In ancient times, there lived a famous hunter in Karachay. His name was Mohammed. Day and night he walked through the mountains, hunted and brought back great prey.
But one day he didn’t come across anything for the whole day. He had already decided to return home, when suddenly, raising his head, he noticed an eagle sitting on the top of a tall beech tree. At any other time he would not have shot the eagle. What was there to do? As soon as he pulled the bowstring, the eagle spoke in a human voice:
– Don’t kill me, accurate hunter! Maybe I will be useful to you someday. Here's my pen. Whenever you need my help, hold it near the fire, and I will immediately appear before you.
And the eagle dropped a feather to the hunter.
Mohammed picked up the eagle feather, hid it and moved on. He walks through the forest and sees a wild goat at the edge of the forest. Before he had time to take aim, the goat suddenly spoke in a human voice:
– Don’t kill me, accurate hunter! Maybe you and I will meet and I will be useful to you. If you need help, warm my wool by the fire, and I will appear before you in an instant.
The goat tore out a tuft of its wool and gave it directly to the hunter. Mohammed hid a tuft of goat hair in a gazyr (a pocket for cartridges on a Circassian coat) and moved on, annoyed at his failure. So he wandered until nightfall, and at night he found a beech tree with mighty branches, climbed onto it and settled down to sleep between the branches.
In the morning the hunter went down to the ground, walked around the mountains, forests, valleys, but all in vain - the game was gone.
What to do? The hunter headed towards the sea. I’ll catch some fish, he thought, and then there’ll be lunch.
He came to the sea, took out a hook that he always carried with him, took out a horsehair line and began to catch fish. He pulled a large fish ashore, and it suddenly spoke in a human voice:
- Let me go to sea, hunter! Perhaps I will be useful to you too. Here's my scale. Warm it by the fire, and I will appear before you in an instant.
There was nothing to do, the hunter released the fish and hid the scale in one of his gazyrs.
The hunter went into the forest and wandered into the thicket.
Suddenly he saw a marten on a tree. The hunter took aim, but did not shoot - the marten was very good!
- Come what may! - said the hunter and put the arrow in the quiver.
“Thank you,” said the marten in a human voice. “Perhaps I will be of use to you someday.” Here's my hair, hide it. When you need me, warm a hair by the fire, and I will immediately appear, as if from underground.
There is nothing to do, the hunter hid the marten hair and moved on.
A hunter walks through the forest and sees a hut standing to the side. He was delighted, opened the gate, and called out to the owner.
A lonely old woman lived in a hut. She sat by the fireplace and warmed herself. Her hunger made it difficult for her to move her tongue.
The old woman greeted the guest warmly. She complained that she was hungry and that she had nothing to treat him with.
“It’s been three days since I’ve eaten anything,” she said. - Am I alone? All the villages around go hungry three days a week.
- Why is this so? - asked the hunter.
The old woman explained:
– We don’t eat three days a week. Dogs are forbidden to bark for three days, and livestock is forbidden to graze. And all because the cruel daughter of the prince these days is playing with her magic mirror, in which she sees everything in the world, and does not want anyone to move and interfere with her fun three days a week. The princess is very beautiful,” said the old woman. - This is an unprecedented beauty. Ninety-nine suitors wooed her, but they all died.
– Did they die like cowards? - asked the hunter.
- No, good guest, these were brave people. Anyone who wants to take the beautiful princess as his wife must hide for three days. The princess will marry someone she cannot find. And if he finds him, his head will end up on the stockade.
“I’ll go to woo your princess,” said the hunter.
“Look, you will be the hundredth, and your head on the palisade will also be the hundredth,” answered the old woman.
But the hunter was not afraid - he headed towards the princely palace. The princess saw him and said loudly:
– This guest of ours has a beautiful head. She will also decorate our picket fence.
The hunter heard her words and said:
“We’ll still see where my head is.” She doesn't feel bad on my shoulders either. And now, princess, I am ready to fulfill all your conditions.
“Well,” said the princess, “it’s better to hide today.” And in the morning I will find you and prepare a place on the stockade.
In the evening, the hunter lit a fire in the forest, took out an eagle feather from the fire pit, warmed it near the flame - the eagle was right there.
- What's wrong with you, hunter? he asked. - How can I help you?
“Hide me so,” the hunter asked, “so that the treacherous princess cannot find me for three days.”
The eagle picked him up and rose into the sky. There, on the rock, the eagle had a nest. He hid the hunter in it.
In the morning the princess woke up and began searching. She took the mirror in her hands and pointed it at the mountains. The princess looked around the forests and rivers and did not find the hunter. Then she turned her mirror to the sky. She searched the sun, the moon, and the stars, reached the thick clouds and saw an eagle covering its nest. And the princess saw the tip of the hood under the eagle’s wing.
- So that's where you are! - she exclaimed.
What to do? The hunter appeared before the princess.
“Well, try to hide a second time,” said the cruel princess. “But remember: you can only do this three times.”
Where should a hunter go? He went into the forest again, lit a fire there, took out a tuft of goat’s hair from the fire pit and warmed it near the flame. The wild goat is right there.
“I’m ready to help you, good hunter,” she said.
“Hide me for three days,” he asked. “Hide it so that the treacherous princess doesn’t find me.”
- Hold on to my horns, hunter, and hold on tight!
And in an instant the goat rushed through forests and mountains, seas and rivers, onto a high rock and hid him in a cave, and she sat down in front of the entrance.
The princess gets up in the morning and begins her search. He takes a mirror in his hands and points it at the sky - at the sun, the moon, and the stars. Here she is rummaging through forests and rivers, directing the mirror towards the mountains. And on a high cliff the princess sees a wild goat covering the entrance to the cave. She also sees the half of a gray Circassian coat that the goat was unable to cover. How wrong she was!
- Hey, you guy! - the princess shouted. - Get out of the cave and hurry to me! My stockade has been waiting for you for a long time.
What to do? The hunter appeared before the princess.
“Try to hide for the third and last time,” said the princess. – Maybe you’ll be lucky!
Where should a hunter go? He went into the forest again. And again he made a fire, took out fish scales from the gas, and warmed them over the flame. And a fish appeared in front of him.
The hunter told her about his grief.
“Follow me,” said the fish. She led him to the sea, and she splashed into the water and soon emerged with a huge fish. It opened its mouth and swallowed the hunter. The fish sank to the very bottom and hid in the sand.
The princess gets up in the morning and picks up a mirror. He directs it to the mountains, to the sky - to the sun, to the moon, to the stars - to forests and rivers. But it's all in vain. So she searches in the depths of the waters and in the deepest place finds a huge fish. This fish seemed strange to the princess. The princess held her magic mirror on her.
Then the fish yawned, and the princess saw the hunter in its belly.
- There you are, boy! – she was delighted. - Come out of your shelter!
What to do? The hunter went to the prince's palace.
– What kind of stake do you like? – the princess asked mockingly. - Maybe this one? Or that one over there? “But she doesn’t take her eyes off him.”
“Any stake is good for a death’s head.” “I beg you, let me hide one more time,” answered the hunter.
“Okay,” she said, “hide.” Where should a hunter go? He went into the forest again. He lit a fire again, took out a marten hair from the gas, and warmed it by the flame. And the marten appeared right there!
“I’m here,” she squeaked. The hunter told the marten about his grief, and the marten said to him:
“It’s very difficult to hide you from the princess’s eyes.” But I'll try. Take me by the ears and pull me towards you with force.
The hunter did everything exactly. So what? The skin slid off the marten, and underneath it was golden wool.
“Now,” said the marten, “get into my skin and pretend to be dead.” Don't move. I will leave you at the princely palace. The most important thing is don't move. And wait to see what happens.
The hunter listened to her, climbed into the marten skin, the marten sewed her up so that the seams could not be seen, dragged her to the princely palace and threw her at the stockade.
The princess wakes up in the morning and picks up a magic mirror.
And at this time they tell her:
“Princess, we found a dead marten at the gate.” A big marten, and what wool she has!
The princess liked the marten wool. She said: ; - Leave the marten at my feet. I will trim my dress with her fur,” and began to search for the hunter.
She pointed the mirror at the sky - at the sun, moon and stars. She searched mountains and rivers, forests and seas. I searched in the ground and under the ground, in the water and under the water. And I didn’t find it!
By evening, exhausted, the princess said:
- Come out, boy, wherever you are!
The hunter ripped open the skin and appeared before the princess.
Out of frustration, the princess threw the mirror on the ground - it shattered into small pieces.
The hunter gathered the people and said this:
“The mirror will no longer serve the princess, and it has lost its power.” I'd like to check out. And I leave the princess to your fair judgment.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru