A bald-headed boy 12+

(Kazakh Folk Fairytale)

In ancient times, the parents of a small child had died and the child became an orphan. One day, while walking in the bazaar, a bald-headed boy saw a sad man. Then a bald-headed boy comes to the old man.

An old man:

– What are you doing, boy? – he asks.

Then a bald-headed boy:

– I want to be a child to those who don`t have children, – he says.

An old man:

– Well, I didn't have a child, I want to have a child! – he said, taking the bald-headed boy to his house.

One day an old man said to the bald-headed boy:

– At the top of the tree there is a nest of a white-yellow bird, in the same nest there is a bird's egg. You go and bring an egg from the downhill without telling the bird.

A bald-headed boy:

– “All right”, – he said, running to the top of the tree without ringing the branches, and saying a word, he brought an egg and gave it to his father.

Then the old man:

– “Now take the egg and put it in the nest without telling the bird”, – he said.

A bald-headed boy:

– “All right”, – he said, taking the egg and putting it in the nest without telling the bird.

Then the old man:

– “All right, boy! You can do it, – he said.

One day, a stepfather of the bald-headed boy said:

– In that house there is an old woman who is rich and stingy to the death. They don't eat a lot of food at home, they don't feed anyone, and at night they both lie on the head of the worms in the bag and carry the butter in their stomachs. I did a lot of work for them, but they didn't pay for it and didn't give me enough to eat. Then a lot of money goes away. If you want me to be your father, bring me a yellow butter that you are hiding in the pocket of that sly, stingy old man.

– “All right”, – he said, and when everyone was asleep at night, he went into the house of the old woman and the cripple, lay down between them, and said in the old woman's voice, “Lie down!” – he said, tapping the cripple with his elbow and at the same time putting it in the cripple's voice: “Lie down!” – he touched the old woman with his elbow and finally took a yellow butter and was sent off to the different place. Shortly thereafter, the old man came out mourning the butter. An old man, himself, was a sly bald-headed boy in his youth: “One old man had adopted a bald-headed child, he probably took him”, – he got up, ran out, did not appear to the bald-headed boy, and on the one hand reached his house with a bucket in his hand. When he enters the house, he puts it in the old woman's voice and holds the bucket in his hand.

– My dear, give me an oil and bring me a bucket of water! – he says. Not realizing that the naived bald-headed man was a stranger, he gave him some oil, took a bucket, ran out and went into the water. He brought a bucket of water and said to his mother:

– “Oh, water!” – was supposed to say his mother:

– “I didn't mean to bring you water!” Did I say to bring an oil? – he says.

When a bald-headed boy found out that he was deceived, he said, “What is the owner of an oil, he took the oil himself, and I will do it! Which one do we prefer?” – he keeps running.

He got out of sight of an old man, got up earlier, put a white hat on his head and shouted in front of the old man:

– Your wishes should disappear, an old man, where did you go? Your sheep was chased by a wolf. Try to run, turn and drive faster! Otherwise, the wolf will kill! – he says. Putting a bald-headed boy in the old woman`s voice, believing in his words and holding a yellow bread:

– “Here it is! – he said, throwing it away and looking for his sheep. A bald-headed boy tricked the old man, took the oil and came home. He ran to the other side, could not find any information about the sheep, and when he came home tired and limp, he saw that the sheep were safe. Now the old man understood why he was deceived, and he said:

– “OMG! I used to do this a lot when I was young, and it happened to me in my old age!” He got up early and told this to the father of bald-headed boy:

– Your little one took one of my bellies, give it back! Otherwise, I will definitely kill that bald-headed boy! – he said.

Then a bald-headed boy`s father said:

– I haven't seen your butter! If you feel that you have clearly received it from the bald-headed boy, do whatever you want, I will not intervene, – he said.

He took a sharp ax in his hand, hid from the crowd, went into the middle of many graves, entered a perforated grave and hid again. An old woman, the old man`s wife, acted like she didn`t feel anything and she invited a bold-headed boy:

– My dear! My father had a grave in many of his cemeteries. Take this bread to him, read the Koran and eat it, I don't believe in children except you, – she said.

Suddenly, nothing has come to the bald-headed boy`s mind:

– All right! He took the bread and left. While going to the grave, reading the Koran and eating bread, a paralyzed man came out of the grave. He has an ax in his hand. A bald-headed boy recognizes that he is just a stalker. Should the bald-headed boy die easily? He took some steps, pulled out the ax and started to attack the paralyzed man. At that time, he paralyzed man begged for the help.

The khan of the city where they lived was very cruel to the people, they imposed a lot of taxes on the country, and he wept and mourned for the poor and needy people as well. A bald-headed boy`s father, who was heavily taxed, was among them. Knowing this, a bald-headed boy told to his father:

– Don't worry, let's give to the khan his own gold! – he said.

Then this bald-headed boy has entered the khan's treasury and took away a jug. The next day, when the khan found out that an old angel was missing, he gathered all his servants and said:

– How to find and catch a thief? – they advised.

Then one of the clerks said:

– Let's dig a hole in front of the door of treasure and fill it with mucous glue that sinks from the beluar: if a stranger falls in the dark, he can't get out! Let's do it this way, – he said.

The khan approved this method, did as he was told and continued to prepare the glue. Although a bald-headed boy has already known how to do it, he learned this trick and no longer went to the door of the treasure.

However, the khan could not find out who was going to the treasury, so he decided to make the second method. The khan had a big camel. Instead of trying to catch him, he would shout loudly when someone approached him. He put the camel on the ground and put some spies on it. If the camel screams, he will catch the thief. Knowing this, a bald-headed boy took a bundle of alfalfa in his hand at night and showed it to the camel in the distance. A bald-headed boy got up and followed him, thinking that he would eat the grass. The bald-headed boy slowly moves away, the camel just follows him. When he reached a place where his voice could not be heard, he grabbed the camel and tied him to the thicket of groves.

The next day, the executors of commissions in the military could not find the camel and, in a panic, came to the khan and informed him. When this did not work out, the khan was thinking in another way: he set up his young family in the field, made good beds and put his daughter in it: “Whoever talks to my daughter, I will give my daughter to him!” – he announced. His thought was: “If the thief comes because he has a lot of tricks, let my daughter cut off his hand with a diamond sword; Tomorrow I will check the townspeople carefully: “Whoever has his hand cut off, I will catch him and hang him!” – it means.

A willy bald-headed boy also learned this trick. There was a rich butcher in the city. He went to the butcher, who was asleep at night, and shouted from the window, “Khan needed a sheep's stomach, give it to me through the window”. After saying “Khan needs it”, he took one of the bellies out of the window and said: “Take!” With a diamond sword in his hand, a bald-headed boy cut off the butcher's hand and took his belly and severed hand. He filled his stomach with water, tied his mouth and came to the khan's daughter, who was living alone. After some discussion, the girl refuses to let him go. The bald-headed boy: “If you want to leave, hold my hand!” –he says. He took the butcher's severed hand to the girl, pierced a part of her stomach, drained the water and left on his own. At one point, the girl asked, “Why are you silent?” – he noticed and saw that he was holding a severed hand.

As soon as the girl got up early, she said to her father:

“I caught the thief, cut off his hand and ran away”, he said. When the khan issued an order and counted the hands of the townspeople, he turned out to be a butcher whose hands had been cut off. When he was brought before the khan and interrogated, he said that he had seen and heard as well. The khan believed that he was not guilty and left.

When this did not work, the khan thought of the fourth way. One day: “If a thief comes, I'll catch him!” – he said, lying alone in the family. Knowing this, a bald-headed boy wore the woman's beautiful clothes, became a beautiful bride, came at night, got married and sat next to the khan. Then the khan said:

– What are you doing here? – he asked.

The bald-headed boy who is the bride-to-be:

– My husband has died; I don't want to sew for my in-laws. That is why, my lord and I have come to complain to you. Please let me touch my lover! – he answered.

The khan was interested in the beautiful “Bride”:

“Then tell me!” – he said.

The “Bride” stood up and said:

“Slavery, my lord!” If so, I have no dreams! I will touch you! – he said.

Meanwhile, pointing to the trees in front of the Horde, the “Bride” said:

“Sir, why do you need these trees?” – he asked.

Khan:

– “It's a drug that kills the guilty”, – he said.

Then the “Bride’ was astonished, as if she had never seen pain before:

– Yapyrp-ai, how can a person be hanged with this? Can you hang me? – he said.

The khan, seeing that it was inconvenient to hang the “Bride”, put the rope snare around his neck and explained to the “Bride”:

– Pull the other end of the rope with all your might, but when my legs rise from the ground and I am drowning, let go of the rope! Otherwise, I will die! – he said. The “Bride” grabbed the end of the rope in her hands, and as the khan's heel rose from the ground, the end of his foot touched the ground, tied the end of the rope tightly to the tree, and entered the khan's treasury and took another jar.

The next day, the khan's men saw the hanged khan, standing between the dead and the living, and released him. He was admitted to the Horde, collected and treated too. The news was spread far and wide.

The khan of the country bordering on this khan's country said: “Is it not permissible to take care of someone's sheep without a khan until he has twice taken his treasure, once taken his camel, put his daughter in the market for the third time, can't you take care of someone's sheep without being a khan?” – he scoffed. Upon hearing this, the khan became angry and said, “I swear by God. Whoever has done these things, I will forgive him, and let him come to me. But I have a task to do, and if I do it, I will heal my past sins, give my daughter away and marry her!” – he called to the people. When he heard this, he said, “Goodbye! Anyway, take a risk and see!” – came to the khan and found out. Then the khan said:

– If you find a way to make that wily khan a human being and bring him to me, I will forgive all your guilt and I will give you my daughter! – he said.

A bald-headed khan accepted this task without any difficulties. All the blacksmiths in the city were dismantled, and at first a chariot made of iron was tied to them: a bell was tied inside and out, and a couple of nights they made a whip, took it in their hands, slaughtered a blue goat, put it on the outside of its fur, He was tied up again, and as if in a vision, he got into the chariot, lifted the shield from the night, put the broom on his shoulder, entered the city of the khan, watched like a goat, and shouted as well.

– I, I am an angel sent by God! The khan of this city was cruel. O people! God said to you, “He has commanded you to take your wicked kings in your arms, tie them up, and put them in my chariot. Then God will be pleased with you. If you do not do it and support the khan, he has commanded me: “I will not leave any of you alive, I will smash the bricks of your city with a ten-thousand-foot stick in my hand, and I will scatter it to dust!” – he said.

The people of the city were afraid of bald-headed boy and said, “We need our own well-being! It is impossible to resist the calamity sent by God!” He grabbed the khan, tied him up, put him in a cart, begged him and sent an “Angel”.

The bald-headed boy brought the khan as a human being and handed him over to his khan.

Then the khan stood up and said to the captive khan:

– Yes, you used to laugh at me, why did you put yourself in such a situation? Don't laugh anymore?! I have such talented people! – he boasted.

In the end, both khans were pleased with the art of the bald-headed boy, and both of them gave their daughters for it and kept him as both a husband and wise man.