The Wisdom of Kazakh Folktales: The Swan

The Swan

Once upon a time in ancient times there was a tribe forced to abandon their native land because of frequent raids. There remained but one poor jigit (hero) – an orphan – with his old grandmother and his little sister. One day the jigit was hunting on the lake shore and he heard the flapping of wings behind him. It was a flock of white swans. Circling round, the swans landed on the water. The jigit decided to shoot one of the birds. But no matter how well he aimed, he couldn’t hit a single one of them. The frightened swans lifted up from the lake’s surface and, anxiously waving their wings, flew away. The jigit yelled after the swans, “Hey, swans! I know where you are flying to, to the Balkantau Mountains.”

Then, he mounted his horse and galloped after the swans. But the jigit was unable to catch up to the swans and he returned home. His little sister saw him from far away and ran out of the yurt to meet him. She cried, “Oh, Alakai, Alakai! Brother is coming back from the hunt, having shot a swan!” But the old woman saw that the jigit’s hands were empty. She began to cry, “How are we going to survive!?” The jigit mounted his horse again and galloped away, saying to himself, “Better that I die than see those tears.” On the road he suddenly came upon the tribe’s enemies. His enemies approached, playing on the wind instrument called kernei. The jigit understood that his enemies wouldn’t let him go alive and he called them to fight one at a time with the war cry “Jetpe-jek! (Single combat!)”. In this uneven battle the jigit was victorious and, having taken his enemies’ horses, arms, and clothing, returned home.

Translated from the Russian by Dr. Helen Faller
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