In the old, long time ago, not far from Lake Baikal, there lived a rich, very rich Buryat named Sarai. When old age began to overcome him, he called his beautiful wife Dolgor to his yurt and asked her:
– How will we continue to live without children? Who will get our wealth? Who will serve us a cup of tea when you and I get sick?
“That’s true,” answers the beautiful Dolgor. - It’s bad without children, oh how bad it is. We will die, and there will be no one to even close our eyes.
Sarai and Dolgor became sad, thought and said:
– There is no greater happiness than having children. How did we anger Burkhan, what did he deprive us of? The wealth that we have comes from our labors, all around the steppes and mountains are rich in grass, livestock is growing by leaps and bounds.
[Burkhan – literally: god, supreme. (Hereinafter, except where otherwise noted, notes from the compiler.)]
The rich man grieved for a long time, and the beautiful Dolgor did not sleep for many nights. Having learned about the rich man's grief, the poor neighbor came and advised:
- Don’t worry, everything will work out. I will bring you such grass from the forest that it will make the old become young, and the childless will have a large family.
The rich man was happy. There were even tears.
“I’ll give you half the fortune if your words come true.”
“I don’t need anything from you, Sarai, just follow my advice: drink the herb that I bring three times a day, and you will have children to look forward to.”
The neighbor's old barn with grass can't wait. Finally, a neighbor comes and gives him a bunch of grass, which the rich man had never seen in his native place. How much time has passed, or how little has passed, no one remembers. Only one fine day the beautiful Dolgor gave birth and brought a son. Then - the second and third. The sons lived in contentment and grew up quickly.
Time flies quickly, several years have passed, and the sons have become adults. The father couldn’t be happier with them, and there’s nothing to say about the mother. All I can talk about is my sons. The days have come when the two eldest need to be married. They set off through the uluses and found themselves wives that could not be described in a fairy tale, one more beautiful than the other, both such jack-of-all-trades that all the members of the Sarai ulus were surprised how it was possible to find beauties and craftswomen, of which there are few in this world. They will sew high boots - even if you wander through the steppe and taiga for a year - you will never wear them out, the mittens are so worn that they do not let out the heat, and the fur coat is cut to everyone’s surprise: you will not freeze in the mountains, you will spend the night on the ice of Lake Baikal, as if in a warm yurt. The old rich man is also happy about all this, and the beautiful Dolgor is happy with him. The only thing that saddens her is that her youngest son, who was named Mergen Zorikto from the day he was born, as if he was weak in mind, speaks little and is increasingly silent. He stays away from his older brothers and tries to be less visible. The mother noticed all this a long time ago, but she’s still afraid to tell old Sarai, in case he says that she didn’t carry him well in the womb, since he was like that from birth. One day old Sarai called Dolgor over and asked:
[Ulus – here: the inheritance of the prince.]
- Why are you always looking gloomy? Maybe there is grief in your soul, tell me?
“I don’t have any grief,” Dolgor said, hiding the truth from her husband, and turned away.
“Your grief is my grief,” said Sarai. “Maybe I offended you in some way, because even a bridle is a burden to a tired horse.”
The beautiful Dolgor looked at her Sarai, said nothing and walked away. Sarai did not like this. He returned Dolgor and asked:
- Tell me, Dolgor, do I really think that our youngest son is a fool, or is he just pretending to be a fool?
“I don’t know, Sarai, I’m not good at torturing someone else’s mind.”
A day later, Sarai calls his youngest son, Mergzna Zorikto, and tells him:
“Here’s some money for you, my son, go to the city and buy yourself what you want.”
“Okay, I’ll go,” Zorikto answered and immediately headed into the city.
Zorikto walked into the city slowly. Where the bush sees, it stops, looks and continues on its way. He sat for a long time by the streams, admiring how the water shimmered on the stones, how small fish scurried about in pursuit of food with the speed of a bullet. All this is very interesting to Zorikto. He will see a tall, thick larch and look at it. He was curious, but there was no one to ask: why larch grows up to the sky, why white birch has so much sap in it, why cedar does not grow everywhere, but only away from residential areas. How and how animals live, why birds fly, but he, Zorikto, only knows how to walk on the ground.
So, in thoughts and reflections, Zorikto reached the city. He went into one shop, didn’t buy anything, looked into another, also didn’t find anything suitable, and he went to the market. There are a lot of people here, people are selling more and not buying. You can get lost in such a crowd; worse than in the taiga. Zorikto walked and walked, chatted and went home with nothing. He comes to his father and mother, goes to bed and sleeps for more than a day. I’m tired of the road, it’s no joke, I need to go on foot to the city. Zorikto woke up, his father asked him:
- How will you please the old man you bought?
“I didn’t buy anything,” Zorikto answers.
- Why did you break your legs then?
“I was looking for Burkhan, but I couldn’t find it, so I came home empty.” I don’t need anything other than Burkhan.
– Do you know what burkhan is? – the father asked his son.
Zorikto didn’t say anything, he just put on his hat, said goodbye to his father and said:
- Well, father, be healthy, happy to stay. It’s time for me to hit the road, I’ll go show myself and see people.
Zorikto came out of the yurt, looked at four sides and went where the sun rises from. His father said after him:
- If you find Burkhan, show me.
At that time, the Buryats knew nothing about the Burkhans and did not see what they were like.
“If I find it, I’ll definitely show it,” Zorikto answered, turning to his father. Zorikto walked east for a long time, then turned west. While he was walking, the odnoulusniks laughed and said that Zorikto was a real fool, for no reason at all he decided to look for Burkhan. Who needs this Burkhan and does he exist in the world? They made fun of Zorikto for a long time, until they forgot that such a person existed in the world. Meanwhile, Zorikto goes on and on, not knowing rest, not knowing sadness. He could not get lost, he knew how to read the stars, he knew how the sun turns when it goes west, starting its path from the east.
After a few days of travel, he sees a poor yurt standing in front of him, and a girl next to it. As soon as the girl noticed the young man, she immediately went back into the yurt. Zorikto stopped and looked at how the smoke was coming from the yurt and going up to the very sky. Zorikto looked around and decided not to pass by the yurt, he went into it. An old woman lived in a yurt with her dumb daughter. The old woman stood up, greeted the young man, and asked:
- Where and where, good fellow, are you heading?
“I’m going to try my luck, maybe I’ll find Burkhan.”
“That’s good,” said the old woman. - My daughter without a tongue, bow to Burkhan, and let my daughter begin to speak.
“I will bow to Burkhan and ask him to give a speech to your daughter.”
Having said this, the boy quickly got dressed and moved on. He walks the path and doesn’t stop anywhere. The sun had already set and darkness had begun. And he sees some black heaps ahead. He came closer and saw that the missing cattle were lying. Zorikto ure-nu became sad and immediately stayed overnight. He slept through the night with a mighty sleep, and the next morning he moved on. At this time, the guards of the local king were driving around the property and saw: a stranger was walking through their land. They took him and took him to the king himself in the palace. In the palace there was a king sitting in the royal chair named Soronzon. They brought Zorikto into the royal chambers:
– Where are you from, good fellow, where are you going and why? - asks King Soronzon.
“I am the son of the rich man Sarai Zorikto, I am going to bow to Burkhan.”
- I am King Soronzon, as you can see, I am sitting without water, all the livestock is dying, the grass is drying up. Soon my kingdom will end. Ask Burkhan to help me get water.
“I’ll try,” said Zorikto.
The good fellow was given water and food, and he began to get ready to move on. The king ordered his servants to give the guy silver and gold for the journey, and once again ordered him to try to rid the entire kingdom of drought and for Zorikto to come to him on the way back and report everything.
“Don’t let your king worry,” said Zorikto, “I will do everything that needs to be done, I see how the common people are suffering.” It will die out if there is no water.
The king gave Zorikto his servants to accompany him, and they escorted him to the sea. He stopped by the sea and looked around: there was no one. He began to walk along the shore. A dark thought fell on my heart. How to cross the sea? It's not a trickle to jump over. Our Zorikto became sad and began to burn. Time passes, but he still walks. How can this be? And suddenly he hears someone's voice:
-What are you thinking about, good fellow? Maybe you want to cross the sea? Come here.
Zorikto was surprised and looked around: there was no one, but he heard the voice clearly. What would that mean? After all, no one here knows him.
-Who called me? – asks Zorikto.
- It’s me, the fish of the sea, I feel sorry for you that you can’t swim across the sea.
Zorikto walked straight along the shore and saw: a large fish was lying across the sea.
- Did you call me? – asks Zorikto.
- Yes, I am.
- Why did you call me?
- I want to serve you. Just tell me first, where are you from and who are you? Where are you going and why?
- I’m going on a distant journey to bow to Burkhan.
“That’s good,” says the fish. “It’s my luck that you came here.” I have been lying motionless for ten years now. Ask Burkhan to help me swim. And now you can cross the sea on my back.
He walked along the back of the fish for a long time and finally reached the other shore. On the shore, thick larches grow, you can’t grab them together, behind the larches the cedar tree goes all the way to the mountains, and beyond you can see the mountains, where people probably hunt for sable and squirrel. Zorikto looked around and thought to himself: “Everywhere the earth is the same, the forest grows in the Bezde, herds graze, cows walk on the grass, people beat animals and live by that.”
Zorikto stopped almost at the very shore and began to look for a place to spend the night. He chose a clearing, lit a fire, made tea, drank it and fell into a deep, heroic sleep. He sleeps and dreams that he is lying on the shore of Lake Baikal, a tangled horse is walking near him, meat is being cooked on a fire in a bowl, and his mother is sitting and stroking his hair, as she did when he was still very little.
In the morning Zorikto woke up early, did not eat and went on his way. He walked a little away from the sea, climbed up the hill and saw: in front of him stood a tall, tall house, its roof reaching into the sky, all glittering with silver and gold so that it was impossible to look at it directly. Zorikto immediately guessed that this was Burkhan’s house. He quickened his pace, crossed one mountain, followed by another, and found himself near the very gates of Burkhanov’s palace. Zorikto walked onto the porch, and the strong light brought tears to his eyes; his eyes could not withstand the brightness and brilliance. Zorikto gathered his strength, opened the edge of the door and heard:
- Well done, Zorikto, for coming to me. Tell me what you need, how I can help you.
Zorikto cannot utter a word from surprise. He immediately guessed that Burkhan himself lived here.
– Do you see me? - asks Burkhan.
- Am I worthy of this? – Zorikto answers.
“You are a human and I am a human, which means we deserve each other.” Speak. I will help as much as I can.
Zorikto became emboldened and said:
– On the way, I met a woman, she has a mute daughter. Give her back her speech.
– Don’t be sad, Zorikto, that girl will regain her speech. Speak further.
– King Soronzon lives in one of the kingdoms. He's in trouble; all his cattle are dying from lack of water. He asked you to help him.
– There will be water in the kingdom of Soronzon. Let the cattle multiply. People feel bad without livestock.
– I also have one more request. I saw how in one sea a large fish lay motionless. She asked you to restore her ability to swim and move.
- That fish will swim, like all the others.
Zorikto stood in front of Burkhan for a long time, but did not ask for anything else, did not utter a word about himself. Just as Zorikto wanted to close the doors behind him, Burkhan said:
“The old woman’s daughter will begin to say when she sees the groom that the cattle in the kingdom of King Soronzon will receive water if elephant bones are dug up at the source of the river, which blocked the outlet for the water.” The fish will begin to swim and move quickly if you remove the gem it has bitten from its mouth. Take this stone, break it and distribute it to the people. People will immediately live well on earth, stop starving, and will know neither need nor grief.
This Burkhan is a wise old man, he is not at all a saint if he cares about ordinary Buryats.
“I will praise you,” said Zorikto. “You have done the entire human race a great service.” One who serves people cannot be forgotten.
Burhan did not hear these words. He was in his chambers at that time and told the servants to give Zorikto gold and silver and meat for the journey. Burkhan also ordered to give Zorikto a horse, which would carry him across the seas and bring him home. Just before Zorikto left, Burkhan went out onto the porch and said parting words:
– You, insightful, wise Mergzn Zorikto, must continue to take care of your people. Go home, let your father and mother and everyone to whom you bring good rejoice at meeting you. With God, go on a long journey, may the moon, stars and lakes shine on you.
