In one aul there lived a khan, and this khan had an only daughter, in whom, as they say, he doted. Khan was ready to get bird's milk for her if it were possible; in a word, there was nothing he could refuse her. He dressed her in silks and precious stones and cherished her more than his eyes.
One day, on a hot summer day, black clouds gathered over the village and a terrible thunderstorm broke out. Thunderclaps were heard every now and then. Suddenly lightning flashed: a terrible monster descended over the khan’s house, destroyed it and carried away the khan’s daughter. Having recovered from his fright, the khan rushed to look for his daughter: in the place where his house stood, ruins were still smoking, and, as they say, there was no trace of her. Khan could not be consoled in his grief. He explained what happened as the punishment of the great tha for his sins, but the people who came running from all over the village gave a different interpretation to the misfortune.
In the Khan's village there lived a poor widow with seven sons. Her husband died a long time ago, and in order to support herself and her children, she hosted male revelers in her house. From this, temptation spread throughout the entire aul, and the residents, having gathered at the inconsolable khan, all unanimously began to repeat that the misfortune occurred because a dissolute woman lived in their aul. The Khan ordered her to be expelled from the aul immediately: she was expelled, and she settled in a cave behind the aul.
Quite a long time has passed since then; She managed to get by somehow with her seven sons, all of whom were heroes and each of them possessed supernatural strength. However, their mother had no idea that her sons had any special qualities. One day a man came to visit a widow from the village and, leaving home, left her a piece of calico. When the seven sons saw the chintz, they began to ask their mother to sew shirts for them. All the brothers wanted to cover their nakedness, but meanwhile there was only enough cotton for one shirt. Seeing that there wasn’t enough for everyone, the mother said, turning to her sons: “Well, okay: you’re all pestering me so that I can sew you a shirt; what can you do for your poor mother?”
Then, one in front of the other, the brothers began to talk about their heroic strength and count their extraordinary qualities. The mother guessed that her sons were heroes, and it occurred to her that they could help out the khan’s daughter, who had been carried away by the monster. Without hesitation, she went to the village to the khan and told him that her sons would get his daughter from the hands of the monster. After listening to her, the khan ordered to call her sons. Let's go and bring him. The khan began to ask them according to seniority.
“I’m smart,” says the first, “I can be a military leader of an entire army, and if necessary, even a khan: I won’t go into my pocket for advice.”
“I am strong,” says the second, “I can carry supplies for an entire army on my back; I can work without straightening my back all year round.
“I am a swimmer,” says the third, “I can carry an entire army across rivers and seas on myself, as if on a magic bridge: for me there is no obstacle.”
“I’m a fast walker,” says the fourth, “I can catch up with anyone: my legs are faster than an arrow.”
“I am far-sighted,” says the fifth, “I can see, having risen to a height, everything that is happening in this world!”
“I’m a thief,” says the sixth, “I can pull an egg out from under a hen so deftly that she won’t notice it!”
“I am brave,” the seventh finally says, “if you give me a weapon, I can fight an entire army!”
Hearing all this, the khan allowed the widow to settle in her house again, and ordered her young sons to be dressed and shod, gave them excellent weapons and sent them to look for her daughter, kidnapped by the monster.
The brothers searched for this monster for a long time. Finally they arrived at the seashore. The swimmer in one minute transported his six brothers across the sea to the other shore; beyond the sea, the fifth brother climbed onto a hill and saw a terrible monster in the distance. The brothers went there. The first one, the smart one, began to decide what to do. Approaching the monster’s lair, they suddenly saw an extraordinary picture: curled up in a ring, the monster continued its seven-day sleep, and in the middle of this ring-shaped circle sat, hanging her beautiful head and shedding copious tears, a girl - the khan’s daughter.
The thief went and took the girl out of there so deftly that the monster did not notice. The runner, having taken the girl from the thief, began to run. Having reached the seashore, he stopped to wait for his brothers. The brothers have arrived. Everyone reinforced their strength with the provisions on the back of the strong brother and lay down to rest.
They were about to cross the sea when the monster, waking up and not seeing his beautiful captive, instantly found himself at the place where the brothers and the khan’s daughter were. The brave man immediately took measures to fight back. A fight ensued. They fought for a long time, but finally the monster was so tired and out of breath that sparks flew from his nostrils. Unable to cope with our brave man, it flew back to its lair. The brothers swam across the sea in an instant and returned home safely.
Having received his beloved daughter back, the khan did not know how to thank the heroic brothers. But not only the khan praised the extraordinary qualities of the brothers, but also all the inhabitants of the aul, having forgotten about their origin, could not find words to glorify their exploits.
A week later, when the khan came to his senses with joy on the occasion of his daughter’s return, he asked her which of the seven heroic brothers she wanted to marry. In response to this, the girl said:
“The monster was not killed and will probably return; so I will marry a brave man.
Khan agreed, and a week later the wedding was scheduled. On the eve of the wedding there was a thunderstorm, and the monster lightning again struck the house where the girl was; the monster was about to kidnap her, but then the brave man, taking out his saber, cut off his head, which was burned at the stake.
Thus, the brave man defended his bride and saved her from danger forever. The next day the wedding was celebrated, and the young couple lived happily ever after.
And I was at the wedding, drinking buza and snacking on halva. At a time when the khan was rewarding the other brothers with rich gifts, I also received a good dagger; but on the way back the abreks took it from me.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru