I had a large herd. Once on a hot day I drove the horses out to water and calmly returned home. This is what I used to do every day in the summer, the horses would return home on their own. But this time they didn't return. I waited a long time for the herd to appear, but it didn’t come. He rushed to the shore - there were no horses. I looked here, there, looked around - I couldn’t see it. What to do here?
I stuck my alabasha staff into the ground, climbed onto it, looked around the shore - there was no herd. He jumped to the ground, grabbed a dagger, stuck it in the alabasha and climbed onto its hilt. I looked and looked, and again I couldn’t see anything. Then I stuck a knife into the handle of the dagger, stood on its handle, looked into the distance - all in vain, my herd was gone! Then I stuck an awl into the handle of the knife, climbed onto it, and only now did I see my horses far away on the seashore.
I pulled the awl out of the knife, the knife from the dagger, the dagger from the alabasha, the alabasha from the ground and ran to the herd. I see: my horses are trampling along the shore in the very sun and, dying of thirst, licking the ice. I tried to break the ice with blows from the alabashi, but I couldn’t. Then I made a wooden aklakut beater out of my head, swung it with all my might and broke through the ice. Sea water poured into the hole.
The horses had enough to drink and I drove them home. On the way, one mare foaled. I sat astride her and placed the foal on the mother’s neck, but she could not carry us. Then I sat on the foal, put the mare on his neck, and we set off.
I drive past a house. Three sisters are sitting on the balcony. One of them plays the achamgur, and the others sing. When they saw me, they began to fuss. The eldest says:
– Unan, what a handsome guy is coming!
“But he’s without a head,” the middle one objected. “If he had a head, I would marry him,” the younger one said mockingly.
- How so - without a head?! – I shouted, ran my hand over my shoulders and only then noticed that I had no head.
I turned back to the sea. I drove up to the place where I was watering the horses, and I saw: my head was lying head over heels in the ice hole. I jumped off the horse, grabbed my ears, pulled with all my might, but I couldn’t pull my head out: it was frozen to the ice.
Then I wrapped a chain around my head, harnessed several pairs of buffaloes and began to urge them on. The buffalos rushed once, twice, but the head did not budge.
I see two mosquitoes flying over the shore. I caught them, harnessed them instead of buffaloes and drove them with twigs. The mosquitoes flew up and pulled the chain so deftly that the ice crackled, and my head ended up on the shore. I adjusted my head where it should be, jumped on the foal, picked up the mare and rushed after the herd.
Suddenly I noticed that an unborn hare was sitting near the stump of an ungrown walnut tree. I pulled out an unloaded gun and shot the hare. I picked it up and drove on. On the way I met a man, and he asked:
– What will you give me if I tell you good news?
“I’ll give you a hare,” I answered.
- Your father was born today! - said the stranger.
I gave the hare and hurried home. At home I saw my father squealing in the cradle and gave him the mare that I had brought with a foal.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru