This happened a long time ago. In the same village lived two friends Navey and Mzauch. They were always inseparable; They went hunting together and returned laden with game.
No one ever thought that a black shadow would fall between them, but it happened.
Navey betrothed the beautiful Khavida in a neighboring village. They played a wedding. Mzauch was also here, he took a close part in all the preparations. The bride was in amhara with her bridesmaids. Mzauch came there to congratulate the bride. Seeing her, he froze in place, amazed by the beauty of the girl. Mzauch fell in love with a friend's wife and decided that sooner or later she would belong to him. He hid his plan in his heart.
After the wedding, Navey and Mzauch still went hunting together. One day they shot a lot of game - roe deer, chamois, bearded aurochs. Tired of carrying the loot, they piled it up and sat down to rest near a large stone.
Navey went to take a nap. And black envy began to whisper to Mzauchu, reminding him of an old plan.
“Navey, not suspecting anything, sleeps sweetly... Now I will find the way to my dream - I will remove the Seamstress from my path. And I will ensure that the beautiful Khavida becomes mine!..”
Mzauch pointed the gun at Navey and fired. For the last time, Navey opened his eyes, stood up and groaned:
- Eh, friend, what did you do... Why did you harbor such anger towards me?.. I’m dying...
Then a gust of wind came, lifting leaves and moving the grass. Navey gathered his last strength and conveyed his complaint to the wind:
“A treacherous friend separated me from my beloved wife, but you, wind, be my griefer and avenger!”
Mzauch was not moved by the dying man's words. He put the trui on his back and hid it in a deep cave.
The villain, returning home, the next day went to Navey’s family and asked about his friend. Navey's relatives sensed trouble and began to reproach Mzauch:
– You were with him, what happened? Where did your friend go?
– Yes, we were together, but Navey left me in the mountains and said that he wanted to return home earlier. He missed his wife. And I decided to hunt some more; we came across a lot of game.
After all sorts of rumors and assumptions, relatives and neighbors went in search of the missing hunter. Mzauch himself joined them, pretending that he was grieving for his friend. But the traitor led those who sought along the wrong path.
Navey's body was never found.
Those who searched returned home, mourned poor Navey and came to terms with grief.
Time passed. Mzauch often visited Navey’s relatives, consoled them and helped them in every possible way. In the third year Mzauch said to them:
“It’s hard to remember that our Navey is not with us.” We all grieved a lot. But sadness also has its limits. What remains is his wife Navea, she is young and has her life ahead of her. I will not hide from you: I have fallen in love with her over the years and want to marry her. She will always remind me of my friend.
Navey's relatives thought for a long time and finally decided: after all, Mzauch was his best friend. Only in the third year after his death did he talk about his love. You must agree.
Mzauch became Havida's husband. They lived well, loved each other, and had children. Mzauch still went hunting and got game. Happiness did not pass him by. But it happens that bitterness is mixed with sweet honey.
One autumn day, after work, Mzauch lay down in the shade of a plane tree and fell asleep. I slept peacefully. He dreamed of how he destroyed Navey in the mountains.
Suddenly the wind blew in, stirring up the leaves and stirring the grass. The wind threw several leaves into Mzauch's face. He woke up and started grinning.
Khavida sat next to her husband and embroidered. Seeing him grinning, she asked:
- Tell me, dear, what did you see in your dream? Why are you smiling? Mzauch felt uneasy and replied:
- Just like that, for no reason.
- I don’t believe you, you probably remembered some woman with whom you were close.
- What are you talking about, dear! I don’t need anyone except you, neither in dreams nor in reality... I dreamed about all sorts of trifles.
- Well, tell me anyway! I feel like you want to hide something from me.
– I don’t have any secrets from you.
– Why did you say Navey’s name several times? Then Mzauch thought: “What if I tell her the truth? Time has already managed to smooth everything out. We have grown children. After all, I destroyed my friend by loving her. And when she finds out about this, she will become even more attached to me. After all, I’m getting old, and she’s much younger than me...”
And he told her about what he had planned at the wedding, having fallen in love with her madly, how he destroyed Navaeus and how he, dying, conveyed his complaint to the wind...
- Why did you hide this secret from me for so long! – Havida said with a gentle reproach, seeming to remain completely calm.
At night, when Mzauch was fast asleep, Havida carefully took out a pistol from under his headboard and, without hesitation, shot him. The bullet hit Mzauch in the head and immediately calmed him down.
In the morning, Khavida called a meeting and told about everything. Fellow villagers, outraged by Mzauch's meanness, threw the body into the field, where crows pecked at it.
And Havida and the neighbors went to the mountains, found the cave where Navei’s remains lay, and carried them on a stretcher to his house. Havida gave a decent funeral. Everyone grieved for poor Navoi and praised Khavida’s constancy and devotion.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru