Two brothers lived together, Niveniken and Kukeki. Kukeki carried firewood home, boiled tea, and Niveniken went hunting from the very early morning. Niveniken was such a famous hunter that the brothers reinforced their tent with the heads and legs of wild deer.
One day, Kukeki, sitting in the tent, heard women singing. They sang:
"When did the hero Niveniken go hunting?"
Kukeki answered them:
- A long time ago, when it was just beginning to dawn.
Then three women arrived, entered the tent and asked Kukeki:
-Can we comb your head?
“Scratch it,” said Kukeki. The women combed his head and then flew away. The hero Niveniken came from hunting. In the evening over tea I looked at Kukeki’s head - Kukeki’s head was combed very beautifully. Niveniken asked:
-What did you do to make your hair so smooth?
“I combed them with tree bark, and that’s what happened,” answered Kukeki.
“Uh,” said Niveniken.
Early in the morning, Niveniken went hunting again. Came in the evening, having killed several wild deer. Kukeka's head is again very beautifully combed. Again women flew in and combed his hair. Niveniken was very surprised. I tried to comb my hair with bark, but the bark didn’t make my hair fall out.
In the morning, Niveniken went hunting again, came back in the evening and again saw that Kukeki’s head was very beautifully combed. Niveniken was surprised and said to Kukeki:
- Well, comb your hair with bark in front of me! I combed my hair and my hair just wouldn’t fall in place.
Kukeki began to comb his hair with bark, but nothing happened to him. Here Niveniken says to Kukeki:
- Why did you deceive me? Tell me, who did your hair? If you don't tell me, I'll kill you right here. Here Kukeki said:
“It’s been three days since women started flying to me.” Having arrived, they comb my hair and fly away. Tomorrow morning they will fly again.
Niveniken, after listening to the story, said:
“Now I’ll go tie up my hunting deer in the taiga.”
He left, tied it up and came back.
- Now you throw me with the rubble that is lying around the chum. When the women arrive and ask when Niveniken left to hunt, you tell them: a long time ago, as soon as it was dawn.
Kukeki threw rubble at Niveniken. At noon, women's singing was heard again.
- When did the hero Niveniken go hunting, tell us, Kukeki?
Kukeki replied:
- A long time ago, as soon as the first light appeared.
The women went down and entered the tent. Niveniken got up and crept up to the chum. There are three pairs of wings near the chum. Niveniken took one pair of silver wings and hid it. Hiding his wings, Niveniken entered the tent. Two women jumped up and flew away, but one woman remained. Niveniken took this woman as his wife.
When Niveniken went hunting, he left his wife’s wings to be kept by Kukeki, saying:
- Look, don’t give up your wings, otherwise I’ll kill you.
One day, when Niveniken went hunting, his wife began to ask Kukeki to give her his wings:
- And what could I give you so that you would give me my wings for it? Do you want to eat hearts?
- No, I already ate the heart.
- Maybe you should eat some ubdu?
— I also ate ubdu.
- Well, will you eat Angni?
- What is it you call angy? - Kukeki asked.
- Well, it means you haven’t eaten Angni since you don’t know the name...
Angni has been cooked for you,” said the woman, “carry my wings!”
Kukeki brought the wings and gave them to his brother's wife. I looked into the cauldron, and it was full of deer stomach. “A woman deceived me,” thought Kukeki. And the woman had already flown away.
Niveniken came.
“Where did your wife go?” asked Niveniken.
“Your wife deceived me, she said that she would give me for my wings something that I had not eaten yet, but she cooked the stomach.” I gave her wings for her stomach.
Then Niveniken became very angry, killed Kukeki, and left home.
Niveniken walked and walked and saw one house. Entered it. The old woman sitting on the threshold was frightened. The bird didn’t have time to say “chiv”, so unexpectedly he entered.
The old lady gave Niveniken tea and asked:
-Where are you going, hero?
“I’m looking for my wife,” said Niveniken. “Do you know, grandma, where I should go?”
- No, I don’t know. That’s where my older sister lives, she probably knows.
Niveniken went further. I reached another old woman and asked her:
- How, grandmother, can I find my wife? The old woman told him:
“There, even further away, lives a kite that covers the sun.” He does not let anyone running and flying beyond this place pass. Even further, behind the place where the kite lives, a river flows. At the narrowest point of this river, on both its banks, two bears are chained to the rocks with iron chains. These running bears don't let anyone through. Even further away there is a large rock. This rock is absolutely sweet. If you climb on it, you will see two wolves on the rock.
“How can I go this way?” asked Niveniken.
“And you will go this way like this: you will pass the kite, becoming an ermine.” Like an ermine, you will crawl under the snow. As you walk past the bears, you will see two wild deer grazing on the right. Kill these deer, take them and... throw with both hands in different directions. I will give you a comb, when you reach the rock, throw it up, saying: “Become a ladder!” That comb will become a ladder. You will pass by the wolves like this: to the left of the road there will be two goats grazing, you kill them and throw them in different directions,
The hero Niveniken went. He goes and sees: a very large bird is sitting and is blocking the sun.
“Let me become an ermine!” said Niveniken. Having become an ermine, Niveniken climbed under the snow, walked under the snow and went out beyond the place where the kite was sitting. I went further. I reached the river and went upstream. Like brushwood, human bones lie on the banks of this river. I reached the narrow place of this river and saw two bears chained to the rocks. I looked to the right and saw two deer grazing. He crept up to the deer and killed both of them with a stick. He took these deer with both hands and threw them in different directions to two bears, while he himself ran past them. The bears rushed at the deer abandoned by them and did not notice Niveniken.
Niveniken went further. I reached a very high cliff. There’s no way you can climb this rock, it’s so smooth. He thought and remembered what the old woman told him. He took a comb out of his pocket and threw it up, saying: “Become a ladder!” The ridge turned into a ladder. Niveniken climbed onto the rock and continued walking. By the road I saw two tied wolves. Stopped. On the left are two goats grazing. He killed the goats and threw them in different directions. The wolves rushed at the dead goats. Volkov has passed and continues on.
At the top of one hill I saw a house. I went to that house. Climbed to the top of the hill. People in the house knew about his arrival. The words were heard:
“Come here, hero Niveniken, let’s face off!” Niveniken replied:
- Well, come out here first, who is there!
A woman with very long hair came out of the house. Niveniken took the woman's hair and twisted it so tightly that the woman could not bear it and died. Then Nivanikan entered the house, took his wife there and returned home.
Niveniken came home, revived Kukeki, and they began to live together again. Kukeki goes to collect firewood. Niveniken goes hunting every day.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru