Once upon a time, a country girl went to a watermill that stood by the river, to grind her wheat into flour. Although it was early morning, there were already many other peasants, who stood in a queue to grind their grain.
"That's all I need! And when will my hour come there?" - she thought.
The girl stood then waiting for so long that she became tired. It was clear that night was already falling. The girl could not restrain herself. She left her handcart with wheat by the mill and went out to a dam, dying of boredom. When she got to the crest of the dam, a wonderful view appeared to her eyes. She began to sing a song in a loud voice. She had sung one song to the end, then another, and when started the third, she suddenly saw: a tall man was coming to her from the riverside forest.
"Hey, is there anybody here who has hurt you, babe?" - he asked, approaching.
"No, no one hurt me. I'm waiting for my turn to grind my wheat," - she explained to the stranger.
"How long do you have to wait?" - inquired the man.
'I still have a little time till a sunset.' - replied the girl...
What a reckless girl! Another lass would not dare to talk to a stranger, would escape to the waiting peasants. That happened to her because she was growing as an orphan from early childhood. She, that had nothing, was frightened of nothing!
"Do you like horses?" - asked the man.
"And who doesn't like? But few people could afford to keep them!" - she agreed with regret.
"I know such a place where the owner offers his horses to his guests, - to choose one of them for free. There are fine horses in his stall, - nothing more clever and beautiful in the world."
"What a lark! Where is it?" - she asked incredulously.
"Shut your eyes tightly for a minute, - I'll say" - he promised.
The girl obeyed him, closed her eyes and then just felt like she was falling down in a pit. When she opened her eyes, there was not the dam in front of her, but a big house. This cottage was so nice and well-built that she had never seen the same before. However, instead of the sunny day, silvery haze was visible in the distance. Then it seeped into her mind that she got to a Master of the river, Vumurt, - in his underwater kingdom. The Master invited the orphan into his house, took her to a separate bedroom and left her alone.
She was so tired this evening that fell asleep when her head touched a pillow. Then she had a wonderful dream as if there came three horses into her bedroom. They were so beautiful, so eye-catching... She fancied she heard some voices... The horses could speak and they asked her for some things.
"...Feed us before the rising of the sun, and when we go out of the river, don`t pity us: lash out and hit all the three with a horsewhip! Don't forget to feed us before sunrise and to lash out," - said one horse.
The girl woke up immediately, although it was still night. She came out of the bedroom, but Vumurt did not sleep and fingered a harness.
"It's still early to get up," - he stopped her. - "Have a rest. Early in the morning, you will go to the forest for firewood, in the horse carriage-and-three. The horses stand in a stable, you will harness them yourself. But don't try to feed them and don't touch them before coming to the forest."
She came back into her room, lay down but could not sleep for a long time. After her dream, the Vumurt's order seemed very strange to her. She had heard from her grandmother long ago that Vumurt used to lure people into his kingdom, but no one came back from there! What would happen if she does not follow the order?...
At that time Vumurt was already asleep. The girl got up quietly and crept into the stable. Suddenly she saw three girls, standing tied to a hitching post instead of horses. They told her, that it was three of them, which she saw in her dream; that Vumurt had lured them by fraud; then turned them into horses and forced to serve him. If she does not run away tonight, Vumurt will turn her into a horse. They offered her to run away together before sunrise, and they reminded her once again:
"Don't forget to hit us with a whip on the bank of the river! And before this give us some food."
She listened to them and then came back into her bedroom...
Early in the morning, Vumurt led the orphan into the stable, where there were three horses. When he came out, she fed the horses and harnessed them herself. She left the stable in the carriage-and-three and went to people, relying on her horses. When they came out of the river, she lashed each of them against her back. And just in a moment the horses turned into the girls. They left the carriage and all the four rushed to the mill.
The miller had already ground the grain of the orphan. She put her bags of flour onto her cart and then all the girls went to her village, where they began to live like sisters in her little house.
![The Orphan and Vumurt [Славянский Владимир Владимирович]](/img/s/slawjanskij_wladimir_wladimirowich/theorphanandvumurt/theorphanandvumurt-1.jpg)