There lived a mother and son. They were so poor that they didn’t even have a home to live in. So they wandered from place to place. Tskhetag hunted and thereby fed his mother. One day, a mother and son came across ruins. We went inside, cleaned it up, covered it with a roof and settled in. One day my mother was chalking the floor and found a spindle. She picked it up, washed it in milk, stored it in cotton wool - the spindle grew into a deva, and the deva became the mother’s husband. The mother became heavy and gave birth to a son, Devtag. The mother was afraid of Tskhetag and buried little Devtag in hot ashes. Tskhetag came from hunting and said: “Mother, what is this buried in the ash?” “It’s okay, son, I always bury bones in the ash after your hunt.” “Come on, open it.”
Mother doesn't want to. Tskhetag himself dug up and found Devtag. “I didn’t know, mother, that I had a brother, but you wanted to burn him.” Devtag grew by one palm in a day, by five in a night, he grew big, and his mother loved him more than Tskhetag. The mother decided to kill Tskhetag. She placed her deva husband at the door and ordered him, when Tskhetag returned from hunting, to hit him on the head with the door bolt and kill him.
Devtag ran towards his brother, hung on his back, hugged his neck, - the dev felt sorry for his son, could not lower the bolt, and Tskhetag escaped. - What to do? - says the dev. - Climb onto the roof and throw the millstone on Tskhetag’s head, - the mother answers. Devtag ran to his brother and asked: “Put me on your shoulders.” Then you didn’t ask to be on your shoulders when you were so little, but now you ask? - says Tskhetag. No, Devtag is not far behind, take it on your shoulders. Tskhetag took him, put him on his shoulders and so entered the house. Dev again did not throw off the millstone, he was afraid to kill his son - again Tskhetag escaped.
Mother said to Tskhetag. “I conjure you in the name of my mother, tell me, don’t you sleep anywhere other than at home?” “Yes,” said Tskhetag, “if I don’t sleep far away in the field, I can’t hunt.” The dev decided that when Tskhetag fell asleep in the field, he would attack him and kill him. Devtag heard and asked his brother: take me and take me hunting. “You don’t listen to me even at home, but you ask to go hunting,” says Tskhetag.
Devtag is not far behind; his brother took him with him. We came to the field. Tskhetag fell asleep. Clouds gathered over him. The dev just wanted to fall on Tskhetag, so Devtag took the bow, adjusted it, launched an arrow and hit the dev straight.
Tskhetag woke up and said to Dzvtag: “You go to the white mountain, there is a good place and a small animal.” I will go to the red mountain, there is a large beast and an evil place. Whoever remains alive will go to the stream in the morning and offer a handful to the water; if the other is alive, the handful will be filled with water, if the other is dead, it will be filled with blood.
In the morning, Devtag came to the stream, offered a handful, and it was filled with blood. Tears flowed from my eyes and burned my cheek. I went to look for my brother on the red mountain.
Devtag hunted a lot, he hunted, dug bones instead of poles, covered them with leather, and made a tent. A huge dev suddenly appeared. “Come into the tent,” Devtag says to the dev. “I’m afraid of your weapon.” “What should I do with it?” . - Tie it with my hair. - Give me the hair. The dev gave the hair, Devtag threw it into the fire, burned it and said: - Come in. - I’m afraid of your dogs. - What should I do with it? - Tie it to my millstone. - Give the millstone. The dev gave it, and Devtag threw the millstone over the mountain and said: - Enter the house. The dev entered and began to devour the ashes and coals. - What are you eating? - says Devtag. “And you really are such a deva, so much meat, and you pounced on the ashes. And the deva says: “We’ll eat the ashes and coals, then the meat, and then you.” The dev ate the ash and coals, ate the meat and went against Devtag. And he calls his dogs: “Come on, my hounds, here!”
The hounds rushed, surrounded the deva and chewed him to death. Devtag cut off the deva's head, cut open his belly, and so many people, suns and moons came out of there that there was not enough room for everyone. And Tskhetag left. The brothers went home. On the way they argued. Devtag says: “I worked harder.” Tskhetag says: “No, I’m bigger.” “Well, let’s stand opposite each other and shoot; whoever worked harder won’t win. will hit, whoever has less will get hit.
They fired, hitting Tskhetag in the little finger and killing him. Then Devtag struck himself with a sword out of grief and died. The hounds made noise, howled, and disturbed the sky. The gods sent a crow to earth to find out what the noise was. A crow came down, gouged out the brothers' eyes, ate them, and rose up. The gods asked: “Well, what’s there?” “Men and women are running around, making noise.”
And the hounds are still making noise and howling. They sent a dove down. “Well, little dove, you’re the only one telling the truth, go find out what happened on earth?” The dove flew off, smeared its paws in blood and rose up. The gods asked: “What’s the matter?” Devtag and Tskhetag fought and killed each other.
They sent a dove again and gave them a thread: “Thread it through the eye sockets, wash it with silver water, dry it with a golden towel, and they will come to life.” The dove did everything. Devtag and Tskhetag came to life and went home. We've arrived. The mother baked bread - for herself and Devtag from flour, for Tskhetag - from crushed Devian bones. Devtag said: “Mother, bring me some garlic, my stomach hurts.” Mother went to get some garlic. Devtag took and changed the bread - the one that was for Tskhetag he put to his mother, and the mother’s bread he put to Tskhetag.
Tskhetag and Devtag ate bread. The mother ate it and turned to stone because the bread was made from deva bones. The brothers lived happily. And with traitorous mothers, it will be like this with everyone. Arsen Oniani told this tale, and he heard it from his mother.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru