The Tale of the Three Princes

In a certain kingdom lived an old king with three grown sons: Vasily, Fyodor and Ivan. Each year the royal garden grew quieter. The apple trees blossomed less…

In a certain kingdom lived an old king with three grown sons: Vasily, Fyodor and Ivan. Each year the royal garden grew quieter. The apple trees blossomed less often, and the spring had almost run dry. Their father told them about a distant garden where seeds of rejuvenating apple trees and pure water of life were kept. All three volunteered to go in search of them.

Vasily took the broad road, and Fyodor chose a familiar highway, but both roads wound among the mountains and led the travellers back to the kingdom’s border. The brothers chose not to take risks in unfamiliar places and brought detailed maps home. Ivan studied their notes carefully and noticed a third, barely visible path. With his family’s agreement, he decided to explore it.

The path led Ivan to three forest cottages. A kind guardian of the forest lived in each one. The first woman fed the traveller and pointed him in the right direction. The second gave him a lantern. The third lent him a calm horse and explained the rules of the distant garden: enter only at night, take nothing without permission, and be sure to greet the woman who looked after the garden.

By moonlight, Ivan reached a high wall and found an open gate. Inside the garden, the spring gleamed silver and ripe fruit shone on the apple trees. When the horse accidentally brushed against some hanging bells, the garden’s owner appeared. Ivan bowed, honestly explained his father’s request and apologized for visiting so late. She listened and smiled.

She gave Ivan a jug of water of life and a little bag of seeds, and wrote down advice on caring for young trees. At home, the brothers cleared the old spring together and planted a new garden following her instructions. Before long, the first green shoots appeared and the king grew cheerful again. They invited the three forest guardians and the garden’s owner to the spring celebration to thank them for the knowledge that the whole kingdom could now share.