LITMIR.BIZ

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bear, eager to grab and drag him to his lair, or a lone wolf, fighting off the pack and scouring in search of prey. The farther he went, the more terrible it became: behold the Leshiy, waiting for him behind each bush, and there is Zmey Gorynich, who went out for a walk through the forest in search of fresh human blood and the thrill of sensations.

      Maksim literally became numb. He did not know what to do: to go further or go back? Meanwhile, it began to darken and get colder. It was necessary to make some decision as soon as possible. And Maksim decided to go on his way in search of a night shelter. But, alas, in the dark he did not notice a tree fallen to the ground, apparently, by a strong wind. He stumbled, injured and dislocated his leg. The leg was swollen and each movement caused severe pain. The boy spent a lot of time and energy looking for a stick on which he could lean and somewhat alleviate his suffering. Then it started to rain. When Maksim was completely exhausted, wet and lost hope of finding shelter, dim light loomed ahead through the trees. The boy was delighted, and at that moment his only desire was that this light should not be a mirage, a figment of his imagination.

      The hope of finding shelter gave the boy new strength, and, overcoming the pain, he went towards the light. Soon all doubts disappeared in himself. The light came from a hut, sheltered in the thicket of the forest. Maksim’s heart pounded. So, there are people nearby who will help him. When the boy finally reached the hut, he knocked on the door. No one answered. He knocked again and again. There was no answer. Then the boy tried to open the door. The door succumbed and he entered the hut. It was illuminated through the light emitted by a candle. It was tidied up everywhere. A large mat was spread out on the floor, the stove was burning and something was boiling in the stove in a large clay pot, covered with a lid. Only now Maksim suddenly felt a strong hunger. But from the pot came a strange intoxicating smell, not conducive to food. There was not a soul around. It seemed that someone had just gone out of the hut for a short while. Approaching closer to the stove to warm up, the boy patiently began to wait for the owners of the hut. He took off his wet clothes and shoes, laid them on the stove to dry.

      Quite a lot of time passed, but no one appeared. Then the boy, exhausted from fatigue, pain and hunger, decided to eat a little. He took the pot out of the oven, put some of its contents in a smaller clay pot, took out a wooden spoon and began to eat a pottage soup, if only you could call like that the muddy liquid made possibly from leaves, roots and flowers of different plants. The food was very tasteless, with a disgusting smell, but Maksim, forgetting the saying often repeated by his mother, that it was better to be hungry than to eat, whatever, continued to eat. Soon he felt that his body seemed to be filled with lead. Legs, hands, head, tongue hardly obeyed him. With the last spoonful of food, he felt himself falling into a whirlpool. There was total darkness. It is not known how much the boy overslept. He woke up from severe pain in his leg and the touch of a terrible monster, bending over him and carefully examining his leg. The monster was huge. It occupied almost the entire space of the hut free from things. The monster resembled a two-headed snake with the body of a crocodile. His eyes burned with fire. The boy was horrified and closed his eyes. But, strange thing, with such dimensions and terrible appearance, it spoke in a beautiful and soft human voice:

      – Already better. Wait a while. I fixed your leg, healed the wound, now I will again rub it with ointment, I will change the bandage and you’ll feel better.

      So it began carefully looking after the boy. Its movements were quick and agile. It was felt that the monster was able to handle wounds and heal. All this was so ridiculous that it seemed to Maksim that he was still sleeping. But the pain let go and fear left him with it. The boy suddenly realized that he trusted the monster and even rejoiced at his presence. A conversation ensued between them, from which it followed that Maksim slept for seven days. The pottage soup he ate was actually a terrible potion of a witch, who had bewitched a noble prince and turned him into a monster. The boy was lucky that it was not yet completely ready. Otherwise, Maksim would fall asleep forever.

      – The potion is prepared for a whole year, and this period expires today. Exactly at midnight the witch will return for it, – said the prince in the guise of a monster.

      – Excuse me Your Majesty, but how can you talk so calmly about this?! – the boy was surprised. – How many other lives can the witch cripple?! – Let me destroy the potion, – said Maksim, heading for the stove.

      – Wait! – the monster stopped him. – What are you doing? This potion is my only chance to regain my former appearance, – the monster shouted.

      These words stopped the boy and made him think. It turned out that the witch needed the prince in order to prepare the potion. Threatening the prince with the death of his parents, the witch took the word from him that he would strictly abide by all her instructions. During all this time, the monster kept fire in the furnace, every day at the same time it added the necessary number of roots, leaves, flowers and fruits of certain plants that it collected in the forest to the contents of the pot.

      – However I can not understand anyway why the witch chose me.

      – But because you were born a prince, so, a man of honor. Then, educated and obviously you have something to lose. To inspire you to work hard, Your Majesty, the witch invented a spell:

      – Be in the guise of a terrible monster until a beauty girl will not be fallen in love with you.

      And the witch continued, by grinning:

      – And if it’s not, it doesn’t matter either, you’ll wait for my death, maybe in a few years… in a thousand. My death is your deliverance.

      – The year has passed. As soon as I appeared, all the girls scattered.

      – Your suffering is in vain, Your Majesty. The beauty girl is an indefinite concept, – the boy tried to console the prince.

      – Your truth, – the prince answered. – I really didn’t think about it. – As for death, then the witch was deceiving. Jesus Christ himself appeared to me in a dream and said:

      – The witch’s death is in her potion. And if you manage to feed her all the potions at once, then she will fall asleep forever.

      – All this year I have been carrying out a plan of salvation, but I haven’t come up with anything. And time remains less and less. The witch will appear, take away the potion and I will have to wait for my chance for another whole year. Yes, and it’s not safe for you to stay here. If the witch sees or smells you… then I can’t help you here, – the monster finished his story with sadness in his voice, – but because… your leg is almost healed, your swelling has gone down, you can return home before it gets completely dark.

      – Let me take care of you in gratitude.

      Maksim lay down on the mat, closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, as his mother often did when she was meditating. Mom was doing yoga. Many people among Mom’s friends were not serious about her hobby, but she said that it was thanks to Yoga that she was able to remove all stressful loads: physical and emotional. Yoga also helps her make the right decisions and, most importantly, on time.

      “Mom, help me, don’t let me down,” – the boy begged, mentally addressing his mother and trying to relax as much as possible and concentrate on the problem that tormented him.

      At first, nothing worked. Maksim could not throw off the burden of the past, all the emotions that fell on him. This prevented him from starting from scratch. It made it difficult to focus on the present. Then he tried to revive the image of his Mom, the dearest person to him. It seems to have worked. The tension subsided. Even a smile played on the boy’s lips. Gradually, he calmed down, plunged into the sweet dream of childhood memories, when in moments of disappointment, sadness and longing, Mom caressed him, indulged all his whims, and when he calmed down, as if instructing him meantime, she taught him about life. And all this was so unobtrusive, calm, without fuss, annoyance, in a quiet melodious voice, and, as a rule, before bedtime. He suddenly distinctly heard his Mom’s

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