Last Hope
This is an old story. One khan became rich at the expense of the common people and became very harsh and unjust towards them. The people endured his mockery for a long time and, eventually, united, they overthrew him, captured him, and imprisoned him in a dark cell. He remained in captivity for a long time, and one night, death came to him. And, if for the khan power and wealth had been above all else before, now he asked death for only one thing — to grant him hope for one more day, to meet the morning dawn one last time. And death granted him this hope only until morning.
What Is More Precious
There was a man with two wives. One of them had children, while the other did not. The one without children only took care of herself and amassed wealth. The day came when both wives quarreled with each other. "My husband loves me more for my riches," said one. The other replied, "No, he loves me and our children."
So she said and tied up the children. The other displayed her wealth in plain sight. Soon the husband returned home and immediately rushed to untie the children, without even glancing at the wealth. One should never measure one's greatness by wealth and luxury.
Altynai and Mergenbek
On one side of the Kungoy Ala-Too mountains lived a beautiful girl named Altynai, and on the other side of the Terskey Ala-Too, there lived a young man named Mergenbek. They loved each other very much. One day, when the girl went out for a walk, a rich bay kidnapped her and imprisoned her high in the mountains, in a tower. Her love for Mergenbek was so strong that she jumped into the abyss. A lake formed at that spot, hot like the heart of a lovesick girl, both in winter and summer. The lake was named Issyk-Kul.
