It was earlier than the early, more ancient than the ancient. Karaty Khan lived in the upper reaches of the Kara-Khem, and a lama with two novices lived at the mouth. In the middle reaches of the river, a poor fisherman Oskus-ool lived in a tent made of larch bark. He had a huge black angry dog.
The Lama thought every day: “How can I marry the beautiful daughter of Karata Khan, the Shining Beauty? How to take her away? You can't go to get married. Prohibited by law. We need to deceive the Khan. How can you deceive him? And finally I came up with it. He came to Karaty Khan. When they sat down to drink, he quietly poured a white powder made from a poisonous herb into his arak. And he left quickly so that the khan would get sick without him.
As soon as he returned home, the khan’s servants galloped up.
- Hurry, venerable lama, quickly mount your horse! Our khan is seriously ill! - they said.
“I’ll take the medicine now,” said the lama and ran to the novices. “My faithful novices!” he said. “I’m going to the khan.” I will soon lower down Kara-Khem a large chest covered with leather. Stand by the river and keep guard so as not to miss him. Catch this chest and bring it to my yurt. But don't even try to open it without me!
And the lama left along with the khan’s servants. He came to the sick khan and began to throw fortune-telling dice.
“Oh khan, you have a terrible illness,” he said. “Very soon you must die.” The Erliks in the lower world already know about this and are ready to meet you... But instead of you, they can send another person to the lower world. This person can only be your only daughter. We need to put her in a chest covered with leather and send her down the Kara-Khem.
- Oh, what are you, what are you, venerable lama! I will not throw my only young daughter into the water. “If I’m going to die, then let me die, I’m an old man,” said the khan.
The lama again added poison - the khan was completely taken aback. And he was about to leave.
“Wait, wait!” the khan shouted. “I can’t stand the pain anymore.” And life - oh, how expensive! I agree. Send my daughter to the lower world, just spare me from torment! I, I should live, not her. After all, she will not be able to sit after me in the place of honor - to rule the khanate and administer justice, she will not be able to shoot a wild beast in the taiga... Oh, save me!
The lama put the khan's daughter, the Shining Beauty, in a large black chest, covered it with cow skin and sent it down the Kara-Khem. And the khan was given a powder that drives out the poison. Khan recovered immediately.
Oskus-ool was fishing as usual. His huge angry dog was sitting next to him. At noon he saw a large chest covered with leather floating on the river. Oskus-ool hooked him with a long stick and pulled him ashore. He brought the chest to his poor tent, opened it... and saw in it a beautiful girl, a Shining beauty, radiating the light of the sun and moon. He carefully took the girl out and put a huge angry dog in the chest instead. He closed the chest, covered it with leather and sent it down the Kara-Khem.
The lama's novices looked at the river without stopping - they were waiting for the chest. And finally they saw: it was swimming, swimming! They rushed into the water, the two of them pulled him out and carried him to the lama’s yurt.
Soon the lama himself returned, joyful, excited and drunk.
- Well, my faithful novices, did you catch the chest that I lowered down the river? he asked.
“Caught, heads,” they answered.
- Where is he? - asked the lama.
“In your yurt, heads,” they answered.
- Very good, very good! Listen: tonight I will perform a secret sacred prayer. No one should see me during this prayer. Do not enter my yurt, even if you hear screams and moans: it is I who will talk to Burgun. Do you understand me? - asked the lama.
“Got it, heads,” answered the novices. The Lama went to the yurt. I eagerly opened the chest.
A huge angry hungry dog jumped out from there and rushed at him. The Lama screamed, groaned, and began to call for help. But the novices knew: no matter how much he shouted, they could not enter. In the morning they brought meat and cakes to their head. Instead of a llama, there were gnawed bones.
And the fisherman Oskus-ool looked and looked at the Shining Beauty and could not get enough of it. He even stopped going to the river and fishing.
- What happened to you? Before, they say, you worked and fished. Why are you sitting at home now? “What are we going to eat?” asked the beauty.
“I admire your beauty and cannot leave you,” answered Oskus-ool.
“Then I’ll draw myself.” Look at my image and catch a fish,” said the beauty.
Oskus-ool started going fishing again. And he always took with him a drawing of the beauty. I started catching more fish than before.
But one day a strong gust of wind tore the drawing from the hands of Oskus-ool and carried it away to an unknown location. No matter how much the fisherman looked for him, he could not find him anywhere. He returned home with teary eyes.
- What happened, Oskus-ool? Why are you so sad? - asked the beauty.
“I’m sad because the wind tore your drawing out of my hands and took it to God knows where,” answered Oskus-ool.
The beauty became sad.
“You who did not die, now you will die, your unquenchable fire will go out,” she said.
And the drawing flew in the wind for a long time and landed in the aale of the neighboring khan. The Khan's shivishkin found him and quickly took him to the ruler.
- Oh, what a beauty lives on earth! “I’ll marry her!” exclaimed the khan.
He gathered an army and went to look for a beautiful girl. Soon his warriors found Oskus-ool's tent. The Khan took the Shining Beauty, destroyed the tent, and drove Oskus-ool away.
Poor Oskus-ool began to cry and went up the Kara-Khem. He came to Karaty Khan’s aal and hired him to herd sheep. Passed for three whole years. For the work he asked for a gray hornless bull, a bear's fur coat and a wolf's hat. He put on a fur coat and a hat, sat on a bull and went to look for his wife.
And his wife, the Shining Beauty, never smiled once in three years. No matter how hard the khan tried, he could not cheer her up. Even the corners of the beauty’s lips never twitched.
And suddenly she saw a man in a bear coat and a wolf hat, riding on a gray hornless bull. She laughed with such a joyful laugh that neither the khan nor his shivishkin had ever heard.
“For three years, you have never smiled, not even the corners of your lips have twitched.” Why, now, when you saw a seedy beggar guy on a bad hornless bull, were you so happy and laughed so much? - asked the khan.
“How can I help but laugh - he has such a funny fur coat and hat and such a funny bull!” answered the beauty.
“Well, if I dress up like this and ride this hornless bull, will you laugh merrily?” asked the khan.
“Oh khan, if you dress up like this, I will laugh even more!” answered the beauty.
Khan ran to Oskus-ool and begged him to exchange fur coats and hats. Then he sat on a gray hornless bull and rode off to the steppe, only to unexpectedly return on the bull and make the beauty laugh. And she quickly called Oskus-ool to the yurt and put him in the khan’s bed. Then she called the soldiers and said:
“Our khan is seriously ill. His life hangs on a thread, on the edge of a knife. A devil in a bear coat and a wolf hat rides across the steppe on a gray hornless bull. It was he who brought the disease to our khan. You must kill the devil. He will appear here again soon. He will want to deceive you, he will shout: “I am your khan! I am your khan! But don't believe the devil. Your khan lies here in the yurt. He's sick.
The beauty placed warriors around the aal. The warriors saw: someone was riding towards the aal on a gray hornless bull.
- Look how he's dressed?
- Who is wearing a bear fur coat and a wolf hat.
“This is the devil, the devil!” all the warriors shouted. “He is coming here to kill our khan!”
They ran towards him and started shooting at him.
- Stop! I am your khan! “I am your khan!” the khan shouted.
“No, you won’t deceive us, you devil!” shouted the soldiers. And they killed the khan in disguise.
And Oskus-ool and the Shining Beauty lived happily ever after.
[Bashki - teacher (address to the lama).
Burgun (burga n) is a deity.
Erliks are divine beings of the lower, that is, the afterlife, world; According to legend, they allegedly carried out trials over the dead.
Shivishkin - Khan's servant, hanger-on.]
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru