ABSTRACT
In a certain tsardom, in a certain kingdom, there lived a king with his queen, and they had thirty-one sons, all of the same size, the same voice, and the same face. As they entered maturity, they began to ask of their parents that they be permitted to go to other kingdoms to see how tsars met together with other tsars, and kings with other kings. The king, their parent, released his children, having given them his blessing. They saddled their good steeds, rode out of the broad courtyard, and rode for a long time by path and by road until finally they came to a fence, and there were thirty-one pillars by that fence and thirty silver rings and one iron ring by the pillars. The brothers dismounted from their good steeds and began to quarrel among themselves over who should tie his horse to the iron ring. “Stop arguing, brothers,” said Vasilii Korolevich, “I shall tie my horse to the iron ring.” And thus their quarrel ended.
