The Enchanted Wishing Ring
Once upon a time, in a small town, there lived a young man named Mineco. Unlucky for most of his life, he had only a hen that he had raised with great difficulty.
— You'd better start laying eggs. That way, I'll become rich and I'll be able to ask for the hand of the beautiful Princess Lucia. — Cluck-cluck! — How would you know? Maybe I'll get lucky. — Cluck! — Well, what would you understand?
Indeed, Mineco was deeply in love with Princess Lucia and had placed all his hopes of becoming rich on his little hen. But time passed and the hen laid no eggs, saddening Mineco.
— Oh, all the money is gone and this wretched hen won't lay a single egg. — Cluck-cluck-cluck!
Suddenly, in a miraculous way, the hen's feathers turned blue.
— What? What happened to you, little hen?
Although Mineco was amazed, he was still hungry and his mind worked fast.
— A blue hen? Anyone would buy it, strange as it is. I'll become rich if I sell it.
So he took the hen to the market and showed it to everyone, thinking he would sell it quickly. But people kept their distance from this strange hen.
— Why won't anyone come closer? Enchanted blue hen for sale! — Darling, look, shall we buy it? — It's blue. What if it lays blue eggs? — And turns us blue too. You're right. Better not.
Seeing them walk away, Mineco lost hope.
— Hello! Do you want to sell this hen? — Well, yes, but it's rather expensive, you know? It's an enchanted hen. — Is this enough?
Mineco was amazed at how much gold Jekov gave him. He immediately agreed to the deal. Just as he was about to hand over the hen, the two customers began to whisper. Mineco had sharp ears and heard everything.
— How lucky we are to find the legendary blue hen. Once we have her feathers, we'll also possess the enchanted ring. — The hen will disappear once we get the ring. Tonight there will be a blue moon.
Mineco couldn't believe what he was hearing.
— An enchanted ring? I could be rich if I had it.
So while they were talking, Mineco snatched the hen, slowly moved away, and was soon home.
— Now, blue hen, I command you to spread your beautiful wings and give me the enchanted wishing ring. — Cluck? — Well, that didn't work. Wait a moment. They said something about a blue moon. I think I need to wait until nightfall.
And so, when night fell, the moon suddenly became crystal clear.
— Cluck-cluck-cluck-cluck! — Oh! What? Is it?
In an instant, three small feathers fell, and the enchanted blue ring appeared.
— Oh! Wealth and power shall the master of the ring possess. Lose it, however, and the spell shall break, and swiftly you shall grow old. — Cluck-cluck-cluck!
And so the hen vanished before Mineco's eyes.
— Oh, I'll miss you, little liar. Well then, I wish to be a prince, to have my own palace and servants.
And in the blink of an eye, he stood in a magnificent, enormous palace, filled with servants around him, awaiting his commands.
— It worked! And now, Lucia!
He took many gifts for Princess Lucia and soon found her at the palace. Lucia and the king were surprised to see Mineco, never having heard of him before. Lucia quickly fell in love with him, and so they married happily.
Years later, Mineco and Lucia had a little girl named Pentela, who was now five years old. At an inn in another city, the two wizards were staying.
— Ugh, I don't like this food. — That's all we can afford. If only we had gotten our hands on the blue hen. That cunning boy!
And suddenly, they heard people talking nearby.
— Have you heard that the mysterious Prince Mineco and Princess Lucia have had a child? — Of course, it's a girl and her name is Pentela.
Listening further, the two wizards realized who they were talking about.
— It's the hen seller. He tricked us and took our treasure. — We must take it back.
And so, the next day, they traveled to Mineco's kingdom, hiding in the royal gardens.
— Look, that's Princess Pentela. Little one, come here. We have a gift for you. — A gift? — Yes, would you like to have this beautiful doll? — Oh, could it really be mine? — Only if you give us your daddy's blue stone ring. — Is that all? I'll bring it to you.
So Pentela went to her father.
— Daddy, daddy, can I please have the blue stone ring? — What? I'm sorry, my dear, I'd better give you another ring to play with. — Please, daddy, I want that ring. — Oh, who can say no to those eyes? Fine, but bring it back to me soon.
But Pentela was too eager to listen to her father.
— You're the best daddy!
She took the ring in a hurry and went to give it to the wizards.
— Heh-heh-heh, good little girl, here's your doll. — Wow! — Now let's leave. The spell will make him old soon.
And so, before long, Mineco began aging rapidly. At one point, the king came to visit his beloved granddaughter Pentela and found Mineco.
— Who are you, sir? How did you get into this palace? — Your Majesty, I am Mineco! — What kind of joke is this? Guards! Guards!
Poor Mineco then fled into the garden.
— Pentela, what did you do with my ring?
Pentela recognized her father's voice, but when she saw him, she was shocked.
— Father, what happened?
Pentela told him everything about the ring.
— Oh no! Those two people must have been the wizards. What do I do now?
He knew he had to get his ring back and left the palace. He decided to go and search for the wizards, so he wandered far and wide for days on end until he came upon a tree stump where he met a little mouse named Rozegon.
— Greetings! What are you looking for in my kingdom? — What kingdom? I can only see holes in the ground. — These are the entrances to my mouse houses. I am Rozegon, king of the mice. Who are you?
Mineco was surprised but told his story to the mouse king, who listened carefully.
— Well, you could use some help. I don't much like those sneaky wizards. — Rodolo! Tarielo!
As Mineco watched, two mice hopped out of their little holes.
— Did you call us, Your Highness?
Rozegon told them what had happened, and the mice immediately understood what needed to be done.
— Oh, some time ago we were at the inn and heard two men talking about the hen seller. I think that was you. — We'll help you get your ring back, but you'll have to cut us more cheese. — Done!
And so, that night, the mice led Mineco to a cottage in the forest, not too far away.
— The wizards live here. Come, come!
The mice snuck through the window and went straight to Jerome, who was sleeping.
— How do we get the ring off? — I brought some oil with me. Let's use it.
They slowly covered his finger with oil, even under the ring. Then gently, little by little, without being noticed, they slipped it off.
— Let's go.
The two mice retreated and gave the ring to Mineco. As soon as he put it on his hand, the spell took hold and he transformed back into a prince. The three fell asleep under a tree. The next morning, they were woken by a loud shout.
— Where did the ring go? — I told you to put it in my magic pocket, but you didn't listen. No! — It's them. Enchanted ring, turn the wizards into donkeys!
— Hm, what? Hee-haw! — Hee-haw!
And so, Mineco and the mice happily rode the donkeys back to the palace. When Princess Lucia and Pentela saw Mineco, they rushed toward him.
— Oh, my love, where have you been? — Well, I've been on an adventure. Quite a good one.
And so, the story of the enchanted ring ends here, with good cheer and with Mineco and his loved ones.
— Hey! We want to be happy too!
And the two brave little mice received their enormous portion of cheese, while the two wizards — oh, I mean donkeys — well, they lived in the royal stables, enjoying life and eating under Mineco's command.
Moral of the story: Be kind and generous, and good things will come back to you. Don't be fooled by appearances and treasure what you have, for true wealth lies in the happiness and love of those around you.
