There lived in a mountain village a young horseman. He was a sharp shooter and loved hunting more than anything in the world. The time has come for that young man to get married, but he doesn’t want to. His mother chose the most beautiful brides for him, but he doesn’t want to! His mother was already elderly, she wanted to have an assistant-daughter-in-law in the house in her old age, she wanted to babysit her grandchildren... She had to call her son’s friends for help.
- Marry my son! - she asked. – ; If he refuses, you don’t leave him alone until he agrees.
The friends happily agreed to fulfill the mother's request. One day a young man came to invite them to hunt. And they say:
“We won’t go until you do what we ask!”
- What, tell me, should I do? – the young man was surprised.
- Swear to fulfill it, then we’ll say it. The young man vowed to fulfill any request. Then they said:
- It's time for you to get married. Bring your wife into the house; do as your mother wishes.
“Have it your way,” the young man agreed. (What was he supposed to do? He took an oath!) - Just choose the bride yourself.
His friends matched him with a beautiful and kind girl, brought him from somewhere far away. They celebrated the wedding and made the old woman's mother happy.
But the young man still went hunting every day. And when he returned home, he always boasted to his young wife about what a famous shooter he was. On his order, the wife took the ring off her finger and raised it above her head, and he pulled the bow and sent an arrow straight through the ring... The wife was scared, but she did not dare to contradict her husband and only withered and turned pale day by day.
The mother-in-law, who fell in love with her daughter-in-law, noticed this and asked:
- What's wrong with you, daughter? Why have you become so pale, so thin? Are you feeling bad with us?
“I feel good with you,” the daughter-in-law replies, “and my husband comes every day when he comes home.” you make me take the ring off my finger and hold it above my head, and you send an arrow straight into this ring... I’m scared! I'm afraid he will kill me!
Her mother-in-law took a liking to her, caressed her, and said:
- Don't be sad! When he forces you to hold the ring today, you tell him: “If you were such a horseman, a brave shooter, you would compete with Umar, the son of Umar. It will be more difficult than boasting of one’s marksmanship in front of a woman!” In the evening the husband returned from hunting, told his wife to take off the ring, and she said to him:
- If you are such a sharp shooter, you would compete with Umar, the son of Umar!
The husband flushed and answered:
– What kind of Umar is this?! I won’t be me if I don’t find him and measure myself against him! – and without hesitation he set off.
He walked and walked. Whether there are many or few, we don’t know how many roads he took. He asked everyone he met: does anyone know Umar, the son of Umar? And when he finally found Umar’s house, he stood at the gate and shouted:
- Hey! Who's there?
The owner came out to meet the guest and invited him to his place. He gave me something to drink, something to eat...
– Why do you walk around the world? What are you looking for? - asks Umar.
“I came to test which of us is the best shooter,” the young man answers.
Umar, son of Umar, grinned:
- Rest today, we'll see tomorrow. But the young man has no patience! At first light the next day he asks the owner:
- Umar, take your bow! Let's go measure our strength and accuracy!
“Let’s go if you can’t wait,” agreed Umar, the son of Umar.
They found a wide clearing.
“Take the bow,” Umar ordered the young man, “and shoot upward.”
The young man shot an arrow into the sky, and soon it returned to the ground and fell right at their feet. Then Umar, the son of Umar, bent his bow and also shot upward.
“Now let’s go home,” he says to the young man. But he doesn’t agree.
- Wait, now we need to see where the arrow will fall!
“When my arrow falls, it will make itself known.”
They returned home. The young man has no peace; he asks every now and then:
“Isn’t it time for your arrow to return to earth?”
- No! - Umar, the son of Umar, calmly answers.
And the evening passed, and the night passed, and the morning came, and he still said “no.” On the second day, when they gathered to have lunch, a strong wind blew, made noise and whistled.
- Where is this from? Has the storm come? – the young man was surprised.
- A! This is my arrow, it’s probably coming back,” answered Umar, the son of Umar.
They went into the clearing, and an arrow pierced right at their feet and entered the ground.
The young man felt ashamed of his boasting. He thanked Umar, the son of Umar, and left.
At home, he didn’t boast about anything to his wife anymore and didn’t shoot at the ring. And he was a good hunter. And since then they have lived calmly and amicably.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru