The Tale of How Almanbet Came to the Kazakh Khan Kokche
Hey!
Having fled from China, Almanbet
Wandered the world for many days,
And arrived on the vast steppes
In the blessed Sar-Arka,
Where the Kazakh hero Aydarkan
Ruled for many years with his son.
Seeing the traveler in the distance,
Kokche's son came out to meet him.
— Who are you? Where are you headed?
What fate has brought you to us?
And according to the steppe tradition,
Taste some food, and then
You will get to know me!
— My father is the Chinese khan Aziz,
By my mother, I am Kyrgyz, —
Almanbet told the Kazakhs.
And he went on to tell how
He could not get along with his father.
About how the vile Konurbai
Slandered him in front of everyone,
And how, saving his life,
He fled with his mother.
And, choosing a picturesque camp,
He set up a yurt for Alma,
As a brother, the young Khan Kokche.
The outcast, the wanderer Almanbet
Was content with his fate:
In the Kazakh steppe, he gained
Good brothers and friends.
For half a year in the camp, Almanbet
Taught the brave warriors:
How to shoot a bow, how to wield
A spear in battle, and how to use a sword
To cut down the enemy and take him alive,
Chasing the opponent in battle,
How to save his head from the blow
Of a battle axe.
And then, when spring came,
Alma went with the warriors
To the upper reaches of the Amur River.
He drove back a herd of select horses
From there, Almanbet.
The previous spring,
The Kalmyk khan Zholoy had stolen them.
And Khan Kokche was very glad:
Alma returned them back.
It happened quite naturally,
Alma became a judge among the people.
In his wise councils,
He was honest, pure, and just.
He could judge fairly,
And acquit or condemn.
He could instantly determine
Who was right and who was to blame.
And soon, to the khan and his family,
Almanbet became closer than a brother.
— Your faithful friend Alma,
And we must protect him,—
Said once Akerkech —
The elder wife of the hero.
But you can’t please relatives:
Those who gain are always glad,
And those who lose
Will never reconcile.
And there is also envy —
It worked here as well.
And they secretly began to grumble:
— The Kalmyk who fled from his homeland
Has begun to trample us like dung.
— And Khan Kokche has completely lost his mind,
He has silenced all the Kazakhs!
And they decided among themselves
To expel him at any cost.
The people knew: Khan Kokche —
The most generous, valiant man,
But when it comes to his wife —
He is merciless, like a butcher.
And they secretly bribed the servants.
They spread a dirty rumor
That Almanbet and Akerkech
Had many secret meetings.
The gossip reached Kokche,
That the baybiche is unfaithful,
When he is hunting alone
Or visiting guests.
When he spends the night with the tokol,
The elder wife — the baybiche
The Chinese man visits at night.
The hero Kokche became jealous,
He began to scold his faithful friend
With the curse "Your mother!"
And finally, he decided
To gather friends and relatives
And, if the rumor is confirmed,
To drive away the vile Chinese.
When they gathered at Kokche's,
He drank arak with kumys,
And said: — I heard that
Akerkech and Almanbet
Have an immoral connection!
And if the rumor is confirmed,
I will kill the vile Chinese,
I will put my unfaithful wife
On the saddle backwards,
I will drive her through all the pastures,
Then I will kill the whore — the shurkuy
With my own hand right here!
And if this is a lie,
Then the gossips will go under the knife! —
Said the drunken khan to the people.
And here Aydarkan stood up:
— Everyone knows that my son is jealous.
You are always afraid
That someone will look at her.
Then tell me, why
Did you take a beautiful wife?
God endows with beauty,
So that anyone can admire!
The brave man should be proud
Of whom she belongs.
And you will never notice,
If a woman wants to betray!
And to all the jealous, my advice:
To live without jealousy,
You must charm
Your beautiful wife yourself!
But the son was drunk, unyielding,
It was in vain to argue with him.
— We have gathered here for a reason:
The honor of the khan is dear to us all —
Such a thing cannot be allowed! —
Said the cunning friends.
— Each has his own home, family,
We have no time to watch her.
Better ask, Khan Kokche,
About your younger wife!
— What do you know, Biidailygul, tell me,
Are they clean before me? —
Kokche asked his tokol.
The young beauty Biidaily
Was carefree and foolish,
Moreover, on that day she
Was a little bit drunk.
— I love my sister Akerkech,
And if she commits a sin,
I cannot judge her!
What she does without you
In that house, I cannot oversee!
And if the baybiche is sinful,
Let her confess herself! —
She said slyly.
Kokche boiled with rage,
He immediately ordered to call Alma.
— When the Kalmyk comes in here,
Kill him on the spot without trial! —
The hero ordered in anger.
When Almanbet arrived,
He greeted with "Salam!",
And all who were in the yurt there
Answered him "Alyk!"
And then the khan's cry rang out:
— And who just now
Threatened to kill the Chinese?!
As soon as he appeared,
They soiled their pants,
As if a mighty lion or dragon
Had come to us!
Fear appeared on their faces!
And where is your pride, Kazakh?!
— I do not understand, my friend and brother.
Tell me, what am I guilty of? —
Almanbet asked the khan.
— Did you hear his answer?!
Where the fruit garden blooms,
The wild rose grows, they say.
And where the lion dwells,
The bear hides in the den!
You should know this, Almanbet!
— So you are the fruit garden,
The wild rose is me, the prickly creature.
You are the fierce and mighty lion,
And I am the cowardly bear here?
Or maybe it’s all the other way around?
And this drunken Kokche,
Doesn't give any peace
To his envious friends? —
Said Almanbet sarcastically.
— You hypocrite! Debaucher! Liar!
Traitor to your homeland! Scoundrel!
Bind him! — Kokche shouted.
The warriors rushed at him.
— Back! I will kill! — Alma shouted
And drew his sharp sword,
Ready to immediately behead
Anyone here who dared.
Everyone knew: Almanbet in battle
Would show no mercy to anyone,
And against a hundred brave men
He alone could stand firm.
But Almanbet came to himself:
— I see, our esteemed khan
Has drunk, is drunk in front of the people,
Has forgotten that he is the ruler here.
My advice to you: do not lose
Your dignity and honor!
You have acted with me as an enemy,
I did not think it would turn out this way!
Farewell, my friend! — said Alma.
When he rode away on horseback
From the khan's yurt, Almanbet,
He was caught up by Akerkech:
— Forgive him, friend Almanbet!
Kokche-khan believed the gossip.
You see, he is drunk to death.
When he sobers up, I know,
He will ask for forgiveness himself.
— Oh, no, zhengay! I understood, here
They will not let me live in peace.
Where there is envy, cowardice, jealousy,
flattery,
There will be meanness and deceit.
I have seen this before,
And that is why I fled here,
Leaving my homeland,
My beloved is waiting for me there.
Farewell, zhengay, and forget everything! —
Said Alma and set off on his way.
The Epic of "Manas". The Tale of Almanbet