king's three daughters are to choose their husbands by tossing golden apples to suitors while they pass b the window. The elder two choose princes, while the youngest chooses the gardener. For this perceived affront, the king banishes the youngest to the goose barn. Later, the king becomes blind, and only the "voda-živa" ("water of life") can cure him. The gardener rides on a lame horse to begin his quest; but ditches his mount and summons the winged horse. He finds the water of life and brings it to the king, then reveals he was the baldheaded gardener. Caucasus Region In a tale from the Karachay-Balkar language translated to Russian as "Быжмапапах" ("Byzhmapapakh"), a shepherd sees children running about and sighs that he has no children. Suddenly, a diminute man (of one karysh) with a large beard (of a thousand karysh) appears, thinking he was summoned by the man. At any rate, the diminute man gives the shepherd an apple to be given to the man's wife, with one condition: after the his son is born, they have to let him leave home and not return until he is married. The shepherd obeys the diminute man's instructions, and a golden-haired son is born to them. Years later, when the boy comes of age, the shepherd follows the diminute man's orders and convinces his son to depart. The boy is given provisions for the road and begins his journey. His path leads him to an abandoned barn where three horses are kept. The horses can talk and convince the boy to keep them, and tell him to pluck a hair from their tails; he can light the hairs to summon the horses if he needs any help. Finally, he reaches a group of shepherds and dines with them. The shepherds talk about their khan, and, moved by their words, the boy decides to find work as a servant to the khan. The khan agrees and takes him im; the other servants mockingly call him Byzhmapapakh. The khan's youngest daughter sees Byzhmapapakh and falls in love with him. Some time later, the three princesses decide they want to get married and, on the matchmaker's advice, bring three watermelons to their father as analogy to their marriageability. The khan cuts open the watermelons (one rotten, the second overripe, the third ripe enough), and summons sons of khans for his daughters to choose. The