Undeterred, the foolish son convinced his parents to let him go, and they sent him away with a small amount of stale, flavorless food and some water.
When the old man asked for food, the foolish son opened his sack and was surprised to discover that it was no longer stale and flavorless.
Viewing them as peasants, the tsar decides to give them five impossible tasks to avoid marrying his daughter to them.
[3][1] The tale is classified, in the East Slavic Folktale Classification (Russian: СУС, romanized: SUS), as two tale types: SUS 513A, Russian: Шесть чудесных товарищей, romanized: Shest' chudesnykh tovarishchey, lit.
'Six Wonderful Companions', and SUS 513B, Russian: Летучий корабль, romanized: Letuchiy korabl', lit.