The tales of Thought contain the following tales: Tale of love, The jar of gold, The princess of the waters, The property of others, The hat which makes invisible, The tale of the rich man, The king and the barber , The Man and the Devil, The Shirt Adorned with Diamonds, Aslanzate and Zanpolate, The Girl in the Trunk, Brother Lamb, Fear, The Lare Domestic, Laugh Well Who Laughs Last, Talou Orlan, Topal, The Revealing Kite, The Hunter Ahmad, The Dervish and the Daughters, The King's Daughter of China, Pomegranate, Nerso
There was a boy who was unlucky. Every time his mother went to ask for the hand of a young girl, she was refused, the parents made fun of her:
– Our daughter is too good for your son!
Eventually, the boy despairs, he no longer laughs, no longer sleeps, no longer eats. He becomes skinny as a nail. His mother looks at him, his heart sinks: what to do? you can't take a girl by force... She starts to cry. She curses fate.
One day his son said to him:
“Mother, I’m going to look elsewhere if I have better luck.”
He puts a piece of bread in his wallet and sets off.
He walks a long time. He finally stops near a spring to drink. Leaning over the water, he lets out a big sigh...Ah!...
– » My friend " said a voice
– »Who calls me his friend? » said the young man.
– » It was I who called you my friend”
– » But where are you ? I hear your voice but I don’t see you.”
– “ Have you never heard of me? I am Lucerene, daughter of the king of waters. I live with my father and my mother, at the bottom of the water. As soon as I saw you, I was attracted to you. Go tell your mother to come see my father the king and ask him to grant you my hand.
– “ But appear, at least, that I see you!
– “ I can't, I assure you I can't. »
The boy is surprised, he turns his head to the right, to the left, there is absolutely no one around.
- " Oh ! bad luck,” he said, “you deceived me, I will continue on my way.”
– But no, I didn't cheat on you, said Lucérène's voice, return home, you will see your walls and your roof covered with gold and silver, on your table bread and good dishes. If you don't see anything, I will have deceived you, but if you see all this, tell your mother to come and see my father the king. Go, you will see and you will believe me!
The boy returns home. He sees the walls and the roof covered with gold and silver, the table served royally. He no longer recognizes his home. He asks his mother:
– “Mother, who transformed our house and set the table? »
- " I don't know. I heard a voice saying:Walls and roof, cover yourselves with gold and silver! Table, be filled! Immediately I saw these orders carried out. I thought, “Is this our house?” is this our table? it's a miracle ! »
– “Yes, mother, it’s a miracle, and I know who performed it. This is Lucerene, the daughter of the king of waters. She lives at the bottom of the water, I didn't see her but I heard her. She said:
– go home and tell your mother to come and ask the king for my hand in marriage for you.
– » Ah! blessed be this young girl! I will quickly prepare myself. "
– Yes, mother, come on, luck is finally smiling on me!
The boy explains to his mother where the source is. She runs there. She calls :
– “Lucerene, I would give my life for you! I am the mother of the young man you liked, tell your father that I came to pick you up and take you to my house. »
At these words, the king of waters comes out of the spring. The mother sees a handsome old man, a golden crown on his head, a purple habit, green eyes, a green beard, a scepter in his hand.
– “Hello, friend the king! »
The king takes it back amiably:
– “You haven’t taken my daughter yet and you’re already calling me crony?” »
- Well ! let's hurry! Tell me, will you give me your daughter, so that I can take her?
– No, said the king of the waters, I will only give my daughter on one condition.
– What condition, dear king?
– On condition that your son goes to my enemy, the king of the forests, and takes my daughter's chest of clothes. If he brings it to me, I give it to him, if he doesn't bring it, I don't give it. Now go into your cellar and get your son's horse: his saddle is of mother-of-pearl, his shoes are of silver, his hooves are of gold, and a steel sword hangs on the saddle.
The woman returns, she sees in the cellar the horse intended for her son: the mother-of-pearl saddle, the silver shoes, the golden hooves and the steel sword. She rejoices and goes to tell her son:
– Son, your king sets a condition: that you bring back from his enemy, the king of the forests, the chest of his daughter's clothes. You bring it back, he gives it to you, otherwise he doesn't give it. What do you say about that?
– What do you want me to say, mother? I never rode a horse, I never drew a sword.
By order of God, the horse spoke:
– “Don’t be afraid,” he said, “just hold on to the saddle. The king of the forests is a monster and those who see him are terrified. If he shouts to you: Mortal turn around I'll give you whatever you want above all, do not look back, for you would be transformed into a tree ”.
– “Okay,” said the boy, “let’s go!” »
He mounts his horse, grabs the sword and gallops to the forest. There he shivers. The trees appear to be monstrous men with disheveled heads and twisted feet. At the sight of the young man, they began to shout and collide. It looks like an earthquake. Their king has a thousand feet and a thousand hands. He rushes towards the trees, shouting:
– Get it! Get it! It's been a long time since I ate human flesh! Trees, catch it! catch him!
The boy is scared of the trees and all these screams. He wants to go home. The horse says:
– » Don't be afraid, it's just screams. Advance ! »
The boy pushes him forward; he raises his sword, he strikes the king of the forests and kills him. The trees, seeing their king dead, become furious. The boy gets off his horse. He finds the chest hidden in the bushes, grabs it and gets back in the saddle. The trees behind him moan and beg him:
– » Turn around, if you don't turn around, you will be transformed into a tree!
The boy is so scared that he almost drops the chest. He is about to turn around, but the horse encourages him, he gallops, he arrives at the mountain, near the spring.
Immediately, the young man calls:
» Lucerene daughter of the king of waters, I bring you your chest of clothes, go upstairs and get dressed and let's go! »
Hearing his voice, the king of waters comes out of the spring, he approaches the young man, hugs him, kisses him on the forehead and calls his daughter:
– My daughter, you can go out, your fiancé brought your trunk, go upstairs and get dressed!
Lucerene raises her head from the water and says:
" Turn away as I put on my clothes "
The father and the young man turn away, Lucérène gets dressed, she shines like the sun! She hugs her beloved, she kisses him, she asks her father to bless her, then the young people mount their horses and arrive at the house.
When the mother sees the dazzling young girl, she becomes overjoyed. She climbs onto the roof and shouts from all sides:
“Young and old, men, women and children, all come! come and attend the most sumptuous of weddings! "
The young girls who had not wanted this boy were ashamed and stayed at home. The others came and celebrated for seven days and seven nights.
Our heroes saw their wishes come true, so may ours come true!
