Udmurt folk tales Yandex disk. List of Udmurt animal tales, fairy tales, realistic tales

Udmurt fairy tales

About Udmurtia
Mouse and sparrow
Batyrs from the Chud tribe

About Udmurtia

Republic of Udmurtia Russian Federation. Autonomy since 1920
of the year. The ethnogenesis of the Udmurts goes back to the Finno-Ugric tribes of the Iron Age
(1 thousand BC - 1 thousand AD) In ​​1489, the northern Udmurts became part of
Russian centralized state. In Russian written monuments
14-15 centuries Eastern Udmurts are known as Ars, Aryans, Otyaks; southern Udmurts
experienced Tatar influence, since until 1552 they were part of
Kazan Khanate. By 1558, the Udmurts were completely part of the Russian
states. In the 16-18 centuries. were converted to Orthodoxy.
The main traditional institution was the neighborhood community. Communities often
became Udmurt-Russian in ethnic composition, since the Udmurts
willingly accepted Russian runaway peasants. The main occupations of the Udmurts -
arable farming and animal husbandry. Hunting, fishing, beekeeping,
gathering was of an auxiliary nature. Udmurt villages were located
along the banks of the rivers. There are many decorative woven products in the decoration of the dwelling. At
southern Udmurts in the first half of the 18th century, a small family spread,
northern still dominated by large families. Udmurt family rituals continue
exist in a somewhat modified form. The traditional wedding is
wedding feast in the groom's house, the return of the bride to parental home and
wedding feast in the bride's house, after which the young woman moves into the house
husband. Rites are accompanied by music and singing. The Udmurts have a system
syncretic beliefs. They often had two names - pagan, or
bath, given when naming a midwife, and Christian, received
at baptism.
The leading place in applied art is occupied by embroidery, patterned
weaving, patterned knitting, wood carving, weaving, embossing on birch bark.

Mouse and sparrow

Once upon a time there lived a mouse and a sparrow. Friendly, according to lived and got along, no quarrels, no
did not know offense. Before any business, they held advice with each other, any work
performed together.
Once a mouse and a sparrow found three grains of rye on the road.
They thought and thought about what to do with them, and decided to sow the field. Mouse land
plowed, harrowed sparrows.
Glorious rye was born! The mouse quickly squeezed it with sharp teeth, and the sparrow
deftly threshed his wings. Grain by grain they gathered the whole harvest and
began to divide it in half: one grain for a mouse, one for a sparrow, one for a mouse,
one-sparrow ... Divided, divided, and the last extra grain remained.
Mouse One says:
- This is my grain: when I plowed my nose and worked my paws to blood.
Sparrow disagreed.
- No, this is my grain. When I harrowed, I beat the wings to the blood.
How long, how short they argued - whoever heard, he knew, but we
unknown. Only a sparrow suddenly pecked at an extra grain and flew away.
"Let him try to catch up with me and take away my seed," he thought.
The mouse did not chase the sparrow. I was upset that I was the first to start an argument.
She dragged her share into the mink. Waited, waited for the sparrow to make peace, not
waited. And part of it poured into her pantry. Lived all winter
satnyohonka.
And the greedy sparrow was left with nothing, and jumped hungry until spring.

Batyrs from the Chud tribe

When, in what distant times it happened, no one can say,
but it only goes without saying that the Alangasars (giants) are already in the world
was not, and the descendants of Ud settled in the forest region by different tribes, and Inmar
did not appear with Kyldysin more people. It was then that on the Kama River
a tribe settled, which was called Chud light-eyed. And this tribe lived on
mountain, on the high bank. The people of this tribe loved space and freedom, and therefore
settled not breastily, did not crowd one next to the other. But they lived together: how
if they saw that the enemy was approaching one of them, then they let
preemptive arrows to brethren. They will take and shoot an arrow at the mound by the river
Belaya, and further, to the Chegandinsky tract. As the arrow flies, so they
immediately gathered all together and met the enemy.
They were very tall in stature, exorbitant in strength, and of character
independent. Other tribes called them batyrs.
One day, after an attack by enemies, their settlement turned into ashes. Then
the surviving mother, three brothers and a beautiful sister left him and went to
to the place where the village of Cheganda is now located and where the bank of the Kama protrudes
into the river by three capes. Not empty-handed they came to these places, innumerable
They brought wealth with them, drove countless herds.
This family liked the three steep capes on the Kama, and they decided
settle down here and never look elsewhere.
First, they settled in the middle cape, which was overgrown with a mighty pine forest, built
here is a spacious dwelling, surrounded by a fence around a corral for livestock. But not for long
went to bed together, there was not enough peace between the brothers, they started quarrels and
strife, because the three brothers were very dissimilar to each other: and
appearance and character.
Somehow, having argued in earnest, they came to their wise mother for
advice on what to do so that they do not quarrel in the future, how to divide according to
justice and no offense to her.
The mother looked at the grown-up sons and said:
- It can be seen, sons, and it's time for you to fly out of the nest. I won't
hold you. Choose each place according to your heart and settle there.
The first choice was made by the younger beardless brother. He was blond and blue-eyed.
“Most of all I love to plow the land,” he said to his mother and brothers. -
Give me the left cape, I would like to live there. I really like the grove on
to that cape and the nightingales that sing in the spring.
He said and began to wait for an answer, looking at him with apprehension and anxiety.
brothers. But the brothers silently bowed to him, and then the mother answered:
- You, son, are not deprived of strength and dexterity, you are diligent to work and love the land
plow and sow. If you like the left cape - own it, the brothers retreat
from him to your advantage.
The middle one spoke up:
- I was with my father when he waved his sword and, mortally wounded,
bequeathed to me his armor, bow and quiver of arrows. I love hunting and
cattle breeding. Give me that middle cape! I will protect all of you. BUT
I will not let my mother and sister go anywhere, they will remain to live here as they used to live.
That's what the middle brother said. His red hair hung down on mighty shoulders,
a beard, the same red, densely covered the chin and cheeks, on a wide chest
rested a necklace of bear and boar fangs. Said and flashed
green eyes on the brothers. The younger one answered this with a bow, and the older
he just nodded his head and smiled with his lips.
"So you take all of us under your protection?" Thank you, said the mother. -
We stay with your sister to live here, in this dwelling. How do you like hunting?
your father loved her too, your arrows never miss. Not anyone, but
your arrow pierced the heart of the enemy who killed your father. You are brave and fearless, son
my, all the neighbors do not dare to touch your cattle and your dwelling. You will be good
protector. But I warn you: do not offend either your sister, or your brothers, or me. I
I tell you this because I know your quick temper and vindictiveness.
Swear to me that you won't hurt any of us!
He swore.
- Look, son, keep the oath! Otherwise, you can’t escape punishment, - more
mother warned.
Now everyone's eyes turned to the elder. What will he say?
Tall like his brothers, but black-haired with a hard, piercing gaze
black eyes resembling the eyes of his mother, he stood in front of everyone calm and
confident. Long straight hair was caught on the forehead with a green hoop,
a long black beard covered the entire chest.
- No one left the right cape. Then I take it for myself - judiciously
he said.
After that, everyone bowed to him. So the brothers began to live not far from each other.
friend, but apart.
Spring has come. The younger one, walking behind the plow, rejoiced at the good weather and sang
songs.
His voice merged with the bird's cheerful hubbub and carried throughout
district.
The blond beauty sister on the middle cape wove a wreath of flowers,
adorned her loose hair with it, listening to her brother and the birds singing. In the evenings she
also went out of the dugout to listen to his songs and nightingales in a birch grove on
left cape. Sometimes she herself began to sing. Then everything seemed to fall silent,
listening to the gentle sounds of her voice.
Her singing reached the right cape, the elder came out to listen to him.
brother. The mother also listened to her daughter's singing with a kind smile. Only one medium
brother did not like her songs: there was neither thirst for revenge nor hatred in them, there was
only one pure love. He, interrupting the singing, called his sister in a thunderous voice
home. He also did not like the fact that his sister often visited his younger brother. He
would have completely forbidden her to go to him if he had not been afraid of his mother.
The middle brother built two high earthen ramparts that protected the cattle
from attack by wild animals. For days on end he roamed the woods, hunting game and
animals, and in the evenings he went out to the prow of the cape with a bow in his hands and beat flying
swans and geese.
The right cape seemed deserted, only a dugout and a path leading to it,
it appeared that someone lived there. No sound, no knock, without betraying himself,
the older black-bearded brother left the dwelling early in the morning and went to the ravine,
into the nearby forest and gathered herbs there. In the evening, he just as quietly returned from
bunch of herbs. His mother met him at the door. Without saying a word to each other, they
went into the dugout and tightly closed the door so that no one could hear them
conversation. Mother loved all children equally, but prophetic knowledge and skill decided
pass on to the elder. Long after midnight the door opened again, and the mother
returned to the middle son.
Neither the sister nor the other brothers knew about these secret meetings.
mothers with their eldest son, they did not know anything about what their
a brother whom they had scarcely seen since they separated. Only
sister, who loved to pick flowers, sometimes met her older brother,
when he went to the caves. She silently bowed to him and never
she spoke, timid from his deep thought. My sister asked about him
younger brother, but he knew even less than her. And how should he know if he is completely
he never went anywhere from his cape, except perhaps to his mother, and even then rarely.
Of the birds, only owls for some reason settled on the right cape. Their creepy
the screams in the coming night frightened her sister when she, having listened to the younger
brother and nightingales, sat near her house.
So they lived as long as their mother was alive. But now she was gone. Bitterly
the youngest son, the warmest of the brothers, mourned his mother. But worse than that
the sister cried: there was no mother, there was no one else to intercede for her, there was no one
protect her from the harassment of her middle brother. The younger brother, although he loved her
more than the rest, could not alleviate her fate, because he himself was timid
and did not know how to use weapons. The older one never interfered in their lives, and she
it seemed like he didn't care about her.
The sister knew that the middle brother would deal with it at the first opportunity
with the younger for being her favorite brother.
The middle son also mourned his mother. Only the elder was still
silent and did not betray his feelings either with tears or a sigh.
After the funeral, the songs on the left cape fell silent. And my sister is no longer there
came in so as not to anger the middle brother. Only when the middle brother left
far to hunt, then she called to each other with her beloved brother. But one day a hunter
came back early and heard them talking to each other. In anger
he grabbed his bow, drew an arrow from his quiver, and wanted to shoot it at his brother. That
frightened, rushed from the cape to Kama and swam. The average was about to let go
an arrow at a sailor, but changed his mind: it became a pity for the arrow. Still, it will drown
he cannot swim across the full-flowing Kama, he thought.
But he nevertheless swam across the river and settled on the nearest hill.
The sister saw everything and even more disliked the one with whom she had to live
under the same roof. And the middle brother, mocking her, said:
- I suppose you don’t want to sing songs anymore and walk around idle.
You will now grind grains in a hand mill. And go anywhere except us
with an older brother, there is no one else on the whole coast. Elder, you know
I'm not a hindrance, he will not stand up for you. And he doesn't have any weapons.
In the afternoon, if there was no brother nearby, she would go to high mountain above
caves, from where the hill that sheltered the younger was clearly visible. She waved
hand, her brother answered her the same. He was shouting something, but the words did not reach
her, and she began to cry bitter tears. Tears dripped onto the sand and were
so flammable that the sand melted. These caked tears are now found over
caves.
One day someone came up to her and gently put a hand on her shoulder.
I looked at my older brother.
"Don't hide, sister, maybe I can help your trouble," he said.
The girl burst into tears more than ever:
No one will probably help me. The middle brother is stronger than both of you, and
I will live forever in captivity with him. Can you help me get away from him? They are
will kill you.
- Do you want to run away from him? - asked the older brother. - This is very
just sister. I will help.
- You can't. After all, you do not have a boat, he hid it far in the forest. At
you are not strong enough to drag the boat to the water.
My brother just smiled at that. After all, she didn't know him at all. A sister
continued:
- If he sees you dragging the boat, he will shoot an arrow right in the heart
you.
Evening twilight was approaching, fog thickened over Kama,
owls. The dark night descended on the earth, and the sister kept begging her brother to
he didn't try to save her.
Then from afar came the cry of the middle brother, who was looking for
missing sister. She shuddered and whispered in fear:
- Run, brother. If he finds us, he will kill you. Run from here, save yourself!
- Don't be afraid. Now don't be afraid! He took her in his arms and, soaring into
air, flew. They instantly found themselves near the dugout on the right cape. First
sister went to the elder brother's house. Owls flew in the big dugout and
bats, dried herbs hung on the walls, pots of
different drugs.
- Lie down, sister, sleep. Morning is wiser than evening, he advised
finally.
And she obeyed.
In the morning, her brother gave her a pot of some kind of infusion and said that if she
he drinks it, he will turn into a white swan.
-You will fly to the hill where our younger brother. Take a dip in there
the key that flows under the hill, and again turn into a girl, he explained.
The middle brother spent the whole night looking for his sister. In the morning I went out to the cape, and above it a white
the swan flies and cries:
- Farewell, shameful brother!
Then he guessed that it was not a swan, but his sister was flying away from him,
got angry and shot an arrow at her. But his arrow flew past for the first time
goals. He began to shoot arrows one after another, but did not even touch the white swan.
Behind Kama, the swan bathed in the spring and became the former beautiful girl.
And the middle brother threw himself on the ground and began to roll with anger. A little
having calmed down, he got up from the ground and saw his older brother, who was standing on
his cape and looked at him reproachfully. Then he snatched from the quiver
the last arrow and shot it at his brother. The arrow immediately returned to
quiver. How many times he let her go, so many times she returned to him. BUT
the older brother stood as he did, looking at the middle brother with disapproval.
Then the redhead grabbed a spear and threw it at his brother. The spear broke before reaching
to the target.
The red-haired brother from impotent rage again threw himself on the ground. His body suddenly
became covered with thick hair, and he himself turned into a huge red
wolf, sat on the tail and howled. Heard this howl former enemies of the middle
brother - wolves - and began to howl at him. Now howling, then growling, the red wolf looked
at the black-haired man, he was ready to throw himself at him, but fear
kept.
Tired of the man listening to the wolf howl, he turned and went into the dugout.
Then the red wolf ran to the caves, where countless riches were hidden,
left over from his father and mother. There he stayed to live red
giant wolf.
At night, the howl of this wolf instilled fear in all living things around.
The older brother also did not stay on his cape and soon moved to
the other side of the Kama and settled on a distant hill.
The hill where the blond brother and sister lived has since been called
White Mountain, and the other, on which the elder, black-bearded, lived - Black Mountain.
They say that even now they find arrows on the middle cape and in the ravine,
which the middle brother let into the white swan. Treasure seekers met and
red wolf guarding the entrance to the caves opposite the mouth of the Belaya River, where
the riches of the brothers of the Chud tribe are hidden.

Once upon a time, a poor peasant lived in a kingdom. In all his life he had not seen happiness and joy. And he had three sons. The eldest was called Ivan, the middle one was Pavel, the youngest was Petyr. The brothers were different in height: Ivan is tall, Pavel is of medium height, and Petyr is quite a short man.

When the father was dying, he said to his sons:

“You are all my sons, you are all dear to me. I have lived my life in poverty, leaving you nothing behind. Look for your own happiness and a good life.

After the death of their father, all three brothers left their father's house. They went along the road, not knowing where. They walked and walked and reached a big mountain. We stopped to rest under the mountain and heard the sound of an ax at the top.

- Let's go to the mountain, let's see who's chopping there, - Petyr says to the brothers.

The brothers didn't go. Then Petyr alone climbed the mountain and was surprised: the ax alone cuts and cuts down trees.

- Hey, axe, can I see you? Petyr asks.

“Look,” says the ax and walks towards him.

Petyr took the ax, put it in a bag and went to the brothers.

- Who's chopping? they ask him.

“Someone is chopping, I didn’t recognize it,” says Petyr.

“Let’s go and see who is mining the stone,” Petyr again suggests to the brothers.

“If you are not tired, go and go,” Ivan sends him, “but we are tired.”

Petyr climbed the mountain and sees: the kylo itself, without a person, extracts a stone.

- Can I see you, Kylo? Petyr asks. Kylo walked over to him. Peter took it and put it in a bag.

- Well, what did you see there? You run in vain, where you don’t need to, - Ivan scolds him.

“Someone is mining the stone there, I don’t know who,” says Petyr.

“Let's go up the river, see where it flows from,” says Petyr.

When will you reach the source? If you are a fool, go seek, says Paul.

Peter went. Soon he reached the source of the river. He sees: a river comes out of the nut shell.

- Hey, shell, can I see you? Petyr asks. The shell replied that it was possible. Petyr took the shell, put it in a bag and returned to the brothers.

- Well, what did you see? they ask him.

“I haven’t reached the end,” says Petyr.

They walked and walked and reached the city. The city learned that the king was offering a big reward and his daughter as a wife to anyone who could cut down an oak tree in the royal court.

Can we do it, brothers? Petyr asks.

“Let’s go and see if we can get lucky,” the brothers say. And they went to the king.

The king has already gathered a lot of people. It is difficult to understand what is happening here: one has no nose, the other has no ear, the third has no eyes.

“Why are they all crippled?” Ivan asks.

We promised to cut down this oak, but we failed. That's what the king is for

and punished us.

“We won’t be able to do it either, let’s better get out of here before they cripple us,” Ivan says.

- No, we can. We won’t leave here,” Petyr replies.

“What are you talking about, brat? Look how healthy the people here are, not like you, but they couldn’t cut down the oak. You cut down one branch, and a hundred new branches grow in its place. Where are you going, - one noseless one says with a sneer.

The oak grew so large that it closed all the royal buildings.

Petyr went to the king and said that they would cut down the oak.

“Don’t cut it down, I’ll do the same with you as with everyone here,” said the king.

Ivan took his ax and struck once. In that place, new hundred branches grew, another hit - new hundred branches grew again. And Paul didn't even get down to business. The king wanted to cut off the brothers' ears.

Peter asked:

- Wait, king! If I can't, then do whatever you want. Until then, don't punish my brothers.

Petyr took out a self-tapping ax from his bag, planted it in an oak tree and said to him:

- Ruby, my axe!

The ax began to chop! He stabs and stacks firewood in woodpile. All the people were surprised, did not know what to say. The tsar also came out to see, because it immediately became light in the palace. It was the ax that felled the oak, and it became clear all around.

- Here, king, I freed you from the oak, it will no longer grow. Come on promised.

The king felt sorry for giving a reward, and even more so, he did not want to give his daughter to the poor.

“Here you are, Petyr,” says the tsar. “If you manage to dig a well in the middle of my palace so that the water never ends there, then I will give you half of my kingdom and give you a daughter.

“You'd better get paid for this work, and let's get out of here,” Ivan says. – How do you get to the water on such a mountain?

“No, we won’t leave, we’ll dig and we’ll get to the water,” answers

him Petyr.

He took out a kailo from the bag, dug the ground and said:

- Dig, my pick!

And work began. Kylo is digging, only stones are flying up. Digging, digging, but no water. Petyr stopped the kailo, took out the shell from the bag and put it in the well, saying:

- Give me your silver water, my shell!

And water flowed from the shell, clean as a tear. Soon she filled the well and flowed like a stream through the yard. The people gasped in surprise.

The king was surprised by this more than the people. He hoped that Petyr would not get water and would not have to pay him off. And then it turned out the other way around.

“I will give you one more job,” the tsar says to Petyru. If you fulfill it, then you will receive what you promised. There is a forest not far from here. A giant is in charge of this forest, he does not let anyone into the forest. If you manage to defeat the giant, you will live.

Peter left, and the tsar thought with joy: “Now you won’t return alive from the giant!”

Petyr came to the forest, made the ax cut down the trees. The trees are falling down like they've been cut down.

Who dares to enter my domain? I'll crush a cockroach, - the giant shouts and tries to step on Petyr with his boot.

And the ax cuts down everything and cuts down trees. Then the giant pleaded. - Stop, Petyr, cut down the forest, ruin my estate. You defeated me, be my master.

Peter returned to the king and said:

I have defeated the giant. Keep your word now. If you don't, I'll kill you myself.

The king sent to the forest to see if the giant was really no longer in charge. The king's workers arrived in the forest.

- Who sent you here? the giant asks.

“Petyr and the Tsar sent us,” they answer.

- Get some wood. Peter defeated me, and I'm not going against him, - says the giant.

The workers returned with firewood.

So Peter won? the king asks them.

- Won. The giant said that he is no longer an opponent of Petyr, the workers say.

The king was afraid of Petyr, kept his word, and Petyr became the son-in-law of the king.

Udmurt folk tales. - 3rd ed., with changes / Compilation, translation and processing by N.P. Kralina. - Izhevsk: Udmurtia, 2003. - 144 p.: ill.

in Udmurt

stupid kitten

Once upon a time there was a cat with a kitten. The kitten was small, stupid. One day he saw a ray of sun on the roof.

There must be some tasty food, - the kitten thought and climbed onto the roof.

He had almost reached the roof, when suddenly a sparrow fluttered out from somewhere.

No, I’d better eat it first, and then I’ll climb further, ”the silly kitten said to himself and rushed after the sparrow.

The sparrow flew away, and the kitten fell to the ground and was badly hurt. Then the cat, comforting him, said to him:

Your job is to catch mice.

The kitten listened to his mother's instructions and promised never to forget him.

It's been a long time. Once a kitten caught a mouse in the forest and in his mouth he carries home to show his prey to his mother. He had to cross the stream on a perch. And when he was crossing, he noticed his shadow in the water and again thought:

I'd rather take the mouse away from that kitten!

Releasing the mouse from his mouth, he rushed into the water. Of course, he did not catch the shadow, and he himself barely escaped: wet, dirty, he returned to his mother. But now the cat did not console him, but beat him and said again that he should only do his job - to catch mice, and not chase after everything that gets in his eyes.

Since then, the kitten has not forgotten the mother's instructions.

in Udmurt

Bogatyr Kondrat

On the steep bank of the Izh River, in a dense black forest, Kondrat built a dwelling for himself: he dug a deep hole and put a log house there. It was necessary to enter there as in a dugout. The door was covered with a heavy cast-iron plate, which no one could even move. Only Kondrat himself opened the entrance to his dugout.

Kondrat hoped for his heroic strength and decided to live alone. But to live like this, not going anywhere, not visiting neighbors, he soon got bored. He began to walk through the forest. Sitting down on the steep bank of the river, I watched for a long time how the water flows in the river. And then he began to go to neighboring villages.

Having learned about the heroic strength of Kondrat, the people decided to choose him as their king. Then the Udmurts were at enmity with the Tatars. The Tatars staged frequent raids, burned entire villages, took away property and took them away.

Kondrat, you are strong, we want to make you our king, the Udmurts said.

Strength also needs intelligence, and among you there are those, choose those, - Kondrat replied.

All the people bowed to Kondrat.

We need you, they said.

Okay, Kondrat agreed.

Once, when Kondrat was in the village, the Tatars of the Golden Horde raided there. A commotion arose all around: fluff and feathers fly there, smoke appeared in another place.

Behind me! thundered Kondrat's appeal to his people.

He walked ahead of everyone. He shot the first arrow at the leader of the Tatar army. The arrow went right through the body of the Tatar leader.

A fierce battle began. The entire Tatar army was destroyed in battle. Only one Tatar escaped - he galloped off on a horse and told the news to the khan:

Khan, the Udmurt king is very strong. He destroyed all of us.

Where does he live? I will measure my strength with him, - said the Tatar Khan.

I know the way to it, - the Tatar says.

Kondrat, tired in battle, was resting at that time in his dugout.

He should have been here, - Kondrat heard the Tatar's voice. Then he hears that someone is trying to open the door, but the stove does not give in to efforts.

Kondrat then hit the stove. The plate, together with the khan, flew into the river. He, having fallen under the stove, drowned.

Don't touch me, Kondrat, I'll be useful to you, - the Tatar asks.

Go, pull my door out of the river, Kondrat tells him.

The Tatar entered the water behind the stove, but could not pull it out and drowned himself.

The Tatars, in order to avenge their khan, again gathered in a war against the Udmurts. The new Khan was afraid of the strong Kondrat.

First of all, you need to kill Kondrat, - he ordered.

They chose the five most powerful, brave Tatars and sent them on horseback to the dark forest where the hero Kondrat lived.

Returning one day to his dugout. Kondrat saw riders riding through the forest towards his dwelling.

He hid behind a thick pine tree and watched. The Tatars, having tied their horses, approached the dugout to the trees.

Kondrat pulled the slab out of the water and left it at the entrance to the dugout. Without thinking twice, the Tatars descended into it. Kondrat immediately ran up and covered the entrance with a slab. And he himself untied all the horses, sat on one of them and rode to the village.

Prepare for battle,” he boomed again in his thunderous voice.

Why fight in vain? After all, the Tatars do not touch us now, - said one strong Udmurt.

This man himself wanted to be king. The hero hit him with his fist and crushed all his bones.

The rest said:

With you, we are ready to throw ourselves into fire and into water. We believe you.

Five or six villages were very close to each other. All of them, on the orders of their king Kondrat, began to prepare for battle. And the kondrat at this time, in order to take possession of the wife of the Tatar khan, galloped off on a fast horse to the palace in a whirlwind.

Khan's wife was guarded by twenty Tatars. Nineteen Tatars he then destroyed. The twentieth knelt before Kondrat and began to beg him:

I'll tell you everything, just don't kill me," he said. - The Tatars are now choosing a new khan. Get ready to go to you a new war.

Kondrat quickly grabbed the Khan's wife, carried her out of the palace and began to look around. Thousands of Tatars gathered outside the palace. They were already choosing their third khan. Konrat grabbed the Tatar and threw him over a high fence into the crowd. Only then did the Tatars learn that Kondrat was here, and they began to hastily surround the palace from all sides. And Kondrat, taking with him the wife of the khan, was already rushing like an arrow on his fast horse to his people. The Tatars realized it too late - behind Kondratra only dust rises in the distance.

Kondrat came to his place, put one person to guard his future wife. And the people led into the forest, to their home.

The Tatars did not have to wait long. Having chosen a new khan for themselves, they moved like a black cloud against the Udmurts.

A strong fight began. Kondrat fought like heroes: some with kicks, some with fist blows he threw into the black waters of a deep river. On the very shore he met a new khan of the Tatars. He unexpectedly for Kondrat took out his dagger and stabbed him in the heart.

At the same time, Kondrat grabbed the khan by the throat. And they both fell dead into the river.

After the battle, the Tatars together moved the slab of the dugout and freed their imprisoned khan.

in Udmurt

lazybones

One rich man had three daughters: two loved work, and the third was a lazy person. The two older ones got married, no one takes the third. A poor man lived in the same village. He had a dilapidated hut, there was neither a cow nor a horse. He went to a rich man to woo a lazy man for himself. The rich man says to him:

What will you do with her? She is very lazy, you will cry with her.

The poor man says to the rich:

I will teach her how to work.

If so, take her and teach her how to work, and I will make you rich.

As a dowry, the father built a house, gave a cow, a horse, pigs, sheep, clothes. The poor man married a lazy person and took her to him. The poor man's mother puts on a samovar in the morning, wakes up her son and daughter-in-law to drink tea. The son gets up, drinks tea and goes to work, but the daughter-in-law does not even raise her head, pretending to be asleep. The son punishes the mother:

You, mother, don’t wake her up and don’t feed her, let her sleep all day.

