Section 1
A grand feast was once hosted by Prince Vladimir of Kiev to celebrate the union of his beloved daughter Ludmila and the knight Ruslan. Rogday, Farlaf, and Ratmir, three envious rivals, watched. After several hours of celebrations, Ruslan escorted his stunning young wife to the prepared wedding bed. Unexpectedly, a light appeared in the dark sky, and thunderclaps rocked the earth. A weird fog arose, and from within it, an odd voice could be heard. When Ruslan turned toward his wife, he saw that she had gone into thin air.
Prince Vladimir was furious and worried when he found out that his daughter vanished. He instantly declared the union null and void and offered Ludmila's hand to anybody who could seek her out and return her to her family.
Immediately, Ruslan, Rogday, Farlaf, and Ratmir ascended their courageous horses to begin seeking the abducted girl. The four initially rode together, but later they parted ways.
"I'll kill the kidnapper," Rogday was rather tense and could be overheard mumbling under his mouth. He once believed he had caught the kidnapper and chased after him as he fled on a horse. He quickly caught up with him and flung him into a ditch. He was disappointed to learn that the person he had caught was his opponent Farlaf. He walked away silently from the scene.
Farlaf was the most fearful of the four rivals, and he was in the mud counting his blessings when an evil old witch called Naina approached him. She instructed him to let another person save Ludmila. Farlaf could then steal her from the opponent when they arrived home.
Ratmir, meantime, was traveling south in his pursuit and one evening he came across a fortress that was populated by lovely, obedient maidens. He vanished without a trace since that.
Ruslan achieved the most advancements in his search for the stunning Ludmila. Early on in his journey, he discovered a dark chamber and met an elderly wizard who said that he had turned into a wizard in order to win the heart of a lovely girl he had known when he was a young man in his home Finland. After many years, with the help of magic, he eventually gained her love, but by that time she was wicked, old, and crookback. (This elderly woman was actually the wicked witch Naina) The Finn has been living alone ever since.
The magician promised Ruslan that all will work eventually, even though he said that the evil magician Chernomor was the one who abducted Ruslan's wife.
This gave Ruslan the motivation to hit the road once more. He soon encountered Rogday, his envious rival, and was driven into a fight with him. The two engaged in a lengthy, battle while riding horses. Finally, Ruslan succeeded in throwing Rogday from the horse and into the turbulent Dnieper River, where he drowned.
A gigantic head suddenly blocked Ruslan's way moments later. The head would giggle madly and blow at Ruslan, causing a strong wind blast that nearly knocked both Ruslan and his horse down. The heroic knight, however, was able to pierce the head's mouth with a spear, killing it, and toppling it over with the weight of his hefty glove. Ruslan was about to strike the head with a gleaming sword he had discovered beneath him when the enemy's head entirely gave up and vowed to bow down to Ruslan.
The head actually was familiar with Chernomor, the man who kidnapped Ludmila, he knew him very well, as Chernomor happened to be his brother. In a disagreement over the sparkling sword that Ruslan had suddenly found, the sorcerer had chopped off his head. The head informed the knight that Chernomor's whole strength lay within his beard. Chernomor's power would be lost as well if his beard were to be cut. Ruslan left the head alone and continued his journey.
Ludmila was missing for a long time. In fact, the wicked Chernomor had kidnapped her because he desired her for himself. She was brought to his castle, where she could reside in peace. She was free to roam the enchanting garden outside her chamber, complete with wonderful trees and magical birds. But she couldn't be happy there since she missed Ruslan.
