Little Ivanko was the strongest man in seven countries. Mariyka was very impressed.
But the two little brothers, Ivanko and Mariyka, after being cruelly abandoned by their father, needed to find food and shelter. They had headed to the field they were now in from a dark forest, but now they desperately needed shelter.
It was at this moment that they saw a brilliant light shining from the depths of the forest, in a place where they had not been, and they ran towards it. They got closer and found that it was a giant glowing crystal. Ivanko kicked him and with her force turned him to dust. Below were stairs that led to a vast cavern, where they found a beautiful young woman tied up.
Ivanko ran to untangle the girl.
“Thank you dear boy,” said the girl. “I am a princess, daughter of the tsar, and I was kidnapped for ransom by twelve evil bandits. You have saved me. Is there any way I can repay you?”
“We are starving, Your Highness. Is there any food around?” Ivanko said.
“Yes,” replied the princess, “deep in the cavern there is a chamber that is filled with enough food for a lifetime, as well as gold and the finest clothing. Goodbye, friends.”
Shortly after the princess left and they were satisfied, the twelve bandits returned.
“Who has invaded our lair?” they yelled.
The boy jumped up and screamed:
“It is I, Ivanko, the strongest man in seven countries, and you villains have met your end.”
And with that he took his sword and killed eleven of them. The twelfth had only wounded him, but being the smartest of his cohorts, he pretended to be dead.
Ivanko dragged all the bodies into a small room.
The next day, when Ivanko was away from that room, the only living bandit whispered to Mariyka.
“Girl, beautiful girl. Can you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“Would I like for husband?”
“Oh yeah,” the girl screamed.
“Very well, but you must kill your brother, otherwise he will never allow it. Just follow my instructions. Tell him that you are sick and that you need the meat of a wolf cub. The mother wolf will kill him.”
The next day, Mariyka made the request. Ivanko went out in search of a wolf cub, but just as she was about to shoot her, the mother wolf approached.
“Ivanko, stop. Take my puppy alive with your sister. She will reject him, and you can rest easy.”
As the mother wolf predicted, Mariyka would not harm the cub. The bandit was furious and every day he advised the girl of a different animal, and in all cases the mother gave the same solution, until they had exhausted all the animals in the forest.
Finally, the bandit grew impatient and said to Mariyka:
“Since this cannot be done the right way, we must take matters into our own hands. Tell him that you have recovered. Prepare a milk bath for him. Later, when he has removed his straitjacket and is Sleepy from the milk, you will let me out and I will slaughter him. “
Mariyka agreed and did as she was told. But at the last moment he felt sorry and begged the bandit to forgive him. He agreed and simply gouged out the boy’s eyes. He dragged him into a deep well in the forest and threw him at him. Satisfied that he was no longer a threat, he returned happily to his new wife.
Meanwhile, Ivanko was wallowing at the bottom of the well trying, in vain, to escape, and when a logger who went to fetch water found him there, he ran away screaming.
“The well is cursed! There is a demon at the bottom!”
But when the lumberjacks went to kill any abandoned creatures lurking in the background, Ivanko screamed:
“No! Don’t kill me! I’m a kid, not a devil!”
They rescued him and cared for him for 3 years. But he began to feel guilty about the burden he imposed on them. So one night he ran away and wandered blindly into a swamp. He was running as fast as he could and eventually tripped and fell into a spring.
But it was a magical spring, made of the water of life, and when he fell, all his wounds were healed and his blindness was healed.
He returned to the loggers and for the next 9 years he worked among them. In the tenth year he decided to set out on the road and seek his fortune.
He did not walk for long before meeting an elderly beggar, who was many over 100 years old.
“Old man, what would you say if I told you that I can make you young again?”
“Don’t make fun of me boy, there is no potion that can do that. There is only this one, which makes you old.”
Ivanko took out a vial with the water of life from the magic spring and they agreed to exchange some of their potions. Thus, the old man became young, and Ivanko now grew older.
The old Ivanko returned to the bandits’ cave, and his sister, who did not recognize him, offered him refuge in kindness. But when she and the bandit fell asleep, he took what was left of the water of life and poured it on himself, regaining his youth. Then he took his magic shirt, gun and sword, and announced himself.
They were both very scared. But Ivanko promised not to harm them, despite the evil they had inflicted on her. But his old animal friends, who found out that he had returned, had entered the cavern and upon hearing the story they could not contain their rage and tore the bandit to pieces.
Ivanko had regained her former glory and stepped out of the cavern into the wide world.