Ho-vori, Prince Fiery Death, son of Niniga, was a skilled hunter. He accurately killed all animals - hard-haired and soft-haired.
His elder brother Ho-zeri, Prince Lightning, was a fisherman, and with his nets he caught all the wide-scaled and narrow-scaled fish. But often, when the windbreaker came and the waves piled high, high in the sky, he did not catch a single fish.
One day, when the god of bad weather was not at home, Ho-zeri had to stay at home; when night fell, Ho-vori returned from the mountains, laden with booty. Then Khozeri said to his brother:
“Oh, how I wish you would give me your bow and arrows; I'd rather become a hunter. For that you will receive my fishing rods.
At first Ho-vori never agreed to this proposal, but in the end the exchange took place.
But Prince Ho-zeri was not a hunter from birth. He did not know how to deftly track the game, did not know how to chase it at a fast run and aim correctly...
And Prince Ho-vori rode into the open lake every day in vain and cast his fishing rods fruitlessly; he did not catch a single fish. And on top of that, he also lost his brother's fishhook. So Kho-zeri came to Kho-vori and said:
- Here is the happiness of the mountains, there is the happiness of the lake!.. May each of us return happiness to the other. Ho-vori replied:
“And I didn’t catch a single fish with your hook, and in the end I dropped it into the sea.”
The elder brother became terribly angry and sharply began to demand the return of his treasure. This was a great misfortune for Prince Fire Death. He broke his good sword and made five hundred fishhooks out of it, which he offered to his brother, but this did not at all console Hozeri, who continued to rage and demand his fishhook.
Ho-vori found neither consolation nor help. One day he sat on the seashore and sighed deeply, deeply; and the sea grandfather heard his lamentations and asked about the reason for his sadness. And Ho-vori told him about the loss of the fishing hook and about his brother’s anger; then the sea grandfather promised to help him.
He wove the bamboo stalks so tightly that sea water did not penetrate between them, and placed a small, strong shuttle on this raft. Ho-vori jumped into this shuttle, which carried him into the open, distant sea. A little later, the canoe began to descend, as the sea grandfather had predicted. He sank deeper and deeper until he reached a palace that was built on the seabed from sparkling fish scales.
In front of the palace there was a well in the shade of a powerful wild cinnamon tree. Prince Fiery Death sank down onto the wide-shady branches and suddenly saw a girl approaching the well. In her hands she carried a cup decorated with precious stones; it was the beautiful Toho-Tama, the incomparable gem, the daughter of Wata-Tzu-Mi, the king of the sea.
Kho-vori was simply enchanted by her brilliant beauty, her long, flowing hair and tender, deep, blue eyes.
The girl bent down to fill the cup and suddenly noticed the reflection of the prince in the water; she dropped the cup and the cup shattered into a thousand shards. Toho-Tama rushed to her father and exclaimed:
— A young man, dressed with divine charm and beauty, sits on the branches of wild cinnamon. I saw the reflection of his face in the well!..
And the sea king realized that this must be the skilled hunter Prince Fiery Death. Then Vata-Tzu-Mi went under the wild cinnamon, raised his eyes to Ho-vori and said:
- Come down, oh son of the gods, and enter my palace!..
And Ho-vori obeyed him, and the king led the guest into the palace and seated him on his throne, decorated with the skin of sea lions, and a great celebration was held in honor of the prince; The table decoration consisted of coral branches, and the plates were made of silver-shimmering mother-of-pearl. Transparent wine was served in cupped sea flowers, and it seemed to Ho-vori that he had never before feasted at such a luxurious table.
When the festival was over, he rose from Toho-Tama to the roof of the palace, and through the blue water that wavered above him, he saw, although not clearly, the Sun Goddess. He saw the mountains and valleys of the ocean, the swaying forests of powerful sea plants - the shelter of sea animals.
And Ho-vori told Vata-Tzu-Mi about the loss of the fishing hook; then the king called his subjects and questioned them all. Neither fish knew anything about the hook, but the lobster said:
“When I was sitting the other day in my cave between the rocks, a certain fish swam past me; her mouth was swollen, and she floated past, preoccupied, without greeting me.
Then Vata-Tzu-Mi noticed that this particular fish did not come to his call. A fast-swimming ambassador was sent to fetch her, and when she arrived, a fishhook was found in her poor swollen mouth. Ho-vori got it back and was happy. Toho-Tama became his wife, and they lived together in a cool scale palace.
Prince Fiery Death tried to learn the impenetrable secrets of the sea depths. He learned the reason for the ocean's joy and anger. The spirit of bad weather of the upper sea did not rule in the depths of the sea; every evening Ho-vori fell asleep, lulled by the gentle ripples of the water. Many times the tide came in and out.
One day, in the silence of the night, Ho-vori took a deep, deep breath. Toho-Tama's heart was filled with anxiety. She told her father that Ho-vori was dreaming of his homeland, and that a deep longing for her consumed him. Then Vata-Tzu-Mi placed two precious stones in the hands of Ho-vori: one stone controlled the tides, the other the ebb of the ocean, and said to him:
“Go back to earth, carried by my faithful sea dragon, and take the lost fishhook to Ho-zeri.” If your brother is still at enmity with you, take out the jewel that controls the tide, and the waters will rise and swallow your brother. If he begins to beg you for forgiveness, take out the second stone, and everything will be fine.
Ho-vori left the palace in the depths of the sea and the dragon instantly rushed off to his homeland. When he set foot on land, he took off his sword, tied it around the dragon’s neck and said:
“Take this to the sea king as a token of my love and gratitude.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru