It was a long time ago. At that time there lived in the world one sovereign prince. One day, accompanied by his servants, he was hunting in the mountains. The hunters walked along the mountain paths for a long time, and they got rich prey: chamois and roe deer. The hunters set off on their way back and descended into a green clearing.
They see: on the edge of the clearing a doe with her fawns is basking in the sun. The hunters were delighted and began to carefully approach her. The old prince is ahead. He looks: what a miracle? Among the fawns, a naked boy plays with them, like their brother.
The hunters were very surprised, and they wanted to take a closer look at the boy.
The sovereign prince shouted:
- Don't shoot the deer! Let's catch this boy alive, find out who he is.
A doe with her fawns saw people and rushed like an arrow into the forest. The boy also ran with them. He had fast legs, but still he fell behind the deer, and the hunters managed to overtake him.
The old prince had no children. So he decided to keep the boy with him.
Why did this child end up in the forest among the fawns? Here's why. During one enemy raid on the village, many residents were captured. One woman was also captured along with others. On the way, she gave birth to a son, but ruthless enemies tore the child from her hands and abandoned her in the forest. Not far from the place where the child was abandoned, a doe with her fawns was grazing. She approached the boy, sniffed him and fed him with her milk. After this, the doe often came to him and fed him until he began to walk. The boy got used to the fawns and followed his savior and nurse everywhere with them.
In the prince's house they dressed and put shoes on the boy, taught him human speech and gave him the name Jamkhukh - son of a deer.
Jamkhukh grew by leaps and bounds. He was brave, handsome and resourceful. And the fame of Jamkhukh, the son of a deer, spread throughout all the mountains and gorges.
One day the prince fell ill. He felt that death was already at the threshold, called Jamkhukh and told him:
– My last hour has come, Jamhukh... I leave you all my wealth. Take the keys to my chests and cellars, now be the master of the house. Just don’t enter one room: if you open it, you will hasten the day of your death. There is kept an image of a beauty shining like the moon, the sister of the seven Adau brothers who live in the eastern side. Whoever looks at her will forget everything in the world, and whoever goes looking for her will only find his own death. I had three sons, they laid down their lives because of her...
The old prince said so and died.
And so Jamkhukh remained the complete master of the house. But he didn’t want to look at anything, nothing was nice to him. He thought only about the room where the image of the beauty was kept.
“Perhaps I will die if I look at this beauty,” thought Jamkhukh, “but if I don’t see her, I will also die someday!”
He hesitated for a long time and could not resist: he opened the treasured room.
Here Jamkhukh saw a portrait of the sister of the seven Adau brothers. The beauty of this girl struck him so much that it took his breath away and his head went blank. And he vowed to himself to find her no matter what.
Jamkhukh dressed better, hung a dagger from his belt and set off through forests and mountains, across rivers and valleys - straight to the east, to where the beauty lived in the castle of the seven Adau brothers.
Jamkhukh spent many days and nights on the road. And then he saw a man in a plowed field. This man greedily swallowed clods of earth and said:
- I'm hungry! I'm hungry! Oh, how hungry I am!.. Jamkhukh looked at him in surprise for a long time. Finally he approached him and asked:
-What kind of person are you? This is the first time I’ve met such an overeater!
“I don’t understand why you’re surprised,” said the stranger. “I’m an ordinary person.” Now, if you met Jam-hukh - the son of a deer, you would have something to marvel at!
“I am Jamkhukh, the son of a deer,” said the young man. “But I couldn’t even swallow a lump of earth, and you eat whole blocks.”
- If you really are Jamhukh, then I will be your comrade and companion! - said Obedalo.
He swallowed another lump of earth and set off along with Dzhamkhu on the road.
Soon they approached the waterfall and saw a man. This man stood at the very waterfall, caught the foamy stream in his mouth and said:
- Oh, how thirsty I am! Oh, how thirsty I am!
“Are you really afraid that you won’t have enough water?” – Jamkhukh was surprised. – What kind of creature are you who is ready to drink the whole river?..
“I’m an ordinary person, and there’s nothing to be surprised about,” Opivalo answered. - Now, if you saw Jamkhukh - the son of a deer, there would be something to marvel at!
- Jamkhukh - the son of a deer - is me, but I won’t drink even half a bucket of water.
- If you really are Jamhukh, then I will be your faithful comrade! - Opivalo said.
The three of them walked further and saw: on the mountain slope a man with millstones on his feet was grazing a herd of hares. And as soon as the hare rushed to the side, the shepherd caught up with the fugitive in one jump.
- What an eccentric! - exclaimed Jamhukh. - Why did you attach such a weight to your feet?
- Is this a burden? – the stranger grinned. “Without these millstones, I will become so light that I won’t be able to stand still—my legs themselves will carry me to the ends of the world.” What good is a shepherd if he runs away from his flock?
Jamkhukh marveled, and the stranger said to him:
– Don’t be surprised, I’m an ordinary Speedwalker. But, they say, there is Jamkhukh in the world - the son of a deer. If you saw him, then you would be surprised!
“Jamkhukh, the son of a deer, is me,” said the young man, “only I could not take a step if I tied such heavy millstones to my feet.”
– If you really are Jamkhukh, then I am your faithful comrade! - said Skorokhod.
And he joined the travelers, and in order not to get ahead of himself, he attached another millstone to his feet.
They walked and walked and saw: a man standing on the road and looking into the sky.
-What are you looking for there? – Jamkhukh asked him.
“Didn’t you see how the eagle drove the dove onto the seventh?” “I shot an arrow at the eagle and am waiting for it to fall to the ground.”
Jamkhukh was surprised, and the shooter said:
-What's special about this? I am only the Sharp-Eye. There is nothing surprising here. Apparently you don’t know anything about Jamkhukh, the son of a deer, if you’re so surprised,
“Jamkhukh, the son of a deer, is me,” said the young man, “but I cannot boast of such vigilance and accuracy.”
– If you are Jamkhukh, then I am your faithful comrade! - said Sharp-Eye and joined the travelers.
They all went further together: through forests and mountains, through valleys and rivers. They see a man lying on the road, he has his ear to the ground and is listening to something.
-What are you doing here? – Jamkhukh asked him.
- Wait, wait! – the man waved his hands. - You're preventing me from listening. Two ants are quarreling underground, and I listen to what they say: I want to find out what they were arguing about.
– What an amazing person! - exclaimed Jamhukh. “We can’t hear what people are talking about just a few steps away, but he can hear what the ants are arguing about underground.”
-What's special here? - said the stranger. “I just have good hearing.” But if anyone is worthy of surprise, it is Jamkhukh - the son of a deer!
– Jamhukh is me, but I’m far from you!..
– If you really are Jamkhukh, then I am your faithful comrade! - said the Listener and, without listening to the end of the ant dispute, he jumped to his feet and joined the travelers.
All six moved on.
They see: pigeons are sitting on a tree, and a man is walking quickly between them. He deftly and unnoticed by the pigeons pulls out the feathers of one and adjusts them to the other. Jamhukh and his comrades looked at this artist in surprise. And he noticed their surprise and said:
- If you are amazed at such a simple fun, then how you would get hurt if you saw Jamkhukh - the son of a deer!
“Jamkhukh is me,” said the young man, “but I will never cope with such a thing!”
- If you really are Jamhukh, then I will become your faithful comrade! - exclaimed the Artificer.
They moved on. They see a man coming towards you, carrying a whole house on his head. He saw that the travelers stopped in amazement, and said to them:
- Why are you gaping your mouths? What miracle did you see? Now, if you saw Jamkhukh - the son of a deer, you would have a reason to be surprised!
“I am Jamkhukh, the son of a deer, but I won’t raise not only a whole house, but also a chicken coop!” - said the young man.
– If you really are Jamhukh, then I am your faithful comrade! - said the Strong Man.
And they went further straight to the east, to where the beauty lived in the castle of the Adau brothers.
They walked and walked and walked for a very long time... And finally they got to this castle. Jamhukh and his comrades entered the gate and saw that there were human skulls on the sharp battlements of the walls. And in the castle just on that day all the Adau brothers were gathered; their beautiful sister was also with them.
Jamkhukh saw her and couldn’t take his eyes off her - she was so beautiful.
The senior adau approached the guests and said:
– May your arrival be happy, dear guests! Who are you, where are you from and where is your path?
Jamhukh bowed and said:
- Hello to you! I am Jamkhukh, the son of a deer, and these are my comrades. I came to woo your sister. What do you say?
The Adau brothers smiled and said in response:
“We cannot marry off our only sister to the first person we meet.” If you show your strength and dexterity, the girl will be yours, but if you don’t show it, your head will be there! - and pointed to the wall, where one tooth was without a skull.
“Okay,” Jamkhukh agreed. - Let it be your way: I will show you my strength and agility!
Here the elder adau says:
- Look, you see, there’s a stone in the yard. If you split it with your dagger, you will be worthy of our sister!
The beauty heard her brother’s words, and she felt sorry for Jamkhukh.
- If this young man had a hair from my braid and, before cutting the stone, he would run it along the blade of the dagger - he would cut this stone! – she whispered.
She whispered quietly, but the Listener caught her words. He now handed them over to the Artisan, and he quietly pulled out a hair from the girl’s braid, gave it to Jamkhukh and said in his ear:
- Run a hair along the blade of your dagger!
Jamhukh pulled out a dagger, ran a hair along the blade and immediately cut the stone in half with one blow.
The Adau brothers were confused and didn’t know what to say. Finally the elder thought of it.
“I see,” he exclaimed, “that you are really great!” I don't know what my brothers will say.
Here one of the adau says:
– Can Jamkhukh be a worthy table companion for us? Will he be able to eat and drink as much as we eat and drink?
The Adau slaughtered twelve bulls and rams and prepared all sorts of dishes from them. Jamhukh says to them:
“I always treat my comrades first, and then I sit down to eat myself.” It will be so now!
The Adau did not argue with him, they agreed. Then he sat down at the table, ate everything and said:
“I just got a taste for it, and there’s nothing left!” Do you have any supplements?
Adau just threw up his hands.
“Okay,” they say, “good!” We give in!
They rolled out a large barrel of wine and said to Jamkhukh:
– Now show us how you drink!
But then Opivalo joined the barrel. He drained the barrel in one breath and said:
– The VIP is not bad, but one thing is bad: it wasn’t enough! The Adau thought about it and this is what they decided:
“You can’t compete with this fellow... Let’s try to test his comrades - maybe we’ll outwit them.”
They said to Adau Jamkhukh:
“Choose someone among your companions, and we will send out our man: let them run to the sea.” If your friend returns earlier, we will give you your sister.
“Well, great,” agreed Dzhamkhukh and said to Skorokhod: “Come on, brother, show them your agility!”
Adau brought their runner - some kind of old witch. The witch looked at Skorokhod and for some reason hid a bag of millet and a chicken under her apron.
Skorokhod saw who he would have to compete with and laughed. He started to run and in an instant found himself by the sea. Then the old woman arrived in time. She realized that she could not compete with him, and said to Skorokhod:
“They are arguing about something there, but why should we torture ourselves?” Come on son, let's sit down and relax!
Skorokhod agreed and lay down on the seashore, not realizing the plans of the old witch.
The witch began to comb his head with a comb. A little time passed - Skorokhod tired himself out and fell asleep. Then the witch poured millet into his hair and released the chicken, and she ran headlong back. The chicken is pecking at the millet, and Skorokhod thinks that it is the old woman who is scratching his hair with a comb.
Jamkhukh and his comrades are waiting for Skorokhod to appear, and instead of Skorokhod, an old woman appears in the distance. Then the Listener put his ear to the ground and said:
“I don’t hear Skorokhod’s steps.” He fell asleep, I can hear him snoring...
Then Sharp-Eye grabbed the arrow, took aim, shot and knocked off a piece from the millstone on the right leg of Skorokhod.
- Ah! – Skorokhod exclaimed and instantly woke up.
He jumped up, accelerated and instantly found himself on the stairs of the Adau castle, and the old woman was just running up to the gate.
Then the Adau came up with the last test for Jamkhukh.
In the courtyard of their castle there was such a high pillar that if you looked at its top, your hat would fall off your head.
The Adau brothers say to Jamkhukh:
“Put a bowl of boiling water on your head and climb up this pole, and then go back down without spilling a single drop.” If you do this, we will give our sister for you! If you don't do it, you'll lose your head!
Jamhukh put the bowl on his head and climbed onto the pole and reached its top. He looked around and suddenly saw that the wolves were tormenting the doe that had fed him. Jamkhukh could not stand it and began to cry. Tears rolled down my cheeks and fell to the ground.
They saw transparent drops and decided that Jamkhukh had spilled water from the bowl. They were delighted and began to laugh.
Jamkhukh got down from the pillar and said to the adau:
- You are rejoicing in vain - it was not water, but my tears. They didn't believe him.
- What tears! - they shout. - This is water from a bowl!
Jamkhukh did not argue with them. He climbed a second time: with a full bowl, he climbed to the top of the pillar and descended without spilling a single drop.
Then the Adau brothers became convinced that they could not do anything, and began to think about how to destroy Jamkhukh.
“If we don’t poison Jamhukh and his comrades, we’ll have to give him our sister.”
The Adau prepared a lot of food, and poison was poured into the dishes placed in front of Jamkhukh and his comrades. But the words of the insidious Adau were overheard by the Listener and told the Artificer about their conspiracy. He instantly moved the dishes that were in front of his comrades to the adau, and placed those dishes that were in front of the adau in front of his comrades. The Adau ate poisoned food, into which they themselves poured poison, and the end of their bad life came...
Jamhukh wanted to take the beauty out of the castle and take him with him, but then the Strongman jumped up, put the castle on his head and said:
- Why take one girl! It's better to take her along with the castle in which she was born and raised!
And everyone went together to the village of Jamkhukha. They erected an adau castle there and played a merry wedding. Everyone ate and drank to their heart's content. Even Obedalo and Opivalo ate and drank to their heart's content. And everyone rejoiced at the good fortune of Jamkhukh, the son of a deer.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru