Alimkan - Daughter of the Wise Shakirbay

THE LEGACY OF SULAYMANBAY

Once upon a time, there lived a man named Sulaymanbay. He had one and only son, Mamyr. The father wanted his son to grow up wise and happy. He taught his son wisdom, but the stubborn Mamyr did not listen. When the son grew up, Sulaymanbay said to him:
— My son, I am old now, and I have little time left to live. While I am alive, you should marry, but be careful in choosing a bride; do not chase after beauty, choose a girl who is smart and has a good, kind nature.

But the son did not listen to his father. One day, while having fun with other idle youths like himself, Mamyr rode his horse, kicking up clouds of dust, and entered a certain aiyl. From the last yurt, a beautiful young widow came out to meet him. When Mamyr saw the woman, he was enchanted by her beauty and, forgetting his father's advice, married her.

An old saying goes: “He who does not listen to his father's advice will not be happy in life.” So it happened with Sulaymanbay's son — Mamyr.

Soon after the wedding, Sulaymanbay fell ill. Feeling that his time was near, he called his beautiful daughter-in-law and said to her:
— You have become my son's wife, and a wife should be a faithful friend. Promise me that you will always be a loyal companion to Mamyr, no matter what happens to him.

The daughter-in-law promised. Then Sulaymanbay turned to her again:
— I am entrusting you with my secret: my treasure is buried in the yard of this house. My son is too young, and he is surrounded by idlers and lazy people. It may happen that he will have nothing to feed you both. That is when my treasure will save you from trouble. But do not tell anyone about this for now, — said the old man and died.

The treacherous daughter-in-law plotted to take all the wealth for herself and leave this house.

After Sulaymanbay's death, there was no one to stop his son from bad deeds. Soon Mamyr squandered all his father's wealth.

And his wife began to reproach him.

— You have squandered your father's inheritance. Soon we will die of hunger! Sell the house. If you don’t sell it, I will leave you! — she threatened him.

Mamyr thought for a moment and agreed to sell his father's house. Then his wife said to him:
— We should sell the house to our neighbor — the son of a rich man; he will pay more than anyone else! Go and invite him over — we will negotiate better over a feast.

The husband brought the rich man's son to his home, and the wife began to entertain him. Mamyr noticed that his wife was pouring him intoxicating drinks, wanting to get him drunk, while serving little to their guest. Feeling something was off, Mamyr decided to pretend to be drunk and watch his wife. As soon as the wife saw that her husband was getting drunk, she said to the guest:
— I persuaded my husband to sell the house, and you must buy it. Don’t spare any money: my father-in-law's treasure is buried in the yard of this house. My husband does not know about it.

The rich man's son asked the woman to show him the treasure. She led him to the place where the treasure was hidden, opened it, and before their eyes sparkled gold, silver, and jewels.

— I will buy your house, — said the rich man's son, — and then I will marry you!

Mamyr secretly followed them, and when he saw the hidden wealth, he remembered his father's advice.

He regretted being stubborn and regretted acting on his own. “Would a good and faithful wife deceive me?” — he thought bitterly.

And Mamyr quietly returned home.

The next day, Mamyr and the rich man's son began to negotiate the price. Mamyr asked for ten thousand gold coins for the house, and the rich man's son, without saying a word, counted out the money.

— Give me one month, — said Mamyr to the rich man's son, — I will find myself a place to live, and then I will leave the house.

The rich man's son agreed to wait a month. Mamyr went to his father's friend, Shakirbay, and asked him for two hundred camels. Shakirbay gave him two hundred camels. At night, Mamyr dug up the treasure, loaded the gold, silver, and jewels onto the camels, and filled the empty place with rotten straw and manure. After that, he left his house and settled in Shakirbay's house. And Mamyr's wife remained in Sulaymanbay's house and married the rich man's son.

Meanwhile, the rich man's son was having fun and feasting. Soon he squandered all his money and even went into debt to many people.

— I thought my wealth was inexhaustible, — he exclaimed one day, — but now I have more debts than hairs on my head!

And the rich man's son decided to pay off his debts with gold from Sulaymanbay's treasure. But when he saw rotten straw and manure instead of the treasure, he became so furious that he immediately ran to the judge to complain about Sulaymanbay's son — Mamyr.

The judge called all three, listened to them, and said:
— When one of you sold, and the other bought, it was about the house, not what is buried in the yard of this house. You bought the house, — the judge addressed the rich man's son, — what more do you need?

Thus, the rich man's son and the treacherous woman left the khan empty-handed.

And Mamyr married Alymkan, the daughter of the wise Shakirbay. Alymkan was smart and kind. And they began to live happily and richly. Mamyr completely changed.

A year passed. And Mamyr began to ask Shakirbay to let him go with a caravan to trade. Shakirbay equipped his son-in-law for the journey, giving him one hundred camels with various goods. The caravan drivers traveled day and night, crossing steppes and waterless deserts. And one day, the caravan-bashi said:
— Half a day's journey from here, there is a yurt. When we approach it, an old woman will come out and invite us to spend the night. But we must not agree to this.

It happened just as the caravan-bashi said. Soon the travelers saw the yurt. An old woman came out of the yurt and invited the caravan drivers to stop and spend the night with her. None of the travelers agreed, only Mamyr did not heed the caravan-bashi's warning and stayed with the old woman. Apparently, his former stubbornness awoke in him. The old woman was delighted with the guest, bustling about, slaughtering a ram, boiling tea, and began to treat Mamyr. When night fell, the old woman brought a lit candle into the yurt. In her other hand, she had a cat.

— My cat will hold this candle in its paws and light it for you until dawn, — she said.

The young man laughed and did not believe her. Then the old woman said to him:
— Let’s make a bet: if the cat holds the candle in its paws until dawn, you will leave me all your camels; if not, I will give you exactly as many camels as you already have.

The young man agreed. The old woman put the candle in the cat's paws, and it held it until dawn.

And Mamyr had to leave all his camels with the old woman.

The son of Sulaymanbay mounted his horse and rode to catch up with the caravan. He caught up with the caravan in a large trading city.

His companions soon sold all the goods and began to prepare to return home. But Mamyr decided not to go back. He was ashamed before his wife and good Shakirbay. No matter how much the caravan-bashi urged him to return with them, he could not be persuaded. Mamyr stayed in the city and, to avoid starving, hired himself as a worker in a caravanserai.

When the merchants returned home, they told everything to Mamyr's father-in-law.

Shakirbay grieved for him as for his own son.

— It’s not the camels with goods that I pity, but him, — he cried. — And where is he now? Is he full? Is he healthy?

Days, months, and years passed, but Mamyr did not return. His wife Alymkan became sad and began to persuade her father to let her go in search of Mamyr.

Finally, he agreed. He gave Alymkan money and one hundred camels. The young woman dressed in men's clothing, hung a sword at her waist, and, putting a hand-raised mouse in her sleeve, set off on her journey with a trading caravan.

The caravan drivers traveled day and night, crossing steppes and waterless deserts, and finally reached the old woman's yurt.

The merchants, not stopping, rode past the yurt, but Alymkan lagged behind the caravan and entered the old woman's yurt.

The old woman was delighted, bustling about, and brought out refreshments. In the evening, the old woman brought a lit candle into the yurt and said to Alymkan:
— This candle my cat will hold in its paws until dawn.

The young woman pretended not to believe her. Then the old woman offered to bet one hundred camels. The guest agreed.

The old woman brought the cat, put the lit candle in its paws, and went out. At midnight, the young woman secretly released her hand-raised mouse.

As soon as the cat saw the mouse, its eyes lit up, it dropped the candle and rushed after its prey. The mouse hid in its mistress's sleeve, while the cat sat at the entrance of the yurt.

In the morning, the old woman came into the yurt, saw the cat sitting at the entrance, and the candle lying on the ground. She looked at Alymkan and realized that this time she had been outsmarted. There was nothing to be done; the old woman had to give Alymkan one hundred camels.

The young woman arrived in a large trading city. In the city, she rode through all the streets, peeked into all the yards, at the market, but could not find Mamyr anywhere. Sad and tired, Alymkan approached a caravanserai to spend the night. And there she saw her husband Mamyr.

He did not recognize his wife in the young dzhigit.

Mamyr was kindling a fire under a cauldron. He was in torn clothes, dirty and emaciated. Alymkan called Mamyr, gave him a gold coin, and asked him to bring her steamed dumplings — manty — in the evening.

In the evening, Mamyr carried the ordered dish. Ashamed of his clothes, he wanted to hand the dish through the door. But Alymkan ordered him to come in. The young woman seated Mamyr next to her, fed him, and began to ask questions. And Mamyr told her everything that had happened to him.

Then Alymkan asked:
— Do you have a wife?
— I had a good, kind wife, — he answered her sadly.
— Did you love your wife?
— Very much; I would have given my life for her.

Hearing these words, the young woman smiled.

Mamyr looked at her, met her eyes, and recognized his wife in the dzhigit. Alymkan dressed her husband in the best clothes, bought him a beautiful horse, and together with him returned home to her father. And they lived peacefully and harmoniously for many years.

Kyrgyz Tales