There lived an old king. He was a rich king. He even had his own court witch, and the king was very proud of the miracles that this witch could perform.
And then one day the king ordered a message to be sent to all parts of the kingdom with a promise to give his youngest daughter and half the kingdom in addition to the one who would defeat the royal witch. But with the condition that if anyone undertakes this and does not fulfill it, his head will be off his shoulders.
And in this kingdom lived three brothers. Their names were Bill, Tom and Jack. Their parents were poor people, and the whole family huddled in a wretched hut that stood in the most remote corner of the kingdom.
When the royal news reached them, all three brothers decided to try their luck.
The first to get ready for the journey was the older brother, Bill. The journey was long, and his mother prepared more food for him.
And so Bill left his parents' house and walked until he met a gray-haired, hunched old man.
“Good morning, Bill,” the old man greeted him.
“Morning is like morning,” Bill answered.
-Where are you going? - asks the gray-haired, hunched old man.
- What do you want?
That's how Bill answered, and went on, and finally got to the royal house, and called the king to him.
- Why did you come? - the king asks him.
“Yes, I want to try - maybe I can defeat your witch,” Bill replies.
Then the king says:
“Well, let’s start the test,” and he calls his sorceress. - Let's see who can defeat whom!
“There’s nothing to see here,” says Bill, looking around at the wizened, little old woman.
He should have thought better before speaking such insolence. The evil witch, this dry little old woman, fell on him more heavily than a stone tower. What's surprising here? She was much older than him, she was probably more than a thousand years old. Well, of course, poor Bill’s knees gave way and he collapsed to the ground.
And so the second brother, Tom, got ready to go to the royal house. And his mother said to him:
“Don’t go, Tom, in case you don’t come back either.”
“No, since I’ve decided, I’ll go,” said Tom.
His mother prepared food for him, and he set off, and also met a gray-haired, hunched old man, and then the same thing happened to him, because he did not want to tell the old man where he was going. The king, just like that time, called his witch and said to Him: whoever defeats whom is the winner. And also, if Tom wants, he can put someone else in his place. But Tom glanced at the dry little old woman and boldly stepped forward. Well, of course, the same thing happened to him as to his older brother.
It was Jack's turn to go to the royal castle. And he asked his mother to prepare food for him on the road. But mother said:
- Don't go, Jack, son! You are the only one we have left.
But Jack said he had to go. His mother cried so bitterly that she did not prepare any food for him for the journey. And he took with him only dry bread and set off.
Soon he also met a gray-haired, hunched old man.
“Good morning, Jack,” the old man greeted him.
“Good morning, father,” says Jack, “good morning, uncle.”
-Where are you going, Jack?
“Yes, I’m looking for a ship that will sail on dry land, uncle.” Would you like to have breakfast with me, father?
“First, take this stick, Jack,” says the old man, “and follow the same road that I came here.” Walk until you reach a clean source. Lower this stick into the source and hold it until the water in the source turns into wine. On the shore you will find a silver jug and cup. Then figure out for yourself what to do. And by the time you get back here, the ship will be ready.
Well, Jack went and easily found a clean spring, dipped a magic stick into it and kept it there until the water turned into wine. He filled the silver jug with wine and returned to the old man. They had breakfast together with dry bread and washed it down with wine. And the ship on wheels was already ready, and the old man said:
- Get on this ship, Jack, say: “Sail, my ship, sail!” - and the ship will sail. Don’t forget, you must put on your ship everyone you meet on the way to the royal house. And remember: everyone who boards your ship, you must ask his name.
So Jack boarded the ship and said:
- Sail, my ship, sail!
And the ship sailed. As they sailed through the high mountains, Jack saw a man with his back knocking down thick trees. Jack was surprised and asked:
- Hey, what's your name?
- Who-will-defeat-all!
- Who will defeat everyone? Of course you are! Get on my ship.
Who-will-defeat-all boarded the ship, and then they sailed together. As they sailed through a green meadow, Jack saw a large herd and a man who was grabbing and eating pigs, sheep, and cows indiscriminately.
- Hey, what's your name? - Jack shouted.
- Who-will-eat-the-most!
-Who will eat the most? Probably you! Get on my ship.
Who-will-eat-the-most boarded the ship, and then the three of them sailed away. When they descended into the ravine, Jack saw a man who was emptying all the springs and streams in a row.
- Hey, what's your name? - Jack shouted.
- Who-will-drink-the-most!
-Who will drink the most? Drink to your health! Do you want to come with us?
Whoever-drinks the most boarded the ship, and Jack said:
- Sail, my ship, sail!
And the ship sailed on. Then Jack saw a man running. First the man ran on one leg, then on the other. Jack asked:
- Hey, what's your name?
- Who-will-overtake-everyone!
- Who will overtake everyone? Well, of course, you! Get on our ship.
Who-will-drive-everyone also boarded the ship, and they sailed straight until they reached a man who stood with a gun and aimed upward, as if he wanted to shoot a hare in the sky.
- Hey, what's your name? - Jack shouted.
- Who-is-shooting-everyone-further!
-Who shoots the furthest? I hope you are! - says Jack. - Come with us!
The sharp shooter also boarded the ship, and Jack said:
- Sail, my ship, sail!
And they swam further until they reached a man who was looking into the distance, putting his hand to his forehead.
- Hey, what's your name? - asked Jack.
- Who-sees-everyone-further!
-Who can see everyone further? Probably you! Come with us.
Who-sees-everyone-further boarded the ship, and they sailed on until they arrived at the royal house. And Jack shouted:
- Hey!
The king came out of the house and asked:
- Why did you come? Jack said:
“I want to try my luck - maybe I can defeat your sorceress and win the heart of the youngest lady princess.”
- Do you remember the condition: if you or your assistants do not defeat my sorceress, your head will fly off your shoulders? - asks the king.
- Yes, I remember! - Jack answered.
“Well, then let’s start the test,” says the king and calls his old witch.
And Jack called Who-can-conquer-all, and the first test ended in a draw, as you probably guessed.
“Well,” says the king, “and now: who will eat more?”
Without thinking twice, Jack called his friend Who-will-eat-all-the-most.
First they were brought a bull, and Who-Eats-the-Most-of-All immediately swallowed it. Then two cows, then several pigs and finally half a dozen sheep.
Who-will-eat-the-most-of-all instantly swallowed them, while the old sorceress was still fiddling with the bull.
“Well done,” said the king. “But you won’t be able to drink more than my witch!”
“We’ll try,” Jack said and called his friend Who-drinks-the-most.
And he drank first from the stream, then from the lake, and soon reached the river. But the king felt sorry for the river, and he said:
- Everything is clear. And who will overtake whom?
Jack called Who-will-drive-everyone, the king gave him and his witch an eggshell and ordered them to run to the ocean, scoop up salt water and return back. Whoever Drives Everyone, of course, reached first, scooped up salt water, ran back and halfway met the old witch with an empty shell.
“Oh, I’m tired,” said the witch.
“Me too,” he said.
“Let’s sit and relax,” she suggested, “there’s no need to strain yourself for the sake of others.”
They chose a cozy green lawn and sat down to rest.
“You lay your head here,” says the old woman, “and sleep for an hour.”
But I must tell you that the old witch had a magic bone in her pocket that you only had to put under the head of a sleeping person, and he would not wake up until this bone was taken away again. And so the sorceress waited until Whoever Drives Everyone was fast asleep, and put this bone under his head. Then she poured sea water from his shell into hers and ran back to the royal house.
And Jack had already begun to worry and asked his friend Who-sees-all-further to see where Who-will-overtake-everyone. Who-sees-everyone-further raised his hand to his eyes and immediately saw him.
“He sleeps on a green lawn halfway from here, and under his head lies a magic bone. If you don't remove it, he won't wake up.
- Who-is-shooting-everyone-further! - Jack called. - Shoot and knock out this bone! - he asked.
Who-shoots-all-further shot, knocked out a bone, and Who-will-drive-all immediately woke up. He woke up, jumped to his feet, grabbed an empty shell, ran to the ocean, took in some salt water, and halfway back he caught up with the old witch. He deliberately pushed her arm, and the evil witch spilled all the salty sea water.
And you probably guessed the end of this story. Jack and the youngest princess became engaged sooner than the old witch could return to the royal castle. And when I left them, they were very satisfied and happy.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru