BEKZHAL AND THE BIRD ZYMYRYK
In ancient times, a khan had a wonderful bird named Zymyryk. Every morning, the bird would tell the khan what was happening on earth.
One day, the bird Zymyryk disappeared. The khan was very sad and sent his horsemen in all directions to search for the marvelous bird. But the horsemen could not find it. Then the khan gathered the people and announced:
— Whoever finds the bird Zymyryk will receive half of my wealth.
Many people volunteered to search for Zymyryk. The khan put all of them on the best horses, the argamaks, which did not know fatigue.
The son of a poor peasant, Bekzhal, heard about the disappearance. He took a sturdy stick in his hands, slung a gun over his shoulder, tucked a dagger into his belt, and set off after the others to search for the magical bird Zymyryk.
Bekzhal walked day and night, despite hunger and fatigue. One day, right in front of him, six mountain goats—archars—rushed by, racing each other. Bekzhal aimed and was just about to shoot at them when they cried out in human voices:
— Don’t shoot us, horseman, we are not archars, we are people!
Bekzhal was surprised and lowered his gun.
— How did you become archars? — he asked.
And the archars told him:
— We were walking down this road just like you. If you go further, you will see a large white yurt. There is no one in the yurt, only a table set with all kinds of food in the world. Don’t go into the yurt, don’t eat anything there, otherwise, just like us, you will turn into an animal!
Hearing these words, Bekzhal thought to himself, "We'll see!" — and went on.
The six archars spoke the truth. Soon Bekzhal saw a large white yurt. He entered the yurt. In the middle stood a table laden with all kinds of food in the world. Bekzhal looked around—he saw no one, sat down on the carpet. "Whatever happens," he decided, "I will eat." And he began to eat. Meanwhile, a terrible old woman appeared in the yurt. She took a handful of sand from the ground and threw it in Bekzhal's face. And Bekzhal immediately turned into a mountain goat—an archar. Struggling to walk on hooves, swaying, he exited the yurt. Suddenly, a white palace appeared before him. Bekzhal approached it and stopped at the gate. A beautiful girl came out of the white palace; she saw the mountain goat and thought: "This is not an animal, but a human. Could this be the trick of my cunning mother—the evil witch?"
The girl took a handful of sand from the ground, threw it in Bekzhal's eyes, and he returned to his former human form.
The girl invited Bekzhal into the palace.
— What are you doing here? — she asked the young man.
Bekzhal told the girl that he was searching for the missing bird Zymyryk.
— Do you know where this bird is? Will you help me find it? — he asked the girl.
— I know where the bird Zymyryk is,— the girl replied. — But whoever seeks it is doomed to perish. There is a narrow path leading from here. Whoever walks this path will come to a chinar tree that supports the sky. At the top of this chinar, a mighty black bird builds a nest and hatches chicks. But every year, the one-eyed dragon—adyjdar—devours the chicks. If you kill this adyjdar, go to the pass. It will take you a hundred years to cross it. Beyond the pass, there is a dense forest, which you will cross for ninety years. If you go further, you will see the sea, which you will swim across for eighty years...
— Whatever happens, I will go,— said Bekzhal.
The girl liked Bekzhal for his bravery, and she said to him:
— Then do this. Go along the path and reach the chinar that supports the sky. At its foot, dig a hole, hide in it, and cover yourself with brushwood. In three days, the adyjdar will come and climb to the top of the tree. Then you shoot the adyjdar in the head and kill him. The next day, the mighty black bird will arrive. She will see the good you have done for her and will help you find what you are looking for.
And the girl gave Bekzhal a kurdzhun with food for the journey. Bekzhal thanked the girl, bid her farewell, took the kurdzhun, and set off. After a few days, he arrived at the chinar that supports the sky. The young man did as the girl instructed: under the chinar, he dug a hole, hid in it, covered himself with brushwood, and waited for the adyjdar.
Three days later, with a loud whistle, the adyjdar flew to the chinar. Flames burst from his mouth, and smoke billowed from his nose. Wrapping around the chinar, the adyjdar climbed to its top. From morning until noon, Bekzhal aimed and finally shot the adyjdar accurately. The adyjdar fell to the ground and began to thrash around so violently that the century-old fir trees were uprooted, and deep trenches were left where he passed.
Bekzhal shot the adyjdar three more times, and only then did the adyjdar breathe his last. At that moment, the young man heard someone squeaking from the chinar:
— O horseman, come up to us!
It was the chicks of the mighty black bird calling him.
Bekzhal climbed the tree and reached the nest when the sun had already set and it was dark all around. The chicks of the mighty black bird were glad to see Bekzhal. They thanked him for saving them.
— Now lie down under our wings,— they said. — Our mother will only come in the morning. Tears will flow from her eyes like rain, and stones the size of sheep and boulders the size of houses will roll down from the flaps of her mighty wings. When she lands in the nest, the top of the chinar will bend three times to the ground and rise three times to the sky.
But do not be afraid of this.
Dawn came, the sun rose. Suddenly, the sun was hidden, and a heavy rain began. Stones the size of sheep and boulders the size of houses shifted and flew. When the mighty black bird landed on the chinar, the top of it bent three times to the ground and rose three times to the sky.
Seeing that her chicks were safe and sound, the mighty black bird said:
— For good, I repay with good; for evil, with evil. How did you survive?
— We will show you who did evil,— said the chicks and pointed to the dead adyjdar,
— And now show me who did a good deed,— said the mighty bird.
As soon as the chicks pointed to Bekzhal, the mighty black bird swallowed him in one gulp. The chicks began to reproach their mother.
— Is it right to repay good with evil? — they asked,
— If you had not been so impatient, I would have made him even stronger! — replied the mighty black bird.
Then she spat Bekzhal out.
— For good, I repay with good,— said the mighty black bird. — Ask for whatever you want.
Bekzhal told her everything that had happened to him and asked for help in finding the magical bird Zymyryk,
The mighty black bird looked one way—she cried, looked the other way—she laughed. Then she said:
— Alright, I will help you. Just wait three days. I will take care of the food. From the foothills, I will bring archars, and from the valleys—moose.
And the bird flew away. Three days later, she brought sixty moose with branched antlers and sixty fat archars. Bekzhal slaughtered the archars and moose, made skins into bags. In one bag, the young man put the prepared meat, and in the other, he poured spring water.
The next day at dawn, Bekzhal climbed onto the back of the mighty black bird and took the bags of meat and water with him.
The bird bid farewell to her chicks and said to Bekzhal:
— Close your eyes tightly, otherwise, your head will spin, and you will fall to the ground. Only open them when I tell you to. When I turn my head to the right—give me meat; when I turn my head to the left—give me water.
And she took to the air.
Bekzhal saw neither the sunrise nor the sunset. When the magical bird turned her head to the right, he gave her meat; when she turned to the left, he gave her water. And one day, the mighty black bird said to him:
— Bekzhal, open your eyes and look at the ground!
Bekzhal opened his eyes, looked at the ground, and said:
— The earth has become the size of a flock of sheep.
Then the young man closed his eyes again.
After flying a little more, the mighty black bird said to him again:
— Bekzhal, open your eyes and look at the ground again!
— Now the earth is completely invisible,— said Bekzhal.
— That means we have already flown over a high mountain.
Now I will fly lower—closer to the ground,— said the mighty black bird.
When they were flying over some city, the bird turned her head to the right—she asked for meat. But there was no more meat in the bags. Then Bekzhal cut a piece of meat from his thigh with a dagger and gave it to the mighty black bird. After eating this meat, the bird was able to reach the city where the magical bird Zymyryk lived.
— On the way, I ate a lot of meat, but the last piece was the tastiest,— said the mighty black bird.
— I cut that piece from my thigh,— Bekzhal told her.
The bird thanked the young man for this. And immediately the wound on his thigh healed.
The mighty black bird said to Bekzhal:
— The bird Zymyryk you are looking for is with the ruler of this city. And the ruler of this city is a girl. In her palace, there are many beasts: lions, tigers, bears, wolves. But these are not real beasts—they are people. Do not be afraid of them: they sleep for seven days and are awake for seven days. Right now, both the girl and her guards are sleeping. You enter the city, find the palace where the girl lives, and take the bird Zymyryk. On the girl-ruler's arm, there is a bracelet. Take it off and give it to the girl who sent you here. It is her bracelet. She swore that she would marry whoever brings her this bracelet. I will wait for you three days; I cannot wait longer than three days...
Bekzhal wandered around the city for two days but could not find the khan's palace. On the third day, he finally found it and entered. The young man saw the girl-ruler sleeping, and the bird Zymyryk sitting and looking at her. Bekzhal took the bird Zymyryk, removed the bracelet from the girl's arm, and returned to the mighty black bird. The third day was coming to an end, and the bird, not having waited for Bekzhal, had already risen to the height of an arkan's length. Seeing Bekzhal, she descended and let Bekzhal and the bird Zymyryk onto her back. Now the magical bird Zymyryk was with them, and before the mighty black bird could take off, they had already arrived at the chinar that supports the sky.
Bekzhal thanked the mighty black bird, bid farewell to her and her chicks, transferred to the bird Zymyryk, and set off to the girl in the white palace. He gave her the bracelet.
And the girl said to him:
— I have fallen in love with you and will marry you!
They mounted the bird Zymyryk and flew to the khan.
When they rested on the shore of a large lake, two sons of the khan quietly approached them and, seeing the bird Zymyryk, whispered:
— We shouldn’t wait for the son of the poor peasant Bekzhal to take half of our father’s wealth as a reward.
It’s better to kill him!
And, having conceived evil, they turned to the young man:
— Bekzhal, you are younger than us, please water our horses!
Bekzhal took the horses by the reins and led them to drink. And as soon as Bekzhal approached the lake, the khan's sons pushed him into the water. They wanted to kill the bride too, but when they approached her, she turned into a white swan and swam across the lake.
The khan's sons jumped on their horses and rode away. They took turns carrying the bird Zymyryk, placing her in front of themselves.
They arrived at their father the khan and handed him the bird.
The khan was overjoyed when he saw his marvelous bird Zymyryk. He gathered all his people, arranged a grand feast with horse races and wrestling matches. And he gifted each of his sons a large city.
And they became rulers of those cities.
The magical bird Zymyryk was placed back in her former place, but for some reason, she no longer told what was happening on earth.
Time passed. But the bird Zymyryk remained silent. One day, Bekzhal and his bride came to the city and entered the khan's palace. Then the bird Zymyryk suddenly spoke.
— My khan,— she said,— Bekzhal has found me. Your sons envied him and pushed him into the lake.
Bekzhal was saved by his bride, who turned him into a fish. She herself turned into a white swan. Now they stand before you!
The khan was very happy that the bird Zymyryk had spoken again. He then asked Bekzhal how he had found the magical bird. Bekzhal told him everything that had happened. The khan listened to Bekzhal and gave him half of his wealth, as he had promised.
And he drove his envious sons out of his khanate forever.
After that, the bird Zymyryk, as before, told people about what was and what will be, what will come true and what will not, about good and evil.
Kyrgyz Tales