One Uzden had a lot of chickens. Among them was a chicken missing one leg and wing. Everyone teased her as "Half Hen". Other chickens often offended her and did not allow her to eat. So she lived from hand to mouth.
The Half Hen is tired of this kind of life. She collected some barley and sowed a small wasteland.
And suddenly she was told that the Khan’s herd had poisoned her field. The Half Hen ran there and saw: the well-fed Khan's stallions were neighing, and the barley was gone.
- Oh, you Khan's creatures! You and your owner will pay dearly! - Half-hen shouted and began to whip the horses with a twig.
Then she gathered a herd and drove it to the khan. It must be said that the Half Hen was hungry and angry and therefore was ready to tear to pieces the first person she came across, be it the azhdaha himself. On the way, she met a wolf and instantly swallowed it. Then a fox ran across the road. The half-chicken swallowed the fox too. The Half Hen was full and cheerful.
When there was a small lake along the way, the Half Hen drank it and ran on.
Soon the Half Hen drove the herd to the Khan's palace and shouted:
- Hey, Khan! Open the gate quickly and pay the fine! The vizier came out and asked:
- What's the matter?
“I don’t even want to see you, call the khan himself!” - demanded the Half Hen.
When the khan came out to shout, she said:
“Pay a fine for the poisoning, and a considerable one, otherwise I won’t return the horses.”
“Throw this freak to the geese and don’t bother me over trifles,” the khan ordered and retired to his chambers.
And they immediately threw the Half Hen into the goose barn.
The Khan's well-fed and angry geese began to peck and peck at her. “So, perhaps, I cannot avoid death,” thought the Half Hen and spat out the fox. The redhead instantly strangled all the geese and ran away.
The next morning, when the nukers opened the barn, they saw strangled geese and immediately reported to the khan. The khan became angry and shouted:
- Lock her in the stable so that my stallions will trample this creature into a cake!
The nukers grabbed Half Hen by the only leg and threw him into the stable.
“My affairs are bad,” thought the Half Hen and spat out the wolf.
There was a fight all night in the stable until the wolf killed all the stallions.
In the morning, the nukers saw the dead horses and ran to inform the khan about the misfortune.
- This is nothing less than a terrible monster! - the khan was frightened. - Light the stove and throw it there!
The nukers, trembling with fear, threw the Half-Chicken into the oven, filled it with wood and set it on fire.
And the Half Hen released the lake and put out the fire.
The next morning the nukers saw that Half Hen was alive and unharmed. In horror, they reported this to the khan.
- You are pathetic cowards and scoundrels! - the khan exclaimed, and he himself went to the stove. As soon as he looked there, the Half Hen pecked out his eyes. Khan screamed and started running, with Half Hen following him. She caught up with the khan and swallowed him.
Then the Half Hen collected all the Khan's treasures, loaded them with the vizier, nazir and all the nukers and went to the mocking hens, saying: “Are you going to tease me some more? Are you going to tease me some more?”
They say that the Half Hen is still alive and in high esteem.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru