A legend

 

When the bravest hero Khara-Batyr was still a little boy, his aul was attacked by raiders who caught him and made him tend their ships. He was wearing rugs and fed upon the sheep milk only.

Once, when boy was sitting alone in his sadness, the crow came to him. He addressed the crow saying:

Dear crow, my dear beard,

You who feed upon the blood,

I will give you this amulet of my neck,

Take it and fly to my aul, to my home,

Where my father lives sad and alone,

You give him this amulet back.

The crow only croaked and flied away. After some time the magpie came. The boy addressed to magpie that time:

Dear magpie, my dear beard,

You, who live with carrion alone,

I will give you this amulet,

Fly and bring it to my sweet home!

The magpie only chattered for a little and she left as well. Then the cranes came and landed nearby. The boy began to ask them:

Dear cranes, my sweet lords,

Each of you, who are known for long neck,

Take this amulet to my home

For my father to have it back.

The cranes clanged and they too left the boy alone. After some time he saw another birds, this time they were geese. So he talked to the gees:

Dear geese, my dear friends,

Now I ask and you’re my last hope,

I will give you this amulet,

Fly and bring it to my sweet home!

But the geese left him as well. After then came the swans. Boy had nothing to do, but to ask the swans this time:

Dear swans, you are lords of the lakes,

The most beautiful of the birds,

I will give you this amulet,

Fly and bring it to my sweet home!

The swans turned their heads to him, hesitated for a little, but finally they also abandoned little boy. After some time he saw the little swallow. He decided to try for the last time and talked to the swallow:

Dear swallow, sweet little bird,

I’m enslaved by my evil foes,

I will give you this amulet,

Fly and bring it to my sweet home!

The swallow firs took up, flight for some time in the air, but then it felt sorry for the boy, so the swallow came back and sit on the tree branch nearby.

“Even if my father gets this amulet”, the boy thought, “he still will not know among what people I do live”. So he took his knife, pierced his hand with it and drew Turkmen tamga in the reverse side of amulet. After that he tied it to swallow’s neck, told the bird where to find his parents and set it fly.

The swallow followed the direction boy showed her.

Through the chains of high mountains

And the depths of the lakes,

Over the wastelands and deserts,

To the very edge of the world,

She was flying with all strength she had,

With the sweat rolling down her feathers.

If it saw some danger from the high, it landed and hid beyond some little hill.

Swallow passed over numerous lands,

Many shires had it left behind,

But when sun did its thirtieth rise,

It was near that very aul,

Little boy had asked it to find.

When it had reached aul, little swallow made a flight among the yurts, it sat on the top of one yurt, then on the top of the other. It looked at the people there with great attention, but still couldn’t find any resemblance with boy’s parents.

As it was very tired after the journey, the bird finally fell asleep. And then, through its sleep, it heard the lamentations of old woman. The swallow waked up and listened. The old woman was singing:

My dear boy, my sweet little colt,

The last wisp of the grey hair of mine,

The young bulrush beside the lake,

The only and dear son of mine!

Where shall I go to find your tracks?

Was this evil foe who took you?

Or the dog who had torn your flesh?

Or the stream in the mountain river?

If the death is what destiny wants,

Then my death for me would be dearer!

The year has passed, and here’s passing another,

What a grief for a poor old mother!

“Come on, don’t you cry”, an old men tried to set her down, however, soon he began to cry as well:

“You were growing like pile in the steppe,

My one and the only son,

I have crossed for almost whole world,

But my son nowhere was found!

I’ve become as lean as old camel,

My old bones, that were harder than rock,

Are now being crashed by the fever.

And on whom can I now lean upon?

Who had haunted my dear little eagle?

Now it’s only one thing I want,

To see my son before I am gone.

Then the young girl came, she asked the man and woman to be quit and began her own sad song:

You was thin like a newly forged sword,

Dear brother, who was born with me,

I thought my life will be vivid and light,

But now there’s no gladness I see.

I am dressed in all silks alone,

I have herds of fast horses for me,

But this all can not bring me delight,

Nor my friends always running around,

Always singing their fairy songs,

My soul is still tired and stoned

Now that my dear brother is gone.

All my best days I’m spending in grief.

Dear mother and father of mine,

Do not drop all those numerous tears,

For this night I have had a dream,

Might it be it is lucky for us?

Tell me now what this dream could mean!

There was falcon I had lost for once,

Who had suddenly come back to me,

And the horse that I love most of all,

Had also returned back home,

My dear brother I’ve seen in my dream,

He was entering our home for once more!

Kudai will repay our sorrow,

Only dead men can not be seen,

I do swear with Baba-Tukty,

And I swear with Azis-Shashty

I have seen also little swallow,

Who is very good news to bring.

When the swallow heard those words, it left her branch and landed before man and woman. They both cried and untied the amulet from swallow’s neck. Then they recognized Turkmen tamga and knew that Kara-Batyr is now in Turkmen land. So they gathered people, took their best horses and went to search for their son. When they found him, they gave Turkmen people lot of presents and finally took the boy home, to their aul.