In a 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 arranged 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 these 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 filled with so much malice… Please help us, I beg you.
Oh, that Grandmother Wingrin, that's the tenth complaint today! I'll have to go see her personally and sort everything out!
Grandmother Wingrin was not a grumpy old woman at all, but a real witch! The mischief she committed knew no bounds: she could completely destroy a garden or vegetable patch, give harmful herbs to make livestock sick… In short, she was quite the troublemaker!
She especially disliked her kind and gentle neighbor Ani, who worked hard in the fields with her husband, and their children were kind and polite to everyone. All of this infuriated the old hag! She had spoiled their crops and frightened the children in every way possible. But Ani didn't even say a harsh word in response; instead, she tried to befriend her: she baked a special pie and brought it as a sign of reconciliation:
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? — asked the old woman glumly.
What, pardon me?
A PIE WITH TOADSTOOLS? — shrieked the old woman loudly.
Of course not! We gathered good mushrooms for you with the children!
"We gathered good mushrooms for you with the children!" — mocked the old woman. — Too bad they weren't toadstools, that would have been a nice treat for your brats!
Grandmother Wingrin, — Ani 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 nauseous!
Grandmother Wingrin, I will have to ask the king for protection, you won't listen to me!
Oh, how scary, the king needs you with your little ragamuffins! Get out of here!
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 a while, 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, please don't shoot me! — laughed the old woman mockingly. — What can you do to me, Your Majesty? I won't stop bothering that annoying Ani and her children anyway, maybe I'm just having fun! Who's to blame if that busybody has no sense of humor?
That's it, enough! — said the king firmly. — By tomorrow morning you must leave the kingdom, or I'll have my guards escort you to the border with sticks!
Of course, of course, Your Majesty, I'll just prepare some little gifts for the road, — hissed the old woman maliciously.
When everyone was asleep, the witch crept into her neighbor's house and bent over the cradle of Ani's youngest child, little August. She waved her hand over the child and read her terrible incantations. Who knows how it would have ended if one of August's sisters hadn't woken up. The girl, seeing the witch, screamed in horror, and everyone woke up. But the old woman managed to finish reading the spell. She smiled and waved goodbye to the frightened family, then disappeared with a terrible laugh. From that moment on, the little boy became blind.
Meanwhile, the palace was preparing to celebrate the first birthday of the princess. 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 gathered in the palace. And in the midst of the festivities, there was a crash of glass, a dark shadow rushed straight toward the little princess sitting in her soft armchair.
Well hello there, little piggy! — came an evil, screeching voice, and before the good fairy could do anything, the dark shadow disappeared with a malicious laugh.
Wingrin! — the king said, either to himself or aloud, turning as white as snow from horror.
Yes, it was her! — sighed the fairy. She stood next to the queen, who held the princess in her arms. The little girl's pretty face was now adorned with a small snout.
Lina, can you help? — asked the queen 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 time had frozen. The fairy finally spoke:
The magic is black and ancient, I cannot break the curse 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 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 left the palace, 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 hurried to set the table, while the king and queen were terribly nervous, waiting for the prince-groom!
Decembrina, my dear, come on! The prince has arrived and wants to meet you.
Why?
Why? You know about the curse: only love and friendship can break it!
Mother, this is already the seventh one this month! What love, what friendship? They're afraid of me, — replied the princess 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 broke the curse, fled in shame. And they did so after the very first meeting with the poor girl, without even talking 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 a chance! If he just talks to you, he'll immediately understand how wonderful you are! — pleaded the queen.
All right, Mother.
Standing next to the king in clothes embroidered with golden threads was a prince. 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 first 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 reactions, it only made her sad sometimes that these princes didn't even want to talk to her, to get to know her.
"Will I really stay like this forever?" — sighed the princess, 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 this music was coming from. Decembrina approached the fence of the royal garden, the sound was coming from beyond the palace. 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 where a shepherd boy sat, and sheep grazed peacefully around him. 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, named Loyal, wouldn't let anyone hurt them.
Just now, sensing the princess, the dog decisively headed toward her. The girl, frightened, stepped back, and a branch under her foot cracked loudly. But Loyal wagged his tail and began to fawn over the princess, so her fear quickly disappeared.
Hello, friend, — said the boy, turning toward the branch.
Why "friend"? Aren't you afraid of me? — asked the girl with interest. For the first time, a stranger hadn't shrieked upon seeing her.
Loyal doesn't approach evil people, and he didn't even bark at you. And why should I be afraid of you?
Don't you see what I look like! — the princess wanted to cry, maybe this boy was just mocking her?
No, I don'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 could forbid it: how could a shepherd and a princess be friends?
So the summer flew by. The shepherd boy taught the princess how to make pipes that produced such magical music, 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 windows in horror! — sighed the princess 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 was 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 skillfully and artfully 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 "Oh no!", turned into a raven and left her dwelling.
The witch learned about the secret friendship, and she didn't like it at all! A black whirlwind swept up the shepherd and carried him away to who knows where. The poor princess didn't know what to do, she cried, and Loyal whimpered beside her.
Don't cry, dear, — the girl heard a gentle voice. It was her mother's friend, fairy Lina.
How can I get him back? — asked the princess 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 Decembrina 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 the king and queen wouldn't let her go, and she set off immediately on an unfamiliar path.
DON'T BE AFRAID OF ANYTHING AND LOOK ONLY FORWARD! — the fairy told her as a parting gift.
For three whole days the girl walked through the forest, eating berries and drinking water from springs. But her strength never left her. On the contrary, with every minute, every hour, her desire to save her friend grew stronger. Finally the forest ended, and ahead was a field with exotic flowers. It seemed the rainbow itself had settled here, the birds sang so sweetly that you wanted to stop and listen, listen…
This was the magical trap Wingrin had devised: if you lingered here for a few minutes, you would become a flower. Or maybe a bird — whatever happened. 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 August.
After the magical flowers came thickets of thorny bushes. The princess's dress now looked like rags, thorns left marks on her arms, but the brave girl walked only forward.
Finally, after a couple of days, a road of stones began, a road to Wingrin's dwelling.
Stop! Don't go there! Death awaits you there! — evil hissing was 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!
Please release August!
Who needs him! Little piggy, maybe I should restore his sight? But I'm afraid the boy will run away from you! — laughed the witch maliciously.
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! — shrieked the witch. — Your shepherd will become a beautiful golden statue and will decorate my little home! It will be cozy!
Wingrin began to cast a spell. Small lightning bolts shot 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 toward him, but in the very last second Decembrina managed to shield August 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, "at least August will live!"
In her head, fragments of phrases echoed: "Magic, black, ancient. THE POWER OF LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP!" Decembrina came to when someone gently touched her shoulder.
Hey, wake up!
Sitting next to her was August, and now he could see!
The princess was very happy, but remembering the curse, she turned away:
Don't look at me!
Why? — asked the shepherd in genuine surprise.
I'M UGLY!
I think you're being too hard on yourself! Even when I was blind, I knew you were beautiful!
Look, here, if you don't believe me! — August 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 at her reflection fearfully, 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 broken, 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 August and Decembrina decided to marry. And the phrase "Love and friendship will conquer all!" became the most beloved saying for all the people in the kingdom.
