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Donkey Skin - Charles Perrault

The tale tells of a king who was distraught with grief after the death of his beloved wife and wanted to marry his daughter. The princess tried to stop him, but could not and was forced to flee from the palace, wearing a donkey skin. Life was not easy for the poor girl outside the palace, but happiness found her in the form of a handsome prince...

Donkey skin read

Once upon a time there lived a rich and powerful king. He had more gold and soldiers than any other king had even dreamed of.

His wife was the most beautiful and intelligent woman in the world. The king and queen lived amicably and happily, but often grieved that they had no children. Finally, they decided to take some girl and raise her as their own daughter. The opportunity soon presented itself. One of the king's close friends died, leaving behind him his daughter, a young princess. The king and queen immediately transported her to their palace.
The girl grew up and became more and more beautiful every day. This made the king and queen happy, and, looking at their pupil, they forgot that they did not have their own children.

I know that I will die soon. Before I die, I want to ask you only one thing: if you decide to marry a second time, then marry only the woman who is more beautiful and better than me.

The king, sobbing loudly, promised the queen to fulfill her wish, and she died.

Having buried his wife, the king could not find a place for himself from grief, did not eat or drink anything, and grew so old that all his ministers were horrified by such a change.

One day, when the king was sitting in his room, sighing and crying, the ministers came to him and began to ask him to stop grieving and get married as soon as possible.

But the king didn’t even want to hear about it. However, the ministers did not lag behind him and assured that the king should definitely get married. But no matter how hard the ministers tried, their persuasion did not convince the king. Finally, they tired him so much with their pestering that one day the king said to them:

The ministers were glad that the king had given in at least a little, and every day they began to show him portraits of the most wonderful beauties, so that the king could choose a wife from these portraits, but the king said that the dead queen was better, and the ministers left with nothing.

Finally, the most important minister came one day to the king and said to him:

King! Does your pupil really seem to you both in intelligence and beauty worse than the late queen? She is so smart and beautiful that you won’t find a better wife! Marry her!

It seemed to the king that his young pupil, the princess, was indeed better and more beautiful than the queen, and, without refusing any more, he agreed to marry the pupil.

The ministers and all the courtiers were pleased, but the princess thought it was terrible. She did not at all want to become the wife of the old king. However, the king did not listen to her objections and ordered her to prepare for the wedding as soon as possible.

The young princess was in despair. She didn't know what to do. Finally she remembered the sorceress Lilac, her aunt, and decided to consult her. That same night she went to the sorceress in a golden carriage drawn by a big old ram who knew all the roads.

The sorceress listened carefully to the princess's story.

“If you do exactly everything I tell you,” she said, “nothing bad will happen.” First of all, ask the king for a dress as blue as the sky. He won't be able to get you such a dress.

The princess thanked the sorceress for her advice and returned home. The next morning she told the king that she would not agree to marry him until she received from him a dress as blue as the sky.

The king immediately summoned the best craftsmen and ordered them to sew a dress as blue as the sky.

If you do not please the princess,” he added, “I will order you all to be hanged.”

The next day, the craftsmen brought the ordered dress, and in comparison with it, the blue vault of heaven itself, surrounded by golden clouds, did not seem so beautiful.

Having received the dress, the princess was not so much happy as she was scared. She again went to the sorceress and asked what she should do now. The sorceress was very annoyed that her plan was not a success, and ordered the princess to demand a moon-colored dress from the king.

The king could not refuse the princess anything. He sent for the most skilled craftsmen who were in the kingdom, and gave them the order in such a menacing voice that not even a day had passed before the craftsmen had already brought the dress.

At the sight of this beautiful outfit, the princess tanned even more.

The sorceress Lilac came to the princess and, learning about the second failure, told her:

Both times, the king managed to fulfill your request. Let's see if he can do it now, when you demand from him a dress that shines like the sun. It is unlikely that he will be able to get such a dress. In any case, we will gain time.

The princess agreed and demanded such a dress from the king. The king without hesitation gave away all the diamonds and rubies from his crown, if only the dress would shine like the sun. Therefore, when the dress was brought and unwrapped, everyone immediately closed their eyes: it really shone like a real sun.

Only the princess was not happy. She went to her room, saying that her eyes hurt from the shine, and there she began to cry bitterly. The sorceress Lilac was very sad that all her advice led to nothing.

Well, now, my child,” she said to the princess, “demand from the king the skin of his favorite donkey.” He certainly won’t give it to you!

But it must be said that the donkey, whose skin the sorceress ordered to demand from the king, was not an ordinary donkey. Every morning, instead of manure, he covered his bedding with shiny gold coins. It is clear why the king loved the shore of this donkey so much.

The princess was delighted. She was sure that the king would never agree to kill the donkey. She ran cheerfully to the king and demanded the donkey skin.

Although the king was surprised at such a strange demand, he fulfilled it without hesitation. The donkey was killed and its skin was solemnly brought to the princess. Now she really didn’t know what to do. But then the sorceress Lilac appeared to her.

Don't worry so much, honey! - she said. - Maybe everything is for the better. Wrap yourself in donkey skin and quickly leave the palace. Don’t take anything with you: the chest with your dresses will follow you underground. Here's my magic wand. When you need a chest, hit the ground with your stick and it will appear in front of you. But leave quickly, don’t hesitate.

The princess kissed the sorceress, pulled on a vile donkey skin, smeared her face with soot so that no one would recognize her, and left the palace.

The disappearance of the princess caused a great stir. The king sent a thousand horsemen and many foot archers in pursuit of the princess. But the sorceress made the princess invisible to the eyes of the royal servants. Therefore, the king had to abandon his vain search.

Meanwhile, the princess walked on her way. She went into many houses and asked to be hired as a servant.

But no one wanted to take the princess in, because in the donkey skin she seemed unusually ugly.

Finally she reached a large house. The mistress of this house agreed to accept the poor princess as her worker. The princess thanked her mistress and asked what she should do. The landlady told her to do the laundry, look after the turkeys, herd the sheep, and clean the pig troughs.

The princess was placed in the kitchen. From the very first day the servants began to mock her rudely. However, little by little we got used to it. In addition, she worked very hard, and the owner did not allow her to be offended.

One day, sitting on the bank of a stream, the princess looked into the water as if into a mirror.

Looking at herself in the disgusting donkey skin, she was afraid. The princess felt ashamed that she was so dirty, and, quickly throwing off the donkey skin, she bathed in the stream. But when she returned home, she again had to put on the nasty skin.

Fortunately, the next day was a holiday and the princess was not forced to work. She took advantage of this and decided to dress up in one of her rich dresses.

The princess struck the ground with her magic wand, and a chest with clothes appeared in front of her. The princess took out the blue dress that she received from the king, went to her little room and began to dress up.

She looked at herself in the mirror, admired the wonderful outfit, and since then she dressed up in her rich dresses every holiday. But, except for the sheep and turkeys, no one knew about it. Everyone saw her in an ugly donkey skin and nicknamed her Donkey Skin.

It happened one day, the young prince was returning from a hunt and stopped to rest in the house where Donkey Skin lived as a working woman. He rested for a while, and then began to wander around the house and yard.

By chance he wandered into a dark corridor. At the end of the corridor there was a locked door. The prince was very curious, and he wanted to know who lived behind this door. He looked through the crack. Imagine his surprise when he saw a beautiful, elegant princess in a small cramped room! He ran to the owner to find out who lives in this little room.

They told him: a girl named Donkey Skin lives there, she wears a donkey skin instead of a dress, so dirty and greasy that no one wants to look at her or talk to her. They took Donkey Skin into the house to graze sheep and clean pig troughs.

The prince learned nothing more. He returned to the palace, but could not forget the beauty whom he accidentally saw through the crack of the door. He regretted that he had not entered the room then and met her.

The prince promised himself that he would definitely do it another time.

Constantly thinking about the wonderful beauty, the prince fell seriously ill. His mother and father were in despair. They called the doctors, but the doctors could not do anything. Finally they told the queen: probably her son fell ill from some great grief. The queen began to ask her son what had happened to him, but he did not answer her. But when the queen knelt down and began to cry, he said:

I want Donkey Skin to bake a cake and bring it as soon as it is ready.

The Queen was surprised at such a strange desire. She called the courtiers and asked who this Donkey Skin was.

Oh, this is a nasty dirty thing! - explained one courtier. - She lives not far from here and tends sheep and turkeys.

“Well, whoever this Donkey Skin is,” said the queen, “let her bake a cake for the king’s son at once!”

The courtiers ran to Donkey Skin and gave her the queen’s order, adding that she should carry it out as best and quickly as possible.

The princess locked herself in her little room, took off the donkey skin, washed her face and hands, put on a clean dress and began to prepare a pie. She took the best flour, and the freshest butter and eggs.

While kneading the dough, either on purpose or accidentally, she dropped the ring from her finger. It fell into the dough and stayed there. And when the pie was baked, the princess put on the nasty skin, left the room, gave the pie to the courtier and asked him whether she should go with him to the prince. But the courtier did not even want to answer her and ran with the pie to the palace.

The prince snatched the pie from the courtier's hands and began to eat it so hastily that all the doctors shook their heads and threw up their hands.

Such swiftness bodes little good! - they said.

Indeed, the prince ate the pie so greedily that he almost choked on a ring that was in one of the pieces of the pie. But the prince quickly took the ring out of his mouth and after that he began to eat the pie not so hastily. He looked at the ring for a long time. It was so small that only the prettiest finger in the world could fit. The prince kissed the ring every now and then, then hid it under the pillow and took it out every minute when he thought that no one was looking at him.

All this time he thought about Donkey Skin, but was afraid to talk about it out loud. Therefore, his illness intensified, and the doctors did not know what to think. Finally they announced to the queen that her son was sick from love. The queen rushed to her son along with the king, who was also sad and upset.

My son,” said the saddened king, “tell us the girl you love.” We promise that we will marry you to her, even if she is the lowest maid!

The queen, hugging her son, confirmed the king's promise. The prince, touched by the tears and kindness of his parents, said to them:

Dear father and mother! I myself don’t know who the girl I fell in love with so dearly is. I will marry the one for whom this ring will fit, no matter who she is.

And he took the Donkey Skin ring from under the pillow and showed it to the king and queen.

The king and queen took the ring, examined it with curiosity and, deciding that such a ring could only fit the most beautiful girl, agreed with the prince.

The king ordered to immediately beat the drums and send out walkers throughout the city so that they would call all the girls to the palace to try on the ring.

The fast walkers ran through the streets and proclaimed that the girl who would fit the ring would marry the young prince.

First the princesses came to the palace, then the ladies of the court, but no matter how hard they tried to make their fingers thinner, not one could put on the ring. I had to invite seamstresses. They were pretty, but their fingers were too thick and did not fit into the ring.

Finally it was the maids' turn, but they too were unsuccessful. Everyone has already tried on the ring. It didn’t fit anyone! Then the prince ordered to call in the cooks, scullery maids, and swineherds. They were brought in, but their fingers, roughened by work, could not get further into the ring than the nail.

Did you bring this Donkey Skin, who recently baked a pie? - asked the prince.

The courtiers laughed and answered him:

Donkey Skin was not invited to the palace because she was too dirty and disgusting.

Send for her now! - ordered the prince.

Then the courtiers, laughing quietly, ran after Donkey Skin.

The princess heard the beating of drums and the shouts of the walkers and guessed that all this commotion was caused by her ring. She was very happy when she saw that they were following her. She quickly combed her hair and dressed in a moon-colored dress. As soon as the princess heard that they were knocking on the door and calling her to the prince, she hastily threw a donkey skin over her dress and opened the door.

The courtiers mockingly announced to Donkey Skin that the king wanted to marry his son to her, and led her to the palace.

Surprised unusual appearance Donkey Skin, the prince could not believe that this was the same girl whom he had seen so beautiful and elegant through the crack of the door. Saddened and embarrassed, the prince asked her:

Is it you who lives at the end of the dark corridor, in that big house where I recently stopped by from hunting?

Yes, she answered.

Show me your hand,” the prince continued.

Imagine the amazement of the king and queen and all the courtiers when a small delicate hand appeared from under the black, stained skin and when the ring fit the girl. Here the princess threw off her donkey skin. The prince, struck by her beauty, forgot about his illness and threw himself at her feet, overwhelmed with joy.

The king and queen also began to hug her and ask if she wanted to marry their son.

The princess, embarrassed by all this, was just about to say something, when suddenly the ceiling opened, and the sorceress Lilac descended into the hall on a chariot of lilac flowers and branches and told everyone present the story of the princess.

The king and queen, having listened to the sorceress's story, fell in love with the princess even more and immediately married her to their son.

Kings of different countries came to the wedding. Some rode in carriages, others on horseback, and the farthest on elephants, tigers, and eagles.

The wedding was celebrated with the luxury and pomp one can imagine. But the prince and his young wife paid little attention to all this splendor: they looked only at each other and only saw each other.

(Translation by M. Bulatov, ill. by A. Reipolsky, Lenizdat, 1992, fairyroom.ru)

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Donkey skin

Once upon a time there lived a successful, strong, brave, kind king with his beautiful wife, the queen. His subjects adored him. His neighbors and rivals worshiped him. His wife was charming and gentle, and their love was deep and sincere. They had an only daughter whose beauty was equal to her virtue.

The king and queen loved her more than life itself.

Luxury and abundance reigned everywhere in the palace, the king's advisers were wise, the servants were hardworking and faithful, the stables were full of the most thoroughbred horses, the cellars were filled with countless supplies of food and drink.

But the most amazing thing was that in the most prominent place, in the stable, stood an ordinary gray long-eared donkey, served by thousands of efficient servants. This was not just the king's whim. The point was that instead of the sewage that should have littered the donkey's bedding, every morning it was strewn with gold coins, which the servants collected daily. Life was so wonderful in this happy kingdom.

And then one day the queen fell ill. The learned and skilled doctors who came from all over the world could not cure her. She felt that her hour of death was approaching. Calling the king, she said:

I want you to fulfill my last wish. When after my death you get married...

Never! - the king, who had fallen into grief, desperately interrupted her.

But the queen, gently stopping him with a gesture of her hand, continued in a firm voice:

You should get married again. Your ministers are right, you are obliged to have an heir and must promise me that you will agree to the marriage only if your chosen one is more beautiful and slimmer than me. Promise me this, and I will die in peace.

The king solemnly promised her this, and the queen died with the blissful confidence that there was no other woman in the world as beautiful as she.

After her death, the ministers immediately began to demand that the king marry again. The king did not want to hear about it, grieving for days about his dead wife. But the ministers did not lag behind him, and he, telling them the queen’s last request, said that he would marry if there was someone as beautiful as her.

The ministers began to look for a wife for him. They visited all the families that had daughters of marriageable age, but none of them could compare with the queen in beauty.

One day, sitting in the palace and grieving over his dead wife, the king saw his daughter in the garden, and darkness clouded his mind. She was more beautiful than her mother, and the distraught king decided to marry her.

He informed her of his decision, and she fell into despair and tears. But nothing could change the madman's decision.

At night, the princess got into the carriage and went to her godmother Lilac the Sorceress. She calmed her down and taught her what to do.

Marrying your father is a great sin,” she said, “so we will do this: you will not contradict him, but you will say that you want to receive a dress the color of the sky as a gift before the wedding.” This is impossible to do, he will not be able to find such an outfit anywhere.

The princess thanked the sorceress and went home.

The next day she told the king that she would agree to marry him only after he got her a dress as beautiful as the sky. The king immediately summoned all the most skilled tailors.

Urgently sew a dress for my daughter that would make the blue vault of heaven pale in comparison,” he ordered. - If you do not follow my order, you will all be hanged.

Soon the tailors brought the finished dress. Light golden clouds floated against the background of the blue sky. The dress was so beautiful that next to it all living things faded.

The princess didn't know what to do. She again went to the Lilac Sorceress.

“Demand a dress in the color of the month,” said the godmother.

The king, having heard this request from his daughter, again immediately summoned the best craftsmen and gave them orders in such a menacing voice that they sewed the dress literally the next day. This dress was even better than the previous one. The soft shine of the silver and stones with which it was embroidered upset the princess so much that she disappeared into her room in tears. Lilac the Sorceress again came to the aid of her goddaughter:

Now ask him to wear a dress the color of the sun,” she said, “at least it will keep him busy, and in the meantime we’ll come up with something.”

The loving king did not hesitate to give all the diamonds and rubies to decorate this dress. When the tailors brought it and unwrapped it, all the courtiers who saw it were immediately blinded, it shone so brightly and shimmered. The princess, saying that the bright shine gave her a headache, ran to her room. The sorceress who appeared after her was extremely annoyed and discouraged.

Well, now,” she said, “the most turning point in your destiny has come. Ask your father for the skin of his favorite famous donkey who supplies him with gold. Go ahead, my dear!

The princess expressed her request to the king, and he, although he understood that this was a reckless whim, did not hesitate to order the donkey to be killed. The poor animal was killed, and its skin was solemnly presented to the princess, numb with grief. Moaning and sobbing, she rushed to her room, where the sorceress was waiting for her.

Don’t cry, my child,” she said, “if you are brave, grief will be replaced by joy.” Wrap yourself in this skin and get out of here. Go as long as your feet go and the earth carries you: God does not abandon virtue. If you do everything as I command, the Lord will give you happiness. Go. Take my magic wand. All your clothes will follow you underground. If you want to put something on, tap the ground twice with your stick and what you need will appear. Now hurry up.

The princess put on an ugly donkey skin, smeared herself with stove soot and, unnoticed by anyone, slipped out of the castle.

The king was furious when he discovered her disappearance. He sent one hundred and ninety-nine soldiers and one thousand one hundred and ninety-nine policemen in all directions to find the princess. But it was all in vain.

Meanwhile, the princess ran and ran further and further, looking for a place to sleep. Kind people gave her food, but she was so dirty and scary that no one wanted to take her into their home.

Finally she ended up on a large farm, where they were looking for a girl who would wash dirty rags, wash pig troughs and take out the slops, in a word, do all the dirty work around the house. Seeing the dirty, ugly girl, the farmer invited her to hire him, believing that it was just right for her.

The princess was very happy, she worked hard day after day among the sheep, pigs and cows. And soon, despite her deformity, the farmer and his wife fell in love with her for her hard work and diligence.

One day, while collecting brushwood in the forest, she saw her reflection in the stream. The vile donkey skin she was wearing horrified her. She quickly washed herself and saw that her former beauty had returned to her. Returning home, she was again forced to put on the nasty donkey skin.

The next day was a holiday. Left alone in her closet, she took out her magic wand and, tapping it twice on the floor, summoned a chest of dresses to her. Soon, immaculately clean, luxurious in her sky-colored dress, covered in diamonds and rings, she admired herself in the mirror.

At the same time, the king's son, who owned this area, went hunting. On the way back, tired, he decided to stop to rest at this farm. He was young, handsome, beautifully built and kind-hearted. The farmer's wife prepared lunch for him. After eating he went to look around the farm. Entering a long dark corridor, he saw a small locked closet in the depths and looked into keyhole. His surprise and admiration knew no bounds. He saw such a beautiful and richly dressed girl that he had never seen even in a dream. At that very moment he fell in love with her and hurried to the farmer to find out who this beautiful stranger was. He was told that in the closet lived a girl named Donkey Skin, so named because she was dirty and disgusting to such an extent that no one could even look at her.

The prince realized that the farmer and his wife knew nothing about this secret and there was no point in asking them. He returned to his home in the royal palace, but the image of a beautiful divine girl constantly tormented his imagination, not giving him a moment of peace. As a result, he fell ill and fell ill with a terrible fever. The doctors were powerless to help him.

Perhaps, they told the queen, your son is tormented by some terrible secret.

The excited queen hurried to her son and began to beg him to tell her the reason for his grief. She promised to fulfill his every wish.

The surprised queen began to ask her courtiers who Donkey Skin was.

“Your Majesty,” one of the courtiers, who was once at this distant farm, explained to her. - This is a terrible, vile, black ugly woman who removes manure and feeds slop to pigs.

“It doesn’t matter what it is,” the queen objected to him, “perhaps this is a strange whim of my sick son, but since he wants it, let this Donkey Skin personally bake a pie for him.” You must get him here quickly.

A few minutes later the walker delivered the royal order to the farm. Hearing this. Donkey Skin was very happy about this occasion. Happy, she hurried to her closet, locked herself in it and, having washed and dressed in beautiful clothes, began to prepare a pie. Taking the whitest flour and the freshest eggs and butter, she began to knead the dough. And then, by accident or on purpose (who knows?), the ring slipped off her finger and fell into the dough. When the pie was ready, she put on her ugly, greasy donkey skin and gave the pie to the court walker, who hurried with it to the palace.

The prince greedily began to eat the pie, and suddenly he came across a small gold ring with an emerald. Now he knew that everything he saw was not a dream. The ring was so small that it could only fit on the prettiest finger in the world.

The prince constantly thought and dreamed about this fabulous beauty, and he was again seized by a fever, and even with much greater force than before. As soon as the king and queen learned that their son was very seriously ill and there was no hope for his recovery, they ran to him in tears.

My dear son! - cried the saddened king. - Tell us what do you want? There is no such thing in the world that we would not get for you.

“My dear father,” answered the prince, “look at this ring, it will give me recovery and heal me from sadness. I want to marry a girl for whom this ring will fit, and it doesn’t matter who she is - a princess or the poorest peasant girl.

The king carefully took the ring. He immediately sent out a hundred drummers and heralds to inform everyone of the royal decree: the girl on whose finger a gold ring is put will become the prince’s bride.

First the princesses came, then came the duchesses, baronesses and marquises. But none of them could put on the ring. They twisted their fingers and tried to put on the ring of the actress and the seamstress, but their fingers were too thick. Then it came to the maids, cooks and shepherdesses, but they too failed.

This was reported to the prince.

Did Donkey Skin come to try on the ring?

The courtiers laughed and replied that she was too dirty to appear in the palace.

Find her and bring her here,” the king ordered, “everyone without exception should try on the ring.”

Donkey Skin heard the beating of drums and the cries of heralds and realized that it was her ring that had caused such a commotion.

As soon as she heard a knock on her door, she washed herself, combed her hair and dressed nicely. Then she put the skin on herself and opened the door. The courtiers sent for her, laughing, led her to the palace to the prince.

Is it you who live in a small closet in the corner of the stable? - he asked.

Yes, Your Highness,” answered the dirty woman.

Show me your hand,” the prince asked, experiencing unprecedented excitement. But what was the amazement of the king and queen and all the courtiers when, from under the dirty, stinking donkey skin, a small white hand poked out, onto whose finger a gold ring easily slipped, which turned out to be just right. The prince fell to his knees in front of her. Rushing to pick it up, the dirty woman bent down, the donkey skin slid off her, and everyone saw a girl of such amazing beauty that only happens in fairy tales. Dressed in a dress the color of the sun, she shone all over, her cheeks would have been the envy of the best roses in the royal garden, and her eyes the color of the blue sky sparkled brighter than the largest diamonds in the royal treasury. The king beamed. The Queen clapped her hands with joy. They began to beg her to marry their son.

Before the princess had time to answer, Lilac the Magician descended from heaven, scattering the most delicate aroma of flowers around. She told everyone the story of Donkey Skin. The king and queen were immensely happy that their future daughter-in-law came from such a rich and noble family, and the prince, hearing about her courage, fell in love with her even more.

IN different countries wedding invitations have flown. The first one sent an invitation to the princess's father, but did not write who the bride was. And then the wedding day arrived. Kings and queens, princes and princesses came to see her from all sides. Some arrived in gilded carriages, some on huge elephants, fierce tigers and lions, some arrived on fast eagles. But the richest and most powerful was the princess's father. He arrived with his new wife, the beautiful widow queen. With great tenderness and joy, he recognized his daughter and immediately blessed her for this marriage. As a wedding gift, he announced that his daughter would rule his kingdom from that day forward.

This famous feast lasted for three months. And the love of the young prince and the young princess lasted for a long, long time.