Before going on a voyage, the merchant Stepan Yemelyanovich asks his three daughters what they would like him to bring as a gift to them. The eldest daughter, Gordeya, asks for an expensive decoration - a golden crown decorated with semi-precious stones. The average, Lyubava, orders a magic mirror in which her face will always look young, and the youngest, Nastya, asks her father to bring her a scarlet flower, similar to the one she saw in a dream. Sisters laugh at her desire.