In the old days, there lived a lonely poor man. His only wealth was an old yurt. And among his household utensils he had a millstone. When he hit the millstone with a spatula, he received various tasty foods from the millstone.
A rich old man lived a mile away from him. This old man was very jealous of his millstone. One day he sent his children to Ongoy Bötyuk, instructing them to tell them that he would give half of his wealth for a millstone.
The children came to Ongoy Bötyuk. Ongoy Bötyuk asked them:
- My dears, what is your need for coming? Then he hit the millstone with a spatula and took out the sweets from the millstone. The children said:
- We live well. Our father instructed us to convey this: you have been a good friend of our father for a long time, so you must fulfill his wish - give him your millstone, and in return he will give you half of his wealth.
Ongoy Bötyuk listened to all this and said:
- Yes, you come here, eat.
The children ate sweets. Then Ongoy Bötyuk answered:
“And tell your father: if I gave him the millstone for half of his wealth, this wealth would be enough for me for one year.” And my millstone feeds me all the time. Tell your father so.
The children ate, listened to his words and left, and at home they conveyed this to their father. Father said:
“He wanted to show off his miracle.” But this miracle came to him by accident... Does he really think that he will be richer from his millstone than from my goods? Guys, go back, tell him: if he wants to live in peace with me, let him give me his millstone. And if he does not give me the millstone, then tie him up, put the millstone on a sleigh and bring it to me.
The children listened to this, harnessed the horse and rode off. They spoke:
“Father instructed me to tell you: if you want to maintain peace with him, give him the millstone and take half of his wealth.”
Ongoy Bötyuk replied:
“No, I said, I won’t give it, so I won’t give it.” If I take half of his wealth, it will only last me a year. Let the old man not be offended, but I will not give him the millstone.
Then the children attacked Ongey Bötyuk and tied him to a pole inside the yurt. He screamed, but in vain. They put the millstone on the sleigh and took it away. They did not linger on the way and drove up to their house.
Meanwhile, Ongoy Bötyuk rested, came to his senses, tensed all his muscles and broke the rope. I wanted to leave the yurt, but it turned out that the door of the yurt was crushed from the outside by a large log. Then Ongoy Bötyuk took another log, hit it on the door and opened the entrance. He ran out the open door and chased after the brothers. He ran through an alas* (village, settlement), then passed a forest, ran past a lake and found himself in a new alas. Behind this alas he again saw the lake, bent down and began to drink - and so he drank all the water, and in place of the lake there was only a swamp. Then he continued on his way, hoping to catch up with the brothers. Crossed the valley and ran along the rocky mountain.
At this time he saw a bear. The bear growled and rushed at him. But Ongoy Bötyuk swallowed the bear. Then he continued on his way. Seeing a fox on the top of the mountain, he ran after it, caught up with it and also swallowed it. I saw two dogs fighting. Swallowed dogs too.
After that, he approached the rich man's house. The rich man looked at him from under his brows and said to the children:
“Guys, I told you to tie him up properly.” If you want to stay alive, then take him out of here right now and throw him to the dogs.
The brothers grabbed and dragged Ongoy Bötyuk and threw him to the dogs. As soon as the dogs pounced on him, he released the live fox from his mouth, she began to run, followed by the dogs, and they all disappeared into the forest. Ongey Bötyuk burst into the house and shouted to the rich man:
- Give me back my millstone now! The rich man became angry with his children:
- Oh, devils, it turns out you didn’t throw him to the dogs! Throw it to the eager bulls so they can pick it up on their horns.
The rich man's children grabbed Ongoy Bötyuk and threw him to the bulls. But Ongoy Bötyuk released two dogs from his mouth, and the bulls began to gore these dogs. Ongey Bötyuk again burst into the house and demanded his millstone.
The rich man ordered his children to throw Ongoy Bötyuk to the zealous stallions so that they would trample him. The brothers threw him at the feet of the zealous stallions. But Ongoy Bötyuk released the bear from his mouth, and the bear tore the stallions to pieces. Ongoy Bötyuk burst into the rich man's house.
“What a disaster!” moaned the rich man. “Grab him now, tie him to a post, and I’ll beat him with a hot ramrod!”
The brothers took him out and tied him to a post near the yurt. But Ongey Bötyuk kicked out the window of the yurt and released all the lake water from his mouth.
The old rich man found himself in water up to his neck. The rich man got scared and shouted:
- Damn, take your millstone, just save me, get this water out of here!
In the rich man’s yurt the fire had already gone out, all household items had overturned, everything was flooded with water, and he himself stood up to his neck in water and asked to be saved. Ongoy Bötyuk strained all his muscles and broke the rope himself. Then he absorbed the water, took the millstone and went home.
He reached the place where there was a lake, released the water, and a lake appeared there again. So he reached his yurt. I made a new door in the yurt. He put the millstone in place.
They say that, as before, so now Ongoy Bötük is alive and well.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru