Oh, you old song, Lay loudly and harmoniously, Be worthy of Sosruko!
That's what happened once. The sun scorched hotly, and, suffering from thirst, the horse of the same, looking around restlessly, trudged along. Nart Sosruko returned to his native home in sadness. Like the weakest of the weak, Hanging to one side, Sosruko returned to his native home. Oh, he didn’t immediately enter his native house - Nart Sosruko: He leaned against the door, Full of sad thoughts, Motionless, gloomy... There are dishes on the table, But there is no desire to eat, There is a sano on the table - It won’t dispel worries.
Then Satana descended from her high bed and turned to Sosruko with motherly speech:
"Oh, Sosruko, my son, Oh, Sosruko, my light! You are dressed in chain mail, As if in sunlight! Like the sun is your shield, Oh, the horseman, whose spear is terrible for all enemies, Oh, Sosruko, whose helmet is like the radiance of dawn! Speak: what is the matter with you? You galloped to Khasu, my son, - With a darkened face He returned back. What happened on Khas? Your look is pitiful, my light!” And the son said in response:
“I won’t tell you, guasha of the Narts, why your son is upset: the warrior doesn’t tell the woman about Khas Nartov. But he does, which means he’s not worthy of the title of husband!”
But in response - Satan: “Oh, Sosruko, my light, Oh, Sosruko, my son, You are the only one I have. No, not nine fighters, No, not ten sons I have equipped for the journey: You are the only one with me! I am no match, no kin to other mothers: I mount a horse, And like a sled, I gallop! I want to interfere Not in other people’s affairs, This business is mine, My son, my body!
Reveal the whole truth to me: What’s wrong with you, tell me? Where did you meet with melancholy, Where did you lose peace? If you don’t answer, I’ll die of grief by morning!” Sosruko responded to her:
“My mother with the beauty of a maiden! You change your appearance, You are smarter than the wisest Narts, Satan, gouache of the Narts! I won’t tell you a word. You ask the same: He knows my offense.”
Satan, calmly in appearance, Heads towards the Similar One, Addresses the Similar One:
“Be eaten by a hungry wolf! Answer me, only sensibly: What happened to you on the road? You left proudly, But you returned with a dusty mane And you can hardly drag your feet. My lonely one, I ask In the name of the one who gave birth to you - Answer: with what grief did you push My son, Answer: with what torment did you encounter My Sosruko?”
The horse of the same neighs loudly: “Mistress Satan! Serving my son honestly, What can I tell you, Nart women are beautiful? It’s the third day since I put in my mouth Not a grain of oats, Not a blade of grass, Not a drop of dew, The third day that your son Forgot about food. Let your son tell you Where he met trouble. Will I let him down, My rider? If the rider is silent, The horse must be silent!”
And again Satan returns to the house, The mother addresses her son with the following speech:
“You are silent, my son, - The horse is silent, like a rider! It’s better to tear my heart into pieces. I will die of melancholy! Do you want my death? If you don’t, open it: What happened to you?”
Her son answers: “Sataney, my mother, What can I say? The sword alone will dispel my pain and misfortune, Proving: I am not a coward... Prepare food for me, So that the power lives in it, But so that the load is light, And the luggage is small: I’m leaving at dawn.”
And in response - Satan: “Oh, my damask damask, my stately, black-haired one! If you don’t answer my questions, my steel scissors will answer me!” She opened the casket to Satan, From the casket she took out her steel scissors: She decided to thrust her steel scissors into her chest, - Sosruko took her steel scissors from her:
“Sataney, gouache of the Narts, Who is smarter and more beautiful than you? Your face, illuminated by the sun, Your golden attire Are famous in our homeland! Do not take your life: Let people remember you Not with words of reproach!
I'll tell you the truth. Having galloped to Khasu the Narts, I saw under the mountain two large, hostile armies, standing and quarreling, but afraid to enter into battle. It disgusts me to see the army timid before the battle. "Courage knows no fear!" - So exclaiming, I was soon Between the troops, full of anger. With my saber, I struck to the right, I struck to the left, I cut off the heads of princes, so that the fury of battle boiled. Now the troops have gathered and are fighting, burning with a thirst for glory. I watch and learn how they fight, I check who is stronger, who is braver, who is more skillful...
I galloped further towards the goal, without meeting a person, only my greyhound was nearby. I arrived at Khasu Nartov. The fun began among us, And in the many-grass gorge I was the first in the games of the sledges, I was the first in the dances of the sledges, I was honored with a word of health, The wise elders, as a friend, brought me the cup of the sledges and a golden chain mail. I called my greyhound and rushed off to hunt. I reached Khazas, I climbed the mountains, I was in the steppes, exploring the open spaces, But nowhere did I meet an animal, And nowhere did I meet any game. Returning without prey, I noticed a black spot that shot up from the ravine. And courage told me:
“How can you live in the world, If he lives in the world? How do you walk on the ground that he walks on?”
I chased the greyhound after him, and he turned out to be faster. I rushed to Tkhozhee, - He turned out to be faster! Fierce with vexation, I hit Thozhey three times, I flew after the enemy, after the accursed Hurricane. So I hear him breathing, I scream, but the rider does not hear.
My dear mother! How to catch up with him without knowing, I shot an arrow after him, and it dug into his shoulder blade. The black horseman turned around, pulled out the steel arrow, threw out the steel arrow like a fly, barely alive, soared like a black hurricane, disappeared behind the steppe mound! I called my greyhound and set off on the return journey.
I’m riding along a steppe path, - I hear stomping behind me, I hear a shout, I look back - A black horseman is in front of me! I immediately recognized him as a sled, whose shaft was iron, whose blade was double-edged. Throwing this formidable weapon at the feet of the same, he directed his horse towards me, and he made the swift-footed one stumble, and me to tremble with fear. He quickly snatched the reins from my hands, swung them, He touched me with his spear, He broke two of my ribs. I was ready for a fight, But he moved me from the saddle, lifted me like a feather into the sky, knocked me over like a blade of grass, threw me to the ground, and with my shoulders I plowed the field with my whole shoulders.
And I sobbed in pain, He shed a lot of tears and a lot of blood From my eyes, He drove me into the sweat of an ox, From my chest he shed The milk that I, Mother, was fed by you! He rolled my thick mustache in the dust of the road! In order to deprive me of an insignificant life, He drove me waist-deep into the dust of the steppe with one blow, He took out a sword to behead me, - And I decided to play a trick:
“The Nart husband,” I said loudly, “I can’t kill you: On the merry Sanopitya day of Nart, the Nart does not kill: Where there is a feast, there is no place for grief! Whoever forgets about this, Believe me, dies soon. Give me three days: I will meet you again.”
He responded with an evil grin: “For such a nonentity, three days are too long! Tomorrow, at first light, I will be waiting at the Haram. If you don’t come, you will be a pathetic coward. You will be branded everywhere: The Narts firmly keep their word, Those who break are severely punished by the terrible gods, And we do not spare liars!”
Having said this, He pushed me and Thozhey off the road with a click, I took off, I flew through the mountain spurs, I caught my breath, looked back, - I found myself on the threshold of His native home!
Satanay, my gouache! Our meeting with that villain will take place tomorrow morning, But your son is afraid of the morning! Act wisely, guasha: Make your steel scissors cut clothes into battle armor and instill hope in me!”
And in response - Satan: “Oh, Sosruko, my light, Oh, Sosruko, my son, There is a shadow on your face! Every day, every day, Like a filial tribute, You brought me a doe, But today you brought me Nothing! Where, in which direction, Did you shed many tears, Where did you meet with melancholy? You tell me which Giant defeated you in a duel? giant, Oh, Sosruko, my son, I won’t order you to cut a robe, I won’t be able to heal you from your suffering!”
Sosruko was saddened and answered with anguish in his heart: “It was a strong-armed horseman: These arms were covered with steel elbow pads. Under him was a shaggy-legged Horse, whose molar teeth tightly gripped the bit, The horse is the pinnacle of all desires, Red, with the head of a doe, He will tremble - he will be on the mound, He will jump - he will disappear in the fog. That’s what he is, this horseman, My dear Satan!”
Sataney said to her son: “I know him well. He is Totresh, he is the son of Albech, Meeting him is the beginning of death. Children tremble before him, People tremble before him, He suckled his Mother’s breasts for a decade and a half! Theft, robbery are the customs of the Wicked, the renegade. He considers everyone prey - the Elder, the woman, the baby. He wishes evil to the universe, For he himself is an evil force. devastates Ten, Psyzh and Indyl; If he sees a traveler, He destroys him, Narts viciously hates, Threatens the Narts with death. But You cannot defeat Totresh, my dear son: He is the strongest in a terrible battle!.. At the first meeting, You defended your living soul with Cunning, and I will be able to invent a second Cunning!
Satan comes out into the yard, Heads to Thozhey, Addresses Thozhey So that Sosruko can hear: “Our shaggy-legged horse, You shorten the roads, You outstrip all the horses! You yourself know, you yourself see, - This is my fate: I’m not equipping nine, I’m not sending ten, But my only son! Why, priceless horse, You brought shame on him, On me Have you brought disgrace? You won’t get any more hay And you won’t get any oats: I’ll force you to gnaw and gnaw weeds, I’ll dishonor your whole family!”
Then Thozhey neighed and replied: “Sataney, gouache of the Narts, our caring Mother! You are formidable and majestic, Your cool temperament, Both heroes and horses are afraid of your evil tongue! Tomorrow morning, your brave son will meet with the mighty enemy. Make this a happy day, Of the good ones, the best! I will do for the battle Everything that the horse can do, Only I will not do what I can’t suck it!” She said to the horse of Satan: “I will order a hundred ringing bells to God Tlepshu, to the beautiful Nart girls, a zealous horse, I will order to hang a hundred ringing bells on your mane. About the same goes the glory: There is no faster horse in the world! But when you can’t do What a horse can do, I’ll throw you out into the village to be devoured by hungry dogs! My boy can’t do it.” to do What a knight can do, - Throw him away without regret, And with an empty saddle, return from a foreign land to our village, - The horse of an inglorious man!”
Then the horse of Thozhey neighed: “Satan, our mother! You can give me oats, You can give me hay, Bridle with a bit. Quickly tie the bells to my soft mane And tie to the tail. A hundred eagles, a hundred dogs You let go with me, You sweep away all the hillocks, All the hills on the way, And when I can’t help with my hand, Inflict defeat on the enemy in good time, “Don’t feel sorry for the horse, but give me to the dogs!”
With joy Sosruko hears the speech of the same daring one, Says to the horse Sosruko: “Faithful horse, tell me the word: I am the only one to blame for yesterday’s failure, Or are you also guilty?” The hot horse answers:
“Son of a shepherd, listen: I was in the meadow, where the grass was majestic and fragrant, But I didn’t touch a blade of grass. I bent over the stream, Reflected in the light moisture, But I didn’t drink a drop. I’m more guilty of yesterday’s failure, Sosruko!”
He said to his mother Sosruko: “Sataney, my mother, You are smarter than all women! I swear that I will rush to the enemy tomorrow morning, I will do what I can, I can’t - my shame. Teach me, mother, How to deceive the enemy, Set me on the road, Wish me happiness!”
The mother said in response: “Oh, Sosruko, my light, Oh, Sosruko, my son! You are dressed in chain mail, That like the sun burns, And your shield shines, Like sunlight! Your pain is my pain, Your shame is my shame. Your opponent is cunning, He is a fiend of evil. His bit is steel, His whip is a mountain path, But I will teach you to overcome the enemy. Day you turn the world into night, cover the world with fog, creep up to the rider, scream at the gallop, - the evil Totresh will tremble, he will pull the bit, he will tear his horse apart, tear it apart - he will fall. “We will complete”, “You don’t believe those words, For you yourself know what to do with the enemy: You must cut off the enemy’s head, So that the Evil son of Barymbukh does not torment people, So that the villain does not torment Young women and old women, Old men and children.”
A hundred beauties sewed dirty clothes for Sosruko, and hung a hundred ringing bells on Thozhei. The horseman said goodbye to his mother and set off to the meeting place, to the place of the heroic battle. The same horse is like a flying whirlwind, like a mighty sea surf: Now clouds rush over him, now he tramples the clouds, now he opens up the sky, now he opens up the earth. There is a roar in the steppes and thickets From the greyhounds running after him, From the eagles soaring above him, From the ringing bells! In the morning, with the first rays, Sosruko approaches the place of the heroic meeting, - He sees: on Mount Harame the enemy rises. His horse spins his ears and trembles under the giant.
Nart Sosruko, the son of courage, covered the world with thick fog, - Mountains, valleys and ravines were drowned in that fog. Red with the head of a doe, Totresh's horse got scared, scared, neighs indistinctly, he rushes home, back. Here, without holding back his abuse, Totresh shouted at his horse:
“Red-haired, with the head of a doe, Why, tell me, are you gnawing at the bit in a frenzy And are you carrying me home? Or are you in a hurry to the burial? Or are you afraid of the fog?”
But the horse Totresh Barymbukh, the formidable sorceress, swore that the meeting of his Rider with Sosruko would not take place, that the son of Albech would not fight with Sosruko that day, that the horse would rush back before Sosruko arrived! And Sosruko, the damask sledge, - He’s getting closer, he’s getting closer! The red horse Totresh rushes, The path before him sinks into darkness, And dogs gallop after him, They grab his legs, And eagles fly over him, Beat him painfully with their wings And peck him mercilessly. A hundred melodious bells rang on the Haram! How can Totresh's horse escape from the greyhounds running after him, from the eagles pecking at him, from the ringing bells that instill black terror?
And Totresh scolds angrily, His scolding is thunderous, But it does not help: Red, with the head of a doe, does not heed this scolding, He runs away from Thozheya. The son of Albech, growing fierce, squeezes the horse's sides, breaks the horse's ribs, breaks the horse's jaw, breaks the horse in two, - Alpa, with the head of a doe, - flies from the saddle to the ground.
Nart Sosruko jumped up to him in the fog on Thozhee, quickly took his sword out of its sheath, to behead Totresh, to rid the world of the villain. And, having no support, Totresh prayed to the rider:
“Oh, wait, Sosruko, Strong-armed, dark-skinned! I gave you a day’s time, - Give me a day’s time, - May this day be bright!” But Sosruko answered like this:
“What, you and I are boys, playing alchiki, or what? How long will we be setting deadlines for each other? How can I look people in the eyes, What will I say to the brave Narts, If you, their cruel enemy, leave me unscathed?”
So the Nart Sosruko exclaimed and beheaded Totresh, the world delivered from the villain. Sosruko tied the enemy's head to Thozheya's saddle and sent the horse home.
* * *
Barymbukh, the evil sorceress, waits for her son until the new moon, but Totresh does not gallop back. Here the witch came to the sledges, Here the witch came, crying:
“Narts, how can I console myself? I yearn for Totresh: Where is he - is he close, in a foreign land? Whether he is alive or dead - I don’t know. Go, find him, Bring me news about his son, Narts-relatives!”
The Narts knew: where there is a witch, There is a curse, there is dishonor, Where Totresh is there is fear and grief, There people die in shame. But the Narts had a custom: If a woman asks, the man will drop everything he’s doing to fulfill her request. And comforting the old woman, two sledges sat on horses: Nart Imys and the heavy Pshaya. They travel a little or a lot, and the road leads them to the dark-skinned Sosruko. The Narts said: “Sosruko, Nart, damask, thin-walled, despising deceptions! Haven’t you met Totresh, the one who is terrible on foot, on horseback, before whom souls tremble?” The shepherd's son answered them:
“Narts looking for a Nart! If you want to find the Red Horse Totresh, Then look for the remains of the Red Horse on the Haram. If you want to find the Body of the dead Totresh, then look for the remains of the Oppressor on the Haram. If you want to find the Narts, the head of Totresh, - Don’t look far: You will find it behind my saddle!”
The Narts shouted in anger: “Oh, Black-boned Sosruko, Have you forgotten, Damask one, That Totresh is a formidable warrior, That Totresh is a noble warrior, That he is from our family? Hey, you are a shepherd breed, Have you forgotten, damned one, That we will take revenge on the Nart, - You will not escape retribution!”
But the dark-skinned Sosruko is not afraid, he says to them - to these well-born Narts:
“I am not afraid of your revenge, I have accomplished a deed of honor by killing the vile villain!” So saying, having lashed Tkhozhei, Sosruko galloped on. The Narts, Totresh's relatives, did not dare to fight him." They only looked after him, Trembling and hating. The dark-skinned Nart Sosruko gallops for a long time, rushes for a long time. Sosruko dismounts at the door of his home And, without saying a word, Brings in Totresh's head. Satan looks sternly, Says the gouache of the Narts:
“To come with the head of an enemy - this is small valor. With the head of an enemy to come to the house of the enemy - this is valor! Are you, son, worse than the most high-born Narts, Have you grown up to be a weak husband? Ride to Barymbukh, my boy, Hand over to her, who gave birth to evil spirits, the head of the villain son, possessing the Nart courage. But fear her cunning, But fear her deception. She will put the sano before you, Before you will put out the food, He will say: “Hello, Nart Sosruko, try a piece of pie.” Follow my advice: Don’t eat, don’t drink, until the Narts eat and drink.”
Here Sosruko rides and gallops, Hiding the head of the enemy-villain under a wide cloak. Barymbukh enters the courtyard, possessing Nart courage, And, the messenger of sadness, from the right Dismounts from Thozheya.
The evil sorceress understood: Since Sosruko came to her, It means that Totresh is no longer alive. The evil sorceress thinks: “Let him escape from Totresh, he will be my prey!” As the custom of the Narts dictates, Barymbukh brings out the pie, and with secret anger asks the guest: “Please try the pie!” Oh, strong-armed Sosruko That pie with meat filling tears it into two parts and throws it to the decrepit bitch. And then a misfortune happened: The bitch immediately died!
Nart Sosruko got angry, he shouted, burning with anger: “Barymbukh, an evil witch, Whose weapon is poison, Whose fun is human sorrow, Whose laws are lies and meanness! I, born of a shepherd, Came to you with a gift!”
He quickly takes Totresh's head out from under his cloak, throws Barymbukh into his hem, and leaves the witch's courtyard. The witch grabs the scissors and throws them at Sosruko. These steel scissors pierce the doorposts, pierce the tree trunk, and nail the Nart's Circassian hat to the trunk, but instantly the Nart Sosruko tears his Circassian cap from the trunk, And, with the torn Circassian cap, leaves the witch, - Only the wonderful helmet sparkles, Full of the sun's shine... So the damned Totresh died From the honest hand of Sosruko.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru