The Tale of the Dough Giant

THE DOUGH GIANT

An old man and an old woman had no children. And they were very sad about it.

One evening, after kneading the dough, the old woman went outside and, with a plea, raised her hands to the sky: “Oh Almighty, if only you could turn this dough into a child!”

After finishing her prayer, the old woman returned home and saw that the dough had turned into a huge boy.

Overjoyed, the old man and the old woman threw a feast in his honor and named the boy Dough Giant.

He really grew very quickly, and by the age of seventeen, he had become strong, brave, and manly. Making himself an iron staff, which could barely be moved by sixty bulls and fifty horses, the Dough Giant asked his parents for permission to travel and set off on his journey.

On the road, he met a traveler and asked him his name.

— My name is Tootolton, — replied the traveler.

— What are you capable of? — asked the Dough Giant.

— I am the strongest in the world, — replied Tootolton.

Becoming friends, they continued their journey together. They walked and walked, met a man, and asked him his name.

— My name is Suusulpan, — replied the man.

— What can you do?

— I can stop any river with my palm!

Then they continued on together until they met another stranger. His name was Aiallan, and he could kill all the beasts in the mountains by striking a stone against a stone.

Whether it was a long or short journey, the four friends eventually stumbled upon such a beautiful place that they decided to stay there for a few days. In the morning, three of them went hunting, leaving Aialpan to prepare food. They returned in the evening, and there wasn’t a crumb of food left. Aialpan explained that as soon as he cooked the meat, an old woman with an iron nose appeared. She asked for coals from the hearth and not only ate all the meat but also beat Aialpan.

The next day, it was Suusulpan's turn to stay behind. The same story happened to him. Then the Dough Giant said that he would stay to guard the hearth and prepare food for his friends while they hunted.

As soon as the meat was cooked, the old woman with the iron nose appeared.

— Give me meat! — she shouted.

— You should eat coals from the hearth, not meat, — replied the Dough Giant.

The old woman lunged at him, but the Dough Giant pushed her away, and just as he was about to strike her with his iron staff, she ran away. The Dough Giant chased after her, and she hid in a cave. The Dough Giant descended into the cave and saw a huge white stone palace. He entered and found three girls in one of the rooms, along with the old woman with the iron nose. He struck her with his staff and killed her. He asked the girls who they were, and they replied that they were the daughters of a khan and that this wicked old woman had kidnapped them.

The Dough Giant returned to his friends, who had already come back from the hunt, told them everything, and suggested that one of the three take two girls for himself while he would keep one.

The friends were offended, thinking that if he was so strong, he could have given them all three girls, and they decided to kill him.

The Dough Giant learned of this and, with such fury, attacked them that they got scared and ran away.

The Dough Giant brought the girls to their father, and he, overjoyed, gave him the entire khanate. The Dough Giant became a khan, married one of the three girls, brought his parents to the palace, and they all lived together happily ever after.

Kyrgyz Tales