The Tale of How Almanbet Came to Manas
The khan Manas gathered the heroes
And said: — I look at you
And see boredom and despair.
Intrigues, gossip, fuss —
There’s no escaping them anywhere.
The native land beneath our feet —
There’s no reason for us to go to battle.
There’s no need for military campaigns —
Our steeds are growing fat.
Now all that’s left for us
Is to grow fat, grow old, and die.
What a bore! Damn it!
Maybe we should all go hunting?
Like in battle,
To amuse our hands there,
Taste some game, do some shooting,
Chase wolves with the taigan!
And he, with friends and choro,
Once fierce warriors,
Healthy, single revelers,
Now pot-bellied and sickly,
Family men, well-off,
Or even gray-haired grandfathers,
With enthusiasm, threw out the old battle cry,
As if going to war, led them to the hunt.
The taigan of Manas, Kumayyk,
Chased wolves with a pack of dogs,
And the faithful falcon Ak-Shumkar,
Though already quite old,
Still caught game excellently in the sky.
And, having shot about twenty
Deer, argalis, and goats,
By the bank of the Talas River,
The choro set up a camp.
And suddenly they saw
A Chinese traveler in the distance.
The jigits rushed to him.
Seeing the choro galloping,
The Chinese man himself turned towards the river.
— I am looking for Manas, — he said
In Kazakh. —
I bear the name Almanbet,
I am twenty-eight years old today.
My father is the Chinese khan Aziz,
By my mother, I am your Kyrgyz.
And my uncle Alooek
Is known to you as a fierce enemy.
And his son khan Konurbay
Will be my cousin.
The treacherous slanderer, the villain
Does not consider you as people.
He caused a scandal for my father,
For giving you his throne and Fergana
Without a fight.
He has brought misfortune to my fate:
He expelled me from my homeland!
And I have come here, to Talas,
To seek fortune and destiny.
As for that scoundrel Konurbay,
When my time comes, I will kill him myself!
You are the brothers of my mother.
I want to stay here with you,
And with faith and truth, as a friend,
I am ready to serve you, Manas!
Manas was very surprised,
And remembered: at night he had a dream,
As if suddenly a mighty elephant
Had come to him to bow.
Manas asked his choro:
— What shall we do with him, friends?
I cannot decide alone!
He is a Chinese by his father, an enemy,
By his mother, our own brother!
Er-Bakay replied to him:
— For a person, the main meaning is —
His deeds and thoughts!
I believe that Almanbet
Told the truth, he does not lie.
And here is my wise counsel:
It’s time to start a feast in honor of a friend!
Almanbet was happy and glad.
Until his very death,
He was a friend and brother to Manas.
Epic "Manas". The Tale of How Almanbet Came to the Kazakh Khan Kokche