Semetey. The Marriage of Semetey to Aychurek. The Quarrel of Semetey with Chinkodjo. Part - 2

At that time, Konurbay was already ninety-five years old, but he was brave, strong, and daring, all of which she liked about him. She was only troubled by the fact that he was of such advanced age.

- If he were twenty-five or thirty years old, - she thought, - despite the fact that he is a kapyr, I would marry him to take revenge on Chinkodjo and Toltoy.

Several times she flew around him, scrutinizing him closely. Konurbay guessed that she was assessing his qualities, strength, and bravery, and decided that he would do whatever it took to shoot and catch her. For this, he pursued her for a long time and shot at her multiple times. But when he was about to catch up with her, able to reach her with a shot, she cast thick clouds with her magical charms, and he lost sight of her.

- It turns out it is true that he had the courage and bravery to kill the gray-maned Manas, - Aichurek thought. Amazed by his power, she was already leaning towards the idea of returning to him. But suddenly another thought flashed in her mind: - "Konurbay might think: 'She has no husband, so she flew out to find a husband among foreign batyrs.' If I decide this, both he and his people will mock me. To prevent this from happening, I will leave him; let it be what it will be. I will fly back and stop by Talas on the way, I will pray there in memory of the deceased Manas and see what Semetey is like, the one to whom we were betrothed even before our birth."

Having decided this, Aichurek flew to Talas and saw numerous herds of horses grazing in the pastures.

- If one believes the stories of people, - she said, - these herds of horses belonged to my dear father-in-law Manas. Who is their owner now?

She walked among the horses for a long time, examining them, and she liked the people, the herds, and the landscape in Talas very much.

- If six or seven young men from here would come with me, then I would be avenged! - she thought and flew further to Semetey's camp.

It was evening when she arrived there, and Semetey appeared before her.

On his head was a fur hat,
He went out for a feast,
Son of Manas, Semetey,
Stubborn is your hero,
Born a brave lion
From the departed Manas.
Evaluating him, she marveled:
"He is quite worthy of me," -
Aichurek said, looking at him,
If you look in front of him,
You will see a shadow equal to six thousand brave men.
If you look behind him -
You will see the shadow of an ajidara.
He is rosy, like a pancake fried in oil,
Similar to twilight and fog,
Broad-shouldered and mighty,
If he truly gets angry,
He can destroy the entire universe,
With a broad forehead, with a strong gait,
Capable of wiping out his opponent from the face of the earth.
Khan Beijina Konurbay,
Would flee without approaching him.
Mighty son of Manas,
Whoever dares to oppose him, death awaits.
If he charged at Toltoy and Chinkodjo
With a spear and battle cry,
He would instill fear in them.
Broad-chested and powerful,
A proud lion,
He can stand against all batyrs on earth.
Not turning back in fear of death,
This lion will not flinch
Not only before Toltoy,
He will not even be afraid of hell.
There will be no man to stand against him,
Whoever dares to go against him - will perish.
Tall and broad-shouldered,
A brave batyr, like a lion,
My found betrothed groom, -

thus spoke Aichurek, standing still and marveling at how Semetey had suddenly become so close and dear to her. Admiring the young batyr, she could not take her eyes off him for a long time.

- If I start a conversation with him first, he might later say: - "She herself imposed herself and married me." This could lower my dignity. Moreover, if he were to marry me now, I would not be able to go to Chinkodjo and Toltoy and take revenge on them for the humiliations and insults they inflicted on me. Therefore, I will not show myself to him for now.

Meanwhile, Semetey, riding on Taibuurula, with Akshumkar in his hands, accompanied by Kulchoro and Kanchoro, went out hunting. Having caught many geese and bustards, they set off home.

Chachikey, coming out to meet him and cuddling up to him like a child, began to say:

- You always leave me under the pretext of hunting with a falcon, and I miss you very much without you.

Semetey dismounted, Kulchoro took his horse, and Kanchoro took Akshumkar, and they led them away. Aichurek, not showing herself, observed all this and thought:

- If Chachikey agrees to be on my side, I will consider her an older sister, and I will serve her faithfully; if she does not agree, it will be worse for her: I will forcibly take her husband from her.

Meanwhile, they sat down for dinner, and Aichurek, taking on a human form, hiding from people, walked around the aiyl and approached them.

Chachikey, seeing her, threw on a beaver coat and, taking with her forty young women, proudly walked out to meet her.

Aichurek said to her such words, which she had thought out in advance:

- My dear sister, take me instead of your younger sister! I will devote all my strength to work, I will bring firewood and carry out the ashes, I will be your faithful worker and servant.

After such words, she told Chachikey that between her father Akhun-khan and Manas, a marriage agreement was made even before Semetey or she existed in the world, and therefore she had come to her fiancé.

Chachikey replied to this:

- Semetey has no future father-in-law Akhun-khan and no bride Aichurek: you are talking nonsense! Such a spoiled woman as you, who seeks a husband for herself, Semetey will not marry, - and she said many other rude and insulting things to her.

Offended, Aichurek said:

- I came here, respecting the memory of Manas's father. But since you receive me this way, know that I will take Semetey's Akshumkar and fly home with him. If I am not Aichurek, I will make you an abandoned wife. If I do not fulfill this, let my father Akhun-khan be my husband!

After these words, she turned back into a swan and flew away.

Chachikey, hearing all this, lost consciousness and lay without a tongue for seven days.

Meanwhile, Semetey, knowing nothing of this, wanted to hunt again with a falcon and, taking Kulchoro and Kanchoro with him, began to prepare to go into the field. But Chachikey, grabbing Semetey's horse by the reins, began to plead with him not to go hunting.

- A woman should know her work at home and not interfere in men's affairs, - Semetey said to her and struck her back with a whip.

Then Chachikey, calling Kulchoro and Kanchoro to her, began to plead with them:

- I had a very bad dream last night. If you see a piece of precious silk lying on the road, do not let Semetey take it, and do not let Akshumkar go after the white swan that you will meet.

As soon as Semetey went hunting with Akshumkar, he saw a piece of precious silk lying on the road. Stopping and addressing Kulchoro, he said:

- Take it, it will come in handy for us, it is also a catch.

Kulchoro, remembering Chachikey's words, jumped off his horse, took the bundle of silk in his arms, threw it into a deep pit, and covered it with a stone the size of a yurt.

They hunted for a long time and, having caught many geese and bustards, were already returning home. Passing along the shore of the lake, Semetey suddenly saw a wonderful swan sitting on a sandbank. He wanted to send his Akshumkar after her, but Kulchoro said to him:

- Until now, I have not hunted with your Akshumkar, give him to me, I will send him after this swan.

Semetey, not wanting to offend Kulchoro, handed him the falcon. Kulchoro, remembering Chachikey's words and wanting the swan to fly away, rode openly towards her. But she did not fly away. Then Kulchoro said to Semetey:

- Perhaps this swan has chicks. If we kill her, they will be left orphans, and this will be a sin. Therefore, allow me not to send the falcon after her.

But Semetey got angry:

- It turns out you do not know how to send a falcon. You will only scare the bird away, and it will fly off!

Having said this, he snatched the falcon from Kulchoro's hands and sent Akshumkar after the swan himself.

The falcon flew and struck her down. When Semetey approached and wanted to take the swan, she did not allow him to take her in his hands, but lifted Akshumkar and flew away with him. Semetey tried to catch them, but did not manage. Then he jumped on Taibuurula and, galloping after them, wounded the swan with his spear.

Aichurek (it was she), frightened that Semetey would catch her, cast thick clouds with her magical charms, and he lost her trail.

The separation from Akshumkar was as heavy for Semetey as if his father Manas had died again. He began to cry bitterly and lament what had happened. He decided to travel to all four corners of the earth to find his falcon.

