A woman had three sons.
In the garden of their house grew a wonderfully beautiful apple tree. Every year it bore only one apple, but not just any apple, but a golden one. But in the night, when the apple ripened and shone so brightly between the branches that the whole garden glowed, a chala flew by and plucked the golden apple.
One year, when the time came for the apple to ripen, the eldest son said to his mother:
"Kid, I'm going to boil the apple." Give me a knife and walnuts so I don't fall asleep.
The eldest son sat under the apple and began to crush walnuts. Suddenly, a strong wind blew and the trees were bent all the way to the ground. A dark cloud covered the moon and the stars, and the robe descended from it, grabbed the golden apple and flew away before the eldest son realized it.
The next year the middle son said to his mother:
"Kid, I'm going to boil the apple." Give me a knife and walnuts, I'm leaving.
He sat under the apple, but he enjoyed crushing and eating walnuts and never understood how the robe tore off the golden apple and disappeared with it.
In the third year the youngest son said:
"Little one, this time I'll boil the apple." Give me the knife!
And in the evening he climbed the tree, sat in the branches near the apple and waited.
Towards midnight there was a loud roar, the air trembled and the robe shot towards the golden apple. Then the youngest brother suddenly jumped up and rushed at the monster with a knife in his hand.
Such a struggle began that the ground shook.
The youngest son fought valiantly and fearlessly attacked the robe.
Finally he struck her hard with the knife. She roared in pain, flapped her wings and struggled up into the clouds. The youngest son plucked the golden apple and took it to his mother.
By this time the older brothers were so soundly asleep that he barely woke them up to go in search of the wounded hala.
The trail of blood from the wounded monster led to a cave so dark and so deep that its bottom could not be seen.
The eldest brother said that he was the greatest hero and asked to be lowered into the cave. They tied him with a rope around his waist, lowered him, but when he reached the middle, he got scared and shook the rope violently to be pulled out.
The middle brother went down after him, but he too got scared and went up.
Finally, it was the turn of the youngest. He said:
"I'll go downstairs now." If I shake the rope once - let me down, if I shake it twice - pull me up.
The brothers tied him and began to lower him.
They lowered him, lowered him, and finally on the third day he went down to the bottom of the cave. He walked a little and found the robe palace. In the garden in front of the palace sat three beautiful maidens. The two were playing with golden apples, and the third - the smallest and the most beautiful - was throwing not a golden, but an ordinary apple.
"Girls, let me in!" the boy shouted.
"Go back, hero!" - the youngest was scared. "If she sees your robe, she'll eat you, she's so furious." He went to bring me a golden apple, but came back covered in blood. Run before she senses you!
The boy did not listen to her and jumped over the garden fence.
He entered the palace and after a while a terrible roar was heard.
The youngest brother killed the robe, freed the maidens who were captive queens, and led them to the rope at the bottom of the cave.
He tied the first one and pulled the rope twice.
The brothers pulled the girl out.
He tied the middle one - they also pulled it out.
Left the smallest and the most beautiful. The boy said to her:
"When they pull you out and see how pretty you are, my brothers will fight over you and won't want to pull me out." If I go out first, and then we pull you out, something could happen to you here, and I won't be able to come to your aid. Therefore you will go up before me, and if they love me, my brothers will take me out too. If not, I will somehow get better.
Then the girl said:
"Take this ring." I give it to you because I like you. If they fight about me upstairs, I will say that I will marry the one who made me clothes of my own making. And such clothes can only be given to me by the person who has this ring. If your brothers don't pull you out, you'll stand here a little longer, then the ground will open and you'll fly even lower. There are two rams there, a white and a black one. If you fall on the white one, he will take you to the white world. If you fall on the black one, it will take you to the lower earth.
At that time the brothers began to pull the rope, and the boy took the ring and said goodbye to the girl. Then he waited for the rope to be lowered for him too, but in vain. Then the earth opened, the youngest brother flew down and fell on the black ram. He carried it further down to the lower earth, threw it there, and disappeared.
The poor fellow went as far as his eyes could see.
He walked a little and came to a small house on the edge of a large town. There lived a grandmother who had no one and took the boy to sleep with her.
For dinner, the grandmother began to knead bread, but instead of water, she kneaded it with tears.
"Why are you crying, grandma?" Why do you knead the bread with your tears? — the good boy's heart sank.
"How can I not cry, son!" A dragon has appeared here and won't let us pour water if we don't let him eat some girl. I had six daughters. I gave, I gave, and I had none left. The dragon has not released the water for a whole year now. Today the king sent his daughter to be swallowed by the dragon, to be satisfied and to open the rivers. We will have water tomorrow.
As soon as he heard this, the boy jumped up, asked the old woman where the king's daughter was and ran straight there. He arrived just as the beast was coming down to the king tied to a tree. Seeing the youngest brother, the monster roared hideously and its three heads spewed out great flames of fire.
The boy did not flinch and cut off all three heads with one blow. The dragon breathed its last, and at the same moment all the rivers, springs, streams and fountains in the kingdom burst into water.
When the king's daughter returned alive and well to the palace with the boy, the king could not believe his eyes:
"Say what you want, hero!" If you wish, I give you my whole kingdom!
"I want nothing, king!" answered the youngest brother. "I just want to get out on our land."
The king thought:
"This is beyond my power." If you find someone who can take you out, I'll give whatever it takes.
Then the lad went down to inquire who could carry him to the upper ground.
A man told him to ask the eagle, which was brooding and still unable to get its eaglet, to a large tree at the edge of the forest. The boy went under the tree, lay down and fell asleep. At one point the eagles screeched and he woke up.
Looking up, he saw a three-headed snake crawling up the tree. He got up and cut off all three of her heads with one swing.
When the eagle and the eagle flew down, they descended to the boy to peck him, but the little eagles said:
"That man killed the three-headed snake and saved us!"
Then the eagles said to the boy:
"Well, young man, what good do you want us to do for you?"
- I do not want anything! I just want you to take me to the upper ground.
"Good," said the old eagle. "I'll take you out." Just fed two baby buffalo born today. When they grow up, slaughter them, cut their flesh into pieces. Then he filled one skin with the meat and the other with water. Make a cage, tie it with iron chains and put the skins inside. Then call me.
The boy went to the king and the king ordered them to do whatever the eagle asked.
When everything was ready, he flew in.
"Enter the cage," said the bird to the youngest brother. "I'll carry you up." When I say "huh" you'll give me meat. If I say "drink", you will give me water.
The eagle flew and carried the hero.
If he said "ga", the hero gave him meat, if he said "piu" - he gave him water.
But the prepared meat was not enough, and the boy quietly began to cut from his legs. At last they reached the upper ground.
"Come on, young man, get up and go!" You're home now!
- I can not walk. I cut meat from my legs to feed you until we get there.
Then the eagle caressed the boy's feet with the feathers of his wings, they were healed, and he jumped up and went home. And there his brothers were still fighting over the youngest girl. As soon as she saw the hero, she was happy and said:
"I want homemade clothes." Whoever gives them to me, I'll take them!
The youngest brother thought of the ring, looked at it, and in an instant clothes appeared of their own making and shone with a wondrous beauty.
Then they had a wedding and for three days and three nights they had fun under the branches of the apple tree. And to this day, every year she gives birth to one golden apple.
The fabulous photo moments were captured in the "Fairy Tale Forest" park in the town of Rakovski.
Links to the rest of the Fairytale Forest tales:
How do you get to the city of Rakovski?
Rakovski is a city in southern Bulgaria, Plovdiv district, the administrative center of Rakovski municipality.
It is named after the prominent Bulgarian national revolutionary Georgi Stoykov Rakovski, known as Georgi Sava Rakovski.
The city was created in 1966 by the merger of three villages - General Nikolaevo, Sekirovo and Parcevich, in the past called Kalachlii, Baltaja and Alifakakh respectively.
The villages are inhabited by the descendants of Paulicians who converted to Catholicism in the 17th - 19th centuries.
Rakovski stands at:
161 kilometers (about 1 hour and 47 minutes by car) from the capital
29 kilometers (about 38 minutes by car) from the city of Plovdiv
345 kilometers (about 3 hours and 55 minutes by car) from the city of Varna
229 kilometers (about 2 hours and 07 minutes by car) from the city of Burgas
How do you get to the "Fairytale Forest" park in the city of Rakovski?
You will also find "Fairytale Forest" park near "G.S. Rakovski" street between "Sekirovo" and "General Nikolaevo" districts.
Nearby is the "G.S. Rakovski" stadium, which is a great landmark.
What can be seen nearby?
Adjacent to the "Fairytale Forest" park is the Adapted Children's Playground.
16 kilometers east of the town of Rakovski (about 17 minutes by car) is the town of Brezovo.
In Brezovo, on a weekday, stop by the municipality to see the exhibition dedicated to Beethoven's best portraitist - Mincho Katsarov.
Another great Bulgarian artist - Zlatyo Boyadzhiev - is from Brezovo. His house in the town of Brezovo is open for visits and anyone can see it.
27 kilometers northeast of the town of Rakovski (about 29 minutes by car) you will find the village of Babek. "Babek" dam is located nearby, near which you can take a wonderful walk.
Just 10 kilometers north of the village of Babek (about 16 minutes by car) you will find the Svezhen Architectural and Historical Reserve.
In the village of Svezhen, you can visit the church "Holy Apostles Peter and Paul".
You can visit the ruins of the old church "St. George", near which the foundations have been discovered - the remains of cells plastered with mud plaster on the walls, which are supposed to have been inhabited by the scribes-calligraphers of the Adjarian literary school.
And as a finale, my dear friends,
you shouldn't miss a look
the special album with photo moments –
discovered, experienced, captured and shared with you!