The Tale of Little Fool Ivan

The Tale of Little Fool Ivan

Once, in a faraway kingdom, an old man lived with his three sons. The eldest were called Pakhom and Khoma. They thought of themselves as serious, clever men. They knew how to bargain at the market, how to sell grain for the best price, and how to speak so everyone would listen.

The youngest was named Ivan.

Ivan was not foolish. He simply never hurried to show how clever he was. He might give a neighbor his last piece of pie, spend half a day mending someone else’s fence and forget to ask for payment, or tell his brothers, when they argued over who should get the better thing:

“Go ahead and take it. I’ll be fine with something simple.”

Because of this, his older brothers teased him.

“Oh, you little fool Ivan!”

But the neighbors loved him for his kindness.

The brothers’ father was an unusual man. He knew old songs, remembered the signs of nature, and understood herbs and horses. When he felt his strength beginning to fade, he called his sons to him.

“After I’m gone, do not quarrel,” he said. “And I have one more request. For three evenings in a row, come to the hill beyond the village. Come one at a time. Sit quietly and remember me with a kind thought.”

The sons promised.

But on the first evening, Khoma said to Ivan:

“I have to go to the mill at dawn tomorrow. Go in my place.”

“All right,” Ivan replied.

He took a crust of bread, climbed the hill, sat beneath an old birch, and stayed there until midnight. The wind rustled through the grass, an owl called in the forest, and suddenly Ivan thought he heard his father’s voice:

“Thank you, my son. You did not forget to come.”

On the second evening, Pakhom found a reason to stay home, too.

“I have market day in the morning. Ivan, go for me.”

“All right.”

Once again, Ivan sat beneath the birch. And once again, at midnight, he heard a quiet voice:

“I remember your kindness, my son.”

On the third evening, it was Ivan’s own turn.

“Now I will go for myself,” he said.

The night was clear, and a great moon hung above the hill.

At the stroke of midnight, the wind suddenly fell still. For the third time, Ivan heard his father’s voice:

“You kept your word not only for yourself, but for your brothers, too. For that, I leave you something they would never know how to value.”

The earth rumbled somewhere in the distance.

Out of the darkness came a marvelous horse. His mane shone with silver, blue sparks flew from his hooves, and his eyes glowed with warm gold.

“When you truly need me,” Ivan heard, “go out into an open field and call. The horse will come.”

In the morning, Ivan returned home and told his brothers nothing.

Some time passed.

One day, trumpets sounded throughout the kingdom. Messengers announced:

“Pea King and Queen Carrot invite young riders to a great celebration! Their daughter, Princess Baktriana, will choose for herself the one who shows courage, skill, and a kind heart.”

In the square by the palace, a tall wooden tower was built with thirty-two crossbars. The princess stood on the top balcony, holding a little diamond star.

“Whoever rides up to my balcony and is not afraid of the height,” she said, “will receive this star. After that, we can talk and decide whether we suit each other.”

Pakhom and Khoma put on their finest coats and rode to the celebration.

“Take me with you,” Ivan asked.

His brothers laughed.

“You? To a royal celebration? Stay home and keep the sparrows away from the peas.”

“All right,” Ivan said.

As soon as they disappeared around the bend, he went out into the field.

“My good horse, if you remember Father’s promise, come to me!”

The earth rumbled, and the magic horse galloped up like the wind.

“What do you wish?” he asked in a human voice.

Ivan touched his mane. Silver light surrounded the young man. His old shirt turned into fine clothes, his hair shone in the sunlight, and he stood tall and confident.

“What a wonder,” Ivan said. “Just don’t turn me into someone else. I want to remain myself.”

“I can help with the outside,” the horse replied. “What is inside depends on you.”

In the palace square, riders took turns trying to reach the balcony. Some jumped to the tenth crossbar, others to the twentieth.

Ivan urged the horse forward.

First jump!

The horse rose above the rooftops.

Second jump—higher still.

Third—and Ivan was right across from the princess. She reached out her hand, but he fell just a little short.

He was not discouraged.

“We’ll do better tomorrow,” he whispered to the horse.

At home, his brothers could talk of nothing but the mysterious rider.

“Now that was a hero!” said Pakhom.

“That was me,” Ivan said calmly.

“Of course,” Khoma snorted. “And I’m Pea King.”

The next day, Ivan returned on the magic horse and jumped even higher. Only one crossbar remained between him and the balcony.

On the third day, the horse raced from the very gate.

“Hold on!”

They soared so high that Ivan came right up beside the princess.

Baktriana laughed and pinned the diamond star to his forehead.

“At last I can see you close up. What is your name?”

But Ivan only bowed and galloped away. He felt shy beneath a thousand watching eyes.

Out in the field, he asked the horse to return him to his usual appearance and covered the star with a bandage.

The next day the king ordered:

“Everyone who was at the celebration must show their forehead. We must find the rider with the star.”

Pakhom and Khoma came first. Neither had a star.

Ivan went to the palace, too.

“Why is your forehead wrapped?” the guard asked.

“Yesterday the door and I bumped into each other,” Ivan smiled.

But the princess heard them and asked him to come closer.

When they removed the bandage, the diamond star flashed in the light.

“Here is my rider,” said Baktriana.

Ivan blushed.

“If you don’t mind, Princess, let’s talk first. I’ve learned how to jump on a horse, but living together is more serious.”

Baktriana laughed.

“That is exactly the answer I wanted to hear.”

They became friends, and in time decided to marry. The king also gave Pakhom and Khoma good positions so there would be no jealousy in the family.

But that was when the real adventures began.

The brothers quickly grew used to being admired. They began to walk importantly, speak loudly, and hint that they could find any marvel the king wanted.

The courtiers grew tired of it and decided to test their boasting.

“We hear your new commanders know where to find an apple tree with silver leaves and golden apples,” they told the king.

The king summoned the brothers.

“Is it true?”

Pakhom and Khoma were at a loss. They were too embarrassed to admit they had been bragging.

“We’ll find it,” they mumbled.

They rode off in every direction, but after several days they realized they had neither a map nor a clue.

Meanwhile, Ivan called for the magic horse.

“Do you know such an apple tree?”

“I do. It grows where a silver river runs over golden sand.”

The horse carried him beyond distant forests and hills. Ivan found the tree, carefully dug it up with its roots, wrapped them in damp earth, and carried it home so it could take root again.

On the road, he met his brothers.

“Ivan!” they cried. “Give us the apple tree. We’ll tell the king we found it together.”

“Together?” Ivan asked. “You didn’t even know where to go.”

The brothers began pleading.

Ivan thought for a moment and said:

“All right. Take it. But write me a receipt: ‘We received the apple tree from Ivan.’ And put your seals on it.”

The brothers agreed. They were sure the little paper would never be needed.

The king was delighted with the tree and rewarded them generously.

Several weeks later, the courtiers set them another challenge.

“They say the brothers also know where to find a golden-haired sow with silver teeth and a whole litter of piglets.”

Once again, the brothers had to set off on a journey.

Ivan found the magic sow in a green valley. But instead of trying to catch her by force, he brought apples and sat patiently beside her until she let him come close. The piglets followed along.

On the way home, the brothers again asked him to give them the wonder.

“All right,” said Ivan. “One more receipt.”

They signed a second one.

At the palace, the welcome was even louder.

At last, the king heard about a golden-maned mare with hooves that shone like diamonds. She was supposedly guarded by the fearsome Dragon Gorynych.

This time Pakhom and Khoma nearly cried.

“We’re doomed.”

Ivan rode his magic horse to a distant island.

There really was an iron stable, and in front of it lay an enormous three-headed dragon.

“Go away!” thundered the first head.

“The mare is ours!” hissed the second.

“We won’t let anyone pass!” added the third.

Ivan did not draw his sword.

“Why do you keep her behind seven doors?”

The heads looked at one another.

“Well… we’re guarding her.”

“From whom?”

The dragon thought about it.

It turned out the mare had long wanted to run free, while the dragon was simply following an old order no one remembered anymore.

“Let’s make a deal,” Ivan suggested. “I’ll open the stable. If the mare wants to stay, I won’t take her. If she comes with me, you won’t stop her.”

The dragon agreed.

As soon as the doors opened, the mare ran out, circled the island three times, and came to stand beside Ivan of her own accord.

“It seems she has chosen,” sighed the third head.

“Just take good care of her,” grumbled the first.

On the way home, Ivan met his brothers again.

“Give us the mare, too!”

“A third receipt,” Ivan said.

They signed it.

The palace held a great celebration. Pakhom and Khoma sat on either side of the king, telling how they had crossed seas, outsmarted a monster, and tamed the magic mare all by themselves.

Then the doors opened.

Ivan walked in.

“Those are fine stories, brothers. But a few things got mixed up.”

He placed three papers on the table.

The first: for the silver-leaved apple tree.

The second: for the golden-haired sow.

The third: for the mare with shining hooves.

The brothers’ signatures and seals were on every one.

The hall fell silent.

Pakhom lowered his head.

Khoma sighed.

“We wanted to seem more important than we were,” he said.

Pea King frowned, but Ivan asked:

“Please don’t punish them harshly. Let them return the rewards they received for someone else’s work, then earn new ones honestly.”

The king agreed.

Pakhom was put in charge of the royal gardens, where he learned to grow trees patiently. Khoma began caring for the stables and eventually became an excellent judge of horses.

Ivan did not want to be the greatest commander or the richest nobleman.

“Give me a job where I can listen to people and settle disagreements,” he asked.

To everyone’s surprise, it turned out that the “little fool” was best at understanding where the truth ended and the boasting began.

As the years passed, Ivan and Baktriana became wise rulers. They cared for the golden apple tree and the magic animals, and never made people prove their worth through dangerous feats.

Whenever someone began to boast, the brothers were the first to say:

“Be careful with your words. We know where boasting can lead.”

And from then on, fewer and fewer people called Ivan a fool.

But even when someone did, out of old habit, he was never offended.

“Call me a fool if you like,” he smiled. “As long as my heart is not foolish when someone else is in need.”

And when the magic horse heard this, he quietly stamped his hoof, as if he agreed.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