The Beauty from the Distant Land of Nigozeti

There once lived a king who had three sons. As the king grew old, he lost his sight and began to think: "I must test my sons to see who is most worthy to rule." The old man called his eldest son and asked him:
"Tell me, what is the fullest, what is the swiftest, and what is the most beautiful thing in the world? I want to test you to see if you are worthy to rule. If you answer correctly, I will make you king."

Now, the king had a marvelous horse. The eldest son replied:
"There is nothing fuller than your horse, nothing more beautiful than your wife" (he was referring to his mother), "and nothing swifter than your hounds."
"No, my son, you are not worthy to rule," said the king, and he called his middle son.
The middle son said:
"The most beautiful is my wife, the fullest is my horse, and the swiftest is my hound."
"No, you are not worthy either," said the king, and he called his youngest son.
"My son, you are my last hope. You must restore my sight and solve my riddles. Tell me, what is the fullest, the most beautiful, and the swiftest thing in the world?"

The youngest son replied:
"What could be more beautiful than spring, fuller and more bountiful than a fruitful autumn, and what could be swifter than our gaze—it can reach everything in an instant and encompass all."
"Truly, you alone are worthy to rule," said the king. "You will also restore my lost sight."
"Very well," said the son, "but give me some time to think."

The king had a horse. The young man went to the horse, and the horse said:
"Why are you troubled? Tell your father to order a saddle with nine girths for you, give you his best sword and a whip. When you mount me, strike me with the whip so hard that three layers of skin fly off, and I will carry you so swiftly that no one will notice whether I have flown into the air or sunk into the ground. Where I stop, dismount and start digging—you will find a cure for your father. But be quick, or it will fly into the sky."

The young man did everything as instructed.

They flew to the spot, and he dismounted and began digging. Suddenly, something like a snowball flew out of the ground, soared into the sky, and melted in the air so quickly that he could not even see it, let alone catch it.
The horse said:
"Well, it will only fall back in a week. In the meantime, instead of waiting here, let us go—the king of the East is waging war against the king of the West, seeking to enslave him. We must intervene and help the oppressed."

The young man looked and saw something moving, the horizon black with dust—it was the army of the Eastern king.
The young man flew on his horse into the thick of the battle.
The horse trampled the enemy with its hooves, and the young man swung his sword on both sides, slaying all but the king and his advisors, who managed to flee.

The king of the West looked through his telescope and saw that the enemy was defeated and had fled. He marveled:
"Who has done me such a great service, destroying all my enemies?"
The young man had cut his little finger in the battle and sent word to the king:
"Send me something to bandage my hand."

When the messengers arrived, they surrounded him with honor and led him to a private chamber to rest. The horse was taken to the stables, unsaddled, groomed, covered with a blanket, and fed raisins and almonds.

The courtiers grew envious and feared that the king might favor the young man. They went to the king and said:
"This young man can fetch enough ivory to build an entire palace. Command him to bring it."
The young man came out for breakfast, and the king said to him:
"Build me a palace of ivory."
"Let me think about it," said the young man. He went and told the horse.
"This is not a difficult task," said the horse. "Just ask the king for a hundred wineskins, each holding thirty buckets of wine, and plenty of wool—we will build him a palace of ivory."

The young man told the king, and the king provided the wine and wool. The young man set off for the land where elephants lived.
He arrived and saw a mountain with nine cold springs flowing together—this was the water the elephants drank.
The young man blocked the water's path with wool at the source, diverting it elsewhere. From the remaining wool and stones, he built a dam and poured the wine into it.
"Now, look—are the elephants lying down or moving?" asked the horse.
"I see one group," said the young man.
"Then they will come soon," said the horse. They hid.
The elephants came to drink, but there was no water.
They tasted the wine, but it was not to their liking, so they left. But thirst tormented them, so they returned and began drinking the wine. They drank and drank until they became drunk and fell to the ground.
"Now go and work with your sword," said the horse. "Cut off their tusks."
They took as much as they could and left the rest in a pile to retrieve later. They brought back the ivory. The courtiers were astonished.
"He didn't perish there—he returned!"

The young man built the palace, hammering golden nails. The king rejoiced, but the courtiers came and said:
"What a fine young man you have found! But that's nothing! He can catch the king-bird, put it in a golden cage, and hang it on the palace wall. The whole world will marvel at its song."
The king summoned the young man and said:
"Bring me the king-bird."
"Let me think until tomorrow," said the young man. He went to the horse.
"The king wants me to bring him the king-bird."
"That's nothing," said the horse. "Let him give us nine wineskins of millet, each holding thirty buckets—we will bring him the king-bird."

The king provided the millet, and they set off for foreign lands.

They traveled and traveled until they saw mountains teeming with birds, chirping and singing in every manner. The horse said:
"Lie down now and cover yourself with the millet. The birds will flock to you, and the king-bird will land above your heart. When it pecks you once, twice, and a third time—grab it, or you will never catch it."

The young man lay down and covered himself with millet.
The king-bird flew in, followed by other birds, chirping and singing in every manner. They landed and began pecking.
The king-bird pecked once, twice, and as it pecked a third time, the young man grabbed it and jumped to his feet. The other birds attacked him, pecking, scratching, and beating him with their wings, nearly killing him. The horse rushed in, scattered the birds, picked up the young man and the king-bird, and flew away.

They returned with the king-bird. The courtiers were amazed—he had succeeded again and returned alive!
They went to the king and said:
"If he is such a fine young man, command him to bring you a beautiful bride from the distant land of Nigozeti."

The king summoned the young man and said:
"Bring me a beautiful bride from the distant land of Nigozeti."
The young man went to the horse and told him. The horse thought for a moment:
"This is no easy task! Here's the catch. The beautiful woman from Nigozeti is served by a mare—my sister. She is stronger and faster than I am. I fear we may not succeed. But we must try. Know this: she lives in a castle with a door open to the east and closed to the west. At the doors, a goat and a wolf are tied. The goat has a bone, and the wolf has a bundle of hay. My sister, the mare, stands guard there. Close the eastern door, open the western one, throw hay to the goat and a bone to the wolf, and I will deal with my sister. The beautiful woman sits in the castle with her long, flowing hair. When you enter, quickly wind her hair around your hand. If you succeed, she is yours; if not, she will destroy us."

They arrived. The young man grabbed the bone from the goat and threw it to the wolf, gave hay to the goat, opened the western door, flew into the castle, closed the eastern door, rushed to the beautiful woman, and instantly wound her hair around his hand.
The woman cried out:
"Eastern doors, save me!"
"We have barely rested, our locks have been closed, and now you want us to open again?" said the eastern doors.
"Western doors, save me!"
"We have barely been opened, our hinges aired, and now you want us to close again?" said the western doors.
"Save me, goat!"
"I have barely gotten my hay! I won't give it up!"
"Help me, wolf!"
"For the first time, someone has thrown me a bone," said the wolf. "I won't give it up."
The woman called to the mare:
"Save me, my faithful one!"
"I can't even handle my brother," said the mare. "Do you think I will help you?"

Thus, the young man overcame the beautiful woman from Nigozeti and took her to the king.

They arrived, and the woman said:
"I will not appear before the king until he provides me with a large marble bathtub filled with boiling milk for me to bathe in."
They prepared the bathtub and filled it with boiling milk.
"Let the king come forward," said the woman. The king approached.
"You must bathe first," she said.
The king leaned over to look into the bathtub, and the woman pushed him in. He fell into the boiling milk and was cooked.
They threw all the courtiers into the milk as well, and none survived.

Thus, the young man gained both the Eastern and Western kingdoms and the beautiful woman from the distant land of Nigozeti.

Meanwhile, the time came for the cure for blindness to fall from the sky. The young man flew on his horse, caught it in midair before it touched the ground, and brought it home.

He returned to his father, bringing the beautiful woman and the cure for blindness. The blind king rejoiced at his son's triumphant return.
"Father, I have brought you the cure for your blindness, won this beautiful woman from Nigozeti, and conquered two kingdoms," said the son, bringing joy to his father.

The king regained his sight, and they celebrated a grand wedding. They lived happily ever after.

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The Beauty from the Distant Land of Nigozeti

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