In ancient times, in a deep valley, dug by hummocks, on the shores of the Golden Lake, the maiden Khonkhinur lived. And she had twenty-seven favorite rattles.
One day a sly fox came to the girl and said:
“They invited me to the wedding of Hartagan Khan, but I, unfortunate thing, don’t even have rattles.” Will you give me twenty-seven of yours, good maiden Khonkhinur?
- What will I be left with? - Khonkhinur was surprised and did not give the fox any rattles.
The fox got angry and said:
“I’m leaving, but I’ll be back in three days, if you don’t give me your rattles even then, I’ll swallow your Golden Lake and trample your hummocky land!”
She threatened and left.
The maiden Khonkhinur is sitting, crying bitterly. Two swans were flying, heard a girl’s cry and asked:
- Why are you crying, girl?
“How can I not grieve, how can I not shed tears,” Khonkhinur complained. “A fox came to me and asked for twenty-seven rattles, but I didn’t give it.” Then the fox promised to return in three days and pick up the rattles. And if I don’t give them up, she will drink up the Golden Lake and trample my hummocky land.
Two swans say to the maiden Khonkhinur:
- Don't be sad and don't cry! If a fox comes asking for twenty-seven rattles, don’t give one. And if it threatens to swallow the lake and trample the earth, you ask: “Isn’t it because your mouth is so wide that you once tried to swallow the lake? Isn’t it because you don’t have hooves because you already tried to trample the hummocky earth?”
The swans rose and flew into the neighboring grove.
And three days later the fox appeared and said to the maiden Khonkhinur:
- Give me twenty-seven of your rattles, otherwise I will swallow the Golden Lake and trample the hummocky earth!
“You won’t get twenty-seven rattles!” - answers the maiden Khonkhinur. Isn’t it because your mouth is so thin that you already tried to swallow the lake, but couldn’t? Is it because you don’t have hooves because you’ve already tried to trample the hummocky soil, but to no avail?
The fox was surprised.
-Who taught you these words? - asks.
“I thought of it myself,” answers the maiden Khonkhinur.
— And while you were thinking, no one ran nearby, no one flew past? - the fox does not calm down.
“Two swans flew by,” said the maiden Khonkhinur.
- And where did they disappear to? - the fox is asking everything.
“They flew to the neighboring grove,” answers Khonkhinur.
The fox went to look for the swans. She ran around the whole grove, sniffed every bush and tree. Finally she found the swans in a pine hollow. The fox caught them and began to chatter them, saying:
- Why did you teach the maiden Khonkhinur wisdom, why did you deprive me of twenty-seven rattles?!
- Don't hit us, fox! - the swans prayed, - Better ask for what you want. We'll do everything.
- Take me overseas! - says the fox.
She took a spruce stick into the mouth of the earth, bit it tightly, the swans picked up this stick with their hardened beaks from both ends and carried the fox across the sea. They have already begun to fly up to the other shore. People saw two swans carrying a fox on a stick, they began to be surprised and began to guess.
- What did the fox on the other side lack? - they ask each other.
- Twenty-seven rattles! - she screamed, unclenching her teeth, and flew into the water.
The fox barely made it onto the sandbank. She shook herself off, watched the swans fly away, and only then realized that she would never return to the other side of the sea, she would never see twenty-seven rattles again.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru