Not far from the city of Kola lived an old man and an old woman. they had no children.
The old man hunted, and the old woman ran the house.
One day an old man was walking through the forest and suddenly noticed that smoke was smoking between the roots of an old, old spruce tree. He came closer and looked: there was a hole in the ground. He lay down on the moss and lowered his head into the hole: what is there? What's going on there?
And he sees: there, underground, life is the same as with us, the Sami: there are graveyards - some in the forest, others by the sea, shepherds graze reindeer, fishermen catch fish. In the graveyards, the vezhi - huts made of hewn boards are the same, covered with birch bark and turf on top, and stand as expected, in two rows. People come in and out of the vezhas, and children run around the streets. There's a little woman who jumped out of one of the vaults and is running to her home, a firebrand is smoking in her hands, sparks are flying - the woman borrowed this fire from a neighbor, she needs to light a fire in the hearth of her house. Some peasant teaches his reindeer to carry kerezha. Kerezha is the same as that of the Sami, like a boat placed on a ski runner. There, even further away, a shepherd is driving a herd of deer; Girls are rinsing their underwear in the river. Everything is there, underground, like people's, not people. Some little man came out of the vault: a gun on his shoulder, a little dog on a cord running behind him; the gun is a flintlock, an old one – it’s called a rattle gun.
It was he who went hunting. Only he himself is very small, and his little dog is even smaller. and his house is tiny.
He looks: the kids have gathered near the forest and are climbing up it, towards him, to the ground. The old man leaned back. I hid behind the tree and waited: what will happen next?
And then little children came out of the ground, big heads, eyes like slits in birch bark, on thin legs large white cangas, made of deer fur, with their toes turned up. The guys themselves are vigorous, but they are just very fat-assed.
“What a miracle,” the old man thinks, “this is a chakli!” Underground inhabitants! These children came out into the light, to the top of the earth, and let’s play. And they jump, and somersault, and imitate each other, but they still laugh, giggle merrily and burst into laughter, as if someone was tickling them under the arms.
It’s touching for an old man to see how cheerful and funny these chakli are. He doesn’t have his own children, so he’s happy with these little devils and admires them. And they, like little squirrels, play and frolic on the moss, under the spruce tree.
The old man looked at them and began to think. He returned home and said to his old woman:
- Sew me a big kanga and tie a harness to it.
The old woman sewed a large kanga and tied a harness to it. The old man added another long rope to it.
He took this canga and went to the place where he saw the chakley. He threw the kanga closer to the hole and began to wait: what would happen?
It was getting late. As soon as the last rays of the sun illuminated the tops of the trees, these children ran out of a hole in the ground and began to play. One of them saw a canga and let's tinker with it: he would put it on himself, then jump over it, then tumble over it with it, finally tucked both legs into the canga, and even wrapped the frill around it.
Then the old man pulled the rope and shouted. All the guys jumped into the hole, and the one who was in the kanga fell and remained lying on his side.
The old man picked it up. He freed him from the kanga, took him in his arms and asked:
-What's your name?
The child looks the old man in the eyes, laughs and also asks:
– What’s your name?
“Yarasim,” the old man answers, “Yaraska too.”
“Also Yarashka, Yarasim,” the chakli repeats and bursts out laughing.
And the old man called the cheerful foundling by his name - Yarashka.
- Well, now let's go home, Yarasim.
- Home, Yarasim, shall we go now? Well? - Chakli repeats.
He brought the boy home and said to his wife:
“We didn’t have children, so here’s your son.”
Yarashka repeats after her father:
“Here’s your son, we didn’t have children, here’s your son.”
The old woman was happy. Well, they began to live and get along. And everything would be fine, but there’s one problem: no matter what his father or mother says to him, he imitates all the words and laughs all the time. He laughs and bursts out laughing - such a cheerful chakli was caught.
And the whole conversation with him is like this:
- Yarashka, let's go to dinner! - they will tell him.
“Let’s go have lunch, Yarashka,” he answers.
Well, however, we got used to it and healed well. He was the same at work - no matter what they did, he mimicked everything. It happened, and it ended badly.
One day my mother went to repair the net and took Yarashka with her. She gave him a knife and a shuttle of yarn and said:
- Cut out the tatters, and knit new cells in place of the old ones.
Well, she showed everything that should be done, and they began to work. Mother fixes it quickly: tear it out, and replace the hole with a shuttle once, once, and the net is ready, like new. And Chakli looks at what his mother is doing with his hands, and he also breaks the nets with a knife. With the shuttle, once and again, there are new holes in the nets, larger than before. He broke all the nets, and he himself laughed, burst into tears, and giggled. Why is he giggling? For him, you see, it’s not work, but fun.
The old woman got angry and drove him away. Shouts to the old man:
– Take the chaklya wherever you want! Take him back to the hole where you got him from, and don’t fix the net for him!
But here's the problem. His mother chases him away from the net, and he steps on her, and chases her away, and shouts at her with the same words that she is yelling at him, while he himself keeps laughing, bursting out laughing.
- And she can’t fix the network! - shouts, “Take her wherever you want!” I took her in the hole! Where did you get it from - into the hole and carry it. Take her wherever you want!
Moreover, he waves a knife and spoils the nets. In the end, he jumped up and started tickling the old woman, and he laughed, burst into laughter, and giggled. Why is he giggling? The old woman has gone completely mad from the tickling, but Yarashka giggles and tickles her and won’t let her go.
Then my father came running. Punished him. The old man took him by the hand, Yarashka took the old man by the sleeve, and off they went. The old man walks with his left foot, and Yarashka walks with his right foot. So they walk foot in foot, right-left, left-right. They go pushing.
Yarashka respected and obeyed Father very much. So the old man taught his son how to cut boards. This was going well for him, and the old man was hopeful that they would soon build a new barn.
The old man showed how to hew, and Yarashka began to hew. And he amuses, and he amuses, and he amuses, there is no stopping him, he amuses himself and chuckles, and even giggles. Until night came, Yarashka was cutting everything.
Well, that's how they lived. The barn was erected, and the old man was very pleased. He knew how to handle Yarashka. And the old woman had nothing but trouble with him: he would tear the nets, break the dishes, or smear himself in soot. She asked the old man to take the chaklya to the forest and leave him there, let him go to his home and giggle there.
Yarashka was drawn to go somewhere. Every spring he tried to run away. But the old man took care of his son and did not let him go a single step.
Several years have passed. Yarashka grew up and matured. He became strong and intelligent, but still remained the same little man.
Times were bad. An enemy force, Chud, walked across the land of the Sami. They robbed the people. The Sami went into the forests, dug houses for themselves in the ground and lived in dugouts so that their enemies could not find them.
One day in the spring the old man did not pay attention, and Yarashka left the house. ran away far.
He ran through the mountains, wandered through the forests, and kept looking for a hole in the ground. He was looking for his home. And I couldn't find it. So he wandered until he came across a miracle.
The Chudins rode boats along the river. They made their way to the city of Kolya. They needed to plunder the city. They saw Yarashka, grabbed him and asked:
– Where do you live?
- Where do you live? - he answers, and he chuckles.
- Who are you?
- So, who are you? - he answers with a question, and even giggles.
- What is your name? - he shouts.
- What’s your name? - he asks the chieftain and again: - hee hee.
And no matter how they ask him, he answers in his own way, with the same words as they ask him, only back, from the last word, and giggles in addition.
The miracles became embittered. They decided to throw him into the river, into a waterfall. They grabbed the guy and threw him into the water. And suddenly everyone sees: instead of the Sami guy, his own warrior flew into the river. They repeated it again, and again sent their man to the padun.
- Stab him on the spot! - Ataman Chudi ordered.
They slashed him with a sword and looked: their three men were in formation as if nothing had happened, but Yarashka stood alive and unharmed and was laughing and giggling again.
The ataman became afraid and ordered him to lead him to his people, to his father and mother. But Yarashka said:
“If you touch my old men, then know this: not a single person from your team will reach Kolya-city alive.”
This time Yarashka did not laugh.
“Okay,” said the chieftain, “lead us to the city of Kola.”
Yarashka got into the front boat and swam ahead of the entire detachment. And he led them along the river, through rapids and through portages and along quiet reaches, for five whole days and five nights. He led them to the same Tuloma River, to a large waterfall and a wide spread, to a small island.
“Here,” he says, “a halt.” We will spend the night, because you cannot enter Kolu-city at night.
Well, we set up an overnight stay on the island.
Yarashka himself became a guard at the camp.
Miraculously fell asleep. It became quiet.
Night has fallen.
Then Yarashka tied all the boats, one to the other. He kept the smallest boat only for himself, and lowered the rest into the abyss of the waterfall.
The boats were smashed to pieces. Yarashka swam across the river and went home to his old people.
And the miracle disappeared.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru