In a certain kingdom, there lived a King who was getting old and his vision had become poor. He had heard of a garden with apples of youth that would make a man grow young, and well with the water of life that would restore his vision. He called his three sons and asked them to get the apples and the water. His eldest son, Fyodor, set out on the journey. He came to a crossroad with three different paths to choose from. There lay a stone slab on which was written, ‘If you go to the right, you will save yourself but lose your horse. If you go to the left, you will save your horse but lose yourself. If you go straight, you will get married.’ He took the third road. He came to a small hut where a widow welcomed him. She had a beautiful daughter named Dunia. She made him fall into the cellar. The second son Vasily met the same fate. Finally, the youngest son, Ivan, set out. He tricked Dunia and she revealed about his brothers.
The Curse
Ivan freed his elder brothers. He carried on his journey and met a pretty maiden weaving. She could not tell him anything about the garden but sent him to meet her second sister. The second sister asked Ivan to leave his horse and go on a two-winged horse to their third sister. The third sister gave him a four-winged horse and directed him towards the garden. She warned him to leap the garden wall in a single bound, else the bells would ring and the witch might wake up. He tried to obey her, but the horse’s hoof grazed the wall. Luckily, the sound was too soft to wake the witch up. He took the apples and rode off. In the morning, she chased him on her six-winged horse. But she managed to catch him when he was near his own land and was not afraid of her. She cursed him. Ivan found his brothers and slept by them. But his brothers stole the apples and threw him over a cliff.
The Dragon is Killed
Ivan fell into a dark kingdom. There, a dragon demanded a beautiful lady every year, and this year the lot had fallen on the Princess of the kingdom. Ivan, the knight, said to the King, “I will save her but promise me that you will do what I say.” The King promised not only that but also to marry him to the Princess. The King and the bold knight went to the place where the dragon was supposed to come. Ivan went to sleep and asked the Princess to wake him up when the dragon came. The dragon came, but she could not wake Ivan up and began crying. A tear fell on his face and he woke up. He cut off the dragon’s heads, put them under a rock, and threw the dragon’s body in the sea. Another man came up from behind and cut off the knight’s head. He threatened to kill the Princess if she did not say that he had killed the dragon. The King arranged for the marriage, but the Princess ran away with some fishermen to the sea.
The Bold Knight Returns Home
The Princess hoped to find the bold knight. Every time the fishermen cast their nets in the sea, they caught only fish. Finally, one day, their nets caught the knight’s body and head. She put them back together and poured the water of life on them. He comforted her and sent her home, saying that he would meet the King and make things right. The next day, he went to the palace and asked the King whether the supposed dragon killer could find the dragon’s heads. The pretender could not find the heads, but the knight could. The Princess was saved and as promised the King asked the knight what he wanted the King to do. The knight said he wanted only to go to his own country. But the Princess did not want to part from him. She knew a spoon-billed bird that could carry them, provided the bird would get enough to eat. The bird carried them all to his homeland. He gave the apples of youth and water of life to his father.
