The strong Khushtzy did everything thanks to his strength alone. And the quick-witted Bashtai was very skillful and intelligent. Khushtei used force to make one cart in a month. And Bashtai, showing ingenuity, resorted to various means, although he had not studied anywhere, making ten sleighs and something else in a month. I sold it all and always made money. Khushtzy was jealous of Bashtay. One day he burned all of Bashtai’s sleighs and carts when he was visiting. Bashtai returned and saw that all that was left of his sleigh and carts were black coals. Bastai's wife says:
– Khushtzy came and burned everything. I wanted to go out and say it, but I was afraid.
Bashtai collected all the black coal in a bag, filled it halfway and said to his wife:
“I’ll take this coal to the city.”
He sat astride the bull, took coal with him and went to the city. On the way, he passed the possessions of the rich Khan Khartagai.
Three daughters of Hartagai Khan are sitting near the palace. Bashtai looked at them. And they ask:
- Bashtai, where are you going?
- I'm going to the city.
-What do you have in your bag?
- Money.
“Show us this money,” they ask.
- Leave me alone! As soon as the khan’s daughters look at them, this money will immediately turn into black coal. When they turn into black coal, will you give me money for it?
The Khan's daughters demand to untie the bag and promise him money. They untied the bag and there was black coal in there.
“It’s not money, it’s coal here,” the girls say.
“After all, I told you that as soon as the khan’s daughters look at the money, it will immediately turn into black coal.” What to do now? - says Bashtai. “Your father will have to complain.”
The khan's daughters began to persuade him:
- Oh, don't tell our father. As many coals as there are here, we will pour the same amount of money into the bag. Go to the forge and pour out the coal there.
Bashtai poured out all the coal in the forge and gave the bag to those girls. They poured as much money into the bag as there were coals.
Bashtai went to the city with this money, bought all sorts of things there and returned home.
He released the bull, and his wife and his wife took their purchases and money home. The desire to count Bashtay’s money, but he doesn’t have enough strength, sends his wife to Khushtay for the bills. The wife went to Khushtei and asked for an account.
- Why do you need abacus? – asks Khushtay.
“Bashtai brought something from the city, apparently he wants to count the money.”
My wife brought an abacus. Bashtai poured the money onto the rug and began counting it in the accounts. At this time Khushtay comes in.
- What a good person you are! - says Bashtai. “You burned ten of my carts and sleighs and turned them into coal.” I collected this coal in a bag and rode on my bull. He reached the khan’s gate and shouted: “Who needs black coal?” Khan took my coal and gave me the money.
– Can he buy coal from me too? – asks Khushtay.
“Of course,” Bashtai answers.
“I’ll take three bags of coal,” Khushtzy said and ran out from Bashtai. He ran home, cut up all his carts and sleighs, collected a few more things, put them on top and burned them. When everything burned down, I collected two bags of coal.
“I’ll go to the khan,” Khushtei said to his wife, loaded those two bags and drove off. I reached the khan at night. He stopped the bull near the khan’s gate, began knocking on the gate and shouting:
-Who will take the black coal? Who will give the Khan's money?
- Someone is shouting loudly at the gate. What to do with it? - the guards ask the khan.
“Pour out the coal in the forge, chop it off and send it back on his bull,” the khan answers his guards.
The khan's guards came out and forced Khushtzya to pour out coal in the forge. They beat him up and sent him back on a bull with threats. Khushtei returned home very angry.
“As soon as I arrive, I’ll kill Bashtai,” he says.
Without going home, he dropped in to see Bashtai. Bashtai was not at home, his wife was sitting.
-Where is Bashtai? - asks.
- Went for a visit.
“The lousy Bashtai deceived me, because of him the khan’s guards beat me.” I couldn't exchange coal for money. Since Bashtay is not there, I’ll kill you,” Khushtay said and finished her off.
Khushtay went home. Bashtai returned, and his wife lay dead. “This scoundrel killed my wife,” he guessed. He washed his wife’s corpse, dressed him in beautiful clothes, put him on the front of his bull, sat down and rode off. He drives past the Khan's palace. Three daughters of the khan, standing in the courtyard, saw him and shouted:
- Bashtai, where did you go? Wait!
- My bull is timid.
The Khan's daughters ran towards him. At that moment, Bashtai pulled an awl from his pocket and stuck it into the bull. The bull immediately charged with a roar. The dead wife fell off the bull. Somehow Bashtai held the bull, and his dead wife lay on the ground.
“I told you that my bull is shy.” My wife fell off the bull and died. What should I do now? I’ll have to tell your father,” says Bashtai.
He comes to the khan and says:
- Khan-father, my wife and I were riding on our bull. Your three daughters ran up to us and scared away my bull. He flinched and started to gallop, his wife fell and died.
The khan got angry, called his three daughters and said:
- Why did you scare away his bull and kill his wife? This could turn out to be very scary for us. My name will be disgraced, my honor will be sullied. We need to hush everything up and help him bury his wife. One of you will have to marry him!
So Bashtai buried his wife, married one of the khan’s daughters, and returned home with her. Khushtay comes to him.
- Where did you find such a beautiful wife? - asks.
“With his dead wife, he drove up to the khan’s gate and shouted: “Who will take my dead wife and give me my living daughter?” Khan took my dead wife and gave him his daughter,” Bashtai answers.
- Can he give it to anyone else? – asks Khushtay.
- Certainly.
Khushtay ran home, saying: “I want to marry the Khan’s daughter,” and killed his wife. He drove up with his wife’s corpse to the Khan’s gate in the evening and shouted:
- Khan, take my dead wife, give me your living daughter!
The khan heard this and said to the watchmen:
“Bury his wife, beat him yourself and send him home.”
The Khan's guards forced Khushtei to bury his wife, beat him himself and sent him back on a bull. In great rage, Khushtay returned home. “I’ll immediately kill Bashtai and marry the khan’s daughter,” he says. I got home and immediately dropped in to see Bashtai. He comes in and Bashtai is sitting at home.
- Such a brat, always cunning and deceiving. He forced me to burn all my sleighs and forced me to kill my wife. The Khan’s guards beat me, and now I’ll kill you,” he says.
Khushtay pushed Bashtay into a bag and walked towards the lake. I reached the lake, but it was frozen and there was no ice hole. He threw Bashtai onto the ice and went home to get an ax and a crowbar. At this time, a subject of the khan came to make an ice hole to water the cattle, and saw the bag.
- What's in this bag? - he says and touches the bag. And there was a man in it.
- Why did you get into the bag? - asks.
– I’m being treated by a water doctor. One of my eyes is bad and one of my hands is bad too. Quickly untie the bag!
The khan's subject untied the bag. Bashtai came out of the bag. The khan's subject had one sore leg.
– Can anyone be cured like this? he asks.
- Certainly! - Bashtai answers.
“Push me into the bag,” he says.
Bashtai stuffed him into a bag, tied him tightly and said:
- A man will come and cut an ice hole, don’t say anything, be silent. He will lift you up and carry you to the ice hole, just keep quiet.
And Bashtai himself went along another road and drove cattle to his wife, the khan’s daughter. He brought the cattle and locked them in the yard.
And Khushtai came to the lake, made an ice hole and, before throwing Bashtai there, said:
“Because of you, I was left without a sleigh, and finally I will kill you.”
“I’m not Bashtai, I’m a Khan’s subject, cutting an ice hole.”
- Don't lie! You want to cheat again!
So Khushtei pushed the Khan’s subject into the hole and finished off him.
“I finally killed Bashtai, I’ll take his wife,” he says.
Singing songs, he goes home. And suddenly he sees that there are a lot of cattle in Bashtai’s yard. “Where did Bashtai get so many cattle?” – he thought and ran to them. He comes in and Bashtai and his wife are sitting and eating.
- I pushed you into the hole. How did you get out? – asks Khushtay.
- I ended up at the bottom of the lake. There he met with the three sons of the water Lubsan Khan. They gave me this cattle. I just drove it.
- This is true? – asks Khushtay.
- Of course it’s true!
– Can they give this to anyone?
– They will give, they can give even more.
“Let me down into the hole,” Khushtei asks. Bashtai made a large hole so that Khushteim could throw himself into it. “The Khan’s three sons can generously reward me, I’ll go down there to get some cattle,” he said, jumped into the hole and drowned. And Bashtai began to live with the khan’s daughter and raise livestock. So the strong Khushtzy died, and the smart Bashtai lived happily.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru