Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman. They lived poorly, all their wealth was made up of a single Piebald bull.
The old men had a son named Ot Sagynnah - Grassy Doha. The name itself speaks for itself: in a rich family a child will not be named that way; there children wear a fur coat, not grass.
The boy had not yet reached adulthood when his old parents died. Neighbor Kharakh Khaan appeared and, together with Piebald Bull, took Ot Sagynnakh, who had remained an orphan, to himself.
As soon as Ot Sagynnakh had time to cross the threshold of someone else’s house, his owner said:
“Aren’t you going to sit with your hands folded, boy?” Go and give the bull a good drink. We'll kill him tomorrow.
Sagynnyahu felt sorry for his piebald bull, but you won’t argue. Now he is no longer just over the bull, but over himself, and even then he is not the master.
With his head down, he led Ot Sagynnakh Piebald to a watering hole. He took him to the lake, and the bull said to him:
- Climb onto my back, boy, and we’ll take a little walk with you to say goodbye.
It was not an easy task to climb onto the mighty bull, but he still managed to sit astride its back.
Piebald walked forward with long strides, and soon they found themselves near last year's haystack. The bull began to eat the hay, and the guy, burying himself in it, fell asleep.
When Ot Sagynnah woke up the next morning, he, to his great surprise, saw a rich meal in front of him. Bread, meat, and all other foodstuffs lay on the hay. The guy began to have breakfast, and the bull, as if nothing had happened, continued to chew his hay.
The same plentiful treat appeared before Ot Sagynnakh for both lunch and dinner.
So he and Piebald lived at the haystack for a whole month.
“And now we’ll say goodbye, boy,” said the bull to Ot Sagynnyahu. “Tonight they will find us and stab me.” I would like you to live well, but anything can happen. And if dark days come for you, read what is scratched on this birch bark.
The piebald bull gave the guy a piece of birch bark, and he put it in his bosom.
And soon the workers of Harakh Khaan came and took them away with them.
As soon as the Piebald Bull was brought to the courtyard of Harakh Khaan, he was immediately slaughtered. The carcass was cut up and the meat was cut into large pieces and cooked.
The whole family sat down at the table. But they forgot to invite Sagynnyakh. Saddened, he sat in the corner by the stove and almost cried. If they didn’t put him at the table, he would have endured that. But he will never see his Piebald again.
Harakh Khaan's family went to bed. And the guy sat by the stove and remained. Nobody cared about him.
“Wait, what kind of letter did my bull give me?” - I remembered a piece of birch bark from Sagynnakh and took it out from my bosom. After reading what was written on the birch bark, he sat in silence for a long, long time, as if he was both blind and deaf at the same time. Then he looked at Harakh Khaan’s bed and said quietly:
- Old man Harakh Khaan, together with his old woman, sticks tightly to the bed!
- Boy, what kind of words are you saying? - asked the awakened Harakh Khaan and wanted to turn around, but could not, because he was stuck to the bed along with the bed. “What are you doing there, guy?” Harakh Khaan continued to ask.
- I’m not doing anything! - answered Ot Sagynnah. “He probably blurted something out in his sleep.”
And after being silent for a while, he said again quietly:
— My daughter and son-in-law stick to their bed! And the young couple also stuck tightly to the bed.
- Two workers of Harakh Khaan stick tightly!
The workers were also glued to their beds. They try to move, to break away, but nothing works.
- What have you done to us, boy? “It’s not just Harakh Khaan—everyone is screaming.” - Free us now!
- You will also say: I did it! - answered Ot Sagynnakh. “I just sit there and don’t even move, don’t I?”
“Then that’s it, boy,” said Harach Khaan. - Take the white-sided bull and go to Kykyllan shaman. Let him try to pray, otherwise there is some kind of witchcraft here.
The guy rode the bull to the shaman. He greeted him warmly:
- Thank God, someone needed me! Otherwise, you sit all day long with nothing to do—both bored and hungry.
They set off on their way back. And we were probably halfway there when the shaman felt the urge to go out of great need.
He stepped aside and sat down. And after some time:
- Boy, boy, is there a sliver of wood on hand?
“There is no sliver,” answers Ot Sagynnakh. - Do you want that kareh stick?
“Kerakh is a sacred tree,” the shaman did not immediately agree. - But if there is nothing else, go ahead.
The guy gave the stick to the shaman, and quietly, to himself, he said:
— A stick made of kereh wood sticks tightly to the shaman’s backside!
- Guy, what are you muttering there? — the shaman became wary.
“Yes, just like that, I’m talking to myself,” answers Ot Sagynnakh.
The shaman got up and tried to tear off the stick, but it stuck to his backside, as if soldered, and - nowhere.
- What have you done, boy? - the shaman shouts. What the hell kind of stick did you give me?
“The stick is made from a sacred tree, and the devil has nothing to do with it,” Ot Sagynnakh calmly answers.
- What should I do now?
- You are a shaman, you know better. In fact, they say that if you kiss a white-sided bull on the tailbone, it will come off.
- What color is your bull?
- Just white-sided.
- So come on then, bring him here.
From Sagynnakh he unharnessed the bull and pushed it with its back towards the shaman. He reluctantly poked himself into the bull's tailbone.
- Uh, nothing will work out like that, kiss me hard! - the guy shouted at the shaman and quietly, already to himself, added: - The shaman’s lips stick tightly to the bull’s tailbone!
The shaman's lips immediately stuck. Sensing something was wrong, the old sorcerer screamed obscenities.
“Are you already starting to swear?” Ot Sagynnakh grinned. - It's too early. We still have to get there.
The shaman continued to scream. Of course! It's a shame. Until now, he has performed all sorts of miracles on people, but now the spirits who seem to be under his control are playing evil jokes on him.
“Well, should we shout or move on?” asked Ot Sagynnakh and began to harness the bull.
He himself sat astride the bull, and the shaman, leaning over the front, half sat and half lay in the firewood. Somehow we got there. From Sagynnah he entered the house.
- Well, boy, did you bring it? - Harakh Khaan asked him.
“Either he brought it, or he brought it - you can’t tell, you’ll understand,” answered Ot Sagynnakh.
- Lead quickly! There is trouble here, and he stands there scratching his tongue.
- It’s not easy to bring. At the front end is a white-sided bull, at the back is a sacred stick, and in the middle is a shaman, and you can’t separate one from the other... Still, I’ll try to bring you.
And so the guy, with a loud noise, brings a bull into the house, the bull pulls the shaman, and the shaman drags a stick made of the sacred kereh tree.
Exhausted, ready to fall through the ground in shame, the shaman immediately admitted:
- Don't expect help from me. Do you see what this guy did to me?
Well, if the shaman can’t help them in any way, they won’t be able to get rid of the trouble themselves. And everyone began to ask Sagynnakh to free them.
The shaman was in the most uncomfortable and shameful position, and he asked especially persistently:
- I played around, boy, that's enough. If you can make me human again and unstick me from the bull, I am ready to give you all my wealth.
“Well, let’s go,” agreed Ot Sagynnakh, and said to the others: “We’ll talk to you later when I return.”
He brought the shaman home, who gave him all his wealth.
“The shaman’s lips come from a bull’s tailbone, and the sacred stick comes unstuck from the shaman’s butt!”
The shaman stayed at home, and Ot Sagynnakh returned to the family of Kharakh Khaan.
What a fuss there was when he appeared! Everyone in chorus asked him to free them as soon as possible.
“We’ll agree, my dear neighbor,” said Ot Sagynnakh. - You will give me half of your wealth and your beloved daughter as a wife. Then I will free you all.
- Eh, my child, if you don’t give it back, I’ll give it back. If only you could finally rescue us.
- Harakh Khaan with the old woman and everyone else are coming off their beds! - Ot Sagynnakh said quietly, and everyone pulled away.
Harakh Khaan gave Ot Sagynnah half of his wealth and his youngest beloved daughter.
Together with his wealth and his young wife, Ot Sagynnakh returned to his home and lived happily ever after. He lives well to this day, contented and happy, he was seen just last night.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru