The Three Suitors

The Three Suitors

Once upon a time, in a distant kingdom, there lived a king and his daughter. The princess was smart, kind and inquisitive. She loved to listen to the stories of travelers, knew the names of distant rivers and dreamed of one day seeing the world beyond the palace walls.

When the princess grew up, suitors began visiting the court. Among them were three young noblemen who had been friends for years. All three were honest and brave, but their interests were very different. One loved travel and adventure, another loved books and remarkable inventions, and the third knew about herbs and always helped those who were ill.

The king did not want to offend anyone and one day said:

“Go out into the world. Each of you must find something truly unusual. When you return, we will consider together what your travels have taught you.”

The three friends said goodbye and went their separate ways.

The first traveler reached a city with a great bazaar, where goods from extraordinary lands were sold. There, he found an old carpet patterned in blue and gold.

“An ordinary carpet?” he asked.

“Not at all,” the seller said with a smile. “Tell it where you wish to go, and it will carry you faster than the swiftest horse.”

The traveler tried it. He sat on the carpet and named a nearby tower. Wind whistled in his ears, the ground dropped away beneath him, and a moment later the carpet landed gently beside the tower.

“What a find!” he exclaimed, and bought the magical carpet.

Meanwhile, the second friend reached a port town. In an old craftsman’s shop, he found a long copper tube with glass lenses.

“This is a telescope,” said the craftsman. “But no ordinary one. It can show you places far away, if you truly want to know what is happening there.”

The young man looked through it. Suddenly, he saw mountains hidden from the town, then the sea, and a distant shore beyond it. Knowing he held something wonderful, he bought the telescope.

The third traveler walked for a long time through the villages, helping people. Once he met an old herbalist who gave him a small silver box.

“Here is a healing balm,” she said. “It does not replace the care, rest, and wisdom of doctors, but in a fairy-tale world it can restore strength to someone who is completely exhausted.”

The young man thanked her and guarded the little box as his greatest treasure.

Some time later, the friend with the telescope decided to look for his companions. He adjusted it and saw the first traveler with his carpet. They soon met. Using the telescope again, they found their third friend and flew to him on the magical carpet.

They sat down to rest and exchanged stories of their adventures.

“What is happening in our kingdom now?” one of them suddenly asked.

The friend raised the telescope to his eye.

His smile disappeared.

“The princess is ill. Everyone at the palace is worried.”

“I have the balm!” cried the third friend. “But we are too far away.”

“Not too far,” said the carpet’s owner. “Climb aboard!”

The carpet flew into the sky. Forests, fields, rivers and mountains flashed by under it. It wasn’t long before the three friends were standing at the palace gates.

The king greeted them sorrowfully.

“The doctors are doing all they can, but my daughter is very weak.”

The third traveler asked permission to help. He let the princess inhale the aroma of the healing balm and left some by her bed. The princess fell asleep peacefully, and woke up stronger in the morning. A few days later she was already walking in the garden.

A celebration began in the palace.

But in the evening the three friends argued.

“Without my telescope, we would never have known she was in trouble,” said one.

“But without my carpet, we wouldn’t have had time to return,” objected the second.

“And without the balm, our speed would have made no difference,” added the third.

The princess heard their argument and said:

“You are all right. None of your discoveries could have saved me alone. You helped because you brought them together and worked as a team.”

The king thought for a moment and agreed:

“Then the greatest wonder you brought home is neither a carpet, nor a telescope, nor even a balm. It is that you remained friends and learned to trust one another.”

After that, the three young men stopped arguing. The princess also asked that no one else decide for her who to marry.

Several years passed. She herself chose the man she loved, and the three friends remained welcome guests at the court.

One day, the princess and her husband set off by sea to a neighboring country. Suddenly, a strong storm arose. The ship was damaged, but the sailors managed to lower the boats. The princess found herself on an unfamiliar shore, far from home.

Meanwhile, the telescope’s owner, who occasionally checked that his old friends were well, spotted her on the deserted shore.

“She is alive, but she needs help!”

Within minutes, the three friends were aboard the magical carpet again. They flew to the shore with warm clothes, water, and food. The balm helped the princess recover her strength after the difficult night.

“That is twice you have come just when I needed you most,” she said.

“Because now we know,” one friend replied, “that each of us can do something important, but together we can do so much more.”

They brought the princess home. The king greeted her at the palace gates and held her in his arms for a long time.

For many years afterward, the three magical objects were used to help others. The telescope showed people in need of support. The carpet carried help swiftly to wherever it was needed. And the healing balm was kept for the most difficult cases.

So the people of the kingdom learned that sometimes the greatest wonder begins with seeing someone in trouble, hurrying to help, and sharing what you have.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