In the coastal village of Nauhan lived a brave man, the brave and strong hunter Kanak. Kanak had an only son, a teenager. Kanak named his son Tagrak after his deceased grandfather. Kanak wanted to marry his son to the beautiful Tutkan, the daughter of a neighbor, but the young man did not want to hear about marriage. He wanted to become the strongest, most dexterous and brave hunter, to defeat the foreigners - tangs and eagles, who lived on the tops of the heavenly mountains and caused a lot of trouble to people, land and sea animals.
Every day Tagrak exercised his strength and agility, climbed high rocks, jumped over chasms and gorges, and chased a running fox in the tundra. Soon Tagrak was able to replace the aged Kanak in hunting and began to bring home many sea animals.
Kanak now began collecting driftwood for summer and winter fires. Spring had come, almost all the snow had melted, and now it was easy to find trees that had been washed ashore by autumn storms. All residents of Naukan always began to collect fuel together with Kanak. Kanak was the foreman, and according to ancient customs, no business can be started until the foreman has started it.
One day, when Tagrak was gathering for the fin that Kanak had caught, Kanak said to his son:
-Who do you think you will marry? Doesn't the Tutkan girl know how to sew and cook meat well? There are the best patterns on her face; no other girl in our village has them more beautiful. You're probably planning to marry someone who doesn't walk on the ground, but flies in the air?
Tagrak was silent. He thought about the eagles he wanted to defeat. Eagles kidnapped children. Eagles devastated the sea, which gave life to people. Celestial eagles carried away even huge black whales like small fish.
Tagrak went to get the driftwood that Kanak had collected. Evening came, and he still did not return. The wife asked Kanak:
– Why is it taking so long for our son to return? Has something happened to him? Kanak calmly replied:
“Something delayed him.” He'll probably come now. But then night came, dawn came, and Tagrak still did not return. In the morning Kanak said to his wife:
- Notify all the villagers, let them sail in kayaks to the south and north and look for my son.
The men grabbed hunting equipment - harpoons, spears and bows, took bags of food for the road and dispersed in different directions. By evening, the canoes with hunters began to return. No one found any trace of Tagrak. Woe has come to Kanaka's home! Father and mother lost their only son.
So autumn has come. Frosts began, fast ice formed along the banks, but Tagrak was still missing. Then Kanak said to his fellow hunters:
“Tomorrow I myself will go to Mount Kykhlyavik, where eagles live, maybe I’ll find out something about my son there.”
Early in the morning, when everyone was sleeping, Kanak took a seal bag of food on his shoulders and went to Mount Kykhlyavik. He approached the base of the mountain and saw how high it was. Will you be strong enough to climb to the top of Kykhlyavik? But Kanak wanted to find his son and began to climb the mountain. Old Kanak rested many times until he finally found himself at the top.
I began to look for eagles, but they were nowhere to be found. All around were the bones of whales, birds and fish, white as snow.
Kanak was walking along the top of the mountain and suddenly saw two little eaglets. They did not yet know how to fly, they huddled together and shook from cold and hunger.
Kanak thought: The eaglets will freeze. We need to give them food, let them live. They probably haven't eaten anything for a long time.
Then he saw that all the meat had already been eaten and the seal’s bag was empty. Then Kanak cut two large pieces from his kukhlyanka and covered the eaglets with them so that they would not freeze. Then he took his bow and shot two partridges to feed the eaglets. The eaglets ate the partridges, warmed up under the skins, and their strength returned. Kanak stood and looked at the eaglets, but he was thinking about his son. At this time, one of the eaglets stood up, hit the ground hard with its wing and turned into a boy. Kanak couldn’t believe his eyes for a long time, but the boy spoke:
- Thank you, man. You saved us from cold and hunger. But soon our mother will arrive, who has no pity for animals or people - she can eat you. Our mother has been gone for four days, she is looking for prey far from here. You must hide, otherwise you will die. Hide under our wings and we will save you.
After that, the boy hit the ground with his hand and turned into an eaglet again. Kanak hid under the wings of the eaglet and immediately heard a whistle and noise in the air. Then something huge fell next to the eaglets. Kanak looked through the crack between the feathers and saw a huge eagle. Mother Eagle spoke:
– Where does this smell of man come from? Isn't there a person here?
What a good breakfast it will be!
One son said:
- Listen to me. Crazy with failure, you can eat this man. But if it weren’t for this man, we would have died from cold and hunger. Only he saved us from death! Well, eat this man quickly. Here he is under my wings.
The eagle said:
- No, I won’t eat this man! Let him come out here boldly.
Kanak came out from under the wings of the eaglet. Before him was the largest bird he had ever seen. At the feet of the eagle lay the whale she had caught, and this whale seemed like a small fish. Then the eagle struck the ground with her beak, took off her feathered robe, and became a giant woman. The woman asked Kanak:
- Why did you come here, man? Kanak replied:
- I'm looking for my son. To find out where he is, I came to ask you. After all, you fly everywhere and see everything that is happening around on earth.
The woman said:
“My husband didn’t return from the hunt either. Perhaps he was killed by unfamiliar eagles, or he himself fell into a narrow gorge or into the sea.
Kanak asked:
- But you probably know where my son Tagrak is? The woman replied:
- Yes, I know where your son is. There, high on the heavenly mountains, lives the strongest and largest eagle. He kidnapped your son, tied him to a post and pecks at his skin every day because your son does not want to marry his daughter. Your son is suffering a lot and has become very thin.
Then the woman said to Kanak:
“Go home now, and in four days come here to me and take some food with you for the road.” I will also prepare some travel food. We will fly with you to fight with the big one. eagle
Kanak returned to his village and entered the dugout where his wife was waiting for him. The wife asked:
- Well, tell me quickly, what did you find out about your son? Kanak replied:
- Well, I learned something. They say he married the daughter of a great eagle who lives on the heavenly mountains. In four days I will go again to Mount Kykhlyavik and find out something else about my son.
Kanak said this to the old woman so that she would not know the truth about her son and would not be afraid.
Four days later, Kanak climbed Mount Kykhlyavik with a supply of food and came to the eagle. By that time she had saved a lot of wild deer and one whale for food on the way. Kanak put the carcasses of wild deer on the eagle and tied them with straps to her huge feathers. Kanak put a lot of deer on the eagle.
Kanak sat on the back of the eagle, the eagle hooked the whale with her huge claws, and they flew up to the heavenly mountains. Soon the land was out of sight. Along the way, the eagle tore pieces of meat from the whale and ate them. They flew for a long time, and now the whale meat had already run out, then Kanak began to feed the eagle with deer carcasses. The heavenly mountains had already appeared, but Kanak had run out of all the deer carcasses, and the eagle began to weaken without food. Kanak gave the eagle all the supplies from the seal's bag, the eagle flew a little and stopped again. The top of the mountain is already very close, but the eagle has no strength, she cannot fly any further. Then Kanak cut off his right buttock and gave it to the eagle. This time she flew to the top of the heavenly mountain and sat down near a large stone. Kanak saw a huge dugout ahead, and around it there were many bones, as if white snow had covered the ground. The eagle said to Kanak:
- Bring your son here. There, behind the dugout, he is tied to a post with straps.
Kanak approached the post and saw his son tied by the arms and legs. Kanak quickly cut the thick walrus straps with a knife, the son fell and could not even eat from weakness. Kanak carefully raised his son and asked:
“My son, don’t you have the strength to walk?”
The son replied:
- I’m completely exhausted, I can’t. Kanak took his son on his shoulder and brought him to the eagle. The eagle said:
“The eagle hero is sleeping and doesn’t know that you took his son from him.” Let's quickly get down to earth.
Father and son sat on the eagle and began to descend to the ground. Now the land is already close. Suddenly they heard a shout from behind:
- Who are you? Why did they steal my loot? You won't live anymore!
The eagle caught up with the eagle, hit her chest on the back and knocked down Kanak’s son, with the second blow he knocked down Kanak himself and the meat sack, with the third blow he knocked out the eagle, who was weakened without food. They all fell into the sea, and the eagle flew into the sky. The eagle fell into the sea and turned into Ayak Island. Kanak fell into the sea and became the island of Imaklik. Kanaka's son fell into the sea and became the island of Ukivak.
And on Mount Kykhlyavik, two young eagles and two brothers were waiting for their mother. But the mother eagle did not return. And they had to get their own food. At first they caught small tundra animals, then they began to catch wild deer and even walruses on the ice floes.
A lot of time passed, the eagle brothers grew up and began to catch large whales. One day the younger brother said to the elder:
-Where is our mother? Shouldn't we fly to the heavenly mountains? Perhaps we'll find out something about our mother. After all, you can see everything from there.
The elder brother said:
“Well, we are strong enough to climb those high mountains.”
The brothers stocked up on food. While they were flying, they ate all their supplies and finally arrived at the heavenly mountain. Ahead of us we saw a huge dugout. And around that dugout there are a lot of bones, as if the ground is covered with white snow. The eagle brothers hit the ground with their beaks, took off their feathered clothes, and the elder brother said:
- Well, let's enter this dugout!
They left their clothes where they were and entered the dugout. An eagle and his wife were sitting near a wooden dish with whale meat. Eagle said:
“The young brother eagles came to take revenge on me because I killed their mother.” Yes, I killed your mother, I also killed Sergeant Major Kanak from Naukan and his son. They all became islands between two large lands.
The eldest of the brothers said to the hero:
“Well, get dressed, let’s fly with us closer to the ground and fight.” Maybe we can turn you into an island. Eagle the hero accepted the challenge of the young brothers. His eagle wife decided to fly with them. The eagles put on their feathered clothes and began to descend closer to the ground. When the earth was close, the elder brother said:
“Isn’t it time for us to start fighting?” Eagle the hero replied:
- Well, let's start! The elder said to the younger:
“You fight the eagle further to the north, and I will fight this eagle in the south.”
They scattered in different directions: the youngest went north with the eagle, and the eldest went south with the eagle.
And so the battle began between the old eagle and the young one.
The eagles fought for a long time. Finally the young eagle struck the old eagle's head with its chest. The old hero could not bear the blow, fell into the sea and turned into the large island of Sivukak.
And the younger brother, far in the north, defeated the eagle. With a deft blow to the chest, he knocked out the eagle, she fell into the sea and turned into the island of Kulyusik.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru