There lived a brave and daring gold medalist, Merge. He never went hunting with anyone in company, but always alone. He beat a lot of different animals and never knew failure. All the neighbors feared and respected Merge.
[Goldy is the ancient name of the Nanai people.]
One day the brave Merge comes to his yurt and notices that someone is lying there.
"Who could it be?" - thought Merge and lifted the mat over the door. He sees that a completely extraordinary person is lying on his bed: he is wearing a silver robe and is shining like the sun, the hair on his head is gray.
“Who is this - God or the devil? It must be the devil,” thought Merge and wanted to stab him. But as soon as he swung his guide, a man in a light robe said to him:
- Fool, I heard that you are brave and daring. I wanted to give you this robe. It would give you strength, it would never wear out, and you would never grow old in it, you would not get sick, and you would never die. But you wanted to kill me. Therefore, you will only receive a saber. But remember firmly that when you lose your saber, you will die.
He said and disappeared, but the saber remained. Merge took her and often went hunting with her.
It happened to be Merge once at the kaza. For a long time the hosts treated the guests and gave them hanshin. Everyone from the little boy to the old man got drunk and began to laugh at Merge:
[Caza - wake.
Hanshin, Hanzha - Chinese vodka. ]
“You are considered brave among us, why shouldn’t you go to susu?” Below the Amur there is an old village. All the people there died out because the Busseu appeared there.
[Susu (Nanai) is an old, abandoned dwelling, where, according to the Golds’ beliefs, devils live who feed on human flesh.
Busseu (otherwise - busyaku) - devils.]
The corpses are still lying around now. If you are really brave, then go there and bring something from there.
Merge didn’t want to show himself as a coward, and he decided to go to the sus. He harnessed the best dogs to the sledge and rode off. Merge went to the old village at night, went into the last yurt and heard that it was full of busses. Merge took the flint out of his pouch and hit it on the flint, but the bussers in all corners also began to hit with flints. Merge lights a fire and sees many busseus. He felt scared, but still he wanted to go further and grab something in advance.
proof that he was in susu. But as soon as Merge sat down on the sledge and shouted to the dogs:
- Ta-ta!.. - as someone grabbed the sled from behind and braked.
Merge remembered his saber, took it out and swung it back. Something fell off there, and the sled quickly rushed forward. Merge arrived home, and his neighbors were already waiting for him. They looked at the backs of the sleds and were horrified: there were two iron hands left on the backs.
- Whose hands are these? - the neighbors began to ask. And Merge told them everything in detail. The neighbors marveled for a long time and praised Merge for his courage and daring, and hung his iron hands on the yukola dryer. They hung for exactly three years, but as soon as they disappeared one night, his saber also disappeared, and he himself suddenly died.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru