This happened when the Kashlans had already arrived in Tumbala. This village has been standing since the world has existed, which is why it is called the “navel of the earth.” They were fair-skinned and blond, and they liked our women, both married and unmarried.
And then one day one wife left her husband for a priest who was much more beautiful and elegant than him.
The abandoned husband rushed to look for his wife. He walked around different places for a long time, worried and sad. So he did not notice how he ended up near the priest’s house. Going inside, he saw his wife sitting next to the priest. He called her several times, but she never came out.
But the priest came out and said that if he loved his wife, he must prove it by delivering one piece of paper to Alaberacruz (Veracruz Chico or Veracrucito).
Having received the paper from the priest, the poor man, shedding bitter tears, went to look for Alaberacruz: he had no idea where it was. He did this to get his wife back, but he couldn't stop crying; crying, he walked further and further. He was already far away, in the middle of the mountains, when he heard a dog barking in the distance. He thought it was his dog barking.
Soon he saw a large black dog approaching. It really was his dog. He began to stroke and hug him. It seemed strange to him that they met, because the dog had been lost for a very long time.
In grief, he told his dog that he was carrying an important paper to Alaberacruz.
Then the dog said that he would help him understand what his wife was really like, who left him for the sake of a priest. At the dog's order, he climbed onto the dog's back and grabbed his ears tightly, closing his eyes as he did so. The dog had to carry him and tell him about everything he saw. It will be possible to open your eyes only after the dog’s permission. If a person opens them somewhere along the way, they will remain there and never come out.
Soon the man felt as if he was flying, the wind was hitting his face with force and whistling in his ears. They rushed for a long time in the darkness, and the dog just described what he saw around. Finally we arrived in an area that was very difficult to cross. It was Chish Puy.
Chish Puy is a very dangerous place because it is made of whole snails, with heads and horns like small sharp knives. A person cannot walk here because his feet are very wide and there is no room for them. Anyone who tries to do this stays there forever. This can only be done while riding the dog, because it has balls on its paws, so that it can walk by placing its paws in the remaining gaps that it finds. That’s why they say “shook” about her.
Only when they managed to cross Chish Puy did the dog allow his rider to open his eyes and go down to the ground.
The man opened his eyes and looked around. In front of him was a house, as big as a small village. The sky was illuminated by the brilliant sun. But none of this was similar to the world from which he came. It was a completely different world - a world without people.
On the dog's advice, he went to the house of the dog's new owner and handed him a paper from the priest. He read it and ordered him to wait. Then he handed him another paper covered in writing. The man hid it securely and went to where he had left the shuok waiting for him.
He climbed onto the dog's back again, made himself more comfortable, and again grabbed the shuok's ears, tightly closing his eyes. Soon he felt the same thing: the feeling of flying; the wind whistled in his ears, and the sound told him what places they were passing through. They crossed Chish Puy again and flew for a long time until the Shuok allowed him to open his eyes.
The man opened his eyes and realized that he was back in this world. Shuok ran away and left his master alone. When he arrived at the priest's house, the priest grabbed the paper he had brought and, very angry, read it for a long time. When he finished, his head suddenly dropped and his hands dropped limply, barely holding the piece of paper. He walked deeper into the house, saying nothing, limply, as if his strength had suddenly left him. He was greatly saddened.
The man stood at the door of the priest's house for a long time, waiting to be ordered to do something else, when suddenly a horse jumped out of the house and began to kick and neigh, jumping in front of the entrance. Soon another one jumped out of the house in one jump, but it was a mare. The animals neighed and jumped up, apparently, every time they wanted to jump. They seemed desperate and afraid. The horse tried to climb onto the mare, but she fell, and they neighed ugly, as if something had happened to them. The horse stubbornly tried to climb onto the mare, but, as the man saw, he soon jumped with special effort and only fell. He was large, and there was a terrible noise as he collapsed with all his weight, dead as if he had been killed by lightning. The mare did the same, jumped and collapsed with all her weight, also dead. None of the animals moved anymore. The place around looked somehow unusual. The horses raised a lot of dust. A fresh wind blew, and many birds that were singing nearby were also worried, as if the excitement of the animals had been transmitted to them. It was all scary.
The man remained in the same place, not moving, watching what was happening, but not understanding what had happened. He completely forgot about the priest and his wife. The dust gradually settled down and the birds calmed down; now everything was silent. Then the man remembered the priest and looked into the house. But it was empty. He came closer to the house, but saw no one; he was a little scared that he didn’t see anyone. He did not know where the priest and his wife were. So he remained thinking.
This happened when the Kashlans came and began to deceive and use our wives. They were very bad and did every evil imaginable among us. Therefore, the old people say that this happened because of their own evil disposition. It is still believed that there is a very deep well in the shape of a funnel near Tumbala, where these animals were thrown.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru