In ancient times, the hero Baburgan, the son of the hero Adagan, lived in Altai. Baburgan surpassed everyone in strength. There were no heroes equal to him in strength in Altai. His character was cocky. No matter who he meets, he will definitely get into a fight. People began to avoid him; no one wanted to get involved with him.
Then Baburgan began to travel to other lands without the permission of his father Adagan to measure his strength with the steppe heroes. It would be good if he, like others, only measured his strength, but no. If he defeats someone, then he will take away his property, his wives and beautiful girls. And those whom he ruined took out their grievances on ordinary people. What was fun for Baburgan turned into disaster for ordinary people.
People offended by their neighbors began to complain to the hero Adagan. They asked him to calm his son down and not allow him to be willful. Adagan thought about how to calm his son down, what to do to make him calm down. He decided to marry him, reasoning that Baburgan would settle down when he settled down to his own home.
He called Baburgan to his place and ordered him to go to the Shor land, to the Kuznetsk taiga and woo the daughter of the hero Telbes. And the daughter of the hero Telbes was famous not only at home, but also far beyond the borders of the Shor land for her beauty. People knew that she had accumulated a lot of different wealth from her father. He often gave her rich gifts.
Baburgan was very happy when he heard his father’s words. I even jumped for joy. His head almost reached the sky. Without wasting any time, I began to get ready for the journey. He put on combat armor: chain mail, a shell made of ox hides. He took a tight bow and hardened arrows, a crooked saber, a battle mace and a long spear. Adagan saw how his son was getting ready to get married and warned his son not to start a quarrel with the hero Telbes. His mother wanted to give him supplies for the long journey, but Baburgan refused:
- Why am I carrying the extra weight? Not small. The hero must earn his own food on the road. I will shoot birds and roe deer on the road and catch fish. If people meet, I will get food from them.
Baburgan set off on a long journey to the domain of the hero Telbes. He travels through the dense taiga. There are a great variety of birds and animals around. There are countless amounts of fish in rivers and lakes. During the day he will shoot a roe deer and cook the meat. In the evening he will catch some fish and fry them on the fire. He'll get some bird for breakfast.
He rides and thinks: “It’s not right for me, a glorious hero who has never bowed his head to anyone, to humiliate himself and ask the hero Telbes for the hand of his daughter. What if he refuses, what should I do then? I’ll seize her by force. I’ll get her in a fair fight.” Baburgan forgot that his father warned him: the people in the Shor land are peaceful, they themselves do not attack anyone, but in battle they are brave and do not forgive insults.
Baburgan drove up to the village and shouted loudly:
- Come out with me to fight, hero Telbes. I came to fight you. I want to get your daughter in a fair fight, take her with me, and make her my wife.
In the old days, the hero Telbes was famous for his strength. But the years took away his youth, and with it his heroic strength. However, he did not shy away from a fight with a young ignoramus who did not want to woo his daughter, as expected. He rode out to meet Baburgan and boldly entered into battle with him.
The heroes fought for a long time. At first, Telbes was in no way inferior to his young opponent. But little by little he began to weaken. He felt that he could not defeat Baburgan. He called his sons for help. He had nine of them.
The sons of Telbes boldly rushed towards Baburgan. But they couldn’t cope with him. He killed some and wounded others. Old Telbes sees that Baburgan is overpowering his sons and calls his relatives for help. Dashing soldiers galloped up, surrounded Baburgan, and began to press him.
The slaughter continued for five days and five nights without a break. The mighty hand of the hero Baburgan began to weaken. He realized that he could not cope with his numerous enemies. He began to make his way to the bank of the great river Biya. The ring of enemies tightened around us more and more. With the last of his strength he cleared the way for himself. Telbes's warriors died from his sharp saber, knocking them off their saddles with long spears. But new soldiers took the place of the dead and wounded. Finally, pressed by enemies, Baburgan reached the very bank of the Biya. The horse under him had been killed long ago; he fought on foot.
The warriors of Telbes were glad that they had pressed Baburgan to the river and had nowhere to go. And he ran, leaned on his spear, and jumped over the wide Biya like a bird, as if he had jumped over a puddle. Telbes' warriors did not pursue him. We camped on the shore and decided to cross to the other side in the morning.
Baburgan was also very tired and decided to rest. I knew that the next morning I would have to continue the battle. He could not accept that he had failed to win the beautiful daughter of Telbes. Baburgan lit a fire, roasted a roe deer on a spit, and had dinner.
Baburgan sat down under a tree and began to think about how he could defeat his numerous enemies tomorrow. At this time, right above him, a small bird landed on a tree branch and sang a beautiful song. The sounds of the magic song evoked in his memory the image of Telbes’s beautiful daughter. He forgot about his enemies and began to think about the beauty, to regret that he did not listen to his father and did not resolve matters with Telbes peacefully. The bird, as if guessing what he was thinking about, said to him in a human voice:
- Don’t be sad, Baburgan, it’s not your destiny to be the husband of Telbes’ daughter. You are strong and daring, a real hero, but you cannot defeat the warriors who stand on the other side of the river. Look at the right bank of the Biya, more and more fires are being lit there, more and more warriors are arriving to help Telbes. They are peaceful people, they don’t get into a fight first, but they are very angry with you. If you don't listen to me, you will find your death here. Return to your place in Altai. You are young and handsome. There, among your own, you will find a bride. And don’t worry about Telbes’s daughter—she’s not your match.
- How can I return home without fulfilling my father’s order? - asks Baburgan. - How will I return home without a bride? How will I look people in the eye? They will laugh at me for not being able to win a beautiful wife.
“Don’t worry, Baburgan,” said the bird, “this girl is not for you.” Her character is quarrelsome, she is stingy, although rich, and does not like to greet guests. She will disgrace you with her greed. I will help you survive. Do not put out the fire so that the soldiers think that you are waiting here. You leave quickly, and I will throw branches on the fire all night so that it doesn’t go out.
In the dead of night, when bright stars sparkled in the black sky, Baburgan set off on his way back. Telbes' warriors did not pursue him. He passed through the dense taiga and came out to the bank of the Katun, where Mount Piket now stands. He leaned on the spear, jumped over the Katun and decided, without stopping, to go further into the depths of Altai. I decided not to go to my father. Baburgan wanted to find a bride in those places among his fellow tribesmen, so that he would not return to his father’s house alone. But it didn’t work out his way. The prophetic hero Adagan did not close his eyes. He knew that his son, Baburgan, had broken his father’s covenant, and decided to punish him roughly.
With his inner eye, Adagan saw the place where Baburgan was. He sent an order to his son not to move, but to remain in place. I wanted to hit my son with well-aimed arrows.
Adagan's wife, Baburgan's mother, found out about this, and, standing between her husband and son, turned into Mount Sinyukha - Kek-Tuu. Adagan lowered his bow and angrily shouted to his son:
“You disobeyed your father, started a war with a peaceful tribe, and did not marry yourself a bride.” For this you will forever stand on the border of the Altai land as a silent mountain. You will never fight anyone again, but you will notify your people when enemies approach their borders. To cool your ardor, so that you don’t accidentally fall asleep, cold northern winds will blow across your head.
You, my sons, Chaptu Khan and Kara-Kaya, stand in the way of this disobedient man so that he cannot move and go to Lake Altyn-Kol, where he wanted to find another bride. You, my brother, Tarlyk, stand on the left side of the Katun and block Baburgan’s path deep into Altai. Let it be so from now on and forever and ever.
The hero Baburgan never cried. Hearing his father’s verdict, he bowed his head and sobbed, turning to the mountain. To this day, Mount Baburgan stands alone on the border of the Altai land. Baburgan stands, silent and lonely, remembering his past exploits. When he remembers the defeat he suffered from the warriors of Telbes, how he lost the beautiful daughter of a hero, he sighs heavily. This sigh bursts out of his chest into the sky, turning into white clouds, from which Baburgan’s tears rain down to the ground. When Baburgan gets angry, his head, crowned with a helmet with a wavy crest, is enveloped in black clouds, among which lightning flashes, as if his well-aimed arrows are flying.
The hero Telbes, his brave and stern sons and relatives turned into mountains that still stand in the Shor land. Their peaks are covered with black forest, like the heads of the sons of Telbes with a lush growth of black hair. The beautiful daughter of the hero also turned into a mountain and hid untold riches within herself. He doesn’t want to part with them. The bird told the truth that this beauty was very stingy.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru