Once upon a time there lived a khan. He had three sons: the eldest was called Aslanbek, the middle one was Hasan, and the youngest was Temirbek. Khan was a very rich man; He had a lot of land and all kinds of treasures, but most of all he was proud of his herd of wonderful horses; The best pasture was allocated for them, and the guard was entrusted to the most trusted, proven honest person, a Kalmyk. Khan was a decrepit and weak old man, and when he fell ill, he was sure that this illness would be fatal for him and that it was time for him to take care of the fate of his sons. The Khan called the Kalmyk to him and, as his most faithful and devoted servant, expressed his last will:
“I feel,” said the khan, “that the hour of my death is approaching, and so I called you to tell you my last will, and you swear that you will do everything as I say.” My sons are still very small and will not be able to rule the khanate and protect my wealth acquired over many years; Therefore, I appoint you as the guardian of my entire fortune until the time when my sons grow up and can take control of the khanate. Of all that I leave to my children, you know, the most precious to me is a herd of horses: it is my pride and glory, and you will treasure it like the apple of your eye. I have many enemies and envious people who can take advantage of my death and drive away the entire herd, and in order to prevent this from happening... elk, I command you: on the day when I breathe my last breath, you will immediately drive the herd from my possessions to a place where no one will find it until my sons come of age. Now give me your word that you will do all this exactly.
“Be at peace, khan,” answered the Kalmyk, “your will is sacred to me, and your sons, when they grow up, will receive from my hands all your wealth safe and sound.”
“Okay, I believe you,” said the khan, “and I will die calmly; now leave me alone.
After the Kalmyk left, the khan called his wife to him and told her:
“I feel death approaching and have already made arrangements for everything.” Now I am not at all worried about the fate of you and your children: you will be under the protection of a faithful person. But I have one more treasure, which I did not dare to entrust even to the guardian of my sons. Listen to me: you have been a faithful and loving wife to me and a good mother to my children, and I entrust you with guarding the treasure that is most dear to me; On the day of my death, you must take those nine horses that I keep in a special stable with your own hands, secretly from others, to my underground premises* and then you yourself will take care of these horses.
Khansha tearfully promised to fulfill the will of the dying khan.
A few days after this, the khan died, and on the same day the khansha and the Kalmyk carried out the will of the deceased. By this time, the khan’s eldest son, Aslanbek, was seven years old, the middle one, Khasai, was five years old, and the youngest, Temirbek, was three years old. Living under the faithful protection of devoted servants and mentored by a loving mother, the boys did not need anything, grew up in contentment and luxury, developing and strengthening their strength in freedom. Ten years passed like this.
One day, the Khan’s children were playing alchiki with their comrades, and the eldest, Aslanbek, lost all the alchiki. This loss annoyed him so much that he rushed to take away the money from the winner of the swap, striking him. Then the offended boy shouted to him:
“Rather than beat me and take away what belongs to me, it would be better if you went to look for the herd of horses that you got after the death of the khan and was taken away by the Kalmyk!”* Having heard these words, the khan’s children ran to their mother and began to ask her to tell them where the herd of horses was and how to get there.
Khansha replied that she herself did not know, since the deceased khan had not even revealed his secret to her, and that they should wait patiently until the guardian himself brought the herd of horses entrusted to him to guard. But in response to all the mother’s assurances, the sons kept repeating one thing: that they would go look for horses at any cost. Seeing that her sons could not be over-stubborn, the khansha finally agreed to let them go and began to prepare provisions for them on the road, and since there were no other horses for the upcoming journey except the nine treasured ones hidden in the underground stable, she ordered her sons to take them out.
When everything was ready and the horses were brought out, the sons loaded them with travel supplies; They were placed on six horses, and on three, the most beautiful, the brothers themselves mounted and, saying goodbye to their mother, set off.
The brothers rode for a long time and still did not find any traces of their herd. Finally, all their supplies ran out, but their energy did not dry out, and they decided to eat spare horses; soon these horses, one by one, were killed and eaten, and the trace was still not found. And then, finally, the day came when they had nothing more to eat and they themselves felt mortally exhausted from fatigue; they dismounted, lay down to rest and began to consult what to do; After much debate, the brothers decided to continue their search, and in order not to die of hunger, to sacrifice their riding horses: the younger brother Temirbek was to be the first to lose his horse.
The place where they rested was not far from a dense, tall forest, and when the brothers were about to slaughter a horse, their attention was attracted by a stream of smoke stretching over the forest. The brothers were happy: the smoke showed them that there was housing in the forest where they could get food and ask about the herd.
Forgetting the pangs of hunger, the young men quickly jumped on their horses and rushed to the forest. But what was their disappointment when, having approached the forest, they realized the impossibility of further travel: impenetrable thorny bushes grew at the edge of the forest. No matter how the brothers rode around it, no matter which direction they directed their horses, the bush stood everywhere with the same prickly bristles and was impassable everywhere. Then the brothers decided to cut through the bushes and lay the trail again so that no one else would follow this path. And so the eldest, Aslanbek, went ahead and cut through the bushes, and the middle and youngest laid the path with cut branches. Finally, exhausted, bloodied, and hungry, they drove into the forest itself and soon saw a small hut, from the chimney of which smoke curled in a thin stream. Having arrived at the dwelling itself, the brothers jumped off their horses and entered the hut; there was no one in it, but everything was clean and tidy, and fresh foal meat lay near the fireplace. The brothers, without hesitation, put the finished meat on the hot coals and soon satisfied their hunger. Before they had finished eating, the door opened and an old man appeared on the threshold, so overgrown with hair that the brothers could not see his face.
-Who are you and what do you want here? – the old man asked them in a dissatisfied voice.
“Don’t be angry with us, good man, we will now tell you how we got into your hut,” the brothers answered respectfully and began to tell him about who they were, where they came from and where they were going. Hearing their story, the old man, with tears of joy, began to hug and kiss the young men and announced to them that he was the same Kalmyk to whom the deceased khan had entrusted a herd of horses, and that if he had not yet returned the bequeathed wealth, it was because, in his opinion, the time had not yet come.
The eldest of the brothers, Aslanbek, began to ask the old man to show him the herd of horses now. Kalmyk began to make excuses and beg the young man not to insist on his desire:
“You are still very young,” the old man remarked, “and where a strong, experienced person is needed for military feats, you cannot cope and may die, and I must protect the sons of the khan.”
But Aslanbek was adamant in his desire and eventually convinced the old man.
- Well, okay: if this is your absolute desire and all my arguments do not work on you, go; but just remember that your only protection will be your courage and fearlessness. Get on your horse and head east; on the way you will meet a clearing; there is a hill in this clearing; guide your horse straight to this hill and there take the bridle off the horse and shake it; the mare will immediately appear, and as soon as nine o'clock is completed, she will foal, and at the same hour a mighty dragon will fly in to devour the foal; don't touch the dragon; when he rushes off after eating, get on the mare and ride on, and leave your horse on the hill. Soon you will come to another clearing, where a herd of your father's horses is grazing. At twelve o'clock at night, a hundred warriors will arrive there, take part of the herd and take it with them. Do not touch the warriors and do not be afraid for the fate of the herd - there will be no damage. After that, take one small foal from the herd and go back; on the hill you will mount your horse and come to the hut; Until we wake up, you must prepare breakfast for all of us from the brought foal, but remember that you must do this before sunrise. I told you everything. Now, if you're not afraid, go.
Aslanbek immediately mounted his horse and set off. By sunset he was already driving into a clearing and saw a hill on it. Remembering the old man’s advice, Aslanbek took the bridle off his horse on the hill, shook it, and a beautiful mare appeared in front of him. When night fell, the mare foaled. Immediately a monstrous dragon flew in; he quickly attacked the foal and instantly devoured it; Having satisfied his hunger, the dragon rushed off. Then the young man mounted the mare and rode on; soon a new clearing opened before his eyes, on which a countless number of beautiful thoroughbred horses grazed - this was the famous herd of the deceased khan. Exactly at midnight, a hundred warrior-riders rode into the clearing; they scattered among the herd and began to select horses; Having collected a sufficient number, the warriors quickly disappeared from sight. Then Aslanbek, having chosen one small foal for himself, rode back, mounted his horse on the hill and at dawn was already in the hut where everyone was still sleeping. He hastily slaughtered the foal, skinned it, and began to cook breakfast over hot coals for his brothers and the old man. When everything was ready, Aslanbek woke them up. At the sight of the healthy and unharmed young man, the old man joyfully exclaimed:
- Well done! You obediently carried out my orders, and I rejoice for you.
Before evening, the middle brother, Ha-san, began to ask the old man to go to the herd; The old man also tried to persuade him not to go, but no amount of persuasion could convince the young man, and the Kalmyk had to let him go, giving him the same advice that he gave to his older brother, Aslanbek.
Hasan's trip ended happily, as did his brother's; only the mare that came to him was incomparably worse than the one that came to Aslanbek. By sunrise Hassan returned safe and sound, with a small foal for breakfast. After everyone had had their fill, the khan’s youngest son, thirteen-year-old Temirbek, began pestering the old man with requests to let him go into the herd. At first the old man did not even listen to the boy, calling his requests the whim of a child. Temirbek was offended and began to prove to the Kalmyk that he was no longer a child, but could compete with his brothers in strength and dexterity. And indeed, Temirbek, despite his young age, was almost taller than his brothers, and far surpassed them in the beauty of his face, dexterity and strength. Temirbek had to persuade the old man for a long time, and finally he wrested his consent and began to impatiently prepare to leave. The old Kalmyk repeated to him everything that he had told his brothers before, and with great displeasure and fear he let the young man go.
Temirbek set off cheerfully and cheerfully and unnoticed covered the distance that separated him from the clearing. Having ridden up the hill, he shook the bridle he had taken from his horse, and at the same moment a mare appeared before him, but so inconspicuous that it was even disgusting to look at her. After sunset the mare foaled; as before, the winged dragon immediately flew in and rushed to the foal, but at that moment, when the monster opened its huge mouth to devour it, Temirbek pulled out his sword from its sheath and struck the dragon to death with a well-aimed blow. Then he mounted the mare and rode on. Soon he arrived at another clearing, where a herd of his late father's horses was grazing. Exactly at midnight, a hundred warriors quickly rode into the clearing and, scattering among the herd, began to select horses. Seeing this, Temirbek menacingly shouted to them: “Don’t you dare touch what doesn’t belong to you!” - and began to cut off the heads of the warriors with a sword. He tied the severed heads of the warriors to the saddles of their horses, and the horses sped away.
Having accomplished this feat, Temirbek chose a small foal from the herd and set off on the way back. Arriving at the hut and going inside to start preparing breakfast, he saw that the coals on the fireplace were filled with water. Temirbek’s brothers did this with malicious intent so that the younger brother would not be able to fully carry out the order of the old Kalmyk.
Seeing the extinguished fireplace and not being able to light the fire again, the young man, without hesitation, mounted his horse again and quickly rushed into the depths of the forest in the hope of finding a fire somewhere. Driving through a dense forest, Temirbek suddenly saw two people fighting, one of whom was completely black, and the other white; These unprecedented wrestlers interested the young man, and he, driving closer, asked them:
– What kind of people are you and why are you quarreling?
“We are Day and Night,” answered the fighters. “Whichever of us wins will appear on earth.”
Temirbek remembered that he needed to get fire before sunrise, that is, before daylight, as the old man ordered, and so, without hesitation, he quickly jumped off his horse, and before Day and Night came to their senses, they were already tied up and lying in the bushes.
“Well, lie here quietly,” Temirbek shouted to them, “until I return; then I will free you and you can continue the fight again. - Having said this, the young man jumped on his horse and, spurring it, rushed on. After some time, he saw in the distance streams of smoke coming out of the thicket of the forest; Having directed his horse in that direction, Temirbek soon rode out into a large clearing surrounded by centuries-old trees. A huge fire was lit in the middle of the clearing, and twelve giants slept around the fire.
Temirbek quickly dismounted from his horse and began crawling to make his way between the sleeping heroes to the fire; Taking one burning log, he carefully began to make his way back, but the burnt log broke off at the end, and part of the coals fell on one of the sleepers. The awakened giant grabbed Temirbek with a scream; then the rest of the heroes jumped up and surrounded the young man. Temirbek was not taken aback and began to assure the heroes that he had come here without any malicious intent, that he needed to get fire, and began to beg them to let him go and allow him to take the burning log with him. Having heard his request, the giants replied:
“We will not harm you and will even give you fire, but not before you fulfill our orders: first of all, feed us - we are hungry.” Go behind these trees, there you will find a bull tied up, slaughter it, skin it, gut it, separate part of the meat for stew, and divide the rest into twelve equal parts, according to the number of us; roast the meat on the coals, and when we have satisfied our hunger, then you will listen to another order.
Temirbek immediately began to carry out the orders of the giants. The thing caught fire in the hands of the young man, and soon the stew was boiling in the cauldron, and the meat cut into pieces was roasting on the coals. When everything was ready, Temirbek called the giants to have breakfast. Having counted the pieces of meat, the giants shouted to the young man:
- Yes, apparently you don’t even know how to count! There are twelve of us here, and you cut thirteen pieces!
“What do you think,” Temirbek objected to them, “am I not a man and don’t want to eat, just like you?”
The giants liked such a bold answer, and they allowed the young man to sit at the table with them. When they began to eat meat, Temirbek, unnoticed by the giants, threw pieces from his portion over his shoulder to the side, and when all the meat was thrown away, he began to take pieces from the giants’ portions; they were silently surprised at the young man’s extraordinary appetite. After the meat, they started on the stew, which was also poured into separate vessels - equally for everyone. Temirbek also used a trick with the stew: he quietly poured it onto the ground and, when there was nothing else left in his dishes, he began to eat the stew from the giants. They were amazed at the young man’s gluttony and thought to themselves that he probably had extraordinary strength*.
After breakfast, the giants ordered Temirbek to listen to a new order:
“We are quite pleased with you for now,” they said, “but we will be even more pleased if you also successfully carry out our second command: you must make your way into the neighboring khanate bordering this forest, enter the palace and kidnap for us the youngest daughter of the khan, who has one half of her hair silver and the other half gold, and who is not more beautiful in the world.” And so, when you bring the silver-haired beauty to us, then we will let you go and give you as much fire as you want. Now go!
“Okay,” said Temirbek, “I’ll go, but not otherwise than with you; only you walk behind me; when I enter the palace and whistle, you come in to me one by one.
The giants agreed, and everyone set off. Coming out of the forest, they had to cut through thorny bushes, which the giants did without any difficulty. Soon Temirbek reached the possessions of the khan; The luxurious palace was surrounded by a carved fence with cast-iron gates.
- Well, now wait for me to whistle and go one by one! - the young man shouted to the giants and entered the gate. Entering the courtyard, Temirbek hid behind the fence, pulled out his sword and whistled shrilly. As soon as the first giant entered the courtyard, the young man cut off his head with a quick blow of his sword, without giving him the opportunity to even scream; He did the same with the other eleven heroes.
When all the giants were killed, Temirbek took their severed heads and put them on fence stakes, and he himself went to the palace and began to look for the room of the silver-haired beauty. He wandered for a long time through the huge labyrinth of the khan’s chambers until he reached the bedroom of the khan’s daughters. Entering the bedchamber, Temirbek involuntarily stopped, amazed at what appeared to his gaze: on a luxurious bed, under a high purple canopy, lay three beauties, immersed in deep sleep; the youngest of them, the silver-haired daughter of the khan, lying to the right of her older sister, amazed with her extraordinary beauty and wondrous hair, curling in silver and golden curls over her shoulders. Temirbek, holding his breath, admired the captivating beauty, when suddenly his attention was attracted by some terrible noise and whistle, which was getting closer and becoming more deafening and menacing; one more moment - and a monstrous dragon of enormous size quickly flew into the open window of the bedchamber and rushed to the sleeping girls to suck their blood, which he did every morning before sunrise.
Temirbek grabbed his sword from its sheath and with a mighty blow cut the winged monster in half*. After this, the brave young man approached the sleeping beauties and changed their places: the middle daughter of the khan, who was lying on the left side of the elder sister, was placed on the right, and the youngest, silver-haired beauty, was placed in the place of the middle one; then he took the precious ring from his younger sister’s hand, put it on his little finger, quickly left the palace and walked along the familiar path into the forest. Having crossed the edge of the forest where it had been cut by the giants, Temirbek carefully covered the path with thorny bushes and returned to the place where the fire was. There he took a large burning log, jumped on his horse and rushed back to the Kalmyk's hut. Driving past the place where Day and Night were fighting, he untied them, and they began to fight again.
While Day overcame Night, Temirbek managed to return to the hut, light a fire in the hearth, skin the slaughtered foal and fry the meat. At the first rays of the rising sun, everyone was already sitting at breakfast, and the amazed brothers could not guess where Temirbek was able to get fire for the extinguished hearth.
The old Kalmyk man admired the blooming appearance of the brave young man with love and pride and began to ask him about the night trip; but Temirbek did not say a word about his adventures and, citing fatigue, went to bed.
While Temirbek was treating his brothers to breakfast, in the khan's palace, where the silver-haired beauty lived, the khan woke up before everyone else and hastily went to the bedchamber of his daughters, thinking with horror that he, like every morning, would again see his daughters pale and half-dead from the loss of blood sucked by the winged dragon. Imagine the amazement and joy of the khan when, upon crossing the threshold of the bedchamber, he first of all saw the severed torso of a terrible monster floating in blood, and on the bed - his three daughters, immersed in a sound, healthy sleep! At the same time, the khan noticed that his two youngest daughters were not in their places, and the treasured ring of the youngest beauty had disappeared from her hand.
Great was the joy of the khan and all his entourage. - Great is the mercy of Allah! - the khan said to his entourage. “But I must, at all costs, find the person who saved my daughters from daily torment, and thank him as he deserves.”
And so the old khan decided to throw a big feast, to which he called everyone in the area, and to the daredevil who had the ring of his youngest daughter on his finger and who would tell in detail about his fight with the dragon, the khan promised to give any of his daughters as a wife, separating half of the khanate as a dowry. Khan's messengers were sent in all directions with an invitation to a big feast, and many daredevils came to the Khan's palace; Only Temirbek did not come to this feast: the messengers sent did not know that people lived in the forest, and, seeing that the forest was surrounded by thorny bushes, they did not dare to penetrate the thicket. The guests gathered for the feast ate, drank, and had fun; Only the khan's heart was not happy - among the guests he did not find the one who had saved his daughters from the terrible dragon.
The old khan became sad and, to relieve his grief, went hunting. For many days he scoured, surrounded by his entourage, through fields and ravines, chasing animals; By chance he drove up to the edge of the forest where Temirbek lived with his brothers. The dense forest interested the khan very much, and the thorny bushes, which did not let anyone through, further aroused the old man’s curiosity, and he ordered the servants to cut a path along which he drove into the forest. The khan drove for a long time between the centuries-old trees until he accidentally came across a Kalmyk hut hidden in the greenery.
“Who could live here, in such a wild slum?” - thought the khan and, jumping off his horse, boldly entered the hut. The brothers warmly welcomed the khan, treated him to the meat of a young foal and quenched his thirst with fresh kumis. Having rested and strengthened his strength with food, the khan began to ask the brothers who they were, what their names were and why they lived in such a wilderness where no living creature could penetrate. The brothers did not answer the khan’s questions, and only the youngest, Temirbek, answered his questions with the same question:
“Reverend old man, would you like me to tell you an interesting tale?”
- Why, young man? “I will listen to you with pleasure,” said the khan, admiring Temir-bek with undisguised pleasure.
And so Temirbek began to talk about his exploits, attributing them to the fictional hero of the fairy tale. The khan, Aslanbek, Hassan and the Kalmyk listened to Temir-bek's story with great interest, but when in the fairy tale the young man came to his feat in the palace and the theft of the ring from the hand of the beauty, the khan involuntarily looked at Temirbek's hands and, seeing his daughter's ring on his little finger, could not stand it and joyfully exclaimed:
- But who saved my daughters from the terrible dragon! – And he warmly pressed the young man to his chest.
After this, Temirbek admitted that the hero of the fairy tale was really him and all the exploits he talked about were not fiction, but the truth.
“In that case, you will be the desired husband of any of my daughters and my beloved son-in-law!” – the khan said cheerfully. “Now everyone get ready to go, take with you a herd of your late father’s horses and let’s go to me.” I will marry you all to my daughters. Along the way, you will show me, brave Temirbek, all the places in the forest where all this happened to you.
Aslanbek and Hassan also expressed a desire to personally verify the story of their younger brother, whom they began to secretly envy.
Driving through the forest, Temirbek stopped his horse in those places where he performed feats, and again told the khan and his brothers about them. Passing a clearing where a herd of horses was grazing, the brothers and the Kalmyk collected the entire herd and drove it along the road to the khan’s possessions. Soon everyone arrived at the Khan's palace, and the wedding of all three brothers was announced. The eldest, Aslanbek, married the eldest daughter of the khan, the middle one, Hasan, married the middle one, and the youngest, Temirbek, married the youngest beauty with silver and gold hair and received as a dowry, according to the khan’s promise, half of the khanate, which the magnanimous Temirbek shared brotherly with Aslanbek and Hasan. The weddings of all three of the khan's daughters were celebrated magnificently, and for many days there were continuous feasts and all kinds of entertainment.
But finally the day came when the brothers wanted to return to their native shelter, to their khanate, where their old mother was waiting for them. And so they expressed their desire to their father-in-law; Although it was hard for the old man to part with his beloved daughters, he still did not interfere.
After much preparation, the khan’s daughters with their husbands and wealth finally set off: a herd of horses was driving ahead, and behind them rode brothers and their wives, surrounded by numerous servants looking after the horses loaded with various goods; Among the travelers there was only one old Kalmyk missing - the khan left him with him to share his loneliness with him.
The travelers had to travel through completely unfamiliar terrain, but Temirbek had heard before that somewhere nearby there should be a petrified kingdom of a formidable giant, and just in case he began to warn his brothers and all the riders that if they came across a well on the way, no one would drink water from it, no matter how thirsty they were, otherwise they would all get into big trouble. Having warned everyone, Temirbek stopped, let the whole train go ahead, and he himself rode behind to keep an eye on the servants.
No matter how long or short the brothers rode, they all began to be tormented by terrible thirst. The water taken for the journey had long since been all drunk, and the scorching rays of the sun, falling like hot needles on the heads of people and animals, caused them even greater suffering. All around was bare desert; everywhere, wherever the eye penetrated, there was not a tree, not a bush, not a drop of water; Exhausted horses were barely walking and people were sitting helplessly in their saddles... Suddenly in the distance they noticed something similar to a well...
Gathering the rest of their strength, the riders drove their horses in the direction where they saw a well, and, indeed, they soon arrived at a beautifully constructed well, around which strange-looking stones reminiscent of sculptures of people and animals were scattered over a vast area.
The brothers, as well as their servants, did not pay attention to anything, and everyone quickly rushed to the well and with pleasure began to quench their thirst with beautiful, cold, crystal-clear water, then they began to water the horses. Only Temirbek did not drink water and, due to the distance, could not dissuade his brothers and servants from their crazy act.
As soon as all the people and animals drank from the wonderful well, a terrible, formidable giant suddenly appeared to them with a whip in his hands and began to strike right and left, and everyone on whom the blow of the whip fell instantly turned into stones, similar in appearance to those that were scattered here before, and soon not a single person or horse was left alive. Arriving at the well, Temirbek exclaimed with grief:
- Unhappy ones! They didn't listen to my advice and they all died!
Examining the petrified animals and people, he did not find only his beautiful wife. “It’s true that the giant was captivated by her beauty and took her for himself,” Temirbek thought with despair and immediately went at random to look for the habitat of the formidable giant. He rode for a long time among the rocks and heaped stones until he saw a palace in the distance; Having guessed that this was probably the giant’s dwelling, the fearless Temirbek drove his horse to the palace, hurrying to quickly find out what had become of his beloved wife.
Entering the huge rooms of the palace, Temirbek was surprised by the silence that reigned in them. He wandered for a long time, looking for his wife, and was amazed at the increasingly luxurious decoration of the chambers, not meeting a single living creature anywhere. Finally, opening the doors of one of the chambers, he saw his wife. The silver-haired beauty sat with her head bowed, and hot tears streamed down her beautiful face. Great was the joy of Temirbek and his wife.
“Tell me,” he turned to his wife, “where the giant is and what I can do to save people and animals.”
“My tormentor is sleeping now,” answered the beauty, “and we need to take advantage of this time.” I will now bring his magic whip, and with the blow of this whip you will turn the giant to stone, and then I will teach you what to do next.
With these words, Temirbek’s wife disappeared into one of the chambers and soon returned, holding a magic whip in her hand.
“Now follow me to the giant’s bedchamber,” she said to Temirbek, “and hit him only once - he will turn to stone, like your brothers.”
And indeed, before Temirbek had time to lower the whip on the body of the sleeping giant, he instantly turned into a lifeless stone.
– Well, that’s great, the main evil has been destroyed! – the beauty exclaimed joyfully. “And now I will teach you how to revive your brothers, my sisters, their servants and all animals.” The power of this whip is that if one blow is struck, the victim turns into stone, and if this stone is struck three times again, the person or animal comes to life; The giant did the same to me: I, too, drank water from the well, and he turned me to stone, but, seduced by my beauty, he revived me with three blows and then he himself gave me the mysterious power of the whip.
- Let's go quickly! – Temirbek exclaimed, burning with impatience.
And so, acting on the instructions of his wife, he revived all the people and animals, and not only his own, but also everyone who had passed here before, and soon the entire desert area was filled with people and animals. Noise, talk, laughter, and the ringing neighing of horses instantly filled the previously silent desert. So miraculously revived, people rushed to their savior with tears of gratitude and glorified his name. Only Temirbek’s brothers, deeply harboring envy of Temirbek’s magnanimous feat in their souls, instead of gratitude felt only hatred and a desire to get rid of their savior in one way or another.
Finally, when everything was put in order, the train set off on its further journey; but soon the road was blocked by a huge hole, slightly covered with dry branches. The brothers jumped off their horses, removed the branches and branches covering the hole in the pit and looked inside; but the hole was so deep that there was no way to see anything at the bottom of it, and meanwhile curiosity took possession of the travelers more and more; then they decided to have someone climb down on ropes.
The execution of this risky undertaking was first proposed to the eldest of the brothers, Aslanbek; but he, fearing the unknown, flatly refused; then they offered the middle one,
Hasan; but he also resolutely refused and suggested, in turn, that the youngest, Temirbek, go down into the pit.
Temirbek agreed without hesitation, and the brothers, entangling him with a rope, lowered him into the pit.
- Well, what did you find at the bottom? - they shouted to him when the rope no longer moved.
- Oh, here the entire bottom is strewn with gems of the rarest beauty and size, as well as piles of gold! – Temirbek answered them.
– Quickly scoop up the jewelry and give it to us! – the brothers exclaimed greedily.
“Throw empty bags into the pit for me to fill with gold and stones,” said Temirbek.
And so they began to carry the found treasure out of the pit: Temirbek was lifted up with loaded bags, he handed over the jewelry to his brothers, and he was lowered again on ropes to load the bags again.
After repeatedly lowering themselves into the pit, the brothers finally asked Temirbek:
– How much gold and stones are still left at the bottom?
- Oh, just for once! – Temirbek answered. Hearing this answer, Aslanbek and Hasan looked at each other with an evil smile and shouted to their younger brother:
“Well, quickly take everything else and let’s move on!” But as soon as Temirbek was lowered to the bottom of the pit, the brothers cut the rope with a quick blow of a knife.
- Goodbye, Temirbek! We no longer need your services! Take good care of your treasures! – the brothers shouted with an evil laugh and quickly set off on their further journey.
Seeing the cut rope falling at his feet and hearing the words of his brothers that sounded like evil mockery, Temirbek realized that he was doomed to death by starvation. For the first time in all his time, he lost heart, and despair began to take possession of the soul of the brave young man.
But his courageous heart told him not to lose hope without trying all the ways to salvation. Heeding the voice of reason, he began to more calmly examine the pit and wonder if it was possible to somehow find a way out of it; but a careful inspection did not bring any desired results: the walls of the pit were as if polished, and Temirbek had at hand, except for a sword, no tool with which he could make steps in the steep walls, and even this would hardly have helped, since the soil was rocky, resistant to any blows. Again, sadness began to take possession of Temirbek’s soul, and when he was almost in despair, he suddenly saw that his pit somehow immediately became dark; quickly raising his head up, he fixed his gaze on that piece of sky that was visible from the bottom of the pit. Temirbek peered for a long time and finally realized that the shadow that obscured the ray of sun falling into the hole of the pit was cast by a huge eagle soaring in the heights. At that same moment, the resourceful Temirbek had the idea that with the help of this giant bird he could be rescued from his involuntary imprisonment. Without hesitation, he tore off his outer clothing and, exposing his left arm to the shoulder, cut off a large piece of meat from it with a quick decisive blow of the sword, then covered his head, shoulders and chest with the clothes he had taken off, took the cut meat in his right hand, pulled it up as far as possible and began to wait patiently. He was sure that the feathered predator would smell blood with its subtle sense of smell. And indeed, Temirbek was not mistaken: soon he heard the distant sound of wings and the screech of an eagle; the noise made by the flight became more and more audible, and finally the huge bird rushed down, marking a tempting prey in the depths of the hole; As soon as the eagle touched the piece of meat with its claws, Temirbek, with the speed of lightning, grabbed the strong leg of the predator with both hands and flew up with him. As soon as the eagle passed the pit in its flight, Temirbek released his fingers that were firmly holding the eagle’s leg, fell completely unharmed to the ground and, exhausted by the loss of blood in his wounded hand, fell into a deep sleep.
While Temirbek was getting out of the pit, his brothers carelessly and cheerfully continued on their way, not only without thinking about the fate of their so cruelly abandoned brother, but even rejoicing that they managed to get rid of the creature they hated in such an easy way. When Temirbek’s young wife began to beg her brothers to take pity on the one to whom they owe their salvation and wealth, in response to tears and pleas she heard only evil ridicule and abuse; even her beautiful sisters turned away from her with contempt; the unfortunate young woman inconsolably shed bitter tears and cursed her evil fate.
Just before entering their khanate, Aslanbek and Hassan turned to their grief-stricken daughter-in-law and ordered her to change into the clothes of a slave.
“From now on,” the heartless brothers told her, “you do not dare to be called the sister of our wives, but you will be their slave, and your future life will depend on you: only by constant work and unconditional obedience can you earn our favor, otherwise beatings and scolding await you.”
It was not easy to listen to such words from the lips of new relatives, but, concealing grief in her heart, the beauty decided to patiently endure all the insults, cherishing in her soul a ray of hope for deliverance from such a bitter existence.
A hard life began for the Khan's beloved daughter: she had to get up earlier than everyone else and went to bed last, the heaviest and dirtiest work was assigned to her, the slightest mistake on her part immediately entailed scolding, and sometimes even beatings. What was most difficult for the beauty was that even her sisters, who until so recently lived with her in perfect harmony, looked at her as nothing more than a slave and offended her in every possible way, and since they could not forbid her sister to tell others about who she was and where Temirbek died, they tried to convince everyone that their slave was a complete fool who could not be trusted. But the young Khansha did not lose heart, she patiently waited for deliverance, and, indeed, this deliverance soon came for the silver-haired beauty.
Temirbek, strengthened by a long sleep, got up completely cheerful, ready for new exploits. Aslanbek and Hasan left a well-trodden road along which they could safely walk without the risk of getting lost. The distance separating Temirbek from his native khanate was quite large, and in the absence of a horse he had to spend many days on this journey, but Temirbek did not lose heart, and the thought of his wife encouraged and accelerated his steps. Finally, Temirbek arrived at the banks of his native river, and here he allowed himself to rest for the first time in many days.
Hiding in the bushes that grew thickly near the shore, he, invisible to anyone, could freely observe everyone who came to the river. And suddenly he noticed a woman dressed as a slave approaching the river from the Khan’s palace. The figure and face of this woman seemed to him reminiscent of his wife, and, indeed, it was she, sent with a jug for water. Having made sure that the slave collecting water was his wife, Temirbek left the shelter and, eager to talk to his wife and hear from her why she was wearing such a strange outfit, called her by name. Hearing the voice that was dear to her, the beauty rushed to meet Temirbek and burst into joyful tears. Then she told him in detail about everything that had happened to her during this time, and also that upon arrival in the Khanate they no longer found the old Khansha alive, and therefore there was no one to ask about the fate of Temirbek.
“But now you’re with me,” the beauty added joyfully, “I’m not afraid of anything, and I have nothing to worry about anymore!”
“Yes, but your tormentors must suffer a well-deserved punishment both for the evil done to you and for the evil that almost destroyed me!” – Temirbek exclaimed hotly. “Listen to what I tell you now: go to the palace as if nothing had happened and, in order not to give any reason to your brothers and sisters to think that I am close here, hide your joy and pretend to be sad, and when you start washing the dishes, try to break as many of the most expensive vessels as possible in order to incur the wrath of your brothers; respond boldly to their abuse and arrange for them to raise their hand against you, then I will have a reason to fairly protect you, and roughly punish them.
“Be calm,” answered the young Khansha, “all this is easy to arrange - affection, however, you won’t get from them, but abuse and swearing will always be there for me.”
With these words, the beauty went back to the Khan's palace, taking on her usual sad look.
After she left, Temirbek also immediately began to make his way to the palace; there he tried to hide from human eyes in the shade of the trees and listened sensitively to what was happening in the inner chambers.
Soon he heard the sound of breaking dishes, then the angry cries of Aslanbek and Hassan, as well as their wives. The abuse became more and more fierce and rained down on the defenseless young Khansha, and her objections were followed by blows. Temirbek could no longer endure this and flew into the palace like an arrow, snatching his sword from its sheath as he ran; Bursting like a hurricane into the room in which the massacre of the beauty was taking place, Temirbek took the lives of Aslanbek and Hassan with two strong blows of his sword.
“And you, evil women,” he shouted to his daughters-in-law, “for your cruelty, from now on you will be slaves and you will be commanded by the one whom you just insulted in every possible way!” This will be a punishment well worthy of you!
From that time on, Temirbek took over the administration of the khanate.
The people under his control, freed from the cruel Aslanbek and Hasan, treated the kind young Khaiu and the beautiful young Khansha with love and sincerely wished them a long and happy life, which they richly deserved.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru