Once upon a time there lived a very dexterous, strong man and a good hunter. His name was Umasne.
He had a wife named Anchak. Very beautiful, white as snow. She worked all day long. She either embroidered, tanned skins, or went for berries and nuts.
One day she heard a noise upstairs. She looked at the smoke hole and saw: a nutcracker sitting on one of the poles and singing:
Anchak Woman,
Eryiko, miryiko, gerieriko. How beautiful you are
Eryiko, miryiko, gerieriko. Come with me
Eryiko, miryiko, gerieriko. You will live richly
Eryiko, miryiko, gerieriko. You will have ten servants,
Eryiko, miryiko, gerieriko,
- Fly away, I won’t go! - said Anchak.
Kedrovka sang again:
Anchak Woman,
Eryiko, miryiko, gerieriko. Come out of the yurt and look here,
Eryiko, miryiko, gerieriko.
Anchak came out of the yurt and looked. The see-nut nut flew off the perch, fell to the ground and turned into a huge bird. She grabbed Anchak and flew away.
My husband came from hunting. And my wife is not at home. He jumped onto the riding deer, hit him with his whip, and the deer soared into the sky.
Umasne chased the giant bird, caught up with it and cut it with a sword. And he brought his wife home.
The next day Umasne went hunting again, but his wife remained at home. She had just sat down to sew when she heard the nutcracker sing again:
Anchak Woman,
Eryiko, miryiko, gerieriko. Let's fly away quickly
Eryiko, miryiko, gerieriko.
“No, I won’t go with you,” said Anchak.
And the nutcracker sings again:
Anchak Woman,
Eryiko, miryiko, gerieriko. If your husband returns now,
Eryiko, miryiko, gerieriko, We will measure our strength,
Eryiko, miryiko, gerieriko.
Anchak answers:
— My husband is very strong and dexterous.
Kedrovka sings again:
Anchak Woman,
Eryiko, miryiko, gerieriko. Look here
Eryiko, miryiko, gerieriko.
Before Anchak even had time to come to her senses, she was sitting on the bird’s back, and the bird was carrying her somewhere.
The husband returned and saw that his wife was not at home again. He mounted the reindeer again and chased after the nutcracker. I drove for a long time, but finally caught up with the bird. He hacked to death both his wife and the cedar tree with a sword, and returned home.
The day lives on, the second... I feel sad for my wife. He became bored. He doesn’t sleep at night, he’s sad.
Umasne decided to go look for his wife in order to at least bury her bones properly.
He came to that place; where he killed the bird and his wife, he looks - there is nothing. Empty all around.
Umasne thought and wandered wherever his eyes led him. I walked for many days and nights, and finally came across a small house. He entered it, and an old woman was sitting in the house.
“Where are you coming from?” she asks Umasne. “I’m looking for my wife, who was carried away by the cedar tree,” Umasne answers.
“I saw a nutcracker,” says the old woman, “she just passed here with some woman.” The woman cried and said: “How will my husband live alone?”
Umasne stayed overnight with the old woman. And the next day she told him:
“I’ll help you, show you the way to the house where the nutcracker lives.” You go north. There you will find a clearing. If you go further, you will see the river. There is a forest on both sides of it. You cross the river and not far away, in the forest, you will see a larch tree. This larch is very large. This is the nutcracker's nest. You must cut this larch at night with a sword, but so that not a single sound is made. Take whatever you find in the nest with you.
Umasne left. He walked for many days until he reached the river. He crossed it, found a very large larch and began to wait for night.
When midnight passed, he silently cut the larch with his sword. He sees that many nutcrackers have flown out of the nest.
He looked into the nest, and there was a nutcracker of extraordinary beauty lying there. Her feathers are silver. Umasne took it and put it in his bosom.
Umasne went to the old woman’s house again. He entered the house, and it was no longer the old woman, but a girl sitting in the house. The girl has already prepared deer for him.
“Give me,” she says, “the nutcracker you found, and go home.” Everything will be fine!
Umasne arrives home, opens the door and sees a woman sitting on the bed. He came closer and recognized his wife. Umasne was delighted. And they began to live without need and worries.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru