A poor man lived in an old sakla. He had three sons. They all went to the mountains together to cut down wood for the prince. One day the old man caught a cold and fell ill. Feeling that he could no longer rise, he called his sons, sat them down in front of him and said:
- The time has come for us to part. Don't worry about me. Live together. Let everyone remember: it is easy to be bad, it is difficult to be good. And place a large piece of rock salt on my grave. Don't forget to visit there.
Father died. The sons buried him with honors, then they got a block of salt, hewed him and placed him on the grave. Every day one of the three visited their father’s grave. And the brothers began to notice that the block of salt was getting smaller and smaller day by day. The eldest son suggested:
“We need to guard our father’s grave at night.” Apparently, someone liked our salt.
The brothers agreed. The elder brother went first. He came to the grave, measured the height of the salt block with a string, and tied a knot for memory. Then he spread out an old cloak, lay down and waited. I waited and waited, but as soon as it got dark I couldn’t stand it and fell asleep.
This happened for three nights in a row.
On the fourth day, before returning home, the elder brother took out a string, applied it and noticed that the salt block had shrunk.
The second to go to guard the salt was the middle of the brothers. He came to the grave and measured the height of the block with a string. Then he spread out an old cloak, lay down and waited. He waited and waited, and night had already come, and he kept bracing himself so as not to fall asleep. But at midnight I couldn’t stand it and fell asleep.
This happened for three nights in a row.
On the fourth day, getting ready to go home, the middle brother applied the string and noticed that there was less salt.
The youngest of the brothers, Ali, went third. He came to the grave, but did not measure the block, but took out his bow, chose a stronger arrow, put an old cloak on the ground, sat down and waited. I waited and waited, and midnight had already passed, but no one was there. Ali sits and does not let go of the bow. And just as it was beginning to get light, he saw a black cloud approaching from the mountain and descending on the grave.
Ali shouted:
- Hey you, black cloud! Whether you are a spirit, a man, or a beast - stop!
And the black cloud falls lower and lower to the ground.
Ali pulled the string and released the arrow. I fell right into the middle of the cloud. The cloud suddenly turned into a black horse. “That’s who liked our salt! Apparently, magic horses love to lick salt no less than ordinary ones,” Ali realized. He rushed to the black horse and jumped on it. The horse immediately soared up and circled the sky seven times from end to end. Then he sank to the ground, shook his mane, snorted and, pleased, said in a human voice:
“Now there’s not a grain of sand on me!” Ali objected:
- Except me, horseman! The black horse realized that the rider was not a timid one. You'll have to submit to him.
“From now on, you are my master, and I am your faithful horse.” Go down to the ground, pluck a hair from my mane and hide it. When you need me, rub it in your hands, and I will appear, no matter how far away I am,” said the black horse.
Ali got off his horse, pulled out a hair from his mane, and the black horse rushed away.
On the second night, Ali again began to guard the grave. When it began to get light, he saw a white cloud approaching from the mountain.
Ali shouted:
- Hey you, white cloud! Whether you are a spirit, a man, or a beast - stop!
And the white cloud falls lower and lower to the ground. Ali pulled the bowstring and released an arrow, which hit right in the middle of the cloud. Suddenly it turned into a white horse. “This horse also wanted salt,” thought Ali. Without wasting a moment, he rushed to the white horse and jumped astride it. The magic horse immediately soared up and flew around the sky twenty-seven times. Then the horse sank to the ground, shook his mane, snorted and, pleased, said in a human voice:
“Now there’s not a grain of sand on me!” Ali objected:
- Except me, horseman!
The white horse realized that the rider was not a timid one. You'll have to submit to him.
“From now on, you are my master, and I am your faithful horse.” Pluck a hair from my mane and hide it. When you need me, rub it in your hands and I will appear,” said the white horse.
Ali got off his horse, pulled out a hair from his mane, and the white horse rushed off. Ali hid the white hair where he had the black one.
On the third night he again sat on the burqa to guard the grave. It was just beginning to get light, and he saw a red cloud approaching from the mountain.
Ali shouted:
- Hey you, red cloud! Whether you are a spirit, a man, or a beast - stop!
And the red cloud sinks lower and lower to the ground.
Ali pulled the bowstring and released an arrow, which hit right in the middle of the cloud. Suddenly it turned into a red horse. “And you got into the habit of licking salt!” - Ali exclaimed, jumped on top of him and grabbed his mane with both hands. The horse soared up and flew around the sky eighty-three times. Then he sank to the ground, shook his mane, snorted and, pleased, said in a human voice:
“Now there’s not a grain of sand on me!” Ali objected:
- Except me, horseman!
The red horse realized that the rider was not a timid one. You'll have to submit to him.
“From now on, you are my master, and I am your faithful horse.” Go down to the ground, pluck a hair from my mane and hide it. When you need me, rub it in your hands and I will appear,” said the red horse.
Ali got off his horse, pulled out a hair from his mane, and the red horse rushed away. Ali hid the red hair where he had the white and black hair, and went home. He didn’t tell his brothers anything, but only said that no one would touch the salt on their father’s grave again.
While Ali was guarding the grave, a rumor reached their village that the prince of that side was giving his three daughters in marriage. Anyone can woo, but only the one who wins the competition with other horsemen will receive the prince's daughter.
The older brothers decided to go and try their luck. They saddled their horses and set off. They didn’t take Ali with them:
“The three of us can’t ride on two horses, they’ll laugh at us.” But we don’t have a third horse. And you have nothing to do there - how can you compete with the best horsemen!
Ali said nothing in response. When the brothers were already far from home, he took out a black hair and rubbed it in his hands. Immediately a black horse appeared in front of him.
- Ready to serve you, Ali. Where do you want to go?
“To the prince’s castle,” Ali said briefly. “Just go along the road, you don’t have to fly through the sky.”
The black horse rushed along a narrow mountain road. He caught up and left Ali's older brothers behind. They respectfully responded to the unfamiliar rider's greeting, looked after him, and the middle brother said:
- How similar this horseman is to our brother Ali!
And the younger brother kept jumping forward. The black horse argued with the wind, struck sparks from the stones, and at sharp turns, where Ali tried to hold him back, he bit the bit with impatience.
And then they reached the prince’s possessions. Approaching the castle, Ali expected to see a crowd of horsemen. But the square in front of the castle was empty. Only at the entrance to the castle was the old prince sitting in a chair and warming his old bones in the sun. Next to him stood a guard - two warriors with sabers. Ali greeted the prince and asked:
-Where are the rest of the horsemen? Maybe I arrived too early?
“You’re late, horseman,” said the prince, looking at Ali with a sly grin. “Your rivals have been on their way for a long time: two days have passed, two nights have passed, and now the third day is coming to an end.”
- Bright Prince, where are they going? If you told me, look, I’ll catch up with them.
The prince shrugged his shoulders, but answered:
— There is a spring at the foot of Mount Kazbek. Next to him a large pear tree grows, and under the tree there is a jug. In that jug is my eldest daughter’s ring. Whoever gets there first, gets the ring and brings it here, will be the groom.
Ali spurred his magic horse. The black horse rushed in the direction where the rivals had galloped the day before. Now he did not run along the road, but flew through the air, outrunning the wind. And not an hour had passed - Ali overtook all the horsemen. I overtook them, got to Kazbek, found a spring with a pear tree, and under the pear tree - a jug with a ring. He took the ring and turned it back. The sun was still high when Ali returned to the princely castle with a ring in his hand. The prince was surprised, but did not break the agreement.
“You are worthy of my eldest daughter.” But I will celebrate the wedding for all three daughters at once. Go back to your home and wait. When all the daughters have grooms, I will announce. Then come.
The older brothers saw how the rider on the black horse gave the ring to the old prince, but did not recognize Ali. They themselves had just arrived.
“We missed our eldest daughter,” said the middle brother. “We need to get up early tomorrow.” Maybe the middle one will go to one of us.
And they turned the horses home. We arrived, and the younger brother was already there - busy at the saklya, repairing the roof, as if he had never thought of leaving the yard. He saw the brothers and asked:
- Whose horse came first today? Who will become the groom of the prince's eldest daughter?
- Why do you need to know this? After all, you are still young! To tell the truth, he looked like you, but he was sitting on a horse that you had never seen in your life,” Ali heard in response.
At dawn the brothers began to saddle their horses again. And again they didn’t take Ali.
As soon as they left the village, Ali took out a white hair and rubbed it in his hands. A white horse appeared to him:
- Ready to serve you, Ali. Where do you want to go?
The young man said that he intended to compete with those horsemen who would today woo the prince’s middle daughter.
“Let’s go to the prince’s castle,” he ordered the horse. “Just ride along the road, not across the sky.”
The white horse rushed along the narrow mountain road. He overtook Ali's older brothers. They respectfully responded to the unknown rider's greeting, looked after him, and the middle brother said again:
- How similar this horseman is to our brother!
And the younger brother kept jumping forward. A white horse argued with the wind and struck sparks from the stones. On sharp turns, where Ali tried to hold him back, he bit the bit with impatience.
The prince's courtyard was full of people. Dzhigits came in large numbers, apparently and invisible. Everyone dreamed of marrying a beautiful girl, the prince’s middle daughter. And the prince announced:
“The groom will only be the horseman who, on his horse, climbs that mountain over there the fastest and brings me a feather from the eagle’s nest.”
The horsemen were confused: the mountain was steep, there was no tree, no bush, no ledge anywhere - there was nothing to hold on to, there was nowhere for the horse to step. And the nest was located at the very top of the mountain, hidden behind the clouds. Ali also doubted whether he could climb such a mountain. But the white horse reassured him:
“I’ll get ahead of the crowd and fly up the mountain in an instant.” Just grab my mane tighter, lash me with a whip, whoop louder than sixty-three horsemen.
Ali grabbed the mane and squeezed his mount tightly with his legs. As soon as the sign was given, the white horse broke out of the crowd. Ali lashed him with a whip so that his rump burned, and whooped louder than sixty-three horsemen. The horse rushed up the steep stone wall. If he steps with his front feet, he will carve out a path; if he steps with his hind legs, he will cut out a wide road.
In an instant the horse brought its rider to the top of the mountain, to the eagle's nest. The horseman took an eagle feather from the nest, went down the mountain and handed it to the prince. The prince was surprised, but did not break the agreement:
- You are worthy of my middle daughter. But I will celebrate the wedding for all three daughters at once. Go back to your home and wait. When all three daughters have grooms, I will announce. Then come.
The older brothers saw how the rider on a snow-white horse gave the prince an eagle feather, but they did not have time to see Ali.
“We also missed the middle daughter,” one of them said to the other. “We must get up even earlier tomorrow.” Maybe at least one of us will get the youngest daughter.
They went to their village. Ali was already at home and pretended that he didn’t think about leaving anywhere. He greeted them with a question:
- Which horseman won today? Who should be the groom of the prince's middle daughter? And I heard yesterday's answer:
- Why do you need to know this? After all, you are still young. To tell the truth, he looked like you, but he sat on such a horse as you had never seen in your life.
On the third day the brothers got up before it was light. Ali was still sleeping. They saddled their horses and rode out of the village.
As soon as the brothers disappeared into the distance, Ali rubbed his red hair, and a red horse immediately appeared to him:
- Ready to serve you, Ali. Where do you want to go?
Ali said that he wanted to measure his strength with those horsemen who would come today for the prince’s youngest daughter.
- We’ll go to the prince’s castle; “Just take me along the road, there’s no need to fly through the sky,” the horseman asked the red horse.
They rushed towards the castle. We overtook Ali's older brothers. They respectfully responded to the greeting, and the middle brother again said in surprise:
- How similar this horseman is to our brother!
And Ali still galloped forward. A red horse argued with the wind, striking sparks from stones; on sharp turns, where Ali wanted to hold him, he bit the bit with impatience.
When we got to the princely castle, it was still very early. But the courtyard was already crowded with horsemen: many had come from distant lands and spent the night here. The older brothers appeared, but in the confusion they did not notice Ali.
Finally the prince appeared from the castle. He approached the horsemen, looked at them silently and only then spoke loudly so that everyone could hear:
“I will declare the groom of my youngest daughter to be the horseman who, at full gallop, gets a ram from a well sixty-three cubits deep.”
The rivals were embarrassed and moved back. The crowd became agitated and made a noise: is it conceivable to ride a horse into a narrow well? No, apparently the prince decided not to marry off his youngest daughter. So I would have said right away, why demand an impossible task from the horsemen? Ali also had doubts, but the red horse reassured him:
- Nothing, I didn’t see anything like that. Don't spare my sides, hit me with a whip; and whoop so that not only people, but also trees fall to the ground. Yes, hold on tight.
Ali grabbed the mane tighter, hit the horse with a whip, whooped as hard as he could: both people and trees fell to the ground.
The horse carried the rider out of the crowd and flew up to the well into which the prince's servants had lowered the ram. The horse began to explode the earth with its front legs, and with its hind legs it began to scatter it to the sides. In no time I reached the very bottom. Ali grabbed the ram by the horn and turned it back. He was about to get out of the well, but the ram's horn suddenly broke off, and the ram fell back into the well.
The prince's youngest daughter sat by the window and saw everything. When Ali dropped the ram, she shouted to him:
- Grab the sheep by the wool!
Ali listened to her advice, returned to the well, put his hand in the wool, grabbed the ram and rose from the well. He threw the ram at the prince’s feet, and the prince said:
- This is who is worthy of the hand of my most beloved daughter. Now we will prepare for the wedding. She will be there in three days. Come, daredevil.
Ali rode off on his red horse, and the rest of the horsemen followed him.
When the brothers returned to their native village, Ali was busy in the yard as if nothing had happened. And he asked again, as if he had never gone anywhere and knew nothing:
- Who won the competition today? Who was announced as the groom of the youngest daughter?
- Why do you need to know this? After all, you are still young. To tell the truth, he looked like you, but he sat on such a horse as you had never seen in your life.
Here Ali could not restrain himself. He took out a black hair, then a white one and a red one, rubbed it in his hands, and all three horses immediately appeared: black, white and red. The brothers gasped in surprise.
- What do you say now? - Ali said to his older brothers.
The brothers became confused, blushed, and began to ask Ali not to be offended by them. Ali replied:
- You realized it too late. Father ordered us to live together. And you forgot his order, you only cared about yourself, you only considered yourself horsemen. But I haven’t forgotten my father’s words: “It’s easy to be bad, it’s hard to be good.” I will do as my father commanded us. We are brothers, and I will treat you like brothers. Choose a horse for yourself, and when we go to the wedding, everyone will choose a girl who he likes and who will like him.
And so they did. Three days later the prince announced that the wedding was beginning. Ali went to him with his brothers - on black, white and red horses. The prince looked at the horses and recognized the suitors. The eldest brother chose the eldest daughter, the middle brother chose the middle one, Ali chose the youngest. She seemed to him the most beautiful and kind. Ali did not forget how she, with her advice, helped him get a ram from the well.
The wedding lasted three days. Then the brothers got ready to go home, mounted their horses, and placed the prince’s daughters in front of them. The prince presented them with gifts and saw them off on their way.
And they went to their village: Ali in front, on a red horse, the middle brother behind him, on a white horse, and the eldest, a little further away, on a black horse.
They returned home and began to live and live.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru