Once upon a time there lived two sisters. The elder sister raised her son Hussein, who was nicknamed Mad for his agility and perseverance. Since childhood, he fell in love with the daughter of his aunt Davlatkhotun and one day, having revealed the secret of his mother’s heart, he asked her to go to her sister and woo her daughter for him.
The older sister came to the younger one and said:
“Sister, you only have one daughter, and I only have one son.” Our children are already adults, let's be matchmakers.
“I agree,” answered the younger sister, “let me become a sacrifice for your son, a thousand times I agree!” And my daughter also fell in love with your son.
Hussein heard about his aunt’s consent and, overjoyed beyond measure, bought the bride a dress and a scarf and said to his mother:
“Dear mother, we have nothing for the wedding, and the wedding won’t happen on its own, so I’ll go and get a job.” I'll earn money for the wedding.
“Okay, dear son,” answered the mother, “go, your aunt cannot now refuse this promise, she will wait for you.”
Hussein went to his aunt and said:
- Dear aunt, bless me, I will go to work.
“Go,” said the aunt, “I wish you good luck, health, so that you have a long life, so that you do not know grief and bad days!”
Davlatkhotun stood for a long time and looked after him with a look full of love.
Having said goodbye to his mother and throwing his knapsack behind his back, Hussein set off.
For many days he walked through deserts and mountains, passed through rivers, passed villages and came to one city. In this city, he looked for work for a long time and finally got a job with one of the farmers.
Autumn gave way to winter, winter to spring, spring to summer, and Hussein still worked for the bai.
Davlatkhotun could not find a place for herself from longing for Hussein, who was separated from her, and sighed heavily for him. Sleep left her charming eyes, and their gaze was constantly fixed on the road.
One day Davlatkhotun went into the courtyard and sat down to embroider a skullcap. Suddenly a partridge, shot by the judge’s son, fell near her. To pick up the killed game, the young man entered the courtyard where Davlathotun was sitting. At the sight of him, the girl quickly ran into the house, but he managed to see how beautiful and sweet she was. Pierced by the arrow of love, the judge’s son immediately returned home and said to his mother:
- Tell your father that in a house on the edge of the city lives a girl like I have never seen before. If my father wants to marry me, then let him give me this girl as my wife. I don't want to marry anyone else.
The mother conveyed her son's request to his father. The judge thought about this for a long time and said: “A poor and rootless girl is not suitable to marry my only son.” People will say that although I am a judge, I was unable to find a rich bride for my son, but married him to a poor, barefoot girl.
When the mother conveyed the father's words to her son, he said:
“Let father say what he wants, but I won’t marry anyone but this girl!” Then the judge was forced to send two eminent people to match the girl. They wooed Davlathotun from her mother. The woman was amazed at this and, saddened, said:
- No, no, my daughter is betrothed to my sister’s son Hussein!
“Don’t be stupid,” said the matchmakers, “don’t throw your happiness under your feet and don’t refuse to become related to the judge!” And we ourselves will find some kind of bride for Hussein.
The matchmakers did not leave the woman alone and forced her to agree. Davlathotun's mother begged and begged them to leave her daughter and did not give her consent. The matchmakers returned to the judge and told him what had happened.
“I am the judge of the city, and some rootless widow decided to oppose me!” - the judge shouted in anger. “Her consent is not at all necessary.” It will be as I want! I'm marrying my son to this girl!
The judge announced the engagement and the feast began. They began to slaughter cattle, knead dough, and cook pilaf.
Frightened and saddened, Davlatkhotun ran to her aunt.
Seeing pale Davlathotun with eyes full of tears, she asked:
“Oh, dear child, what’s wrong with you, why has the color drained from your face, why are your eyes full of tears?”
Davlatkhotun threw herself at her aunt’s feet, bowed her head to her knees and cried for a long time. Then she raised her head and said:
- Dear aunt, I was betrothed to the judge’s son, the engagement has already begun! Hussein had a betrothed brother, Sobir. The old woman quickly ran to him and
told about what happened.
“Dear mother, go to the judge’s house and bring from there two or three pieces of meat and two or three flat cakes.” I will take them to Hussein.
When Hussein's mother brought this treat, Sobir wrapped it in a belt scarf and set off.
He passed through steppes, mountains and rivers. He began to walk from village to village, looking for his brother, and approached one field - here several people were plowing the land.
“Probably my brother is among them,” Sobir thought and began to wait at the boundary. As soon as Sobir recognized his brother in one of the workers, he ran to him.
Hussein stopped the bulls and rushed towards Sobir. The brothers hugged each other and began asking each other about their health.
- Well, tell me, how is my mother doing? - Hussein asked.
“For a whole year you didn’t come and inquire about her health!” She is alive and well, how could she suffer in front of me?
Then Sobir took out the food he had brought and placed it in front of his brother.
- Here, eat!
- Oh dear brother, you brought me a gift! Where did you get the fried meat? Did they slaughter a lamb? - With these words, Hussein took a piece of meat and put it in his mouth. The meat seemed very bitter to him.
- Oh, the meat is so bitter that you can’t eat it! - he said, taking it out of his mouth.
- Maybe your hands are bitter from grass? - asked his brother. - Take the meat with the tip of the knife!
Hussein took the meat with the tip of the knife.
“Eh, brother, the meat is still bitter,” he said and looked questioningly at his brother.
- Oh, Hussein, this meat was prepared for the engagement of your bride! How could he not be bitter!
- Is my bride really being given away in marriage?! - exclaimed the surprised Hussein.
“Yes, for the judge’s son,” answered the brother.
Hussein jumped up and ran to the oxen. He loaded the plow and yoke onto the oxen and hurried towards the owner's house.
When the owner saw Hussein with yoked oxen at his gate, he angrily asked:
“Why did you take the oxen away from the field?”
“Here are your oxen, here are your plow and yoke!” Settle with me, I'm leaving for my homeland.
- Why should I pay you? - asked the bai. “You are just plowing the land, then you will sow wheat, and when the wheat grows and ripens, you must compress it, collect it, thresh it, winnow it, then only it will be possible to pay you off.” And last year’s earnings were spent on food for you.
Hussein realized that it was difficult to get anything from the bai, and, without saying another word, he and his brother went to his home.
When they passed villages, fields, steppes and mountains and came to their village, they saw a grief-stricken mother sitting behind the yarn. When she saw her son, she jumped up, threw herself on his neck, hugged him tightly and wailed:
- Oh son, misfortune has befallen us!
- Dear mother, has my bride been married off? - Hussein asked.
- For the judge's son, son. What could I do?
— Has there already been a wedding? - Hussein asked again.
“No, there was only an engagement,” answered the mother.
“Let me go find out everything myself,” said the son.
“Don’t do this,” the woman cried. “If the judge finds out that you have returned, he will kill you from the world.”
“I’ll look at my bride Davlathotun for the last time, and then I might freeze!” - Hussein said and went to his aunt’s house.
He approached the fence of her yard and saw that the aunt and her daughter were sitting on a sufa and weaving karbos. He stood and looked at them. At this time, Davlatkhotun's thread broke. She bowed her head to the yarn, and Hussein saw the face of his bride; he could not restrain himself and said with a sigh: “Davlathotun!”
“Mother, I heard Hussein’s voice,” the girl said with excitement.
- What are you saying, daughter, Hussein went to God knows where and probably died. “Oh, you reminded me of him, you opened up the wound in my heart,” said the old woman, wiping away the tears that had come. “I’ll go and rest a little, I’m weakened, I have no strength!” - And the old woman left.
The girl tied the broken thread and began weaving karbos again. Hussein closed the gate and quietly said: “Davlathotun!”
As soon as the girl saw him, she threw the karbos and ran to him. They entered the empty room, and Hussein said:
“Oh Davlathotun, you were my bride, why do you want to marry the judge’s son?”
Davlathotun, crying, answered:
- Oh Hussein, they want to forcefully give me as a wife to the judge’s son, I ask you, find some way out and save me!
Hussein realized that Davlathotun still loved him. This made him very happy. He told the girl:
“I’m very hungry, honey, I haven’t put anything in my mouth for several days!” Davlathotun looked for food, but found nothing in her house.
- We have nothing to eat; Do you want me to fry the wheat?
“Whatever you give me, I’ll eat everything - I’m very hungry,” said Hussein. The girl placed brushwood on the fireplace and heated the cauldron.
Then she poured wheat into it and began to stir it. Davlathotun became flushed from the fire, and her face burned. Hussein stood and admired the girl.
At this time, the judge's people began to bring things for the wedding into the yard. Then Hussein quietly went to his home.
The judge celebrated a lavish wedding. The feast lasted three days and three nights.
Hussein dressed in old woman's clothes and was near the bride all the time. On the third night, all the tired and intoxicated guests fell fast asleep. Hussein brought crushed cake mixed with flour and entered the room where the guests and the judge and his son were sleeping. He removed the skullcap from the head of the judge's son and, having smeared dough with cake on his head, sprinkled it with bran on top. After that, he returned to his bride. She begged:
- Oh Hussein! The wedding will soon end, and then I will not be able to escape from the clutches of the judge's son.
- Oh, Davlathotun, have you seen him?
“No, I didn’t see him,” the girl answered.
“You don’t even know that he’s ugly and bald.” You must see him!
“I see you’re not going to save me!” — the bride said angrily. “If you don’t free me, I’ll kill myself!”
At first, Hussein wanted the bride to see the groom he had disfigured, but when he heard such a threat, he immediately took her by the hand, led her out of the judge’s house and hid the girl nearby. He himself cut the tendons of all the judge’s horses and, returning to Davlathotun, left the city with her.
In the morning, the judge woke up and found out that the bride had disappeared. He woke up his entire court and sent people to look for the girl. Then the judge saw his disfigured son, with his head covered in dough and sprinkled with bran. Those around him made fun of the groom.
The judge wondered who had disfigured his son so much. All the guests decided that only Hussein could do this. The judge immediately ordered a pursuit to be sent after him and his bride. But when the riders entered the stable, they saw that the tendons of the horses’ legs had been cut.
While they were looking for other horses and preparing for the chase, there was no trace of Hussein.
He and his betrothed bride had already traveled through many cities, crossed valleys, rivers and approached a large mountain. Here the fugitives decided to rest and went to bed. After some time, Davlathotun woke up and began to ask Hussein:
- Oh, Hussein, get up, let's quickly leave here, otherwise they will overtake us!
Hussein woke up, looked around and saw that many horsemen were approaching the mountain.
Hussein broke off a thick branch of a tree, made himself a heavy club and hid with his bride behind a large stone.
Soon the judge's men overtook them, then Hussein jumped out from behind a stone, attacked them and fought with them for a long time. He maimed and disabled several people, but there were many opponents, and they defeated Hussein.
When Davlathotun saw that her beloved had fallen into the hands of enemies, with shouts and screams she attacked the judge’s people, who had difficulty coping with her and, having tied up both lovers, drove them in front of them.
The prisoners were led along a smooth plain, and soon they reached an unknown city. Many people came out into the street to look at the captives and bound people - a young beautiful girl and a young man who did not take their tender gaze off each other. It was clear to everyone that they wanted to separate the unhappy lovers and that these were their last minutes before a sad separation.
“Why are they tied up and where are you taking them?” one townsman asked, speaking from the crowd.
“This unscrupulous man stole my wife, that’s why we tied them up!” - shouted the judge's son.
“Is it true that you stole his wife?” asked another townsman.
- No, it’s not true! - Hussein shouted. “It was he who stole my bride, to whom I was engaged for a long time.” We love each other! - and he told the people everything as it happened.
“Tell me, girl, is the young man telling the truth?” asked the first townsman.
“He’s telling the truth,” answered Davlathotun. “I was his bride and waited for his return when he went to work.” And the judge's son forced me to marry him. That's why I was forced to run away with my fiancé. Then a chase was sent after us. We were grabbed and tied up.
- Countrymen, let's free these unfortunates! - shouted the first townsman.
The people surrounded Hussein and Davlathotun in a tight ring. The judge's people and his son were pushed away from the girl and the boy and driven out of the city.
The liberated Davlathotun and Hussein remained to live forever with the kind and brave people of this city.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru