In times long past, three zhigits set off on a long journey. On the road they met a shepherd.
“Whose village is this visible in the distance?” they asked.
“This is the village of the batyr Mamai,” answered the shepherd.
The zhigits drove further and met another shepherd. They asked again:
- Whose aul is this?
“This is the village of the batyr Mamai,” answered the shepherd.
So they asked nine shepherds in nine villages and received the same answer: “This is the village of the batyr Mamai.” By evening the zhigits reached the tenth village. They dismounted from their horses and approached the white yurt on the edge of the village. A young Kazakh stood near the yurt. They asked him:
—Whose village is this and is it possible to spend the night here?
“This is the village of the batyr Mamai,” answered the zhigit. “I’ll go and ask the aksakal: will he allow you to stop.”
The travelers were surprised: who is the hero Mamai? Is it just one person or a whole village called that? But then the zhigit returned and said that the batyr Mamai allowed them to stop for the night. The zhigits entered the yurt and greeted each other as usual. The floor of the yurt was covered with quilts and pillows on them. And on the pillows sat a pale old man with a long gray beard.
He noticed the guests and said:
- Come on, come closer!
The guests walked in and sat down in the place of honor. When they sat down, the old man asked:
— O zhigits, what’s new in the world? The guests answered him:
“And the new thing on the way is that we drove through nine villages and arrived at the tenth. Everywhere we were told that this was the village of the batyr Mamai. Tell me: is this warrior Mamai one person or is that what the entire population is called?
Then the old man said, turning to the old woman:
- Hey, baby, lay my blanket closer to the guests. I want to tell them my story.
Baybishe fulfilled the old man’s request, and he, sitting closer to the guests, began his story.
- Oh, my children! - he said. “I am that batyr Mamai that you heard about.” There are my sons in nine villages... I will tell you about my dream. Let's see what you say about her. Among nine sons,” he began his story, “I had the only daughter Bikesh. And my first dream is if my daughter were a man, and my sons were women.
- Why do you say that, elder? - asked the zhigits.
Then Mamai continued his story:
“Once upon a time, my grandfather and father went hunting in Usharal and did not return. They disappeared without a trace. I grew up alone. And so, when I grew up, I thought: my grandfather and father died on Usharal. Why? What kind of monsters live there? I'll go there and find out everything. A zhaurynchi lived in our area. I went to him and told him everything. He played the kobyz for a long time, and then said:
“If you want to take my advice, then don’t go there.” Your grandfather and father died there, and you will die too.
“But I didn’t want to listen to him.” Whatever it is, I have to go there and find out why my grandfather and father died. I had a bay pacer. I saddled him and rode to Usharal. A few days later I arrived at these islands. They were rich in vegetation, game, and animals. There was an impenetrable forest there. The place is dangerous. I had to constantly be on my guard. But where are the monsters that devoured my grandfather and father? I lived there in constant anticipation of danger. Finally I started to get tired of all this and decided to return. Before leaving, I shot some game and decided to cook it to eat for the road. He lit a fire and began to cook the meat. Suddenly my horse snorted and became worried. “Something is wrong here,” I thought and decided: as soon as I finish cooking the meat, I’ll quickly get ready for the return trip. Suddenly the leaves rustled, and I saw some creature moving straight towards me. As the creature approached, I saw a woman of dark brown color, very tall. She walked over to the fire and sat down. Without taking my eyes off her, I held the gun with one hand and put brushwood on the fire with the other. The meat is cooked. The woman didn't leave. I, continuing to keep my gun ready, took the meat out of the pot. Then he took the vein and handed it to the woman. She opened her mouth. I pushed the meat and bone into my open mouth. The woman instantly swallowed the entire piece and continued to sit silently. I remained silent, but did not take my eyes off her. I thought: if I turn away for a minute, she might hit me. Finally she couldn’t stand the silence, got up and left.
I decided to go and already saddled my horse. Suddenly I had a thought: what will my relatives say when I return? Come on, I'll stay here overnight. Come what may. I cut an aspen tree to my height, dressed it in my chapan, and put a saddle under one end of the log as if under my head. He loaded the gun himself and climbed the tree. The horse remained tied to the side.
The night was bright, and everything around was clearly visible. Suddenly my horse neighed again and became worried, just like the first time. I see a brown woman running. She saw a scarecrow, rushed at him and began beating him. The monster decided that I was dreaming. Without thinking twice, I took aim and fired. The woman jumped and ran, leaving bloody footprints.
I quickly got down from the tree, saddled my horse and followed her. The thicket prevented me from moving on horseback, so I dismounted and followed the tracks. After walking a few steps, I saw a shack, entered it and saw this woman on the floor. She was dead. I cut off her hands. They were hard and had iron claws. It was Zheztyrnak. A white ax stuck into the wall of the shack. I took everything with me and went home. When I arrived, I immediately went to the zhaurynchi.
“Here are the hands of Zheztyrnak,” I told him, “And I found this ax in the shack.” You dissuaded me from going to Usharal, but I did not listen to your advice and killed my enemies. This zheztyrnak devoured my grandfather and father. Then Zhaurynchi told me:
- This monster is a blue nail. It can chop a person into small pieces. In addition, there were two of them: husband and wife. You killed a woman, now her husband remains. He will find this white ax wherever you hide it, and will chop up many people in our villages. You shouldn't have taken it. But since you took it, now listen to what I tell you. Every night you will have to live without sleep and wait for this monster. And if you fall asleep and don’t kill him, he will slaughter the entire village. The only way to kill him is with his axe. Rub the head right away.
Frightened by such a prediction, I began to wait for the monster every day. Soon my daughter Bikesh was betrothed. When I received the entire dowry for her, I gave her a separate yurt and allocated cattle. And then he asked his daughter:
- Bikesh, what else do you want from me? I will give you everything you ask!..
Then my daughter told me:
“I don’t need your cattle, I don’t need your yurt.” If you consider me your beloved daughter, then give me the white axe.
I was taken aback.
“Oh, my daughter,” I said, “if I give it to you, I myself will die.”
But she didn’t want to listen to anything, insisting on her own.
“If you don’t give me the ax, then don’t consider me your daughter,” she said.
What could I do? I gave her the axe.
I took her to the tent built for her, and I continued to guard the zheztyrnak, but with my simple ax.
What did Bikesh do? Why did she need my ax? She, too, began to wait for the monster: every day and every night she stood near the yurt. She didn’t tell her husband anything and only made an excuse: “You’ll find out later.” Her husband began to follow her.
One night - and the night was bright - the village dogs rushed beyond the village barking. Bikesh looked in the direction where the dogs ran and saw a man walking.
He was tall. The dogs rushed at him and barked, he squatted, and then got up and walked again. This happened several times. Finally, the man reached the first yurt, entered it, but quickly left, entered the second and also quickly left. So he entered many yurts. And finally the turn came to the Bikesh yurt. She prepared her ax and waited. And as soon as the monster approached, Bikesh hit him with a white ax right on the head. My head immediately fell off my shoulders. Bikesh woke up her husband and, pointing to the dead body, revealed her secret to him. Then Bikesh went into those yurts where Zheztyrnak had visited. The people he had killed lay everywhere. Bikesh and her husband mounted their horses and came to me, taking a white ax and the head of a zheztyrnak.
“Father, I’m returning the ax to you,” said Bikesh. “When I begged him from you, I thought, let me die alone, and let my brothers and father remain.” If you had not given it to me, all your sons would have died, and you would have been saved. Who would need them then? Here it is, the axe, take it!..
This is my Bikesh. Then I thought: why isn’t Bikesh a man?! This is my first dream, dear guests... What do you think: is this a good dream, and is it a dream?
“Yes, this is a dream, and a very good one,” said the zhigits.
“But here’s my other dream,” said the elder. “After the Zheztyrnaks were gone, I lived in peace.” But one day I decided to unwind and went to Kubajon Hill. There was a hill near my well, which was called Shynyrau. The water in the well was fresh, clear and seemingly healing. Mounting my horse Zhaidak-ker, I rode out to Kubajon. And when I arrived and climbed this hill, I saw something strange: there were white yurts around the well, and girls, white as birch trees, were playing near them. What a miracle, I thought. There was nothing like this here before. How could this happen? Where does all this come from? For a long time I stood in indecision and bewilderment. If you go there, they can kill you. I'll gather people and then I'll go. But suddenly a thought came to me: he’s a hero, but he’s afraid to go alone. The hero’s pride took over, and I decided to approach these girls. And as soon as I approached them, they surrounded me shouting: “The groom has arrived! The groom has arrived!”...
Some held the horse's bridle, others pulled my beard, others kneaded my sides. And all the time they shouted: “Groom! Groom!”... Then they dragged me into the yurt, sat me down on pillows, and began to treat me to all kinds of drinks and foods. They also began to eat, saying: “Eat, dear groom, eat!”... And all the time they tried to hurt me, hit me, pinch me. I felt like a thirty-five-year-old zhigit. But then evening came, night was falling. Two girls came in and said that the groom should go into the large yurt and pour oil on the fire. The girls jumped up, grabbed me and, shaking and tugging, dragged me into a large yurt. Then they gave me a bucket of oil and ordered me to pour it into the fire. I performed this groom's ritual and sat down on a golden seat next to a girl of written beauty. She was beautiful. All in light clothes. And at that time I felt like a twenty-five-year-old zhigit.
The girls looked after us: they brought us various foods and drinks. But they still continued to bother me and shouted: “Groom! Groom!"
I'm completely rejuvenated! When the feast ended, the beauty ordered her friends to prepare the bed. And when everything was ready, she invited me to go to this bed. The girls also followed us. Then they all left and we were left alone. The beauty laid me down, and she sat down at a distance and said to me:
- You must stay up until the morning and look into the fire.
I accepted this condition. He sat down and began to look into the fire without blinking an eye. But I couldn’t sit in this position for long, I forgot myself and fell asleep. And when I woke up in the morning, there was no one there. My horse stood next to me and my gun lay. There was a blanket under me, the one on which I sat and looked into the fire. I quickly came to my senses, jumped up, lifted the blanket and suddenly noticed a note. I took this note and read: “I am the daughter of King Peri. My name is Mukhiriya. I heard that you are a hero and killed the Zheztyrnaks on Usharal. I was amazed by your courage and fell in love with you. I have been looking for a meeting with you for a long time. They told me that you have the Kuba-zhon hill, the Shynyrau well, and that you go there. And I decided, if you are alive, then I will definitely see you there. I settled near this well. Eight years have passed, and now you, my long-awaited one, have appeared. But you have aged, and a lot. I was hoping that you had the strength to give me a son, and I decided to test you. If you sat until the morning and didn’t fall asleep, I would marry you. But you, my dear, are old, and I don’t exist for you now. I leave a blanket as a memory of me. Keep it as a token of my love." This is the blanket,” said the elder. Then he turned to the guests with the question: “What do you think: is this a dream?” And he himself answered: “Yes, this is a dream! These dreams are what made me old,” said the elder, finishing his story.
The next day, the zhigits left the tenth village of batyr Mamai.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru