The Tale of the Brave Dykhanbai

DIYKANBAI AND THE DEV

Once upon a time, there lived a brave hunter named Dıykanbay. He had no livestock in his pens and lived solely on what he hunted. Dıykanbay was not only brave and strong but also a resourceful man.

One day, Dıykanbay, along with another hunter, set out to track down some roe deer. They went into the mountains and stumbled upon a huge dev. The dev's nose was the size of a wineskin, and his legs were like a pair of tree trunks. When the dev saw the two hunters, he began to laugh loudly—until he cried.

Dıykanbay also started to laugh,

The dev was surprised.

— I am laughing with joy because I will have something to feast on now, but why are you laughing? — he asked.

Dıykanbay laughed even harder and finally said:
— My wife wanted to eat the dev's liver. That’s why we came here. So I laugh: I am happy to have met you, and I am glad that my prey came so easily! Grab the dev, my friend,— he shouted to the other hunter,— let’s quickly cut out his liver.

And Dıykanbay, pretending to pounce on the dev, approached him with a fierce look. The dev had never feared anyone before, but now he was terrified and began to plead with the hunters for mercy. When Dıykanbay saw that the dev was scared, he moved even closer to him.

— Come on, speak quickly, what would you like to say before your death? — he shouted at the dev.

— Oh, brave horsemen, courageous hunters! — the dev pleaded. — I am my father's only child. Ask for anything you want, just don’t kill me.

And the dev poured a lot of gold before Dıykanbay,

Dıykanbay gathered all the gold and said:
— Very well, I will take your gold, and since you are the only one for your parents, I will let you go, but from now on, do not harm the poor and orphans. But where should I look for another dev now? If I don’t find one, I will come back to you! — he added.

— Over there, not far away, on an island in the middle of the river, live three more devs,— the dev said, trembling.

— I will have to cut out the liver from those three! — replied Dıykanbay.

And the dev ran away without looking back. The hunters went home. As they crossed the river, they suddenly saw: right in front of them—in the middle of the river, on a small island—stood two poplars, and under them, in forty cauldrons dug into the ground, something was boiling. Forty devs were dragging a huge heavy fir tree to the cauldrons. When Dıykanbay and his companion saw them,

They climbed up a tall poplar. Dıykanbay went to the upper branch of the poplar, while his companion went to the lower one. Soon the devs sat around the cauldrons and began to eat. Among them was the dev who had escaped from Dıykanbay.

— Today, when I was at Uch-Aral,— this dev was telling, — I met some brave hunter with a companion. He almost cut out my liver; I barely escaped from him by paying with gold. Now they have gone to look for another dev. I came to tell you about this. You need to be cautious of them,— he added.

At that moment, the one-eyed king of the devs said:
— It seems that man was very cunning. I have heard that a man, although small in stature, is strong with his mind and resourcefulness. Yes, one must beware of people!

As soon as he said this, the branch on which Dıykanbay's companion was sitting broke, and the hunter fell right onto the devs.

The devs were frightened. And Dıykanbay shouted with all his might:
— Grab the one-eyed one! Catch him, catch him!

The devs immediately scattered in all directions. And Dıykanbay and his companion returned home safe and sound,

Kyrgyz Tales