They say that there lived among the Tarian Indians one girl, to whom, for some unknown reason, the boys did not pay any attention. Niño (that was her name) understood this.
And so every evening she went to the waterfall and whiled away the nights there. When the rising sun was just lighting up the sky, she returned to the village.
The men who came to the waterfall to fish in the evenings tried to get around this girl as far as possible.
One night, when Niño was sleeping, a cool drop fell from the sky on her face, from which the girl woke up and, although it was still far from dawn, she got up and went to the village.
That very morning, a young man returning from fishing saw her, saw her and was stupefied: Niño seemed dazzlingly beautiful to him. He began to tell everyone how beautiful and comely the girl, who had previously been so plain, had become. But they laughed at him and said:
“It was your eyes that embellished her and made her look prettier.”
But that morning, even Niño’s mother was surprised to see her daughter and asked:
- Daughter, what did you do to your face?
- What, mom? What's wrong with my face?
– You have become such a beauty!
- Yes, I didn’t do anything. True, I didn’t sleep well that night. A drop of rain fell on my face, and after that I couldn’t sleep: it was so cold.
Her mother took her on her lap like a little child and began saying:
- Daughter, how good you are! Unless the moon can compare with you!
A little later, another young man saw Niño and his heart also lit up: “Yes, this is a real beauty!”
He began to tell his friends about the beauty of the girl, but they did not believe it, but only laughed and said:
“It’s no different, this ugly girl will now bewitch us all, and we will dry out without her.”
I must say that just that day there was a holiday for one girl. And her guests gathered to dance.
Night fell and the celebration began. Niño, who had suddenly become prettier, did not know how to dance: the young men did not pay attention to her and never invited her to dance. But this time she also went to congratulate the girl. Niño entered the house and seemed to drive all the young men crazy. Everyone wanted to attract her attention, to show the girl their love, but she didn’t even look at them.
The next morning, Niño left with her mother to work in the field. And the young men gathered and began to talk among themselves:
“We saw how quickly she bewitched us!” Just yesterday we didn’t even want to look at her, but today we can’t take our eyes off her! She is a witch, no less, and she turned into a beauty! Well, could you even think that we would go crazy because of Niño! Now she'll laugh at us to her heart's content. You see: she even left the house just after light. And we opened our eyes! So you want to take her as your wife! And you. And of course you wouldn't mind. Yes, and I just dream that she would look at me more kindly.
Meanwhile, Nino said to her mother:
“It would be better for us, Naan, to go to another village, where no one will even look after me.” Who would want to marry me? Nobody. And even if a hunter shows up, I won’t believe him: he’ll abandon me the very next day. I've had enough of melancholy and sadness. Come on, as soon as the new moon appears, let's go down the river so that no one sees us. Let's join another tribe, ask the leader and stay with them to live.
- Okay, daughter. Let's do so.
They returned home already at noon. The young men seemed to scorch Niño with flaming glances, but she did not even raise her eyes.
Yes, the new beauty drove them crazy. And when evening came, they brought musical instruments and began to play and dance on them. All the girls gathered to dance, except Nino: she and her mother went to the other end of the village, so all the searches were in vain.
When the mother and daughter returned in the morning, one young man approached Niño and said:
- My joy, why don’t you want to dance with us? Why are you running away?
“Now you all suddenly remembered me, you’re calling me to dance,” the girl answered. - How long have they been avoiding me and looking at me with disgust? Why did it occur to you to look for me now? I'm still the same. My heart is deaf to your words, I cannot forget how you treated me. Forget me and leave me with my sadness, I’ve already gotten used to it.
The young men, surrounding Niño, were silent, only the one who had spoken earlier turned to the girl again:
“Nino, don’t be so hard-hearted.” Remember: we are of the same tribe!
Nino laughed and said:
“Now you have the most kind words for me, but just a few days ago you turned away so as not to see me when I left the house.” Have you forgotten already? Like children, don’t remember what you did, and come to me with beautiful words. Sweeten your speech better, but address it to other women. And I'm the same as before.
The young men felt as if their hearts were breaking. They left Niño and, after talking, decided to go to the sorcerer-page and ask him what kind of witchcraft this girl could use to drive them crazy.
They told the page about their misfortune, and at night he found out the truth. A drop of moon blood fell on the girl’s face, and that is why the beauty of the moon shone on her face. Then he decided to find out how to make Niño more favorable to the young men of the village.
And I discovered that I was powerless!
At dawn the page told the young men everything he had learned.
The men were speechless. They looked at each other in despair. Finally one, Fui, said:
“I’ll try to soften Niño’s heart.” From today I will become her shadow. At first, of course, she will be angry, but then she will listen to me and her heart will soften.
The sorcerer laughed when he heard these speeches.
Fui followed Niño for three moons and kept trying to talk to her. And she was silent. But due to the persecution of Fui, both Niño and her mother could not leave the village and sail down the river.
When the new moon rose, the young men again went to the sorcerer and asked him for a witchcraft remedy to soften Niño’s heart.
“Okay,” said the page, “I have one amulet, and each of you will have to pass by Niño with it.” And as you pass, her heart will soften, she will take pity on you and speak. Come on, stand around me! Now I'll get the amulet. Whoever grabs it first will be the first to pass in front of Niño.
Suddenly the sorcerer grabbed a long hollow bone from under the skin of the armadillo, lifted it up and blew at one end. Everyone saw a ball fly out from the other end of the tube and fall near them.
A fight immediately began: everyone wanted to take possession of the amulet. The young men pushed each other, hit each other, tripped each other, threw them to the ground. And so, unnoticed we found ourselves at the river. The amulet was accidentally pushed into the water, and he drowned. The young men rushed into the river and searched it all, but in vain. For three whole days they dived into the depths, examined all the stones, hoping for luck.
Meanwhile, Niño and his mother slowly launched the canoe and were off. When the young men returned from the river, there was no trace of Niño and her mother. They looked for them everywhere for a long time, but did not find them. And women, when asked, answered: “I don’t know.”
The men went again to the sorcerer so that he could point out where Niño had disappeared. And the page answered:
“If you had listened to what people say, you wouldn’t have to come to me again.” Niño went to another tribe and there became the wife of the chief's son. What can you do now?
“We will go look for Niño and kill her husband,” the young men answered.
- Well, do as you please. The tribe where Niño now lives with her husband is located at the mouth of the river. Inspired, Fui exclaimed:
- So let's go quickly! Let's kill them all and bring back Niño!
The men agreed and that same day got into a canoe and set off down the river. And their wives remained on the shore, looking after them in confusion.
So they stood until the next day, when a page came to them and told them what kind of madness had seized the men of their tribe. Then he added:
“Don’t cry, tomorrow night I will make sure that drops of the moon’s blood fall on you and you become as beautiful as Niño.”
The next night, the page led the women to the waterfall and ordered them to lie on their backs, facing the sky.
At midnight, the women felt drops of moon blood falling on them. And the next day it turned out that they became as beautiful as the moon itself.
“Now you are as beautiful as Niño,” said the page. - There is a reflection of the moon on your faces. And you shouldn’t shed tears over stupid husbands. If they loved you, they would not have rushed in pursuit of Niño. You'll see, many of them will die.
And in fact, the women were now very beautiful, the beauty of the moon shone in them.
How did Niño live? As soon as she appeared in the village at the mouth of the river, all the young men of this foreign tribe were already crazy about her and everyone dreamed of becoming her husband. Among them was the chief's son, and Niño became his wife.
The page of the tribe, knowing that the girl had run away from her relatives, decided to make sure that she was not being pursued, and, having cast a spell, he actually saw that many people were going down the river. Then he prepared a witchcraft infusion, poured it on the shore where the boats moored, and wherever uninvited guests could appear. And then he said to the villagers:
“Don’t go to the shore, there I have prepared a treat for those fools who are swimming towards us.”
When Niño heard these words, her heart began to beat, and she went at midnight to see what would happen. Niño walked along the river bank, and only approached the place where the page had watered the earth, when her eyes darkened and she fell unconscious. And the men who came for her got out of the boats and, as soon as they stepped ashore, they immediately turned into bats, owls and other night birds. Those who touched the river water became otters, stingrays, and fish. And when the sun rose, only their canoes were rocking near the shore and arrows, bows, and various things were scattered on the ground.
Niño's husband and her mother, seeing that the girl was not at home, began looking for her everywhere and asking people. But no one knew where Niño was.
And at night, the page, smelling the fruit of the wig, realized that Niño was at the bottom of the river. He saw the girl come ashore, and the Queen of the Waters, struck by her beauty, took her hand and led her into the depths.
On moonless nights, Niño rises from the river along with the Queen of the Waters. They go to the island of Zhurunari and sing there with wondrous voices. And then they disappear into the waves.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru