There lived in one village a poor little man named Kuizhiy. He had neither family nor food. One evening he walked around the village for a long time, but no one fed him. He returned home hungry. At home he did not find anything edible. He was very hungry, and he went out to see if anyone had a light on. “If someone’s light is on, I’ll go and ask for food,” he decided. Looking around, Kuizhiy noticed that in one house the window was still glowing. He went there - it turned out that the girls were having a get-together there. He did not dare enter the house, but stood under the awning and listened to what those gathered were talking about. And they talked about who wants to marry whom. Each girl said what kind of husband she would like, and only two - those who organized the gatherings - remained silent. Those gathered were then offended and began to insist that they also say who they were dreaming of, otherwise everyone would go home.
“Well, if you can’t help but say so, let’s say, sit down,” said the eldest. “I’ve never seen Fizhymyko Narych, but I’ve heard a lot about him. If he became my husband, I would be a worthy wife for him.
“I haven’t seen Narychyko Shore either, I’ve only heard about him. If he became my husband, I would be a worthy wife for him.
As soon as she uttered these words, Kuizhiy entered the house. The girl was embarrassed:
“That’s why I didn’t want to say the name of the person I wanted to marry.”
“I am a poor man, I have neither a horse, nor weapons, nor clothes, otherwise I would test the courage of those you talked about here, I would give you the opportunity to see them,” said Kuizhiy.
“Are you sure that you can go there if you have a horse, weapons, and clothes?” – asked the eldest.
“I’m sure,” Kuizhiy answered.
The girls boiled a pot of water. They poured water for Kuizhiy to wash himself, then prepared travel provisions for him. In the morning they gave him a good horse, clothes and weapons.
“I’ll be alive, I’ll bring you swag about your suitors,” said Kuizhiy. With these words he mounted his horse and rode away.
Kuizhiy rode for a long time. He crossed the borders of his region long ago; he ran out of food supplies. But he continued on his way, didn’t go anywhere, didn’t stop anywhere. Finally, he decided to rest and drove into one yard.
The owner greeted him warmly and did everything that was required according to custom. In the morning Kuizhiy got ready to ride on, and the owner ordered his horse to be saddled. When Kuizhiy approached the horse and had already raised his foot in the stirrup, the owner’s son approached him:
- Our guest, I don’t dare say this, but I want to ask you - take me with you, I’ll be your hagrey.
“Very good, let’s go with me,” Kuizhiy said and returned to the house.
The guy quickly got ready for the road and saddled his horse. He had rich equipment, much better than Kuizhia. Before setting off, the guy said:
“You are a poor man, and I am a tfokotl.” Maybe you don't like it and won't take me with you?
“This comes in handy for me,” Kuizhiy answered. “I’m poor, I grew up without a father and without a mother, and no one even knows my name - everyone just calls me Kuizhiy - “little bald-headed man.” Now I’m going to find two horsemen - Fizhymyko Narych and Narychyko Shhore - and test their courage.
They mounted their horses and set off. And they don’t know where to go. They began to ask those whom they met on the way, and so they reached the region where the horsemen lived. We arrived in the village, found out where Fizhymyko Narych and Narychyko Shore lived, and drove into their yard.
They dismounted, tied their horses to the hitching post, looked around - no one came out to meet them, and they themselves went into the kunatskaya. They sat down, began to talk, and were surprised that no one came to their kunatskaya, although, according to custom, the owner should be with the guest.
Soon they saw two horsemen ride into the yard and dismount. A girl, the sister of the mistress of the house, came out of the large house where the old people lived and approached the newcomers.
– You have guests, they are sitting in the kunatskaya. Go to them, meet them kindly, they have come to us from a distant land.
The horsemen entered the house and greeted the guests. Then they brought ane with a treat to the kunatskaya. After dinner, beds were prepared for the guests.
At this time, the guasha - the mistress of the house - ordered to call the eldest of the guests. Kuizhiy went to her.
– Our guest, I submit myself under your protection - help us in one difficult matter.
– If it is in our power, we will not refuse to help and will not be lazy.
“Then I’ll tell you what our business is.” Have you seen the horsemen who arrived recently? These are my brothers - the elder and the younger. Less than a month had passed since my younger brother got married, and the foreigners kidnapped his wife and our mother. Not a single person from our region could get to the places where the foreigners live. They eat all their supplies, then their horses, and return back.
“We will free your women,” said Kuizhiy.
“Don’t rush to leave,” said the guasha. - Rest tonight, tomorrow you will choose the best alps from our herd - your horses are not good - and then you will go.
Kuizhiy went with his hagrey and brought two alps. Guasha looked at the horses and gave the horsemen one last piece of advice:
- Now you have good horses, hit the road. It will take a long time to travel, your food supplies will soon run out. “Our guest, let’s eat your horse,” your companions will say. At this time you will be at the reed thickets, where there is a herd of bison. You catch one bison and feed the hagrey. When the meat is almost ready, a man will come out of the reeds and ask to feed him. Without saying a word, give him some meat, and if he attacks you, show courage. You have a difficult task ahead - my brothers can’t get past this place. But may good luck accompany you!
In the morning, Kuizhiy and his hagrey saddled their horses and set off. The Guasha brothers also went with them. They traveled for a long time, they ran out of all their supplies.
- Our guest, let's eat your horse! – his companions suggested to Kuizhiu.
At this time, Kuizhiy was passing through a thicket of reeds, where there was a herd of bison. Kuizhiy caught one bison, skinned it and set the meat to cook. When the meat was almost ready, a man came up from the reeds and asked to feed him.
Kuizhiy took out a huge piece of meat, the stranger ate it and said:
“This is too small a piece, I’m not full,” and he began to snatch pieces of meat from the cauldron.
Then Kuizhiy grabbed him and tied him hand and foot. He then fed his companions and stored up the remaining meat to take with him. After that, he untied the stranger and let him go.
Again Kuizhiy and his companions set off on their journey. As they drove along they saw the other woman's house. The Guasha brothers stopped.
“We won’t go further,” they said.
“Stay here,” Kuizhiy agreed, “and we’ll go further and find out what kind of swag there is.”
Kuizhiy and Khagray drove up to the fence of the inyzhey’s house. Then Kuizhiy gave his horse to Khagray, stood on the horse’s back, jumped over the fence and found himself face to face with the foreigner.
– Why did you come, our guest? - asked Inizh Kuizhia.
“For those women you kidnapped,” Kuizhiy answered. “If I hit you, I’ll kill you right there.” If you don't think about giving me women, get ready for a fight.
“Why should we fight and kill each other, I will fulfill your demand,” said the foreigner.
“Then swear that you will take the women out and give them to those to whom they belong,” said Kuizhiy.
Inyzh swore to keep his word, and Kuizhiy left the yard. Inyzh brought the women out and gave them to Fizhymyko Narych and Narychyko Shore.
We set off on the way back: husbands and wives and an old mother were riding in front, Kuizhiy and Khagrey were behind. We had already driven a long way when we heard a horse stomping behind us. We looked around and saw some kind of horseman. He was approaching quickly.
“We’ll put him in the middle, as is customary, and if he turns out to be an enemy, we’ll hit him from both sides,” Kuizhiy decided with the hagrey.
Then the horseman rode up very close, and Kuizhiy recognized him as the foreigner who had kidnapped the women.
- Have a nice trip!
– May your journey be happy too, come with us.
– Are you taking women away?
- We're taking it away.
- And I won’t let you take them away. I swore to give up the women, and I gave them up, but I didn’t promise to let you take them away and I won’t.
And he wanted to take the women away, but Kuizhiy and Khagray flew at him from both sides and killed him. Inyzha's horse broke free and ran away. Khagray galloped after him and overtook him when the horse was about to jump over the fence. Then Khagray struck him with his sword and cut him in half. Half of the horse fell into the yard. The old man standing in the yard took this half and threw it into the stable. Then he saw a hagrey.
“Well done, you acted as a man should,” he praised him.
Khagray caught up with Kuizhiy and told him everything that happened.
“Now he will chase us,” said Kuizhiy. – We need to quickly get to the fork in the road. When the old man drives up to us, we’ll put him in the middle, and we’ll say to each other: “You’ll go here, and I’ll go there,” and we’ll start going in different directions. When he chases one of us, the other one will hit him from behind. When he turns to the one who is striking, the other one will begin to hit him. This is the only way to kill the old man, otherwise we will not defeat him.
Suddenly Kuizhiy looked back and saw on the road as if a cloud was approaching. It was an old man with a pipe in his mouth. His pipe was the size of a barrel, and the pouch was a rolled up horse hide. Having caught up with Kuizhiy, Inyzh said:
– May your journey be happy!
– We wish you good luck too! - Kuizhiy answered. They placed him in the middle, and Kuizhiy said to Khagray: “You will go there, and I will go here.” And they began to disperse in different directions. Then Inyzh chased the young man, and Kuizhiy chased him and inflicted a wound on him. Now Inyzh chased after Kuizhiy. Then the hagrey turned around and hit the inyzha with all his might. So they beat him until he fell off his horse.
“I killed myself,” he said before his death. “I could have killed you right away, but I wanted to capture you alive.”
Having finished with the Inyzh, Kuizhiy and Khagray began to catch up with their companions. When they caught up with them, they saw that the women were not with them. The brothers explained that some horsemen had taken their women away from them and showed which way they had gone.
Kuizhiy quickly caught up with the kidnappers, took the women from them and returned them to their brothers a second time. And he himself, together with Khagray, returned to the house of the foreigners to take their wealth.
Fizhimyko Narych and Narychyko Shhore returned home, and the whole village congratulated them. They gave them a big joke. Guasha began to worry why Kuizhiy and his hagrey were not there. When she asked her brothers where they were, they replied that they had not seen and knew nothing about them.
Kuizhiy and his khagrey took all the wealth of the inyzhi and went to the aul of Narych and Shhore, but did not go there. Having learned about their arrival, Guasha sent an envoy with a request to wait for her a little.
Soon she approached Kuizhiy and his companion and said:
– Thank you for your labors and trials. I want to ask you this. If you don't mind, take me as your wife.
“If you like me, I agree to marry you,” said Kuizhiy, took the gouache with him and went home.
They went to the village of Khagrey, arranged a jam there, and rested for fifteen days. Kuizhiy got ready to set off, and the young man gave many accompanying people and himself went to see Kuizhiy off.
Arriving in his village, Kuizhiy went straight to the girls who sent him. He told what happened to him and ended his story with the words:
“The two you wanted to marry are unworthy of you.” Therefore, I would advise both of you to marry my hagrey. He is a very worthy young man, and not yet married.
- How can we not listen to you? If we didn't take you into account, we wouldn't send you there. “We agree to marry your Khagrey,” the girls answered.
Kuizhiy told the young man about his proposal and the girls’ consent. The young man also agreed.
The young man took those girls as wives. Kuizhiy organized a seven-day jega in honor of his friend.
From that time on, they became great friends, went to visit each other, fought enemies together and lived without recognizing either the psha or the khans.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru