The Tale of Khan Zhanibek

Khan Janibek

Once, Khan Janibek summoned the leader of one of the ails, Sultanmamit Khan, and said to him angrily:
— Your stallions attacked my mares, and they are about to give birth to foals. Pay me for this, or you will be in trouble!

Saddened, Sultanmamit Khan returned to his ailing and began to collect tribute from the people. He noticed a beardless young man sitting on a horse, staring at what was happening. Sultanmamit Khan got angry and shouted at him:
— It's people like you who stare aimlessly, and we have trouble because of it. Get lost!

The young man calmly replied:
— There are khans who, when they migrate, do not know where to stop, and when they stop, do not know where they have migrated.

— And where does a tumbleweed stop? — asked Sultanmamit Khan.

— Where the air stops, but sometimes you become foolish from the air that surrounds you, and sometimes you become foolish from the questions that are asked of you.

— Well, alright, — said Sultanmamit Khan, calming down, — listen to me further. My horses attacked the mares of Khan Janibek, and they will soon give him foals. For this, Khan Janibek demands a ransom from me, or he threatens to come with a sword. How can we avoid war and not pay the ransom?

— Give me an adult male camel and an old goat, and I will reconcile you, — replied the young man.

Sultanmamit Khan gave all this to the young man, and he set off on his journey. On the way, he met one of Janibek Khan's boastful men. He asked the young man where he was going and why.

— I am going to reconcile Khan Janibek with Sultanmamit Khan, — replied the young man.

— What, did Sultanmamit Khan not find anyone bigger than you for this matter? — the boastful man feigned surprise.

— If you want to speak with someone bigger than me, you can talk to the camel I am riding, — was the reply.

— And what, were there no elders with Sultanmamit Khan?

— If you want to speak with the owner of a white beard, you can talk to the goat I am leading on a leash.

The boastful man was taken aback and left.

Upon entering the city, the young man killed a dog that rushed at him barking and shamed a young woman who greeted him with laughter. Upon learning of all this, Khan Janibek ordered the young man to be taken to his home, to spread a bare skin in a place of honor, and to place a stack of blankets in the far corner.

Entering the house, the young man sat down, facing the blankets.

— Why are you sitting with your back to me? — asked Khan Janibek.

— A khan is strong even in poverty, — replied the young man, — so it is better to sit on bare skin and look him in the face.

— Well, — said Khan Janibek, — upon entering the city, you killed a dog and shamed a girl...

— O great khan, — said the young man, — when your dogs bark, our bitches give birth to puppies, that is why I acted as I did.

Khan Janibek smiled, ordered a horse and a new fur coat to be given to the young man, and asked to convey his wishes for good health and prosperity to Sultanmamit Khan.

Kyrgyz Tales