Once upon a time there lived a rich man. He had three wives. One wife is old, first, beloved. The second is beautiful, and the third is young.
The wives did not live amicably among themselves. The beautiful and young one did not like the old one because she was her husband’s favorite. They wanted to inform her, but there was no chance.
One day my husband was going to the city. I started asking them:
- My dear wives! What happiness will you give me in life?
The eldest, beloved wife answers him:
- Dear husband! I will give birth to you a golden son - Mongun.
beautiful says:
“And I’ll make you the best fur coat in the world.”
Young wife says:
— I’ll sew you beaded bakari (high boots).
The rich man praised his wives. He promised to bring them gifts from the city. And he left.
How much time has passed, you never know, but the old wife was about to give birth. Those two wives made her a separate tent and prepared glue. The woman in labor lay down. She fell into unconsciousness. There was a difficult birth. Meanwhile, her eyes were sealed with glue so that she wouldn’t see who she gave birth to.
Mongun is born. The tent lit up brighter than the sun. His mother woke up here. I wanted to open my eyes, but I couldn’t. I only saw a little sparkle with one eye. And the evil ones scream:
- Don't look! You'll go blind! The beautiful woman grabbed that son and threw him into the lake, and the young puppy wrapped it in a skin and brought it to the woman in labor:
“Look who she gave birth to!” and she burst out laughing. Mongun's own son is crying in the lake. The taimen heard him. I swam up to him. I took him in with me. I started feeding him liver. Then the owner soon arrived from the city. The evil ones began to tell him:
- Your beloved wife deceived you. Look: she gave birth to a puppy...
The husband got angry. He took his beloved by the hand (and she quietly slipped the firebrand into her sleeve) and took her into the taiga. Left it there.
She lives alone. I made it for myself. The fire was lit. Lives little by little. Winter has come. It's summer.
One day she went to that lake to draw water. He looks at the sand, and there are children’s footprints leading into the water. “What,” he thinks, “is this?”
Came the next day. He sees: new tracks again. Decided to find out who it would be? I made the onion. She laid it on the sand. And when she came again, the onions were gone. I measured the tracks. She sewed the fur boots a little tighter and put them there again, while she hid in the bushes. I sat for a while. He sees the water going in circles. A small boy, about the size of a bottle, jumped out onto the shore. Shines brighter than the sun. He ran up to the high boots. I sat down on the sand and let’s put them on. I put it on, ran around and started taking it off. But he can’t take it off. He is suffering. At this time, the mother (she guessed that it was her son) approached him, grabbed him, held him, and he broke out of her hands and screamed. I heard taimen. He showed his head from the water:
- Why are you shouting? This is your mother...
- No! You are my mother!..
- She! She! - shouts the taimen. - Your aunt threw you into the water when you were born...
“I am your mother, dear,” says the mother. “Come to me.” When I gave birth to you, the evil ones sealed my eyes with glue. I saw your shine. It was you...
The boy agreed and left with his mother. They began to live together.
The boy grew up. Mother was getting old. And when he grew to the back of a deer, he said:
“I’ll go seek the truth and take revenge on evil.”
He packed up and left. I searched for a long, long time. On the tenth spring I found my father's tent. I tore up the birch bark. I put it on myself to cover up my shine. I went into the chum. He sees his father lying down.
Old, old already. Resting. And the evil ones have aged. They shout to him:
- Hey! Who are you? Don't go any further! Sit at the doorstep! Mongun sat down at the threshold. Asks them:
-Is there anything to eat?
- Yes, but you’ll ruin the dishes. You’re so scary!
- Give me a spatula. They gave him a spatula. Tea was poured into it. He drank tea, sat and did not leave, and his wives shouted:
- Go away or tell us a story!..
“I won’t go, but I’ll tell you a fairy tale.” Listen. The angry ones quieted down. The father sat down. The guest began the tale like this:
— Once upon a time there lived an Evenk. He had three wives: one was beloved, the other was beautiful, and the third was young. The owner was going to the city. Before leaving, he began to ask his wives:
“My dear wives! What happiness will you give me in life?” His beloved wife answers him: “Dear husband! I will give birth to your son Mongun.” The beautiful one says: “I’ll make you the best fur coat.” The young wife says: “I’ll sew you beaded bakari.” The husband praised his wives and promised to bring them gifts from the city. And he left.
Then the evil ones began to guess. They don’t sit still, they fidget, but their husband tells them to listen. Mongun continued:
“Soon the eldest wife was about to give birth. Those two wives didn't love her. They wanted to escape from the world. The glue is ready. The mother in labor had her eyes taped shut. Mongun was born...
And when he got to the place: “The beautiful one grabbed him and threw him into the lake, and the young puppy put him in…” - the beautiful one screamed at the guest:
- Oh, get out of here! Stop talking! Time to go to bed! Her father stood up and shouted at her:
- Shut up! Let him speak to the end!
“I arrived quickly,” continued Mongun, “a husband from the city.” The evil ones told him about his beloved wife. They showed the puppy. The husband got angry and drove his beloved wife out of the tent. But Mongun did not die. The taimen fed him. Then his own mother came to him. At first he didn’t go to her, but the taimen told him everything. The boy and his mother agreed to go. He grew up to the back of a deer and went to seek the truth and take revenge on evil. He is still walking around somewhere.
As soon as he said this, he threw off the birch bark, and in the dark chum it immediately became light:
- Here he is!
The evil ones turned pale. The Evenk grabbed them and hit each other. The spirit left them, and they themselves died immediately.
Mongun came out of the tent and went back to his mother. And now, they say, he lives with her. Not in the plague, but in a new home.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru