Once upon a time there lived a rich man who had three sons. Well, the years went by and the rich man got so old that he was already expecting death. But because he still wanted to live, one day he called his sons and said to them:
“In my young years, I heard that somewhere in the world there is the oil of youth. Whoever anoints himself with this wonderful oil is supposed to stay young all his life. So go around the world in God’s name! Whoever brings me the oil of youth, I hand over all my property to him. "
The boys choose their horses, ride them and do business with their father:
'Goodbye, Father! We will be back in a year. "
They rode together for a while. Then they come to a crossroads, where the road split into three paths: one was beautiful and dry, the other muddy, the third thorny.
"Here we part and go our separate ways," says the eldest brother. "I'm going down a nice, smooth path," "I'm going down a muddy path," says the middle one.
"For me, thorns are also good," adds the youngest. The older two thought he was a fool, so they laughed contemptuously at him.
"Whoever returns sooner should wait at this place for the other two to return to their father together," the eldest brother orders, and is already leaving like lightning on a beautiful road.
The middle brother gets angry with the horse for a while because he didn't want to go on the muddy road. Last time, he just forced it and rode off. The youngest brother dismounts and walks beside his horse.
"It will be difficult for you to walk alone among the thorns. Why would you wear me? ”
"My little good master," said the horse after a few steps, "we will not walk, but fly."
"If God gave us wings, we could really fly," laughs the youngest.
"It will be my concern to sit back in the saddle!"
The boy rides the horse again and it runs a little, but it flies with its master through the air like a bird.
After flying like this for a while, they come to some small byte in solitude. The horse dropped to the ground.
"Step down here and ask, maybe they know where the oil of youth is."
The boy listens to the horse, knocks on the door, and is already standing in front of an old woman who has just been reading very old books. The old woman greets him nicely and asks her if she might know where to get the oil of youth for her father.
“Dear son,” says the kind wife, “I can’t tell you that because I don’t know yet. But if you have a good horse, sit on it and travel. Travel another three months and three days. Then you come to another such house where my older sister lives. Maybe she knows where to get the oil of youth. ”
"Nothing good," he says to the horse as he returns from the house. “You’ll have to carry me for another three months and three days to get to another house like this. Maybe we'll learn something about the oil of youth there. "
'Good. What is sitting in the saddle! ”The horse answers and they are already snorting in the air. In three months and three days they arrive at the second byte in solitude.
"Ride another six months and six days to the third such hut," the old woman, even more closed and wrinkled, tells the boy. “I’m still too young and I don’t know anything about the wonderful oil. In the third hut you will find my eldest sister. She will certainly tell you where you get the oil of youth. "
The boy rides the horse again. He sits in the saddle for six months and six days, and then comes to the third house. In it, he finds an even older wife in front of an open book.
“I already know, son, what brought you to me. But listen to me well if you want to get the oil of youth! Not far from my house stands an iron castle. Your horse stays with me, and mine takes you there. Tie him to a large willow tree in front of the castle gate. In that castle you find in a golden bottle the oil of youth. But don't forget: when the horse growls for the first time, run away from the castle and don't pay any attention, otherwise you stay in the castle and never return home. "
The boy thanks the old woman nicely for the good advice, sits on her horse, and they are already flying like lightning to the iron castle. He ties the horse to the willow and enters the castle himself.
When he opens the first room, he sees a beautiful sleeping girl in it. He looks around the room to see a golden bottle of youth oil.
"She's not here," he said to himself, "let's move on!"
Two girls slept in the other room. There was no bottle. In the third room he finds three sleeping girls. And so it went on to the eleventh room, in which eleven girls slept. He was very tempted to take a better look at the beautiful girls, but he remembered that perhaps the horse would snarl before he could find the golden bottle. So he goes on and opens the twelfth door.
In the twelfth, only one girl slept, but even more beautiful than all the previous ones. She wore a crown on her head, and above her head shone a bottle of the oil of youth with such a radiance as the sun. The boy quickly grabs the gold bottle and puts it in the bag. Then he listens to see if the horse is snarling. Everything was quiet and peaceful, so he bent down to the sleeping queen and kissed her lightly on the forehead. At this the queen awakens and says:
“If only you had come, my dear! I've been looking forward to seeing you for many, many years. "
All outraged, she spreads her arms to hug her savior. At that moment, they cut the horse in front of the castle gates.
"Goodbye!"
He had just uttered that word, and he had already hurried through all twelve rooms towards the castle gates. All the girls in the rooms were already awake. They begged him and begged him to stay with them for at least a moment, but he did not consider himself a kind request, but ran h horse; he jumped into the saddle, and they were already flying like a bird through the air.
But a year has passed since he came to a crossroads where he was separated from his brothers last year. They were both already waiting for him, but empty-handed.
"Well, what about you, fool?" The eldest brother addresses him. "You missed a little."
"The iron castle is far away, the bottle of oil of youth is heavy," the youngest replied.
Then he told the brothers all the truth about how he was doing and how he got to the iron castle. He also showed them a bottle in which the oily liquid shone like a glowing ray.
After a short rest, the brothers ride their horses and head home.
"This fool gets all of his father's property," whispers the unloved middle brother to the eldest. "We will be beggars all our lives."
"If you want, we can help each other. We soon come to a deep, dry well. We pull the fool off his horse and throw him into the well, and at home we tell our father that we have found the oil of youth. "
Doomed, done. They take a bottle from the youngest and throw it into the well, and they ride home on their own. My father, meanwhile, is already blind. They anoint his eyes with wonderful oil, and he already overlooks them, they anoint him on his body, and he is already springing. The father remains the husband's word and gives half of the property to the eldest son and the other half to the middle.
The youngest brother, however, fell unharmed to the bottom of a deep dry well and ate soap crying. But traveling people come there and save him. He disguises himself in torn beggar's rags and sets off on foot towards his father's house. "Good afternoon, young gentleman!" Greeted his father.
“God give it to you too! What would you like, torn man? ”His father asks him.
"I'm looking for a job, sir, a job."
“Well, you can get that. We are just looking for a shepherd to feed our pigs. My sons are in charge here now, but I think they will also be happy if I hire you. "
His father immediately shows him the pigs and the pasture. The boy takes the whip, breaks with it a few times in the yard, and drives the pigs to pasture. He does this business day after day without his father or brother recognizing him.
The beautiful queen in the iron castle, however, was not pleased that the savior had blown her out of the castle so quickly. All depressed, she walked around the rooms and through the castle garden. She had no survival anywhere.
"I search the whole world seven times to find him," she told her courtiers. “If I find him, I take him for a husband. But if I don't get it, then I have to die of grief. "
And he really rides a spark horse and sets out around the world to look for his savior. Wherever he goes, he asks everywhere if anyone has rejuvenated himself with the oil of youth. When he travels like this for many long months, he finally comes to a big river. There was no bridge, but a boatman was carrying passengers across the river. He also asks him and learns that he lives beyond the river of the rich, to whom his sons have brought a miraculous liquid.
'I richly reward you for your efforts. Go there and tell the rich man to come here with the son who brought him the golden bottle of oil of youth. "
Bogatin comes with his eldest son.
"We have come, beautiful queen, as you have commanded," said the father.
"This one isn't real, bring the other one!"
But they return and the father brings the middle son.
"He's not the one who found the oil of youth either."
"I have no more sons, most glorious queen," said the father.
“Your third son got the oil of youth and saved me. Where is he? ”
“He didn’t come back. He was a fool all his life. God walks around the world. "
"Whoever you have unmarried at the house, come here with that one!" The queen orders.
But the father and son go home silent and silent. The father does not utter a word, nor does the son.
"Who else would be unmarried at our house?" Thinks the father, remembering the pig shepherd. "Well, I'll bring her this torn one."
And she returns with him to the queen. As soon as the queen sees him, she hurries towards him and hugs him.
“This is your youngest son, father. This one found the oil of youth! He saved me too! ”
The father examines the torn man more closely and really gets to know his youngest son in him.
The father and son went with the queen to the iron castle, and the brothers stayed at home. Her conscience gnawed terribly until her death.
Good written