One day a pregnant woman went into the tundra to get a fly agaric. She collects fly agaric, clears it of soil and moss, and does not see that the bear is sneaking after her.
The bear attacked the woman, and that was the end. The bear pulled out the child and began to examine him. “How small he is! I'll leave him. When it grows up, I’ll eat it!” The bear took the baby to her and began to breastfeed. The boy began to run around with his legs - she began to feed him deer tongues and brains, and began to feed him fatty meat. He thinks: “When there is no meat, then I’ll eat it!” And when there was no meat, it seemed to her that he was too thin...
That's how they lived. The boy is growing up, and the bear is getting old.
- Why don’t you eat? Why aren't you getting fat? - asks the bear. – What do you want – a wild deer or a mountain sheep?
The she-bear brought a lot of meat. But the boy ran, jumped and did not get fat.
And so, when he became a young man, the bear brought meat from the hunt less and less often. The bear became angry and grumpy. One day the young man heard the bear talking to herself:
- Why am I chasing wild deer with my tongue out when there is meat at home? Now I’ll eat this two-legged creature and I’ll be full!
Ah, thought the young man, this is not my mother! This is why I have arms and legs, this is why my body is not covered with fur! The next morning he says to the bear:
“Isn’t it time for me to get food?”
- Try! - she said.
Let's go hunting. We crept up to a herd of wild deer. The young man grabbed a stone, threw it, and broke the deer’s leg. And now he began to get meat. The bear told him:
– You can go hunting in the tundra, but don’t go to the seashore, evil devils live there.
At first the guy hunted as the bear ordered, and then he wanted to look at the devils, what are they like and what are they doing? And he went to the shore. Finally he approached the sea and saw people hunting for walruses on kayaks. The young man looked at them and could not. take a look. “But I look like these devils!” - he thought. The guy looked at people for three days, but did not show himself, then he went to the bear. He comes home, and the bear is angry.
-Where have you been for so long?
- I was with the devils. They look like me and I look like them!
“These are not devils, but people,” says the bear, “and you are also a person.” Go to them, tell them who you are, and find your father, he lives in this camp. Just before you leave, kill me, I don’t want to starve!
“I’ll prepare a lot of meat for you.” And I will bring it when it runs out.
- No, kill me!
The young man killed the bear, went to the seashore again, the Eskimos saw him and brought him to the camp.
The young man found his father here. Became a good hunter.
He heard that on the island of Arkimchiken there lives a girl, beautiful and strong, whoever defeats her will be her husband. Many suitors came from all over Chukotka - from Uelen, Chaplino, Serenika, Im-tup.
The guy got into the canoe and wanted to go there, but the boat sank to the bottom. He made a large canoe, sat down, and again the boat sank to the bottom. He made a third one, such a big one that no one had ever built, sat down, pushed off from the shore, and the canoe sank under the water - that’s how the guy grew up... He thought and thought what to do. He took the whale's shoulder blades, tied them to the soles and walked straight across the sea to the island. Came.
The grooms stood around the bride. She says: “Whoever defeats me, I will be his wife!” How can I marry someone who doesn't beat me? Am I going to run around the herd for him? Am I going to hunt for him? Is it possible to love such a husband?
So they all ran in a race, and from the very first steps the suitors lagged behind the girl. She rushed like the wind, and her braids stuck out in the air like two arrows. Our guy didn’t lag behind her a single step: he walked shoulder to shoulder. Halfway through the road he said to her: “Can I leave you?” - Try it!
And the young man rushed forward like a whirlwind. He reached the place and flew back. When he ran up to the camp, he was greeted with laughter: Ah, back from half the way! Eh, well done, it would be better to sit at home and not compete, but sit with the women and drink tea! A lot of time passed before the bride-girl returned.
Everyone rushed to her.
- Here, he is my winner! – the girl said and approached the young man.
If you don’t believe me, go to Arkimchiken Island. The whale's shoulder blades are still there.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru