At the behest of the pike (Fairy Tale)

At the behest of the pike

To main

All authors

Home → Russian folk tales → At the command of the pike

Russian folk tale “At the behest of the pike” with illustrations by V. Kurdyumov. 1912

Once upon a time there lived a man, and he had three sons: two were smart, and the third was a fool and his name was Emelei. The time has come for the old man to die. He called his sons to him and said to them:

- My dear children! I feel that my death is coming. Divide all my property equally. In the chest you will find three hundred rubles. Divide them equally too. And live in peace and harmony.

The old man died, his sons buried him properly, and began to live and live without him.

Soon the older brothers got married, but Emelya lay all day long on the stove and didn’t want to know anything.

So the older brothers gathered to go to the city to trade and said to Emela:

- Listen, Emelya! We will take your hundred rubles and bring you the profits from them, and as a gift we will buy you a red caftan, a red hat and red boots. And you stay at home and do all the homework for us. Whatever the women tell you to do, do it.

The fool, wanting to receive the promised red caftan, red cap and red boots, answered the brothers that he would do whatever they forced him to do. After that, his brothers went to the city, and the fool stayed at home and lived with his daughters-in-law.

Then, some time later, one day, when it was winter time and there was severe frost, then his daughters-in-law told him to go get some water. But the fool, lying on the stove, said:

- Yes, what about you?

The daughters-in-law shouted at him:

- What, fool, what are we? After all, you see how cold it is, and it’s time for a man to go!

But he said:

- I'm lazy!

The daughters-in-law shouted at him again:

- What, are you lazy? After all, you will want to eat, but when there is no water, you cannot cook anything.

Moreover they said:

“Well, we’ll tell our husbands when they arrive that although they will buy a red caftan and everything, they won’t give you anything,” that the fool heard and wanted to get a red caftan and a hat, got off the stove and began to put on his shoes and get dressed.

And as soon as he was completely dressed, he took buckets and an ax with him, went to the river, for their village was near the river itself, and when he came to the river, he began to cut an ice hole, and he cut an extremely large one. Then he scooped water into buckets and placed them on the ice, while he stood near the ice hole and looked into the water.

At that very time the fool saw that a large pike was swimming in that hole; and Emelya, no matter how stupid he was, nevertheless wanted to catch that pike, and for this he began to approach little by little; he came close to it, grabbed it, suddenly with his hand he pulled it out of the water and, putting it in his bosom, wanted to go home. But the pike told him:

- What are you, fool! What did you catch me with?

- How about what? - he said. “I’ll take you home and tell my daughters-in-law to cook it.”

- No, fool, don’t carry me home; let me go back into the water; I will make you a rich man for that.

But the fool didn’t believe her and wanted to go home. The pike, seeing that the fool would not let her go, said:

- Listen, fool, let me into the water; I will do this for you: whatever you wish, everything will come true according to your desire.

The fool, hearing this, was very happy, for he was extremely lazy, and thought to himself: “When the pike makes it so that whatever I want is ready, then I will no longer work!” He said to the pike:

“I’ll let you go, just do what you promise!” - to which the pike answered:

“You first let me into the water, and I will fulfill my promise.”

But the fool told her that she must first fulfill her promise, and then he would let her go. The pike, seeing that he did not want to let it into the water, said:

“If you want me to tell you how to do whatever you want, then you need to tell me now what you want.”

The fool told her:

“I want my buckets of water to go up the mountain on their own (for that village was on the mountain) and so that the water doesn’t spill.”

The pike immediately told him:

- It’s okay, it won’t spill! Just remember the words that I will say; This is what those words consist of: at the command of the pike, at my request, go, buckets, up the mountain yourself!

The fool said after her:

- At the behest of the pike, at my request, go up the mountain yourself, buckets! - and immediately the buckets and the yoke went up the mountain on their own.

Emelya, seeing this, was very surprised; then he said to the pike:

- Will everything be like this?

To which the pike replied that “everything will happen that you wish; Just don’t forget the words that I told you.” After that, he put the pike into the water, and he went to get the buckets. His neighbors, seeing this, were surprised and said to each other:

- What is this fool doing? The buckets of water go on their own, and he follows them.

But Emelya, without saying anything to them, came home; the buckets went into the hut and stood on the bench, and the fool climbed onto the stove.

Then, after a while, his daughters-in-law said to him again:

- Emelya, why are you lying there? You should go chop some wood.

But the fool said:

- Yes, what about you?

- How are we? - his daughters-in-law shouted at him. “After all, it’s winter now, and if you don’t go chop wood, you’ll be cold.”

- I'm lazy! - said the fool.

- How lazy are you? - his daughters-in-law told him. - After all, you’ll get cold.

Moreover they said:

“If you don’t go and chop wood, we’ll tell our husbands not to give you a red caftan, a red hat, or red boots.”

The fool, wanting to get a red caftan, hat and boots, was forced to chop wood; but since he was extremely lazy and did not want to get off the stove, he spoke slowly, lying on the stove, these words:

“At the behest of the pike, at my request, come on, axe, go and chop some wood, and you, the wood, go into the hut yourself and put yourself in the oven.”

The ax came out of nowhere - jumped out into the yard and began to chop; and the firewood itself went into the hut and was placed in the stove, which, seeing his daughters-in-law, was very surprised at Emelina’s cunning. And so every day, when only a fool is told to chop wood, the ax will chop it.

And he lived with his daughters-in-law for some time, then his daughters-in-law said to him:

- Emelya, we don’t have any firewood; go to the forest and chop it up.

The fool told them:

- Yes, what about you?

- How are we? - answered the daughters-in-law. - After all, the forest is far away, and now it’s winter, it’s so cold for us to go into the forest for firewood.

But the fool told them:

- I'm lazy!

- What, are you lazy? After all, you will be cold; and if you don’t go, then when your brothers arrive, you won’t see a hat, a caftan, or boots.

Emelya scratched the back of his head and began to get off the stove. He put on his shoes, got dressed, took a rope and an ax and went out into the yard. He pulled the sleigh out from under the canopy, sat down in it and shouted to his daughters-in-law to open the gate.

The daughters-in-law came out, saw that Emelya was sitting in the sleigh, and his horse was not harnessed, and they said to him:

- Why, you fool, are you going to go without a horse?

“I don’t need any horse,” Emelya answers, “open the gate!”

The daughters-in-law went to open the gate, and Emelya, sitting in the sleigh, whispered:

- At the behest of the pike, at my request, go, sleigh, into the forest!

The sleigh dashed out of the gate and rolled towards the forest. And the road to the forest was through the city. Emelya sat lounging, did not shout for the people to stay away, and knocked down one boyar. The boyar shouted, guards came running from all sides, chased after Emelya, but could not catch up.

Emelya arrived in the forest, got out of the sleigh and said:

- At the behest of the pike, at my request, you, the ax, begin to chop the wood, and you, the wood, fold yourself into the sleigh and tie it with a rope!

As soon as Emelya said this, the ax went for a walk in the forest to chop firewood, and the logs themselves were stacked in the sleigh and tied with a rope.

Soon the cart was ready; Emelya ordered an ax to cut out his club, sat down on the cart and shouted:

- At the behest of the pike, at my request, go home yourself, sleigh!

The sleigh rolled back, and as soon as he entered the city where Emelya knocked down the boyar, the guards grabbed him, pulled him off the sleigh and, well, beat him. Emelya sees that things are bad and says:

- At the behest of the pike, at my request, start, bludgeon, crushing their sides!

He said this, took the baton and went for a walk on the backs of all the guards. The guards got scared, everyone ran away, and Emelya got on the cart and drove home.

From then on, everyone in the city began to talk about a man who rode through the city on a sleigh without a horse. The rumor about him reached the king. The king himself wanted to see this miracle and ordered that man to be found and brought to his palace.

The courtier went, found Emelina’s village, called the headman to him and said:

“I was sent here by the king, and I was ordered to bring that man who knows how to ride without a horse.”

The headman led the courtier to Emelya’s hut.

-Where is the man who rides without a horse? - says the courtier: - get dressed quickly! I need to take you to the king himself.

- What did I forget about him?

- Oh, you rude! - the courtier shouted, swung his hand and hit Emelya on the cheek.

Emelya didn’t like this treatment, so he whispered:

- At the behest of the pike and at my request, roll away this offender, club!

Here the club rose and began to beat the courtier.

The courtier jumped out of the hut, saw that nothing could be done with the club, and went back to the city.

He arrived at the palace and reported to the king about everything that had happened to him. Then the king called the most cunning boyar and ordered him to bring Emelya, at least by deception.

The boyar arrived in Emelina’s village, called the headman and said to him:

- The king sent for your fool, and you call me those with whom he lives.

The headman immediately ran and brought his daughters-in-law. The boyar asks them:

- What does your fool like and what doesn’t like?

- A fool, your honor, loves sweets and gingerbread. And most of all he loves a red hat, a red caftan and red boots. But he doesn't like to be shouted at.

The boyar released his daughters-in-law and did not tell the fool to tell why they were called up. Then he bought raisins, prunes, wine berries and gingerbread, came to Emelya’s hut and said:

- Hello, Emelya. Well, why are you still lying on the stove? The Tsar invites you to visit him, so he sent you gifts, and sent me for you. Come with me to the palace.

He took Emel’s gifts and said:

- Why am I going to see him? I'm warm here too!

- Let's go, Emelyushka. The king will give you a red caftan, a red hat and red boots.

Emelya was seduced.

- Well, okay! I guess I'll go. You go ahead, and I will follow you.

The boyar was delighted, galloped to the king, and Emelya remained on the stove, and said:

- Oh, how I don’t want to go! Well, there’s nothing to do, I gave my word! - He turned to the wall and whispered:

- At the behest of the pike and at my request, take me, oven, to the city!

The hut crackled, the stove moved, got out into the street and rushed, so much so that it soon caught up with the boyar’s cart and rolled up with him to the palace.

The Tsar went out onto the red porch with all the boyars to meet Emelya.

The king asks him:

- Why did you give so much to the people, like going to the forest for firewood?

But Emelya said:

- What is my fault? Why didn't they step aside?

And at that time the tsar’s daughter came up to the window and looked at the fool, and Emelya accidentally looked at the window through which she was looking, and seeing her very beautiful, the fool said quietly:

“As if by pike’s command, at my request, such a beauty fell in love with me!”

As soon as he uttered these words, the royal daughter looked at him and fell in love. And the fool then said:

- Well, at the behest of the pike, at my request, go home, bake!

The stove immediately went home, and when it arrived, it again stood in the same place.

Emelya lived happily for some time after that; but in the king’s city something else happened, for through foolish words the king’s daughter fell in love and began to ask her father to marry her to a fool. For this, the king was very angry with the fool and did not know how to take him. At that time, the boyars reported to the tsar to send that courtier who had previously gone for Emelya and did not know how to take him; for his guilt, the king, on their advice, ordered that the courtier be presented. As the courtier appeared before him, then the king said to him:

“Listen, my friend, I sent you before for a fool, but you didn’t bring him; for your guilt I am sending you another time so that you will certainly bring him; If you bring it, you will be rewarded, and if you don’t bring it, you will be punished.

The courtier listened to the king and immediately went after the fool, and when he arrived in that village, he called the headman again and said to him:

“Here’s the money for you: buy everything you need for lunch tomorrow and call Emelya, and when he comes to dinner with you, drink him drunk before he goes to bed.”

The headman knew that he had come from the king, and was forced to listen to him. The next day the fool came; the elder began to give him something to drink and got him drunk, so Emelya went to bed. The courtier, seeing that he was sleeping, immediately tied him up and ordered him to bring the wagon, and when they did, they put the fool in; then the courtier got into the wagon and took him to the city. And when he arrived at the city, he took him straight to the palace. The boyars reported to the king about the arrival of that courtier. And as soon as the king heard, he immediately ordered a large barrel to be brought and iron hoops to be filled on it. The barrel was immediately made and brought to the king. The king, seeing that everything was ready, ordered his daughter and the fool to be put in that barrel and ordered them to be tarred; and when they were put in a barrel and tarred, the king ordered that barrel to be thrown into the sea with him. And by his order they immediately let her in, and the king returned to his city.

And the barrel, launched on the sea, floated for several hours; The fool was sleeping all that time, but when he woke up and seeing that it was dark, he asked himself:

- Where I am? - because he thought that he was alone. The princess told him:

- You, Emelya, are in a barrel, and I’m planted with you.

- And who are you? - asked the fool.

“I am the king’s daughter,” she answered and told him why she was put in a barrel with him; then she asked him to free himself and her from the barrel.

But he said:

- I’m warm here too!

“Do me a favor,” said the princess, “have pity on my tears; deliver me and yourself from this barrel.

“How could it be wrong,” said Emelya, “I’m lazy!”

The princess again began to ask him:

- Do me a favor, Emelya, deliver me from this barrel and don’t let me die.

The fool, being touched by her request and tears, said to her:

- Okay, I'll do it for you.

After that he spoke quietly:

- At the behest of the pike, at my request, throw this barrel in which we are sitting, sea, onto the shore - to a dry place, just so that it is closer to our state; And you, barrel, if you are in a dry place, you will hurt yourself!

As soon as the fool had time to utter these words, the sea began to ripple and at that hour threw the barrel onto the shore - onto a dry place, and the barrel itself crumbled. Emelya got up and walked with the princess to the place where they had been thrown, and the fool saw that they were on a very beautiful island, on which there were a lot of different trees with all sorts of fruits. The princess, seeing all this, was very happy that they were on such a beautiful island; and after that she said:

- Well, Emelya, where will we live? For there is no hut here either.

But the fool said:

- You're asking for a lot!

“Do me a favor, Emelya, order them to build some kind of house,” said the princess, “so that we can take shelter somewhere during the rain; for the princess knew that he could do anything if he wanted. But the fool said:

- I'm lazy!

She again began to ask him, and Emelya, being touched by her request, was forced to do it for her; he walked away from her and said:

“At the behest of the pike, at my request, there should be a better palace in the middle of this island than the royal one, and that there should be a crystal bridge from my palace to the royal one, and that there should be people of different ranks in the palace.”

And as soon as he managed to utter these words, at that very moment a huge palace and a crystal bridge appeared. The fool went with the princess into the palace and saw that the chambers were very richly decorated and there were a lot of people, both lackeys and all sorts of peddlers, who were waiting for orders from the fool. The fool, seeing that all people are like people, and he alone was bad and stupid, wanted to become better and for this he said:

- At the behest of the pike, at my request, if only I could become such a fine fellow, so that nothing like this would happen to me and that I would be extremely smart!

And as soon as he had time to speak, at that very moment he became so beautiful, and at the same time so smart, that everyone was surprised.

After that, he sent Emelya from his servants to the Tsar to invite him to come to him and with all the boyars. The messenger from Emelya went to the king along that crystal bridge that the fool had made; and when he arrived at the palace, the boyars presented him before the king, and the messenger from Emelya said:

- Your Majesty! I was sent from my master with humility to ask you to eat with him.

The king asked:

-Who is your master?

But the messenger answered him:

- I can’t tell you about him (for the fool didn’t tell him to tell himself who he was); nothing is known about my master; and when you eat with him, at that time he will speak about himself.

Curious to know who sent to call him, the king told the messenger that he would certainly be there. When the messenger left, the king immediately followed him with all the boyars. The messenger, returning back, said that the king would certainly come, and only said - and the king was going to the fool over that crystal bridge.

And when the king arrived at the palace, Emelya came out to meet him, took him by his white hands, kissed his sugar lips, affectionately led him into his white-stone palace, seated him at oak tables, at broken tablecloths, at sugar dishes, at honey drinks. At the table the tsar and the boyars drank, ate and had fun; and when they got up from the table and sat down, the fool said to the king:

- Dear sir, do you recognize me, who I am?

And since Emelya was at that time in a very rich dress, and, moreover, had a very beautiful face, it was impossible to recognize him, which is why the king said that he did not know. But the fool said:

“Do you remember, dear sir, how a fool came to your palace on a stove and you and his daughter, tarring him in a barrel, sent him into the sea?” So, now recognize me that I am the same Emelya!

The king, seeing him in front of him, was very frightened and did not know what to do; and the fool at that time followed his daughter and brought her to the king. The king, seeing his daughter, was very happy and said to the fool:

“I am very guilty before you, and for that I am giving my daughter in marriage to you.”

The fool, hearing this, humbly thanked the king, and since Emelya had everything ready for the wedding, they celebrated it with splendor that same day. And the next day the fool prepared a magnificent feast for all the boyars, and for the common people there were vats with different drinks on display. And when the fun died down, the king gave him his kingdom; but he didn't want to. After that, the king went to his kingdom, and the fool remained in his palace and lived prosperously.

Thank you for reading the fairy tale “At the Order of the Pike”!

Read all Russian folk tales To the main page (full list of works)

there was an old man. He had three sons: two smart, the third - the fool Emelya. Those brothers work, but Emelya lies on the stove all day, doesn’t want to know anything.

One day the brothers went to the market, and the women, daughters-in-law, let’s send him: “Go, Emelya, for water.” And he told them from the stove: “I don’t want to…” “Go, Emelya, otherwise the brothers will come back from the market and won’t bring you any gifts.” - OK. Emelya got down from the stove, put on his shoes, got dressed, took buckets and an ax and went to the river. He cut through the ice, scooped up buckets and set them down, while he looked into the hole. And Emelya saw a pike in the ice hole.

He contrived and grabbed the pike in his hand: “This fish will be sweet!” Suddenly the pike says to him in a human voice: “Emelya, let me go into the water, I’ll be useful to you.” And Emelya laughs: “What will you be of use to me for?” No, I’ll take you home and tell my daughters-in-law to cook your fish soup. The ear will be sweet. The pike begged again: “Emelya, Emelya, let me go into the water, I’ll do whatever you want.” “Okay, just show me first that you’re not deceiving me, then I’ll let you go.” The pike asks him: “Emelya, Emelya, tell me, what do you want now?” “I want the buckets to go home on their own and the water won’t spill... Pike says to him: “Remember my words: when you want something, just say:

At the behest of the pike, At my will.

Emelya says:

- At the behest of the pike, At my will - go home, buckets...

He just said - the buckets themselves and went up the hill. Emelya let the pike into the hole, and he went to get the buckets.

The buckets are walking through the village, the people are amazed, and Emelya walks behind, chuckling... The buckets went into the hut and stood on the bench, and Emelya climbed onto the stove. How much time has passed, how little time has passed - his daughters-in-law say to him: - Emelya, why are you lying there? I would go and chop some wood. - Reluctance... - If you don’t chop wood, your brothers will return from the market and they won’t bring you gifts. Emelya is reluctant to get off the stove. He remembered about the pike and slowly said:

“According to the pike’s command, According to my desire, go and chop the wood with an axe, and for the firewood, go into the hut yourself and put it in the oven...”

The ax jumped out from under the bench - and into the yard, and let’s chop wood, and the firewood itself goes into the hut and into the stove. How much or how much time has passed - the daughters-in-law again say: - Emelya, we no longer have firewood. Go to the forest and chop it up. And he told them from the stove: “What are you doing?” - What are we doing?.. Is it our business to go to the forest for firewood?

- I don’t feel like... - Well, there won’t be any gifts for you. Nothing to do. Emelya got down from the stove, put on his shoes, and got dressed. He took a rope and an ax, went out into the yard and sat in the sleigh: “Girls, open the gate!” His daughters-in-law say to him: “Why, you fool, did you get into the sleigh and not harness the horse?” - I don't need a horse. The daughters-in-law opened the gate, and Emelya said quietly:

- At the behest of the pike, at my will - go, sleigh, into the forest...

The sleigh drove through the gate on its own, but it was so fast that it was impossible to catch up with a horse. But we had to go to the forest through the city, and here he crushed and crushed a lot of people. The people shout “Hold him! Catch him! And he, you know, is driving the sleigh.

Arrived in the forest:

- At the behest of the pike, At my request - an axe, chop some dry wood, and you, firewood, fall into the sleigh yourself, tie yourself up...

The ax began to chop, split dry trees, and the firewood itself fell into the sleigh and was tied with a rope. Then Emelya ordered an ax to cut out a club for himself - one that could be lifted by force. Sat on the cart:

- At the behest of the pike, At my will - go, sleigh, home...

The sleigh rushed home. Again Emelya drives through the city where he crushed and crushed a lot of people just now, and there they are already waiting for him. They grabbed Emelya and dragged her off the cart, cursing and beating her. He sees that things are bad, and little by little:

- At the behest of the pike, At my will - come on, club, break off their sides...

The club jumped out - and let’s hit. The people rushed away, and Emelya came home and climbed onto the stove. Whether long or short, the king heard about Emelin’s tricks and sent an officer after him to find him and bring him to the palace. An officer arrives in that village, enters the hut where Emelya lives, and asks: “Are you a fool, Emelya?” And he from the stove: “What do you need?” “Get dressed quickly, I’ll take you to the king.” - But I don’t want to... The officer got angry and hit him on the cheek. And Emelya says quietly:

- At the behest of the pike, At my will - a club, break off his sides...

The baton jumped out - and let’s beat the officer, he forcibly carried off his legs. The Tsar was surprised that his officer could not cope with Emelya, and sent his greatest nobleman: “Bring the fool Emelya to my palace, otherwise I’ll take his head off his shoulders.” The great nobleman bought raisins, prunes, and gingerbread, came to that village, entered that hut and began asking his daughters-in-law what Emelya loved. “Our Emelya loves it when people ask him kindly and promise him a red caftan, then he will do whatever you ask.” The greatest nobleman gave Emelya raisins, prunes, and gingerbread and said: “Emelya, Emelya, why are you lying on the stove?” Let's go to the king. “I’m warm here too...” “Emelya, Emelya, the Tsar will have good food and water, please, let’s go.” - But I don’t want to... - Emelya, Emelya, the Tsar will give you a red caftan, a hat and boots.