It was a long time ago. The oldest old people heard it from their grandfathers, and when they were children, their grandfathers told it to them. An old man and an old woman lived in a small camp. They lived poorly. They had no sons, but two daughters, Laga and Dyyu. The girls have grown up good. But how can one live without men in the house? The sisters had to go into the taiga themselves - hunt for animals and catch fish in the Amur channels.
The old people soon died, leaving the sisters alone. Even though it was difficult, we did not lose heart. Laga learned to hunt well, she went into the taiga, got furs and meat, and the youngest, Dyyu, managed the house.
One winter morning Laga got ready to go fishing. She put on her father’s hunting outfit, took a bow and a short spear.
Dyu was left alone in the hut. He sits on the bunk, cuts his mittens and sings a song. Suddenly she hears footsteps behind the doors - as if something is creaking: creaking, creaking, creaking, creaking... The girl opened the door and sees: standing in front of her is a strange old woman, and one who doesn’t even look like a person: her head is like a cauldron, her nose is like a bird’s, her fingers are like claws, her legs are like sticks, she herself is thin and thin, and if she turns around, she all creaks, just like old wood.
The old woman looked at the girl and asked:
-Are you home alone, daughter? I'm tired, let me rest.
Dyu let the old lady in. She sat down, stretched out her legs, and sat the girl next to her. I started asking questions. She found out that she had no one except her sister. Then he says to the girl:
- What beautiful hair you have, daughter, let me comb it and braid it!
But as soon as the old woman braided her hair, she pricked the girl with a sharp needle, and her eyes immediately closed and she fell asleep. Then the old woman cut off Dyyu’s braid, laid the girl on the bunk, covered her with a blanket, and went into the taiga.
In the evening the elder sister returned. I was surprised: no one came out to greet me, the fireplace in the hut was not lit - there was no smoke. And other people's footprints lay in the snow. What's happened?
Laga opened the door and saw that her sister was lying on the bunk. Laga got angry. She screamed:
“Why are you sleeping for so long, why haven’t you prepared food, why haven’t you met me?”
But the sister did not answer, and then Laga saw that Diyu’s braid had been cut off. And you can’t understand whether she’s sleeping or dead.
Laga cried for a long time. Then I decided: I’ll go look for who killed my sister, I’ll take revenge on him.
Laga followed the tracks into the taiga. I walked for a long time, I was tired. Finally she came to a dilapidated hut, knocked on the door and asked to spend the night. A pale and sad girl came out to her and said:
- You can't spend the night in this place. An evil old woman who hates people lives here. To prolong her life, she cuts off the girls' braids. I live only because I serve her. I hate her, but I can't do anything. Leave before the old woman returns, otherwise she will destroy you.
“I’m not afraid,” said Laga. “Now I know who to avenge my sister.” But how to do this?
“I heard from the old woman that she has a beautiful box with bone carvings,” said the girl. “In this box all the old woman’s evil is kept.” If you crush it, grind it into powder, the old woman will not do anything bad to anyone. Only the old woman always carries this box with her, and when she sleeps she puts it under her head, she sleeps lightly - you can’t go near it.
The girls thought for a long time. Finally they came up with an idea. Laga ran into the taiga and found grass under the snow, which brings sound sleep. The girls found a strong oak trough and a heavy wooden pestle.
The girl hid Laga, covered the bunks with soft skins, and put sleepy grass under the skins and began to wait for the old woman. I heard something behind the door: a creaking-creaking sound.
An evil old woman opened the door, sniffed and asked:
— Does something smell like someone else’s spirit?
“No,” the girl answers, “it smells like the braid you brought today.”
“It’s true,” says the old woman, “it’s a good braid, I cut it off a very young girl.” Now I will live a long time. And she will die. She won't be able to wake up on her own. To wake her up, you need to put this braid of hers in its old place on her head. And besides her sister, she has no one, no one to intercede. What will my sister do to me? Okay, I'll go to bed, I'm tired today.
The old woman lay down on the bunk and immediately fell asleep.
The girls took the box from under her head, took the trough with the pestle and left the hut. They moved away and got to work. They pushed the old woman's box for a long time. She was strong. They couldn’t turn everything into powder. Then they scattered the fragments in different directions. The wind picked them up and carried them away. Only the larger fragments turned into gadflies, the smaller ones into mosquitoes and midges that annoy people and animals. Old people say: To destroy all evil, a lot of work and patience is needed.
And the girls took Dyu’s braid and returned to the sisters’ hut. They put the braid on the girl's head, and she immediately came to life. The three of us began to live together. We lived well. The evil old woman did not appear, no one ever heard of her again.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru