The Tsar's Son and the Tushinets' Son

Whether it happened or not, there once lived a king.

The king had only one son, whom he loved dearly. One day, the king said to his advisor:

"Could there be another child like mine in the world?"

The advisor replied:

"The world is vast; surely, there must be another such child."

The king commanded:

"Very well, if you bring me a child like mine, you shall receive as much gold as you weigh. But if you fail, I will have your head!"

The advisor asked for three months' time and set off to search.

Whether he traveled long or not, the three months passed, and the advisor returned empty-handed.

The king was informed that the advisor had come back with nothing.

"Bring him to me," the king ordered.

The advisor came and said:

"Great king, I have only searched three corners of your kingdom. Grant me one more month, and I will search the fourth. If I find such a child, I will bring him. If not, you may cut off my head."

"Very well," said the king.

The advisor bid farewell and set off again.

Whether he traveled long or not, he eventually came to a mountain. There, in the courtyard of a Tushin man, he saw a child playing.

The advisor thought: "This child resembles the king's son. There is no need to search further." He explained his mission to the Tushin man, the child's father. Together, they took the boy and went to the king.

The king was informed that the advisor had returned with a child. The king ordered them to be brought before him.

"No," said the advisor, "first have identical clothes made for both boys. I will dress them and present them to you. If you cannot recognize your own son, I win. If you do, I lose. Punish me as you see fit."

Identical clothes were made for both boys, and they were dressed and brought before the king.

The king looked at them but could not recognize his son. He embraced one, then the other, but could not tell them apart.

The king said to the advisor:

"You have won. Take your gold."

"No," said the advisor, "first reward the child's father, then me."

The king agreed and said to the Tushin man:

"We grant you freedom. No taxes or payments will be taken from you, your sons, or your grandsons."

The Tushin man thanked the king and left.

The advisor was then given his gold, and the boys were sent to school to study.

They studied together for a week, then another. The boys became close friends, calling each other brothers. They helped each other in everything and stood by one another.

One day, the king came to find the queen in a foul mood.

"What is the matter? Why are you so upset?" asked the king.

"How can I not be?" replied the queen. "We are all mortal. If something happens, who will distinguish the heir from this Tushin boy?"

The king said:

"There is no need to worry about that! Tomorrow, I will order an extra stitch to be sewn into the heir's clothing."

And indeed, an extra stitch was sewn into the king's son's clothing.

The boys went to school as usual. While both had been cheerful before, the Tushin boy now seemed sad.

The king's son asked:

"Why are you sad? Is it because my clothing has an extra stitch? Take mine and wear it, and I will wear yours."

"No," said the Tushin boy, "if they had wanted, they would have given me such clothing too. It must be necessary."

The Tushin boy remained sad for a day or two, then said to the king's son:

"Tell the king to give us a pair of good horses. Let us go riding tomorrow."

They were given horses and rode around the garden. The Tushin boy then said:

"Farewell now!" and galloped away on his horse.

The king's son chased after him.

"Stop, brother, do not follow me," said the Tushin boy. "You are the king's son, and I am just a Tushin boy. I am not your equal."

"No," said the king's son, "where you go, I go. If we are to triumph or die, it will be together. I will not leave you."

They rode on together.

Whether they traveled long or not, they came to a dense forest. Entering the forest, they saw a house in the distance, with smoke rising from it. The Tushin boy immediately realized they had stumbled upon a dev's house—he knew well the habits of evil devs from his mother's tales.

The dev's mother came out to greet them, delighted to have guests, and went to fetch them wine.

The Tushin boy whispered to the king's son:

"Know this: she will bring us seven-year-old wine. Do not drink it, or they will eat us. If she serves you first, I will ask her about the road. When she looks away, pour the wine on the ground. If she serves me first, you ask, and we will not drink a drop—we will pour it all out."

The old woman brought the wine and offered it to the king's son. The Tushin boy asked:

"Where does this road lead?"

The old woman turned to look, and the king's son poured the wine on the ground.

Then she offered wine to the Tushin boy. This time, the king's son asked:

"And where does this road lead?"

The old woman turned, and the Tushin boy poured out the seven-year-old wine.

The old woman went and told her dev sons everything.

The eldest dev came out and began to entertain the guests. He managed to get the king's son drunk, and the boy passed out. But the Tushin boy did not drink, secretly pouring his wine under the table.

When the dev left, the Tushin boy tied up the horses, returned, and stood by the door, listening with a sharp sword at the ready.

The old woman went to her sons and said:

"Our meal is ready. Go and bring the sleeping ones here."

The eldest dev came out, and the Tushin boy swung his sword, cutting off his head.

The second, third, and fourth devs came out—the Tushin boy killed them all.

The old woman saw this and thought: "This one is too tough for us." She ran and hid in a pit.

The Tushin boy saw that there were no more devs and woke the king's son. The king's son looked around, amazed at the slain devs.

The Tushin boy asked:

"What would you have said if they had come to kill us in our sleep?"

They dragged all the devs' bodies into the pit, burying the old woman alive.

They took all the devs' rich possessions. They took a small portion of the gold and silver for their journey, packed it into bags, and rode on.

Whether they traveled long or not, they arrived in a city. They rented a house from an old woman and settled there.

One day, they went out for a walk and saw a beautiful girl sitting on a terrace, sewing something. The king's son looked at her, and his heart began to race.

When they returned home, they told the old woman:

"Arrange a marriage for us with that beautiful girl—we will give you a handful of gold."

The old woman said:

"How can that be? She is the king's daughter and already betrothed."

"That is not your concern. She will come willingly. Just tell her about us."

The old woman went and told the girl everything.

The girl was delighted and gave the old woman two handfuls of gold. She wrote a letter to the brothers, explaining what to do, and gave it to the old woman.

The king's son read the letter and rejoiced.

That night, he went to her bedroom, entered, and lay down.

The girl came and saw him sleeping. She did not wake him but wrote a note, placed it in his hand, and left.

The king's son woke to find it was morning, and the girl was gone, but the note remained in his hand. He got up, left, and went to the Tushin boy.

They read the note together, which said: "What are you doing? They will take me soon. Save me if you can."

The next night, both brothers went to the girl. The Tushin boy said to her:

"Give me samples of all your clothes."

She did, and he ordered a dress made just like hers.

When the king's daughter saw the new "bride" in the house, she was amazed—the new bride was even more beautiful than she.

They agreed on a plan: the Tushin boy stayed behind, while the girl left with the king's son.

The Tushin boy said:

"Go and wait for me at the devs' house we destroyed. I will join you soon."

The Tushin boy remained in the house. The groom's friends arrived, marveling at how even more beautiful the bride had become. They took the Tushin boy with them. They rode, rejoicing and celebrating.

When they arrived, the groom's sister greeted the bride, embracing and kissing her with joy.

The Tushin boy said to the sister:

"Prepare horses. Let us go for a ride."

They mounted and rode off.

Once they were away, the Tushin boy said:

"Listen, I am a man, not a woman. Your bride has been taken by my sworn brother, the king's son. Do not expose me, do not shame yourself. Be my wife, and we will join them and live together."

What could she do? She agreed. They rode to the devs' house, where the king's son and his wife were eagerly awaiting them.

The Tushin boy arrived with his wife. They rejoiced and embraced. They feasted.

Then they gathered all the devs' vast wealth, loaded it onto carts, hired drivers from the local villagers, mounted their horses, and rode home to their kingdom.

The king was informed that his long-lost sons were returning, along with their beautiful wives and immense wealth.

The king was overjoyed and generously rewarded the messengers. He happily went out to greet the fortunate returnees.

They distributed much of the devs' wealth to the poor, ensuring they would never suffer again. In the kingdom, all children would always be well-fed, well-dressed, and have toys to play with.

A grand feast was held for the entire kingdom.

The wealth the brothers had acquired from the devs was so vast that even after giving to the people, there was still plenty of gold and silver left for the king and his two sons—his own and the Tushin boy.

The king never again made any distinction between his own son and the Tushin boy.

Later, both the king's son and the Tushin boy had many children of their own. All the children considered each other brothers and sisters and remained close friends. For only great friendship and mutual support help people live joyfully and happily.

Death there, feast here,
Chaff there, flour here.

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The Tsar's Son and the Tushinets' Son

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