A strongman from Gharm came to the market in Gissar. He decided to measure his strength with a local strongman.
“Let's see which of us is stronger?” said the Garm strongman.
They began to fight. People gathered to watch the fight. The strong men fought and fought, and none of them could overcome the other. The sun was setting. Dusk was coming.
Then the Garm strongman suggested to the Gissar:
- Let's go to the teahouse, drink tea, and make a bet. Whichever of us tells the biggest fable that none of the listeners will believe, including yourself, will be the winner.
“Okay,” said the Gissar strongman, “you came up with this, you start.” They went to the teahouse, and the people followed them, and began to drink tea. The Garm strongman began to talk.
“My father loaded the cart with walnuts and went to sell them at the market. It was raining at this time. The nuts in the bags got wet and sprouted. The sprouts turned into bushes, and the bushes turned into large trees. Before the father had time to look back, the nuts on the trees were ripe, the wind knocked them down, and, falling down, they hit the heads of passers-by. Angry passers-by began throwing clods of earth and stones at the cart. An arable land of a thousand tanaps of land was formed.
So my father became a grain grower. He sowed the grain, and now it’s time to reap. The father collected bread, began to thresh it, and instead of grains, roosters ran from under the flail, and chickens from the straw. The roosters and hens flew to the hay field. The chickens laid eggs, chickens immediately hatched from them, there were so many of them that they rose in a whole cloud
into the sky and flew away. That's what happened to my father. Would you say no? asked the Garm strongman.
“It was so,” said the Gissar strongman. “Now listen about my father.”
“Once a year he went to the forest, broke a bundle of firewood the height of a hundred trees, brought this bundle to the village, for a whole year the whole village burned this wood, did not burn it for a year, half of the firewood was still left. The father stacked and lit the remaining firewood and ordered the residents of the village to jump over the fire. No one dared to jump over the flames of the fire that went into the sky, only my father jumped over and, as if nothing had happened, went back to the forest for firewood the next year.
Your father heard about my strongman father, wanted to measure his strength with him and came to our village. Just that day my father went to get firewood. Your father did not wait for him and went to look for him himself. He walked several far-sangs and saw that a whole mountain of firewood was moving towards him, and the woodcutter was not visible behind the green branches. This mountain passed by your father. He went behind and began to pull out protruding branches. He pulled and pulled, but the mountain didn’t stop. The entire road was already strewn with firewood. But then he pulled harder, and the rope that tied the firewood broke. Then the mountain of firewood stopped, and a man appeared from under it.
- Why are you stealing firewood from me? “Don’t be ashamed!” said my father.
“I don’t need your firewood,” answered your father, “I need you.” I see that you are the strongman I am looking for. Let's face off!
“Let’s go to the market and fight in front of the people so that everyone can see which of us is stronger,” said my father.
“I won’t go anywhere, we’ll fight here,” said your father.
“But who will be our witness?” exclaimed my father.
At this time, an old woman rode on horseback past the strong men. On her head stood a large round basket of wool, and in her hands she held yarn and a spindle. An old woman rides a horse and spins incessantly.
“Hey, grandma, be our witness!” said your father.
“I’m in a hurry,” answered the old woman. “You are both strong, what if you fight for a long time?” I can't linger. If you want, climb into my wool basket and wrestle on my head, and I will continue on my way.
The strong men climbed into the old woman’s basket and began to fight, while she continued to ride and spin yarn.
Not far from the road, a shepherd was grazing camels. From a distance he saw: a mountain was riding, and two mountains were twisting on it. He got scared, ran to the camels, grabbed twenty camels in one fist, another twenty in another, and ran away.
Suddenly a sand tornado appeared in front of him, swirled the shepherd with his camels and lifted them to the very sky. Then he rushed towards the old woman with those struggling with her
in a basket by strongmen. The tornado hit the strongmen in the eyes. They rubbed and rubbed their eyes and felt grains of sand in them, each weighing five hundred pounds.
The strongmen threw these grains of sand onto the ground. And the wind carried them far away. And the strongmen continued to fight.
“I came and finished spinning my yarn,” the old woman suddenly said and bowed her head. Both strongmen fell to the ground - they did not have time to overcome each other.
All those present laughed loudly and praised the Gissar storyteller.
- Quiet! “I’m not giving up yet!” the Garm strongman shouted. “Listen to my lies!”
“Everyone knows that your grandfather was my grandfather’s slave,” he began. “You yourself probably remember how your grandfather killed my grandfather and took possession of all his property.” And earlier, when your grandfather was my grandfather’s slave, you were a shepherd’s assistant and tended our calves. And they didn’t let you graze the foals - you were so weak and frail...
“You’re lying!” shouted the Gissar strongman, “I never herded your calves!” And my grandfather was not your grandfather's slave!
- Stop, stop! Since you yourself admit that I made up a lie, it means I won, it means I won!” said the Garm strongman.
And everyone confirmed that the Garm strongman defeated the Gissar one, telling the biggest fable.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru