The Tale of the Three Brothers

THREE BROTHERS

Once upon a time, there were three orphaned brothers. They had a single ox, which was tended by the youngest brother. But one day, the ox went missing. The youngest brother searched everywhere for it — the ox seemed to have vanished into thin air. He then went to the middle brother.

— I fell asleep and lost the ox,— said the youngest brother.

— Don’t cry, go and tell the oldest brother about it,— replied the middle brother.

The youngest brother went to the oldest brother and complained:
— Brother, what should I do, poor me? I lost our ox while I was sleeping.

— Don’t be sad,— said the oldest brother. — Our ox will be found, it won’t go anywhere.

Spring came. People drove their herds to the pastures. The brothers began to discuss how they could find their ox.

The oldest brother said:
— The person who took our ox is yellow-faced and short.

— If the thief is yellow-faced and short, then he must have blue eyes,— said the middle brother.

— If this person is yellow-faced, short, and has blue eyes, then his name is Kurmangaly,— added the youngest brother.

And then the brothers decided to find the thief with such characteristics.

One of the brothers suggested:
— We will never find the thief ourselves. Let’s go to the khan and ask for his help in finding the lost ox.

The brothers went to the khan.
— O our khan! — they said. — We had a single ox that we lost at the beginning of winter. Now it is already spring, time to plow the field, and we still haven’t found the ox. It was stolen by a yellow-faced man with blue eyes and short stature named Kurmangaly. Help us find the thief. Let all the people of your khanate line up, and we will recognize him ourselves.

The khan agreed to help the young men. People began to gather at the khan’s yurt, and the brothers watched closely, searching for the thief.

Suddenly, the oldest brother said:
— There’s a man with a yellow face and short stature.

— I’ll go see what color his eyes are,— said the middle brother and ran towards that man. He approached and saw — indeed, the man had blue eyes.

— Since that’s the case,— said the youngest brother,— I’ll go find out what name he responds to.

The youngest brother returned after a while and told his brothers that the yellow-faced man with blue eyes and short stature responded to the name Kurmangaly.

The brothers then went to the khan and said:
— Khan, we have found the thief. Order him to return our ox.

The khan commanded that the man be brought to him.

— Did you steal the ox from the three brothers? — asked the khan of Kurmangaly.

— No, my lord. I didn’t take anything from these young men,— Kurmangaly began to deny it.

— I will order you to be hanged if you do not tell the truth,— the khan grew furious.

Kurmangaly was at a loss.

— My khan,— he pleaded,— I did indeed steal the ox, but no living soul knew about it except for me and my wife. How did these young men find out?

The khan pondered his words and, whispering something to his warriors, ordered a bowl to be brought.

— If you are truly such seers,— said the khan to the brothers,— determine: what is under this bowl? If you do not guess, I will order your heads to be chopped off.

Then the oldest of the brothers stepped forward.

— There is a round object hidden under the bowl,— he said.

— If it is round, then the object must be red,— continued the middle brother.

— Since the object is round and red, it must be a pomegranate,— concluded the youngest!

The khan was pleased with the answer and ordered a ram to be slaughtered to treat the brothers.

The oldest brother took the knife used to slaughter the ram and said:
— The meat of the ram is impure.

— The meat is not only impure, but also dead,— added the middle brother.

— Since the meat is impure and dead, it must be dog meat,— concluded the youngest.

The khan was enraged by such words.

— The meat is clean! — he shouted. — If you are lying, you will not live!

But before hanging the brothers, the khan sent for the shepherd of the flock where the ram had been pastured.

The shepherd arrived:
— My khan,— he said, after listening to his lord. — The meat you served to the guests is indeed not clean. The mother of the lamb fell from a cliff and died, and a dog nursed the lamb with its milk.

The khan was once again pleased with the foresight of the brothers.

— It seems, ruling is not for me,— he decided and abdicated his throne. Instead, he appointed the three brothers to rule the people.

Kyrgyz Tales