Russian Folk-TalesAfanas'ev, A. N. (Aleksandr Nikolaevich)
General
Russian Folk-Tales
Afanas'ev, A. N. (Aleksandr Nikolaevich)
Folklore -- Russia
Donotknow learned of this, shook off the bull’s hide, took off the
bladder, summoned his good horse, and leapt to the field. One knight
came to meet him. They met in combat, greeted each other and set at each
other with their lances. The knight struck Donotknow so doughtily that
he could hardly hold on by one stirrup. Then he got up, flew like a
youth, struck off the knight’s head, seized him, and threw him over,
saying, “This is how all of your heads shall fly.” Then another knight
came out, and it happened likewise with him; and a third came, and
Donotknow fought with him for one whole hour. The knight cut his hand
and drew blood, but Donotknow cut off his head and threw it with the
rest. Then all of the Arab host trembled and turned back. Just then the
King, with the Princesses, was standing on the town wall; and the
youngest Princess saw that blood was flowing from the valiant champion’s
hand, took a kerchief off her neck and bound up the wound herself; and
the King summoned him as a guest. “I will come one day,” said Donotknow,
“but not this time.” So he leapt into the open field, dismissed his
horse, dressed himself in his oxhide, put the bladder on his head, and
began walking up and down the garden like a scarecrow.
Some time went by, not much, not little, and the King gave his two elder
daughters away to famous Tsarévichi. He was making ready for a great
celebration, and the guests came to walk in the garden; and they saw
Donotknow and asked, “What sort of a monster is this?”
So the King said, “This is Donotknow: I am using him as a scarecrow: he
keeps the birds off my apple trees.”
But the youngest daughter looked at Donotknow’s hand and observed her
kerchief on it, blushed and never said a word. From that time she began
to walk into the garden and to gaze on Donotknow, and became thoughtful,
never giving heed to the festivals and to the merriment.
“Where are you always going, my daughter?” asked her father.
“Oh, father, I have lived so many years with you, I have so often walked
in the garden, and I have never seen such a delightful bird as I saw
there just now!”
Then she began to ask her father to give her his blessing and to wed her
to Donotknow. And for all the father might do to convince her, she
insisted. “If you will not give me to him, I will remain unmarried all
my life and will seek no other man.” So the father agreed and he
betrothed them.
Soon afterwards the Arab Prince wrote to him for the third time and
asked for the hand of his youngest daughter. “If you will not consent, I
will consume all of your kingdom with fire, and I will take her by main
force.”
Then the King answered, “My daughter is already promised: if you wish,
come yourself and you will see.” So the Prince came, and when he saw
what a monster was betrothed to the fair Princess he thought he would
slay Donotknow, and he summoned him to mortal combat.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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