They say that in ancient times there lived one poor, very poor man. He had three sons and one daughter.
It was hard for him to raise and feed his children, but he raised them all, fed them, and taught them. They all became skilled, skilled and dexterous. The eldest son could recognize any object by smell at a very distant distance. The middle son shot with a bow so accurately that he could hit any target without missing, no matter how far away it was. The youngest son was such a strong man that he could easily lift any weight. And the beautiful daughter was an extraordinary needlewoman.
The father raised his children, enjoyed them for a short time and died.
The children began to live with their mother.
The girl was being watched by a diva, a terrible giant. He somehow saw it and decided to steal it. The brothers found out about this and did not let their sister go anywhere alone.
One day, three horsemen gathered to hunt, and their mother went to the forest to pick berries. There was only one girl left at home.
Before leaving they said to the girl:
- Wait for us, we will be back soon. And so that the diva does not kidnap you, we will lock up the house.
They locked the house and left. Div found out that there was no one at home except the girl, came, broke down the door and stole the girl.
The brothers returned from hunting, the mother returned from the forest, they approached their house and saw that the door had been broken down. They rushed into the house, but the house was empty: the girl had disappeared.
The brothers guessed that the diva had taken her away and began to ask their mother:
- Let us go look for our sister! -
Go, sons, says the mother.
Three horsemen went together. We walked for a long time, passed many high mountains. The older brother goes and sniffs everything. Finally, he smelled his sister and picked up the trail of the diva.
“This,” he says, “is where the diva passed!”
They followed this trail and came to a dense forest. They found the diva’s house, looked into it and saw: their sister was sitting in that house, and the diva was lying next to her, sleeping soundly.
The brothers crept carefully into the house and carried away their sister, and they did everything so cleverly that the diva did not wake up.
They set off on their way back. They walked day and night and came to the lake. The brothers and sister got tired during the long journey and decided to spend the night on the shore of this lake. They went to bed and immediately fell asleep.
And at that time the diva woke up and noticed - there was no girl. He jumped out of the house, found the trail of the fugitives and set off in pursuit of them.
The diva flew to the lake and saw that the brothers were fast asleep. He grabbed the girl and took off with her into the clouds.
The middle brother heard the noise, woke up and began to wake up his brothers.
- Wake up quickly, trouble has happened!
And he grabbed his bow, took aim and shot an arrow at the diva. An arrow shot up and tore off the diva's right hand. The horseman shot a second arrow. The arrow pierced through the diva. He released the girl. If she falls on the stones, she will die. Yes, the younger brother did not let her fall: he jumped up deftly and took his sister in his arms. They went on their way joyfully.
And when they arrived, the mother sewed a beautiful zilyan, an elegant robe, and thought: “I will give a zilyan to one of my sons who saves his sister.”
Brothers and sister come home. The mother began to ask them how they found their sister and took her away from the diva.
The elder brother says:
“Without me, there would be no way to know where our sister is.” After all, it was I who managed to find her!
Middle brother says:
“If it weren’t for me, the diva would not have taken his sister away at all.” Good thing I shot him!
Younger brother says:
“And if I hadn’t caught my sister in time, she would have broken on the rocks.”
The mother listened to their stories and does not know which of the three brothers to give the Zilians to.
So I want to ask you: which of the brothers would you give Zilyan as a gift?
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru