The Good Peasants Son Learn English through story level 5

long ago

in a far away’s artem an old peasant

lived with his wife

and his son martin time passed and the

peasant became very sick

he eventually died leaving his wife and

son

alone oh my poor husband

cried his wife he was such a good man

how could this happen

she cried for days and days

her son tried to make her feel better

but he couldn’t

then her sadness changed to worry at

night she looked up into the sky

and asked what are we going to do

how are we going to live

after many weeks like this she began to

take control of herself again

and make plans for herself and her poor

son

her husband had left them some money 200

rubles

when they had finished almost all the

food they had in the house

she gave martin half the money and told

him

go into town my son and use this money

to buy flour

salt and bread hopefully these supplies

will last

until the spring then we can look for

work

martin did as his mother asked he put

the money in his pocket

and walked into town as he passed a

butcher store

he saw that a crowd of people had

gathered

the butcher had tied an old sad-eyed

hunting dog to a tree

he was beating the dog and the dog was

crying with pain

martin pushed through the crowd and

shouted butcher

why are you beating this poor dog

because this poor dog

ate some of my best beef this morning

that’s why

how can i make a living when this stupid

animal eats my best meat

oh but i’m sure he was only hungry

and he looked so sad listen

i could use a dog why don’t i buy him

from you

i’ll give you 100 rubles for your dog

the butcher laughed you can’t be

serious you want to spend 100 rubles on

this dog

yes i’m serious replied martin

then you must be crazy but you’ve made

me happy even if you are a madman

so give me the 100 rubles and i’ll give

you the dog

certainly said martin and he took the

poor

frightened dog away and began to walk

back along the road

out of the town and toward his home they

walked slowly along

until they came to a tree which had

fallen by the road

martin sat down brought the dog close to

him

and looked into his eyes

that’s what i’ll name you and you’ll

have a

safe and happy home with my mother and

me

the grateful dog jumped up and kissed

martin’s face with his big

pink tongue he knew that martin had

saved his life

and was a kind and gentle person

the two friends then continued walking

slowly home

side by side when martin arrived home

and told his mother he had spent all

their money on an

old dog she was very angry

what you took our money

and spent it on this dog what good can

this do

us you know we have nothing

i’ve made one small cake with the last

of the flower we had left

that’s our dinner tonight and there’s

nothing else

do you understand oh what would your

father do

if he could see us now

but mother this dog is our good luck

martin tried to say his mother wasn’t

listening

without speaking she gave martin half of

the small cake she had made

and left him alone to eat it martin

shared his small meal with jorka the dog

the next day martin’s mother sent him

into town again

but before he left she sat him down

and spoke to him in a serious voice

these are our last 100 rubles

you mustn’t waste them this time you

must buy supplies so we can eat

do you hear me yes mother

answered martin he left their house

and walked along the road into town with

the 100 rubles in his pocket

on his way into town martin passed a

small boy who had tied a rope around the

neck of an old cat with a bent tail

and was dragging her along the road

martin couldn’t bear to see this

treatment of a poor animal

and asked the boy why he was doing it

because this cat stole one of my

mother’s special cakes

i’m going to show her what happens to a

cat that steals

i’m taking her to the river and i’m

going to throw her

in don’t do that said martin

i’ve been thinking that i would very

much like a cat

i’ll buy her from you for 100 rubles

100 rubles for this old thing with the

funny tail

you’re joking aren’t you laugh the boy

oh no i’m very serious and here are the

100 rubles to prove it

said martin the boy couldn’t believe it

when martin handed him the money he

happily

untied the cat which jumped into

martin’s waiting arms

martin turned and started walking home

with his new friend

he decided to name her vaska

when martin arrived home this time

carrying an old cat with a bent tail

instead of the food they needed his

mother was

very very angry

martin tried to calm her anger mother

this is our second piece of good luck

but she threw him out of their house and

shouted at him to make his own way in

the world

and to take the dog and the cat with him

so martin left home to look for work and

a place to live

his friends the cat and the dog never

left his side

one evening after several days of

searching

martin came into a small village and

passed a priest who was just closing the

door of his church

the priest was curious about this young

man with the dog and the cat

and started a conversation with him to

find out more

hello young man where are you going with

your two friends

i’m looking for work and a place to live

well if you work for me for three years

you won’t have a contract but you’ll

have a roof

over your head and food for you and your

friends

and at the end of that time you’ll be

paid well

so martin accepted the priest’s offer

and proved to be a good

and honest worker at the end of the

three years

the priest came to martin you’ve been a

good worker

and now your three years with me have

ended i said that you would be paid well

and you will be you may choose one of

these three payments

he then put in front of martin a bag of

gold

a bag of silver and a bag of sand

martin thought about it if he chose the

gold

he could buy whatever he needed for a

long time

he could be almost as wealthy with the

silver

but the sand why was the priest

offering him a bag of sand this must be

some kind of test

thought martin and in this simple test

i think there is some kind of deeper

meaning

so he stepped forward and said i’m going

to choose the bag of sand

well if you don’t like silver and gold

of course take the sand the priest

answered

and he handed martin his bag of sand

martin then left the priest to search

for more work

taking his bag of sand durka and vasco

with him

the bag of sand was very heavy and

sometimes

martin wanted to leave it behind but he

never did

after wandering for days he came to a

thick

dark forest which was so silent that it

seemed

no one had ever stepped inside

he eventually came to an open space in

the forest

in the center of this area a fire was

burning

and a beautiful young woman was tied to

a tree in the middle of the fire

the flames were almost touching her and

she would soon be burned alive

when the young woman saw martin she

cried out

oh sir please put out this fire

i’ll bring you good fortune for the rest

of your days if you do

martin didn’t care about the good

fortune she promised

he only wanted to help the poor girl so

he quickly took his bag of sand

and threw it on the fire to put it out

thank you thank you you’ve saved my life

cried the girl as martin untied her

when she was free the girl told martin

that she was the daughter of the czar of

the snake zardom

and that a cruel tsar who was at war

with her father had done this to her

she then asked martin where he had

gotten his bag of sand

martin told her he had chosen the sand

instead of gold and silver

for his three years work for the priest

well

if you chose that sand and not silver or

gold

it must be very important to you she

said to martin

i will always be grateful for your

wonderful kindness

and to prove it i want you to have this

ring

[Music]

as she said this the girl gave martin a

beautiful gold ring

with shining jewels in it this

ring is very special she told him

it’s a magic ring which will give you

anything you desire

even if your desire is to marry a czar’s

daughter

to unlock its power just take it off

your finger

and throw it from one hand to the other

but be careful

you must guard the secret of the ring if

you tell others about its magic

it will bring you great unhappiness

as soon as she had said this she turned

into a snake

and slid quietly away into the forest

martin watched her go and then looked

down at the ring on his finger

he was suddenly filled with happiness

he laughed and told jorka in vasco

do you realize what this means we don’t

need to search for work

we’ll have everything we need and i can

help my poor mother

but let’s see this wonderful magic

so he took off the ring and threw it

from hand to hand

as the girl had told him to do he then

watched in amazement

with jorka as 12 young men

suddenly appeared and said oh master

tell us what in the world you want and

we will bring it to you

martin couldn’t believe his eyes and

ears

he answered good men take us back to my

poor mother

and so they returned to his village his

mother

who was filled with guilt and sadness

for sending her son away

was very happy to see him again oh my

son

i’ve missed you so much and worried so

much

can you ever forgive me she cried

there’s nothing to forgive dear mother

cried martin

and our life is going to be wonderful

now

of course martin couldn’t tell his

mother about the magic ring

so he went quietly outside took the ring

off and threw it from hand to hand

immediately the twelve young man

appeared again and said

oh master tell us what in the world you

want

and we will bring it to you

martin told them to bring the best food

and wine and the finest meat

for jorka and vasquez they then

celebrated their good fortune

they all lived together in happiness for

many months

whenever they needed anything martin

just took off the ring

threw it from hand to hand and

immediately 12 young men appeared

bringing martin whatever he desired

time passed and martin began to think of

marriage

he remembered what the snake tsar’s

daughter had told him

that he could have even a czar’s

daughter

so he asked his mother to go to the

czar’s palace

and asked permission for martin to marry

the zarif na

his mother was very worried and warned

her son that this was a mistake

the son of a peasant doesn’t marry the

daughter of azar

you should look for an ordinary girl to

be your wife

you’re asking me to do something which

is very dangerous

the czar could have our heads cut off

for even asking such a thing

but martin had made his decision and

wouldn’t change his mind

so his mother went to the palace feeling

very anxious

when she tried to enter the palace the

guards wouldn’t allow her inside

they tried to drag her away but she made

such a noise that the tsar eventually

agreed to see her

you must be crazy he answered

when she asked if martin could marry his

daughter

how could you imagine that a czar would

allow his daughter to marry a peasant

but my son is the kindest and smartest

young man in the whole world

he would make any wife proud she

answered

well he may be smart he may be kind

but i’ll tell you this a man who wants

to marry the daughter of a czar

must send beautiful and expensive gifts

go away old woman return when you can

bring gifts of this kind then maybe

we’ll talk again

the tsar knew that a simple peasant

would never be able to provide these

beautiful gifts

so he thought this would be the end of

the problem

however when martin’s mother returned

home

and told her son he immediately used the

magic ring

to produce cloth made of gold jewels

fine clothes and many other fine gifts

he then sent his mother back to the

palace with these wonderful things

the riches brought by martin’s mother

amazed the tsar

but he was also upset as he did not want

his daughter to marry this young man

he repeated that it was impossible for

azar to consider marrying his daughter

to a peasant

but i’ve done as you asked cried the

mother

you promised me that we would discuss

the marriage if i brought these gifts

the tsar didn’t know what to do and was

quite worried

then the prime minister spoke my dears

are

may i make a suggestion certainly prime

minister

answered the tsar hoping for a way out

of this mess

thank you if as this woman says

her son really is the smartest young man

in all the world then he must build a

beautiful palace next to yours for his

wife to live in

and he must build a bridge of pure

silver

with apple trees on either side with

fruit

of silver and gold he must also build a

great church

for the couple’s wedding i suggest

that if this woman’s son is smart enough

to do this

he can marry your daughter if not

both mother and son should lose their

heads

the tsar happily agreed and told

martin’s mother

that her son must produce these things

by the next morning

or they would lose their heads

martin’s mother rushed home with this

news thinking that they would surely die

but martin wasn’t worried that night he

went to the tsar’s palace

took off his ring and produced

everything

that the prime minister had asked for

the next morning the czar woke up and

went outside to greet the day

when he stepped into his garden he was

amazed

there in front of him stood a beautiful

shining palace

a bridge with trees of silver and gold

apples

and a great church the tsar knew then

that he had to agree to the marriage and

preparations began in the palace

the tsarevna and martin were dressed in

the finest clothes

and a beautiful marriage ceremony took

place in the great church

for days afterward there were wonderful

celebrations at the palace

the young couple then began to live

together as man and wife in their palace

next to the tsars

but the tsar’s daughter wasn’t happy she

was silly and proud

and very angry that her father had

married her to a simple peasant

she wanted to get rid of her husband and

tried everything to find out what his

secret was

always asking him questions in her

sweetest voice

you’re so smart my husband but you’re

such a

mystery too how are you able to do all

these wonderful things

won’t you tell your loving wife

but nothing worked martin never forgot

what the snake czar’s daughter had told

him

and he never gave away his secret

finally one night his wife

thought of a new and better idea she put

extra vodka in his cup at dinner

and she filled his cup until he was very

drunk

she then kept him talking until he

finally told her all about the magic

ring

as soon as he was asleep she took the

ring from his finger

and used it to take herself the palace

the bridge

and the church away to a far away’s

artem

leaving martin lying alone in their bed

when the czar discovered the next

morning that his daughter was gone

he was very angry he demanded to know

where she was

but martin was as shocked and confused

as the czar was

and couldn’t tell him anything so the

tsar ordered his guards to build a high

stone tower

martin was locked up in this tower

there was only one tiny window and he

was given no

food or water the czar planned to punish

him with a long

slow lonely death jurka the dog had been

away hunting

and when he returned he was very upset

about what had happened to his friend

he ran to martin’s mother’s house to

tell her

and found vasquez the cat lying by the

fire

sleeping happily what are you doing here

he shouted at her you only think about

your own

comfort when this terrible thing has

happened to our friend

the man who saved our lives why aren’t

you

trying to help him when he’s in trouble

the cat felt very guilty and immediately

left the fire

she then listened carefully as jorka

described his plan to trick people in

the village out of their food

and take it to martin

the next day jorka and vasco went into

the village to carry out their plan

vasco got under the feet of shoppers as

they walked home with their cakes

when they dropped the cakes jorka caught

them and the dog and the cat ran away

when little vasquez climbed the stone

tower and appeared in the one

tiny window with the first cake martin

cried with joy my dear friends

you haven’t forgotten me so their plan

was a success

and jorka and vasquez managed to keep

martin alive in this way for a year

when the year ended jorka decided that

martin couldn’t live this way for much

longer

he told vasquez we must go together

and try to find the magic ring that has

caused all this pain and trouble

so they left together and crossed

mountains

rivers and even an ocean with vasca

holding on to jorka’s back

after many months they arrived in a far

away’s artem

and found the beautiful palace that

martin had created for his wife

using the ring jorka told vaska

to find her way into the servant’s rooms

and whenever they needed anything

to run quickly and get it for them

vasquez soon became well known in the

palace as a good helper

so the servants allowed her and her

friend jorka to sleep in the palace

in this way vasquez and jorka were able

to wander around

and watch the zareffner closely they saw

that she always wore the ring

they wondered if she took it off to

sleep but her bedroom was the one room

that they weren’t allowed into

and they were both too big to slide in

under the door

only a mouse was small enough to do this

so they decided to travel to the zardom

of the mice

we must show them that we are strong and

powerful

so they will be frightened of us and

agree to help us

jorka told vasca and this is what they

did

they went to the mouse artem and chased

and bit the mice

until they were so frightened that they

surrendered

we are powerless against you the mouse

czar told them

what is it that you need we are your

servants

jorka told them about the ring so the

mouse czar ordered one of the mouse

soldiers

to slide under the zarevana’s door that

night and steal the ring

at midnight when the whole palace was

asleep

the mouse soldier went silently into her

room and up

onto her bed then he slipped the ring

gently off her finger

the next morning jorka and vaska had the

ring back

the ring that would save their friend so

they began to prepare for their long

journey home

fasca put the ring in her mouth and

climbed onto jorka’s back

she then used her sharp claws to hold on

tight

while they started traveling across the

ocean again

after swimming in the rough sea for many

days

they were both very tired but jorka

didn’t stop

knowing that the ring would soon be

safely back with their dear friend

suddenly vasquez looked up and saw an

angry seabird

flying down straight at her the bird

came down and bit vasquez on the head

the pain was so terrible that she

couldn’t breathe

she watched as the bird flew back up

into the sky

but just as vasca was thinking that her

terror was at an end

the bird flew down again faster this

time

and bitter on the head again vasquez

opened her mouth to bite the bird and

defend herself

and the ring dropped into the ocean

oh no she thought how am i going to tell

jerka

she waited until they reached land and

as soon as jorka put her down

she climbed up into a very tall tree

jorka looked up surprised and asked what

are you doing

up there come down i can’t

the cat shouted down to him why not

asked jorka because you’ll kill me

why what are you talking about what do

you mean

vasquez knew she had to tell him she

also knew

he couldn’t climb trees so she stayed up

in the tree

and explained what had happened to the

ring

why didn’t you tell me when we were back

in the ocean

jurka cried because i can’t swim

cried the frightened cat i wanted to

wait until i was on dry land to tell you

i knew you’d be angry at me

oh what are we going to do now

said jorka as he sat on the sand his sad

eyes looking out to sea then

vasque had an idea what about the fish

they know the secrets of the sea they

can help us can’t they

you’re right replied jorka

but we must show them our power before

they’ll help us

come quickly and jorka swam

deep into the ocean to the fish sardom

he chased and threatened the fish until

they were so frightened

that they offered to help him jorka

explained to the fish

tsar and his fish soldiers about the

ring

then one shy fish came forward

and told them excuse me

i saw a large fish eat something gold

earlier

today i don’t think it was very good for

him

because he’s now lying dead on the ocean

floor

the fish tsar immediately ordered his

fish soldiers to dive to the bottom of

the ocean

and search for this fish they quickly

found it

and brought it up onto the land

jorka who didn’t like the taste of fish

watched with excitement as vasquez

started eating it

she finally bit into something hard and

discovered

that it was the ring jorka and vasco

were filled with joy

and rushed back to the tower vaska then

quickly climbed up the stone walls

and dropped the ring through the tiny

window

martin who had not eaten for days

was very happy when he saw it

oh thank you thank you my good

true friends he cried

i was almost dead from hunger and thirst

he immediately threw the ring from hand

to hand

and ordered the twelve young men to

bring him food and wine

he had his two friends brought up to be

with him and celebrate

he then ordered musicians to play music

so beautiful

that people would be able to do nothing

except listen to it and be joyful

back in his palace bizarre heard the

music in the tower

he was very angry that instead of dying

martin seemed to be celebrating he sent

his guards to stop this

but the guards could do nothing except

stand and listen to the music

the tsar then sent his soldiers to stop

this noise

but they could do nothing except stand

and sing

happily so in the end the tsar went

himself

but he found that he couldn’t move

either he eventually gave up

and told martin that if he explained

everything he would be forgiven

so martin went with azar to the palace

and told him the story of the ring

and what the tsar’s daughter had done

the tsar was very sad to hear this and

told martin

i know that my daughter should be killed

for what she has done to you

but she is my daughter can you find it

in your heart to forgive her

martin was as kind as he had always been

he couldn’t have the zarevna killed so

he agreed to take her back

the tsar was happy that his daughter

would live but he was still

sad about her behavior martin told him

go and rest tonight and i’m sure

everything will look

different in the morning the tsar agreed

and went to his room

after ordering his servants to bring

martin his best vodka

and to put the finest silk sheets on his

bed

that night while everyone was sleeping

martin went out into the palace gardens

and used the magic ring to bring

everything back

the next morning when the czar went

outside

he saw with great happiness the palace

the bridge and the great church

martin and the zarevna lived as man and

wife again

and after some time the zarevna realized

what a good man

martin really was she began to love him

and they then lived together in

happiness

martin never removed the ring from his

finger

and his friends jorka the dog and

vasquez the cat

were always by his side

you