparations for a luxurious wedding were underway everywhere.
The prince sent singers and girls with harps to the garden where the princess was hidden. He ordered a thousand nightingales to be released there so that they would brighten up her wait. And the stranger, the owner of the magic horse, harbored terrible anger in his heart and almost suffocated with anger when he saw the festive preparations. In order not to look at all this, he began to wander through the royal gardens. And it happened that he came to a gazebo surrounded by jasmine and daffodils. There he noticed his horse. The sage looked into the gazebo and saw a girl of rare beauty. The stranger immediately guessed that this was the prince’s bride, and decided that now he could take revenge on everyone for the insult and for the fact that his horse was taken away from him.
He entered the princess, bowed to the ground and said:
The prince, my lord, sent me here to hide you in another place. You are in danger here.
The princess, looking at his ugly face, was frightened. The sage immediately noticed this and said:
The prince is very jealous, so he sent me, the ugliest of his friends, after you, so that you would not like me.
The princess smiled. She was pleased that the prince was afraid for her. She extended her hand to the ugly stranger and walked out of the gazebo with him. The sage led the girl to the magic horse and said:
Get on your horse. The prince wanted you to ride on it.
The princess climbed onto the horse, the sage sat behind him, pressed the button on the right side, and the horse flew into the air so quickly that it immediately disappeared from sight.
After some time, the princess, alarmed that they were flying faster and faster, asked:
Are the royal gardens so huge that we have to fly for so long? Then the disgusting monster laughed evilly and said to the princess:
So know that I am a great wizard. I made this horse myself and took you away to take revenge on the prince.
The wizard began to boast of his power.
If I want,” he said, “all the stars will fall on my head, like wasps on a ripe plum.”
He had already invented this, but the princess didn’t care: when she heard his first words, she lost consciousness.
Meanwhile, a magnificent procession headed by the prince headed into the garden to take the princess to the royal palace, where a wedding dress was prepared for her. The prince was very surprised that he could not hear the music and singing of the nightingales. He left his retinue and ran to the gazebo in which the princess was hidden. But the gazebo was empty. Beside himself with horror, he ran out into the garden and only then noticed that the ebony horse had also disappeared. The prince called the princess, searched the jasmine thickets, but there was no trace of her. Then one of the harpist girls whom he sent to the garden told him that a stranger had come for the princess and that he had flown away with her on a wonderful horse. When the girl described the appearance of this man to the prince, he recognized him as the owner of the magic horse. The prince realized that the stranger had taken revenge on him for his insult. He almost lost his mind from grief, cursed the wizard and his evil fate, looked up, hoping to see a horse with the princess in the clouds. But even if the prince saw him, he still could not do anything.
The princess was far, far away. In the evening, the stranger directed his horse to the ground, they landed on a green meadow through which a river flowed. Here he decided to rest. And it so happened that just at that time the king of that country was returning from hunting. He noticed the old man and the girl and ordered his retinue to stop. The king began to ask what kind of people they were and how they got to his country.
“I guess from your appearance and from the retinue that surrounds you that there is a king in front of me,” said the sage. - So forgive me that my sister and I are sitting in your meadow. We were very tired after a long journey.
O king! “He’s lying,” exclaimed the princess. - I'm not his sister. He forcibly took me away. Save me, oh lord, and I will be grateful to you to death. The king immediately ordered the ugly wizard to be tied up and a stretcher prepared for the princess. Then he began to examine the ebony horse. He liked the skillful work and ivory patterns, but neither the ugly sage nor the princess revealed to him the secrets of the magic horse. The king ordered the horse to be taken to the royal palace. He escorted the princess there and ordered the most beautiful chambers to be set aside for her. And the evil wizard who kidnapped the princess was thrown into prison by the royal servants.
It seemed that the princess had escaped danger. But she fell from the frying pan into the fire. The king fell in love with her passionately and did not let her leave the palace. Soon he told the girl that he wanted to marry her.
Meanwhile, the prince, her real groom, dressed in simple clothes, walked from city to city, from country to country, and asked everywhere about the ugly old man, the beautiful girl and the ebony horse; but no one could tell him about them. He walked like this for a long time, and many months passed until happiness finally smiled on him. In one of the cities at the market, merchants talked about how the king of a neighboring country, returning from a hunt, noticed a beautiful girl in the meadow. He freed her from the hands of the old freak and fell passionately in love with her. There is nothing surprising in all this. But the wooden horse is truly a miracle of miracles: it is decorated with ivory, and it cannot be distinguished from a living one.
As soon as the prince heard about this, his heart jumped with joy in his chest, and he immediately went to the neighboring country. He walked all night, and then a day and another night, and finally came to the royal capital. And in the city there was only talk about the beautiful girl whom the king fell madly in love with. But people said that the girl was out of her mind. The king did everything to cure her, but no means helped.
The prince without hesitation went to the royal palace and ordered to report himself as a skilled doctor from a distant country who could cure any ailment. The king was delighted and told him about how he found the princess and how she now does not eat, does not sleep, does not let anyone near her, tears expensive bedspreads to shreds and smashes wonderful mirrors and goblets to pieces.
The prince listened to him and said:
Before I begin to treat the princess, I must take a look at that ebony horse.
The king ordered the horse to be brought into the courtyard, and the prince carefully examined it. And when the young man saw that the horse was intact and that nothing had happened to him, and, most importantly, both buttons were in place, he said to the king:
Put a guard on this horse, and take me to the sick girl.
The king escorted him to the princess's room. The prince asked not to disturb him and went alone to his bride. As soon as the girl looked at him, she instantly recognized her lover in the disguised doctor. The princess almost lost her mind from joy. The prince told her what she had to do so that he could free her, and returned to the king.
O king, he said. - The girl is already better, but for her to be completely healed, I must cast another spell. Order the horse to be brought to the meadow where you found the girl. And let your servants bring the princess there.
The king, delighted that the foreign doctor would cure his bride, did everything the prince asked him to do. The horse was already standing in the meadow outside the city; the servants brought the princess there. The king himself, surrounded by courtiers, appeared there and waited to see what the doctor would do.
The prince put the princess on a magic horse, sat behind her and pressed a button on the horse’s neck on the right side. And then something happened that no one expected. Who would have thought that a wooden horse would fly into the air like an arrow, like a winged bird, and immediately rise to the clouds. While the frightened king came to his senses and ordered the soldiers to pull the bowstring and shoot at the fugitives, the magic horse was already so high that it seemed like a tiny midge.
And the prince and princess no longer thought about the poor king in love and rejoiced that fate had united them again. They flew over mountains and valleys until they finally found themselves in the prince’s homeland. They immediately celebrated a magnificent wedding, to which the princess’s father arrived with his retinue. He forgave them when he saw how much they loved each other, and decided to himself that his daughter was happily married. And again the whole city was festively decorated. People feasted and had fun for many nights in a row. The clear moon rejoiced at their happiness, looking out from the heavenly windows, and below, the whole earth was covered with jasmine flowers.
After the wedding, the prince wanted to ride a magic horse. He looked for him everywhere, but did not find him. The old king ordered the horse to be broken so that his son would never be able to rise into the skies. The prince felt sorry for the ebony horse, but he soon forgot about it: even without the horse the young man was happy. And when many years later he told his children about the magic horse, they did not believe him and thought it was a wonderful fairy tale.
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What are these things? - asked the king.
“He who has a golden peacock,” answered the first stranger, “will always know what time it is.” As soon as one hour of the day or night passes, the bird flaps its wings and screams.
“He who has a copper pipe,” said the second, “should not be afraid of anything.” The enemy will still be far away, but the trumpet itself will blow and warn everyone of the danger.
And the third stranger said:
Anyone who has an ebony horse will go to any country he wants.
“I won’t believe you until I experience these things myself,” the king answered.
It was approaching noon, the sun was directly overhead, then the peacock flapped its wings and screamed. At that moment, a petitioner entered the gates of the palace. The trumpet suddenly blew out of nowhere. The king ordered the stranger to be searched, and the servants found a sword under his clothes. The stranger confessed that he wanted to kill the king.
“These are very useful things,” the king rejoiced. - What do you want to get for them?
Give me your daughter as a wife,” the first stranger asked.
“I also want to marry the princess,” said the second.
The king, without hesitation, took the peacock and the trumpet from them and gave them his daughters as wives.
Then a third stranger, the owner of an ebony horse, approached the king.
“O lord,” he said with a bow, “take yourself a horse and give me a third princess as my wife.”
“Don’t rush,” said the king. - We haven't tested your horse yet. At this time the king’s son came up and said to his father:
Let me mount this horse and test it.
Test him as you wish,” the king answered.
The prince jumped onto the horse, spurred it, pulled the bridle, but the horse stood rooted to the spot.
Have you lost your mind, you unfortunate thing?! - the king shouted at the stranger. - How dare you deceive the lord? Get away with your horse, otherwise I will order you to be thrown into prison.
But the stranger was not embarrassed. He approached the prince and showed him a small ivory button that was on the right side of the horse’s neck.
“Press this button,” he told the prince.
The prince pressed the button, and suddenly the horse rose to the clouds and flew faster than the wind. He rose higher and higher, and finally the prince completely lost sight of the earth. He felt dizzy and had to grab the horse’s neck with both hands to keep from falling. The prince already regretted that he mounted his horse and mentally said goodbye to life.
But then he noticed that the horse had exactly the same button on the left side of its neck. The prince pressed it, and the horse flew more slowly and began to descend. Then the prince again pressed the button on the right side - the horse again flew upward like an arrow and rushed like a whirlwind above the clouds. The prince was glad that he had discovered the secret of the horse and could control it. Excited by the fast ride on the magic horse, the prince began to fall and then rise. He experienced such pleasure from flying that no mortal had ever experienced before.
When the prince was tired, he pressed the button on the left side and began to descend. He descended all day until he finally saw land.
It was a foreign land, with lakes and fast streams, with green forests, where there was a lot of different game, and in the middle of the country stood a wonderful city with white palaces and cypress groves.
The prince sank lower and lower and finally directed his horse towards a palace built of golden bricks. The palace stood far from the city among rose gardens. The prince sank onto the roof of the palace and dismounted from his horse. He was surprised that everything around was so quiet, as if everything had died out. There was no noise, nothing disturbed the silence. The prince decided to spend the night here and go home in the morning. He sat down comfortably and began to watch how the night enveloped the treetops.
So he sat, leaning on the legs of a wooden horse, and looked down. Suddenly he noticed a light in the rose garden. It seemed to the prince that a star had descended into the garden, it was getting closer and closer, growing, breaking up into ten lights, and then the prince saw beautiful slave girls in silver veils with lamps in their hands.
They surrounded a girl, such a beauty that as soon as the prince looked at her, his heart sank. The girls entered the palace, and immediately the windows were illuminated with bright light, beautiful music began to play, and the air was filled with the wonderful smell of incense and amber.
The prince could not control himself, he unwound his turban and went down it to the window, from which the brightest light poured. Through the window he climbed into the room where the girls were sitting. They ran away screaming, and only the most beautiful one did not move from her place, as if he had bewitched her. She could not take her eyes off the prince's face. Love unexpectedly blossomed in their hearts.
They told each other about themselves. The beauty told the prince that she was the king's daughter. The king built this palace for her so that she would have somewhere to have fun when she gets bored in her father's house.
Meanwhile, the girls from the princess’s retinue ran to the palace, woke up the king and shouted:
King, help! An evil spirit flew through the window to the princess and does not let her go.
The king did not hesitate. He attached the sword to his belt and ran to the palace to the princess.
He burst into her room, thinking that he would see his crying daughter in the clutches of a terrible genie. But instead he found her talking with a handsome young man. The girl smiled cheerfully at him. Then the king was overcome with rage.
He rushed with a naked sword at the stranger, but the prince also drew his sword. The king did not dare to engage in a duel with the dexterous young man, full of strength, and lowered his sword.
Are you human or genie? - he shouted.
“I’m the same person as you,” the young man answered. “I am the son of a king and I ask you to give me your daughter as a wife.” And if you don’t give it, I’ll take it myself. The king was surprised to hear these bold words:
Just try it,” he exclaimed. - My army is in the city.
I will defeat all your warriors.
The prince did not think that the king would take him at his word.
Okay,” said the king, “I will give you a princess as a wife only when you have fought in the field with forty thousand horsemen.”
The prince was ashamed to admit to the princess that he was unable to do this, and he told the king that tomorrow he would fight with his army. The king invited the prince to spend the night in his palace, and all three headed there. In the palace, everyone waited for the morning in their own way. That morning it was to be decided whether the young stranger would become the king's son-in-law.
The prince immediately fell asleep like the dead: he was tired of the rapid flight above the clouds.
The king tossed and turned on his bed for a long time before falling asleep: he was afraid that his soldiers would kill the prince and he would lose his dear son-in-law. The princess did not sleep a wink all night, she was so afraid for her lover.
As soon as the sun rose, forty thousand horsemen lined up in the field outside the city, ready for battle. The king ordered the best horse from the royal stables to be brought for the prince, but the prince politely thanked him and said that he would only mount his own horse.
Where is your horse? - asked the king.
“On the roof of the princess’s palace,” answered the prince.
The king thought that the prince was laughing at him: how could the horse get onto the roof? But the prince insisted on his own, and the king had no choice but to send his servants to the roof to get the horse. Soon two strong servants returned and brought a horse. He was so handsome that the king and his entourage opened their mouths in surprise. But they were even more surprised when they saw that this horse was made of wood.
Well, on this horse you cannot cope with my army,” said the king.
The prince did not answer a word, jumped on the magic horse, pressed the button on the right side, and the horse soared into the air like an arrow. Before the king and the soldiers had time to come to their senses, the horse and the prince were already so high that they seemed like a tiny swallow in the blue sky.
They waited and waited, but the rider on the magic horse did not return. The king went to the palace and told the princess what had happened. The princess began to sob; She told her father that she would not live without her lover, and went to the palace of golden bricks. She locked herself there, didn’t eat anything, didn’t sleep, and just grieved for her prince. Her father tried to persuade her to get the young stranger out of her head.
After all, this is still not a prince, but a sorcerer, unless anyone else can fly through the air,” said the king.
But no matter how much he convinced or begged, the princess was inconsolable and became seriously ill from melancholy.
Meanwhile, the prince on a magic horse rose so high that he lost sight of the earth. He enjoyed the flight and still missed the beautiful princess. But the young man decided that he would return to her only after he saw his father, who probably did not sleep from grief and worries about his son and was looking for him throughout the country. The prince flew and flew until he saw the towers of his native city below. He landed on the roof of the royal palace, dismounted from his horse and ran straight to his father.
How happy everyone was when they saw that the prince was alive and well! He told his father about how he learned to ride a horse, how he ended up in a distant foreign country and fell in love with a princess there. And then he asked what happened to the owner of the magic horse, that foreigner who wanted to take the king’s daughter as his wife as a reward.
This rogue was thrown into prison because you disappeared through his fault,” said the king.
Did you throw him into prison because he gave us such a wonderful thing? - exclaimed the prince. - After all, he rather deserves the whole court to fall on his face before him.
The king immediately ordered the stranger to be released from prison and granted him the highest court rank.
The stranger politely thanked him for this honor, but deep down he harbored a grudge. He wanted to marry the princess, but he didn’t get her. But the sorcerer did not give himself away and waited for an opportunity to take revenge.
Soon the prince became bored with his home. He could not find peace for himself and yearned for the princess from a distant foreign country. In vain the king begged his son not to expose himself to danger: the prince did not listen. One day he jumped on an ebony horse and flew away. He flew and flew until he found himself in that foreign country. The prince again sank onto the roof of the palace made of golden bricks, which stood in the middle of the rose gardens.
The princess lay in her room, pale and haggard, there was silence all around. But then someone pulled back the curtain and her lover entered the room. All illness disappeared from the princess as if by hand. Beaming, she jumped up from her bed and threw herself on the prince’s neck.
Do you want to go with me to my kingdom? - asked the prince. The girl nodded, and before the frightened maids had time to come to their senses, the prince picked her up and carried her to the roof of the palace. There he put her on a magic horse, jumped on its back and pressed the button on the right side. And now they were already flying above the clouds, huddled close to each other, intoxicated by the meeting and enchanted by the magical flight.
Below, in the palace of golden bricks, an alarm was raised, the servants called the king, but it was too late. The king tore out his hair and mourned his missing daughter. He thought that he was not destined to see her again.
And the prince and princess flew and flew and did not even remember the old king. Finally they found themselves above the city where the prince’s father ruled, and landed on the ground in one of the royal gardens. The prince hid the princess in a gazebo, around which lilies, daffodils bloomed, and jasmine smelled fragrant; He placed the wooden horse nearby, and he went to his father.
Everyone was happy that the prince had returned home again, and the king almost lost his mind with happiness. The prince told him that he had brought a beautiful bride and asked his father for permission to marry her. The Tsar thought that if the Tsarevich got married, he would forever give up these mad leaps through the air. Therefore, he immediately agreed to celebrate the wedding.
Residents began to decorate the city, and preparations for a luxurious wedding were underway everywhere.
The prince sent singers and girls with harps to the garden where the princess was hidden. He ordered a thousand nightingales to be released there so that they would brighten up her wait. And the stranger, the owner of the magic horse, harbored terrible anger in his heart and almost suffocated with anger when he saw the festive preparations. In order not to look at all this, he began to wander through the royal gardens. And it happened that he came to a gazebo surrounded by jasmine and daffodils. There he noticed his horse. The sage looked into the gazebo and saw a girl of rare beauty. The stranger immediately guessed that this was the prince’s bride, and decided that now he could take revenge on everyone for the insult and for the fact that his horse was taken away from him.
He entered the princess, bowed to the ground and said:
The prince, my lord, sent me here to hide you in another place. You are in danger here.
The princess, looking at his ugly face, was frightened. The sage immediately noticed this and said:
The prince is very jealous, so he sent me, the ugliest of his friends, after you, so that you would not like me.
The princess smiled. She was pleased that the prince was afraid for her. She extended her hand to the ugly stranger and walked out of the gazebo with him. The sage led the girl to the magic horse and said:
Get on your horse. The prince wanted you to ride on it.
The princess climbed onto the horse, the sage sat behind him, pressed the button on the right side, and the horse flew into the air so quickly that it immediately disappeared from sight.
After some time, the princess, alarmed that they were flying faster and faster, asked:
Are the royal gardens so huge that we have to fly for so long? Then the disgusting monster laughed evilly and said to the princess:
So know that I am a great wizard. I made this horse myself and took you away to take revenge on the prince.
The wizard began to boast of his power.
If I want,” he said, “all the stars will fall on my head, like wasps on a ripe plum.”
He had already invented this, but the princess didn’t care: when she heard his first words, she lost consciousness.
Meanwhile, a magnificent procession headed by the prince headed into the garden to take the princess to the royal palace, where a wedding dress was prepared for her. The prince was very surprised that he could not hear the music and singing of the nightingales. He left his retinue and ran to the gazebo in which the princess was hidden. But the gazebo was empty. Beside himself with horror, he ran out into the garden and only then noticed that the ebony horse had also disappeared. The prince called the princess, searched the jasmine thickets, but there was no trace of her. Then one of the harpist girls whom he sent to the garden told him that a stranger had come for the princess and that he had flown away with her on a wonderful horse. When the girl described the appearance of this man to the prince, he recognized him as the owner of the magic horse. The prince realized that the stranger had taken revenge on him for his insult. He almost lost his mind from grief, cursed the wizard and his evil fate, looked up, hoping to see a horse with the princess in the clouds. But even if the prince saw him, he still could not do anything.
The princess was far, far away. In the evening, the stranger directed his horse to the ground, they landed on a green meadow through which a river flowed. Here he decided to rest. And it so happened that just at that time the king of that country was returning from hunting. He noticed the old man and the girl and ordered his retinue to stop. The king began to ask what kind of people they were and how they got to his country.
“I guess from your appearance and from the retinue that surrounds you that there is a king in front of me,” said the sage. - So forgive me that my sister and I are sitting in your meadow. We were very tired after a long journey.
O king! “He’s lying,” exclaimed the princess. - I'm not his sister. He forcibly took me away. Save me, oh lord, and I will be grateful to you to death. The king immediately ordered the ugly wizard to be tied up and a stretcher prepared for the princess. Then he began to examine the ebony horse. He liked the skillful work and ivory patterns, but neither the ugly sage nor the princess revealed to him the secrets of the magic horse. The king ordered the horse to be taken to the royal palace. He escorted the princess there and ordered the most beautiful chambers to be set aside for her. And the evil wizard who kidnapped the princess was thrown into prison by the royal servants.
It seemed that the princess had escaped danger. But she fell from the frying pan into the fire. The king fell in love with her passionately and did not let her leave the palace. Soon he told the girl that he wanted to marry her.
Meanwhile, the prince, her real groom, dressed in simple clothes, walked from city to city, from country to country, and asked everywhere about the ugly old man, the beautiful girl and the ebony horse; but no one could tell him about them. He walked like this for a long time, and many months passed until happiness finally smiled on him. In one of the cities at the market, merchants talked about how the king of a neighboring country, returning from a hunt, noticed a beautiful girl in the meadow. He freed her from the hands of the old freak and fell passionately in love with her. There is nothing surprising in all this. But the wooden horse is truly a miracle of miracles: it is decorated with ivory, and it cannot be distinguished from a living one.
As soon as the prince heard about this, his heart jumped with joy in his chest, and he immediately went to the neighboring country. He walked all night, and then a day and another night, and finally came to the royal capital. And in the city there was only talk about the beautiful girl whom the king fell madly in love with. But people said that the girl was out of her mind. The king did everything to cure her, but no means helped.
The prince without hesitation went to the royal palace and ordered to report himself as a skilled doctor from a distant country who could cure any ailment. The king was delighted and told him about how he found the princess and how she now does not eat, does not sleep, does not let anyone near her, tears expensive bedspreads to shreds and smashes wonderful mirrors and goblets to pieces.
The prince listened to him and said:
Before I begin to treat the princess, I must take a look at that ebony horse.
The king ordered the horse to be brought into the courtyard, and the prince carefully examined it. And when the young man saw that the horse was intact and that nothing had happened to him, and, most importantly, both buttons were in place, he said to the king:
Put a guard on this horse, and take me to the sick girl.
The king escorted him to the princess's room. The prince asked not to disturb him and went alone to his bride. As soon as the girl looked at him, she instantly recognized her lover in the disguised doctor. The princess almost lost her mind from joy. The prince told her what she had to do so that he could free her, and returned to the king.
O king, he said. - The girl is already better, but for her to be completely healed, I must cast another spell. Order the horse to be brought to the meadow where you found the girl. And let your servants bring the princess there.
The king, delighted that the foreign doctor would cure his bride, did everything the prince asked him to do. The horse was already standing in the meadow outside the city; the servants brought the princess there. The king himself, surrounded by courtiers, appeared there and waited to see what the doctor would do.
The prince put the princess on a magic horse, sat behind her and pressed a button on the horse’s neck on the right side. And then something happened that no one expected. Who would have thought that a wooden horse would fly into the air like an arrow, like a winged bird, and immediately rise to the clouds. While the frightened king came to his senses and ordered the soldiers to pull the bowstring and shoot at the fugitives, the magic horse was already so high that it seemed like a tiny midge.
And the prince and princess no longer thought about the poor king in love and rejoiced that fate had united them again. They flew over mountains and valleys until they finally found themselves in the prince’s homeland. They immediately celebrated a magnificent wedding, to which the princess’s father arrived with his retinue. He forgave them when he saw how much they loved each other, and decided to himself that his daughter was happily married. And again the whole city was festively decorated. People feasted and had fun for many nights in a row. The clear moon rejoiced at their happiness, looking out from the heavenly windows, and below, the whole earth was covered with jasmine flowers.
After the wedding, the prince wanted to ride a magic horse. He looked for him everywhere, but did not find him. The old king ordered the horse to be broken so that his son would never be able to rise into the skies. The prince felt sorry for the ebony horse, but he soon forgot about it: even without the horse the young man was happy. And when many years later he told his children about the magic horse, they did not believe him and thought it was a wonderful fairy tale.
Category: Russian folk tales online in some kingdom state Russian names heroes of folk tales
