Once upon a time, there lived a king and a queen, and they had three sons. The king loved the eldest and middle ones very much: they were courageous warriors and successful hunters. But the king did not favor the younger one: the young man spent days and nights reading ancient books, and did not want to know any other pleasures. The queen, on the contrary, distinguished the older brothers from the youngest and always stood up for him before his father.
So they lived and lived, and suddenly a disaster happened: the king’s eyes hurt. They brought doctors to him both from their own lands and from foreigners - not a single medicine worked for future use, the king became blind.
One day a wanderer came into the palace, learned about the ruler’s illness and said that only healing soil from a country that was four months away, and in which direction, he did not know, could help him. Immediately both older brothers decided to go for medicine and came to their parent for a blessing. The king blessed his sons, and so that the king’s children would not need anything on the way, he gave them each a beautiful horse and gold for the journey.
The youngest found out where the brothers had gone and rushed to his mother:
- Ask for a parental blessing for me, mother! “Where are you going, child,” the mother was surprised, “you can’t handle such a path.” Your brothers are such daredevils. - No, mother! What I know from learned books, the brothers do not know. They will not be able to find that distant kingdom and obtain the wonderful land!
What can you do? The mother went to the king and told him everything. At first the king was angry:
“I don’t need this literate guy’s help!” Where his eldest sons went, he has nothing to do!
The queen began to cry and begged even more for her youngest. Finally the king agreed:
“Have it your way, let him go!” I'll give him a nasty little horse and a handful of copper coins.
The queen told her son about his father’s decision, the young man was delighted, and that same day he got ready and set off. I rode for four days without rest - I caught up with my brothers. His brothers saw him and were surprised:
- What do you need here, literate? - The same as for you! - Are you really good for anything? Our father is unfortunate if he expects help from you! - exclaimed the elder. - Eh, I’ll try, maybe it’ll work out!
Then the middle brother turned to the elder and said:
“We shouldn’t drive away this literate guy.” Surely he learned from books where the unknown kingdom was and how to get there. And then we’ll decide what to do with it. “You’re right,” the elder agreed.
And the three brothers continued their journey.
Two months passed, and they finally reached a place where the road diverged into three directions. The brothers stopped, wondering which road to choose. Then the literate man came forward and said:
“My beloved brothers, I read that each of these three paths leads to the kingdom we need, but these paths are dangerous, and people do not come here. On the road on the right, a hurricane awaits the traveler and will carry him right under the clouds. If the rider stays in the saddle for twenty days, he is saved; if not, he will be lost forever. On the road to the left, fire and smoke await the traveler; for twenty days he will have to make his way through the fires. The middle road is guarded by evil spirits - fighting devils and a huge dragon, in an instant they devour all living things. I have not read about other paths to a distant kingdom; apparently, they are unknown to scientists. Now choose which path each of you will take, and I will take the remaining one.
The brothers thought. The eldest chose the right path, the youngest - the left. And the literate man got the road in the middle. Again he said to his elder brothers:
“My beloved brothers, now each of us will go our own way; dangers and adventures await us ahead.” Let's leave a ring here, under a big stone at the fork in three roads, and pick up the rings on the way back, then we'll see who returned before the others.
And this time the literate brothers listened. They put the rings under the stone and went in different directions.
The elder brother traveled for ten days - and there was not a soul around. Finally he reached a place where a hurricane was blowing. How it began to be lifted from the ground! At first it lifted a little above the ground, and then higher and higher - to the very clouds! The older brother got scared and turned back. I got to the fork in three roads, took my ring from under the stone, went to a small town nearby and began to wait for my brothers at the inn.
The middle brother also drove for a long time along the deserted road. Ten days later he sees: there is fire and smoke ahead, the heat begins to wash over him - the flames are blazing all around! The young man got scared and turned his horse back. I got to the fork in three roads, took my ring from under the stone, looked, and my brother’s ring was gone! Therefore, the elder brother also returned. The middle brother went to a small town nearby and found his older brother at the inn - the two of them began to wait for the literate one.
And the youngest royal son got, as we have already said, the middle road. Not a road, but a swamp, mud and quagmire. Neither an animal wandered there, nor a bird flew into it. So he made his way for ten days, he really wanted to get to the unknown kingdom and get the blind king a wonderful medicine. The quagmire ended, the literate dismounted, let his horse graze on the grass, and he lay down to rest and think about what to do next, how to deceive the devils and the huge dragon, who in an instant devour all living things and do not allow anyone to the magical land.
And those fights with their mother dragon lived in a huge palace - just a day's journey from the swamp bog where the literate man had ended up. Their grandfather, the dragon, lived much further away. And he was so huge and evil that even his own grandchildren were afraid of him.
Finally the literate man came up with a trick. He remembered that the old books said that the younger brother of the Dracs was lost, and decided to pass himself off as the youngest, lost son.
The literate man got on his horse and set off. The next day he reached the palace of the fights, waited for the sun to rise high (the young man knew from books that the fights left the house early in the morning and returned late in the evening), drove up to the fence and looked into the yard. He sees the dragon sitting alone. The literate dismounted, hid the horse in a secluded place and entered the palace.
The dragon became furious when she saw the man - she’ll eat him now! But the sly man immediately rushed to her:
“Ah, dear mother, I’m finally back!” Don't you recognize your youngest? - The youngest one? — the draken was surprised. - But why do you look so human? - Per person? Oh, don't tell me! People kidnapped me, all these years I suffered in their captivity! - Why are you so tiny, haven’t grown up at all? I should look at my brothers! - Oh, mother, but from such a hard life, I began to not only grow, but decrease!
I felt sorry for my draken son. She hugged him, kissed him, and fed him well.
Evening came, the mother hid her youngest son so that he would not be accidentally eaten by fights. Not much time passed - the fighters gathered, thirty-nine fights, sat in the large hall, laughing and relaxing. Then the draken entered the hall and said:
- Greetings from your missing brother. He was found!
The fighters jumped out of their places, made noise, and asked the dragon to quickly show them his brother.
“Calm down, and I’ll bring him,” the dragon replies. - But don’t try to offend him! Then you won't be happy! - We won’t touch you! We won't hurt you! Don't be afraid! - they started shouting.
My brother's mother brought him. When the literati saw the fights, they made a noise again:
- Bah! Yes, this is not our brother at all! That one wasn't so tiny! Well, just the spitting image of a man! “No,” answered the dragon, “I thought so too at first.” And now I see that this is him, my youngest. Apparently it was hard for him, so he never grew up.
They believed the fights in the words of their mother, surrounded the literate man - well, kiss him, hug him and question him... For three days the literate man lived happily in the palace near the fights. On the fourth I began to question them:
-What is that mountain in the distance? “The mountain is simple, it lies next to the sea, and in the middle of the mountain there is a road.” Our grandfather the dragon guards that road, his head resting against the sky. No one can pass by the dragon, no one can fly by. Even we, the fighters, are afraid of him! Grandfather guards the road to the kingdom with healing soil, it instantly removes all ailments!
“Well,” said the literate man, “if this is our grandfather, I’ll go and meet him.” Perhaps you will stop being afraid of him!
- No, that won’t work! — fights broke out. - We won't let you in! He will eat you! “Don’t ask, I’ll go anyway, I’ll clear the road so that you can walk along it without fear!”
The literate man took an iron club, jumped on the horse and set off. I drove all day, and in the evening I saw a monster in the distance. The daredevil waited for darkness, quietly crept up to the dragon and hit him with a club. And then he spurred the horse harder and galloped forward. The dragon turns its head back and forth, now it will grab and tear the offender to pieces, but there is no trace of him. The monster rushed in pursuit and collapsed dead. The earth shook, water from the sea splashed out to the very sky, and great thunder echoed across the earth.
So the literate man reached the kingdom with a wonderful, healing land. Cheerful, contented, he enters the city, and lo and behold, wherever he looks, everything is engulfed in sleep. And it is clear that sleep overcame the residents suddenly, everyone was minding their own business and suddenly fell asleep. The workshops are wide open, and the artisans are sleeping - some with a needle, some with a hammer in their hands. Shopkeepers don’t let go of the scales even in their sleep, and one peasant, as he was loading something onto a cart, froze motionless, overcome by sleep...
The daredevil felt uneasy, and then he remembered that he had read about such things in scientific books. There are places in the world where people sleep for six months. So he calmed down. You just can’t guess how long ago this kingdom went into sleep and when it will wake up. The daredevil decided to hurry up, just in case.
The literate drove up to the royal palace, walked through the wide open doors, past the guards sleeping standing at attention, and ended up in the royal chambers. The sleeping king sits on the throne in all his royal attire and with a crown on his head. And in the middle of the hall, near a huge cypress tree surrounded by a crystal fence, a whole squad of guards is sleeping. Not otherwise, they are guarding the wonderful land that heals blind eyes, the literate realized. He got off the horse, tied it to the fence, walked behind the fence and dug up wonderful soil with a knife. And then he put that earth in a bag and hid it on his chest.
The young man was getting ready to head back. “Let me,” he thinks, “let me walk around the palace and see how people live here.” He began to walk through the halls - one was more beautifully decorated than the other, he saw all sorts of miracles, finally he went into a small room and stood rooted to the spot. She sees a girl of unwritten beauty, everything around is illuminated by her radiance! When the young man saw her, he immediately fell in love with her, and if only he could take the beauty as his wife! And the girl is sleeping. The scholar came closer to her, took the embroidered scarf from the beauty’s hands, took the ring off her finger, and put on his own ring in return. And when he left, he leaned over and kissed the beauty with all his heart on both cheeks. From this kiss two roses fell. The young man bent down, picked up the roses, and he himself hoped: the girl would wake up, see the ring and let him know about herself.
With that, the literate left the palace and the sleep-covered kingdom. He galloped tirelessly, and so he dismounted near the fighting’s dwelling. What a joy! The little brother has returned, safe and sound! Drakena doesn’t know where to seat his son, what to treat him with... Three days passed like this. He thinks literately, ponders how to escape unnoticed. I was completely homesick!
He says to the draken:
“Something made me sad, mother.” I’ll go for a walk behind the fence and dispel my longing for the fresh breeze.
She released the cunning draken out of the gate, and he jumped on the horse and, well, raced it.
I drove a little way, and a swamp and quagmire began. The little horse began to drown, floundering in the mud, could not get out, the swamp was about to swallow her up along with the daring rider! Then the young man accidentally dropped one rose. Lo and behold, where there was a swamp and a swamp, it has become a dry place! The king's son got out onto the flat road and, well, spurred on the little horse.
And then evening came. The fights returned home, they learned from their mother that their brother went for a walk and did not return, and they realized that this was not a brother, but a real person. All thirty-nine of them rushed in pursuit; it was necessary to grab the sly man before he reached the swampy place: the path through the swamp was closed to fights. Here the literate gallops, he sees that the chase is overtaking him, and is about to grab him. “I’ll throw another rose! She saved me once, maybe she’ll help me out of trouble another time?” The letterman took out a rose and threw it behind him. The swamp and water spread out behind the rider, fights broke out in all directions, but the young man was already far away!
The youngest king's son finally reached the fork in three roads. He picked up the stone, and under it there was only one ring. He realized that the older brothers had returned with nothing. The young man took his ring and went to a nearby town to spend the night, and in the morning let’s ask the owner of the inn:
“Tell me, good man, didn’t two young men stay here?” - Why, I saw them! They haven’t gone anywhere, but live in my inn. In the beginning there were noble and proud, well, pure princes, but over time they were spent. They all ran out of money, sold their horses, exchanged clothes for food, and today they went to work for a piece of bread, one to the baker, the other to the cook! I really don’t know what will come of this idea; they don’t know how to do anything!
He felt sorry for the literate brothers, found them and said:
- Find two good horses - we’ll go home! “We know where you can buy excellent horses, but they are very expensive.” “The more expensive, the better,” answered the younger brother and gave them money.
The brothers went to the merchants and bargained for their own horses, which they sold due to lack of money.
Meanwhile, the younger brother took out two identical bags, poured plain earth into them, and hid the bag with the wonderful earth-medicine deeper in his bosom. The brothers returned, he gave them bags of plain earth, but not a word about how he got it and what happened to him on the way.
So all three set off on their way back. The older brothers gallop proudly on beautiful horses, and the younger brothers are cowardly behind on a filthy horse. They drove like this and drove, and their native land was not far away. And then the brothers decided to get rid of the literate man.
The deceivers knew that there was a dry well nearby nearby, and they agreed that the elder would go ahead, they say, to light a fire for dinner, and he would cover the well pit with a carpet. A literate person will sit on that carpet and fall down. No sooner said than done. The literate man got off his horse, walked up to the carpet and as soon as he stepped on it, he fell into a hole.
And the brothers jumped on their horses and by morning they were already in their home. They raced to the royal chambers, put the magic earth on their father's eyes, and... nothing happened!
The brothers realized what was going on, they realized that the land was not real, but they did not dare to say a word about it. And the queen was told that when they parted with the literate man at the fork in three roads, he had not been seen since then.
And this is what happened to the literate people at that time. The poor fellow spent two days at the bottom of the well. He screamed and shouted, but no one heard his screams. The young man was hoarse, his hands were torn, his face was bruised. You can’t climb out on your own - the hole is painfully deep! What should a poor person do? On the third day, fortunately for him, a shepherd brought his flock to these places. The shepherd heard someone calling from the well, bent down and saw the man. Then the shepherd took off his belt and threw it down. The young man gave the shepherd royal gifts and went home.
At night he came to the city, secretly made his way into the palace and straight into the queen’s chambers. The mother of the youngest saw him, kissed him, and asked:
- Where have you been, son, why did you stay so long? “I was, mother, in a distant kingdom and brought my father a wonderful medicine!”
With these words, the young man took the bag from his neck, took out the healing earth from it and gave it to his mother, but he did not tell the queen how he got it, just in case.
For a long time the queen persuaded her husband to try a new medicine: the king did not want to hear about the literate man and his land. And then I thought: “I’ll try again, maybe I’ll see the light!”
The king put some earthen soil on his eyes and at that very moment he received his sight! Then the father was filled with great gratitude to his youngest son, who brought him healing from a serious illness.
But the older brothers did not sleep here either. They immediately ran to the king and slandered the literate: he stole the good land that they had obtained with such difficulty, and in return he poured empty roadside dust into bags in order to laugh at his brothers and receive his father’s gratitude! But the king was angry. He became incensed when he heard about such treachery, and drove his youngest son out of sight! The poor fellow had to move into a secluded room in the backyard and walk through the back streets so as not to be seen by his own priest.
Meanwhile, the appointed time came, and the inhabitants of the distant kingdom, in which there was a wonderful, healing land, woke up from sleep and, as if nothing had happened, returned to their daily affairs. We woke up from sleep in the royal palace and immediately discovered that the healing soil was a little lacking. This means that someone else has been here! But who? The king and queen were at a loss. Only the tsar’s daughter realized from the ring on her hand that some prince from distant lands had visited their palace. I understood and became sad: how to find the young man? The girl decided to go in search of her fiance. So she changed into a man’s dress, came to her father and said:
- Bless me, father, on my long journey! I’ll go look for my betrothed, who took my ring and left his own in return!
The king blessed his daughter and sent two faithful elders with her to take care of the girl, and a squad to guard her.
With that, the princess set off on a journey and traveled around many kingdoms, but all to no avail, until she finally arrived in the homeland of the literate man. The travelers stopped at an inn, began asking questions about this and that, and learned that the local king was sick with his eyes and had already despaired of seeing the light if his eldest sons had not brought a wonderful healing land from a distant kingdom.
The travelers immediately went to the palace and said that they wanted to talk to the king. The king received the guests with cordiality, and the girl said:
“We learned, Your Majesty, that your eyes did not see white light.” My father also suffers from his eyes. Please tell us where the miraculous medicine is, what brought you healing, and how to get it.
“The wonderful remedy that you want to know about, O young man,” answered the king, “is healing earth.” My children brought it to me. But I don’t know how to get that land and where it lies. And now I’ll tell you to call your sons here, and they will tell you everything without hiding.
The older brothers came to the call, their girlfriend began to question them, but what good were they? One repeats: “I rode through fire and smoke for twenty days until I found the magical land!” And the other argues with him: “No, it was I who withstood the hurricane whirlwind, flew under the clouds for twenty days until I got the magic land!”
The king could not understand anything from their speeches, he only became angry. Then they remembered about the literate man and sent for him. And the young man, as soon as he entered, recognized in the stranger a princess from a distant kingdom. He began to tell how he got to the wonderful land, how his brothers threw him into a well, how he was saved, and finally he took out an embroidered handkerchief, showed it to the wanderer and asked:
- Do you recognize whose handkerchief this is? Or maybe you are familiar with this ring?
Then the foreigner addressed the king with the following speech:
“Here, sir, is your son, who has obtained medicine for you.” And I am the daughter of the ruler of that wonderful land. I dreamed of finding out who the daredevil was that visited us and put this ring on my hand!
The king was moved by such speeches, called the queen, and they immediately blessed the young people. And then they prepared a magnificent wedding and feasted for a whole month.
And I had a good feast - I ate an excellent pea kebab!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru