In a certain magical kingdom there ruled a wise and kind king. The inhabitants approached him without fear for help, knowing that he would never ignore their requests. The king even set aside special days for those seeking his counsel, so he could listen carefully to his beloved people and solve their problems.
Your Majesty, — a young woman addressed him on one of those days — only you can help us! Grandmother Wingrin has destroyed our entire garden and frightens the children. I tried to befriend her, but she is so full of malice… Please help us, I beg you.
Oh, that Grandmother Wingrin, that's the tenth complaint today! I'll have to go and see her personally and sort everything out!
Grandmother Wingrin was not a grumpy old woman at all, but a real witch! The mischief she caused was endless: she could completely destroy a garden or vegetable patch, give harmful herbs to make livestock fall ill… In short, she was quite the troublemaker!
She particularly disliked her kind and gentle neighbour Annie, who worked hard in the fields with her husband, and their children were kind and polite to everyone. All of this infuriated the old crone! She had spoiled their harvest and frightened the children in every way possible. But Annie didn't even say a harsh word in response; instead, she tried to befriend her: she baked a special pie for her and brought it as a peace offering:
Grandmother Wingrin, forgive us if we have offended you, we meant no harm. Here is a pie with mushrooms as a sign of peace.
With toadstools? — the old woman asked grimly.
I beg your pardon?
A PIE WITH TOADSTOOLS? — the old woman shrieked loudly.
Of course not! We and the children gathered good ones for you!
"We and the children gathered good ones for you!" — the old woman mimicked. — It's a shame they weren't toadstools, that would have been a nice treat for your children!
Grandmother Wingrin, — Annie spoke calmly but firmly — what have we done to you? If the children were rude, just tell us, and we will…
I'm sick of all of you! Goody-goodies, it makes me sick!
Grandmother Wingrin, I'll have to ask the king for protection, you won't listen to me!
Oh, scared me, does the king need you and your little ragamuffins! Good riddance!
So when the king and his guards came to Wingrin's house that evening, she wasn't particularly frightened or surprised, as this wasn't their first visit to her.
It's been ages, Your Majesty, since you've visited me, I was starting to miss you! — the old woman greeted her guests mockingly. — Will you have fly agarics or cockroach stew?
Wingrin, — the king began calmly — you haven't forgotten that you already have two warnings, this is the last one.
Oh, don't shoot me! — the old woman laughed mockingly. — What can you do to me, Your Majesty? I won't stop bothering that awful Annie and her children anyway, maybe I'm just having fun! Who's to blame if that old hen has no sense of humour?
That's enough! — the king said firmly. — You must leave the kingdom by tomorrow morning, or I'll have you escorted to the border with sticks!
Of course, of course, Your Majesty, I'll just prepare some little gifts for the road, — the old woman hissed malevolently.
When everyone was asleep, the witch crept into her neighbour's house and bent over the cradle of Annie's youngest of three children, little Augustus. She waved her hand over the child and read her terrible incantations. Who knows how it would have ended if one of Augustus's sisters hadn't woken up. The girl, seeing the witch, screamed in terror, and everyone woke up. But the old woman managed to finish reading the spell. She smiled and waved goodbye to the frightened family with a terrible laugh and disappeared. From that moment on, the little boy became blind.
Meanwhile, at the palace, preparations were underway to celebrate the princess's first birthday. The servants ran back and forth, some with decorations and others with treats for the celebration. The queen, holding her little daughter in her arms, kept glancing out the window: she was waiting for her friend, the fairy Lina, whom she hadn't seen since the royal wedding! Finally she arrived. Soon all the guests had gathered at the palace. And in the midst of the festivities, there was a crash of glass, a dark shadow rushed straight at the little princess, who was sitting in her soft armchair.
Well hello there, little piggy! — came a malicious, creaky voice, and before the good fairy could do anything, the dark shadow disappeared with an evil laugh.
Wingrin! — the king said, either to himself or aloud, turning as white as snow from horror.
Yes, it was her! — the fairy said with a sigh. She stood next to the queen, who was holding the princess. The little girl's pretty face was now adorned with a small snout.
Lina, can you help? — the queen asked hopefully, holding out the baby to her friend.
Fairy Lina examined the princess's face carefully. At that moment, the palace was so silent that it seemed as if time had frozen. The fairy finally spoke:
The magic is black, ancient, and the curse cannot be lifted now, but…
BUT WHAT, WHAT? — the king and queen asked simultaneously.
Every poison has an antidote. And the princess, when she comes of age, will be able to free herself from the curse with the help of the power of love and friendship.
So the evil witch Wingrin left the kingdom, leaving behind her terrible gifts as a parting present.
Sixteen years passed. During all this time, the young princess never once left the palace grounds, and she had no friends. She only spoke with her parents, teachers, and a few loyal servants. Those who were not frightened by the princess's appearance, who loved her for her inner beauty.
Decembrina, as the girl was called, loved to read in the gazebo of the royal garden. This morning was no exception. The princess paid no attention to the commotion happening in the palace; she was absorbed in her book.
The servants, meanwhile, were hurriedly setting the table, while the king and queen were terribly nervous, waiting for the prince-groom to arrive!
Decembrina, my dear, come along! The prince has already arrived and wants to meet you.
Why?
Why? You know about the curse: only love and friendship can lift it!
Mother, this is already the seventh one this month! What love, what friendship? They're afraid of me, — the princess replied sadly.
The pig's snout had indeed disfigured the girl's face. And the so-called suitors, who dreamed of becoming famous, of becoming heroes who lifted the curse, fled in disgrace. And they did so after the very first meeting with the poor girl, without even speaking to her. Yet Decembrina was very kind and intelligent, and everyone who knew her saw her inner beauty, not the mark of the terrible curse.
My dear girl, give him at least a chance! If he just talks to you, he'll immediately understand how wonderful you are! — the queen pleaded.
All right, Mother.
Standing next to the king was a prince in clothes embroidered with golden threads. He was from a distant kingdom and, as soon as he heard about the curse, came immediately. However, he was not motivated by a desire to help the unfortunate princess: he dreamed of becoming famous and becoming the king of such a wealthy kingdom.
The door creaked, the prince turned to the princess with a forced smile. And suddenly he turned pale, shrieked like a little girl, and, backing away, jumped out the window. Fortunately, it was the ground floor!
The king wanted to bring the prince back, but his daughter stopped him:
Don't bother, Father.
My dear, another will come, don't be upset.
Yes, of course. I'll go to the garden, — the princess was already used to such a reaction, it only sometimes made her sad that these princes didn't even want to talk to her, to get to know her.
«Will I really stay like this forever?» — the princess sighed, and a couple of tears fell on her book.
And then the wind carried an unfamiliar melody to her. Such a magical one that the girl, forgetting her sadness, decided to find out where the music was coming from. Decembrina approached the fence of the royal garden, the sound was coming from beyond the palace grounds. Curiosity overcame fear and the prohibition against leaving the garden, and Decembrina did something uncharacteristic for her for the first time: she climbed over the fence.
The girl found herself in a small forest, in a clearing of which sat a shepherd boy, and around him grazed sheep peacefully. He had brought his flock here for the first time today because of the lush grass. There was no need to fear wolves; there had never been any here, and his dog, called Faithful, wouldn't let anyone hurt them.
Just now, sensing the princess, the dog decided to head towards her. The girl, frightened, stepped back, and a branch under her foot cracked loudly. But Faithful wagged his tail and began to fawn over the princess, so her fear quickly disappeared.
Hello, friend, — said the boy, turning towards the branch.
Why "friend"? Aren't you frightened of me? — the girl asked with interest. For the first time, a stranger hadn't shrieked upon seeing her.
Faithful doesn't approach evil people, and he didn't even bark at you. And why should I be frightened of you?
Can't you see what I look like! — the princess wanted to cry, maybe this boy was just mocking her?
No, I can't see: an evil witch made me blind when I was little, — and the shepherd boy told her everything he had heard from his parents, and the princess told him her story.
They quickly became friends, agreeing to meet in this place and tell no one about their friendship. Adults might forbid it: how could a shepherd boy and a princess be friends?
Summer flew by. The shepherd boy taught the princess how to make pipes from which such magical music flowed, and Decembrina told him magical fairy tales or sang songs to her friend.
I don't believe you're ugly, because you're so kind. No, that's not true! — the young shepherd often said to the princess.
No, my friend, it is. Princes jump out the window in horror! — the princess sighed in response.
They're just fools! You have to see and hear with your heart, and I know: you're beautiful!
The princess's cheeks always blushed at these words, and she genuinely wished that her dear shepherd boy were a prince. Their friendship remained a secret. Sometimes Decembrina would tear the hem of her dress climbing over the fence. But she would mend it so skilfully and carefully that it was impossible to tell where it had been torn.
The evil witch Wingrin sat as always in her cave, stirring some concoction in a cauldron. Suddenly a mosquito buzzed something in her ear. The concoction flew to the side, and the witch, hissing: «Well, no!», turned into a raven and left her dwelling.
The witch learned of the secret friendship, and she didn't like it at all! A black whirlwind swept up the shepherd boy and carried him away to who knows where. The poor princess didn't know what to do, she cried, and Faithful whimpered beside her.
Don't cry, my dear, — the girl heard a gentle voice. It was her mother's friend, the fairy Lina.
How can I get him back? — the princess asked through tears.
I'll tell you everything, but will you have the courage, my dear? The road is full of all sorts of dangers.
I will, I will! — the princess assured her hastily. — Help me get him back.
The fairy told her in detail about the road to the evil witch. Lina couldn't go with Decembrina — the curse wouldn't allow it. And the girl had to go alone. Decembrina didn't go back home: she was afraid that the king and queen wouldn't let her go, and she set off immediately along the unfamiliar path.
DON'T BE AFRAID OF ANYTHING AND LOOK ONLY AHEAD! — the fairy said to her as a parting gift.
For three whole days the girl walked through the forest, eating berries and drinking water from a spring. But her strength never left her. On the contrary, with every minute, with every hour, her desire to save her friend grew stronger. Finally the forest ended, and ahead was a field with exotic flowers. It seemed as if the rainbow itself had settled here, the birds sang so sweetly that you wanted to stop and listen, listen…
This was the magical trap that Wingrin had devised: if you lingered here for a few minutes, you would become a flower. Or perhaps a bird — however it turned out. But Decembrina seemed not to hear or see what was happening around her, because for her now there was nothing and no one more important than her friend Augustus.
After the magical flowers came thickets of thorny bushes. The princess's dress now looked like rags, the thorns left marks on her arms, but the brave girl walked only forward.
Finally, after a couple of days, the road of stones began, the road to Wingrin's dwelling.
Stop! Don't go there! Death awaits you there! — malicious hissing could be heard from right and left, but the princess remembered that she had to go only forward!
When she entered the cave, the witch was already waiting for her.
Well hello there, little piggy, — Wingrin greeted the girl mockingly. — I've been waiting for you!
Release Augustus, please!
Who needs him! Little piggy, maybe I should restore his sight? But I'm afraid the boy will run away from you! — the witch laughed malevolently.
Return him, if you can, — the girl held back her tears. She understood that the witch was partly right. — I can become your prisoner, just let him go!
Oh no, too easy for you! — the witch shrieked. — Your shepherd boy will become a beautiful golden statue, it will decorate my little home! It will be cosy!
Wingrin began to cast a spell. Small lightning bolts flew from her hands, and very soon they turned into a ball of fire. In its bright light, Decembrina finally noticed her friend in the corner of the cave: he was unconscious.
Wingrin was already directing her ball towards him, but in the very last second Decembrina managed to shield Augustus with her own body. The girl saw how the tips of her fingers turned golden, how her strength was leaving her. She seemed to be falling asleep. But, to her surprise, she noticed that Wingrin, instead of rejoicing, turned into a black soap bubble and burst.
«Well, that's it,» thought the princess, «but at least Augustus will be alive!»
In her head, fragments of phrases echoed: «Magic, black, ancient. THE POWER OF LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP!» Decembrina came to herself when someone gently touched her shoulder.
Hey, wake up!
Sitting next to her was Augustus, and now he could see!
The princess was very happy, but, remembering the curse, turned away:
Don't look at me!
Why? — the shepherd boy asked genuinely surprised.
I'M UGLY!
I think you're being hard on yourself! Even when I was blind, I knew you were beautiful!
Look, here, if you don't believe me! — Augustus handed the girl a small mirror. The princess couldn't look in large mirrors. And only this small one was always with her, and now it must have fallen out of her pocket.
The girl looked fearfully at her reflection, but she didn't see any pig's snout. A beautiful girl looked back at her!
SO THIS IS THE POWER OF LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP!
Yes, it is, — came the fairy's voice. Now that the curse was gone, she could escort them back to the kingdom.
The happy king and queen joyfully welcomed their daughter and her friend. They quickly became friends with the boy's parents. Everyone was happy when Augustus and Decembrina decided to marry. And the phrase «Love and friendship will conquer all!» became the kingdom's favourite saying for all its people.
