There were once nine brothers who had neither father nor mother. They lived in poverty, in rags, and their shack was empty—nothing could be burned by fire, nothing could be carried away by the flood. The brothers went to hire themselves out as farm laborers.
They walked for a long time - no one needed workers.
The brothers got tired and sat down by the road.
An old woman is walking along the road, carrying a jug of cold water. The youngest of the brothers, Khutkunchula, ran up to her and asked:
“Give us something to drink, grandma, for the sake of your children!”
He held out a leather matara mug, and the old woman poured him some water. Khutkunchula first gave his brothers something to drink, then he got drunk himself.
- Who are you, do you all look alike? “Where are you going?” asks the old woman.
“We are brothers, grandma, let’s go get a piece of bread!”
Maybe you know if anyone needs workers?
- Go straight ahead. If you cross the river, you will get to the deva. They say he needs shepherds.
The brothers went straight. By evening we reached the river. The river is wide and deep, but the bridge across the river is narrow and dilapidated. The brothers crossed the bridge and entered the deva's domain.
When the deva saw them, he hurried towards them. He deliberately said that he was looking for workers - he lured people to him. They will come to him to hire themselves out as shepherds, and he will eat whomever alive, whoever he will roast on a spit.
He fed the deva brothers dinner, put them to bed, and went to bed himself. The dev lies, does not sleep - he waits for the brothers to fall asleep, he wants to kill the sleeping ones. The brothers fell asleep, only Khutkunchula is awake, watching the deva.
“Who is sleeping, who can’t sleep?” asks the dev.
“I can’t sleep!” answers Khutkunchula.
- Why can’t you sleep?
“Your geese are cackling and won’t let you sleep.”
The dev went and swallowed all the geese. He waited a little and asked again:
- Who sleeps, who can’t sleep?
“I can’t sleep!” answers Khutkunchula.
- Why can’t you sleep?
“Your cows moo and don’t let me sleep.”
The dev went and swallowed the cows. He waited a little and asked for the third time:
- Who sleeps, who can’t sleep?
“I can’t sleep!” says Khutkunchula.
“Why can’t you sleep?” asks the deva, and he grinds his teeth with anger.
“Your horses neigh and don’t let me sleep.”
As soon as the dev came out into the yard, Khutkunchula woke up the brothers and said:
- Let's run away from here as quickly as possible. Dev wants to eat us.
The brothers got up, got dressed and quietly went out into the yard.
They hid there behind the trees and waited for the deva to enter the house.
The deva swallowed the horses and returned to the house. Khutkunchula crept up and bolted the door.
The brothers ran to the bridge and heard a goat shouting after them:
- The brothers are running away, running away!
Khutkunchul grabbed the goat and rushed off without looking back.
The dev heard the goat screaming and rushed to the bed - no brothers! He rushed to the door - he couldn’t open it! He started to break down the door, but he couldn’t break it down! Finally he broke it out and chased after the brothers.
Khutkunchula is running. The dev is catching up with him and is about to overtake him.
Khutkunchula ran across the bridge and stopped - he knew that the huge deva should not step on the narrow, dilapidated bridge.
“He escaped, you scoundrel!” shouts the dev.
“But no, you idiot!” Khutkunchula laughs.
The brothers went further, they came to the city and hired themselves as grooms at the royal stable.
Khutkunchula brushes the horses, and then plays with the goat. An entertaining goat - she answers all questions like a human being!
The king heard Khutkunchula talking to the goat and couldn’t believe his ears. He ordered the goat to be taken away from the junior groom. Khutkunchula ran after the vizier to the king and said to him:
- Why do you need a goat, sir? You're not a man! Give me back the goat, I'll bring you a carpet from the deva's house.
“First get the carpet, and then I’ll see, maybe I’ll give the goat,” the king answers.
Khutkunchula went to the deva. Hidden in the yard and waiting for him to go hunting. As soon as the deva left, Khutkunchula made his way through the window into the house.
The deva had a beautiful fluffy carpet on the ottoman. Khutkunchula stuck needles all over the carpet and hid in the yard again.
The dev returned, sat down to rest on the carpet and jumped up in pain. I moved to another place and got stuck again. Wherever he sits, he pricks everywhere. The deva became furious, grabbed the carpet and threw it out the window. And Khutkunchula is right there! I picked up the carpet and ran to the bridge.
He saw the dev Khutkunchula and shouted:
- Oh, you damn hoof, are you playing a joke on me again?
The dev chased after the boy, but before he could catch him, Khutkunchula ran across the bridge.
“He escaped, you scoundrel!” shouts the dev.
“But no, you idiot!” Khutkunchula laughs.
The boy ran to the palace and brought a carpet. The king really liked the carpet, but he did not return the goat to Khutkun-chula, he only gave him a felt hat.
The brothers became envious: Khutkunchula had a new hat, but they had old, torn ones. So the brothers say to the king:
- The deva has many strange things. Khutkunchula is clever, order him to bring something else.
“Don’t trust them, sir,” says Khutkunchula, “the deva has nothing else.”
King Khutkunchula does not listen. Orders to bring all the treasures that the deva has.
“Okay, sir,” says Khutkunchula. “I’ll put all the treasures in the chest and bring them here.”
Just dress me as a craftsman and give me carpenter's tools.
Khutkunchula dressed himself in imeretin, took a saw, a plane, a chisel, an ax, and boards and set off on his way. He reached the deva's domain and walked through the forest. Khutkunchula walked and walked until he met the deva.
“Aha, I got Khutkunchula!” the deva shouts maliciously.
“What are you saying, what kind of Khutkunchula am I, to hell with him!” says Khutkunchula. “Because of him, the king almost blew my head off!” I promised to make the king a chest that would fly and never fall apart.
The king climbed into it, and the chest fell apart! The brat Khutkunchula pulled out all the nails! If I get caught by him, you scoundrel, I’ll strangle you right away!
“Listen, make me a chest too, I’ll catch Khutkunchula and put him in it,” the deva asks.
Khutkunchula knocked together a chest and said to the deva:
“Come on, climb up, let’s check if it’s strong.”
The stupid dev climbed into the chest, kicked the wall, hit the bottom - it was knocked together tightly.
“Now sit down,” says Khutkunchula. “I’ll close the chest and see if you can break the lid with your head.”
The stupid dev sat down, and the boy hammered the lid with nails and said:
- Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’ll take you to the king!
“You tricked me again, Khutkunchula?” the deva roared.
“What did you think, you idiot!” Khutkunchula laughs.
King Khutkunchula is waiting, he can’t wait to see what treasures the junior groom will bring.
Then Khutkunchula appeared and rolled the chest right up to the palace. The king and his nazir-vi-ziri surrounded the chest. Meanwhile, Khutkunchula took a huge piece of rock salt and climbed onto a tall plane tree that grew in the yard. He sits upstairs and waits to see what kind of fun it will be.
The king opened the chest, and an angry deva jumped out of there! He attacked the king and the viziers and sent them into his insatiable womb!
Then the devas began to look for Khutkunchula. He hears him laughing somewhere above. The deva raised his head and saw a boy sitting at the very top of the tree, bursting with laughter.
“Listen, Khutkunchula, how did you get so high?” the deva wonders.
- Very simple. He lay down under a tree, put this block of salt on his chest - you see, it’s in my hands - and took off!
- How can I climb a tree?
- Lie down under the tree. I'll dump the salt. You will put it on your chest and fly up here.
The stupid deva lay down under a tree. Khutkunchul dropped a large piece of salt on him and pierced him right through.
That's the end of the fairy tale.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru