In ancient times there lived a warrior named Boran. He had a friend, Cascarau, with whom he was in a quarrel. Kaskarau had a bride from the Nogai clan. One day the Nogais migrated to another place and took the girl with them. Cascarau did not go after her, but gathered his people and asked them: what should he do? The place where the Nogais migrated was very far away. They crossed the sea. And this sea was very wide. You can travel around it only in three months. There was another way. You can cross from one bank to the other in fifteen days. But the shortcut is dangerous. It is covered with reeds. And there were terrible animals in them: bears, tigers, wolves and various monsters.
Cascarau turned to his people, and they told him this:
- What are you talking about, Kaskarau? In the old days they said: “Even if a crow caws a thousand times, the year will not come, but a goose crows once and the year will come.” What does it matter that we have gathered? There is nothing we can do to help you. Why are you quarreling with Boran? Who will protect you if enemies attack? You yourself will not be able to withstand them. Stop the quarrel with the hero. This is our advice to you! We will make you kneel before him!
And they brought Boran an expensive carpet and a black bunk as a gift. Kaskarau was also brought to him.
“We brought your friend to you,” the people said, turning to Boran. “We made him bow before you, telling him: “Do not count the years, but honor people.” People say: “The honor of the clan is the honor of the hero.” Don't you see that the honor of our family has been tarnished? The Nogai took our bride away. So we came to tell you about this.
“I thought that you had gathered here for a reason,” said Boran. “But I’m in great difficulty.” It’s not the Nogais that I’m afraid of! It doesn’t become a hero to talk about this. The path there is long and difficult. You can't take a detour. We have to go from one bank to the other. But the road goes through the reeds. And predatory animals roam in the reeds.
The people shuddered with fear, and then said:
- Boran! If you are not afraid of distance, then we will go with you. We will accompany you.
- No! - said Boran. - I don’t want them to say: “Boran was afraid of the difficult transition and went around the sea.” I'd rather die than hear this. I will take a difficult road, and I don’t need many people. Give me ten zhigits who can cook dinner. Give them twenty of the best horses from the herd. And I have my own horse, my own weapon. So as not to delay, we will leave the day after tomorrow. On the day of our departure, you must gather all the people and arrange it.
As Boran said, so it was done.
Boran set off. The zhigits took turns preparing hot food for him. This is how they moved. But then we entered a thicket of reeds. There was no time for sleep here. They ate hot food and moved slowly. Terrible animals appeared, then moved away and appeared again. And suddenly a terrible bear came out of the thickets and roared at the top of his lungs. The Boran zhigits, who had not seen such a beast, were killed from their horses. But Boran was not afraid and shouted loudly. The bear disappeared. Then Boran raised his zhigits and said:
- What's wrong with you? Is the beast scary? But if he jumps out and roars again, will you fall off your horses again? So, what?
Then the bear jumped out again and growled louder than before. Boran rushed towards him and shouted loudly.
The bear disappeared again into the thickets. This time the zhigits did not fall from their horses. They held their manes tightly.
“You see how scary he is,” said Boran. “For several days we rode without fear, but here it is on you!” He'll probably throw himself a third time. Then I'll go for it. Death itself brought him to me. Please don't be scared by his roar. If you fall from your horses, you won't be able to carry away the bones. And don't bother me...
Boran didn't finish. A bear came out of the thicket and growled. Boran was not at a loss. But this time the bear was not afraid of the hero and rushed at him. Boran jumped off his horse and went towards the bear. They fought in a terrible fight. And when the bear was about to put its paws on Boran’s shoulders, the batyr grabbed the bear by the throat with one hand and hit him on the head with the other. The blow was so strong that the head immediately broke into pieces.
So they got rid of the first danger they encountered on their way. Fourteen days have passed. On the fifteenth day they began to reach the other bank, when suddenly they encountered thickets on the way. Boran said to the zhigits:
“I heard that evil spirits are gathering here.” We need to stop, feed the horses without removing their saddles, and set off early in the morning. Before night falls, get your armor in order and be prepared for anything.
Boran said so and lay down. Nine zhigits also lay down, and the tenth began to prepare dinner. He lit a fire and the smoke came towards him. He was surprised: “Why is the smoke coming in my direction?” He raised his head and saw: a terrible hairy monster was sitting right in front of him. Zhigit shouted and woke up his comrades. They all clung to Boran. The hairy monster did exactly the same thing. It was not alone, the same monsters were sitting behind it. These were Zheztyrnaks. All their power was in their hands. The fingers on them are like the claws of an eagle. The entire body is covered with thick hair.
Boran asked his zhigits to sit down - and the monster sat his own down. Boran didn't know what to do next. He was seriously frightened by the monster that was mimicking him. Boran decided to resort to cunning. He went to the fire and turned on the fire. The monster did the same. Boran went to the food bag, pulled out a piece of lamb fat and stuck it on a stick. He hid the knife in a bag, went to the fire and began to melt the lard. And when it melted, Boran began to smear it over his naked body. Then he threw a stick to the Zheztyrnaks, embraced the fire and said: “Go, hero, let’s measure our strength.” The monster did the same. But as soon as it approached the fire, the fat caught fire and the flames engulfed the entire hairy body of the monster. Zheztyrnak rushed to his own. The flame spread to them. All the monsters ran into the reeds - the reeds caught fire. The Zheztyrnaks began to extinguish the fire with water. Smoke covered them. One of the monsters, running away, shouted: “Wait, Boran, we will meet again!”
Boran took advantage of the turmoil, jumped on his horse and, together with his zhigits, set off further on the road, and the fire flared up more and more. They rode quietly all day. By evening the fire died down and the smoke cleared. The zhigits said joyfully:
- It seems we got off happily!
“Wait to rejoice,” said Boran. “After all, you heard what one of them said.” So they didn't leave us. They'll manage the fire and catch up. And how this meeting will end for us is unknown.
But then the smoke cleared completely, and they saw dust. It was monsters moving.
“Well, friends,” said Boran, “now they will catch up with us.” If they come here, don't stop me from fighting them, go away. I won't be offended.
The zhigits began to object to Boran and say that the first time they were scared out of sleep, without understanding what was happening. There are ten of them, and they can withstand ten.
So they rode and argued. And suddenly they noticed the approach of monsters. The Zhigits forgot about their courage and decided to follow Boran's advice. They drove forward, leaving the hero alone. Boran turned his horse to the east and began to wait. In the evening the zhigits reached a high hill and began to observe from above. They cried: “If Boran dies, we will never see our homeland!” Then they noticed something black on the road. Some said it was Boran, others said it was a monster! It’s not for nothing that people say that “everything doubles for a coward.”
But one of them shouted:
- Yes, this is our Boran!
Boran arrived. Everyone was very happy to see him. The batyr’s face changed, he became pale, haggard, his eyes sunken. He and his horse were covered in blood. When the zhigits surrounded Boran, he said:
“We got rid of our enemies happily.” Is there water here? We need to spend the night, water the horses, rest, and tomorrow we’ll hit the road.
Boran got off his horse, put the saddle under his head and fell into a heroic sleep. The zhigits could not sleep from excitement and sat all night near the fire, preparing dinner for Boran.
In the morning they arrived to the Nogais. The matchmakers could not resist the hero. They did what he ordered them to do. And having equipped the bride of Cascarau, they saw off the guests with honors.
On the way back, the zhigits saw the corpses of the Zheztyrnaks, whom Boran killed. There were more than sixty of them...
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru