Once upon a time there lived an old king. And he had three sons. One day the king called them to him and said:
“Our palaces and chambers are completely dilapidated, we need to build new ones.”
That’s what they did: they destroyed the old ones and built new ones. The king summoned all the inhabitants of the capital and showed them his palaces and chambers. Everyone shook their heads, gasped and praised. Only one old woman said:
- Long live you, king! Your palaces are good, but not very good: something is missing in them.
The king ordered all the buildings to be demolished and new ones to be erected, even better than the previous ones. And so they did. The king's sons destroyed these palaces and built new ones, even better than the previous ones. The king called people from half of his kingdom and showed them new palaces and chambers. Everyone shook their heads, gasped and praised. Only that same old woman came again and said:
- Long live you, king! Your palaces are good, but not very good: something is missing in them.
Again the king orders all the buildings to be demolished and new ones to be erected, even better than the previous ones. His sons built palaces and chambers and royal chambers of unprecedented beauty. The king called all the people from all over the kingdom and showed them his new palaces: people will not boast, they will not be arrogant.
That old woman came again and said:
“Your chambers are good, king, it couldn’t be better, but they are not worth much, since Azaran-Blbul, the thousand-voiced nightingale, does not live in them, does not sing.” Get yourself this nightingale, put it in a golden cage, and let it sing, sing, click, chirp and whistle in the palace
She said so and disappeared.
The next morning the king summons his Nazir-viziers and says:
- Go find Azaran-Blbbul.
And they answer:
- Long live you, king! How can we find him when we have never seen or heard of him?
Here his sons say to the king:
“Don’t be sad, father, we’ll go and get this nightingale.”
They set off on their way. Whether the walk was long or short, they know better, they reached a beautiful garden, greeted the gardener and asked him:
— Three roads start from your garden, where do they lead?
The gardener answers them:
— The upper road leads to the city of Baki, the middle one to the city of Shaki, and whoever goes along the lower one will never return.
“Well,” says the younger brother, “you, the older brother, go to Baki, and you, the middle one, go to Shaki, and I’ll take the lower road, let’s see what happens.” Whoever returns first should wait with this gardener for the others.
The brothers separated, each going their own way. The eldest reached Baki, the middle one reached Shaka, and the youngest went on and on along the road to where there is no return. Whether he walked for a long time or for a short time, he knows better, he reached a big house. A gray-haired old man sits near the house. The young man bowed to him and continued on his way.
As soon as he had taken a few steps, the old man called out to him:
- Hey, young man, come here!
He approached the old man, and he asked him:
-Where are you going, son?
— I’m going after Azaran-Blbul.
“I,” says the old man, “guard the local king and his treasure Azaran-Blbbula.” I killed many people who were hunting for the thousand-voiced nightingale. Everyone who came here never returned. And so be it, I’ll help you: you didn’t pester me, didn’t beg, n
The younger brother put on his invisibility cap, went into the palace and hid in a corner. Soon the king appeared with his retinue. The servants set the tables for them and provided them with food and drink. After dinner the king was put to bed. And everyone left. As soon as the king fell asleep, the young man came out of his corner. He sees a beautiful dagger hanging on the wall. He took the dagger from the wall and tied it to his belt. He looked around and there was a royal pipe on the table, decorated with diamonds. He put it in his pocket. He approached the royal bed. I saw amber rosary beads on the carpet. I also took my rosary. He looked at the sleeping king, and this was not a king at all, but a girl of unprecedented beauty. He kissed her on the cheek, then the other, took the cage with Azaran-Blbul from the wall and left.
He got back to the gardener, but the brothers had not yet returned.
“Well,” says the younger brother to the gardener, “take this dagger, you will need it for something, and also keep Azaran-Blbbul, the thousand-voiced nightingale, until my return.”
The younger brother went along the middle road and reached the city. Suddenly he sees: the middle brother is coming towards him. He walks, swaying, bending his knees, dragging a huge bag on his back.
Younger brother says:
- How did you, brother, come to this? The king's son - and suddenly became a porter! What, has the treasury of our father, the king, become impoverished? Drop your luggage, come with me.
He took his brother to a rich shop, dressed and shod him, and then fed him.
- How much should I pay you? - he asks the merchant.
— Five gold coins.
He gave the amber rosary to the merchant.
“Take it,” he says, “as collateral; As soon as I send you the money, you will return the rosary to me.
The merchant did not argue, took the rosary and hung it on the wall, on a nail.
The younger brother of the middle one took him to the gardener.
“Shelter,” he says, “my middle brother, and I’ll go look for the older one.”
He took the upper road. I reached the city. Suddenly he sees his elder brother coming towards him, driving two donkeys ahead of him. And these donkeys are carrying bags of garbage.
The younger brother tells him:
- How did you, brother, come to this? The king's son - and suddenly got hired as a garbage man! Give up your donkeys, come with me.
He took his brother to a rich shop, dressed and shod him, and then fed him.
- How much should I pay you for all this? - he asks the merchant.
— Five gold coins.
He gave the merchant a pipe decorated with diamonds.
“Take it,” he says, “as a deposit; As soon as I send you the money, you will return the phone to me.
The merchant picked up the phone and hung it on the wall.
The younger and older brothers came to the gardener, called the middle one and went home.
They walked, whether it was long or short, they knew better.
The younger brother began to lag behind - he was very tired. And the eldest and middle ones were up to no good. They became envious that it was not they, but their younger brother who got the precious nightingale. The brothers reached the well, covered it with a rug and sat down at the edges. And when the younger brother approached them, they said to him in sweet voices:
- Sit down, brother-jan, rest.
And when the younger brother sat down in the middle, they both stood up at once, the younger one and fell into the well. The elder brothers grabbed the precious nightingale Azaran-Blbul - and ran to their father, to the king.
And the younger brother sits in the well, freezing, trembling and cannot get out.
A rich merchant usually passed along this road with his caravan. He walked this time too. He wanted to draw water from a well, and he saw a handsome young man sitting in the well.
- Hey, what are you doing here? – he called out to the young man.
“Well,” the younger brother lied, “I was walking in the dark at night and stumbled, now I don’t know how to get out of here.”
The merchant threw him a rope, pulled him out and asked:
-Whose son are you, young man?
“Nobody,” answers the younger brother. - I have neither father nor mother.
- Then be my son, I have lived childless all my life.
He took the young man with him, put on shoes and clothes, taught him how to trade, and they began to live amicably and happily.
Meanwhile, the young king (and it was, as you remember, not a king, but a girl in disguise), the owner of Azaran-Blbula, woke up in the morning and saw that his priceless thousand-voiced nightingale had disappeared. And the rosary was stolen, and the dagger was not visible, and the pipe decorated with diamonds was also missing. He calls his nazi viziers and orders them to gather an army and prepare for the campaign.
When the king and his army reached the gardener, he was stupefied: in the garden the gardener was waving his dagger and sharpening his pegs. The Nazir-viziers rushed to beat and beat the gardener, and he begged.
“Stop,” he says, “don’t ruin it.” I don't need this dagger. I just can’t buy an ax due to poverty, so I used it instead of an axe. A nice young man gave me this dagger.
The king asks:
- Where did this young man go?
The gardener answers:
- He took the middle road.
The king turns his troops onto the middle road. They reach the city, enter the shop and see: amber rosaries hanging on the wall.
— What is the price of these rosary beads? - they ask.
“Five gold coins,” the merchant answers.
The king paid and took the rosary. They came to the gardener again and asked where else this young man had gone.
“The upper road,” answers the gardener.
They went and reached the city, looked into a shop there, and saw a pipe decorated with diamonds hanging on the wall.
— How much does this tube cost? - asks the king.
“Five gold coins,” the merchant answers.
The king paid and left. And again they returned to the gardener and asked:
- Which way did this young man go?
The gardener showed.
The young king reached the city where the old king lived with his two eldest sons. He sent messengers ahead and ordered them to say these words:
“Let the one who stole Azaran-Blbula come out, or we will raze the entire city to the ground.”
The old king called his sons and said:
- Go to the owner of the nightingale.
The older brothers went to the young king, and he asked them:
- Well, tell me how you got Azaran-Blbbula.
And the brothers shrug their shoulders.
- How? - They say. - Yes, they entered your chambers and took it.
“It’s a lie,” the young king got angry. “Get away, and don’t let me see you again!”
Sending messengers again. But the old king cannot understand anything, he announces to the whole country: show yourself, he who got the thousand-voiced nightingale, otherwise his owner will burn and trample our entire country, leaving no stone unturned.
This news also reached the younger brother.
“Api,” he says to his adoptive father, “let’s go see what all the excitement is about.”
- What do we care about this! - says the merchant. – You and I didn’t mine Azaran-Blbbul.
“We’ll still go,” says the young man.
They came to the old king. The young man changed his appearance so that the king would not recognize him.
“Long live to you for many years, king,” says the young man with a bow. “I ask you to reward this merchant adequately, but for what, I know better.” I will serve you for this - I will drive the owner of Azaran-Blbul out of your possessions.
The younger brother came to the young king.
“Long live to you for many years, king,” he says. “Someone stole your priceless nightingale, and you want to destroy all the innocent people for it.” Shame on you! It was I who took away Azaran-Blbul, with me alone and do whatever you want.
“Tell me how you got it,” asked the young king.
- Yes. He passed by the old man, took the invisibility cap from him, and when you went to bed after dinner, he took your rosary, pipe and dagger from you, took the cage with the nightingale and left. That's it.
“Yes,” says the young king. - It's really you. Well, come out and fight. If you defeat me, the nightingale is yours; if not, I will cut off your head.
They grabbed each other, and the youth threw the young king down with one hand and pressed him with his knee.
“Well, you won,” says the young king. “It was predicted to me that the one who would kidnap Azaran-Blbula from me and defeat me in a fight would be my husband.” I’m not a king, but a girl is a king’s daughter.
“I know,” says the young man, “I saw it back then when you were sleeping.”
They held hands and went to the old king. And in the royal chambers the nightingale Azaran-Blbul, who until this moment had been silent, sings and bursts into a thousand voices, so that the heart takes off its shoes and the soul freezes.
- Why did he sing? - asks the king.
“And because,” the youngest son answers, “his owner is here, and whoever got him was also found.” Long live you, king! Don't you recognize your youngest son?
And he told his father everything that happened.
At that very moment the king ordered his vile sons to be expelled from the country. He called together musicians and other musicians from all over the country and arranged a magnificent wedding for his youngest son.
It happens that all wishes come true.
Let yours be fulfilled too.
1 Kokh - Armenian national wrestling.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru