During the time that little Malechiph was separated from her betrothed, the sled Unajoko, she became very smart, beautiful and also skilled in needlework. That is why the Nart suitors began vying with each other to besiege Malechipkh, trying to gain her favor. Young sledges flocked from all sides just to listen to her clever speeches and look at her. Among the sleds there were two daredevils who competed with each other, trying to capture little Malechipkh. Wanting to find out which of the two would become her chosen one, each of the annoying suitors brought her a strap so that she could weave a whip: from whose strap the whip would be woven, the girl would marry him. This was the Nart custom.
For the wonderful lash, silk was taken from the heavenly net. You weave it to the one who is dearest to you! - they both said, handing her the straps.
The young men were not to Malechip's liking. Wanting to get rid of them, she returned the strap to everyone with the words:
A simple belt, Not heavenly silk, A simple belt Not given by a sled, Leave it for the one Whose you are desired!
The skilled needlewoman Malechipkh wove a silk whip and hung it on a hook. When the annoying suitors, who would not leave the girl alone, met again in her house, she took the whip from the hook and, handing it to one of them, said:
I wove this whip from silk. This silk is not from the neck of an ox. It was obtained from the heavenly net, For the wonderful Nart whip. He is worthy of the thin-walled and the desired. He is worthy of a knight-nart, whose noble steed is slender. This whip is made of heavenly silk. The handle is made of deer antler. If you touch a branch with a whip, the whip will not escape from your hands!
But the young Nart did not take the gift and Malechipkh sadly answered:
If the whip is not from my belt, then the whip is not about my horse! I’ll get a silk whip, But I won’t be nice to you, the desired one!
- If you don’t take it, you don’t need it! - said Male chiph. “It’s enough for you to trample the earth in our yard!” And she handed the gift to another annoying groom. He was very happy and promised:
If the branches or animals in the forest don’t snatch the Scourge from my hands, then at the door, hanging it on a hook, I won’t forget it when visiting!
But, having heard such a speech, Malechipkh did not want to give him a whip:
From whomever the whip can be snatched, a bitch or an animal can be snatched, He will let the bride slip from his hands, believe me!
Having sent the offended suitors away, Malechipkh took the jug and set off into the water. Going down to the river along a narrow path, she saw a horseman and stopped so as not to cross his path.
Having caught up with Malechipkh, the horseman reined in his horse and asked:
“Tell me, dear, did a horseman with a herd pass along this road?”
This horseman was none other than Ashamez. He recognized little Malechipkh, and he wanted to hear her voice.
Malepchikh also recognized him and answered him about Tlebitsa-Korotysh, who stole a horse from Asha, Ashamez’s father:
At the hour when the sky was shining, At the hour when the moon was rising, My door opened a crack, And, throwing back the veil, I saw how someone’s horses raced in the moonlight: Ahead, a bay, playful, Following him, a zealous, gray one. And the living raven-footed one competed with the fluffy-maned snow-white one in a brisk run. They were driven along the steppe road by an angry short-legged horseman, drowned in the horse's mane, with his head lost in it, - the horseman who stole the stallion from your father, Asha! Don’t chase after him, Don’t gallop across him: If you overtake him, you still won’t defeat him, Ashamez!
- When were you born? - Ashamez asked in surprise.
When the roosters crowed, And the chickens pecked the grain, When the White mare beat her hoof, When the scythe mowed the millet without asking, - Then I was born! — Nartu Malechiph answered.
-Where were you born? - Ashamez asked again.
I was born in a white house, on the mountain, where the white dogs are in the yard.
With these words, Malechipkh walked around the rider so as not to cross his path, and headed along the path leading to the river.
Nart Ashamez galloped on.
Carrying a full jug on her shoulder, Malechipkh entered the house from the north side and saw a horseman riding through the gate.
She left the house just at the moment when Shauei, Kange's son, drove into the yard.
- They say, Malechiph, you have a sharp tongue and know everything in the world! So guess who I am, and at the same time find at least one flaw in me, if you are so smart! - he turned to Malechip.
“Then let me look at you from all sides,” she answered and walked around the rider.
Shauei, son of Kanj, had long heard about the wisdom of Malechiph. This time he dressed and equipped himself so carefully that there was nothing to reproach him for, especially since Shauei was planning to marry Malechipkh. But when the sled passed through the forest, a green tree leaf hung on his bow, which was put over his shoulder, and the fetters with which he hobbled his horse came loose and dragged along the ground.
“Your bow is grazing, your horse is like a bearded goat, your fetters are weaving along the ground!” You cannot be called a Nart - you were born by a woman from a different family. You can’t call him a Nart either, you were born in the Country of the Narts. If you are not the son of Kange, Shauei, if you are not the only son of Naribgea, then who should you be? - Malechiph said to the rider and, turning away from him, entered the house.
Kanja's son Shauei left with nothing.
At this time, Malech, who was sitting by the window and heard her daughter’s conversation with the young Nart, began to reprimand her:
- Is there at least one horseman in whom you would not find a flaw? Are you really going to spend your whole life sitting in your father's house, playing with dolls?
- Is a wife taken away from her husband? And I have a husband. “He didn’t break up with me,” Malechipkh answered calmly and, sitting down on the windowsill, began to look out the window.
Then one of the countless suitors rode into the yard, and dogs rushed at him from all sides.
“If I say anything, you and your father will scold me!” Even if I swear, you won’t believe it. But I see: the young groom in the hemp was surrounded by dogs - and look, they’ll tear him to pieces! - exclaimed Malechiph.
The mother looked at the rider, surrounded by dogs, but did not notice any cannabis.
-Where does hemp come from in our yard? - she asked her daughter angrily.
- But all his clothes are hemp! - Malechiph shouted.
And in fact, the young man dressed like that because it was a hot summer day.
Little Malechiph found some kind of flaw in all the suitors!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru