There lived a man. And he had a daughter. The girl was as beautiful as the sun, but as capricious as the mountain wind.
One day my father was working in the garden. The gate opened, and three young men, one more handsome than the other, entered the garden and said:
“Your daughter is as beautiful as the sun.” We ask for her hand.
The father replied:
“She is as willful as the wind.” We must ask her consent.” And he disappeared into the house, and the young men remained waiting at the gate.
Coming to his daughter, the father said:
- Three young men, one more beautiful than the other, ask for your hand. Which of the three will you call your husband?
The daughter looked out the window and saw that her father was telling the truth: she had never met such handsome men!
Smiling, she answered:
“I like all three.”
The father got angry:
“You can’t marry three people, can you?”
“I agree to marry any of them,” the daughter answered. “But understand, I need all three.”
And no matter how much my father argued, she repeated the same thing:
- Understand, I need all three!
The unfortunate old man did not know what to answer to the young men. He thought for a long time, finally came out and said to the suitors:
“My daughter is as beautiful as the sun, but capricious as the mountain wind: she needs all three!” But she can’t marry three people, can she? Take my advice: go to foreign lands and distant countries - look for your happiness there.
The young men looked at each other.
The father explained:
- Look in distant countries for the best, rarest gift for your bride, which cannot be found anywhere in the world. And whoever finds him will become my daughter's husband.
The grooms bowed silently and left.
On the same day they left the shores of Spain and went to foreign lands and distant countries in search of their happiness. Everyone went their own way, but not one found a gift for the bride that could not be found anywhere in the world. They wandered for a long time on stormy seas, tearing more than one pair of shoes on sharp stones, wandering along strange roads. Sadness enveloped their hearts, but did not extinguish hope.
And then one day the first groom met a decrepit old man.
“Hello, young man,” mumbled the wanderer, “would you like to buy a mirror?”
The mirror was small, and the young man, laughing bitterly, answered:
“I don’t need such a mirror.” I'm looking for a gift for the bride that can't be found anywhere else in the world.
The old man smiled:
- You found it, son. This mirror is not simple: at any moment you can see in it whoever you want.
The young man was very happy, took the mirror and gave the old man all his money for it.
Soon the second groom met the same wanderer.
— Would you like a bottle of balm? - asked the wanderer.
“I don’t need balm,” answered the young man. “I’m looking for a gift for the bride that can’t be found anywhere in the world.”
But the balm turned out to be not simple, but wonderful. The wanderer explained to the young man that this balm can not only heal wounds, but also resurrect the dead. The delighted young man took the bottle of balm and gave the wanderer all his money for it.
The third groom, having found nothing, sadly wandered along the seashore and was about to throw himself off a cliff into the abyss of the sea, when he suddenly saw a large box floating on the waves. The box approached the shore, a small door opened in it, and people began to come out of it one after another. There were so many of them that the young man could not count them. The last one to come out was the old man, bowed to the groom and said:
- Young man, would you like to buy my box?
“I don’t need such an old box!” - exclaimed the sad young man. “It’s only good for firewood, but I’m looking for a gift for the bride that can’t be found anywhere in the world!”
“In that case, you won’t find anything better than this box,” answered the old man. “My box floats on the waves, flies through the air, runs along the ground itself, and before a stone thrown into the waves reaches the seabed, the box will carry you and your friends wherever you tell it to go.”
They came to an agreement, the young man gave all his money to the old man and became the owner of the magic box.
Before the sun had time to rise three times at noon, the three young men met.
- I found a wonderful gift that is not found anywhere in the world! - the first groom exclaimed joyfully and showed his mirror.
“My gift is even more wonderful,” said the second and took out a bottle of magic balm.
“I think that you both will give way to my gift,” said the third boastfully and pointed to a large box swinging on the waves near the shore.
The young men began to argue, and each insisted that his gift was the best, the rarest, that there was nothing better than his in the world.
Finally the first groom exclaimed:
- Try my gift in practice! Look in the mirror and you will see a girl as beautiful as the sun and capricious as the mountain wind.
All three looked in the mirror and recoiled in horror: the bride of the three grooms lay on the bed, motionless and without breathing.
- She's dead! - the first young man exclaimed in despair and began to cry.
- Don't cry! - the second consoled him. “My balm will revive her!”
“We’re too late,” the first objected. “By the time we get to the shores of Spain, she will already be buried, and no balm will save her.”
- We'll be there before the sun sets! - said the owner of the box. - Let's hurry to the sea: my wonderful ship will take us all to our homeland!
All three, forgetting about the recent dispute, rushed to the seashore. They ran into the box, the door slammed - burn! - and the wonderful box soared into the air. Before the sun had time to set, all three of the young men were already standing at the familiar gate. The old father ran out to meet them and, crying, announced to the suitors that they had arrived too late. But the young men boldly entered the house where the bride of the three grooms lay motionless and breathless. As soon as they sprinkled her lips with a wonderful balm, the girl smiled and stood up. The joy of the young men was boundless. And the girl came up to her father, hugged him and said:
“You see, father, I’m right: I needed all three, all three were useful to me.” If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have to see the sun again, and you wouldn’t have to hug me today. Now give me a year, and I will choose one of the three suitors and call him my husband. And don’t let the other two be angry with me: I can’t be the bride of three grooms. In addition, there are many beautiful girls in our village, and they can easily find friends after their hearts.
And so it was. A year passed, winter passed, almond trees bloomed again in the mountains, and in the village where the father and his daughter lived, three merry weddings took place at once. Guess for yourself which of the three brothers the bride chose as her husband!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru