A long time ago, in the state of the Aztecs, there lived a rich man, and he had three sons and one daughter. He lived honestly and had everything in abundance, because the ruler himself appointed him to manage the large market and all the warehouses of the city. The manager tried to ensure that the warehouses always had enough supplies for the capital, and made sure that each merchant received a good price for his goods, but that no one robbed customers.
The markets of the capital gained good fame in all corners of the country, and it is not surprising that hundreds of people from near and far flocked to the sparkling white city every day, bringing vegetables and fruits, fish and poultry, roots, colorful fabrics, jugs and bowls, jewelry made of gold and silver, precious stones and rare jewelry to the market.
And then one day the manager of the market and warehouses went with his friends to the mountains to hunt. He happily left his home on the road, and four days later he returned barely alive. The fever shook him, his head burned, his body languished in pain, and his strength left him every day. When he felt that he did not have long to live, he called his sons and told them:
- Before I part with you forever, I want to tell you
something. I lived honestly all my life, was a loyal friend, and in my youth a brave warrior. I have never deceived or betrayed anyone. Try to live in such a way that in old age you can tell your children the same thing. I leave my daughter, your sister, to you; replace her father and mother. And I also leave you with three greatest values, and if you use them modestly and wisely, they will bring you happiness. An arrow fired from my glorious bow will always reach its target, a golden deer that grazes in the mountains will always take its owner where he tells him to go, and my faithful bird not only cheers the soul with its singing, but also always chirps about everything that happens around.
After these words, the father said goodbye to everyone and quietly gave up the Spirit.
When the mourning in the house ended, the sons gathered to share their father's inheritance.
-Can I choose first?
- asked the eldest of the sons.
— I take myself a bow and arrows. He decided that with the magic
With a bow, he will become the best hunter and will be able to bring a lot of expensive skins from the mountains, as well as valuable multi-colored feathers, and will quickly get rich. After all, the best outfit of the proud Aztec was clothes with decorations made of delicate feathers, colorful as a rainbow. And if he delivers them to the ruler’s palace, he will be recognized there too. The middle brother only said:
“If I have to choose between a golden deer and a chatty bird, I’d rather take the golden deer, which will always take me wherever I want.”
So the younger brother was left with only the songbird.
“I don’t know what benefit it will bring me, but it is a dear gift from our father, so I will take care of it and cherish it like the apple of my eye.”
And so the brothers went their separate ways to seek happiness.
The elder brother went to the mountains and soon became famous as the best hunter. He sent rare furs and beautiful feathers to the ruler's palace and lived happily ever after.
The middle brother soon became the best messenger of the state. When it was necessary to quickly deliver a message to the most remote corners of the country, through high mountains and snowy valleys, impassable thickets and deep gorges, the deer, overcoming all obstacles, delivered its owner to the place.
What about the younger brother? Time passed, and the ruler called him to the court and from then on he often sent him to scout out what was happening in different parts of the state, because the bird chirped to the young man about everything, even about what neither the ruler himself nor his advisers knew. This is how happiness came to the younger brother, and he lived in contentment and prosperity.
When the older brothers found out about this, instead of being happy for him, they burned with envy that the youngest of them, whom they considered a fool, lived better than them. And they decided to steal the wise bird from their brother. But only a bird heard their conversation. She hid so that her brothers would not notice her, and when they left, she flew to her master and told him what she had heard.
“Trouble,” said the younger brother. “Father told us to be faithful, not to betray anyone, but as soon as we were left alone, the brothers conceived an evil deed. Advise me, bird, what should I do now?
- Wait, let's see what the brothers do! - said the bird. A few days later the older brothers came to the younger one.
They were kind and everyone praised their brother for his intelligence and resourcefulness.
“Happiness has smiled on you,” said the elder brother.
“You made us happy, brother,” the middle brother supported him.
The younger brother led them into cool rooms, treated them to delicious dishes, invited his friends and had fun with them for a long time, until, finally, the tired guests fell into a deep sleep. Only my younger brother couldn’t sleep. He went out into the yard and immediately a bird flew up to him.
“I bring you bad news,” she chirped. — The ruler of a neighboring state will attack our country at dawn tomorrow.
The younger brother thought and went to the ruler to tell the news. The ruler raised his hands to the sky:
“I have never known fear of the enemy, but now I am afraid of this battle.” After all, you know that my best commanders are with their troops far beyond the lake.
“My lord, you have faithful warriors here too, and where they lack experience, courage will help.” Appoint my brothers as commanders, because they have served you faithfully until now, and the three of us will fight the enemy. My brothers are eager to fight, their shields are reliable, and their arrows always reach their target.
The ruler became even more frightened. Where have you seen three unknown warriors defeat a powerful enemy? However, he had no other choice, and he agreed.
The younger brother returned home and quietly woke up his older brothers.
“Get up, brothers,” he called them. — An enemy army is approaching our city. You know that our father in his youth was a brave warrior, I have heard from him more than once that his heart knew no fear. Now it's our turn to show ourselves in battle.
The eldest brother nodded in agreement.
- You're right, brother. It’s good that we came to you, otherwise we would not have known that the enemy was threatening us.
“The Emperor will immediately appoint you commanders,” said the younger brother. “Father’s deer will quickly take us to the enemy camp.” There is no army that can move faster than our golden deer. The bird will tell us where the ruler of our enemies is, and then all we have to do is shoot arrows from our father’s bow.
Soon all three brothers were sitting on a fast deer, protected by a large golden shield, sparkling like the sun, and rushing towards the enemy. The deer carried them over high mountains, deep gorges, and across fast rivers. At dawn, the bird flew over the very tops of the mountains and soon returned with news of where the enemy camp was located.
In the camp one could already hear the beating of drums, the ringing of bells and the war song used to wake up sleeping warriors. And then the elder brother’s arrow pierced the leader, and the army immediately fell into confusion. All the warriors took off running in different directions. When the sun came out from behind the mountains, the three brothers were already returning as victors to their capital, and not a single enemy remained on the border of the state.
At the city gates the heroes were greeted with music and flowers, and in the palace the ruler himself presented the young commanders with rare gifts and jewelry.
From then on, the brothers lived in harmony, realizing that envy could destroy them. They married their sister to the chief commander, who took a fancy to the beautiful girl. Time passed and the brothers found good wives for themselves, and they did not forget their father’s order until the end of their days.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru