Once upon a time there lived a leader, his name was Babuse; and he wanted to go to the girl. His father forbade him; he said:
“Don’t go to that girl, for whoever goes does not return.”
But Chief Babuse said:
- I want to go there.
Then his father agreed, gave him a lot of cattle and he said:
- Well, go ahead.
He gave him people to go with him.
And he gathered all the people and went. His father told him:
“My child, do not go the road that goes uphill; take the road that goes down.
And he went to Babuz. But it happened that at the division of two roads, he left Babuz the road that his father spoke about, telling him to go along that one; he went the other way, which his father spoke about, told him not to go along that one.
What happened next, Babuse met many animals; they saw him when he appeared, and shouted to him when he was far away:
- Babuse, Babuse, son of the leader!
And he said to Babuz:
“My father told me, ordering me not to go this way; he said it was a bad road, with hyenas.
So speaking of the hyenas, he gave them a lot of cattle.
They came back again and said:
- Babuse, son of the leader!
He again gave them cattle, food for hyenas. And soon the cattle came to an end. They asked again and said:
- Babuse, son of the leader!
He immediately gave up the people.
They came back and repeated again, they said:
- Babuse, son of the leader!
Now he has finished off people for them. The hyenas asked again. Now he didn’t know what to do, because the people were all gone. Now he walked alone.
The hyenas returned and asked again, they said:
- Babuse, son of the leader!
He ran and met a field mouse ahead.
The field mouse said:
- Skin me and hold my skin in your hand.
He skinned it immediately, for there were hyenas who were about to eat, who were close. He took the skin and it immediately lifted him up, when the hyenas appeared, wanting to eat him; She lifted him far into the clouds, while hyenas roamed the earth. The hyenas are back.
And the skin drew him into the clouds; she laid him on the edge of the village, where the girl he loved was. And he entered the house, now walking through the firmament. He walked with the skin tied to his staff.
And at home the people opened the festival, greatly rejoicing, saying: “The groom of the chief’s daughter has come.”
Bulls were slaughtered for him. And he stayed. At the end of the year in which he left, he was still there. When the year ended, the girl’s father called a large wedding party so that she could celebrate his daughter’s wedding. A lot of people went.
Said Babuz:
“Give me also a lot of cattle, for there are hyenas along the way; for I myself was there with a multitude of people who were given to me by my father, and on the way they were eaten by hyenas. And he gave him a lot of cattle. And he went with the girl, the cattle and the people.
And he came to where the hyenas fell behind him; he found field mouse meat, he put the skin on the field mouse meat; and he killed an ox for a field mouse, he left all its meat and it was eaten by the field mouse.
He met hyenas; they asked again and said:
- Babuse, son of the leader!
He didn't give them anything else. The girl's brother killed one hyena, which was their leader, and all the hyenas died.
And now they were walking safely. They came to their house and there was crying, for they saw that the leader was returning when they thought that he would die. And he came to his house; many cattle were slaughtered for the wedding party and the chief, their son. They got married and she became a great woman. Her brothers did not return home. The entire wedding party settled there.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru