Dusk, Midnight and Dawn

Once upon a time, there was an unlucky couple. They could have lived happily because they had everything in their family, but the fly in the ointment was that they had no children.

Wives tell everyone about their misfortune, because God has not given them children, how boring their lives are. One day, she was sighing, and an old woman gave her advice. When she took out the trash, she found the beans in it and counted how many; as many beans as she swallowed, she would have as many children.

The woman took the idea.

She looked for beans in the trash to be dumped, found three beans in the last basket, and swallowed them in one bite.

The old woman had a good idea. Her belly was really getting bigger day by day, and she was about to give birth. Sure enough, she gave birth to three baby boys.

The first was born in the evening, named Dusk, the second was born in the middle of the night, called Midnight, and the third was born at dawn, called Dawn.

Since the addition of a child to the family, life has been tight. They can hardly make ends meet. Therefore, fathers look forward to their sons growing up quickly and earning their own money every day.

Sure enough, he didn't need to wait too long.

The children grew and grew, and finally grew up. The father found that they were all strong and strong, and when they could work and earn money, he said to them: Hey, children, you are all grown up, and you can go out to work and earn a living!

The boys packed up, and their mother put the prepared food in their dry food bags. They said goodbye to their parents and set off on their way.

They stop and go in the vast world, stop and go. When they are tired of walking, they whistle or sing, encourage each other, and be carefree.

One day, they came to the palace and gave their names, where they came from and why they were leaving the house. Finally, they said they were looking for work.

Of course the king would not miss this opportunity. There is a well in the palace, and no one knows how to clean it after hard work.

So the king said to them: If you can find a way to wash mine, you can take my three daughters as wives.

They took the job. On the third day, they were washed clean, and the water from the well was crystal clear, and it was not enough to drink.

At this time. The lads naturally urged the king to reward them: the king's three daughters.

The king said: I will keep my promise, but my three daughters are all guarded by three dragons, and you must save them first.

This was a big blow to the three brothers. They had no other choice and decided to save the three princesses, no matter who was taking care of them.

So they left the palace, and after a long walk, they entered a forest.

Have,

They say, just rest here.

They were so hungry that they stayed at dusk to cook, and the other two went out to find a hole from which they could descend to the bottom of the earth's crust.

After they left, they started cooking at dusk, and a dwarf shouted at him from the tree: Give me the meal, I want to be full.

Twilight replied: Go see your ghost.

Do you mean me?

Don't talk about you, talk about who?

Wow, wait and see!

Said the dwarf.

He slipped down from the tree, threw Dusk on his back, picked up the pot from the fire, buckled all the food in the pot on Dusk's belly, then let go of his stomach to eat alone, and ate all the dinner.

Dusk only felt a terrible pain in his stomach, because the hot rice had burned his belly. But no matter what, he was reluctant to tell his two younger brothers about it.

The next day, it was his turn to go with Dawn to find the hole. He stayed at midnight to cook, but he was no better than his brother, and when the sun was about to go down, the dwarf put his dinner on his belly again, and ate it all.

When Dawn came back, he was very angry, because he had not eaten for two days, and he was very hungry. Why can't he cook the meal? Midnight refused to reveal the slightest truth, but only complained incessantly, like a sheep in hell, bleating incessantly, not because he was hungry, but because he was scalded by the dwarf.

Dawn was eager to know what happened to the two older brothers and why he couldn't even cook a dinner. On the third day, it was his turn to stay.

When the sun was about to go down, he was busy cooking, and just as he was stirring the food in the pot, the dwarf said to him from the tree: Give me the food, I will be full.

Go to hell,

Dawn answered.

Do you mean me?

Who else can I say? you idiot.

Wow, wait and see!

The dwarf came down from the tree, and was about to go over and fall dawn again. But dawn is not easy to mess with. He was quick-eyed, grabbed the dwarf's beard, and stuffed it into the crevices of the tree. Then he went back to the pot and stirred the food inside, so as not to burn it.

After a while, dusk and midnight came back. They were surprised to find that Dawn was not only not sick, but also cooked the food and was waiting for them to come back. Dawn was silent while they were eating.

After dinner, he told them.

Come on, let me show you something.

They couldn't imagine what he was going to show them until they saw the bearded dwarf tucked into the crevice of the tree.

The dwarfs began to beg them to let him go, and said that if they still had a little reverence for God, they would stop torturing him.

Dawn said to him that if he would let them see the hole from which they could go down to the bottom of the earth, he would let him go. The dwarf agreed. Dawn opened the cracks in the tree with both hands, and the dwarf's beard was pulled out. Then they all followed the dwarf and came to a hole. As soon as they got there, the dwarf fled.

They were trying to figure out how to get down. Dawn volunteered and was the first to go down. They twisted a long, long willow rope out of willow branches so that Dawn could catch it down. Before going down, he asked them to wait for him above him for seven years, and then they could leave him alone. If he shouted, they had to put the rope down, and he would let the three girls come up first and himself last.

The brothers all agreed.

So the dawn fell deep underground.

When he reached the bottom, he found a splendid palace there. He went in and saw the king's eldest daughter.

The girl said: What are you doing here where even birds dare not fly? Are you not afraid of death? My husband is a dragon with nine heads.

Dawn replied: Why should I be afraid? I am here to save you!

To save me? Well, I'm going to try to do something to save you from suffering. Put on this ring, and if you just turn the ring on your finger, you'll be seven times stronger than before.

Dawn put on the ring and sat down.

Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound from a distance. Dawn asked: What is this sound? Could it be thunder?

No, it's not! That's my husband, the Hydra is back. You can hear its footsteps.

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard something very heavy fall in front of them: it turned out that the dragon had thrown its scepter home from a hundred miles away.

After a while. The dragon appeared.

He wrinkled his nose, as if he smelled something. Q: Who is here, mother-in-law? I smell strangers.

Who will it be, isn't it your brother-in-law!

My brother-in-law? marvelous! Go get some stone bread and some wooden knives, and cook some lead noodles!

The princess hurried to chop wood to make a fire. The two of them were sharing the stone bread she had brought. In a blink of an eye, they swept away the boiled lead noodles again: before dawn had time to foam his mouth, the dragon offered to wrestle with him. Dawn was of course happy, so he accepted the dragon's challenge. They threw each other heavily on the ground, and once one of them was thrown into the ground half a man deep. Before dawn was very angry, he didn't even turn the ring on his finger, so he threw his opponent to the ground with all his strength, and the dragon was so smashed that his neck was buried in the ground. He took advantage of the situation to draw his sword and cut off all nine heads of the dragon.

The princess ran to him with a red face, handed him a wand, and asked him to strike the table with it, so that the whole palace would turn into a silver apple.

Sure enough.

Dawn struck the table with his wand, and the palace suddenly turned into a silver apple. He picked up the apple and put it in his dry food bag.

Then he went on his way again and came to the second palace. There he saw the second princess.

Good day!

He greeted her.

Good day! What are you looking for in this place where even birds dare not fly? Are you not afraid of death? My husband is a dragon with twelve heads!

Why should I be afraid?

Dawn said. I am here to save you!

Thank goodness. Put on this ring, and if you turn the ring around, you will be seven times stronger than before.

Dawn also wears this ring on his hand.

After a while, the dragon's footsteps were heard, and every step it took made the earthquake tremble. The dragon threw the scepter home from a hundred miles away. But Dawn was not frightened, because he remembered the power of the ring.

The dragon suddenly appeared.

Who the hell is here, I smell strangers.

Who else could it be, isn't it your little Yongzi?

My uncle! Hurrah! Go get stone bread and a wooden knife, and cook some lead noodles right away.

They swept away the stone bread and lead noodles. After eating, they began to wrestle. Dawn subdued the twelve dragons with no effort. He killed the dragons as quickly as his mother slaughtered chicks. Soon all twelve heads of the dragon were cut off.

The princess hurried towards Dawn. Hand him a wand, hit the table with it, and the whole palace will turn into a golden apple.

Dawn struck the table with his wand, and the palace immediately turned into a golden apple, which he put into a bag of dry food. But, my God, the most difficult thing is yet to come!

Now, Dawn went into the third palace and found the youngest princess there. She told him that her husband, the eighteen dragons, would be back soon.

Dawn replied again that he was here to save her. The princess also gave him a ring. Whoever twists the ring on his finger will be seven times stronger than before.

At this time, the dragon was on his way home, and he threw the scepter back first. The scepter smashed a big hole in the ground, which was big enough to hold a house.

As soon as Long got home, he was furious and shouted rudely at his wife: Hey! I'm calling you, mother-in-law, who's here? I smell strangers!

It's your big Yongzi!

What kind of brother-in-law is this! Well, bring stone bread and wooden knives, and cook us some lead noodles!

The girl brought a piece of stone bread the size of a haystack and a wooden knife like a door, and soon brought steaming lead noodles. They devoured it, their stomachs bulging like a wooden barrel.

After they had had enough to eat and drink, the dragon asked Dawn to wrestle with it to help digestion. They began to wrestle, and the two sides were evenly matched. Sometimes Dawn was thrown into the ground half a man deep, sometimes the dragon was thrown into the ground; sometimes Dawn was thrown into the ground, and even his neck was buried in it, and sometimes the dragon was thrown into the ground.

When Dawn found that his efforts were ineffective, he gave up and cut off the dragon heads one by one. He cut off a total of seventeen heads, and there was still one left. However, he couldn't cut off this head.

The dragon roared, screamed, creepily, and asked his wife to give him a glass of water. She fetched water, but didn't hand it, and Dawn took the opportunity to grab it and drink it. Then, turning the ring on his hand, he suddenly became so powerful that he finally cut off the dragon's last head.

He tapped the table with the wand the princess had handed him, and in an instant the whole palace turned into a diamond apple, which he put with the other apples.

Now, he has to go find the girls!

Alas, it's not difficult, they are all waiting for him together.

He led them straight to the bottom of the cave and shouted from there. His two older brothers were still up there, and when they heard the shouting, they immediately lowered the rope.

They pulled the king's eldest daughter up first, and then the second child; but as soon as they saw what the second princess looked like, they began to quarrel, because they both wanted to take a prettier wife.

When the youngest princess was dragged up, oh, they quarreled even more.

Finally, after a long time, when he lowered the rope for the fourth time, Dawn wanted to test his two older brothers.

Instead of tying himself, he tied a large stone to the rope.

At first, Twilight and Midnight pulled up hard for a while, but when they were halfway there, they put the rope down again.

The stone fell with a bang, nearly killing Dawn.

He shook his head in disgust, but said nothing, just thought to himself: People are rascals. Fortunately, he didn't let himself be pulled up, otherwise he would surely die.

What to do now, where to go? He wandered for a while, and finally came to a small house. A blind man and his blind wife lived in it. It turned out that one day, when they accidentally drove their sheep across the territory of the twenty-four dragons, their eyes were all gouged out by the dragon.

Dawn came into the house and found the blind couple eating a very simple meal. He was also hungry, so he stole their meat and ate it silently.

The blind man asked his wife: Did you eat all the meat? Why is there nothing on the plate.

The woman replied that she really didn't eat!

The blind man thought it was strange and asked: Who is here? Are you a good person or a bad person? Be honest and tell me who you are?

I am a good person.

Dawn answered.

He recounted his experience, who he was, why he was here, etc. After listening, the blind couple also recounted what happened to them, and the three of them became friends.

What could Dawn do but be hired as their shepherd? They warned him not to cross the border, or the twenty-four dragons would kill him.

Dawn promised to obey their orders, but then he forgot their warning and drove the sheep across the border. So he fought the dragon to the death. At the end, he cut off the dragon's twenty-two heads as if they were made of butter. As he was about to cut off the twenty-fourth head, the dragon began to beg: Oh, don't cut off my last head! Leave the head to me, and I'll give the blind couple my eyes.

Where are the eyes?

In a pot on top of a tree!

Go get it, you bastard!

Dawn shouted loudly.

The dragon quickly took the eyes. Dawn stuffed his eyes into his pocket and chopped off the rest of the dragon's head with a knife. Then, he drove the sheep back to the old couple's house.

Good day!

Good day, any news?

I got your eyes back, and I killed the dragon!

The old couple were very happy. Dawn immediately moved to put the two pairs of eyes into the original eye sockets, but just as he was about to put the woman's eyes, a cat took one of them away. He went after the cat, and when he caught up with the cat, the cat had already swallowed its eyes.

Dawn simply plucked out the cat's eyes and put them in the woman's eye sockets. Hey, look, the woman's character is becoming more and more like a cat, and she will hunt mice all night. The old couple were still very grateful to Dawn and gave him a diamond robe as a souvenir.

But, God, now Dawn was starting to think about the past, and it was really sad. He wanted to know what his two older brothers were doing. Maybe they were having a wedding reception with a spring breeze on their faces? He didn't want to stay any longer. So he quit his job to the old couple and went to an unfamiliar place.

As he walked, he stumbled upon a nest of eagle-headed sphinx birds, with many small strange birds in it.

Just then, a hailstorm fell from the sky. Dawn took pity on the little strange birds, and protected the nest with his coat.

When the mother bird came back, the hail was about to stop, and she found her children all safe and sound. It asked who rescued them, and the pony quiz said that there was a man sitting under a nearby tree, and he covered them with his coat. After hearing this, the eagle-headed sphinx flew towards the dawn. Asked: When the hailstorm is raging, is it you who should save me?

It's me.

How can I repay you? You know, before this, all my children were killed by hail, and none of them were fed.

I don't want anything, just ask you to carry me back to the world.

OK, if that's your only wish.

Then the Sphinx said to Dawn: Here is a roast cow and a barrel of wine, put them on my back, and every time I turn my head, you put a piece of meat and a mouthful of wine into my mouth.

Dawn put the roast cow and a barrel of wine on the strange bird's back. Then he climbed up himself, so the strange bird flew up.

They rose higher and higher. When the meat and wine were all eaten and drunk, they almost rose to the ground. However, the strange bird kept turning back, with its mouth open for food. Dawn had to slice the meat from his legs to feed the strange bird.

Just as the strange bird swallowed the meat, they had already reached the ground. Dawn got off the strange bird's back, thanked it for its help, and was about to go home.

But the strange bird stopped him and asked: What was the last time you fed me?

Meat on my legs.

It's a pity, I didn't know human flesh was so delicious. If I had known earlier, I would have eaten you all! However, I won't hurt you now, don't worry!

Dawn came home quickly. Here, in the palace, a grand wedding is being held. Dawn, dressed as a beggar and in rags, went into the kitchen. He was ragged, and no one recognized him, since he had been away from the palace for a long time. During the wedding reception, he ran in unexpectedly and said: My lords, please allow me to say something?

The people at the banquet agreed. They thought, what can this beggar in sackcloth tell them?

So he asked: What is the punishment for those who destroy their own brothers?

All answered: He should be tied to the horse's tail and dragged through the market.

What reward should the person who saved the three princesses get?

As soon as he heard this question, Midnight replied: Of course I got one of the princesses Luo!

Then, Dawn asked for a glass of wine, drank half a glass, put a ring in the glass, and sent it to the eldest princess. She cried when she saw the ring.

He asked for a second glass of wine, put the second ring in the glass, and gave it to the second princess. She also began to cry.

He asked for a third glass of wine, put the third ring in the glass, and gave it to the youngest princess. Instead of crying, the youngest princess stood up and said: You saved us, come and kiss me!

Everyone present was stunned.

Dawn immediately stripped off his tattered clothes, revealing the diamond robe he had gotten from the blind couple. He was recognized immediately, and everyone was very happy. Only dusk and midnight were uneasy, thinking that disaster was imminent. But Dawn did not take revenge on them, but forgave them.

The next day, his wedding ceremony with the little princess began. The celebration went on for seven days. Unless they die, they will live peacefully and happily to this day.