The tsar approved of this resolution, and having been supplied with two mules loaded with gold the two brothers said their farewells and departed. The youngest brother soon began to think of his three sisters; he would have been sorry to leave his wife to go in search of them, and in any case the tsar, his father-in-law, would not permit him to leave the court. Nevertheless the prince wasted away slowly in grief for his sisters.
One day the tsar went forth to hunt, and said to the prince: "Remain in the palace, and take these nine keys and keep them in your pocket. You can open three or four rooms with those keys, there you will find unbounded gold, silver and precious stones. In fact, if you wish to do so, you can open even the eight rooms, but do not dare to open the ninth. Ill indeed will be your fate if you do!"
As soon as the tsar had left the palace, the young prince began to open the doors, one after the other, of all the eight rooms, and truly he saw much gold, silver and other precious things. At length he came to the ninth room, and reasoned to himself: "I have survived many extraordinary adventures, nothing ever surprised me; why should I now be afraid to venture into this room?" Saying this, he opened the door, and what do you think he saw there? In the middle of the room stood a strange man, whose legs were bound in iron up to the knees and his arms up to the elbows; in the four corners of the room there were chains fastened to thick beams, and all the chains met in a ring round the man's neck, so that he could not make the slightest movement. In front of him was a fountain from which the water streamed through a golden pipe into a golden basin. Near him stood a golden mug, incrusted with precious stones. Despite his longing to drink the water, the man could not move to reach the mug. When the prince saw all this, he was indeed astounded, and drew back, but the man groaned: "For heaven's sake, come to me!" The prince approached him and the man said: "Do a good deed! Give me now a cup of water, and know for certain, that I will reward you with another life!"
The prince thought within himself: "Is there anything better than to possess two lives?" So he took the mug, filled it with water, and handed it to the man, who drank eagerly. Then the prince asked him: "Tell me now, what is your name?" The man answered: "My name is Bash Tchelik (Real Steel)." The prince made a movement toward the door, but the man again implored him: "Give me another mug of water, and I shall give you a second life!" The prince thought: "Now, if he gives me a second life, I shall have, together with my own, three lives! This will be quite wonderful!" So he again filled the mug and handed it to the strange prisoner, who emptied it greedily. The prince turned toward the door, but the man exclaimed: "O hero, do not go! Come back a moment! Since you have done two good deeds, do yet a third, and I will give you a third life as reward. Take this mug, fill it with water, and pour it over my head!"