Nikita Kozhemyaka has long been a hero of folk tales in Russia. This is a typical example of a hero who is not just strong and brave, but also kind. There are several versions of the tale, but in all of them Nikita Kozhemyak is the hero who killed the dragon and saved the princess. The Ukrainian and Belarussian variations are most similar, and only the ending is significantly different in Russian. Although he always remains a hero, a simple good hero.
Story tale
The evil serpent stole the daughter of the Kiev prince and hid her in his house so that no one could reach her. She is homesick and really wants to return, but the serpent does not let the princess go.
Later, the serpent told the princess that in the whole world he was afraid of only one person - Nikita Kozhemyak. Since then, she began to think about how to persuade Nikita to fight with a snake. The prisoner sends a letter to her father to find the hero and persuade him to save her - to kill the terrible snake. What answers to the king of Kozhemyak? This is very unusual for fairy tales, because he refuses. When the first tsarist delegates visited Nikita's house, he was so surprised that he accidentally tore off twelve skins, which already testifies to considerable strength. Many messengers go to Nikita, and he remains adamant, but agrees only when crying children are sent to him: the hero simply cannot bear children's tears. Having smeared with resin to become invulnerable to a snake, the strongman goes to rescue the princess. A long battle between the hero and the serpent ends with the victory of Kozhemyaki.
The end of the tale
In the Belarusian and Ukrainian versions, after Kozhemyak defeats the snake, the place where he lived was called Kozhemyaki. In the Russian version, the snake, defeated by Kozhemyak, asks for mercy, and the good heart of the hero surrenders.
The serpent gives half of its land to the hero. He divided the territory with a furrow, and in it the snake drowned.
Nikita Kozhemyak
This legend is not just about a hero, it is a classic fairy tale of Kievan Rus. Originally a chronicle was created. She was first witnessed back in 992, but then the hero was not yet called Kozhemyak, he was a young man with incredible strength who, during a quarrel with his father, tore his skin. Since then, of course, the tale has undergone evolution. If initially it was a young man who defeated the Pecheneg monster, then in later versions it is already a hero who fought with a fantastic monster and saved the princess. Typical folk tale, which brought up more than one generation of children.