The smiles helped the Chuvash a lot. Cutting down the forest, uprooting stumps, plowing and sowing virgin soil. And when enemy hordes attacked, swarms of enemies drove away and protected the Chuvash.
So, in the old days, the Chuvash were treated very badly by the Tatars1. No matter how many times they came to the Chuvash with war, each time the Chuvash, with the help of Ulyp, drove away the enemies.
The Tatar Khan Subedei became very angry, gathered all the magicians and sorcerers and began to seek advice from them.
- Tell me, how many nations have I conquered? How many nations are afraid of us? Also, tell me, how many people are in my army?
- Who can count all the grains of sand on the banks of Atal2? - the sorcerers answer him.
- Tell us then, how many years have we been fighting the Chuvash? How many years have we been unable to conquer them? How many people have I lost fighting them?
- I put in as much as I had. “I put as much as I put in, and new ones came,” the sorcerers answer.
- Tell us then, what is the strength of the Chuvash? How to defeat the Chuvash Ulypbaatar? - asks Subedey. “And the one of you who finds how to overcome Ulyp, I will make him ruler over the Chuvash.”
Not one of the sorcerers said a good or bad word in response.
Subedei gave them forty days to think, and when the forty days had passed, he gathered them again and asked them as the first time:
- Tell me, sages, how many nations obey me? How many nations pay tribute to me?
- Who can count all the grains of sand on the banks of the Atal? - they answer.
- Tell me, wise men, how many troops did I lose in battles with the Chuvash?
“As much as you put in, you lose as much,” they answer.
- Tell us, then, how to overcome the Chuvash hero Ulyp?
And this time none of the sorcerers said a good or bad word. Then the Tatar Khan ordered to cut off the head of every tenth person. And he gave the rest twenty days to think and dismissed them.
At the same time, in one far, far away village, there lived a ninety-nine-year-old sorcerer. He no longer had the strength to go outside; the old man was preparing for death, and before his death he wanted to pass on his craft to his son. They say that if sorcerers do not pass on their knowledge to anyone, then they will suffer from old age without dying. That sorcerer did not go to Subedei, citing old age, he stayed at home.
After twenty days had passed, Subedei gathered the sorcerers for the third time and asked like the first time:
- Tell me, sages, how many nations obey me?
- Who can count all the grains of sand on the banks of the Atal? - they answer.
- Tell me, wise men, how many troops did I lose fighting the Chuvash?
- I put in as much as I had; “As much as you put in, so many new ones came,” the sorcerers answer.
And again the sorcerers froze in silence. Again Subedei ordered the execution of every tenth person. The son of that ninety-nine-year-old sorcerer was among them. Then the old sorcerer, feeling sorry for his son, fell to his knees in front of Subedei and said:
- Oh, Great Sovereign! Don't cut off the heads of innocent people! I'll tell you how to defeat Ulyp!
Subedei threatens him:
- Oh, you decrepit old man, why didn’t you tell me about this earlier? Why did he hide his knowledge from the great sovereign?
- Oh, Great Sovereign, you bring suffering to many innocent peoples. The Chuvash didn’t do anything bad to you. Why do you want to destroy peaceful Chuvash people? Only I know how to deal with Ulyp. But I still won’t tell you anything,” says the old sorcerer.
Subedei ordered to seize and bring the son of the old sorcerer. They grabbed him and began to torture him: they brought a golden eagle to peck out his son’s eyes. As the golden eagle began to peck at his son’s eyes, the old man could not stand it and said:
- To defeat Ulyp, dig a hole forty fathoms deep, cover the hole with a canopy of branches, and sprinkle earth on top. The flooring will withstand our army, but under the weight of Ulypa it will not bear it and will fail. Only after this will you be able to defeat the Chuvash, O Great Sovereign! Subedei ordered the servants to dig a hole. As soon as the pit was prepared, Subedei released his army. As the old sorcerer said, the canopy over the pit could not stand it and collapsed under the weight of Ulyp. Ulyp fell into a hole and couldn’t get out. And the Tatar army dispersed the Chuvash.
Ulyp lay in a hole for forty days, peering into the sky. He’s trying to get out, but he can’t get out. Ulyp looks up and sees a raven flying. The crow asks Ulyp:
- Hey, raven-raven! You are a free bird. Wherever you go, you fly all over the world. You should fly to the Chuvash. I would tell the Chuvash about my trouble. The Tatars tricked me into the pit. Without water, without food, they want to starve me to death. Let the Chuvash come and help me out!
Raven to him:
- Die, die! When you die, I’ll pluck your eyes out,” he croaked and flew away.
I sat and sat and a magpie flies by. Ulyp asks her:
- Hey, forty-forty! You are a free bird, you can fly wherever you want. You should fly to the Chuvash, let them get me out of here. The Tatars tricked me into imprisoning me in a pit; they want to starve me to death without food or water. Let the Chuvash come and help me!
He's forty:
- Die, die! When you die, I’ll fly to peck your eyes,” she chirped and flew away.
Ulyp was left alone and frowned. He looks up: he wants to get out, but he can’t get out. I looked up again and froze - a wild goose was flying.
- Hey, goose! You are a free bird, flying around the world wherever you go! Tell the Chuvash about my trouble. The Tatars tricked me into imprisoning me in a hole; they want to kill me without food or water. Tell the Chuvash, let them harness forty carts, let them bring a rope of forty fathoms on them and pull me out of here. Let them bring forty cartloads of food and drinks. Without this, the Chuvash will disappear.
“Ga-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha,” the goose flew to the place where the Chuvash, shedding blood, fought, and told the Chuvash about the trouble in which Ulyp-Bator found himself.
The Chuvash loaded forty carts with a rope of forty fathoms, loaded forty carts with food and drinks and set off to rescue Ulyp. They walked for forty days and came to the pit where Ulyp lies. Ulyp was fed and given water. After Ulyp ate forty carts of food, he gained strength. The Chuvash began to lower the rope into the pit.
The Tatars found out about this and killed the Chuvash. The Tatars began to fill the pit with Ulyp with earth and stones so that Ulyp would suffocate underground.
Whether it was long or short, I don’t know, the Tatars filled the pit to the top and left. They probably thought that Ulyp wouldn’t get out of the ground.
Only Ulyp, having eaten forty carts, gained strength, and began to push away the stones that surrounded him as much as he could. He pushed and pushed and got out of the hole. Ulyp got out of the hole and hurried to help the Chuvash.
When Ulyp arrived, the Tatars dispersed the Chuvash into the forests. Then Ulyp killed the entire Tatar army. Only the Chuvash did not leave the forests later, and remained to live there.
And in the place where Ulyp climbed out of the hole, a large hill remained. That hill still exists. They call it Ulypov Hill.
For a long time, during plowing, my grandfather and I rested on that hill.
Grandfather said that if you sit on Ulypovo Hill, strength comes. And my grandfather told me this fable on that hill.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru