Once upon a time, there was a farmer who lived with his wife and three sons in a farmhouse. The two elder sons were smart. But the youngest son was lazy. 
A messenger
One day, there came a messenger who said that, if anyone who could build a flying ship, he will win the heart of the princess along with half of the kingdom.
The two elder sons raised their hands. Their mother baked them tarts, roasted a chicken and a goose and packed their food. She added her blessings too.
The two brothers started walking into the jungle. Their goal was to win the princess. They started chopping trees. But they didn’t know what to do next. They started blaming each other. The two brothers continued for a few days and returned home when their food stock was over.
Ivan
Then, Ivan, the youngest of the family said “Mother, let me try it once”. But nobody was ready to trust him. Finally, their mother packed only a thick slice of stale bread and sent him to the jungle. Ivan cut a tall pine tree and started building the ship.
An old man
Suddenly, an old man appeared. “Son, what are you doing?” the old man asked.
“Building a flying ship. Usually, old men are wise. Can you tell me how to do it?” Ivan asked.
The old man gave some advice. Ivan offered him a piece of bread sadly and said, “This is all I have”. The old man ate the bread and blessed him.
Ivan sat on the half-built ship and rose up in the air. He could see the birds flying and clouds gathering.
He heard the melody of the bird’s hum. “Not to forget! You should invite all the unusual men you see on the way”. So saying, the wise old man bid farewell. Ivan saw a man kneeling down and keeping one ear on the ground. “What are you doing?” Ivan asked. “I am listening to the birds singing in the Southlands”, he said. “Come join me” Ivan Invited. The man got into the flying ship. They flew into the blue sky.
A hopping man
Then he saw a man hopping on one leg with the other tied to his ear. “If I don't do it, I will step across the world in no time at all” he said. Ivan took him on-board. They flew again over forest and meadow until they noticed a man shooting his gun at nothing at all in the sky.
“I am aiming my gun at the grey hen, which is sitting on the tree, thousand kilometres away”. He also came and joined the ship.
A crying man
Next, was a man crying, carrying a sack of loaves on his back. “Why are you crying?” Ivan asked. “I need more loaves. I can eat these in one gulp. I will be hungry again” he cried. Finally, he also joined the ship.
Next, those on the ship saw a man walking around a lake. He was thirsty and was looking for more water as the water in the lake was not enough.
He joined as the next passenger. And they saw a man walking to the jungle with a bundle of brushwood. “I am going to scatter these in the plain. A whole army will spring up” he said. He also came on-board.
A bundle of hay
Then, they met the last passenger of the day. He was a man carrying a bundle of hay. It was not normal hay but was the coolest hay in the world. It could make snow in the hot sun.
The Tsar
Finally, they reached the royal courtyard. The Tsar was having breakfast. The Tsar saw the flying ship and asked his courtiers to find out who they are. “A son of a farmer. It’s not royal blood” they said. The Tsar (King) was unhappy to accept that. “Set them some impossible tasks” the Tsar ordered.
“Bring two jugs of water from the North Pole and the South Pole before the Tsar finishes his breakfast.” The courtiers gave two jugs to Ivan.
His hopping giant-step companion helped him. He brought two jugs of water with one-two-three hops. “Task two,” said the courtiers and showed a dozen roasted oxen and a dozen loaves. “Eat them in one minute”. Ivan groaned. The hungry man came forward. It was one-two-three gulps for him. And then he called for more!
Forty barrels of beer
The Tsar was furious. He called for forty pails of beer to be poured into forty barrels and commanded that all this to be consumed in a single draught. The thirsty man from the lake came forward and drank all the beer in a single draught.
The next was an order for an iron bathhouse to be heated until it was white hot. Ivan had to spend the night steaming himself in it. “End of Ivan”, the Tsar thought. The man with a bundle of magic hay helped Ivan. He gave the snowy hay to Ivan. The next morning, Ivan was fresh as a daisy.
An army
The tasks were getting more difficult. The Tsar commanded Ivan to assemble an entire regiment of troops by the next morning. The man with the brushwood helped. He assembled the whole army in the blink of an eye.
When the Tsar awoke the next morning, he saw the army gathered in the royal courtyard, waving flags. He ordered the General to withdraw the army. But the army refused saying that the Tsar has been defeated.
The princess
Ivan won the heart of the princess and half of the country. He lived in the royal palace happily ever after.