The nightingale carries Mergen Zorikto above the standing forest, past the walking cloud. I didn’t notice how he ended up near the sea. He sees a fish lying across the sea in front of him and not moving. She saw Mergen Zorikto and asked:
[Solovka is a horse of a nightingale, that is, grayish-brown color.]
– What did Burkhan say, will I move?
“Give me your precious stone that is in your mouth, and then you will swim.”
“I believe you, Zorikto,” says the fish, “take the stone.”
The fish opened its mouth, raised its head and gave him the stone. That precious stone sparkled so much that everything on earth was illuminated. Only the sun alone was able to disperse the rays that came from the stone. Zorikto got down from the sowing, took the stone in his hands and at that time he heard a splash of water. Then the motionless fish dived, wagged its tail and swam wherever its eyes looked. “What about the stone?” – Zorikto thought. It’s impossible to carry it away, it’s too big and heavy, and it’s not strong enough to break it. I thought even more bitterly and said to myself:
- Maybe animals and birds will help me. Let me click on them.
And he clicked. At that same hour, so many animals approached the seashore that they immediately broke the stone. The birds picked up the fragments and scattered in different directions to distribute them all to the people. It was all over with the stone. He sat on his nightingale Zorikto and rode on. Arrives in the kingdom of King Soronzon. The king came out and asked:
- What news, my son, will you please me with?
- Your request, king, is fulfilled. You will have as much water as you want in your kingdom.
The king was delighted and ordered his servants to set the tables and treat the traveler to the most expensive dishes. At the table, Zorikto said:
“An elephant disappeared at the source of the river; its bones blocked the spring. We need to dig up the elephant, and then the banks will be filled with water.
King Soronzon gathered people from all over his kingdom, and they began to dig a spring at the source of the river. We dug a little, and such a fountain of water rose that the river immediately began to overflow its banks. The king rejoices, and the people of the kingdom of Soronzon are happy.
- What should I reward you with? - asks King Soronzon.
“I don’t need anything, say a good word for the road, and I’ll go.”
King Soronzon ordered to give the young man as much gold and silver as he wanted. But the most valuable thing that King Soronzon gave was cattle. For this Zorikto thanked the king.
He carried the nightingale Zorikto further. Zorikto rode and rode, passed many valleys and mountains, swam across many rivers, and here in front of him was the house of an old woman whose daughter was speechless. The old woman's dog greeted Zorikto with a loud bark. His daughter comes out to meet him and says:
“Mom, that good fellow who came to us when he was walking is coming to us on a salty horse.
The mother was terribly surprised: her daughter had not spoken for eighteen years, and suddenly her speech returned. She ran out into the yard and saw that the young man who was going to worship Burkhan was getting off the horse.
– What new news did you bring us? - asks the old woman.
– The wise Burkhan said that as soon as your daughter sees her betrothed, she will immediately begin to speak.
“That’s right, my daughter was mute for eighteen years, and now she saw you and immediately spoke.”
Here the daughter herself said that as soon as she saw Zorikto, her speech immediately returned to her.
“Since you saw me and your speech returned to you, it means that by the will of Burkhan you must become my wife.”
“So it should be,” answered the old woman’s daughter, “after all, in eighteen years I have seen a lot of young people and no one could return my speech.” Only you alone could do this, so I will be your faithful wife.
“I don’t want to see your separation, become husband and wife,” the mother confirmed.
Zorikto put his daughter and the old woman on horses, and they all rode off together. They didn’t drive for long and saw: fishermen standing on the seashore and catching fish.
- Hey, good people, give me one fish! Zorikto got off his horse, went to the net and chose the largest and fattest fish. He walked along the shore with the fish and dropped the fish. She immediately went into the water, wagged her tail and said:
“You, good fellow, stay here, and I will swim out to sea and tell my father about you.”
-What kind of fish is this? – Zorikto is surprised. – Speaks in a human voice and swims so fast.
Before Zorikto had time to say two words, he sees a man ride up to him on a gray horse and says:
“Get behind me on my horse and let’s go, the king of the sea is inviting you to visit.”
- How can I go in the water, it’s not for me, I’m used to driving in the steppes, in the taiga, I’ve never been in the water, I’m afraid.
“Nothing,” the man answered. - Sit down with me and let's go.
Zorikto does not want to part with his nightingale. He took the reins in his hands, and he sat on the sea servant’s horse, and so they rode into the sea. They were driving and driving, and suddenly a large and long iron bridge appeared in front of them. They drove across the bridge, which led directly to the courtyard of the water king. They drive up to the porch. Towards the water king.
“You are welcome to come to our palace, young man.”
He approached Zorikto, kissed him, took him by the hand and led him to his chambers. Various dishes had already been prepared there, from which the tables were crowded, and they began to eat and drink. At dinner the water king says:
“You, good fellow, saved my only beautiful daughter.” If it weren’t for you, I would have to grieve all my life without my beloved beauty, she would have died at the hands of evil people. How can I thank you for saving my daughter, what is your wish?
“You are a king and you know how dearly human life is valued.” Give me some jewelry and I will be pleased.
-What is your name, young man? - asked the king.
– My name is Mergen Zorikto.
- So, Mergen Zorikto. I will give you one magic cap, a dokha and a golden hammer. If you hit the ground with a golden hammer, a golden house will immediately appear in front of you. If you put on a magic cap, you will become invisible, and when you put on the yamanya doha, you can walk into the fire; just shake it and it will start pouring rain. I think that these jewels will be a good price for saving my beautiful daughter from death.
“Before I take such precious gifts from you,” said Zorikto, “I need to try them.”
– Bring all the jewelry! - the king shouted. They brought it all and placed it in front of Zorikto. He took a hammer, hit the ground, and a golden house immediately appeared in front of him. Then Zorikto put on his yamanyo doha, and immediately it started pouring rain. He ordered one of the water king’s servants to put on a magic cap, he put it on, and he was immediately invisible. Mergzn Zorikto collected all the king's gifts and set off on his way home. The king ordered:
“Sit on my salty horse, and you will calmly cross the sea.”
He told the servants to accompany him to his home. In parting, the water king said:
“When you need anything, just shout and I will come to the rescue.”
“Certainly,” answered Zorikto.
He said goodbye to the king, mounted his horse and rode off. The king was glad that this young man saved the life of his beloved daughter, and went down to his underwater palace.
Mzrgen Zorikto is traveling along a familiar road. He meets familiar places from childhood, again sees in front of him the mighty larches supporting the sky, curly birch trees, spreading groves of bird cherry and a mass of animals and birds. Mergen Zorikto rode for a long time before getting home. But here is the native ulus, there is the native yurt. Zorikto thought: “Are my father and mother alive, aren’t they sick, haven’t they buried me alive?” Something became alarming in Zorikto’s soul. He got down in front of Zorikto’s very own yurt, bent down and went into it. Mother is still as beautiful as she was when he left her. The father hunched over a little, but was as proud as he had been in previous years. Old Sarai and the beautiful Dolgor looked at the newcomer and asked:
-Who are you and where are you from, good fellow?
“Didn’t our own father and mother really know that they had gone to bow to Burkhan?”
- Where is your burkhan? - asks the father.
“Here he is, with me,” the son answers.
Zorikto put on the magic cap, and then he immediately became invisible. Then he took a hammer in his hands, hit it on the ground, and immediately a golden house appeared before his eyes. When everyone saw that a house had grown up near them, Zorikto put on his yamanya doha, shook it, and immediately it started raining like buckets. Old Sarai looks at his son and wonders: where does his Zorikto get such power from? Although he does not say anything about this to Zorikto, he rejoices in his heart that his youngest son has surpassed all his brothers.
The odnoulusniks gathered and also wondered: how is Zorikto able to build so quickly, cause rain and immediately become invisible?
“My son is more valuable than gold,” said the old rich Sarai. “Now my wealth is not worth a penny against what Zorikto can do.”
The father and mother became happy that they had such a son. The odnoulusniks also began to live richer: Mergen Zorikto helped them in any way he could.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru