Once upon a time a husband and wife lived in the same village. They had three sons and one daughter. The middle son's name was Halter. Why, you may ask, was he called that? There was once a custom among the people: a child was given a name not immediately when he was born, but later, when he reached out with his little hand and grabbed it. They deliberately placed a table not far from the cradle, and placed weapons, harnesses and everything that was needed in the household on it. When the middle son of the husband and wife grew up a little, they placed in front of him a saber and a bow, a pitchfork and a sickle, a bridle and a halter. The boy grabbed the halter. That's why they called him Halter.
How much time has passed, three brothers and a younger sister have grown up. Their mother died, and their father soon took into the house a young wife, so beautiful that it hurt his eyes to look at her.
A year after the wedding did not pass, and he heard about this beauty and attacked this land, where Halter, the khan of a certain kingdom, lived. He killed Halter's father in battle, and three brothers escaped and, together with their sister and stepmother, ran away into the mountains.
The Khan searched all the villages, looking for the beauty, but did not find him. He ordered everything to be put on fire and led his army away.
In the mountains, Nedouzodok and his brothers went hunting every day. They killed deer in the forest; They built themselves a hut from reindeer skins. The hunters were brave and successful; they caught a lot of furs, expensive and rare. The brothers took the furs to sell overseas and became so rich that instead of a hut they built a golden house, the likes of which the king himself had never had, and around the house they built a high stone fence with strong iron gates.
The brothers lived and lived... And then one morning three pigeons flew in and landed on the roof. The sister of three brothers saw the pigeons. She really liked the way they cooed, so she climbed onto the roof and threw them a handful of grain. The pigeons pecked the grain and flew away. It was like this for a whole month.
Every day the pigeons flew in, and every day the girl fed them millet. And then one morning came when the pigeons did not arrive...
And those pigeons, so you know, were from the dovecote of that same khan we know. When they walked on the golden roof of the three brothers, they gilded their paws. And the greedy khan
Every time the pigeons returned to roost, he ordered the gold to be scraped off their legs. A month later, he ordered the pigeons to be locked up and kept hungry. And then he gave the order to three horsemen to release the pigeons and watch which way the birds would fly?
The riders released three doves, following their flight they found a golden house in the mountains and saw a beautiful woman come out onto the roof and with her a girl who was also beautiful, more beautiful than all the owners of black eyes and black eyebrows. The girl threw a handful of grain to the pigeons. The pigeons pecked to their heart's content and flew away, and the riders hurried home and reported to their khan about everything they had seen.
Having heard such news, could the khan sit still?
He equipped an army and went to the golden house. At night they surrounded him, so tightly that not even a mouse could run through their ranks! In the morning, Halter took a bow and arrows, got ready to go hunting and heard a noise outside the gate. He sensed that something was wrong! The brothers climbed onto the roof, and the Khan’s army was all around...
“Come on, brothers, let’s stand at the gate and fight until the arrows run out,” said Halter.
“We will fight!” said the brothers. The brothers struck down their enemies with their arrows
so that by evening there was a wall of enemy bodies lying around the fence.
The brothers fought like heroes. But there were thousands of enemies, and they killed the older and younger brothers. There is only one Halter left. He fought bravely for three more days and three nights, and then became exhausted and fell dead next to his brothers.
Khan ordered his servants to search the gold
house They found a beautiful stepmother, and with her a beautiful sister of three brothers.
The stepmother was not averse to remaining a captive of the khan, and the girl grieved and shed tears.
“My middle stepson, Halter,” said the stepmother to the khan, “before you take me away, throw him to be torn to pieces by the dogs.” And they took the eldest and the youngest to bury them in a ravine.
So they did as she ordered. Khan took all the wealth of the three brothers and married his beautiful stepmother. They began to live and live... And the khan left a guard at the golden house and sometimes went there to hunt.
The khan had a daughter-bride. How much time has passed, you never know, Khai announced that he was marrying off his daughter. On the very day of the matchmaking, a young beggar wandered into the khan's courtyard. Noble guests and warriors, jesters and dancers, singers and drummers - everyone crowded in the courtyard. The Khan promised to marry his daughter to the one who would bend the heroic bow that he had kept since his grandfather’s times. Everyone wanted to experience their happiness. The grooms took turns trying to bend the bow, while the khan, the beautiful khansha and his daughter watched from the high balcony. Already all the noble and rich suitors passed in front of the khan, and not one managed to pull the bowstring and send an arrow. Finally, a beggar asked permission, and it was Halter, disguised as a beggar. In the battle with the khan he was not killed, only wounded, and he soon came to his senses, healed his wound and became stronger.
Now Halter gained strength and came to take revenge on the khan.
“Let me try my luck too,” said Halter.
“Is it proper for a beggar to take up arms!” shouted the drunken guests. “Where are you going, unfortunate one!”
But the master of the feast shouted at them:
- Let him try! This will be fun!
And the strongest of the suitors, the strongman, who also failed to pull the string, although he bent the bow a little, added angrily:
- Let it go, let it go! The beggar thinks that the arrow will fly out of his hands by itself...
As soon as Halter came out into the middle of the yard, a scream was heard from the balcony. It was the Khansha who screamed. She found out who the young beggar was.
“What’s wrong with you?” the khan was worried.
- Beggar is my middle stepson. “Beware of him,” she said in response.
The halter easily bent the heroic bow in front of all the people, pulled the string and sent the arrow high into the sky.
Everyone was surprised, and the khan shouted:
- Grab him and throw him into the well!
A hundred warriors pounced on Halter, twisted his arms and dragged him to the well.
Now listen to what happened to the little sister of the three brothers. She lived with her stepmother as a servant: she did the most menial jobs. They sent her to the kitchen to bring water. She came to the well with a jug and saw her brother, recognized him in beggar clothes. And Halter recognized his sister; she remained beautiful even in rags. What could he do when ten warriors were holding him by each hand?! The girl cried and begged, but no one listened to her... They threw the Halter into the well.
“Bring twenty carts of brushwood and light a fire over the well,” the khan ordered. “Who wants to go for brushwood?”
Nineteen noble suitors responded in an instant.
“Well, you’ll be the twentieth,” the khan ordered the decrepit old man to the servant who stood quietly on the sidelines.
Twenty carts drove into the forest, and the sister ran to the khan’s daughter. The Khan's daughter was a kind girl and felt sorry for her.
“They threw my brother into a well, and they want to choke the poor man with smoke so that he won’t get out,” the sister cried. “Help him, because he bent the bow, he’s your fiancé!”
The khan's daughter called the maid. The three of them wove a long rope. The sister hid the rope under the scarf and ran to the well. She held one end of the rope tightly and threw the other into the well. The halter caught the rope and climbed free. And the khan’s servants hid it behind their backs.
“Oh, if only I had a bow!” Halter says to his sister. - Get me a heroic bow.
And the drunken guests threw the onions in the yard. The sister brought a bow, sharpened Halter with twenty arrows and went to meet the carts with brushwood. The carts are moving - loaded with a mountain. He pulled the bowstring and hit the first groom with an arrow. The groom fell on the road. Halter pulled the bowstring again and hit the second one. This is how he dealt with nineteen... And the old servant rode last, carrying a small bundle of brushwood and crying.
-What are you crying about? - Halter asked him.
- Eh, son, don’t think that I feel sorry for these noble slackers. I feel sorry for one young man. Khan threw him into the well, and now he wants to choke him with smoke... He ordered to bring brushwood... I don’t know how to help this fellow... Maybe you can tell me?
- Let's try!.. Don't worry. Slowly take the brushwood to the Khan's courtyard. Just let's change clothes.
They exchanged clothes, and the old man went to the village. The halter sharpened two hundred arrows, entered the khan's palace unrecognized, entered into battle with the khan's guards and defeated her.
Khan and his beautiful stepmother were so scared that they ran away and never returned. Since then, people lived in that country happily and calmly.
And Halter married the khan’s daughter and went with her and his sister to their native places. He married off his sister. The wedding was rich - they danced for seven days, I was a guest there, ate and drank to my heart's content.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru