In ancient times, on the southern slope of Arzayta Mountain lived an old woman with her only daughter. The girl was herding goats on a small hill, where she played and sang alone. One day, three brothers came from the direction of sunrise, very similar to each other. They started talking to the girl:
“We see that you are nice, hardworking and beautiful and that you sing so well.” We loved you. Choose for yourself which of us you like.
The beauty answers them:
- You are the same height, similar in appearance. You can't even be distinguished. I don't want to marry you because then your friendship will end.
Her brothers say to her:
- Our friendship will not be broken. Choose one of us who is more desirable to you.
The girl answers them:
- Well, okay, let it be as you want. Only I will marry the one who finds the most useful thing for a person’s life.
The brothers agreed. They came home, took 300 silver coins each, and headed straight south. They walked along the high road and stopped at a fork in three roads.
Elder brother says:
- Let's go in different directions. Let everyone try their fate. And then we will meet at the same place.
So they decided.
The elder brother went straight and came to a large country. There he saw many master carpenters. Near them lay a finished black sleigh of extraordinary beauty.
The young man asked:
— How much does your work cost? The master answers:
- 300 silver coins.
- Why is it so expensive, father? He explained:
“These sleighs are not simple, they can take a person to any place in an instant.
The young man took out his 300 silver coins, bought a sleigh, turned it in the direction from which he had come, and in the blink of an eye he found himself at a fork in three roads. Once again, turning the sleigh, the young man in the blink of an eye found himself in front of the masters, thanked them, said goodbye and returned to the fork of three roads, where he began to wait for the brothers.
The middle brother, who went to the left, came to a large shop and saw a richly decorated mirror there. The young man asked the seller about the price.
He replied:
- 300 silver coins. The young man says:
- A mirror is like a mirror. Why is it so expensive?
— This mirror is not an ordinary one. You can see whatever you want in him,” the seller told the young man.
The young man thought about the beautiful shepherdess. Looking in the mirror, he saw the same girl - she was tending her goats: she was sitting on a hill and singing. The young man immediately bought a mirror and returned to the fork in the road.
The younger brother, who went to the right, also came to the store and saw among the various goods something round and white, similar to sugar. The young man asked the price.
The seller answers:
- 300 silver coins.
- Why is it so expensive? - asks the young man.
“This is a medicine that resurrects a person,” the seller explained to the young man.
The young man bought medicine and returned to the fork in the road, and there his brothers were already waiting for him.
They started a conversation among themselves. Middle brother says:
- Do you want to see our sweet beauty?
“Since we set out on such a long journey because of her, of course we want to see her,” the brothers answer.
“Well, look,” said the young man and took out his mirror.
And they saw that the goats were grazing around the mound, and the girl was lying dead on the ground. The brothers shouted:
- Trouble! Trouble! Our beauty is dead! - and cried with grief.
Younger brother says:
- If I could get to her, I would resurrect her - I have good medicine.
The elder brother said:
- Hurry up and get into my sleigh, we will be there in a moment!
The three of them got into the magic sleigh and in the blink of an eye found themselves next to the girl. The younger brother poured his medicine into the girl’s mouth, and she immediately came to life. The brothers rejoiced. They began to argue about who the savior was.
The young man with the mirror says:
“If I hadn’t seen her in the mirror, we wouldn’t have known about the trouble.” I will take her as my wife.
The young man with the sleigh says:
“Even though you saw her in your mirror, you couldn’t have come here without my sleigh.” It is I who will take her as my wife.
The youngest said:
“Without my medicine, you would not have been able to revive her.” She will be my wife.
The brothers began to quarrel.
“Wait to quarrel,” the girl stopped them. “I told you that you’ll lose your friendship.” A wise old man lives here, let's go to him.
The old man decided this:
- Let the middle brother, who saw the girl in the mirror, take the girl as his wife.
“I don’t agree, let’s go to the khan,” said the girl.
Khan decided this:
- Let the eldest take the girl as his wife. brother, without his sleigh you would not have been able to come to her.
“You, Khan, cannot fairly resolve the dispute, so I will decide it myself,” the girl got angry. “All three brothers helped me, two of them still had a sleigh and a mirror, both of them lost nothing.” Only the younger brother has no more medicine, he has lost the most. I will marry him.
And they began to live and live well and make good money, and they began to have more and more livestock.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru