Old man Erokhot and his old woman live on the banks of the Big Yenisei1. Old people live, fish and squirrel.
From somewhere the orphan Kasket came to them. Kasket said:
- Grandfather, I came to you to be your grandson.
Old man Erohot says to his old woman:
- Now we will have a grandson!
“Old man,” she said, “now life will become a little easier for us.”
The old man went hunting and ate protein. Casket also went, but returned with nothing.
Old man Erohot says to his old woman:
-Where does he go? Protein never brings. Well, I'll follow in his footsteps!
Kasket sits by the fire, not paying attention to anything - what a hunt there is!
Old man Erohot returned home and said to the old woman:
“Old lady, our Kasket returns without prey because he sits by the fire all day.”
Old man Erohot lived with the old woman for how long, or how long, and thought about it.
“Old woman,” he said, “how long will we raise this Kasket?”
“Old man,” she answered, “where are we going to take him?”
Casket is outside listening to the old men talking.
Old man Erohot said to the old woman:
“Let’s get him lost somewhere along the way.”
The old woman objected:
— The casket is probably magical.
Old man Erohot said:
- Go away! Tomorrow we will go on a small walk* and will circle around a lot.
Kasket heard all the words of the old men.
The old people spent the night, and in the morning they put food in bags. Old man Erohot Kasketu said:
- Casket, let's go!
He agreed. The old people came out and put on their parkas.
During the short absence of the old people, Kasket hit the ground, turned around and jumped into the old woman’s bag.
The old people walked for a long time or for a long time - the casket whistles slightly. Old woman Erohota says:
- Old man, someone is whistling.
The old man answers:
“You’re talking in vain, these are some earth birds* whistling.”
The old people walked for a long time or for a long time, the old woman said:
- Maybe it’s Kasket whistling?
The old man replied:
- We left it somewhere.
The old man looked for a higher place. The old people decided to spend the night. Old man Erohot said:
- Well, now let's make some tea. So we left him, this Kasket. Old woman, bring your bag here.
The old woman replied:
- My bag has become very heavy!
The old woman untied the bag. From there, Kasket's eyes look out like shiny pebbles.
Casket laughed. The old woman shuddered.
“Old man, it turns out I’ve been carrying Casket on my shoulder all day.”
The old men began to drink tea. The old man thinks: “Wait a minute, I’ll do something to you anyway!” And Kasket laughs to himself, he sees right through the old man’s thoughts.
It got dark. The old man says to his old woman:
- The bed is at the cliff!
The old men lay down and put the casket on the edge away from them.
- Old woman, lie down quietly!
The old man was fast asleep, but Casket was not sleeping. The old man was tired, fell fast asleep, and began to snore. Kasket quietly stood up, moved the old man to the cliff, the old man fell into the water, and the current carried him away below. The casket snuggled up to the old woman, sleep took over him. The old woman stirred him up and said:
- Old man, push Kasket into the water!
Casket can barely contain his laughter.
The old woman got up in the morning and made tea.
- Get up, old man, get up!
Casket stood up. The old woman looked at him and said:
- Ah, grandson Kasket! You did it well.
Kasket began to live with the old woman.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru