Who Will Overcome Everyone
Once upon a time, there lived an old king. He was a wealthy king. He even had his own court witch, and the king took great pride in the miracles this witch could perform.One day, the king ordered a message to be sent to all corners of the kingdom, promising to give his youngest daughter and half the kingdom as a dowry to anyone who could defeat the royal witch. But on the condition that if anyone attempted the challenge and failed, they would lose their head.
In this kingdom, there lived three brothers. Their names were Bill, Tom, and Jack. Their parents were poor, and the whole family lived in a humble hut in the most remote corner of the kingdom.
When the royal decree reached them, all three brothers decided to try their luck.
The eldest brother, Bill, was the first to set out on the journey. The road was long, and his mother prepared plenty of food for him.
And so, Bill left his parents' home and walked until he met a gray, hunched old man.
"Good morning, Bill," the old man greeted him.
"Morning is as morning is," replied Bill.
"Where are you headed?" asked the gray, hunched old man.
"What's it to you?"
That's how Bill answered, and he went on his way, eventually reaching the royal palace and summoning the king.
"Why have you come?" asked the king.
"Well, I want to try my luck—maybe I can defeat your witch," replied Bill.
Then the king said:
"Very well, let the trial begin," and he called for his witch. "Let's see who will defeat whom!"
"There's nothing to see here," said Bill, glancing at the thin, little old woman.
He should have thought before speaking so boldly. The evil witch, that thin, little old woman, bore down on him heavier than a stone tower. And what's so surprising about that? She was much older than him, probably thousands of years old. Naturally, poor Bill's knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.
Then the second brother, Tom, set out for the royal palace. His mother said to him:
"Don't go, Tom, what if you don't return either."
"No, I've made up my mind, and I will go," said Tom.
His mother prepared food for him, and he set off on his journey. He, too, met the gray, hunched old man, and the same thing happened to him because he refused to tell the old man where he was going. The king, just like before, called for his witch and told Tom: whoever defeats whom will be the winner. And if Tom wished, he could send someone else in his place. But Tom glanced at the thin, little old woman and boldly stepped forward. Naturally, the same thing happened to him as to his elder brother.
Now it was Jack's turn to go to the royal castle. He asked his mother to prepare food for his journey. But his mother said:
"Don't go, Jack, my son! You're the only one we have left."
But Jack said he had to go. His mother cried so bitterly that she didn't prepare any food for him. He took only some dry bread and set off.
Soon, he also met the gray, hunched old man.
"Good morning, Jack," the old man greeted him.
"Good morning, father," said Jack, "good morning, uncle."
"Where are you headed, Jack?"
"Well, I'm looking for a ship that can sail on land, uncle. Would you like to have breakfast with me, father?"
"First, take this stick, Jack," said the old man, "and follow the same path I came here by. Walk until you reach a clear spring. Dip this stick into the spring and hold it there until the water turns into wine. On the shore, you'll find a silver jug and a goblet. You'll figure out what to do next. And by the time you return here, the ship will be ready."
Well, Jack went and easily found the clear spring, dipped the magic stick into it, and held 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 drank the wine. The ship on wheels was ready, and the old man said:
"Get on this ship, Jack, and say, 'Sail, my ship, sail!' and the ship will sail. But don't forget, you must take aboard everyone you meet on your way to the royal palace. And remember: you must ask the name of everyone who boards your ship."
So Jack got on the ship and said:
"Sail, my ship, sail!"
And the ship sailed. As they passed through high mountains, Jack saw a man felling thick trees with his back. Jack was surprised and asked:
"Hey, what's your name?"
"Stronger-than-All!"
"Stronger-than-All? Of course, that's you! Come aboard my ship."
Stronger-than-All got on the ship, and they sailed on together. As they passed through a green meadow, Jack saw a large herd and a man grabbing and eating pigs, sheep, and cows indiscriminately.
"Hey, what's your name?" shouted Jack.
"Eats-More-than-All!"
"Eats-More-than-All? Probably you! Come aboard my ship."
Eats-More-than-All got on the ship, and the three of them sailed on. As they descended into a valley, Jack saw a man draining all the springs and streams.
"Hey, what's your name?" shouted Jack.
"Drinks-More-than-All!"
"Drinks-More-than-All? Drink to your health! Want to come with us?"
Drinks-More-than-All got on the ship, and Jack said:
"Sail, my ship, sail!"
And the ship sailed on. Then Jack saw a running man. At first, the man ran on one leg, then on the other. Jack asked:
"Hey, what's your name?"
"Runs-Faster-than-All!"
"Runs-Faster-than-All? Well, of course, that's you! Come aboard my ship."
Runs-Faster-than-All also got on the ship, and they sailed straight until they reached a man standing with a rifle, aiming up as if he wanted to shoot a hare in the sky.
"Hey, what's your name?" shouted Jack.
"Shoots-Farther-than-All!"
"Shoots-Farther-than-All? I hope it's you!" said Jack. "Come with us!"
The sharpshooter also got on the ship, and Jack said:
"Sail, my ship, sail!"
And they sailed on until they reached a man looking into the distance with his hand shading his eyes.
"Hey, what's your name?" asked Jack.
"Sees-Farther-than-All!"
"Sees-Farther-than-All? Probably you! Come with us."
Sees-Farther-than-All got on the ship, and they sailed on until they reached the royal palace. Jack shouted:
"Hey!"
The king came out and asked:
"Why have you come?" Jack said:
"I want to try my luck—maybe I can defeat your witch and win the heart of the youngest princess."
"Do you remember the condition: if you or your helpers don't defeat my witch, your head will roll?" asked the king.
"Of course, I remember!" replied Jack.
"Very well, then let the trial begin," said the king and called for his old witch.
Jack called for Stronger-than-All, and the first trial ended in a draw, as you might have guessed.
"Very well," said the king, "now: who can eat more?"
Jack didn't hesitate and called his friend Eats-More-than-All.
First, they brought a bull, and Eats-More-than-All swallowed it in an instant. Then two cows, then several pigs, and finally half a dozen sheep.
Eats-More-than-All devoured them all in no time, while the old witch was still struggling with the bull.
"Well done," said the king. "But you won't be able to drink more than my witch!"
"We'll see," said Jack and called his friend Drinks-More-than-All.
He drank first a stream, then a lake, and soon reached a river. But the king felt sorry for the river and said:
"Enough. Now, who can run faster?"
Jack called Runs-Faster-than-All, and the king gave him and his witch an eggshell each, ordering them to run to the ocean, scoop up some saltwater, and return. Runs-Faster-than-All, of course, reached the ocean first, scooped up the saltwater, and ran back. On the way, he met the old witch still with an empty shell.
"Oh, I'm tired," said the witch.
"Me too," he said.
"Let's sit and rest," she suggested, "no need to strain ourselves for others."
They chose a cozy green meadow and sat down to rest.
"Put your head here," said the old woman, "and sleep for an hour."
Now, you should know that the old witch had a magic bone in her pocket. If she placed it under someone's head while they slept, they wouldn't wake up until the bone was removed. So the witch waited until Runs-Faster-than-All was fast asleep and slipped the bone under his head. Then she poured the seawater from his shell into hers and ran back to the royal palace.
Jack was already getting worried and asked his friend Sees-Farther-than-All to see where Runs-Faster-than-All was. Sees-Farther-than-All shaded his eyes and immediately saw him.
"He's sleeping on a green meadow halfway here, and there's a magic bone under his head. If it's not removed, he won't wake up."
"Shoots-Farther-than-All!" called Jack. "Shoot and knock that bone out!" he asked.
Shoots-Farther-than-All shot, knocked out the bone, and Runs-Faster-than-All woke up immediately. He jumped to his feet, grabbed the empty shell, ran to the ocean, scooped up saltwater, and on the way back, caught up with the old witch. He deliberately bumped her arm, and the evil witch spilled all the seawater.
And the end of this story, you can probably guess. Jack and the youngest princess got engaged faster than the old witch could return to the royal castle. And when I left them, they were very pleased and happy.
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