The Tale of Chynybek and the Wizard. Part 2

It has been a month since Chynybek and Aysulu got married, and they moved to the aiyl where Khan Karakhan ruled, which in Kyrgyz translates to Black Khan. Karakhan was an evil wizard — this was known to all the residents of the aiyl, and everyone feared him. Only Chynybek was unaware of this, but soon their paths intertwined.

This happened on the day of falcon hunting, which Karakhan was very fond of. As soon as he released the falcon on a hare, the bird flapped its wings and flew back home, to the aiyl. Karakhan galloped after it and saw that the falcon had landed on the roof of Chynybek's mud hut. Karakhan rode closer to the poor man's dwelling and shouted:

— Hey, is anyone there? Get my falcon off the roof!

— It seems the Khan himself has come to visit us,— Aysulu said excitedly. — Go,— she addressed Chynybek,— get his falcon.

— Do it yourself,— he said carelessly, not thinking about the consequences of his step.

The Khan almost fell off his horse when he saw a beautiful girl before him and decided to take her from Chynybek. He thought long about how to do this.

A rich man, as is well known, is always ready to deceive a poor man. So Karakhan invited Chynybek to his palace and said:

— You live poorly, Chynybek: there is no joy in your house, no laughter to be heard. A jigit should not live like this. Do you want to have some fun? Let’s play hide and seek. But with a condition: if you find me when I hide, I will give you my entire khanate; if I find you — you will give me Aysulu and leave this place forever. Do you agree?

Chynybek understood that he could not shake off Karakhan's claims, and he agreed. They began the game — a contest of minds for wit and resourcefulness. The Khan hid first.

Chynybek started looking for him, but he could not figure out where he had hidden.

— What are you looking for? — Aysulu asked Chynybek, seeing him tense and searching for something. Chynybek had to tell his wife about the game of hide and seek and its conditions.

— Why are you silent! — Aysulu exclaimed, waving her hands. — Go quickly to the stable, you will see a white goat there — that is Karakhan. Wrap the beard of that goat around your arm and hit him until Karakhan takes his form.

Chynybek did just that. Karakhan could not withstand the blows of the whip and pleaded:

— Enough, enough, Chynybek! You have won.

Another time, the Khan hid again. Chynybek had already checked all the corners — and all in vain: Karakhan had vanished without a trace, nowhere to be found.

— You are looking in the wrong place,— Aysulu told her husband. — Go outside — you will find him faster there. But don’t forget to take an axe with you: Karakhan has turned into a poplar tree that stands on top of a cliff this time.

Chynybek climbed the cliff and swung the axe,

— Don’t kill me, Chynybek,— he heard Karakhan's voice. — You have won again. — And he took his form. Karakhan hid for the third time. Aysulu asked her husband:

— Where will you look for the Khan this time?

Chynybek just shrugged his shoulders:

— He has probably turned into something again?

— Into a black camel. He is lying on the shore of Sasyk Lake — Bad Lake. — And Aysulu taught Chynybek how to deal with the Khan so that he would take his form.

It was Chynybek's turn to hide. Without thinking long, he decided to crawl under the bed, but this only made Aysulu laugh.

— This won’t do,— she said, laughing. — Karakhan will lasso us both in no time. I will hide you myself.

And Aysulu turned Chynybek into a thimble, put the thimble on her finger, and began to sew the hem of her dress. Karakhan began to search. He looked everywhere! Finally, he got tired:

— You have won, Chynybek. Come out!

Chynybek laughed and took his form.

The second time, Aysulu turned Chynybek into a spool of thread, threaded the needle, and began to sew a malakhai — a fox hat. And this time the Khan could not find Chynybek.

For the third time, Aysulu turned Chynybek into a needle, stuck the needle into the collar of her dress, and began to prepare lunch. Oh, how hard Karakhan tried to find Chynybek this time! He was drenched and sweating from the effort. But all in vain — he could not find what he had not lost. Karakhan realized that he could not defeat Chynybek with wit and decided to use cunning.

— Here’s the thing, Chynybek,— he said,— fulfill my last request. Go to the other world, to my deceased father, and ask for advice on what I should do now? Let him write to me, and you return quickly with the letter.

Aysulu and Chynybek thought for a long time about how to get out of this difficult situation. Through people, Aysulu learned that although Karakhan was the heir of a rich man, he did not know his father’s handwriting. Then Chynybek sat down and wrote on behalf of the Khan's father such a letter: “My son, I am glad for you. You rule the country wisely, and the people are satisfied with you. I would like to see you while you still hold power.” Seven days passed, and Chynybek took the letter to Karakhan. He read the letter and said to his subjects:

— My deceased father wants to see me and calls me to him. — He turned to Chynybek: — You know the way to the underworld, take me there.

Chynybek did just that: he tied Karakhan with a rope to a log, took him to a high mountain, and threw him off, saying:

— Happy meeting with your father!

Thus, Chynybek and Aysulu freed the people from the evil Khan. And they went to live in Chynybek's homeland — with his father Dzhuzbay.

Dzhuzbay was proud that his son had defeated the evil wizards. He gathered all the villagers and arranged a grand feast in honor of his son Chynybek and his beautiful wife Aysulu.