Once upon a time, there lived a man who had four sons. As he was getting older and older, he was concerned about the future of his children. So the old man told his four sons to find and develop their own skills. He said he would choose his heir in accordance with their skills. The four sons left home and each strived to sharpen his particular skill. A few years later, the four sons returned home and stood in front of their father to showcase their skills.

The first son said he was very good at stealing something, while the second son was confident in divination or foretelling. The third son had learned archery, and he became an excellent archer. Lastly, the fourth son had developed the skill of sewing. He was so clever with his needle that he could even sew pieces of iron or stone, not to mention cloth.

Now the father wanted to test their skills. First, he asked his second son what was on the top of the nearby mountain. The son closed his eyes. After a while, he answered that there were three eggs in a bird’s nest in the treetops. The father then told the first son to steal the eggs without being discovered by the mother bird. The first son immediately brought the three eggs. Now the father ordered the third son to break them with a single arrow. The third son lived up to his father’s expectations by doing exactly what he was told. Finally, the father asked the youngest son if he could sew the broken shells of the eggs. In an instant, the fourth son sewed the shells together so the three eggs became just like before. The father was pleased. But he could not tell whose skill was the best, so he decided to divide his assets evenly and bequeath them to his four sons equally.

Meanwhile, in the country, a princess had been kidnapped by a monster. The grief-stricken king proclaimed that anyone who rescued his beloved daughter would be allowed to marry her. The four brothers also heard about the rumors of the missing princess. They decided to take up the challenge and collaborate to save the princess. First, the second son closed his eyes and thought for a while. He figured out that the princess was being held captive on a remote island. The four brothers got on a boat and sailed toward the island. When they arrived at the island, the first son went ashore alone and successfully brought the princess to the boat without being noticed by the monster. The four brothers and the princess hurriedly started sailing back home.

Before long, however, the monster discovered that the princess was gone. The angry monster flew up into the sky and spotted the princess on the boat. In no time, the sea monster approached the boat, ready to attack them. Just then, the third son strung his bow and shot an arrow into the evil creature. The arrow hit the monster in the head, causing it to fall down dead in the boat. The monster was so enormous that it broke the boat into pieces. The brothers and the princess were holding onto pieces of drifting fragments. Now it was time for the fourth son to take action. He sewed all the scattered debris together into an entire boat. As such, the four brothers and the princess were able to save their lives and return home safe and sound.

Needless to say, the king was delighted to see his lost daughter again. But after hearing the whole story of the four brothers, the king could not decide which one should be given the promised reward. After much consideration, the king chose to divide half of his kingdom into four parts and give them to the four brothers evenly, instead of giving the princess to any one of them. The brothers were satisfied, of course, and they lived happily ever after.