I am Owl. I led a free and happy life near a sea rich in fish. Near the village of Horokaruru. I liked to sit in trees near dwellings that were closer to the forest. I used to sit and look at people. Some went fishing to the river, some are already cooking fish, and some do nothing - just smoke a pipe.
One day I saw a girl. Oh, how beautiful! So beautiful that, probably, from one end of the coast to the other there is nothing like it. I looked and looked at the girl, watching her every move. When she went somewhere, I flew a little to the side of her - I accompanied her. When she entered the house, I sat down on a tree and waited for her. The longer she was gone, the sadder I became. It was especially sad at night. But I sat on a tree and waited for dawn, waited for her.
I realized: I loved this girl. I fell in love with her so much that if I didn’t see her, I didn’t want to fly or fish. I didn’t even want to live - that’s how deeply I loved her!
And she lived with her brother. They called him Yairesupo. This means a person who raised himself. It’s true, he was smart, independent, brave. Everyone respected him. How to talk to someone like that? But I made up my mind. He flew into the man's home and sat down opposite him.
The man who raised himself seems to have guessed that I am not quite a bird. Maybe he thought I was some kind of spirit. He politely wished me good morning. And that’s it, he didn’t say anything more.
Then I spoke:
“Even though I’m not very prominent and strong,” I said, “but I want to see your sister in my house, closer to the front door, where a wife is supposed to sit.”
The man who raised himself frowned and became angry:
- Oh, you!.. a useless bird with coarse feathers. How did this come into your little head?.. I can’t even imagine that my sister... would marry you?..! Get out!
Hearing these insulting words, I also became very angry. He flew out of his home noisily, darted from side to side, almost hit a rock, wanted to fly into the sea, but noticing a high pole decorated with shavings - inau - he sat down on it. For any Ainu, it is a talisman to please the gods, a companion and mediator who understands their weaknesses and the weaknesses of people. It contains the ability to influence the deities, and, therefore, you need to ask them and ask for what you want. Yes, at that moment I was sure: without knowledge I would not achieve anything.
I hooted, moaned and screamed so loudly and piercingly that all my screams made large animals in the forest wary and scared small ones, fish splashed in the water, people came out of their homes. And I screamed and screamed. I asked the gods to help me and sent curses to Yairesupo.
The man who raised himself was tormented by my screams. He couldn’t sleep, he walked around the house all night, covering his ears with his hands. He wanted to put his head somewhere. But where do you put it?
Before dawn, he was completely weakened - his spirit, which guarded his peace, health, and reason, fell ill. And so the man got out of the house and said:
- Owl, don’t be angry anymore. Stop it!
I flew to him.
And then the man who raised himself said:
“I give you permission to take my sister to your house.”
Then all the resentment in me disappeared. I turned into a man and married the woman I loved. We lived well, and I took her with me everywhere.
So I became a man from a bird. Now I am of the same blood with people, their relative, and I am proud of it.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru