When Ivan had heard everything, this time too Ivan took the shoemaker to the inn.
The shoemaker got drunk and slept away the night. Ivan summoned Lame and Crooked and fulfilled Yelena’s wishes.
The next morning, the shoemaker was stunned on seeing the rich Golden castle filled with untold riches appear exactly the way that Yelena had wanted it.
“How did you do this?” The shoemaker was stunned.
Ivan said nothing but just handed over a letter to the shoemaker. “Stand outside on the golden gate and when the Tsar comes to see this, give him this letter.”
Meanwhile back in the castle, Yelena the Beautiful saw the Golden Kingdom seven versts from this place and went to the Tsar.
The Tsar wondered to which hero had come to his kingdom with so much riches. He decided to talk to the hero himself and went there.
The shoemaker handed over the letter to the Tsar.
The Tsar opened the letter and read all of Ivan’s story. Ivan had written how he had freed his mother, how he had saved the three Tsaritsas and how his elder brothers had deceived him.
Under the request of Ivan Tsarevich, the Tsar and Tsaritsa came to the golden kingdom in golden carriages.
Ivan’s brothers and the three Tsaritsas came in simple wagons.
The Tsar wanted to put the deceiving elder sons to death, but Ivan Tsarevich asked for forgiveness on behalf of his brothers.
After all that was over, Ivan Tsarevich married Yelena the Beautiful. The Tsaritsa of the Silver kingdom married Pyotr Tsarevich and the Tsaritsa of the Copper kingdom married Vassili Tsarevich.
The shoemaker was made as the general of the army.
Adapted from Russian Folktales
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