At the foot of a high mountain, on the edge of the forest, there stood a small hut, coated with clay, with a flat roof, small windows and a low door. An old man and an old woman lived in that hut. They had no children. The old man went into the forest to hunt, and the old woman looked after the house.
One day at dawn an old man was walking through the forest and saw a sleeping hare under a bush, but he felt sorry for him and did not shoot. He went further and in a deep cave he noticed a mother bear with her cubs. He didn’t touch them either and went his way.
And for some time now the devils have settled in that forest. They considered the forest theirs, and they did not like that the old man, as the owner, wandered through the forest and hunted. They got together and decided to survive the old man from the forest. But how to do this? We thought for a long time, but could not come up with anything. Finally, the eldest shaitan, huge, scary, his name was Punk-Punk, said:
“I will go out to him and say: “I am Punk-Punk, the most terrible among the devils! Come on, old man, fight you! If you defeat me, you can continue hunting in our forest. And if I defeat you, you will leave here and never come to the forest again.”
- You came up with a clever idea! - the devils shouted.
I found Punk-Punk the old man in the thicket, went up to him and said:
- I am Punk-Punk, the most terrible among the devils! Come on, old man, fight you! If you beat me, you can continue hunting in our forest. And if I defeat you, you will leave here and never come to our forest again.
“Okay, I agree,” the old man replies, “but first you have to fight with my younger brother, otherwise I’m afraid that I’ll break all your ribs.”
He led the terrible Punk-Punk to the cave where he noticed the bear, and said:
— My younger brother lives in this cave. Go to him and fight him. And if you overcome him, then I will begin to measure my strength with you.
Punk-Punk listened to him and went into the cave. And the bear woke up at the rustling sound, rose on her hind legs, grabbed the uninvited guest and began to crush him. She crushed and crushed, rolled in the dust and threw into the abyss.
Punk-Punk got out of the abyss barely alive, and the old man was right there, standing there grinning:
- Well, now will you fight with me? And Punk-Punk is unable to utter a word. He pretended that he did not see the old man and quickly wandered into the thicket. He got to his people, barely came to his senses, and then told what happened to him.
- No, none of us can overcome the old man! - he finished his story.
The devils began to think and consult on how to proceed. We thought for a long time, but could not come up with anything.
Finally, the middle shaitan, the most dexterous and fastest - his name was Tank-Tank - suggested:
“I’ll go out to the old man and tell him: “I am Tank-Tank, the fastest and most dexterous among the devils! Come on, old man, we’ll run a race with you. If you come running first, you can continue hunting in our forest. And if I’m the first, you’ll leave our forest and never come back here again.”
- You came up with a clever idea!
I found the old man’s Tank-Tank in the thicket, approached him and said:
- I am Tank-Tank, the fastest and most dexterous among the devils! Come on, old man, let's run a race with you! If you come running first, you can continue hunting in our forest. And if I am the first, you will leave our forest and never return here again.
“Okay, I agree,” the old man answers, “but first you need to catch up with my son.” I want to see if you run fast.
He led Tank-Tank in the direction where he saw a hare sleeping under a bush. Before reaching the bush, he stopped, picked up a pine cone and threw it at the hare, and said to the shaitan: “Run after him!” The hare jumped up and ran away, and Tank-Tank rushed after him. For half a day he rushed after the hare, but could not catch up with him. He was scratched, out of breath, and was about to suffocate. Tank-Tank realized that he couldn’t catch up with the old man’s son. He fell onto the path and lay there, unable to catch his breath. And the old man is right there, standing there grinning:
- Well, now will you run a race with me?
But Tank-Tank cannot utter a word. He pretended that he did not see the old man, got up and quickly wandered into the thicket. He somehow got to his people, barely came to his senses, and then told the devils in detail what had happened to him.
- No, none of us can overtake the old man! - he finished his story.
The devils began to think about what to do next. We thought for a long time, but could not come up with anything. Finally, the youngest, the strongest and the most cunning—his name was Munk-Mank—suggested:
“I’ll take the mace that we inherited from our ancestors, go out to the old man and tell him:
“I am Mank-Mank, the strongest and most cunning among the devils! Come on, old man, you and I will throw this mace. If you throw it higher than me, then you can continue hunting in our forest. And if I throw the mace higher, then you will leave our forest and never come here again.”
- You came up with a clever idea!
Mank-Mank came out of the thicket, found the old man and said to him:
- I am Mank-Mank, the strongest and most cunning among the devils! Come on, old man, you and I will throw this mace. If you throw it higher than I did, you can continue hunting in our forest. And if I throw the mace higher, you will leave our forest and never come here again.
“Okay, I agree,” the old man replies, “let’s just start with you, you throw first.”
Munk-Munk grabbed the heavy mace, swung it and threw it up with all his might. The mace flew higher than the tallest trees, higher than the highest mountain and disappeared into the clouds. And only an hour later a howl and whistle was heard and the mace fell, sank into the ground to the very hilt.
- Now it's your turn, old man! - Mank-Mank, the strongest and most cunning among the devils, said proudly.
The old man took hold of the handle, but was in no hurry to throw it away - he knew that he could not lift such a heavy mace. He stands, looks at the sky and seems to be looking for something.
And Mank-Mank is impatient:
- Why don’t you quit? The old man answers him:
“Last year I threw the same mace into the sky and punched a hole there. This hole is not visible now; it is covered with a cloud. Let's wait until the cloud moves away so as not to punch new holes.
- What are you, what are you, old man! - Mank-Mank was frightened. “This mace cannot be thrown away for good.” We inherited it from our ancestors!
He did not wait for the old man to answer him, he tore the mace out of the ground and rushed with it into the thicket. He runs, and he keeps looking around to see if the old man is catching up to take away the treasured mace and throw it into the sky. He ran to his brothers, could not come to his senses for a long time, and then told how the old man wanted to throw into the sky the mace that they had inherited from their ancestors.
- No, we can’t do anything with this old man! - said the devils.
And they decided that it was better for them to leave this forest themselves and move to another place.
So they did. They took their mace and wandered somewhere into the mountains - away from the cunning old man.
And the old man stayed with his old woman to live in a sakla on the edge of the forest. He was quietly hunting in the forest, and the old woman was watching the house.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru