In ancient times there lived a poor man Sidugan and his wife. They had three children: daughter Kuline and sons Etrigan and Utigan.
A small river flowed through Sidugan's garden. One day Kulina went down to the river for water. Suddenly a whirlwind came, spun and spun the girl and carried her away to God knows where.
The parents found out about this and began to cry, and the eldest son Etrigan said:
- Don't cry! I'll go and find my sister.
He took the knapsack, put a loaf of bread in it and left.
Etrigan walked and walked, and a herd of pigs came across his way.
- Where are you going, Etrigan! - the shepherds ask.
“I’m going to look for my sister, who was carried away by a whirlwind,” the young man answers.
- It’s unlikely you’ll find her! Now, if he ate a whole pig in one sitting, then there would still be hope.
- Am I a glutton that I can eat a whole pig in one sitting? - Etrigan answers and moves on.
He walked and walked, and he came across a herd of cows.
-Where are you going, Etrigan? - the shepherds ask.
“I’m going to look for my sister, who was carried away by a whirlwind,” the young man answers.
- It’s unlikely you’ll find her! Now, if he ate a whole cow in one sitting, then there would still be hope.
- Am I a glutton that I can eat a whole cow in one sitting? - Etrigan answers and moves on.
He walked and walked, and he met a herd of horses.
-Where are you going, Etrigan? - the shepherds ask.
“I’m going to look for my sister, who was carried away by a whirlwind,” the young man answers.
- It’s unlikely you’ll find her! Now, if you ate a whole horse in one sitting, then there would still be hope.
- Am I a glutton that I can eat a whole horse in one sitting? - Etrigan answers and moves on.
Soon a beautiful palace appeared in front of him. Etrigan, without hesitation, went there and met sister Kuline.
- My brother! How did you get here? - says the sister and hugs her brother.
“He walked and walked and got there,” Etrigan answers.
“You know, brother, my husband is the devil himself, and I’m afraid that he might kill you.”
“After I saw you, I might as well die.”
Then Kuline heard the steps of the shaitan and hid her brother in a dark corner. Shaitan entered, sniffed and said:
- Ugh!.. Smells like a man!..
- How not to smell! Day and night you run around among people, deceiving them, and that’s where you smell of the human spirit,” answers Kuline.
- No, that’s not why. There's definitely someone here!
- What if my brother Etrigan is here? What will you do with him? - asks Kuline.
“I’ll treat you as expected, that’s all,” answers the shaitan.
Etrigan came out of the corner, and the owner sat him down at the table. We talked about this and that, Shaitan put a pork carcass in front of Etrigan and said:
- Once you come to visit me, eat everything!
“The young man ate and ate, but he couldn’t manage more than two pounds. He thanked the owner and left the table.
- Why didn’t you eat enough? Maybe he was disdainful? - asks the shaitan.
“What are you talking about,” the young man replies, “I’ve eaten my fill.”
“Well, okay, I’ll forgive you for today, and tomorrow I’ll treat you to better food,” says the shaitan and he himself takes on the pork carcass.
After three minutes the mascara was gone. The shaitan hid the bones in a bag and went to bed. In the morning, before leaving home, Shaitan ordered a whole bull to be boiled by evening.
In the evening he returned, placed the carcass of a bull in front of Etrigan and said:
- Once you come to visit me, eat all the meat! The young man ate and ate, but could not manage more than two pounds.
He thanked the owner and left the table.
— Why didn’t you eat enough? Maybe you don't like our food? - asks the shaitan.
“What are you talking about,” the young man replies, “I really like it, but I’m already full.”
“Well, okay, I’ll forgive you for today, and tomorrow I’ll treat you to the most delicious food,” says the shaitan and he himself takes on the bull.
Six minutes later, all that was left of the bull was horns and bones. Shaitan put them in the same bag and went to bed.
The next morning, leaving home, Shaitan ordered a whole horse to be boiled by the evening.
In the evening he returned, placed the carcass of a horse in front of Etrigan and said:
- Since you came to visit me, eat everything!
The young man ate and ate, but could not manage more than two pounds. He thanked the owner and left the table.
— Why didn’t you eat enough? Maybe you don't like our food? - asks the shaitan.
“What are you talking about,” the young man replies, “I really like it, but I’m already full.”
- OK then! “Now I’ll show you how to eat,” says the shaitan and takes up the horse himself.
Seven minutes later, all that was left of the horse was its tail, mane and bones. Shaitan put them in the same bag, approached Etrigan and said:
- Why did you disdain my treat? Apparently you didn’t come to me with a kind heart!
Shaitan hit Etrigan on the forehead with a heavy bag. Etrigan was covered in blood, fell and died immediately, and the Shaitan left.
Kulina cried, dressed her brother in everything clean and buried him. And she hid his underwear, all covered in blood, in the closet.
That same night, Etrigan's younger brother, Utigan, had a dream. In the morning he got up and said:
“I had a strange dream that Etrigan’s neck and head were wrapped in a red scarf.
This is not a good dream! Someone killed our Etrigan! - the mother answers and wipes away her tears.
- I'll go and find him! Utigan says. “It can’t be that both brother and sister were killed.” Maybe they need my help...
He put a loaf of bread in his knapsack and went. Along the way, he met the same herds, the same shepherds and answered their questions with the same words as Etrigan. Shaitan treated him in the same way as his older brother, and also killed him.
Kulina buried her second brother, took Etrigan and Utigan’s underwear and went to the river to wash. When she wet the laundry, one drop of blood separated from Etrigan’s shirt, another from Utigan’s shirt, Kuline’s tear fell on them, and it turned out to be one scarlet drop. She swam downstream and swam until she reached Sidugan's garden. And here, just at that time, Kulina’s mother went to the river for water. She scooped up some water and a drop ended up in her bucket. She came home, drank fresh water and did not notice how she swallowed a scarlet drop along with the water.
Soon Sidugan's wife gave birth to a boy. They gave him the name Kachikrush.
Kachikrush grew up as a healthy and strong boy. At sixteen, no one could handle him. He uprooted hundred-year-old oak trees and alone did the work that a hundred people could do. When Kachikrush began working for the rich, his parents breathed more freely, and life became easier. And the mighty warrior will return with the bread he earned from one rich man and go to another.
For a day of heroic work, Kachikrush took a bag of grain instead of payment, and the owner was obliged to feed him once a day.
One day he went into the forest and brought back a huge oak and two pine trees. I cleared them of branches and planed them. The batyr made himself a huge flail from an oak and one pine tree, and used the skins of three bulls for a belt. From another pine tree he made a handle for a huge shovel, the size of a collar.
In the morning, the hero threw a flail and a shovel over his shoulder, took a huge sack and went to look for work.
So he walks past the manor’s estate and sees: the whole threshing floor is full of unthreshed haystacks. Asks the owner:
- Shall I thresh this bread for you?
-You probably charge a lot for your work? - asks the master.
“It’s not enough—you feed him once and give him a bag of grain.”
The master gladly hired a cheap worker and invited him into the house for breakfast. At the table, Kachikrush ate seventy-seven loaves of bread and the meat of three bulls. The owner was surprised and frightened and thought: “What will happen to my farm if I feed this glutton for at least a week?”
Kachikrush had breakfast, went out to the threshing floor and started working. He dumps the stack on the threshing floor, hits it two or three times with a heroic flail - and the grain is threshed. He knocks down a stack, hits him with a flail, and the grain is threshed.
Kachikrush threshed all the stacks, raked the grain into a large heap as big as a mountain and began to winnow and throw the grain to the skies with his huge shovel.
When this work was done, the batyr poured all the master's bread into his bottomless bag, shouldered it and, like a mountain, moved home. The master stood still and froze - his mouth opened and his eyes widened.
One day, when his son was at home, Sidugan and his wife talked about the missing children and became sad. Kachikrush listened and listened to them, then he said:
“I’ll go find them and punish the tormentors!”
His parents began to dissuade him:
“Three children have disappeared, and you will disappear too!” How will we live then? Don't go, son!
But Kachikrush stood his ground. He made a club from a century-old oak tree, put a loaf of bread in his knapsack and went. He walked and walked and came to a herd of pigs.
-Where are you going, Kachikrush? - the shepherds ask.
“I’m going to look for my sister and two brothers who disappeared several years ago,” the batyr answers.
- It's unlikely you'll find them! Now, if you ate a whole pig from our herd in one place, then there would still be hope.
“I’m not a dog to eat raw meat.” Cook it - then we'll see!
The shepherds slaughtered the pig and cooked it. Kachikrush sat down and ate all the meat without a trace.
- Well, we can count on you! - say the shepherds.
Kachikrush took his club, said goodbye to the shepherds and moved on. He walked and walked and came to a herd of cows.
-Where are you going, Kachikrush? - the shepherds ask.
“I’m going to look for my sister and two brothers who disappeared several years ago,” the batyr answers.
- It’s unlikely that you will find them! Now, if you ate a whole cow from your herd in one sitting, then there would still be hope.
“I’m not a wolf to eat raw meat.” Cook it - and then we'll see!
The shepherds slaughtered the cow and cooked it. Kachikrush sat down and ate all the meat without a trace.
- Well, we can count on you! - say the shepherds.
And Kachikrush took his club, said goodbye to the shepherds and moved on. He walked and walked and came to a herd of horses.
-Where are you going, Kachikrush? - the shepherds ask.
“I’m going to look for my sister and two brothers who disappeared several years ago,” the batyr answers.
- It’s unlikely that you will find them! Now, if you ate a whole horse from our herd in one sitting, then there would still be hope.
- I am not a forest animal to eat raw meat. Cook it - and then we'll see!
— The shepherds slaughtered and boiled the horse. Kachikrush sati ate all the meat without a trace.
- Well, we can count on you! - say the shepherds.
And Kachikrush took his club and moved on.
Soon a beautiful palace appeared in front of him. The batyr leaned his club against the wall and entered the dvbr. He sees a woman sitting by the window and sadly looking into the distance. Kachikrush greeted her. The woman turned around and asked:
“Where are you going, son, and how did you get here?”
“I am the son of Sidugan, and my name is Kachikrush.” “And I’m going to look for my sister Kuline and the brothers Etrigan and Utigan, who disappeared before I was born,” the batyr answers.
- So you are my little brother, and I am your missing sister! - shouted the delighted Kulina and hugged the hero.
She asked Kulina about her health, her parents and household affairs, became thoughtful, became sad, and then said:
- But my husband is the devil himself! He kidnapped me. And he beat our brothers, Etrigan and Utigan, who came to free me with a bag of bones and killed him, and said that they disdained his treat. I'm afraid that Satan might kill you too! He doesn't feel sorry for anyone.
“Don’t worry, sister,” Kachikrush answers, “I have a good gift for him.”
Kulina heard the shaitan’s steps and wanted to hide her brother, but he refused.
“Don’t hide, don’t hide, he’ll come and see you anyway!” It's better not to hide.
Soon the shaitan entered the palace, saw Kachikrush and asked him.
-What kind of person are you?
“I am your wife’s younger brother and I came to visit you,” the batyr answers.
-Then sit down at the table! Probably hungry from the road? - says the shaitan and lays out a whole pork carcass in front of Kachikrush.
The batyr ate all the meat without a trace, and hid the bones in a bag. Shaitan looked at the guest with evil eyes, but said nothing.
The next day, Shaitan dumped two cows in front of Kachikrush. This time the batyr ate all the meat and hid it in a bag. Shaitan almost burst with anger, but he could not do anything.
On the third day, Shaitan dumped three horses in front of Kachikrush and said:
- Since you came to visit me, eat, don’t be shy!
The batyr sat down and ate all the meat, and hid the bones in a bag. Shaitan could not stand it
and says:
“I have never seen such a gluttonous gentleman in my life!” Is it possible to call a guest a person who ate the entire dinner without leaving even a crumb for the host?
“How can you call yourself a master,” answered Kachikrush, “if you reproach a relative who came to visit you for the only time in his life with a piece of bread?” To those who cannot eat a lot, you say to them, “Why are you disdainful of my lunch?”, and to those who can, you say to them: “Why do you eat a lot?” Don't you think that you have no control?!
With these words, the hero turned around and hit the shaitan on the head with a multi-pound sack. Shaitan grunted and fell to the ground. Then Kachikrush dragged him into the yard, began to bludgeon him with his huge club and say:
- You won't steal girls! You won't kill guys! You won't deceive and torture people!
He dealt with the shaitan Kachikrush and, together with his sister, returned home to his parents.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru