Chugur takes magical equipment from three little devils

Csongor’s acquisition of the enchanted equipment is a contest won through judgment rather than force: he hears three little devils quarrelling, learns what their possessions can do, and proposes a race that draws them away from the goods. He then carries off all three objects, entrusting Balga with the task of holding the devils there. The episode turns a dispute among supernatural custodians into a practical advantage for Csongor’s journey, while revealing how quickly apparent simplicity can be made to serve a clever plan.

The quarrel and the claim

The little devils arrive quarrelling over the objects. Csongor recognizes that their disagreement may be useful and listens as Kurrah begins to speak for them. Kurrah first identifies the magical boots; the exchange frames the three objects as possessions contested by their keepers, not as equipment Csongor has already won or been given.

Kurrah asks Csongor to hear and judge their case, describing the three as orphaned children. His appeal presents the quarrel as a plea for adjudication, even as the devils’ bickering makes clear that the group cannot settle the matter among themselves. Csongor’s role therefore shifts from spectator to arbiter: the contestants supply the problem, and he supplies the rule that will decide it.

What the objects can do

When Csongor asks what benefit the equipment offers, Kurrah explains that whoever wears it cannot be seen. The boots have a further, distinct power: when their wearer urges them onward, they carry that person wherever desired. Invisibility and arrival at a chosen place make the equipment especially suited to movement through the world without ordinary constraint.

Csongor does not simply accept the claim on Kurrah’s authority. He asks whether he will be allowed to see the effect for himself, and Kurrah agrees, asking that the boots be put on him. Csongor then says that he cannot see Kurrah, though he can hear him. The demonstration confirms the practical difference between sight and sound: the wearer disappears from view, but his voice remains audible.

Kurrah follows the demonstration with a command to the boots and belt, and says that he will be at Csongor’s side. The moment gives the boots’ promised swiftness a theatrical proof, not merely a description. Together, the explanation and demonstration make the objects’ value concrete before Csongor devises a way to claim them.

The race Csongor proposes

The conversation turns from the magic of the goods to the problem of ownership. Csongor points out that three objects cannot all belong to each of the three contestants, so one must receive them. Rather than choose among the devils himself, he orders them to place the goods before him and run up the distant hills; whoever returns first will take all three.

The arrangement is deliberately simple and sharply unequal: the winner is promised the entire set, not one object, and the other two will lose their claim. The three accept the proposal, and Csongor remarks that they seem to understand him. Their readiness to race resolves the immediate dispute by replacing argument with competition, while removing every contestant from the spot where the objects have been laid.

The transfer and its aftermath

As the devils run, Csongor tells Balga to keep them there and says that he will come back for him. The direction makes Balga a necessary accomplice in securing the advantage: Csongor can take the possessions, but someone must prevent their owners from returning at once. Csongor then carries away the little devils’ goods, completing the transfer before the race can restore their control.

Balga remains behind, anticipating that he will be able to work out what has occupied his master’s thoughts. The scene thus ends with the pair divided between complementary tasks: Csongor has the equipment, while Balga is left to hold the contestants to the contest. The immediate consequence is possession, not merely discovery; the episode makes Csongor’s gain depend on both his invented rule and Balga’s presence at the scene.

A contest turned into an opportunity

The encounter’s central reversal lies in the difference between the devils’ stated problem and Csongor’s use of it. They come seeking a judgment over their goods, but the proposed race makes their own competition an opening for him. His plan depends on the objects being placed within reach and their owners being induced to leave; Balga’s instruction addresses the risk that the runners might return before Csongor has secured the goods.

The episode also gives the equipment narrative force before its later use: invisibility is demonstrated in the exchange with Kurrah, and the boots’ power of swift arrival is presented as an explicit capacity. Csongor’s acquisition therefore joins two kinds of advantage—the extraordinary powers of the objects and the practical advantage created by his handling of the quarrel. The scene closes not with a fair settlement among the three claimants, but with Csongor departing with their possessions and Balga tasked with keeping the race in motion.