A long time ago, when Lake Sut-Khol was still a small puddle, an old woman lived in a poor tent with her son Er-Saryg, who had a horse, Egyo-Shyrban. Er-Saryg hunted wild animals in the taiga and always returned with prey.
One day, when her son was resting after a hunt, his mother said:
“I beg you, son, do not drive towards the setting sun.” Your father went there and never returned.
Er-Saryg thought about it and decided to find out this secret. He went hunting, prepared more meat for his mother and, without saying anything, drove off towards the setting sun.
He rode to the top of the mountain and saw beautiful green taiga all around, and on a distant peak - a huge monster. Er-Saryg sharpened the iron tip of his black arrow, picked up a black bow and pulled it from early morning until late evening, then fired his black arrow straight into the heart of a huge monster. It rushed about, roared in a terrible voice, from its cry the taiga caught fire, trees began to fall and rocks began to collapse - and it collapsed dead, pierced by an arrow.
Returning to his mother, Er-Saryg spoke about his victory. The old woman was happy that her son had grown up to be such a daring son, but she was sad that the father did not see his heroic son.
One day, when Er-Saryg was hunting, his mother heard three wild geese flying by and asking:
— Is Er-Saryg at home, is his horse Ege-Shyrban tied up?
In surprise, the mother scratched her nose with a knife. The son saw his mother and asked:
- Why do you have a scratch on your nose? The mother replied:
“I was very surprised, son: three wild geese from that lake were asking about you.”
When Er-Saryg was resting after hunting in the tent, three wild geese again flew by and shouted:
— Is Er-Saryg at home, is his horse Ege-Shyrban tied up?
The hero got angry, pulled the bowstring and injured the foot of one goose. However, I thought about it, went hunting, prepared some meat for the mother for future use, and left on a nice sunny day. On the way, he met a gray-haired old man, a camel herder. Er-Saryg greeted and asked whose wealth this was and whether it was possible to eat one camel.
The old man replied:
“If the khan finds out about this, I will feel bad.”
But he still allowed me to catch the pugnacious camel. Er-Saryg jumped on Ege-Shyrban, flew like the wind, with a lasso, at the pugnacious camel and killed him. I ate, rested and moved on.
On the way, he met a gray-haired shepherd who was tending calves. Er-Saryg said hello, and the old man asked him to take the calves to the Khan's aal. He drove the calves to the bridge over the river, and they ran away. were flying in different directions. Er-Saryg got off his horse and began to catch and drag them one by one, but they scattered again. Er-Saryg sat down and doesn’t know what to come up with.
At this time the Khansha came out of the yurt and said:
“Is it really difficult to say: “Khan’s cattle, ford the river.”
Er-Saryg repeated these words, and the calves ran together.
The young man drove the calves and went into the yurt where the khan was sitting. The khan was ugly - his upper eyelids hung down to his nose. Lifting his eyelid with his finger, the khan looked at him and ordered the servant to bring the serum. As soon as the young man drank from the wooden cup to the bottom, the Khansha came in and began shouting that the cows had not yet been milked.
Er-Saryg came out and started milking. The cows moo but don't give milk.
The Khansha is unhappy that the shepherd is milking the cows for a long time:
“Will it really dry up the tongue to say: “Leisya, leisya, the wealth of the khan.”
Er-Saryg repeated these words, and the milk began to flow—you just have time to place the buckets. Er-Saryg entered the yurt and settled down to sleep at the feet of the khan.
Khan shouted:
- Why don’t you lick my heels - I can’t sleep?!
Er-Saryg ran out into the yard, saw the carcass of a cow, took his tongue and began to rub the khan’s heels with it. The Khan yelled:
- Yeh! Why do you have such a hard tongue, damn it?
Er-Saryg answers:
- Do you think, Khan, that the serum will make your tongue soft?
Khan ordered to give him cream to drink. Er-Saryg ran out into the yard, saw a dead dog, grabbed a narrow long tongue and began to rub the khan’s heels. The khan liked it and fell asleep.
Er-Saryg remained to live in the Khan's aal. He liked the khan’s youngest daughter, and she liked him, so they decided to get married. The khan got angry, but there was nothing to do, he settled them in a poor tent.
One day the khan summoned his seven sons-in-law and said:
- Go to the taiga for the mare and save the foal. This mare gives birth to a foal three years later, but it is carried away somewhere by the huge bird Khan-Hereti.
The sons-in-law immediately saddled their horses and rode off. Er-Saryg secretly followed. I arrived in the taiga and saw that my sons-in-law were sleeping soundly, and a mare was grazing nearby. Er-Saryg hid. As soon as the foal was born, the huge bird Khan-Hereti flew in, grabbed its prey and carried it away. Er-Saryg shot an arrow after her, but did not hit, only the bird dropped its luminous feather. He returned to Aal and gave this feather to the Khan’s youngest daughter, his wife. The older sisters saw it and reported it to the khan.
Khan again called his seven sons-in-law to him and said:
— Bring me the Khan-Hereti bird.
The elder sons-in-law immediately saddled their horses and galloped off, and Er-Saryg secretly set off on his Ege-Shyrban.
He rode for a long time. If frost creaked under the hooves, he recognized winter; if dew wet his feet, he recognized summer.
Finally arrived in the lower world. On an island in the middle of a large lake, three poplars grew, and on them were nests with chicks.
Er-Saryg lay down under a tree and fell asleep. At this time, a mangys, an evil monster, crawled out of the lake. Did the chicks scream? and the fellow woke up. The mangys saw him and was happy:
- Come to me, I will eat you.
Er-Saryg boldly approached him, climbed into his mouth and stood across his throat, so much so that the mangys begged:
- Don't torture me, man.
Er-Saryg waved his sharp knife and jumped out into the light, and the mangys immediately died.
The sky darkened, the rain began to pour, the chicks heard their mother’s voice: “Are you alive, my dears?” Seeing them alive and unharmed, I was delighted:
- Who killed my enemy Mangys - come out! Er-Saryg came out of hiding and said:
— It’s me, Er-Saryg. I came to you for the foals of a pinto mare. Khan sent me.
The bird Khan-Hereti said:
- Yes, I have these foals, I will give them to you and accompany you. Prepare a bag of food for the road.
Er-Saryg did just that. As they flew, he threw piece after piece into the bird's mouth.
Finally we reached the Khan's possessions. Khan-Hereti said:
- Open my nostrils.
Er-Saryg did just that. Nine beautiful horses ran out from there, and the young man rode on with them.
On the way back he met his older brothers-in-law. They had already eaten their horses from hunger. We were delighted to meet them and offered to sit on the honorary white carpet. As soon as Er-Saryg sat down, he fell into a deep hole that his sons-in-law had prepared for him. And they drove nine beautiful horses of Er-Saryg to the khan. The Khan arranged a feast and couldn’t praise his sons-in-law enough about what good fellows they were. And the khan’s daughters were proud of their husbands and laughed at their younger sister, the wife of a simple shepherd. The next morning the horse Ege-Shyrban came running and said:
“My brothers-in-law threw my master into a deep hole.”
Er-Saryg’s wife grabbed a sixty-meter lasso and left. He looks, and indeed, Er-Saryg is sitting at the bottom of a deep hole. His wife threw him a lasso, pulled out Er-Saryg, and they rode to the Khan’s aal together on one horse.
“It was I, Khan, who drove your foals, which became beautiful horses,” said Er-Saryg and told about where he was and what he saw until he found the horses. The Khan did not believe him - he ordered to gather all the people.
“Let’s find out now who really deserves the award.” A fired arrow will protect the winner and punish the deceiver. Shoot up! - the khan ordered.
The seven sons-in-law shot arrows upward and fell, pierced to death. Er-Saryg was the last to shoot his arrow, and the arrow stuck into the ground right in front of him.
Khan gave Er-Saryg half of his cattle and half of his property.
The good fellow with his beautiful wife and wealth returned to his land, to his mother. They lived happily ever after on earth.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru