In ancient times, a friendly and happy family lived in the Phi Yang mountains. The mother was no longer alive, but the father, whose name was Ma Kim, had three strong sons left. The eldest was called Ma Khan, the middle one was Ma Te, the youngest was Ma Zauk.
The brothers loved each other very much. Khan played the flute better than anyone in the village. His friends said that when Khan plays the flute on a moonlit night, the moon seems to descend lower and listen. If somewhere elephants, tigers or wild boars devastated the fields, the villagers went to Te to ask him to rid them of these animals. And no one in the village knew how to cultivate the field as well as Zauk.
The time came when old Ma Kim had to take care of wives for his sons. He looked everywhere, but there was no girl in the village equal in talent to his sons, although anyone would agree to become the wife of one of the three handsome brothers, strong and skillful.
To the east of Phi Yang Mountain there was a house on stilts, behind which there was a dense green forest. Two women lived in it - a mother and daughter. The daughter's name was Khola. Every day, mother and daughter collected brushwood in the forest to exchange it for rice. When her mother grew old, Khola had to work for two. And she began to bring two bundles of brushwood a day. And the mother stayed at home and cooked dinner.
Time passed. When Hola turned seventeen, she turned into a beautiful girl with high breasts, rosy cheeks, dark and shiny skin.
To collect a bundle of brushwood, Hola had to go into the very thicket of the forest every time. One day, when she entered the forest, it seemed to her that a flute was singing in the distance. But there was no one in the thicket. A cool stream babbled and birds chirped. Hola looked around, threw off her dress and began to bathe in the stream. The cool water either rushed over her like a foamy wave, then retreated, gently caressing her body.
And suddenly the sounds of a flute were heard very close. Hola barely had time to put on her dress when someone’s voice reached her:
- Hey! Who's there? What are you doing in the forest?
Hola felt a vague excitement. Her face flushed. Someone saw her swimming naked! She looked back to the other side again, took the brushwood and went home. And Ma Khan, with a beating heart, clutching a flute in his hands, remained standing by the stream.
Returning home, he told his brothers everything. The next day, early in the morning, the brothers came to the stream and began to wait for the girl to come out of the water. Having collected brushwood, Hola, as usual, took off her dress and bathed. The girl was very, very beautiful. Looking at her, each of the brothers felt his heart skip a beat in his chest. But then the sounds of a flute were heard, Hola shuddered and again saw yesterday’s stranger. She quickly got dressed and carried the firewood home.
Arriving home, Hola told her mother everything. The mother smiled and caressed her, but said nothing. And when night fell, the gentle sounds of a flute were heard near Hola’s house. Hola became worried. Looking out the door, she again saw the stranger who had met her by the stream.
The moon had already risen high, and the flute was still singing tirelessly, as if calling someone.
One morning Hola, as always, was collecting brushwood in the forest. She was already finishing her work when suddenly a huge tiger appeared. The girl was very scared, threw the knife and started running. And although she ran very fast, the tiger ran even faster. Any minute now he will catch up, then it will be death.
Hola thought with pain about her old mother: who would take care of her if she, her only daughter, died? She no longer had the strength to run.
And suddenly a fearless young man appeared between Hola and the tiger. The enraged tiger growled and attacked him, but Ma Te - it was he - thrust the tip of his spear into the body of the predator. The tiger fell dead. Ma Te rushed to look for the girl and found her unconscious near the stream. He splashed water on her face, and Hola gradually came to her senses. Ma Te accompanied her home, and from then on they became friends. And so it happened that, while collecting brushwood in the forest, Hola met Te, and while bathing in the stream, she heard the sounds of a flute. And every time her soul sang and rejoiced.
One day Hola got sick and couldn’t go get firewood. A day passed, then another. The mother and girl were completely weak from hunger. In the evening they thought that someone had lit their fire. But who did it? Hola, out of weakness, seemed to be in a state of oblivion and only vaguely saw the fire sparkling before her eyes. Then she felt something warm pour into her mouth. When Hola woke up, she saw a young man holding out a cup of soup to her. The mother also came to her senses. The soup in the kitchen was still hot, but the young man had already disappeared.
The next morning, the unknown person came again to care for the sick. This went on for several days. In the morning he brought food, in the evening he disappeared. On the fourth day, the mother and Hola recovered, and the stranger did not appear again.
Since then, Hola could not help but think about this young man. It was not the one who played the flute, and not the one who killed the tiger. He saved her and her mother, and he himself disappeared. The girl was waiting.
One day, while collecting brushwood in the forest, Hola heard someone working nearby. She looked through the branches of the trees and saw the young man who helped her during her illness. He was clearing an area for a field.
The girl’s heart suddenly began to beat rapidly, her face flushed. At this time, Ma Te walked past with a bow, arrows and a killed bird and called to his brother:
- Hey, Zauk! Let's go home, that's enough!
So Hola learned the name of the young man who brought food and saved her and her mother.
Arriving home, she told her mother everything. The mother smiled again, stroked her head, but said nothing.
And every evening, three young men sat at Hola’s house under a large tree, and one of them played the flute. And every evening Hola, opening the door, looked at them thoughtfully. Which one of them should you love? They are all equally brave, beautiful and noble. Every day the girl became more and more confused.
And then one morning Hola did not go into the forest. Three days have passed. On the fourth day, trouble came to the house. Hola died.
Since then, every evening Ma Khan came to Hola’s grave, sat down and played the flute. The loud sounds of the flute rose into the blue sky and enchanted nature: clouds, wind, grass - everything remained motionless. The flute filled the entire forest with melancholy.
When Ma Te killed an animal, the brothers would tear off the skin and cover the grave with it, and take the meat to Hola’s mother. Soon a lot of these skins accumulated, furs of all colors shimmered in the light of the moon. Forest birds fluttered around the grave.
Ma Zauk covered the grave with turf and cut down the trees around it. He carefully looked after Hola's mother.
The brothers mourned Hola bitterly. There was not a day when they did not come to her grave. Khola's mother became blind from grief and could not see anything.
Flowers had already bloomed on the trees twice, but the Ma brothers still did not want to marry anyone. Their father only sighed heavily, but could do nothing to help his grief.
And then one day three beautiful girls who looked very much like her daughter came to Hola’s mother. They said that they met Hola as a child, when she came down from the mountains to exchange brushwood for rice. And now, having heard about her illness and death, they came to console her mother. And these beautiful girls began to go into the forest for brushwood, exchange it for rice, look after the old woman and replace her daughter in everything. They even took the name Hola for themselves. So the mother had three daughters, and each was called Hola.
And soon the weddings of the Ma brothers were celebrated. They finally obeyed their father and took wives for themselves. Here's how it happened.
One day the brothers went, as usual, to Hola’s grave to pour out their sadness. Approaching the stream, they suddenly heard laughter. The brothers parted the branches and saw one, two, three Hola, who were frolicking in the water. The overjoyed brothers rushed towards them, but the girls, embarrassed, jumped out onto the shore and ran away. The brothers ran after them to Hola's mother's house. Mother invited them in, and Ma's brothers spoke one after another:
- Mother, give me Khola, who sings well!
- Mother, give me Khola, who weaves well!
- Mother, give me Hola, who works the field well!
The mother laughed and told the girls to prepare a treat.
The wedding feast was a great success: the rice was white as snow and larger than peas, and on the table there was everything tasty that flies, swims or grows in the ground and on trees.
Having married, the brothers began to live together, and each continued to do his own thing: Ma Khanh played the flute from morning to evening so that everything around him froze with admiration, Ma Te went into the forest with a bow and arrows and returned with spoils on his shoulders, Ma Zauk cultivated the field and planted rice.
All the villagers were happy looking at the brothers, but their father Ma Kim was especially pleased. Without spending money on weddings, he received three daughters-in-law, diligent and beautiful. Girls from all over the village ran to look at them. Everyone was jealous of the brothers' happiness.
So a year passed. The wives gave birth to three sons to the brothers, very similar to their fathers. And they all lived happily. Hola's mother received her sight and rejoiced along with everyone.
But one day the wives called Ma's brothers into the forest to visit Hola's grave. When they arrived there, the sky darkened, a light rain began to fall, and for some reason the animal skins on the grave sparkled. Ma Khanh's wife said:
- My husband! I have to go back to where I came from, and you will have to raise your son alone. He will grow up to sing just like me and play the flute as well as you.
With these words she disappeared into the grave.
Ma Te was very scared and hugged his wife to him. But she also said:
- Let me go! The son will remain with you; he will grow up to weave as skillfully as I do, and hunt as boldly as you.
Having said this, she also disappeared into the grave.
Ma Zawk squeezed his wife's hand tightly, but she said:
- Zauk! Brothers! We are only the souls of the deceased Hola! Before, all three of you loved her, but during her lifetime she could not thank you for this love. Heaven allowed her to do this after death. Now each of you has a son, raise them and take care of the old mother. Zak, my husband! Let me go, come back and raise your son. He will grow up and be able to work the field just as well as you and I.
And she also disappeared into the grave. The rain began to fall harder, and the Ma brothers continued to cry, hugging the grave. The brothers' tears and rain overflowed the Zak Nim river.
When they returned, the brothers told Hola’s mother everything, but she only smiled and did not answer.
The brothers devoted themselves to raising their sons and remained widowers all their lives.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru