Once upon a time there lived a Kazakh. He had two sons. The youngest was called Karazhay. He was a hero. His father ordered weapons for him from the best blacksmith. It was a good weapon, and my father paid a high price for it. One day, the father sent his youngest son to find a place for a new camp where they could migrate with their herds.
Karazhay went to the steppe. He walked for a long time, and then a lake appeared in the distance. He came closer and saw that the place was very convenient for parking: a lot of good grass and water nearby. Karazhay drove up to the lake itself and saw: some old woman standing on the shore. He approached her. The old woman says to him:
- Don't move here. If you migrate, I will take either you or the white camel.
This old woman was mystan.
Karazhai did not answer her and returned home.
- Well, did you find it? - asked the father.
“I found it,” said the son and told in detail about the new place, hiding only the conversation with the old woman.
Soon the yurts were folded up and everyone hit the road. We arrived at the place. The father noticed that Karazhay drove across the lake and stopped far from the water. He didn't like it.
“Couldn’t you have found a place near the lake?” “Look how good it is there,” said the father.
The son told about his conversation with the old woman. The father did not listen to his son and set up yurts near the lake.
That same night, a white camel disappeared. Karazhai's father was sunbathing. He took his son’s weapon and went to look for the camel. He walked around the steppe for several days, but all in vain. Returned home. I spent one night at home and went searching again. The old man drove far away from his wagons and suddenly saw the humps of a white camel sticking out of the hole. He approached her, and an old woman sat next to her and held the camel by the reins.
“Give me my camel,” said Karazhai’s father.
“I won’t give it up,” said Mystan.
“Take the best camel for this camel,” says Karazhai’s father.
“No, I don’t need another camel,” the old woman answered him.
“Take all my cattle,” Karazhai’s father begged her, “just give me back the white camel.”
And Mystan did not agree to this. Then Karazhay’s father said:
“If you don’t want all my cattle for one camel, then take my beloved son.”
“Okay,” said the old woman, “I agree, but how will you give it to me?”
“I’ll leave his weapon with you, and I’ll move to another place.” My son will remember about the weapon and come here for it. Then you will grab him.
The old woman gave away the white camel. Karazhai’s father returned home, hastily folded up the yurts, loaded up all his wealth and migrated to new places.
At the new place, the son remembered his weapon and began to ask his father where it was.
“Ah, son,” said the father, “some old woman took your weapon from me when I was looking for a camel.” She wanted to kill me, and I paid off with your weapon.
Without thinking twice, the son quickly got ready and went to look for the old woman. He found her and demanded his weapon. The old woman does not give weapons. For two days Karazhai begged the old woman to return the weapon to him, but she did not even think about giving it back. Karazhay got hungry. He began to ask for weapons to hunt so as not to die of hunger. The old woman took pity. Karazhay went hunting. He killed several birds and ducks and returned back. The old woman became more affectionate with him.
A few days later, Karazhay went hunting again. The old woman gave him a weapon, but asked him not to hunt on the white mountain with three ledges.
“Don’t come even close to this mountain,” she said. “Robbers live there, and they will kill you.”
On that mountain lived the sons of the old woman - Dyau. Karazhay did not listen to the old woman and went to the white mountain. The old woman saw this and followed on his heels.
- Don’t go near the mountain, stop! — Karazhay suddenly heard a voice from the depths of the mountain.
But he was not afraid and came closer to the mountain. And suddenly he sees and goes to meet him.
- Why did you come here? - Dyau asked Karazhay. “Will you fight with me or just fight?”
“Let’s fight,” said Karazhai.
They began to fight. Karazhay immediately overpowered the giant: he knocked him down and stabbed him to death.
Karazhai approached the second ledge and again saw the dyau. They began to fight again. And this Karazhay overpowered and stabbed to death. He did the same with the old woman’s third son.
Mystan saw this and attacked Karazhai. A fight ensued. They fought for a long time, and the old woman could not stand it: Karazhai killed her.
Karazhay took his weapon and went home. To celebrate, my father arranged a big one.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru