Once upon a time there lived a wise old man who spent his entire life serving as a herdmaster for the khan. He had three sons. He died and left them as an inheritance one horse for all of them. But although he did not leave wealth to his sons, they inherited his wisdom from the old man - all three grew up smart. And the horse they got was not an ordinary one. There was no faster horse in the world. His step was even. Jump on it with a bowl of water in your hands - not a drop will spill. His body was slender. Ears are sensitive. Joy shone in his eyes. This horse was so good that horse thieves could not help but notice him. And then one day, when the brothers were not at home, they broke the wall in the stable and took the horse away.
“If our horse is not there, we live in vain, we chew bread in vain,” said the brothers and went in search.
They traveled many roads, visited many villages, but nowhere could they find the loss. Finally one night they came to a village and went into a courtyard.
“Hey, who’s in the house?” the brothers shouted. The owner himself came out of the hut and invited them to enter.
-Where are you from, guests? Where are you going? What are you looking for?
“Our horse was stolen, and its trail led us to your gates.”
- What is he like, your horse?
“We have the best horse in the world.” There is no one in the world faster than him. This horse has an even stride: gallop with a bowl of water - you won’t spill a drop. His body is slender. Ears are sensitive. Joy shines in the eyes...
The owner heard these words and his face changed. But the heart tells the brothers: this is not clean!
“Bring back the horse, and we will not take revenge on you,” they promised the owner.
“The one who told you that your horse was here deceived you,” the owner assured.
“We not only know where our horse is,” the brothers answered him, “we can guess what’s in your hand.”
“Well, well,” he thought, “let me check them!” He went, took the nut in his hand and returned.
- What's in my hand?
“It seems to me that the thing you hold in your hand has strong skin,” said the elder brother, after thinking.
“And if the skin is strong, maybe it’s round?” said the middle one.
“And if the skin is strong and it’s round, then it’s a nut,” said the younger one. The owner was frightened and turned pale.
“Take your horse and leave,” he asked. “Just know: I didn’t steal it, I bought it.” And may it bring you happiness!
The brothers were glad that they had found their horse and set off on the return journey.
So they are going home and see: in one village many people have gathered in the middle of a large courtyard, making noise and arguing among themselves about something.
-What is the argument about? - the brothers asked.
“Our prince died and left two sons. And they will not share the wealth among themselves. For a whole week now people have been busy helping them divide up their property. They called all the wise men, but there was no sense in sight. Maybe you can help?
The three brothers consulted among themselves.
- Let's try! - They say.
They were invited into the house. And there sit princes, nobles, and rich people... The eldest son of the late prince stood up to meet the brothers:
- Judge us, guests! Dying, my father bequeathed to us all his wealth - gold and silver, herds and flocks, houses and stables, grandfather's gun and the emerald precious stone. And he took three oaths from us. “If you do not succeed in dividing equally the gold, silver and buildings, herds, herds and flocks,” said the father, “swear that you will divide everything as I myself divided in this chest. What lies on top is yours, eldest. What lies below is yours, youngest.” And the father pointed to the chest at the head of the head... We began to divide the property, and we had an argument, and we opened the chest, as we swore. And in the chest, look for yourself, there are chips and bones on top, and only shards below. How can we divide this garbage among ourselves? We cannot fulfill the first oath...
And the second oath was like this. “If you start quarreling over your grandfather’s gun,” said the father, “let the gun go to the one who loves me more.” And this is what we swore. But we are both sons of our father, we both love him. What should we do? Who should I give the gun to?
And our third oath was this. “You can’t split an emerald in two,” said the father. “Let the one of you who is more truthful receive it.” And on this we took an oath. And I am not a liar, and my brother is not a liar. Which of us two owns the emerald?
This is our dispute, honorable guests, and we are afraid that it will end in blood.
“We are three brothers here,” said the elder brother. “And you have three lawsuits.” I will take on the first lawsuit. The dispute about the gun will be resolved by my middle brother. And which of you should be awarded the emerald, our youngest will think... Now tell me, sons of the prince, what business do you love most in the world?
“What I like most is breeding purebred horses and raising flocks,” said the prince’s eldest son.
“And what I like most is saving money,” said the prince’s youngest son.
— What was your father richer in: gold and silver or buildings and livestock? - asked the older brother.
“He had everything equally,” the sons answered in one voice.
“Then your father divided you justly and wisely.” He assigned property to each of you according to his inclination. Bones and wood chips are livestock and buildings. He bequeathed them to his eldest son... The shards are silver and gold. He left them to his youngest son. This is what your chest says, and you don’t need to break your oath.
The people were surprised by the wisdom of their elder brother, and the prince’s sons were delighted.
- Thank you! “We are very pleased with your decision,” they thanked.
The first lawsuit ended, and now the middle brother stood up.
“I’ll tell you tomorrow who will get the gun,” he said. “In the meantime, bring a cart of clay, knead it and leave me alone.”
They brought a cart of clay. Kneaded. The middle brother went to the prince's widow and secretly asked her for princely clothes. He sculpted a statue from clay and dressed it in princely clothes. And when everything was ready, he covered the statue with a blanket and called the princess.
— Does this statue look like a prince? - he asked, lifting the covers.
“It’s similar,” answered the princess.
At the appointed time, the middle brother called everyone together and announced to the prince’s sons:
“The gun will go to the one who loves his father more.” He took the cover off the statue and said: “Aim straight at the heart!”
The prince's eldest son took the gun, took good aim and hit it right in the chest of the statue, where the heart was.
- Nice shot! Sharp shooter! - praised the middle brother.
He loaded the gun and handed it to the prince’s youngest son. I took that one. I aimed for a long, long time. And then he sighed and lowered the gun.
- What are you doing? - they ask him.
- I can’t! - answers. “I remembered my father, and I don’t have the strength to shoot.”
-You truly love your father. The gun belongs to you,” said the middle brother.
The people marveled at the intelligence of the middle brother. And then the younger brother stood up.
“Now it’s my turn to judge who gets the emerald,” he said. “Bring two bowls of wax here.”
They brought, as he said, two bowls of wax.
“I want to know what kind of emerald your father bequeathed to you.” “Take the wax,” he ordered the prince’s sons, “disperse so as not to see each other, and fashion this emerald for me.”
How much or how much time has passed, he calls the prince’s sons back.
The prince's eldest son sculpted a horse's head from wax.
And the younger one returned the bowl untouched.
“Father never showed us his emerald.” How could I sculpt it? - he said.
- Even though you assured that you never lie, you are still a liar! - The younger brother pointed to the eldest princely son. And he gave the emerald to the younger one.
The three brothers judged all three lawsuits in such a way that many wise men were unable to judge them, and they set off on their journey. They returned home, brought their beloved horse, and lived peacefully and amicably. But they had one concern. The brothers really wanted to have their own land! And the land all around is in the hands of princes and rich people.
And in nearby places the brothers searched, and in distant places there was not a single piece of free land... They thought and thought and came up with an idea. The brothers were young people, but they wanted to become respectable-looking people, so that they would be received with respect.
The brothers did not shave their beards or mustaches for six months. Overgrown like bears. They dressed up in homespun Circassian coats, sharpened their daggers, and tucked two pistols into their belts. They took the sticks and went to the prince, who had a lot of land. They boldly entered the yard and shouted at the top of their voices:
- Hey, who's in the house?
A servant met them and, as he looked at their faces, became frightened and began to bow low. But he came to his senses and led them into the house.
The guests sat down, talking, and the servant stood, looking at them with all his eyes. Then he ran and reported to the princess: so, they say, so, guests have arrived to us, they are talking to each other, but they have no mouths, it’s scary to even look at them.
“And we will see whether they have mouths or not,” said the princess and ordered honey to be served to the guests.
They placed a tripod table in front of the guests, and on it was a full plate of honey.
The guests rolled up their sleeves, dipped their fingers in honey, ran them over their mustaches, twirled their mustaches, opened their mouths and let’s eat the honey. They ate, washed, and again they had no mouths.
“Yes,” says the princess, “these are apparently respectable guests.” The prince will return and give them a great treat himself. In the meantime, I must offer a treat.
The princess called to the maid:
- Run to the chicken coop and catch the fat rooster. The maid went and pulled the fattest rooster off the perch by the legs. And the brothers saw it through the window.
“The house herald has already been killed,” said the elder brother.
“And if they fell off, it means he’ll soon gallop along on a three-legged horse,” responded the middle one.
“He won’t be happy if he gallops,” added the younger one. “We’ll twist him and push him through the narrow gate.”
While the guests were talking to each other like this, the servant stood next to them. His mouth is open, he listens, but doesn’t understand what they’re talking about...
He went and reported to the princess: so, they say, and so, the guests ask riddles to each other.
- What riddles are there! - the princess got angry. -The house herald is our rooster. The three-legged horse is a tripod table on which chicken will be served, and the narrow gate is the throat...
At midnight the prince himself returned home, and the princess told him what kind of guests they had in their house.
The prince did not sleep all night, thinking about the guests. The next morning I went into the kunatskaya and, when I saw the bearish faces of the three brothers, I was surprised and even retreated back.
The prince ordered a sheep to be slaughtered for the guests. He treated them himself. And for three days they slaughtered a ram for them and there was a feast in the princely house. On the fourth day the prince asks:
-Where are you from, guests? What's your business?
- Give us land! - say the brothers. - We want land! We don't need much. At least as much as we can wrap around the skins of three bulls.
“This is still divine!” - the prince rejoiced in his soul and said:
- Okay, I’ll give you as much land as you ask!
- Make sure you don't change your mind! - said the brothers. - We do not forgive anyone who deceives us!
“I’m not one of those who betrays their word,” the prince answered proudly. “I said it and it’s over!”
The brothers killed three bulls, tore off their skins and went to the prince’s field. Here they cut the skins first into belts, and then into thin grits. The brothers tied the rope into one cord and went to cover the ground. When the prince saw such a thing, he grabbed his hair and bit his elbows.
“Oh,” he says, “I didn’t think they’d trick me like that!”
But what could the prince do! There was nothing to say to him! The brothers measured out a large field for themselves and haven’t gone anywhere since then. They began to live quietly and plow their land.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru