It was a long time ago. A lonely young man lived in the world and had this name - Chagys. One day, not far from his camp, three fishermen were fishing on a lake; all three caught only one pike. Chagys was tending a sheep nearby. Three fishermen brought pike to the young man Chagys. They tell him:
“Won’t you give our sheep for a pike?”
“How can I part with my only four-legged beast?” the young man answers.
I thought and thought and agreed to the exchange. The fishermen took his sheep. Chagys put the pike in a bag and went up the mountain. On the way, the pike, still alive, broke through the bag and jumped to the ground. Chagys hit her on the head with a stone and put her back in the bag. And the pike soon made a hole in the bag again and fell out onto the ground.
The young man again stunned the pike with a stone and tied it in a bag. When he approached his home, the pike burst out of the bag again. The young man got angry and threw the pike into the lake. And he himself entered his home and went to bed...
Early in the morning a stranger woke him up.
- Get up quickly, the Master of the water is calling you to his place.
They came to the shore of the lake where Chagys threw the pike.
“How can I get into the water and go down to the depths?” the young man asks.
“Put yourself on my back, we’ll dive in together,” the stranger tells him.
As soon as Chagys sat on his shoulders, the man jumped into the water. They quickly reached the bottom. Chagys didn’t even have time to get wet. They walk along the bottom of the lake, as if on sunny land, as if they were traveling through the daytime world.
The guide says to the young man:
“Yesterday the son of the Master of the Water swam across the lake, got caught in a fishing net and was pulled ashore. You saved his soul and returned him to the lake.
The young man remembered yesterday’s pike and understood everything...
“The owner of the water is pleased with you, so he calls you to his place and wants to thank you.” If he offers you expensive stones and gold, refuse. Ask for your owner's thin-haired dog as a gift, it will do a lot of good...
This is how the stranger taught the young man.
They approached the abode of the Master of the water. The owner of the water came out to meet him. He took Chagys by the hand, led him into his home, and sat him down in the middle. The son of the Master of Water lies on the stove, his head is bandaged with a scarf. The young man remembered how yesterday he hit a pike on the head with a stone - he was scared, he thought that the owner of the water would punish his son. And the Master of the water scattered expensive stones and gold and silver bars in front of him.
“Choose the best of these stones for yourself, take as many ingots as you want,” says the owner of the water.
Chagys refused expensive stones. The owner of the water scattered gold coins in front of him: take as many as you can carry...
The young man refused the coins and said to the owner of the water:
“If you want to give me a gift, it’s better to give me your thin-haired dog, she will be my friend on earth.”
The owner of the water first laughed, then cried bitterly, brought the little dog in his arms, and cried even more bitterly. However, he gave the dog to the young man. Chagysa was richly treated and released to the ground. To escort him to the surface, he called the previous messenger.
- Take the guest, the savior of my son, to his camp, lift him up so that not a single hair on him gets wet...
The young man, taking the dog, sat down on the guide, and was instantly brought to the shore so that neither he nor the dog had time to get wet.
In the evening, he fed the dog with the same food that he himself ate, from the same dishes, and put him to bed next to him.
In the morning I woke up and couldn’t believe my eyes: his wooden cup had become golden and decorated with fine carvings.
In the evening I prepared food for myself and the dog and ate dinner from the same dishes; I put the dog to sleep at my feet.
In the morning he sees: all the utensils in his home are gold and
became silver.
The next night, when he was going to bed, he put the dog in his bosom and warmed it on his chest.
At dawn Chagys woke up - there was no dog in his bosom. And then the young man hears: there is a cheerful crackling in his fireplace, and someone is tinkling dishes. Chagys opened his eyes and saw: a beautiful girl with hair like copper, sparkling, was standing by the fireplace. Chagys jumped up from his couch, ran up to the girl, and hugged her. The girl tells him:
- How impatient you are! Tomorrow the son of the Master of the Water will come here and start an argument with you because of me.
The next morning, sure enough, the son of the Master of the Water appeared, looked into the young man’s home, and returned to his father.
“Why did I give my bride to a lonely young man?” he says to his father. “If you don’t return the girl to me, I’ll stop considering you as my father.”
The owner of the water says:
- Go to Chagys, play hide and seek with him, whoever deceives whom will get the girl.
The son of the Master of Water came to Chagys’s home and invited him to play hide and seek with him.
“If you want to play hide and seek, you should hide first, and I’ll look,” Chagys tells him.
The son of the Master of the Water ran to hide. Chagys remained in his home. The girl says to him:
- Why don’t you go look for him?..
—Where should I look for him, can you tell me?
- Walk along the shore of the lake, you will see a cattle pen, go inside. There are three sheep inside. As soon as they see you, they will rush at you like bears, don’t be afraid. Among the rams there is one with curled and forked horns. Grab him by the horns, twist his head, he will raise his voice - this is the Master’s son...
Chagys entered the pen as the girl taught him and did. When he twisted the ram’s neck, he prayed in the voice of the son of the Master of the Water:
- Oh, it hurts, oh, my neck!
Chagys quickly returned to his home and asked the girl: where should he hide?..
She sat, combing her copper-gold hair. Chagysa turned her comb. The son of the Master of the Water came running, sat down at the table, took out a large book from his bosom, and began to read. He read about all the roots that grow in the ground, he read about all the river pebbles, how many of them there are on the banks and at the bottom of rivers, he read about all the stars that are in the sky. He read the entire book, but where the young man Chagys hid, the book did not answer him. When the Master's son closed the book, the girl dropped her comb. Chagys stood up and shouted:
- I'm here!
The son of the Master of the Water went to hide again, Chagys remained next to the girl. She teaches him:
“You’re going to walk across the steppe and you’ll come across a herd of bulls.” The herd, seeing you, will rush after you, lowing - don’t be afraid. The bulls, having caught up with you, will surround you with a roar - don’t be afraid. There will be one bull there - the largest in the herd, his horns are straight like arrows. Feel free to grab him by the horns, twist his neck, he will ask for mercy.
Chagys succeeded in everything she predicted: having found the son of the Master of the Water, the young man returned to his home. The girl was sitting sewing. As soon as the Master’s son ran to their home, she turned Chagys into a thimble and put the thimble on her finger.
The son of the Master of the Water opened a new book and began to read. He read about all the trees that grow on earth, the names of all the fish that are found in the waters, the names of all the birds and animals that live in the taiga, he re-read, he did not find Chagys anywhere.
Having lost hope of finding him, he shouted angrily:
- Show up!
The girl dropped the thimble on the floor - Chagys jumped up.
“I’m here,” he said.
For the third time, the son of the Master of the Water hid. Chagysu girl says:
- Walk along the seashore, you will see a pile of large stones, behind it you will find a scattering of pebbles. There are many birds walking on the pebbles, among them you will see one with a golden comb. Collect all your dexterity, catch the bird, lightly twist its neck - the bird will give a human voice...
So Chagys found the son of the Master of the Water for the third time. When he appeared, the girl turned Chagys into an igloo.
The son of the Master of the Water, sitting down at the table, opened the book again and read for a long time: he called all the people living on earth by name; I read and read about everything that was on the surface and in the depths of the earth, but I couldn’t find Chagys, almost crying, I shouted: “Appear!”
The girl quietly threw the needle on the floor.
Chagys jumped up from the floor.
“I’m here!” he said.
So the son of the Master of the Water went home with nothing.
“He won’t come here again,” the girl Chagysu said, “he won’t dare to woo me anymore, he’ll be afraid of you.” Thank you, Chagys, for rescuing me from captivity, now I will become your faithful friend...
They lived together amicably and for a long time, Chagys could not be happier with his happiness...
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru