In a forest filled with the scent of pine, there lived a young woman. Her husband fought for many years, and when his term of service was finally over, he returned home in a terrible mood. He refused to enter the house because he was used to sleeping on rocks. He did not speak to anyone and spent day and night in the forest. Having learned that her husband was finally returning, the young wife became worried and began to fuss. She bought food and prepared treats: delicious white bean curd, three types of fish, three types of seaweed, rice sprinkled with red pepper, large orange shrimp.
Smiling timidly, she took the food into the forest, knelt down in front of her war-weary husband and offered him the treat she had prepared for him. But he jumped up and kicked the plates and bowls with his feet, so that the bean curd crumbled, the fish flew into the air, seaweed and rice fell into the mud, and large orange shrimp rolled along the path.
- Leave me alone! – he yelled and turned his back to her. He became so furious that the woman got scared. This was repeated again and again, until, in the end, the young wife, in despair, went to the cave of the healer who lived on the outskirts of the village. “My husband returned from the war not himself,” said the woman. “He’s always angry and doesn’t eat anything.” Doesn't come into the house and live with me like before. Do you have any medicine to make him a gentle and loving spouse? “I can make it,” the healer promised, “only it requires a special component.” Unfortunately, my supply of moon bear wool has run out. So, you'll have to climb the mountain, find the black bear, and bring me a hair from the white crescent-shaped mark on his neck. Then I will give you the medicine, and everything will work out for you.
Some women would be intimidated by such a task. Some would consider it impossible. But not this one, because she loved her husband.
“I am very grateful to you,” she said. – What happiness it is to know that there is a way out!
The woman got ready for the journey and the next morning went to the mountain. She walked and sang: “Arigato zaisho!” - This is how they greet the mountain, saying to it: “Thank you for allowing me to climb your body!”
She passed the foot of the mountain, covered with boulders the size of a large loaf of bread, and climbed onto a plateau overgrown with forest. The trees had long weeping branches, and the leaves looked like stars.
- Arigato zaisho! - the woman sang. This is how they thank the trees for raising their braids so that they can pass. She made her way through the forest and began to climb higher.
Now it has become more difficult to walk. Thorns grew on the mountain, which clung to the hem of her kimono, and the stones scratched her tender hands. When dusk fell, unfamiliar dark birds flew in and frightened the woman. She realized that these were muen-botoke, the spirits of the dead who had no relatives, and sang a prayer to them: “I will be your relative, I will help you rest in peace.”
The woman climbed higher and higher because love helped her. So she climbed until she saw snow on the mountain tops. Soon her feet were wet and cold, but she rose higher and higher because love helped her. A storm began, the snow blinded my eyes and filled my ears. Seeing nothing in front of her, she climbed higher and higher. And when the snow stopped, the woman sang: “Arigato zaisho!” - thanking the wind for stopping the blinding of her eyes.
She spent the night in a small cave, into which she crawled with difficulty. Although she had food with her, she did not eat, but buried herself in the leaves and fell asleep. The morning turned out to be calm; green shoots were visible here and there from under the snow. “Well,” the woman thought, “it’s time to look for the moon bear.”
She wandered around all day, and in the evening she came across trees scratched with claws. Her search came to an end: a huge black bear was waddling across a snowy field, leaving deep footprints behind. The moon bear roared menacingly and climbed into the den. The woman took out the food and put it in a bowl. Then she put the bowl at the entrance to the den, and she hid in the cave and hid. The bear smelled food and clumsily crawled out of the den, growling so loudly that the pebbles rolled down the slope. He walked around the bowl, sniffed the air, and then swallowed all the food in one sitting. Then he backed away, sniffed the air again and disappeared into the den.
The next evening, the woman put out food again, but this time she did not hide in the cave, but remained standing halfway. The bear smelled food, crawled out of the den, roared so loudly that the stars almost fell from the sky, walked around the bowl, sniffed the air for a long time, but in the end swallowed the food and crawled back into the den. This went on for many days in a row, until one dark night the woman dared to come very close to the bear’s den.
She placed a bowl of food at the entrance to the den, and she remained standing nearby. When the bear, smelling food, got out of the den, he saw not only the usual portion of food, but also a pair of small human legs. He began to twist his head and roar so loudly that his roar reverberated in the woman’s bones. She trembled, but did not move from her place. The bear stood on its hind legs, opened its mouth wide and roared so that the woman saw its dark red throat. But she didn't run away. The bear roared even louder and extended his paws as if he was going to grab her, so that his ten claws, like ten knives, hung over her head. The woman was shaking like a leaf, but stood still.
“Dear, good bear,” she begged, “I came here because my husband needs medicine.”
The bear lowered its front paws, raising a snow whirlwind, and stared at the woman’s frightened face. For a moment it seemed to her that all the mountain ranges, valleys, rivers and villages were reflected in his eyes, as old as the world. A deep peace came over her and she stopped trembling.
- Dear bear, I fed you for so many days. May I take one hair from the crescent moon on your neck?
The bear hesitated. This little woman would be an easy target. And suddenly he felt sorry for her.
“Your truth,” he said. -You were kind to me. Take a hair, just quickly, and then go home.
The bear raised its heavy head so that a white crescent moon appeared on its neck. And the woman saw bear blood beating strongly in this place. The woman put one hand on the bear's neck, and with the other she grabbed a shiny white hair and pulled sharply. The bear backed away and roared as if it had been wounded, and then growled angrily.
- Thank you, moon bear! “The woman began to bow, but the beast growled and took a step forward. He roared, and in his roar the woman heard words that she did not understand and at the same time knew from somewhere all her life.
She turned and ran as fast as she could down the slope. She ran under the trees, whose leaves looked like stars, and shouted all the way: “Arigato zaisho!” - thanking the trees for raising their branches to let her pass. She tripped over boulders that looked like large loaves of bread and shouted: Arigato zaisho! – thanks to the mountain for allowing him to descend over her body. Her clothes were torn, her hair was disheveled, her face was darkened with dirt, but she, as if on wings, flew along the stone steps that led to her village, along the road, through the village, to the hut where the old healer was sitting by the fire. - Look, look! I got it, I brought it - hair from the neck of the moon bear! “That’s great,” the old healer smiled. She looked closely at the woman, took her white hair and began to examine it in the light. Then she weighed the long white hair in her palm, measured it with her fingers and exclaimed: “Yes, this is real moon bear hair!” “And suddenly she threw him into the fire.”
The hair flared up, crackled and burned with a bright golden flame. - Oh! – the young woman screamed. - What have you done?! “Don’t worry, everything is fine, everything will be fine,” the healer reassured her. – Do you remember every step you took when you climbed the mountain? Do you remember every step you took when you tried to win the trust of the moon bear? Do you remember everything you saw, heard, felt? “Yes,” the woman answered, “I remember perfectly.” The old healer smiled tenderly at her and said: “Now, daughter, go home and, armed with new knowledge, do the same with your husband.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru