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There was once a poor man who died and left his wife and son alone. The boy was named Kordha, and as time passed he grew to be big and strong. The mother and son were happy together but they were very poor.

One day, Kordha asked his mother, ‘Is there nothing that my father left me to remember him by?’

‘There were a few things, my son,’ replied the boy’s mother, ‘but I was forced to sell them so that we could eat. There is only one thing that I can think of... a sword that your father hid in the roof. Perhaps it is still there.’

Kordha was very excited when he climbed up into the roof and found the sword still there, rusted and covered in dust. The boy cleaned the sword and polished it until it shone like new.

The very next day, Kordha told his mother that he was going to leave the village in search of his fortune so that they would no longer be poor. His mother pleaded for her son not to leave, but the boy assured her that he would return as soon as he could. ‘And when I return,’ he told his mother, ‘we will no longer be poor or hungry ever again. We shall be rich and we shall prosper.’

After the first week of his travels, Kordha arrived at a mountain where he met another boy called Ylli. Ylli shared what food he had with Kordha and the two swore to be brothers and to protect one another from harm forever. ‘Our fortunes are now intertwined,’ said Kordha as he raised his sword to the skies.

The next day, the two boys set off together in search of fortune and adventure. They travelled for many days and many nights, across rough terrain and thick forest, until one night they came to rest at a small lake beneath a clear moon. The two boys were very tired and very hungry, and neither was able to catch a fish for their dinner.

In the middle of the night, another boy appeared out of the darkness and offered the travellers some fresh fish to eat. His name was Deti and he joined Kordha and Ylli and the three swore to be brothers and to protect one another forever.

And so the three boys set off the following morning in search of fortune and adventure. They travelled for seven days and seven nights until they reached a magnificent castle surrounded by a huge moat and set in a deep, lush valley of tall grass. On the other side, a proud King stood at the castle gates and said that any man or boy brave enough to jump over his moat would be allowed to marry his daughter. ‘But if you should fail to jump over the moat,’ said the King in his booming voice, ‘if you should land in the water, then you will lose your head to the blade of my best soldier!’

Kordha wanted to try and jump across the moat and win the hand of the Princess, but he was afraid that he might fail and lose his head. ‘Who would look after my mother if I were to fail in my quest?’ he thought to himself.

Then Ylli stepped up and handed Kordha a stone. ‘Why don’t you try to throw this stone across the moat and see how it flies?’ suggested his brother.

Kordha did as Ylli suggested and threw the stone across the moat and watched it land at the castle gates on the other side.

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