The Miraculous Shirt

In a certain kingdom, there lived a wealthy merchant. The merchant passed away and left behind three sons of age. The two eldest sons went hunting every day.

One day, they decided to take their younger brother, Ivan, with them on a hunt. They led him deep into the dense forest and abandoned him there, intending to divide their father's estate between themselves and leave Ivan with nothing.

Ivan, the merchant's son, wandered through the forest for a long time, eating berries and roots. Eventually, he emerged onto a plain, where he saw a house. He entered the rooms and walked around, but there was no one to be found—everything was empty. Only in one room was a table set for three, with three loaves of bread on plates and a bottle of wine placed before each setting. Ivan, the merchant's son, took a small bite from each loaf, ate them, and then took a sip from each of the three bottles. After that, he hid behind the door.

Suddenly, an eagle flew in, struck the ground, and turned into a young man. A falcon followed, and after the falcon, a sparrow—they too struck the ground and turned into fine young men. They sat down at the table to eat.

"Someone has eaten our bread and drunk our wine!" said the eagle.

"That's true," replied the falcon. "It seems we have a guest." They began to search for the guest and called out. The eagle said:

"Show yourself! If you are an old man, you shall be our father; if you are a fine young man, you shall be our brother; if you are an old woman, you shall be our mother; and if you are a fair maiden, we shall call you our sister."

Ivan, the merchant's son, stepped out from behind the door. They welcomed him warmly and called him their brother.

The next day, the eagle asked Ivan, the merchant's son, for a favor:

"Stay here and serve us. Exactly one year from today, set the table as it is now."

"Very well," replied the merchant's son. "It shall be done."

The eagle gave him the keys, allowing him to go anywhere and look at everything, but he forbade him from taking one key that hung on the wall.

After that, the fine young men turned back into birds—an eagle, a falcon, and a sparrow—and flew away.

One day, Ivan, the merchant's son, was walking around the yard when he noticed a door in the ground, locked with a strong lock. He wanted to look inside, so he tried the keys—none of them fit. He ran back to the rooms, took the forbidden key from the wall, unlocked the door, and opened it.

In the underground chamber stood a heroic horse, fully adorned, with two bags hanging on either side of the saddle: one filled with gold, the other with precious stones.

He began to stroke the horse, but the heroic horse struck him in the chest with its hoof and threw him out of the underground chamber, sending him flying a full fathom. Ivan, the merchant's son, fell into a deep sleep and did not wake until the day his named brothers were to return.

As soon as he woke up, he locked the door, hung the key back in its place, and set the table for three.

Soon, the eagle, falcon, and sparrow flew in, struck the ground, and turned into fine young men. They greeted each other and sat down to eat.

The next day, the falcon began to ask Ivan, the merchant's son, to serve them for another year. Ivan, the merchant's son, agreed.

The brothers turned back into birds and flew away. Ivan, the merchant's son, lived alone for a whole year, and when the appointed day came, he set the table and waited for his brothers.

The brothers flew in, struck the ground, and turned into fine young men. They entered, greeted each other, and had dinner.

After dinner, the eldest brother, the eagle, said:

"Thank you, merchant's son, for your service. Here is a heroic horse as a gift, with all its harness, gold, and precious stones."

The middle brother, the falcon, gave him another heroic horse, and the youngest brother, the sparrow, gave him a shirt.

"Take this shirt," he said. "No bullet can pierce it. If you wear it, no one will be able to overcome you!"

Ivan, the merchant's son, put on the shirt, mounted the heroic horse, and set off to woo Helen the Beautiful. It had been announced throughout the world that whoever defeated the dragon Zmey Gorynych would win her hand in marriage.

Ivan, the merchant's son, attacked Zmey Gorynych, defeated him, and was about to crush his head against an oak stump when the dragon began to plead tearfully:

"Do not kill me! Take me into your service—I will be your loyal servant!"

Ivan, the merchant's son, took pity on him, took him along, brought him to Helen the Beautiful, and soon after married her, making Zmey Gorynych his cook.

One day, Ivan, the merchant's son, went hunting, and Zmey Gorynych seduced Helen the Beautiful and ordered her to find out the source of Ivan's wisdom and strength.

Zmey Gorynych brewed a strong potion, and Helen the Beautiful gave it to her husband to drink. Then she began to question him:

"Tell me, Ivan, the merchant's son, where does your wisdom come from?"

"In the kitchen, in the broom," he replied.

Helen the Beautiful took the broom, adorned it with various flowers, and placed it in a prominent spot. When Ivan, the merchant's son, returned from the hunt, he saw the broom and asked:

"Why have you decorated this broom?"

"Because your wisdom and strength are hidden in it," replied Helen the Beautiful.

"Oh, how foolish you are! How could my strength and wisdom be in a broom?"

Helen the Beautiful gave him the strong potion again and asked:

"Tell me, my dear, where is your wisdom?"

"In the bull's horns," he replied.

She ordered the bull's horns to be gilded. The next day, Ivan, the merchant's son, returned from the hunt, saw the bull, and asked:

"What is this? Why are the horns gilded?"

"Because your strength and wisdom are hidden there," replied Helen the Beautiful.

"Oh, how foolish you are! How could my strength and wisdom be in the horns?"

Helen the Beautiful gave him the strong potion once more and began to question him again:

"Tell me, my dear, where is your wisdom, where is your strength?" Ivan, the merchant's son, revealed the secret:

"My strength and wisdom are in this shirt." After that, he fell asleep.

Helen the Beautiful took off his shirt, chopped him into small pieces, and ordered them to be thrown into an open field. She then began to live with Zmey Gorynych.

For three days, Ivan, the merchant's son's body lay scattered in the field, and crows gathered to peck at it.

At that moment, the eagle, falcon, and sparrow flew by and saw their dead brother.

The falcon swooped down, killed a young crow mid-flight, and said to the old crow:

"Bring us the water of death and the water of life, quickly!"

The crow flew off and brought the water of death and the water of life.

The eagle, falcon, and sparrow gathered Ivan, the merchant's son's body, sprinkled it first with the water of death, and then with the water of life.

Ivan, the merchant's son, rose to his feet and thanked them. They gave him a golden ring.

As soon as Ivan, the merchant's son, put the ring on his finger, he turned into a horse and ran to Helen the Beautiful's courtyard.

Zmey Gorynych recognized him and ordered the horse to be caught, placed in the stable, and beheaded the next morning.

Helen the Beautiful had a servant girl who felt sorry for the magnificent horse. She went to the stable, weeping bitterly, and said:

"Oh, poor horse, tomorrow you will be executed!" The horse spoke to her in a human voice:

"Come to the execution site tomorrow, fair maiden, and when my blood spills on the ground, step on it with your foot, then gather the blood with the earth and scatter it around the palace."

In the morning, they led the horse to be executed. His head was cut off, and the blood spilled—the fair maiden stepped on it with her foot, then gathered the blood with the earth and scattered it around the palace. That same day, magnificent garden trees grew around the palace.

Zmey Gorynych ordered the trees to be cut down and burned to the last one.

The servant girl wept and went to the garden one last time to stroll and admire it. One of the trees spoke to her in a human voice:

"Listen, fair maiden! When they begin to cut down the garden, take a small splinter and throw it into the lake."

She did as she was told and threw the splinter into the lake—it turned into a golden drake and swam across the water.

Zmey Gorynych came to the lake, intending to hunt, and saw the golden drake. "I'll catch it alive!" he thought.

He took off the miraculous shirt that the sparrow had given to Ivan, the merchant's son, and jumped into the lake. The drake swam farther and farther, leading Zmey Gorynych into the depths, then suddenly flew up to the shore, turned into a fine young man, put on the shirt, and killed the dragon.

After that, Ivan, the merchant's son, returned to the palace. He banished Helen the Beautiful and married the servant girl. They lived happily ever after, prospering and growing rich.

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