SEVEN MONTHS UNDERGROUND. Part 3
Seven long months behind,
How the hero lives underground.
He set off on a distant journey,
To bring back his little sister,
And he did not know that here
He would be mining lead and mercury.
He learned to forge stone,
To knead it like clay, and to mold,
To cast heavy metal,
He learned many useful secrets.
Every day the attentive brother,
He is glad to see his sister,
They discuss their affairs
And encourage each other with words.
It has become easier for Maktym
To live in the cave next to his brother,
But when the native wind blows —
How can one not long for freedom?
The dull toil without change —
Still burdensome is the stifling captivity!
And when strength runs low,
The prisoners dance and sing,
The sound of the melody is dear to the heart,
The dances give them strength.
The dzhigit Djanar rarely sees,
But when he does — a fire ignites in his chest,
Olokon utters a word —
As if he breathes fire.
To see his beloved again and again
And not reveal his love
Is hard... But the hero, like steel.
Only the dream flies far away
From the deep cave out
To the white yurt... And day is like night,
Night is like day, in the light of lamps
Those eyes stand before him.
But already many days
There has been no news from dear Djanar.
Distressed, the hero is agitated
And the whole world is not dear to him —
Sometimes he asks Maktym,
Sometimes he sits still,
As if in a burdensome oblivion,
Clutching his temples,
For many days he does not eat or drink...
Suddenly a message reaches him.—
Djanar has lost her relatives.
The hero leaves the mine,
Hurries quickly to the white yurt...
There, in sorrow, Djanar sits,
Shocked by what has happened...
Fate strikes indiscriminately,
Cold as ice,
And more merciless than the evil devs,
Friends have come from afar
To pay their last tribute,
Each poured a handful of earth
Into their grave... Djanar alone,
All broken, exhausted
Remains to weep by the hill.
...Days dragged on after that misfortune
In an endless succession.
But one day the aliens asked everyone
To rise up.
It was hard for the pale, thin people
To walk over the rubble of ore,
"After so many underground years
It is unusual to look at the light.
The leader of the aliens stepped forward,
Holding a sheet of paper in his hand,
In a strange language
He delivered a long speech to the people,
And Djanar translated it as best she could
For her brothers.
“All of us, people, owe you,
And friends thank you!
...Many years, many winters ago
We settled on the seashore.
There lies a deaf country,
And a fierce people live there,
We avoided evil, but now
A great war has begun.
We were cornered from all sides,
A heavy blow was dealt to us,
Half of us perished,
And when the terrible battle subsided,
I decided, at my own risk,
To land in the mountains,
But while descending from the steep heights,
Our spaceship broke down.
We buried our fallen friends
In the eternal ice,
Here, in the cave, we found ore
To repair our bird.
But with the generous gift of the Earth
We could not manage ourselves —
The ore lay deep,
And we had to gather you then.
Forgive us for your captivity and toil,
A great reward awaits you.
Having healed the heavy wounds,
Soon the Bird will take flight.
But, so that people can later
Remember us with kind words,
We will return everyone to their native home,
Gather for the return journey.”
The alien finished his speech, fell silent,
He opened the gates wide —
And a mountain of golden coins
Sparkled brighter than the stars.
All pockets were already full
And there was plenty under their cloaks —
Here is the wealth of an entire country —
Where had it been before?
And no one among the people knew,
That the coins were the same ore,
Melted into metal —
The fruit of their worthy labor.
Well, then both young and old
Sat down for a great feast,
On skewers — saiga and argali,
On the table — both greens and cheese.
Grandfathers will later tell their grandchildren
About that feast,
This reality will become a fairy tale,
It will outlive generations,
You, dear reader, imagine for yourself
What a feast the people arranged.
Who did not make it to this feast,
For many years regretted and sighed.
DJANAR AND OLOKON
Everyone returned to their native places
Spreading the happy news,
And, having dispersed to their homes,
Could not count the treasures.
For relatives and guests
Djanar rejoices equally —
Those take away a rich gift,
These are faithful to their oath.
Djanar has a dozen worries
Increasing every day,
And Maktym eagerly awaits
The return to his native home,
He wants to embrace
His elderly father and mother,
To wander through the familiar meadows
Maktym hurries as fast as he can.
Olokon, however, is filled with anxiety,
His heart beats loudly in his chest,
His thoughts fly in a hundred different directions
And hurry back,
And he does not know what to do, the dzhigit.
Sometimes he decides to fly, in love,
Sometimes he decides to stay.
Who foresees their brief life?
Who can glimpse a moment ahead?
Olokon does not close his eyes,
A new day rises over the earth...
What does he bring? — someone’s laughter,
Someone will shed tears over him.
Is there anything on earth harder
Than saying “Goodbye!” to loved ones,
Is there any pain on earth greater
Than saying “Farewell!” to the Fatherland,
And leaving the mother planet —
What is more terrifying in the whole Universe?
Djanar is planning something,
And the hero is filled with anxiety —
Life’s gift will become burdensome,
The blooming world will become hell
Without his beloved — all will be hidden in darkness,
He will go mad among the stars.
But Djanar is preparing for the journey,
This girl cannot be returned —
If she decides something,
She will hurry to fulfill it,
She is already burning with a distant goal,
She does not repeat her words,
If she crosses the river on foot,
She will not turn back.
After all, she decided to fly
Many long sleepless nights ago.
Her father and mother knew this,
But they tried not to notice;
Or perhaps they left
So as not to see for themselves how their daughter
Would leave them, flying far away
From her native land.
At their grave, no one...
And in confusion, Olokon,
An unquenchable fire burns
In his exhausted chest.
To stay, where to find strength?
Where to find them to fly away?
Who can give him advice?
Who will share his sorrow?..
Why does the hero not decide
What does not frighten the girl?
“Goodbye, my Maktym,
Maybe we will meet under the moon,
Return to your native places —
For me, there is no other road.
Goodbye, my Maktym!”
All doubts the dzhigit rejected,
And love prevailed,
It became clear in his soul —
For the hero decided
To fly to an unfamiliar world,
To share his days only with her.
They said goodbye to Maktym,
Eagerly awaiting the flight...
The End.
Beginning: Djanar and Olokon. Fairy Tale - Poem. Part 2