- This is not an ordinary swan that took him, - he said to Kulchoro and Kanchoro. - Go to the wise Bakay, to Sarykhan and Kanykey, who have seen many wonders in the world, tell them what happened, and ask them what we should do?

Kulchoro and Kanchoro galloped on their horses to Bakay. Seeing the galloping batyrs, Bakay was frightened and thought that Konurbay had come again with his army. Kulchoro told him what had happened and added:

- Only Chachikey knows this secret. But she will not reveal it to us. We need to bring your wife, the wife of Jamgyrchi and Sarykhan, she will tell them everything.

Then Bakay, Jamgyrchi, and Sarykhan called their wives and sent them to Chachikey. But Chachikey did not tell them anything either, she scolded the old women fiercely, almost beat them, and drove them away. She also scolded the three khans who came to her after them, led by Bakay. Then Bakay said:
- No one has ever insulted me, now I have received such an insult from Semetey's wife. Oh, I, poor old man, why did I not die during Manas's lifetime! - and he cried from the offense like a little camel.

Kanykey, calling Kulchoro and Kanchoro to her, said to them:

- Chachikey has become very arrogant, she has no right to forbid or command any of us, and you fools allowed her to insult such a person as Bakay-khan in your presence. Now your duty is to punish her for this.
Hearing these words from Kanykey, Kulchoro immediately ran after Chachikey, smashed her head until it bled, and, grabbing her by the hair, beat her so that she began to scream and shout. Only then did Chachikey, fearing for her life, reveal the secret to them.

- Akshumkar was taken and carried away by the daughter of Akhun-khan, Aichurek, - she said.

Learning from her everything that had happened, Kulchoro arrived at Bakay and said:

- It turns out that Akhun-khan is Semetey's father-in-law, and Aichurek is his bride, whom he was supposed to marry.

Chinkodjo and Toltoy attacked Akhun-khan and hastily demanded that he give them his daughter. Aichurek, not wanting to fall into their hands, came to us in search of Semetey, but when Chachikey insulted her, she took Akshumkar and disappeared.

Bakay-khan, biting his finger, said:

- It is true, it is true, I now remember that at the funeral of Kyokyotey, Akhun-khan and Manas made a marriage agreement for the unborn children. So it is true that Semetey has a bride named Aichurek. My children! Tell him not to think of obtaining her alone. Let him prepare a large army for this, and let me, Sary-khan, and Jamgyrchi lead it.

Kulchoro and Kanchoro, riding away, began to talk among themselves:

- Why should we take these old men with us on the campaign? Are we going to give them as kalym? Why drag them along? Let's go without them instead. Deciding that it would be better this way, they urged their horses to gallop and arrived at Semetey.

- Dear abake, give us a reward for the joyful news! It turns out that Akhun-khan is your father-in-law, and Aichurek is your bride. Turning into a white swan, she flew here, saw you, and liked you very much. She began to plead with Chachikey to agree to let her become your junior wife, but she scolded and deeply insulted her. Unable to bear the insult, Aichurek decided that if she kidnapped your Akshumkar, you would come to her in search of him anyway. So she did, kidnapped your Shumkar, and fled to her land. Your wife Chachikey, for the insults inflicted on Bakay-khan and for not wanting to tell us about the fate of your Akshumkar, we beat severely, and then, unable to withstand the beatings, she revealed the whole truth to us. If you are angry that we beat your wife, here are our heads, take them. If you want to shed our blood - here it is, - and saying this, they stretched out their necks.

Hearing this story, Semetey rejoiced as he might have rejoiced if Manas had come back to life. Taking both batyrs, he sat them on his lap and, caressing them, said:

- For your sake, my dear ones, I am ready to sacrifice not only my wife but also my soul. You have done very well! - and he indulged in wild joy.

My Semetey. The Marriage of Semetey to Aichurek. The Quarrel of Semetey with Chinkodjo. Part - 1