Tatlyustenko was a young man who lived without a family, his parents died, and only his younger brother remained. The eldest of the brothers in the evenings from time to time went to exchange jokes with the girl Khimsad, the only sister of the five brothers. Watching this, her brothers decided: “Tatlyustenko is coming here, and my sister will marry him.” But we will not give her to him, but will marry her to a prince who is interested in her. We will receive a good reward from him. Himsad found out about the brothers' plan and did not like it. So she called one of the boys playing on the street and told him: “Baby, tell Tatlyustenko to come to me.” “Of course, I’ll tell you,” the boy answered and ran to carry out the assignment. When he ran into Tatlyustenko’s yard, it was time for evening prayers, and the guy was cleaning the stable.
“Khimsad asked me to tell you,” said the boy, “don’t consider it a chore, come see me this evening.” “Come back, baby, I’ll be with her,” the guy said and let the boy go.
He himself decided to go to the girl a little later, when the lamps were lit in the houses. In the meantime, I continued cleaning. When the scheduled time arrived, Tatlyustenko entered the Himsad room. As was the case before, they joked a lot, and since she was still silent about why she called, he asked:
- Himsad, I had to leave on business this evening. But a boy came running and said: Himsad is calling you. And here I am. Tell me why you called, and I’ll go. “You come to me in the evenings,” the girl answered, “and we indulge in jokes.” And I don’t know if you and I have anything more serious in common than these jokes. If there is something different, you tell me about it, I need to know this now. The guy replied: “Khimsad, there are many people like you in the world, and others who would be better than you.” If I pass by them and prefer to joke with you, then obviously there is something serious about it. After all, no one is forcing me.
“If so,” the girl concluded, “the prince is coming for me on Friday, and you pick me up on Thursday.” And let's leave it at that.
The guy returned home, and everything went as usual. On Thursday evening, he warned his younger brother not to go anywhere, but he himself went to the girl. I came to her when the lights were turned on in the houses.
“Come in,” the girl jumped up and froze, “sit down.” “No,” Tatlyustenko objected, “I came to fulfill our agreement.”
Hearing this, the girl picked up her bundle of clothes, and they left the house without being noticed by anyone. The guy brought her to his place. Kaitkoko (apparently the middle name of his younger brother) never left home. The brothers must be angry and come here, thought the guy (Tatlyustenko) and sat down to wait without taking off his weapon.
That same evening, four brothers realized that their sister was no longer in the house, but the eldest of them was somewhere in the village.
— She left with Tatlyustenko. If she agrees with us, then we will return her, but if not, we will kill both,” the brothers decided and armed themselves. When the elder returned and saw them, he asked: “I don’t know the reason, but you are apparently very upset about something.” No fight, no war - so why are you so equipped? — Tatlyustenko left with our sister. If she comes back with us, we’ll bring her, but if she doesn’t, we’ll kill both of them,” they answered. - Brothers, do you really hope that you will shoot bullets (shche in the Adyghe language both bullet and milk), and Tatlyutenko will respond with sour cream (shche - a derivative of shche - milk)? - asked the elder. If on that side there can be only one killed, then on ours - all five. Don’t look at the fact that his income is modest - he has a lot of courage. Therefore, leave the weapon, let everything be as it is. If she left with him of her own free will, it will soon become clear. After all, someone knows how it was - we will find out too.
The younger brothers took off their weapons.
That same evening Tatlyustenko called his younger brother Abgan and said:
- Saddle the horse and prepare the oats, I need to hit the road. I ask one thing: if we have a guest, welcome him as it should be, do not refuse him anything - neither big nor small. If we don’t have it, ask your neighbors, find it and give it to us. I will be gone for exactly a year. On the same day next year I will return.
And the guy left. As he warned, he was gone for exactly a year. On the same day he entered his house again. In the evening relatives gathered, but soon one of them said:
- Friends, the owner is out of the way. He must be tired. Isn't it time to give him a rest?
The company dispersed, and the husband and wife, as in former times, began to joke. And he suddenly fell asleep as he was - dressed, leaning against the rolled up bed. “No, I won’t be able to wake him up, he’s so tired,” thought Himsad, standing over her husband. “If only he could unfasten his Circassian cap on his chest, he would breathe more freely. But he might wake up.”
The night passed and the hour before dawn arrived. Suddenly she heard a noise, from which she determined that a battle was going on in the village. As the sounds approached, Tatlyustenko shuddered.
- What a shame, Himsad! Weren't you guarding my sleep too carefully? Something is happening in the village, but I don’t know what? - he said, - take out the horse while I put my equipment in order.
And he jumped on his horse. The village was attacked by a Russian army, which tried to ruin it. But it was deployed along the edge of the village and at the hour when dawn was in full force, it was put to flight. Tatlyustenko was among a group of horsemen pursuing the army when he was mortally wounded. He was quickly taken to one of the outer houses, but life was barely holding on to him. The old people were sitting at his head when the guy died.
- What to do, how to bury him? You can’t take him home, you can’t stay here either. What to do? - those sitting at his head asked each other. And then one of the old men, who was older than the rest, said this:
- Honorable ones! There will be nothing wrong if we consult with one of the women. I know one such old and very respected woman whom I could turn to.
They sent for her, and she came. When she entered, the old men stood up, greeting:
“Sit down, mother,” they suggested to her, and she answered:
- No, my children, I will not sit down and will leave as soon as I listen to you.
- Mother, we called you to get advice. Here Tatlyustenko lies before us - and we can’t bury him from here, and we can’t take him home either. What to do, what to do with it? - the old men asked.
- My children, I will not gain as much intelligence as you still have in your dreams. What you should do is this: find a woman who is not very old and tell her to dress in all black. And let her go in this form straight to Tatlyustenko’s living room.
They found a woman who was not very old, ordered her to dress in all black and sent her to Tatlyustenko’s living room.
The Himsad sat on a spread mat, and there were two baskets on her sides. She knew nothing of what had happened when the woman appeared before her. Seeing the woman, Himsad stood up and froze. And the woman, having reached the middle of the room, suddenly turned around, getting ready to leave. Himsad grabbed her and stopped her:
- In the name of Allah I conjure, stop! - she asked. Holding her like that, she swept the floor, picked up the baskets and said:
“Mother, now there’s no need for me to stay in the living room.” Take me to the kitchen. The woman took her to the kitchen, and she hurried back to the house from where she had come with an errand. She told everything as it happened.
“If so, then we can’t keep the dead man here any longer—we’ll take him to his living room,” the old men said.
Here everything was prepared for burial, then buried. Khimsad lived in Tatlyustenko’s house for one year, when a man from her father came to her and conveyed his words:
- What is she doing there now - in Tatlyustenko’s empty house, let her come back. But she refused to go. Father sent a man again, then another and another. There was nothing left to do, I had to go back.
After her return home, the prince who wooed her as a girl made himself known. He said that he was ready to marry her, and the brothers agreed. Himsad found out about this and called her younger brother.
“My younger brother,” she said, “don’t you know that your word in this matter cannot be the last?” So why not tell the prince to come straight to me? And I will answer him, as it should be.
The older brothers told the prince: “We have to go, it won’t work out any other way.”
One Friday the prince arrived. He entered, sat down, crossed his legs, started with jokes, then, when he got serious, Himsad told him:
“Now, of course, everything is different, so I will marry you if you accept my condition.”
- What condition? - asked the prince.
“I will marry you, but the agreement is this: for the next year, neither you will enter my room, nor I will enter yours,” she answered.
The prince was indignant:
- Allah is merciful, what will it be like?
Himsad objected:
“If my condition seems impossible to you, then there are many in this country who would be better than me.” Yes, you deserve the best. Then there can be no business between us.
The prince was not indifferent to Himsad, so he agreed to an agreement.
Six or seven months have passed since she appeared in his house, when there was a crop failure in the places where Himsad was from. Five of her fellow villagers went to where they heard they could get grain.
The path lay through the prince’s village, where the travelers stopped for the night. They didn’t go to anyone—none of them knew anyone here—they gave food to the horses and lit a fire right in the street. The guys got hungry, and one of them sang a lament song, and the other joined in. The fence where they settled turned out to be the prince's, and the prince was in the courtyard at that time and heard everything. Himsad, despite the darkness, also found herself in the yard. When the song began, she asked the girls accompanying her:
- What a beautiful song, let's listen to it.
When the song ended, Himsad swayed and the girls clasped their hands: “Oh, Allah!” Seeing this, the prince asked the girls:
- What happened?
“Nothing happened, but she feels bad, so we take her into the house,” they answered.
The prince turned around, threw on his sheepskin coat and went out to the guys who were performing a lament song.
“Good evening, brothers,” he said.
“Thank you, sit down,” the guys invited.
- No, I won’t sit down. But tell me, where are you coming from, from what village? he asked. They called. The prince also inquired about where they went. In such and such a village, we heard, you can buy food. “We had a crop failure,” the guys answered.
“If so,” said the prince, “let two come with me,” and he gave them a fattened barn sheep, millet and a kettle for cooking. - Cook and eat for health. And in the morning I will find the boiler here.
At dawn, he took the cauldron and its accessories from the travelers.
“May God protect your home and reward you with health,” the guys thanked him.
- Will you go further now? - asked the prince.
“Yes, we’ve already gathered,” they answered him.
- If so, then when you pass the village and come across a mound, stop at it. If I’m there earlier, I’ll wait,” the prince ordered.
-Have you arrived?
- Yes.
- Fine. “Let’s go further,” said the prince and led the travelers to five barns that stood in the field. He ordered all the sacks they had taken with them to be filled with grain and loaded onto their carts.
- Thank you, God bless you and tell me: how much does all this cost so that we pay and can return? - the guys asked.
- It's worth nothing. “Take it home,” answered the prince.
- No, that’s not possible: this is not one bag, not one cart, but five. Just tell me the price,” they insisted, but he didn’t want to hear any objections.
“Take it home,” he repeated and led the carts out of the outskirts.
Finally he said:
— I’ll ask you guys about one thing. Never again sing a lament for Tatlyustenko in our district.
“We’ll never do it again,” they answered joyfully and set off on their way back.
The prince returned home, and when one of the girls came to him, he said:
- Tell her (Khimsad) if she doesn’t mind, I’ll come see her tomorrow at lunchtime.
Himsad agreed, so the next day the prince came to see her:
- Himsad, I came to you not because the appointed time has come, but because you are thin, pale, and you will now tell me the reason for this.
“I’m not at all sick, and the family I joined—God grant everyone: I live like in paradise.” I’m just thin and that’s all... But I have one heaviness in my heart, which I now want to tell you about. You know that I was in Tatlyustenko’s living room and left there without burdening the hem of my dress with anything. I sat opposite my husband for just two hours, and he told me: “In the evening we may no longer have what we have during the day. If this happens and I go first, make a memorial at my grave so that people can pray for me. If you leave first, then I promise to gather people for you,” said Himsad, “and this heaviness of heart gnaws at me.
“I will help you fulfill your promise,” said the prince and left. You never know, you never know - he equipped a food train designed for all the inhabitants of the aul, he did not go himself, but sent her with an escort.
Himsad, without stopping home, stopped at the cemetery and called out to people. When they found out what was happening, the cooks came out, quickly cooked the meat, and invited people. They set up tables and chairs, ate well, and prayed for the deceased. Then Himsad came out to the people and said:
- Baraket barefoot! Now it's time for me to get ready. Let my guides harness the carts, and I will go to the grave once again,” and she left with two women. She was sitting, wailing and crying, when her father approached her.
- What, careless person, besides you, there is no one in this country who would have lost her good husband? Get up, your guides are waiting for you,” he said.
“How do you know, father, my soul is buried here,” answered Himsad.
The father, without another word, returned to the men. When he told them everything, the old men decided:
“That’s no good, we need to take Himsad out of there,” and they headed towards her.
Seeing them approaching, she grabbed a pair of scissors and committed suicide.
The escorts were alarmed: “What should we do, what should we do - she arrived alive, how to take her back dead?” - they said. But one old man spoke from the fellow villagers of Himsad and said this:
-Where should we take her from here? Her relatives, grandfather and grandmother are buried here. Go and tell the prince: if he wants to come, you are welcome, no, we will bury him ourselves.
The prince came to the funeral and took part in it. She was placed next to Tatlyustenko. Two trees grew - one each on the graves. No one knows whether they were planted by someone or grew on their own, but they say that at the level where an outstretched hand can reach, the tree trunks converged and merged together.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru