Есенжан Абубакиров

Отрывок из перевода книги Асель Аяповой “Серебряный браслет”

The silver bracelet
A long time ago, when juniper trees grew thicker on the slopes of the Ala-Too mountains, and there was still magic on the ground, a young hunter Kasan lived in the world. His nomadic dwelling – the yurt – stood near the mountain forest. Terrible monsters lived in that forest, and people bypassed it.
Once Kasan was chasing the beast and got so carried away that he did not notice how he ended up in a dense thicket. Suddenly, the leaves rustled – a girl stepped out from behind the trees. She had charming, amber eyes and braided hair, and she was light and airy. In a dress flowing in the wind she looked like a young doe. Struck by the beauty of the stranger, Kasan stepped forward, but a huge gray dog jumped out from behind the trees and blocked the beauty. She held up her hand, and a silver bracelet sparkled on it. At the same moment, the girl and her formidable dog disappeared, as if they melted in the air.
For many days the hunter has been searching for the mysterious beauty. He already got desperate when fate brought him to the gray dog again. He was fighting with a pack of black wolves. Having pulled out the knife, Kasan rushed to help. Together, they attacked the wolves furiously. The beasts backed away with a howl. Only the leader of the pack, a huge one-eared wolf, did not flinch. He jumped and grabbed Kasan’s shoulder. The hunter fell down. Suddenly, somewhere nearby, a sound of a surnay – a signal trumpet – was heard. As soon as they heard it, the wolves retreated, and the gray dog put the wounded man on his back and carried him along a secret forest path.
Kasan came to his senses in a large yurt. It was cozy there. A tush-kiyiz, a richly embroidered carpet, was hanging on the wall. Chests lined with copper were standing nearby. Red and blue quilted blankets were lying on them. The same blanket was covering the hunter. Kasan moved his shoulder and felt no pain. Only a small scar remained from the terrible wound.
“You were healed by Seidep herself!” the hunter heard suddenly and was surprised to understand that the voice belonged to a gray dog sitting on a felt carpet.
“Follow me!” the dog ordered and disappeared behind the canopy.
Kasan put on the clothes prepared for him and followed out.
A flowering valley stretched in front of him. White yurts were standing on the hillocks.
“Where am I?” the hunter asked the dog. “And who are you?”
“These are the possessions of Kaiyp. And I am Taigan, guardian of the valley,” the dog answered.
Kasan heard many stories about Lord Kaiyp, the patron of animals. In his forests the hunters were allowed to only get food necessary for life. Those who hunted for fun were severely punished. And the order on the lands of Kaiyp was observed by guards. They protected the world from the creatures of darkness, and they were very respected among the people.
“Lord Kaiyp invites you to share dinner with him,” the dog said.
He led Kasan to a large yurt on a hill. A mighty golden-eyed man was sitting there surrounded by guests.
“Greetings, hunter!” he said in a low, sonorous voice. “In a difficult moment, you helped Taigan. I appreciate it and offer you to become a guardian. What do you think?”
The guests whispered in shock: it was a great honor.
“I agree!” Kasan answered calmly, although everything inside him was trembling with delight.
Feeling satisfied, the lord handed him a surnai. All the guards had such a signal pipe. Then the hunter was seated in a place of honor at a dastorkon – a tablecloth with refreshments.
“The sorcerer Karash appeared in the mountains,” the owner of the yurt continued the conversation. “His evil magic spoils everything around him. It was he who bred monsters in the forest. Black wolves serve the sorcerer. And he wants to become the owner of these lands.”
“Is it possible to challenge Karash to fight?” Kasan asked.
Kaiyp said after a pause, “One guard, young and brave, asked me the same question. He left to fight the sorcerer. Since then, no one has heard of him… Let’s stop this conversation for now. Today is the time to feast. Take koumiss from the hands of a young mistress. This is my daughter Seidep.”
The hunter smiled happily, because the beauty he has been looking for all this time approached him. Kasan prepared a lot of beautiful words for this meeting, but now they flew out of his head.
“Thank you for the treatment,” he said, taking the bowl. “That time you disappeared so quickly!”
Seidep laughed out loud.
“It was the bracelet that brought me home. I can do magic with it,” the girl raised her hand.
A magic decoration sparkled and a young man appeared in front of the guests with a musical instrument called “komuz” in his hands. He touched the strings and a song about how bravely Kasan fought with the wolves, helping the gray dog, poured with melodic sounds. There were many more songs and conversations at a dinner, and then Taigan escorted the hunter to the yurt prepared for him.
The next day, Kasan went with the gray dog to guard the possessions of the patron of animals. They were walking in silence as outside the magical valley the dog lost the ability to speak as a human. Suddenly, a frightened girl’s cry was heard somewhere nearby. Kasan and Taigan rushed to help and ended up in a meadow. There was no a single soul there, only the crumpled grass was showing that someone was attacked there. The gray dog sniffed the air and disappeared into the bushes with a menacing roar. At that moment, a little man jumped out of there.
Round hooves were seen under his robe. It was Taituiak — a magic dancer who dances on the paths, loudly clapping his hooves, and puts hunters off the scent. Being caught by the hunter, he twitched, and a silver bracelet fell on the grass.
“Seidep’s bracelet!” the hunter sighed.
“I didn’t mean to steal it!” Taituiak squealed. “They forced me to do it!”
“Where is the girl?”
“She was kidnapped by the sorcerer Karash. I’ll show you where his palace is, but don’t kill me!”
“Lead,” Kasan said muffledly, hiding the bracelet. “But if you cheat…”
“I’ll take you to the palace, I swear!”
Taituiak led them along a narrow mountain path. Having passed the next turn, the surprised hunter stopped. An old woman in a leather apron was standing near the green hill. She cut a large patch of turf out of the hill with a wide knife, as a seamstress cuts a patch of fabric, and gruntingly carried it to a deep split.
“Let me help you,” Kasan approached her.
The hunter took a heavy patch and covered the split with it. The old woman sewed a patch to the ground quickly and the hole disappeared.
“Oh, how many holes there are. Evil souls from the underworld climb through them. They don’t give me to rest. And Karash’s magic is to be blamed for everything!” the magic seamstress grumbled. “Thank you, kind man! Here, hold it.”
She handed the hunter her wooden-handled knife, “It can cut the earth all the way to the underworld.”
Having said these words, the old woman disappeared.
The small group set out again. They walked until the sun went down and their stomachs grumbled with hunger. Kasan took out the last loaf of bread, broke it into three parts and handed the piece to Taituiak.
“Is it for me?” he was surprised.
“We are almost there. Karash built himself a palace in these rocks. But there’s something you need to know…” Taituiak said, hesitantly taking the food.
He did not have time to finish his speech. Suddenly, a gray mist swirled around. The ground slipped from under Kasan’s feet, and he sank chest-deep into loose mud. The gray dog thrashed around. Having dried instantly, the mud bound them tighter than chains. The fog cleared immediately, and the hunter saw black wolves.
The one-eared leader approached them.
“Well done! You brought a good prey!” he growled to Taituiak. “Hey, watchmen, over here!”
People with bird heads came to the call. They led the captives to the sorcerer’s palace. There, in the courtyard, Kasan’s weapons were taken away. They took the magic knife too. The simple wooden handle did not interest the watchman. Therefore, he threw the knife away, and even stepped on it with his boot.
After that, the captives were thrown into a cold dungeon.

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