Once upon a time there lived a hunter. One day he shot a roe deer and dragged it into his hut. There he hung the prey on a branch, tore off the skin, took out the liver and began to roast it on a spit. Suddenly the branch on which the roe deer carcass hung shook, the carcass fell on a spit, grabbed the liver, ran to its skin, which was lying near the tree, wrapped itself in it and ran away.
The hunter was amazed and began to shout in a voice that was not his own,
Then the roe deer stopped and said to him:
“You would be even more amazed if you knew what happened to Akhi-Zourym.”
The shepherd thought, became sad and went to look for Akhi-Zourym. Walked for a long time. One day he sees a man driving a donkey and a female donkey harnessed to a harrow across a rocky, barren field. He greeted the stranger and asked if he knew where Akhi-Zourym lived.
- Go straight. There is a house behind the river, and Akhi-Zourym lives there,” answered the plowman.
A traveler went across the river, found a house, and asked!
– Does Akhi-Zourym live here?
“Here, but he’s not at home,” they answer him, “Where is he?”
- He's resting.
The hunter began to wait for him. In the evening the same man who harrowed the field comes to the house. This was Akhim-Zourym.
Ahi-Zourym asks the traveler why he came to him. He told about the story of the roe deer. Ahi-Zourym tells him!
- Well, it's nothing. Listen to what happened to me.
My wife took a lover and, in order to get rid of me, they turned me into a dog. I wandered off wherever my eyes led me. I met a shepherd with his flock and approached him. The shepherd mistook me for a wolf and wanted to kill me, but after examining me, he saw that I was a dog and left me with the herd. So I began to guard the herd. In the evening I went to fetch the shepherd to his house; entered the house and lay down by the fireplace. They threw me leftovers, but I didn’t touch them. People were surprised and gave me a bowl of mamalyga, and I ate it with pleasure.
At night, wolves attacked the herd, killed one kid and scattered the entire herd. I set off after the wolves, caught up with them, strangled four of them, laid them down nearby, and gathered the herd and began to guard. In the morning, the shepherds came, saw the slain wolves, were delighted, and from then on began to value me.
The local prince's wife was about to give birth. He was very worried because every time the same misfortune befell them: as soon as the wife gives birth, the child disappears. The prince heard about the extraordinary dog and began to give the shepherds a lot of money for me. But the shepherds did not want to part with such a reliable dog forever and agreed to give it up to the prince only for a while. They took me to the prince’s house and left me in the courtyard. That night the princess gave birth. I see some woman carrying a child. I rushed at her. She got scared, gave me the child and begged me not to destroy her, promising in return to give me a root that would return me to a human form, and a whip that could be used to turn people into animals, and animals into people.
I took this root, took the whip, released the woman and took on my former human form. In the morning the prince found out what had happened, was very happy about the child’s salvation, gave me a new dress and offered me money as a reward, but I refused.
Immediately I returned home, hit my wife with a whip, turned her into a donkey, and my lover into a donkey, and now I harness them to the harrow and drive them across the rocky field. This is my relaxation and entertainment.
This is how Akhi-Zourym ended his story.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru