I love this story. It’s short and fun. I hope you enjoy it!!

There was a father who had a very beautiful daughter, though she was quite headstrong and stubborn. Three suitors presented themselves each even more handsome than the other and asked for his daughter’s hand; to which he replied that he would give his blessing and would ask his daughter which of them she preferred.

            He did just that and the daughter replied she preferred all three.

            “But míja, that cannot be.”

            “I choose all three,” the young lady answered.

            “Speak with reason, woman,” her father retorted. “To which of the three do I give a ‘yes’?”

            “To all three,” she replied again; there was no way to talk her out of it.

            The poor father went, dejectedly, and told the three suitors that his daughter wanted all three; but as that was not possible, that he had determined that the suitors should go forth into the world, search out and bring back something unique and so, he who brings back the best and most rare would be the one to marry his daughter.

            They set forth straightaway, each his own way, and after a long while they were once again reunited somewhere beyond the seas, in far off lands, none of them having found anything beautiful and unique. As they went through these tribulations, without giving up on procuring that for which they quested, the first suitor to arrive came upon an old man who asked if he would like to buy a mirror.

            He answered that he did not, saying that that tiny ugly mirror would not serve him at all.

            So, the vendor explained that that mirror held great virtue, which was that through it one could see whomever the owner desired; and assuring himself of its truth, he bought it for what the vendor asked.

            The one who had arrived second, while walking down a street came across the same old man, who asked him if he would like to buy a small tincture.

            “For what would a tincture serve me,” he asked the old man.

            “Lord knows,” he responded, “you see, this tincture has great virtue, which is the ability to resuscitate the dead.”

            At that very moment, a funeral procession came past. He went to the casket, tipped a drop of the tincture in the mouth of the deceased who then got up agreeable and alert, and bore his own coffin home. This was seen by the second suitor who bought the tincture from the old man for the price he asked.

            Meanwhile, the third suitor who was wandering along the seashore caught up in his worries, saw a large ark arrive riding on a very large wave. As it came closer to the beach, it opened and an infinite number of passengers jumped out onto dry land.

            The last one, who was an old man, came up to him and asked if he would like to buy that ark.

            “What would I want it for,” responded the suitor, “it is not fit for anything but firewood.”

            “No, sir,” replied the old man, “for it possess a great virtue, which is that in a few short hours it carries its owner, and those who travel with him, where they would like to go and where they desire; this is true, you can see for yourself, sir, these passengers here a few short hours ago found themselves on the shores of Spain.”

            The gentleman verified this and bought the ark for what the owner asked.

            The next day, the three of them gathered together and each one recounted, quite contentedly, that he had finally found what he desired, and so, would be returning to Spain.

The first suitor explained how he had bought a mirror in which one could see, simply by desiring it, the absent person who they wished to see; and he presented his mirror to prove this, desiring to see the girl they all courted. But what a shock when they saw her stretched out in a coffin, dead!

            “I have got a tincture,” exclaimed he who had purchased the small bottle, “which will revive her; but by the time we reach her she will be buried and food for worms.”

            “Well, I have got an ark,” said he who bought the boat, “which, in a few hours, will have us in Spain.”

             So, they ran to the ark and in a few hours jumped out onto terra firma and walked to the village where they found the father of their betrothed. They found him deeply disconsolate over the death of his daughter, whose body was still present.

They asked him to take them to see her, and when they were in the room with the casket, the one with the tincture, tipped a few droplets onto the lips of the deceased, who rose up from her coffin agreeable and beaming, and turning to her father, said, “Do you see, father, how I needed all three?”