There lived a beautiful girl, Asatkan, in the mountains. She had a lot of deer. So the devil began to call her his wife - Avakhi.
The girl answers:
- Bring all my reindeer without leaving your place. Then I will come to you.
The avahi began to shout and whistle. The wind rose. The deer were afraid of the storm.
They ran to the camp. Avahi says:
- Asatkan, Asatkan, I brought the deer. Come to me.
Asatkan sat on the biggest, best deer. Answers:
- I’m coming, I’m coming to see you.
And the Avakhi plague itself rushed past on a deer. It was as if a bird had flown by. Avakhi calls from the chum:
- Asatkan, Asatkan, go quickly. Lunch will get cold. And instead of Asatkan, the riding deer answers:
- I’ll put it, I’ll put it next to yours. I'll come to you now.
Avakhi doesn't want to wait. Asatkan hurries:
- Waiting for you. Go faster, faster! Again the deer answers instead of Asatkan:
- I’ll put on the chum and I’ll come.
I waited a little for Avahi. He asks again:
- Asatkan, Asatkan, you’ve probably already set up the chum?
“I put up the chum, I put it up,” the deer answers.
- Asatkan, Asatkan, why don’t you go? - asks the avahi.
— I’m chopping wood. “I’ll chop wood and I’ll come,” the deer answers.
Avahi got angry and said:
- Asatkan, Asatkan, I’ll go and bring you myself, otherwise I won’t wait.
He came out of the tent - there was no one. All he sees is a deer running far ahead. Avahi grabbed the shovel that was lying there. Hit the ground with a shovel. He sat astride her. He rushed to catch up with Asatkan.
Avahi rides on a shovel. He saw Asatkan and shouted:
- Asatkan, Asatkan, let your deer’s leg be taken away.
Indeed, one of the deer’s legs was lost.
“Avahi, avahi,” the girl answers, “let a quarter of your shovel fall off.”
A quarter of the shovel broke off. Avahi got angry.
“Asatkan, Asatkan, let your deer’s second leg be taken away,” he shouts.
The second leg of the deer was lost. But the deer does not stop. Runs on two legs.
“Avahi, avahi,” says the girl, “let your shovel break in half.”
As soon as Asatkan said, the shovel broke in half.
“Asatkan, Asatkan,” says the evil avahi, let the third leg of your deer be taken away.
The deer lost its third leg. A deer gallops on one.
Asatkan shouts:
- Avahi, avahi, let a quarter of your shovel remain. The shovel broke. One quarter of it remains.
The avahi got really angry and said:
- Asatkan, Asatkan, let your deer be left completely without legs.
“Let your shovel, avahi, break completely,” Asatkan answers.
While they were talking like this, they reached the river. Asatkan jumped off the deer. She hit the ground and became foam. She rolled into the river and swam. Avakhi rushed into the river after her.
Carries foam down the river. Avakhi is chasing her along the river and wants to catch her.
Brought foam to where the swans swim. The girl asks the swans:
- Swans, swans, hide me from the avahi.
The swans hid the foam under their wings. The Avakhi swam up to the swans. They got scared and took off. The foam fell out from under the wings. Avahi grabbed the foam in his mouth and held it.
A bird flew in from somewhere. She began to circle around the Avakha. Either he will sit on the avahi’s head, or he will peck at his long nose. An avahi is swimming along the river, his hands are full. He has nothing to drive the bird away with. He decided to grab her with his mouth. Avahi opened his mouth. The bird snatched the foam and flew away. Flew up a tree. From there, along with the foam, the stone hit the ground. There was a strong roar along the river and through the taiga.
Out of fear, Avakhi dived into the water and choked. The foam turned into Asatkan again. The bird became a handsome guy.
Asatkan looked at the slender young man and laughed. Here the young man bowed low to the girl and wooed her for himself.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru