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