The daughter-in-law gets up before dinner and asks for food. Mother-in-law tells her:

Did you work today or not? Who does not work, we, after all, do not feed. Go work first, eat later.

She does not want to work: she sits for a day, two, three, but she wants to eat. He goes home to his father and says:

My husband does not feed me, but he makes me work, I have not eaten anything for three days.

Father says:

I will not feed you, daughter, either. There is no bread prepared for you today.

The lazy person was offended, went back to her husband and said to him:

Give me some work, I'm very hungry.

Husband says:

Let's go to the flax field to pull.

Let's go pick it up. The wife fiddled a little, and went to bed.

Not far from them grew maple, and under it was an anthill. The husband put his wife on an anthill and tied her to a tree. As soon as the ants began to bite her, the lazybones begged:

Untie, please, now I will not be lazy, what you make me do - I will do everything.

The husband untied her and gave her oatmeal with bread. Then the whole day they pulled the flax together. Since then, the poor man's wife began to love work. If suddenly the wife starts to be lazy again, then the husband reminds her:

Hey, wife, remember the maple at the strip! - And she immediately appears industriousness.

One day the father came to visit his daughter. I sat on the bench for a long time. I was waiting for an invitation to the table, but my daughter does not think to treat.

Father says:

Daughter, at least put a samovar, I came to visit.

And the daughter replies:

Go and work in the yard, we don't feed those who don't work.

So the poor man taught his lazy wife to work.

in Udmurt

Wolf and goat

One goat strayed from the herd. I wandered for a long time - I could not find my way back home. Decided to cut some grass. And here comes the gray wolf right at him.

Well, friend goat, I'll eat you now, - says the wolf.

Do not eat yet, I will still work up fat, - he asks.

The wolf agreed and left the kid. A little time passed, he again appears.

Walked fat? Now I'll eat you.

Wait, - said the kid, - I will help you. Stand under that hillock, open your mouth, and I will run into it with a run.

The wolf agreed. He stood under a hillock, opened his mouth and waits. As the goatling scatters, and as its horns hit the forehead of the gray fool, the wolf rolled head over heels. I came to my senses. Got up and still thinks:

Did I eat it or didn't I?

in Udmurt

Creation Legend

It was so long ago that no one can remember.

All around the world there was only water, there was no land at all. And only one Inmar and one Shaitan lived in the world. Inmar ordered the shaitan to dive under the water and get the earth from the bottom. Shaitan obeyed Inmar, dived to the bottom and took out a handful of earth with each hand. He gave the Inmar almost all the land he got, only hiding a little in his mouth.

Inmar took earth from the hands of the devil, put it in his palm and blew it into the water. The earth began to grow, became more and more. She was smooth, smooth as a frying pan.

The earth, which the shaitan hid in his mouth, also began to grow. There were so many of her that she no longer fit in there. Satan spat it out. The crumbs scattered in different directions, and mountains, swamps, and bumps formed on the ground. If the shaitan had not deceived the Inmar, then the earth would have remained even and smooth.

The first people were very, very big, real giants. They lived carefree, doing nothing, because they knew nothing: neither build, nor sow, nor hunt. The dense forest was like nettles for them. Where the foot of such a giant stepped - a log appeared, where he shook sand out of his bast shoes - hills formed.

Before the giants disappeared, the little ones appeared ordinary people. Inmar lived with them and taught them to work. Small man began to plow the land, cut down the forest, build huts. He saw one giant boy, took it in his hand and put it in his pocket along with the ax. He returned home and shows his mother:

Look, mother, what kind of woodpecker I caught, he hollowed the spruce.

And his mother says to him:

Son, this is not a woodpecker, this is a person. It means that we will soon be gone, only such people will live in the world. They are small, but hardworking: they know how to drive bees and catch animals. It's time for us to leave here. Let's run quickly! And the mother cried. Where her tears fell, rivers formed there. There are many left on earth. The giants moved north.

The giants had a very small mind. One day they were sitting and warming themselves around the fire. The fire flared up, began to burn his legs. They should have moved away from the fire, but they didn’t have the mind to figure it out, and they began to smear their feet with clay. When the fire went out, they froze and turned into large boulders.

They say that there is a deep pit in the middle of Mount Karyil. Poles were thrown at her, but the poles fell through like into a bottomless well. Only the distant ringing was heard from the fall. It is said that the rest of the giants descended into this well. And no one saw them again. The giants were called asaba, which means this word - no one knows already.

When there were many people on earth, they learned to do everything themselves and stopped obeying the Inmar. Inmar got angry and left people for the next world. Since then, there is no more Inmar in this world, and people live well without it.

in Udmurt

Greedy merchant

A summer day seemed short to one merchant: the sun rises late and sets early. And when the time came to hire laborers, the merchant was completely upset: the day for him became like the twinkling of an eye. The merchant laments that the laborers will not have time to go out into the field, when it is time to return back. So they will never do all the work.

He came to Lopsho Pedun.

What need has brought you to me, buskel? asked the merchant Lopsho.

Yes, the day is very short. The workers do not have time to reach the field - look, the evening is coming, but you have to pay them in full, and feed them, as agreed. It occurred to me to lengthen the day, but I could not find anyone who would help me in this. I came to ask you if you know someone who knows how to make the day longer.

Uh, yeah, and how did you happen to run into just such a person? - Lopsho Pedun said not without pleasure, thinking to himself that the time had come to teach the greedy man a lesson. - If you give five pounds of flour, I will help you.

And ten pounds is not a pity, just teach as soon as possible.

Listen, urom, how to help your trouble and make the day longer, - Lopsho Pedun began to explain. - Put on a warmer derem, a jacket, on top of everything - a sheepskin coat, on your feet - felt boots, and on your head - a sheepskin malachai. Take a pitchfork in your hands, climb a higher birch and hold the sun with a pitchfork so that it stands still. Did you understand?

Got it, got it, got it all. Thanks a lot for good advice. Come visit, I'll treat you myself.

The merchant returned home and boasted to his wife of his resourcefulness. What, they say, did he learn how to hold the sun so that it does not quickly run across the sky ..

Summer that year was hot. The merchant hired carpenters to put up the house in one day. And he began to gather in the evening. He put on a warm derem, a jacket, a sheepskin coat, put on felt boots, and to keep his head warm, he put on a fur hat. For hands, I also thought of grabbing sheepskin mittens. The merchant took the longest hay pitchfork in his hands and, without waiting for the sunrise, climbed the highest birch. He ordered the carpenters to work as contracted - the whole day. The merchant is sitting almost on the top of a birch, not a single twig of shade gives him - and the sun holds the pitchfork. From the heat, sweat runs down his back in streams, his hands are completely stiff, they begin to tremble.

And the laborers work without respite, tapping with axes, tinkling with saws. From time to time they glance at the merchant, smiling. The merchant strictly ordered not to stop until he descended from the birch. He assigned his wife to them to keep an eye on the workers.

The merchant is fried on a birch tree under the sun, from his fatigue and looking at the ground he will blur. And it seems to him a very long day. Perhaps he does not remember such a long day in his lifetime.

By noon, the merchant, as in a steam bath, was steamed, tired, as if he had been plowed arable land all day and whipped with a whip. He climbed down from the birch.

Well, thank you, the workers, they did a good job today, that's enough, - he says.

And the farm laborers are happy, glad: they were not tired at all, they only worked for the merchant for half a day. They went home happy.

This is how the greedy merchant lengthened the day. For this, he gave Lopsho Pedun ten poods of flour and even treated him to glory.

in Udmurt

Two brothers

At one man had two sons. After his death, they separated, one became rich, and the other lived in bitter need.

What a waste to sip, I’ll go and drown myself, the poor man reasoned to himself.

He came to the river, saw an overturned boat on the shore, lay down under it and began to think. I thought and thought and changed my mind to drown myself.

I'll spend one more night under the boat," he said. Before I could fall asleep, three people approached the boat and started talking:

Well, tell me now, who is up to what? someone asked.

Here's one that started:

One priest's daughter has been ill for two years. I know how to cure her. It is necessary to collect the leaves of black grass, give her a decoction to drink and she will recover.

What do you know?” asked another.

To build a bridge across the sea, builders put up pillars. But as soon as they put it up - at midnight those pillars are carried away by water. I know how to strengthen them: you need to lower a silver coin into the hole under each pillar, then no force will take them.

A third was asked:

What do you know?

Not far from here, a barrel of gold is thrown into this river. To pull out the barrel, you need to throw a leaf of unfading grass into the water. As soon as you drop it, the barrel will pop up by itself.

So we talked and left. Everything they said, the man heard. Now he has completely changed his mind about drowning himself. He returned home and began to collect leaves of black grass. Collected, boiled and went to treat the priest's daughter. Pop immediately asked him:

Do you know medicines? My daughter has been sick for two years.

Your daughter will get better in three days, do not regret only a hundred rubles, - says the man.

If you cure me, I'll pay two hundred rubles, says the priest.

The peasant, as he said, so it happened: the priestess recovered. The priest was delighted, gave him two hundred rubles and treated him properly.

The man returned home. A little later I went to the builders. He did not have time to say hello, as they complain:

Here we put pillars for the bridge, but before we have time to turn away, they are blown away by water. We've been fighting for a long time, but we can't think of anything.

The man knows how to strengthen the poles. He thought for a moment and says:

Pay me three hundred rubles, I will strengthen the pillars.

Just manage, we'll give you five hundred.

He took silver coins and lowered them into each post hole. The builders woke up in the morning and see: the pillars are still standing as they were placed. I had to give the peasant five hundred rubles.

A man came home and rejoices at how much money he now has! Went to look for unfading grass. He collected the leaves and went to the river to pull out a barrel of gold. As he threw the sheet, the barrel itself floated up. He took the barrel and went home. At home, I decided to pour the gold into the barn, but there was no pudovka. I had to go to a rich brother and ask for a pudovka.

Later, he scooped out the gold from the barrel and carried the pudding back, leaving several gold coins at the bottom of it. The rich man took a pudovka, saw gold at the bottom and was surprised.

Where did you get so much gold from? - He asks his brother.

I wanted to drown myself, - says the poor man, - he went to the river and lay down under the boat. At night, three people came ashore to me too: there, in such and such a place, there is a barrel of gold. And taught how to roll it out. I did everything as they said, and found a whole barrel of gold.

Well, brother, thank you, now I'll go, - says the rich man.

He came to the river and, as the poor brother said, went to sleep under the boat. He lies, breathes heavily, and he himself is afraid that thieves would not find him. Here he hears - there are three. We stopped near the boat and began to listen.

Someone else lurked near us, - one of them says.

All three went to the boat, lifted it up and pulled the rich man out. He did not have time to say a word, as they took him by the legs, by the hands and threw him into the water. Here the death of the rich man came.

in Udmurt

Zanym-Koydym

Zanym-Koydym did not like to take care of his horse and feed it. “Now, if she worked for me, and there would be no need to feed her,” he constantly said. The horse's ribs stuck out like hoops at the top, she was all bony and looked like a skeleton.

If only I could pull the cart, it will be necessary, I myself will help a little, - Zanym-Koydym calmed himself.

One day he went to the mill. He put three sacks in the cart, and the fourth took it on his shoulders and sat on the cart. The oncoming people laughed at such a cart.

Hey neighbor, what are you doing? Why are you carrying a bag over your shoulders?

I help horses. So it will be easier for her, I think, - answered Zanym-Koydym. Hot sweat ran down his face in streams: the sack was heavy.

We drove a little, the horse stopped.

But, oh, loon! You're not the only one tired, I'm tired too, I'm carrying a whole bag on my shoulders! - shouts Zanym-Koydym at the horse, continuing to sit on the bags in the cart and keep the bag on his shoulders.

We drove a little more, and the road went uphill. The horse stopped again.

So what happened to her? I help myself - and still there is no strength for some reason.

Zanym-Koydym is still sitting under the mountain. His shoulders were white with flour dust, and his horse had long since fallen.

To the 155th anniversary of the birth of G.E. Vereshchagin

Bear-hero

Three sisters went to the forest in the summer to pick cranberries. In the forest they parted, and one was lost. They searched, searched for two sisters for a third - they did not find it. So they both went home. They waited, waited for her at home - she did not come. They mourned for the unfortunate sister and forgot. Meanwhile, the sister, lost in the forest, wandered until the very night and landed for the night; climbed into the hollow of a large linden and sleeps. At night, a bear came up to her and began to caress her like a man: either stroking her on the head or rubbing her on the back, letting them know that he would not do anything to her. The bear inspired confidence in himself, and the girl did not become afraid of him. The girl cried, sobbed, and resigned herself to her fate. In the morning the sun has risen, and the bear leads her to his lair. The girl went and began to live in a bear's lair. The bear fed her first with berries, and then began to feed her with all sorts of things. The girl from the bear adopted her son, and he began to grow by leaps and bounds. A year later, the son says to the bear:
- Come on, baby, fight!
- Let's.
They fought, fought - the bear overcame.
- Feed me sweeter, tya! - says the bear cub to the bear.
The bear feeds his son sweetly, and the son grows by leaps and bounds.
The next year, the bear cub again offers the bear to fight.
They fought, fought - again the bear overcame.
- Feed me sweeter, tya! - says the bear cub to his father.
The bear feeds his son, and the son grows by leaps and bounds.
In the third year, the son again says to his father:
- Come on, baby, fight!
- Let's!
They fought, fought - the son took his father by the leg and threw him up. The bear fell and died.
"Didn't you kill your father, you shooter?" - asks the son's mother.
- We fought with him, I overcame him, and he died, - says the son.
The mother sends her son to the snakes to weave bast shoes from bast. The son took the patch and went. He came to the snakes and sees their multitude. He beats them and tears off their heads, which he puts in the pestle. He put a full motley of snake heads and goes to his mother.
- Nu, that, wove? the mother asks.
- Spilled.
- Where?
- In the pestle.
The mother put her hand into the pestle and cried out in fright.
- Go and take it back to where you got it! - says the mother.
The son carried off the heads and returned.
The next day, the mother sends her son for bast shoes to the neighbors (brownies). The son has gone to the housewives and sees a lot of housewives. He beats them and tears off their heads, which he puts in the pestle. He put a lot of pester and goes to his mother.
- Well, did you bring it?
- Brought.
- Where?
- In the pestle.
The mother put her hand into the motley and was even more frightened.
“Go, shoot, carry them back to where you took them,” the mother says to her son and scolds him.
The son carried off the heads and returned.
The son did not want to live with his mother and wished to travel around the world, to measure his strength with whom it would be possible.
He went to the smithy and ordered a cane worth forty pounds. He took a cane and went to seek adventure.
He goes and meets a tall man.
- Who are you? he asks the man.
- I am a rich man! - answers the latter. - And who are you?
- I'm a strong man.
- Prove your strength.
The strong bear cub took a strong stone in his hand, squeezed it - and water flowed from it.
- Well done! - the hero exclaimed and called the hero-strongman, and himself - only the hero.
They go further and meet a man.
- Who are you? - they ask the man, declaring to him that one of them is a strongman, and the other is a hero.
- I am also a hero, but with small forces.
- Go with us!
The three of them went along the road. They walked, walked, many, many, few - they reached the hut. We went into the hut, but it was empty; looked everywhere - found meat in the closet.
- Well, for now we will live here, and we will see what to do there, - the heroes consult among themselves.
- We will go to the forest to work, and you cook dinner for us here, - two heroes say to the third, with little strength.
- Well, your order will be executed, - says the hero.
Two went into the forest, and the third remained to cook in the hut. He cooks dinner for the heroes from ready-made provisions and does not think that the owner will come. Suddenly, the owner enters the hut and begins to drag the hero by the hair. He dragged, dragged him - almost pulled out all his hair; ate dinner and left. Bogatyrs come from work and ask:
- Well? Have you prepared lunch?
- Not.
- Why?
- There is no dry firewood, nothing to cook with.
We cooked ourselves and ate.
The next day, the hero with whom the strong man met for the first time remained to cook dinner.
Two heroes went to the forest to work, and the rest cooks dinner from ready-made provisions. Suddenly the owner appears and starts beating him. Beat, beat - left a little alive; ate dinner and left. Bogatyrs come from work and ask:
- Well? Have you prepared lunch?
- Not.
- Why?
- There is no clean water; there is, but cloudy.
We cooked our own dinner and ate.
On the third day, the strongman remained to cook dinner. He put a cauldron full of meat and cooks. Suddenly the owner of the hut appears and begins to beat the hero. As the hero hit the owner on the seat, he shouted with a good obscenity: "Oh, don't beat me, I won't do that." The owner got out of the house and disappeared. Bogatyrs come home from work and ask for food. The strongman fed them and told the story of the owner of the hut; then those heroes confessed that they had the same story. We ate and went to look for the owner. They found a large board in the yard, lifted it up - and there turned out to be a large hole, and a belt was lowered into the hole, serving as a ladder. The strongman descended on the belt into the hole, ordering his comrades to wait for him at the hole, and found himself in a different world. Under the earth was the realm of three twelve-headed snakes. These snakes held in captivity the three daughters of the king of this world. The hero walked and walked through the kingdom of snakes and reached a huge palace. He went into the hall and there he saw a beautiful girl.

- I am a strongman, - he answers, - I came to look for a villain who offends us, heroes, in a hut.
- He is the devil, in this kingdom he seems like a twelve-headed serpent, and there - a man-man. I have lived in his captivity for several years. Will you defeat him?
The girl gives the strongman a sword and says: “With this sword you will defeat him.” And the snake was not at home at that time. Suddenly he appears and says: “Fu! Ugh! Ugh! Smells like an unclean spirit."
The strong man raised his sword, hit the serpent on the heads and cut off twelve heads at once.
The hero-strongman took the princess with him and goes to another twelve-headed snake. We went into the house, and there the hero sees an even more beautiful girl.
- Who are you? - the princess asks the strongman hero.
- I am a strongman, - he answers, - I came to look for a villain who offends us, heroes, in a hut.
- He is the devil, in this kingdom he seems to be a twelve-headed serpent, and there - a simple man-man. I have lived in his captivity for several years. Will you defeat him?
The girl handed the sword to the hero and said: “With this sword you will defeat him.” And the snake was not at home at that time. Suddenly he appears and says: “Fu! Ugh! Ugh! Smells like an unclean spirit." The strong man raised his sword, struck the serpent's heads and cut off all twelve heads in two blows.
The strongman took another girl, even more beautiful, and went to the last twelve-headed snake, which was stronger than the others.
We went into the house and there they see a girl of extraordinary beauty.
- Who are you? - the girl of the hero-strongman asks.
The strongman answers the same as the first two girls.
“They are all devils,” says the girl, “one is stronger than the other, here they seem like snakes, and there they look like people. This last serpent is the strongest of all. I have lived in his captivity for several years. Will you defeat him?
The girl hands the sword to the hero and says: “With this sword you will defeat him.” And the snake was not at home at that time. Suddenly, the strongman in the hallway hears a voice that says: “Fu! Ugh! Ugh! Smells like an unclean spirit." He went out with a sword into the vestibule. There he met with a snake and entered into a fight with him. The strongman cut off only one head of the snake, and the snake returned back to gather his strength. The strong man says to the beautiful princess: “If the snake defeats me, the kvass on the table will turn red, then you throw your shoe in front of me, and I will kill the snake.”
Here, having gathered his strength, the serpent again appeared and said: “Fu! Ugh! Ugh! Smells like an unclean spirit."
The hero came out to meet the snake and entered into battle with him. The serpent began to win. The princess looked into the vessel with kvass and saw that the kvass turned into blood, then she took her shoe, left the house and threw it in front of the hero. The bogatyr struck and immediately took down all eleven heads of the snake. The hero collected the heads of all the snakes and threw them into the crevice of the stone rock.
The hero-strongman took the girls and went to the hole in order to climb the belt to the local world. He shook the belt and put the girl on it. The comrades-heroes raised the girl, and the girl said that there were three more people in the other world. They lifted all the girls one by one. Having raised the girls, the heroes decided not to raise the comrade, thinking that he would take the girls for himself, and did not raise him. The heroes left and cannot resolve the dispute - who owns one of the girls who was with the strongest of all the snakes: she was so beautiful that she could not be told in a fairy tale or described with a pen. The bogatyrs came with three maidens to their king-father and they say that they freed the maidens from the snakes, and at the same time each one asks for a beauty for himself. The girls said that the heroes only raised them from another world, and another freed them from the snakes, which remained below under the hole. The king sent his swift-winged eagle for the hero. The eagle put a strong man on himself and flew to the king. There, with the king, a dispute arose between the three heroes because of the beauty: everyone wanted to marry the beauty. The king sees that one is not inferior to the other and says: “I have a big bell with which I inform the people about the most important events in my kingdom. Whoever casts this bell further, for that I will give my daughter. The first one came up - he did not touch the bell, another one came up - too, finally a strong athlete came up ... he kicked the bell with his foot - and the bell flew off behind the royal palace.
- Take my daughter - she's yours! - said the king to the strong man.
And the hero-bear cub took the royal daughter for himself, took it and lived happily ever after, and his comrades were left without wives. The cane is 40 pounds and now lies in the hut.
(Yakov Gavrilov, village Bygi.)

finger and tooth

The two brothers went into the woods to cut wood. Chopped, chopped, chopped up a big pile. It is necessary to chop wood, but there are no wedges. One began to make wedges and inadvertently cut off a finger; the finger jumped along the forest path. Another brother began to chop wood ... The wedge bounced off - and right in the teeth; one tooth was knocked out by a wedge, and the tooth jumped after the finger.
They walked for a long time, whether you never know, whether close, how far - they reached the priest's house. It was already night, and the priest's family was immersed in a sound sleep. Here is a finger with a tooth consulting among themselves on how to steal a knife from a priest and stab his bull. Suddenly I saw a fan in one of the windows and climbed into the hut. Looking for a knife there - does not find it.
- Well, will you be back soon? - asks a tooth under the window.
- I can not find! finger answers.
The priest heard a human voice in the house, got up and searched, but his finger got into the shoe of the hit, and the priest does not see him. Again the priest lay down and fell asleep. The finger has come out of the shoe and is looking for the knife.
- Well, how long? - asks the tooth again.
“I can’t find it,” replies the finger.
Pop heard the cry again and woke up; he took out the fire and is looking for; the finger again crawled into the toe of the shoe and looked out from there if it saw a knife somewhere. Searched, searched for a pop man - did not find; meanwhile, the finger spotted the knife on the bench by the cupboard. So, when the priest went to bed, he got out of his shoe, took a knife and jumped out into the street.
- Well, which one shall we stab? - ask each other a finger and a tooth, going to the bulls in the barn.
“The one who looks at us, we will stab him,” says the finger.
- Okay, but only here we will not prick, we will take the bull into the forest, and there no one will interfere with us, - the tooth expresses his opinion.
They caught the bull that looked at them, and took him into the forest; there they stabbed him, and the finger was left to gut, and the tooth went for firewood to cook meat. He dragged a tooth full of firewood, tied them up, but he couldn't carry them. Suddenly a bear comes and says to him a tooth:
- Clubfoot! Take the burden on your shoulder and carry it.
And the bear was as hungry as a wolf and ate a tooth. The tooth went through the bear and shouts to the finger:
- Brother, help me out soon, the bear ate me.
The bear was frightened and ran, jumped the deck and hurt himself to death. They both went for firewood and somehow dragged the burden. While the finger was laying the fire, the tooth went to the hut of the votyak to fetch the cauldron and began to cook. They boiled a whole bull and ate it. Having eaten to the full - to satiety, went to bed. A hungry wolf came and ate both of them while they were sleeping.
(Vasily Perevoshchikov, honorary Vorchino.)

Fearless nobleman

The soldier served twenty-five years and saw neither fear nor the king. The authorities send him to his homeland. Having seen neither fear nor the king during his service, he says to his superiors:
- What would it cost you to show me at least once the king!
They reported this to the king, and the king demanded a soldier to his palace.
- Hello, officer! the king tells him.
- I wish you good health, Your Majesty! - answers the soldier.
- Well, why did you come to me?
- I served, Your Majesty, twenty-five years and did not see either fear or you; so I came to see you.
- Well, - said the king, - go to the front porch and touch my hens!
And this meant not letting any generals without money into the palace to the king.
The soldier went out and stood at the door of the front porch. Various high-ranking officials, generals, etc. come. The soldier does not let them in without money. Nothing to do, they give him money.
The next day, the king calls the soldier to him and says:
- Well? Lost my chickens?
“He messed up, Your Majesty, he’ll be on my way,” the soldier answered.
- Well done, be you for the courage "Fearless nobleman". In addition to this rank, I give you Yermoshka as a servant, a pair of horses from my royal stable and a golden carriage; I supply you with a ticket - go to all four corners of the world.
The Fearless nobleman got into a golden carriage, took Yermoshka on the goats and went to another kingdom. We drove, we drove - we reached two roads, and between them there is a pillar with the inscription: "If you go to the right, you will find happiness, if you go to the left, you will be killed." Where to go? The fearless nobleman thought for a moment and said to Yermoshka:
- Go left.
Yermoshka was frightened, but there was nothing to be done: you would not be higher than the master. And they went on the left road.
We drove, we drove - we saw a dead body on the road. The fearless nobleman says to Yermoshka:
- Bring this dead body here.
Yermoshka is coming... coming up to the body and shaking all over with fright. The Fearless nobleman sees that Yermoshka is afraid of the dead body, like a cowardly woman, and went after the dead body himself. He took it and put it in the carriage beside him.
Again they go. They drove and drove and saw a hanged man already dead on a birch. The fearless nobleman sends his servant:
- Go, Yermoshka, cut the rope and bring the body here.
Yermoshka is walking - all shaking with fear. Fearless got out of the carriage and went to the dead body himself; crossed the rope on which the body hung, took the body, brought it and put it in the carriage on the other side of himself.
- Well, don't be afraid now, Yermoshka: there are four of us, - says Fearless.
They all go through the forest. We arrived at a huge house, which, as it turned out, belonged to the robbers. Fearless, without asking anyone, drove into the yard; Yermoshka ordered the horses to be taken to the stable, and he himself went into the hut. At the table in the hut, robbers dine, as can be seen from the ferocious mugs; in the front corner sits the ataman himself with a large spoon in his hand. Ataman says to the Fearless:
- You are Russian, we will make you hot: the meat of the hare is delicious - he eats a lot of bread.
Fearless, without saying anything, approaches the table, snatches a large spoon from the ataman's hands and tastes the cabbage soup.
- Sour, rubbish! .. Here's a roast for you! - Fearless says to the ataman, hitting him on the forehead with a spoon.
Ataman goggled his eyes and looks, what kind of person is so impudent? Yermoshka enters the hut ...
“Bring me, Yermoshka, a good zander from the carriage,” says Fearless Yermoshka.
Yermoshka dragged the dead body. Fearless took a knife from the table of the robbers and began to cut the dead body ... he cut off a piece, sniffed it and said:
- It smells! Rubbish! Bring another.
Yermoshka brought something else. Fearless cut off a piece, sniffed and spat:
- Ugh! And this pike smells.
The robbers were mad with fear.
- Come on fresh! shouted the Fearless to Yermoshka... Yermoshka himself shuddered in fright, and his trousers slipped down.
- Come on quickly! shouts Fearless.
Yermoshka goes to the table, raising his pants, and shaking like an aspen leaf. The robbers ran out of the hut, only one chieftain remained. Fearless hit the ataman on the forehead with a large spoon and killed him; then he scooped up all the stolen gold from them, sat down and rode ahead.
We drove, we drove - we reached the kingdom. They drive up to the city, and there, on the balcony of the palace, the king looks through a telescope and wonders: who is this in a golden carriage? We reached the palace, and the king asks Fearless what kind of person he is, where he came from and what was given to him? Dauntless, calling himself the Dauntless Noble, said that he travels to other realms looking for adventure.
“I need such and such,” says the king. - Not far from here, on an island, I have an excellent palace, but the devil settled in it and stole my eldest daughter, whom I loved most of all; go to the island, get the devil out of my palace, bring my daughter to me. If you do this, take any of my three daughters and in addition you will receive half of my kingdom; if you do not fulfill - say goodbye to the head.
- All right, - says the Fearless, - I will fulfill your order.
Fearless left the carriage with money and horses with the king and went with Yermoshka to the lake, among which was the palace: he got into the boat and sailed on the lake, and Yermoshka remained on the shore. He swam across the lake and reached the palace. He went into the palace and sees in the hallway on the window a copper pipe of the devil. He picked up his pipe and lit a cigarette and smoked; smoke passed into other rooms. Suddenly, in one of the rooms, he hears the voice of the devil, who says:
- Ah, Russian! The Russian spirit has not yet been heard here. Go on, little devil, remember his sides well.
The little devil ran to Fearless. Fearless took him by the tail and threw him out the window. The devil sends another imp. Fearless threw that one too; sends a third - the third suffered the same fate. The devil sees that the little devils are not returning, and he went himself. Fearless, taking him by the tail and by the horns, bent him into a ram's horn and threw him out the window. Then he went from room to room looking for the king's daughter. I found her sitting by the bed and next to her was a watchman - an imp. He threw the devil out the window, and took the royal daughter by the hands and led him out of the hut. I got into the boat with her and sailed back. Suddenly, a lot of imps grabbed the boat to capsize it. Fearless, to frighten the devils, shouts:
- Fire! Let's quickly fire, I'll burn the whole lake!
The little devils got scared and dived into the water.
Fearless brought his daughter to the king. And the king says to the Fearless:
- Well done, Fearless! Choose any of my three daughters and get half of my kingdom.
Dauntless chose the younger daughter and received half of the kingdom. He lived a little with a young woman and says:
- Why do I live at home? I'll go wandering around the world again, if I see any passions.
Wife says:
What other passions do you have? There are no passions worse than devils in the world, and it was not worth the devil to survive from the palace and spitting.
“However, I’ll go for a walk, maybe I’ll see something.”
And the Fearless went to look for terrible adventures. He wanted to rest on the banks of the river; lay down not far from the river, laid his head on a block of wood, and fell asleep. During his sleep, a cloud arose, and poured heavy rain. The river overflowed its banks, and the water surrounded him too; a few more minutes passed - and water covered him, only one head remained at the top. Here is one brush sees a good place in the bosom of the Fearless; went there and lives there. Meanwhile, the rain stopped falling, the water went to the banks, and it became dry everywhere, but the Fearless still sleeps. Suddenly he turned over on the other side, and the ruff's fin began to prick him. Fearless jumped off the spot - and let's run, shouting at the top of our lungs:
- Oh, fathers! Oh, fathers! Someone is.
A ruff fell out of the bosom.
- Well, no one has seen such passion, I think! he says, walking back to his wife.
And they live, they live, and they make good.
(This tale was recorded from the words of a peasant named Arlanov Pavel Mikhailov.)

kukri baba

In the spring, the mother sent her three daughters to the forest to get brooms for sweeping rubbish, and the girls got lost in the forest. Wandered, wandered in the forest and got tired. What to do? Here one of the sisters climbed on tall tree and looks around - if he sees any clearing. She looked and said:
- Far from here, blue smoke rises to the sky, like a thread.
The second sister did not believe it and climbed up the spruce. Looks in one direction and says:
- Far from here to the sky goes blue smoke as thick as a finger.
The third sister did not believe it and climbed up the spruce. Looks and says:
- Far from here goes to the sky a blue smoke as thick as an arm.
We noticed this place, got off the spruce and went. They walked and walked and reached the hut. We went into it.
An old woman, Kukri Baba, of a disgusting appearance, is sitting on the stove and breastfeeding a child, and the child has a strong scab on his head. She saw the girls and says:
- Do not want to eat, girls?
- Would eat, perhaps, - the girls answer her.
Kukri-baba came down from the stove ... scraped off the scab from the head of the child and treated the girls, saying:
- Well, eat, girls.
The girls turn their eyes away from the ugly scab that makes them vomit. kukri baba says:
If you don't eat, I'll eat you myself.
What to do? Here one took - she vomited; took another, the third - also vomited. The girls want to leave.
“No, I won’t let you in,” says Kukri Baba. - Jump over a large stupa - Pushcha.
At the door in the corner she has a large wooden mortar, and that's where she brought the girls and orders them to jump over it. Two sisters jumped and left, but the third could not jump and stayed with Kukri Baba.
Kukri Baba went out of the hut and said to the girl:
- You, girl, rock the baby and sing: “Eh! E! O! O! Sleep, sleep." Do not come out of the hut.
She left the hut, and the girl was shaking the baby and crying. Suddenly a rooster comes to the girl and says:
- Sit on me, girl, I'll take you away.
The girl sat down and rides on a rooster.
Kukri Baba came home and sees one child, but the girl is not there. And she went in pursuit of the girl. She caught up and threw a wooden pestle at the rooster, the rooster dropped the girl. Kukri Baba took the girl and took her back to her hut.

The hare comes and says:
- Sit on me, girl, I'll take you away.
The girl sat on the hare and rides. Kukri Baba caught up with them and threw a wooden pestle at the hare - and the hare dropped the girl.
Again the girl shakes the child and cries.
A thin horse comes, covered in mud and droppings.
- Get on me, girl, - says the horse.
The girl sat on a dirty horse and rides. They see that Kukri Baba is chasing them. We reached the water, and a large log lies on the water. The girl got off the horse and walked along the log. So Kukri Baba is walking along a log ... The girl went ashore, shook the log - and Kukri Baba fell into the water. So she, the villain, ended.
The girl came home at night, when all her family were sleeping. She took hold of the ring of the door... she knocked, she knocked - they didn't open it: no one heard. She went to sleep on the sennik, and there someone ate her at night, leaving only her hair.
In the morning, the girl's father and the boy went to the hayfield to feed the horses. The boy found the hair and says to his father:
- I, darling, found the strings.
“All right, child, take it if you find it,” the father replies.
The boy brought the hair into the hut and laid it on the table. Suddenly, the hair began to lament in the plaintive voice of the eaten girl:
- Father, mother! Hands, fingers knocked on the door - you did not unlock it.
Everyone got scared and threw their hair into the oven. In the furnace and the ashes speak too. What to do? The family is not happy with life, even if you leave the house.
Here the women raked out all the ashes ... took out the rest - and threw the ashes into the forest. From that time on, there were no lamentations in the oven.
(Recorded from Pavel Zelenin.)

There were two neighbors in the same village. Both had one daughter. Their daughters grew up and became brides. One neighbor's daughter is being wooed by the rich and the poor, but he still does not want to give his daughter away; at the other, no one woo, despite the fact that his daughter is the most beautiful of beauties; and her father wanted to give her away.
- If only the devil would come to woo my daughter! - says the latter, when he saw matchmakers from a neighbor.
The very next day, matchmakers in rich outfits, like city merchants, came to him and wooed his daughter.
- How can I marry you, rich people, when my means are beggarly? After all, to give out to the rich, it is necessary to start a rich feast, ”says the peasant.
- We do not understand who is what, we would only have a suitable, hard-working bride, and we found such a person in the person of your daughter, - the matchmakers answer.
The man agreed and betrothed his daughter to a merchant groom who was right there. They played a wedding and go home with the bride, or rather, with the young.
- Where are you from? We wooed the girl, played the wedding, you are already taking the bride away, but we don’t know where you are from, who you are, - the quick-witted old woman, the grandmother of the bride, decided to ask.
- In fact, we don’t know at all where our fiancé and our matchmakers are from. We sold our daughter anyway. This is not right, we need to find out everything, - all the family say and ask the matchmakers.
- We are from Moscow-city, we are engaged in trade, - the matchmakers say.
The old woman called herself to see her granddaughter even before the ferry, which was not far from the village. The grandmother got into the cart, and drove off; we reached the river, and the grandmother was ordered to get out of the cart. As soon as the grandmother left, the whole train went down into the water and was like that. Grandma then howled like a wolf, but there’s nothing to do, you can’t turn back.
“We gave the poor thing for a wumurt, we won’t see her again,” grandmother lamented, returning home.
She returned home and with tears in her eyes told her family about what she had seen. The family grieved and stopped.
Seven years passed, and they began to forget their daughter.
Suddenly, at this time, the son-in-law appears and invites the grandmother to be a midwife during the birth of her granddaughter, who, the son-in-law says, walks in the last time of pregnancy. The grandmother got into the carriage of her son-in-law and left. The son-in-law drove to the same river and went down into the water. Grandmother had only time to gasp when she found herself in the river, but did not drown; there, in the water, the same road as on land. We drove, we drove - we drove up to a big house; got out of the carriage and entered the house. There they took the grandmother to her granddaughter's room, and they threw themselves into each other's arms. It's time to give birth. Fired up the bath. The pregnant woman was resolved, and the grandmother accepted the baby. They went to the bathhouse, and there other women gave the grandmother a bottle of ointment to smear the child's eyes, and warned the grandmother that she should not smear her eyes with this ointment, otherwise she would go blind.
When there was no one in the bath, the grandmother smeared her right eye, and suddenly a miracle happened: the grandmother began to walk in the water and on the water, like a special animal. After visiting her granddaughter, she began to get ready to go home. She calls her granddaughter with her, but she says that she cannot go to them; go yourself more often. Grandmother began to say goodbye to matchmakers and matchmakers, but they did not let her walk: "Let's harness," they say, "a cart." They harnessed the cart and sent grandmother.
At home, the grandmother told about the life of her granddaughter, about her visit to the matchmakers, praised them in the best possible way, and the family could not be surprised.
The next day, Grandma went shopping. Entering the store, she asks the merchant about the price of the goods, but no one sees her. They look back and forth - there is no one.
“What a marvel,” says the shopkeeper. - Who is speaking?
The grandmother guessed that she was invisible to a stranger and that she became invisible from the ointment. She took from the shop what she needed, without money, and went home. Grandmother was glad that she took everything for nothing.
The next day she went back to the store. In the shop he sees people taking out and putting goods into the cart.
- Where are you taking the goods? - asks the grandmother.
- Another merchant, - people answer and ask her how she sees them?
- So I see, as you see, - answers the grandmother.
- Which eye?
- Right.
Then one went up to the grandmother and tore out her right eye, and then a miracle happened again: the grandmother became visible to everyone, and with her left eye she did not see the goods carried out of the shop. The grandmother howled from the pain in her right eye and went home crooked. Only then did she guess that they were wumurts, with whom, perhaps, she was visiting, but for some reason she did not recognize them.
Now let's say something about wumurts. These Wumurts transported goods from shop to shop. Whoever believed in the faith of the Wumurts, they dragged goods from the shop of the unbeliever, and they dragged only the goods that were placed without blessing, that is, without prayers. In this way, the goods passed from shop to shop, and from this one merchant became poorer, and the other became richer.
(Elizar Evseev.)

Grigory Yegorovich (Georgievich) Vereshchagin (1851-1930)

The first Udmurt scientist and writer who left a rich and varied creative heritage. His pen belongs widely famous poem"Chagyr, chagyr dydyke ..." ("Glue-gray, gray-gray dove ..."), which spread in the form folk song, the centenary of the publication of which the public celebrated in 1989 as the anniversary of the first original printed work of art in the Udmurt language and all Udmurt literature.
G.E. Vereshchagin wrote poems, poems, plays in the Udmurt and Russian languages. Of these, during his lifetime he published only more than a dozen poems on mother tongue. Four of his poems ("Destroyed Life", "Skorobogat-Kashchey", "Goldfish" and "Clothes of the Batyr") were first published in our days, thanks to the efforts of researchers.
During his lifetime, G.E. Vereshchagin became famous not only in Russia, but also abroad (in particular, in Hungary, Finland) as an ethnographer and folklorist who collected, researched and published materials related to history, language, customs, traditions, beliefs and religious rites, as well as artistic culture (songs, legends, fairy tales, riddles, proverbs, sayings, etc.) of the Udmurts and Russians, who lived mainly in the Glazovsky and Sarapulsky districts of the Vyatka province, located between the Vyatka and Kama rivers. His ethnographic essays include not only the necessary scientific information. Despite the fact that they were written in Russian, they were, in fact, the first works of Udmurt artistic prose and received high recognition, although not as artistic experiments, but as scientific works. In particular, each of his monographs: “Votyaks of the Sosnovsky Territory”, “Votyaks of the Sarapulsky Uyezd of the Vyatka Province” are original essays (or even stories, as some researchers call them) of an encyclopedic nature about the life of the Udmurt people of that time, which were awarded a silver medal Imperial Russian Geographical Society, known at that time scientific center for the study of the ethnography of the peoples of Russia. At the age of thirty-seven, in 1888, being a teacher in an elementary provincial school, taking into account the value of the materials provided by him from the place of observation, G.E. Vereshchagin was honored to be an elected member of this most authoritative scientific society at that time.
G.E. Vereshchagin's linguistic research turned out to be fruitful. He compiled the Udmurt-Russian and Russian-Udmurt dictionaries, which remained unpublished, published the book "A Guide to the Study of the Votsky Language" - "the first original research work in the field of observation of the Votsky language", as stated in the preface to the book, signed by the Votsky Academic Center. Regarding the works of G.E. Vereshchagin, the words “first”, “first” have to be used quite often.
G.E. Vereshchagin was not a scientist in our traditional sense: he did not defend dissertations, did not receive academic titles and degrees; being a simple school teacher (later a priest), he actively collected ethnographic and folklore material, and these scrupulous and systematic studies of local lore formed him as an ethnographer of a wide profile. The Udmurt people, the region inhabited by them, became for him a kind of "training ground", where he comprehended the science of complex study folk culture. It was this desire that turned G.E. Vereshchagin into a scientist with a wide range of interests, combining an ethnographer, folklorist, religious scholar, researcher of onomastics.
The good name of G.E. Vereshchagin went down in history in connection with the sensational shameful for the whole world royal authorities Multan process (1892-1896), during which he acted as an expert ethnographer on the side of the defense at two sessions of the district court. The very fact that he was involved in this role testified to the recognition of his competence in the field of Udmurt ethnography. V.G. Korolenko, who took an active part in defending the defendants, the honor and dignity of the entire Udmurt people and in exposing the criminal actions of the authorities during this process, highly appreciated the role of G.E. Vereshchagin's expertise in the court's acquittal.

In a vast scientific heritage Grigory Egorovich Vereshchagin's book "Votyaks of the Sosnovsky Territory" occupies a special place. It marked the beginning of an intense and purposeful scientific search, to which the scientist devoted his whole life.
The work was first published in 1884. Since at that time there were no departments of ethnography at scientific institutions and universities, all research in the field of Russian ethnography was concentrated in learned societies. One of these centers was the ethnographic department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, in the Izvestia of which the scientist's monograph was published.
Exactly 120 years ago, in 1886, G.E. Vereshchagin's book was republished with minor additions. It was highly appreciated by contemporaries and still has not lost its value as a collection of the richest ethnographic material about the Udmurt people. Due to the uniqueness of the materials contained in the work, the reliability and detail of the actual descriptions, the monograph by G. Vereshchagin constantly continues to attract the attention of Udmurt scholars. References to this work, reference to his factual material we can meet in a significant number of modern publications devoted to economic issues and material culture, public and family life, religion, spiritual culture and art of the Udmurt people. It has become almost a rule to check one's knowledge of the facts of Udmurt ethnography “according to Vereshchagin”.
(Reprinted according to: Vereshchagin G.E. Collected works: In 6 vols. Izhevsk: UIIYAL Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 1995. Vol. 1. Votyaki of the Sosnovsky Territory / Responsible for the issue of G.A. Nikitin; Word to the reader: V. M.Vanyushev; Afterword by V.M.Vanyushev, G.A.Nikitina, V. 2. Votyaks of the Sarapul district of the Vyatka province / Responsible for the issue L.S. Khristolyubov.)

UDMURT- this is the people in Russia, indigenous people Udmurtia (476 thousand people). Udmurts also live in Tataria, in Bashkiria, in the Perm, Kirov, Sverdlovsk regions. The total number of Udmurts in Russia is 676 thousand people. 70% of Udmurts consider their national language to be their mother tongue. The Udmurt language belongs to the Finno-Ugric language group. There are several dialects in the Udmurt language - northern, southern, Besermian and median dialects. Writing Udmurt language created on the basis of the Cyrillic alphabet. The majority of Udmurt believers are Orthodox, but a significant proportion adhere to traditional beliefs. On the religious beliefs Udmurts living among Tatars and Bashkirs were influenced by Islam.

The past of the Udmurts dates back to the Finno-Ugric tribes of the Iron Age of the 1st millennium AD. The territory of modern Udmurtia has long been inhabited by Udmurt or Votyak tribes (3-4 centuries AD). In the 10th-12th centuries, the Udmurts were under economic and cultural influence Volga-Kama Bulgaria. In the 13th century, the territory of Udmurtia was conquered by the Mongol-Tatars.

In 1489, the northern Udmurts became part of the Russian state. In Russian sources, the Udmurts have been mentioned since the 14th century as ares, aryans, votyaks; southern Udmurts experienced Tatar influence, tk. Until 1552 they were part of the Kazan Khanate. By 1558, the Udmurts completely became part of the Russian state. Under their own name, the Udmurts were first mentioned in 1770 in the work of the scientist N.P. Rychkov.

The traditional occupation of the Udmurts was agriculture and animal husbandry. Hunting, fishing, and beekeeping were of an auxiliary nature. Udmurt villages were located along the banks of the rivers and were small - a few dozen households. In the decoration of the dwelling there were many decorative woven products. Udmurt clothes were sewn from canvas, cloth and sheepskin. In clothing, two options stood out - northern and southern. Shoes were woven bast shoes, boots or felt boots. Numerous were ornaments made of beads, beads, coins. traditional dwelling Udmurts was log cabin with a cold passage under a gable roof. The diet of the Udmurts was dominated by agricultural and livestock products.

AT public life In the villages, a neighboring community played an important role, headed by a council - kenesh. For a long time, tribal divisions of the Udmurts - Vorshuds - were preserved.

The religion of the Udmurts was characterized by a numerous pantheon of deities and spirits, among them Inmar - the god of heaven, Kaldysin - the god of the earth, Shundy-mummy - the Mother of the Sun, there were about 40 of them in total. plow, vyl beetle - ritual eating of porridge from the grain of the new crop. Since the 19th century, the celebration of many holidays began to coincide with the dates of the Christian calendar - Christmas, Easter, Trinity. The Udmurts often had two names - a pagan one, given when they were called a midwife, and a Christian one, received at baptism.

The leading place in applied art was occupied by embroidery, patterned weaving, patterned knitting, woodcarving, weaving, and embossing on birch bark. Singing and dancing, accompanied by playing the harp and flute, were widely developed among the Udmurts.

In the 18th century, the largest Udmurt factories, Izhevsk and Votkinsk, were built in Udmurtia, which have retained their significance in a transformed form to this day. The region has become a major industrial center of Russia. Metallurgy, mechanical engineering and the production of weapons received the greatest importance.

Vyzhykyl (fairy tale) is an epic oral work, predominantly of a magical, adventurous or everyday nature, with a fantasy setting. The nature of the story is always entertaining. It is the entertaining and imaginative attitude that distinguishes the fairy tale from other narrative genres of folklore. The Udmurt fairy tale repertoire is rich and varied. Udmurt folklore is quite rich in its original, national material. The richness of this folklore is quite diverse in terms of types and genres, as well as in quantitative terms. Udmurt folk art has in its fund almost all folklore genres that other peoples have. So, it is possible to distinguish legends, myths, legends, fairy tales, conspiracies, songs, proverbs and sayings, riddles, wedding ritual songs, signs, recruit songs.

Udmurt folk tales

beauty birch

In one village, an old man and an old woman lived. They were very poor, they ate bread not enough.

Somehow the old woman collected the last firewood - she wanted to heat the stove, but there was nothing to kindle it with: there was no torch.

The old woman says to the old man:

– There is nothing to light the oven! Go to the forest for a torch. Cut down a birch - we will stock up the splinter.

The old man took the ax and trudged into the forest. I began to look for a birch for felling.

He did not have to search for long: he immediately saw a beautiful birch.

He came closer to the birch, he wanted to chop, but as soon as he swung his ax, the leaves on the birch rustled, the branches stirred.

The birch tree bent down to the old man and spoke in a human voice:

– Have pity on me, old man, don't cut! And what you need - everything you will have.

The old man was frightened, even dropped the ax from his hands.

“I have been living for seventy-seven years now, but I have never seen such a miracle!” thought the old man.

He did not touch the birch. He returned home and said to the old woman:

– I would have brought you good poles for a torch, but the birch tree suddenly began to ask in a human voice: “Don't touch me, old man! Whatever you need, you'll have everything." Well, I did.

– BUT! The birch does not want to be cut down, - the old woman shouted, - so go break her branches - there will be food for our lambs!

And drove the old man back into the woods.

He went up to the birch, bowed and said:

– My wife ordered me to break your branches, she wants to feed the lambs with leaves, if I don’t cut you down on a torch!

– Do not cut me, - says the birch, - and do not break my branches. And what the old woman asks - she will have everything!

The old man had nothing to do, he had to return home.

He came home and was surprised: dry splinter lies in piles everywhere!

– Well, old woman, you see how many torches we have!

And the old woman will pounce on him:

– Why did he only ask for a torch from a birch? After all, we need to heat the stove, but we don’t have firewood. Go ask for firewood!

With scolding and shouting, the old woman drove the old man out of the house.

The old man took the ax and again went into the forest. He reached the birch tree, bowed to it and began to ask:

– Give me, beautiful birch, firewood: we have all run out, there is nothing to heat the stove with!

– Go home, old man: what you ask, you will have, - the birch tells him.

The old man went back home.

He went up to the house, looked - he was amazed: the yard was full of firewood! Sawed firewood, chopped, stacked. And the old woman is again unhappy:

– Why did he only ask for firewood from the birch? After all, we don’t even have a handful of flour! Go ask for flour!

– Wait, you can't! Just now begged for firewood.

The old woman let's scold the old man. She screamed and screamed, then grabbed the poker and kicked him out of the house.

– Do, - shouts, - what you are ordered to do!

The old man took an ax and again went into the forest. He came, bowed to the beautiful birch and began to lament:

– You are my beauty, white birch! The old woman again sent me to you - to ask for flour. If you want, help, give some!

– Go home, old man: what you ask is what you will have, ”the birch said affectionately.

The old man was delighted, rather walked home.

He returned and went to the barn. He does not believe that he will have flour.

He entered, looking - the barn is full of flour to the top!

The old man became so joyful, so cheerful, that he forgot all his former grief and need.

“Well,” he thinks, “now we will always be full!”

And the old woman saw the old man, ran out of the house and again began to scold him:

– You old fool, your wooden head! Why only flour asked? Go stupid, ask for two chests of gold!

She hit him with a yoke and kicked him out.

The poor old man hung his head and trudged off into the woods again.

He went up to the birch, bowed to her and began to lament:

– Beautiful birch! My old woman sent me to you again - she wants two chests of gold ...

– Go, old man, go: what you ask is what you will have,” said the birch.

The old man went. He went up to the hut, looked out the window and saw an old woman sitting on a bench sorting out gold coins. And the coins sparkle and gleam! He went into the hut, looked - there were two chests near the table, full of gold.

This is where the old man lost his mind. He also started picking up coins.

– We need to hide the gold more securely so that no one sees! says the old woman.

– Need, Need! the old man answers. “If they don’t find out that we have so much gold, they will ask or they will take it away!”

We talked, thought and hid the gold in the underground.

Here live an old man with an old woman. Satisfied that there is a lot of money. Only gold does not give them peace day or night: they are afraid that someone would steal the chests.

She thought, the old woman thought, how to save gold, and she came up with an idea.

She says to the old man:

– Go, old man, to your birch, ask her to make us scary, scary! So that all people are afraid of us! Let everyone run away from us!

The old man had to walk again into the forest. I saw a beautiful birch, bowed to her and began to ask:

– Make us, beautiful birch, scary, scary! So terrible that all people were afraid of us, they ran away from us, they didn’t touch our gold!

The birch rustled with its leaves, stirred its branches, and said to the old man:

– Go home, old man: what you ask, it will be! Not only people will be afraid of you, but also forest animals!

The old man returned home, opened the door.

– Well, - he says, - the birch promised: not only people, but also forest animals will be afraid of us! They will run away from us!

And as soon as he said, both he and his old woman were covered with thick brown hair. Hands and feet became paws, claws grew on paws. They wanted to say something to each other, but they could not - they only growled loudly.

So they both became bears.

Mouse and sparrow

Once a mouse and a sparrow found three grains of rye on the road. They thought and thought about what to do with them, and decided to sow the field. The mouse plowed the ground, harrowed sparrows.

Mouse One says:

This is my grain: when I plowed my nose and worked my paws to blood.

Sparrow disagreed.

The mouse did not chase the sparrow. I was upset that I was the first to start an argument. She dragged her share into the mink. She waited, waited for the sparrow to make peace, did not wait. And part of it poured into her pantry. The whole winter lived full.

And the greedy sparrow was left with nothing, and jumped hungry until spring.

Kokorikok

A red fox is walking along the road, and a rooster is meeting her. Yes, such a handsome man - a tail with a sickle, a comb with a saw, a yellow shirt on it, and a wicker basket under the wing.

The fox saw the rooster and thought:

"Oh, if I had eaten him now, I wouldn't have left a feather. Yes, I'm afraid: people walk along the road, they will see - I won't do well then. I'll lure him to my house, I'll deal with him without interference."

Hello, cockerel, - says the fox in a sweet voice. - I've been wanting to be friends with you for a long time. My name is Kuz-Byzh - Long tail. How about you?

And I'm Kokorikok, - the rooster answers.

How far are you, Kokorikok, going?

Yes, I’m going to the market, I should buy peas.

When you leave the market, so come to visit me, - the fox invites. - I'll treat you to glory.

Okay, Kuz-Byzh, I'll come, - the rooster promised, and thought to himself: "To be friends with you is not to be alive."

Well, I'll wait for you, - the fox licked his lips. - Oh, what's your name, my friend? I already forgot!

Let's write it down for memory. - The rooster picked up a piece of coal from the road and wrote on the fox's forehead: "Bear."

The fox left, and the rooster looked after her and ran home, as long as he was intact.

The fox came home, sat down on a bench, began to wait for the guest, looking out the window. It's already light, but the rooster is still gone. The fox waited and waited, so she fell asleep at the window.

In the morning I woke up hungry and angry.

“Well,” he thinks, “the rooster deceived me. Now, as soon as I meet him, I will tear him to shreds!”

The fox ran to look for the rooster.

She runs through the forest thicket, and a wolf meets her:

Where are you, fox, going so early?

Yes, I'm looking for a deceiver ... Ugh, I forgot his name! Look, it's written on my forehead.

The wolf looked, and on the forehead of the fox it was written: "Bear."

Why do you need him? asked the wolf.

The wolf was scared.

"If she's going to tear the bear to shreds, then she'll swallow me whole!" - he thought and ran away without looking back.

Then a bear came out of the thicket.

Hello, fox. Why are you up so early?

Yes, I'm looking for ... Ugh, I forgot his name! Look, it's written on my forehead.

The bear sees that the fox has "Bear" written on its forehead, and asks:

Why do you need him?

I want to tear him to shreds!

The bear got angry, roared, growled, grabbed the fox by the long tail and threw it into the bushes.

The fox hit a birch stump, barely got to his feet and, groaning, hobbled to his home.

And I forgot about the rooster.

Hunter and snake

Once, in late autumn, a hunter was returning from the forest. Tired, hungry and decided to rest.

He sat down by a frozen stream on a stump, threw off the motley - a birch bark bag - from his shoulders and took out a large flat cake - taban. I just bit off a piece - suddenly something rustled near the shore.

The hunter pushed the sedge apart, he sees - a whip lies on the ice. He wanted to pick her up. I looked closely, and this is not a whip at all, but a snake.

The snake raised its head, saw the hunter and said plaintively, plaintively:

Save me, good man. You see, my tail is frozen to the ice. Help me out, otherwise I'll disappear here.

The hunter took pity on the snake, took out an ax from his belt and broke the ice around the snake's tail. The snake crawled ashore barely alive.

Oh, I'm cold, mate! Warm me up

The hunter picked up the snake and put it in his bosom.

The snake warmed up and says:

Well, now say goodbye to life, your sheep's head! Now I will bite you!

What you! What you! - scared hunter. - After all, I did good to you - I saved you from certain death.

You saved me, and I will destroy you, - the snake hissed. - I always pay evil for good.

Wait, snake, says the hunter. - Let's go along the road and ask the first person we meet how to pay for good. If he says evil, you will destroy me, and if he says good, then you will let me go.

The snake agreed.

Here the hunter went along the road, and the snake curled up on his chest.

They met a cow.

Hello cow, says the hunter.

Hello, the cow replies.

Then the snake stuck its head out from behind the hunter's bosom and said:

Judge us, cow. This man saved me from death, and I want to destroy him. Tell me, what do you have to pay for goodness?

I pay good for good, - answered the cow. - The hostess feeds me hay, and I give her milk for it.

Do you hear? - says the hunter to the snake. - Now let me go, as agreed.

No, replies the snake. - A cow is a stupid animal. Let's ask someone else.

Hello, horse, - says the hunter.

Good, replies the horse.

The snake stuck its head out and said:

Judge us, horse. This man saved me from death, and I want to destroy him. Tell me, what do you have to pay for goodness?

I pay good for good, - the horse answered. - The owner feeds me with oats, and I work for him for it.

Here you see! - says the hunter to the snake. - Now let me go, as agreed.

No, wait, the snake replies. - A cow and a horse are domestic animals, they live near a person all their lives, so they stand up for you. Let's go to the forest, let's ask the wild beast whether I should kill you or not.

There is nothing to do - the hunter went into the forest.

He sees - a birch grows in the forest, and a wild cat sits on the lowest bough.

The hunter stopped near the birch, and the snake stuck out its head and said:

Judge us, cat. This man saved me from death, and I want to destroy him. Tell me, what do you have to pay for goodness?

The cat flashed its green eyes and said:

Come closer. I'm old, I can't hear well.

The hunter approached the very trunk of the birch, and the snake leaned out even more and screamed:

This man saved me from death, and I want to destroy him!.. Now do you hear? Judge us...

The cat released its sharp claws, jumped on the snake and strangled it.

Thank you, cat, - said the hunter. - You helped me out of trouble, I will repay you with kindness. Come with me, you will live in my hut, sleep on a soft pillow in summer, and on a warm stove in winter. I will feed you meat and milk to drink.

The hunter put the cat on his shoulder and went home.

Since then, a man and a cat have been living in great friendship.

Greedy merchant

A summer day seemed short to one merchant: the sun rises late and sets early. And when the time came to hire laborers, the merchant was completely upset: the day for him became like the twinkling of an eye. The merchant laments that the laborers will not have time to go out into the field, when it is time to return back. So they will never do all the work.

He came to Lopsho Pedun.

What need has brought you to me, buskel? asked the merchant Lopsho.

Yes, the day is very short. The workers do not have time to reach the field - look, the evening is coming, but you have to pay them in full, and feed them, as agreed. It occurred to me to lengthen the day, but I could not find anyone who would help me in this. I came to ask you if you know someone who knows how to make the day longer.

Uh, yeah, and how did you happen to run into just such a person? - Lopsho Pedun said not without pleasure, thinking to himself that the time had come to teach the greedy man a lesson. - If you give five pounds of flour, I will help you.

And ten pounds is not a pity, just teach as soon as possible.

Listen, urom, how to help your trouble and make the day longer, - Lopsho Pedun began to explain. - Put on a warmer derem, a jacket, on top of everything - a sheepskin coat, on your feet - felt boots, and on your head - a sheepskin malachai. Take a pitchfork in your hands, climb a higher birch and hold the sun with a pitchfork so that it stands still. Did you understand?

Got it, got it, got it all. Thanks a lot for the kind advice. Come visit, I'll treat you myself.

The merchant returned home and boasted to his wife of his resourcefulness. What, they say, did he learn how to hold the sun so that it does not quickly run across the sky ..

Summer that year was hot. The merchant hired carpenters to put up the house in one day. And he began to gather in the evening. He put on a warm derem, a jacket, a sheepskin coat, put on felt boots, and to keep his head warm, he put on a fur hat. For hands, I also thought of grabbing sheepskin mittens. The merchant took the longest hay pitchfork in his hands and, without waiting for the sunrise, climbed the highest birch. He ordered the carpenters to work as contracted - the whole day. The merchant is sitting almost on the top of a birch, not a single twig of shade gives him - and the sun holds the pitchfork. From the heat, sweat runs down his back in streams, his hands are completely stiff, they begin to tremble.

And the laborers work without respite, tapping with axes, tinkling with saws. From time to time they glance at the merchant, smiling. The merchant strictly ordered not to stop until he descended from the birch. He assigned his wife to them to keep an eye on the workers.

The merchant is fried on a birch tree under the sun, from his fatigue and looking at the ground he will blur. And it seems to him a very long day. Perhaps he does not remember such a long day in his lifetime.

By noon, the merchant, as in a steam bath, was steamed, tired, as if he had been plowed arable land all day and whipped with a whip. He climbed down from the birch.

Well, thank you, the workers, they did a good job today, that's enough, - he says.

And the farm laborers are happy, glad: they were not tired at all, they only worked for the merchant for half a day. They went home happy.

This is how the greedy merchant lengthened the day. For this, he gave Lopsho Pedun ten poods of flour and even treated him to glory.

Batyrs

In the village of Tuimyl once lived one batyr, and at the same time another batyr lived. Batyr from Tuimyl was ninety years old, and his name was Procopius. Chozhyil batyr was very young, he came to Tuimyl to get married. I saw beautiful girls, grabbed them and dragged them in an armful into the bathhouse. Two guys ran to Procopius and told about such impudence. We, they say, are exhausted with this batyr from Chozhyil, is it possible how to teach him a lesson.

Daughters, give me a mug of aryan, - said Procopius. And meanwhile he asked if the young batyr was dexterous.

The daughters brought a bucket birch-bark bowl of aryan, Procopius drank it to the bottom. Soon a young batyr with friends showed up to him. Procopius asks:

Which one of you is the smartest?

I! - answers the batyr from Chozhyil.

Are you the smartest, son?

I am grandfather. In the Yelabuga region there is no one more dexterous than me.

Come on, son, let's fight.

Oh boy, you're going to die!

Yes, I, granddaughter, will only check your strength, you won’t do anything to me.

They began to fight. Grandfather Procopius raised the batyr with one hand and asked:

Where to drop you off? To the roof of the barn or to the sky?

And Procopius threw him on the roof of the barn: it was a pity for him to throw the batyr further. The young batyr jumped off the roof - and home. He told everyone there:

- It turns out that there is a ninety-year-old grandfather in the world, no one can overcome him. I was dexterous and strong, I could master anyone, and he coped with me with one hand. Isn't his heroic strength from Aryan?

Bogatyr Kondrat

On the steep bank of the Izh River, in a dense black forest, Kondrat built a dwelling for himself: he dug a deep hole and put a log house there. It was necessary to enter there as in a dugout. The door was covered with a heavy cast-iron plate, which no one could even move. Only Kondrat himself opened the entrance to his dugout.

Kondrat hoped for his heroic strength and decided to live alone. But to live like this, not going anywhere, not visiting neighbors, he soon got bored. He began to walk through the forest. Sitting down on the steep bank of the river, I watched for a long time how the water flows in the river. And then he began to go to neighboring villages.

Having learned about the heroic strength of Kondrat, the people decided to choose him as their king. Then the Udmurts were at enmity with the Tatars. The Tatars staged frequent raids, burned entire villages, took away property and took them away.

Kondrat, you are strong, we want to make you our king, the Udmurts said.

Strength also needs intelligence, and among you there are those, choose those, - Kondrat replied.

All the people bowed to Kondrat.

We need you, they said.

Okay, Kondrat agreed.

Once, when Kondrat was in the village, the Tatars of the Golden Horde raided there. A commotion arose all around: fluff and feathers fly there, smoke appeared in another place.

Behind me! thundered Kondrat's appeal to his people.

He walked ahead of everyone. He shot the first arrow at the leader of the Tatar army. The arrow went right through the body of the Tatar leader.

A fierce battle began. The entire Tatar army was destroyed in battle. Only one Tatar escaped - he galloped off on a horse and told the news to the khan:

Khan, the Udmurt king is very strong. He destroyed all of us.

Where does he live? I will measure my strength with him, - said the Tatar Khan.

I know the way to it, - the Tatar says.

Kondrat, tired in battle, was resting at that time in his dugout.

He should have been here, - Kondrat heard the Tatar's voice. Then he hears that someone is trying to open the door, but the stove does not give in to efforts.

Kondrat then hit the stove. The plate, together with the khan, flew into the river. He, having fallen under the stove, drowned.

Don't touch me, Kondrat, I'll be useful to you, - the Tatar asks.

Go, pull my door out of the river, Kondrat tells him.

The Tatar entered the water behind the stove, but could not pull it out and drowned himself. The Tatars, in order to avenge their khan, again gathered in a war against the Udmurts. The new Khan was afraid of the strong Kondrat.

First of all, you need to kill Kondrat, - he ordered.

They chose the five most powerful, brave Tatars and sent them on horseback to the dark forest where the hero Kondrat lived. Returning one day to his dugout. Kondrat saw horsemen riding through the forest towards his dwelling. He hid behind a thick pine tree and watched. The Tatars, having tied their horses, approached the dugout to the trees.

Kondrat pulled the slab out of the water and left it at the entrance to the dugout. Without thinking twice, the Tatars descended into it. Kondrat immediately ran up and covered the entrance with a slab. And he himself untied all the horses, sat on one of them and rode to the village.

Prepare for battle,” he boomed again in his thunderous voice.

Why fight in vain? After all, the Tatars do not touch us now, - said one strong Udmurt.

This man himself wanted to be king. The hero hit him with his fist and crushed all his bones. The rest said:

With you, we are ready to throw ourselves into fire and into water. We believe you.

Five or six villages were very close to each other. All of them, on the orders of their king Kondrat, began to prepare for battle. And the kondrat at this time, in order to take possession of the wife of the Tatar khan, galloped off on a fast horse to the palace in a whirlwind. Khan's wife was guarded by twenty Tatars. Nineteen Tatars he then destroyed. The twentieth knelt before Kondrat and began to beg him:

I'll tell you everything, just don't kill me," he said. - The Tatars are now choosing a new khan. Get ready to go to you a new war.

Kondrat quickly grabbed the Khan's wife, carried her out of the palace and began to look around. Thousands of Tatars gathered outside the palace. They were already choosing their third khan. Konrat grabbed the Tatar and threw him over a high fence into the crowd. Only then did the Tatars learn that Kondrat was here, and they began to hastily surround the palace from all sides. And Kondrat, taking with him the wife of the khan, was already rushing like an arrow on his fast horse to his people. The Tatars realized it too late - behind Kondratra only dust rises in the distance.

Kondrat came to his place, put one person to guard his future wife. And the people led into the forest, to their home. The Tatars did not have to wait long. Having chosen a new khan for themselves, they moved like a black cloud against the Udmurts. A strong fight began. Kondrat fought heroically: some with kicks, some with fist blows he threw into the black waters of a deep river. On the very shore he met a new khan of the Tatars. He unexpectedly for Kondrat took out his dagger and stabbed him in the heart.

At the same time, Kondrat grabbed the khan by the throat. And they both fell dead into the river. After the battle, the Tatars together moved the slab of the dugout and freed their imprisoned khan.

Vatka and Calmez

In those parts of the Glazovsky district, where the village of Verkhparzinskaya is now located, near Chebershur (beautiful river) and Bydzymshur (large river), at first lived the Udmurts from the Kalmez tribe, that is, the Udmurts who came from behind the Kilmez River. At that time there were big pine forests. The main occupation of the Kalmes was beekeeping. They were also engaged in weaving bast shoes. They say that one coulter could be made from one cat of Calmez! Bast shoes were arshins long. The Calmes settled one by one or two in different places. Two Kalmez lived on the site of the Novoparzinsky repair, which did not exist at that time, but there was a dense forest. About a verst from this repair about forty years ago they found an empty, almost collapsed hut in the forest. A few years later, on someone's orders, they burned it. According to the stories of the old people, it was the dwelling of those two Kalmezes who settled in this area. The Kalmezes had sledges, they were called Nurt in Udmurt. The runners of the nurta looked like skis one and a half sazhens long, a box with high legs was fixed on them, in which the Kalmezes collected honey. The Kalmezes did not have horses, so they themselves carried fifteen or more pounds of honey in nurseries. Bees placed in different places, they had up to several hundred ridges.

The two Calmeses lived long and peacefully. But then the Vatka tribe moved towards them from the direction of the city of Vyatka, displacing all the Kalmezes on their way. One Udmurt from the Vatka tribe also came to them. They began to argue about who should live here. The Kalmezes also agreed to live together, but Vatka insisted that it would be better for one tribe to live here. The three of them went to inspect the possessions of the Kalmez. At the place where the rivers Ozegvay and Parzi meet, the night caught them, and they settled down to spend the night. One Calmez fell asleep peacefully. And the other, suspecting the fleece of an evil plan, pretended to be asleep and followed every movement of the fleece. At night, Vatka quietly got up and listened to see if his comrades were sleeping. Having ascertained this, he took a club and struck the sleeping Calmez with a flourish. He immediately died. Another Calmez jumped up and took the club from the fleece. What happened after between them and where the fleece went is unknown. Calmez, left alone, buried his tribesman right there. Having buried, he said bitterly: “Ozegvay vu kiskysa, Parzi vir kiskysa med uloz, Parzi kalyk ilys med az lu” (let water flow in Ozegvay, and blood in Parzi, and let there be no good for the Parz people). They say that the Parzians lived in poverty, they were known as thieves and drunkards. Litigation and quarrels were constantly started, and all this because the curse of Calmez sent on them.

Soon all the Kalmezes went towards the Izh River, but the fleece remained. These ancient Kalmezes are revered by the Glazov Udmurts to this day.

Vishur Karyil

They say that a long time ago on Vishur-Karyil and Kargurez, near the village of Vil Utchan, there lived pugachs. They were not like ordinary people, but giants. And they were always at war with each other.

There were no guns at that time, they shot from bows. And their arrows flew from the top of one mountain to the top of another. They also threw cast-iron balls the size of egg yolks. And the balls flew from mountain to mountain. Pulled out with a pine root. threw them from mountain to mountain.

To show their strength, they took two pine trees and twisted them into a rope. Such a rope of two pines, they say, until recently was near Piseevo. That's what they were heroes! Deep ditches remained on Vishur-Karyil - traces of the battle of the heroes-pugachs.

Pugachi, they say, like the Reds, they destroyed the bais and kulaks and took away their property. Thus, full bags of silver were collected. There was nowhere to go, they began to hide jewelry in the hollows of trees or bury it under the roots of pines. They say that people found these treasures and became rich. But not everyone can find the treasure. He is represented in the form of fire or a white ram. One must be able to take such a treasure.

Kapiton Nikolaevich Ushakov, the owner of the Bondyuzhsky plant, they say, knew the secret of revealing the charmed treasures and got himself such a treasure. In the forest, in the ground, he found two barrels of silver, on which he allegedly built a factory and began to grow rich.

wolf and goat

One goat strayed from the herd. I wandered for a long time - I could not find my way back home. Decided to cut some grass. And here comes the gray wolf right at him.

Well, friend goat, I'll eat you now, - says the wolf.

Do not eat yet, I will still work up fat, - he asks.

The wolf agreed and left the kid. A little time passed, he again appears.

Walked fat? Now I'll eat you.

Wait, - said the kid, - I will help you. Stand under that hillock, open your mouth, and I will run into it with a run.

The wolf agreed. He stood under a hillock, opened his mouth and waits. As the goatling scatters, and as its horns hit the forehead of the gray fool, the wolf rolled head over heels. I came to my senses. Got up and still thinks:

Did I eat it or didn't I?

stupid kitten

Once upon a time there was a cat with a kitten. The kitten was small, stupid. One day he saw a ray of sun on the roof.

There must be some tasty food, - the kitten thought and climbed onto the roof.

He had almost reached the roof, when suddenly a sparrow fluttered out from somewhere.

No, I’d better eat it first, and then I’ll climb further, ”the silly kitten said to himself and rushed after the sparrow.

The sparrow flew away, and the kitten fell to the ground and was badly hurt. Then the cat, comforting him, said to him:

Your job is to catch mice.

The kitten listened to his mother's instructions and promised never to forget him.

It's been a long time. Once a kitten caught a mouse in the forest and in his mouth he carries home to show his prey to his mother. He had to cross the stream on a perch. And when he was crossing, he noticed his shadow in the water and again thought:

I'd rather take the mouse away from that kitten!

Releasing the mouse from his mouth, he rushed into the water. Of course, he did not catch the shadow, and he himself barely escaped: wet, dirty, he returned to his mother. But now the cat did not console him, but beat him and said again that he should only do his job - to catch mice, and not chase after everything that gets in his eyes.

Since then, the kitten has not forgotten the mother's instructions.

Mountains and valleys

The world did not have enough wind and rain, and they quarreled. They began to show off their strength to each other, to prove their power. They argued, argued and decided to fight: whoever wins over whom on earth will be stronger.

The rain began to pour like a bucket, saying: "I will dig up the whole earth so that there will be no even place anywhere." And the wind began to blow, rushed like a hurricane, with a howl and a roar, shouting: "I will collect all the earth in one heap." The wind was blowing, collecting the earth in a heap; the rain was pouring, tearing up the earth collected by the wind in streams.

This is how mountains and valleys came about.

Two brothers

One man had two sons. After his death, they separated, one became rich, and the other lived in bitter need.

What a waste to sip, I’ll go and drown myself, the poor man reasoned to himself.

He came to the river, saw an overturned boat on the shore, lay down under it and began to think. I thought and thought and changed my mind to drown myself.

I'll spend one more night under the boat," he said. Before I could fall asleep, three people approached the boat and started talking:

Well, tell me now, who is up to what? someone asked.

Here's one that started:

One priest's daughter has been ill for two years. I know how to cure her. It is necessary to collect the leaves of black grass, give her a decoction to drink and she will recover.

What do you know?” asked another.

To build a bridge across the sea, builders put up pillars. But as soon as they put it up - at midnight those pillars are carried away by water. I know how to strengthen them: you need to lower a silver coin into the hole under each pillar, then no force will take them.

A third was asked:

What do you know?

Not far from here, a barrel of gold is thrown into this river. To pull out the barrel, you need to throw a leaf of unfading grass into the water. As soon as you drop it, the barrel will pop up by itself.

So we talked and left. Everything they said, the man heard. Now he has completely changed his mind about drowning himself. He returned home and began to collect leaves of black grass. Collected, boiled and went to treat the priest's daughter. Pop immediately asked him:

Do you know medicines? My daughter has been sick for two years.

Your daughter will get better in three days, do not regret only a hundred rubles, - says the man.

If you cure me, I'll pay two hundred rubles, says the priest.

The peasant, as he said, so it happened: the priestess recovered. The priest was delighted, gave him two hundred rubles and treated him properly. The man returned home. A little later I went to the builders. He did not have time to say hello, as they complain:

Here we put pillars for the bridge, but before we have time to turn away, they are blown away by water. We've been fighting for a long time, but we can't think of anything.

The man knows how to strengthen the poles. He thought for a moment and says:

Pay me three hundred rubles, I will strengthen the pillars.

Just manage, we'll give you five hundred.

He took silver coins and lowered them into each post hole. The builders woke up in the morning and see: the pillars are still standing as they were placed. I had to give the peasant five hundred rubles. A man came home and rejoices at how much money he now has! Went to look for unfading grass. He collected the leaves and went to the river to pull out a barrel of gold. As he threw the sheet, the barrel itself floated up. He took the barrel and went home. At home, I decided to pour the gold into the barn, but there was no pudovka. I had to go to a rich brother and ask for a pudovka. Later, he scooped out the gold from the barrel and carried the pudding back, leaving several gold coins at the bottom of it. The rich man took a pudovka, saw gold at the bottom and was surprised.

Where did you get so much gold from? - He asks his brother.

I wanted to drown myself, - says the poor man, - he went to the river and lay down under the boat. At night, three people came ashore to me too: there, in such and such a place, there is a barrel of gold. And taught how to roll it out. I did everything as they said, and found a whole barrel of gold.

Well, brother, thank you, now I'll go, - says the rich man.

He came to the river and, as the poor brother said, went to sleep under the boat. He lies, breathes heavily, and he himself is afraid that thieves would not find him. Here he hears - there are three. We stopped near the boat and began to listen.

Someone else lurked near us, - one of them says.

All three went to the boat, lifted it up and pulled the rich man out. He did not have time to say a word, as they took him by the legs, by the hands and threw him into the water. Here the death of the rich man came.

Dondinskie batyrs

In a time long past, an Udmurt hero named Dondy came to live on Mount Soldyr from somewhere. He arrived here with two sons - Idna and Gurya. On Soldyr, several more sons appeared in the Donda family, among them Vesya and Zuy.

Donda's sons grew up, and finally they began to live closely in one place. Then Dondy went with his younger sons up a small river, which since then bears his name. Fifteen versts from the old place, he founded a new settlement, which they began to call Dondykar. Idna batyr remained on his father's land, and Gurya batyr settled near another river. Each of them became a sovereign prince, but they led their lives differently: Gurya took up farming, Idna - hunting, and Dondy - part of agriculture, and most importantly - fishing and trade.

Dondy lived in the new place for many years. But here is last sons grew up. And the Donda batyrs all scattered in different directions, on the high hills, along the banks of rivers and streams, they founded new cities, fortresses. In those places where they did not find mountains in order to build a car or a fortress, they took a hillock with their hand and pulled it up to the size of a mountain. And they settled on this mountain with their comrades, the same heroes as themselves. They were engaged in hunting, farming and crafts. It happened that they quarreled with neighboring heroes, fighting with them in throwing entire logs or large iron weights to the neighboring settlement.

Thus, the Guryakar bogatyrs exchanged logs with the Vesyakar bogatyrs, and forty-pound weights with the Balezins. The Idnakar bogatyrs threw weights of several tens of pounds at the Sepychkar bogatyrs, and the Seltakar bogatyrs threw logs at the Idnakar bogatyrs, with whom they fought especially often.

On the river Cheptse, about eight versts below Idnakar, in a special city also lived heroes from the squad of Donda. Once they argued with the heroes of Idnakar that they have more strength and better bows, and they shoot further. And they made a bet: if the arrows of the Idnakar bogatyrs fly farther than their lands, then the Donda ones will give up their city to them and go to another place. If this is not the case, then the Idnakar heroes will forever cede their city to the Donda ones.

On the appointed day, the heroes each fired from their own mountain towards the mountain of rivals. The arrows of the Idnakar bogatyrs flew only halfway, sticking into the ground so hard that a large hillock was formed (now called Vshivaya Gorka). The Donda bogatyrs fired so well that all their arrows hit the pine trees that grew near the Idnakar walls. So they won the bet, and they called the land received from the Idnakars utem, that is, winning, and founded a new kar here.

On the other side of the Cheptsy, Idna's possessions bordered on Seltakar, and in the village of Verkhparzinsky Klyuchevskaya volost, one hill is still called Idnakar zezy - Idnakar gates. In winter, the Seltakar bogatyrs put on silver skis on their feet to see the bogatyrs of Karyil, and these skis were arranged in such a way that they ran up to twenty versts in an instant - as much as it was between two settlements.

Dondy

Donda had two main settlements: Dondykar and Dondygurt, six versts from one another. The inhabitants of the surrounding villages paid tribute to him. Until now, traces indicate old road from Dondykar to the village of Klyapgurt, whose inhabitants supposedly went to Donda every day to work in his fields. Dondy, as usual, rode on a gray horse, extremely fast, strong and agile. This horse could jump over any river without the need for bridges.

Dondy lived to a ripe old age. As soon as he let out his last breath, he was turned into a white swan. In this image, he seemed to patronize the Udmurts, who do not forget him.

Nothing is known about the fate of Donda's sons - Gurya, Vesya and others, as well as about their death.

But who does not know about Idna and Ebge. Idna, despite his princely family, did not live luxuriously, in a simple hut. He had only one wife and went hunting every day. True, in winter, unlike other hunters, he put on not wooden, but golden skis.

Having lived to an advanced age, he predicted that the Russians would soon come to the Udmurts. To perpetuate his name, he cast a spell before his death. Prince Idna took the largest bow, pulled it as tight as possible four times and fired four arrows at the four cardinal points, saying: “Let my name be known and respected inside the place that I fired at with my arrows!”

Zanym-Koydym

Zanym-Koydym did not like to take care of his horse and feed it. “Now, if she worked for me, and there would be no need to feed her,” he constantly said. The horse's ribs stuck out like hoops at the top, she was all bony and looked like a skeleton.

If only I could pull the cart, it will be necessary, I myself will help a little, - Zanym-Koydym calmed himself.

One day he went to the mill. He put three sacks in the cart, and the fourth took it on his shoulders and sat on the cart. The oncoming people laughed at such a cart.

Hey neighbor, what are you doing? Why are you carrying a bag over your shoulders?

I help horses. So it will be easier for her, I think, - answered Zanym-Koydym. Hot sweat ran down his face in streams: the sack was heavy.

We drove a little, the horse stopped.

But, oh, loon! You're not the only one tired, I'm tired too, I'm carrying a whole bag on my shoulders! - shouts Zanym-Koydym at the horse, continuing to sit on the bags in the cart and keep the bag on his shoulders.

We drove a little more, and the road went uphill. The horse stopped again.

So what happened to her? I help myself - and still there is no strength for some reason.

Zanym-Koydym is still sitting under the mountain. His shoulders were white with flour dust, and his horse had long since fallen.

Stars

Long ago, there was a little girl in the world. She was eight years old when her father and mother died. There was no one to take care of her - neither feed, nor dress up, nor say a kind word. She had nothing but a thin little dress and a well-worn handkerchief. I had to go around the world, begging for alms.

One day a kind man gave her a piece of bread. As soon as the girl went out of the gate, she met a beggar old man.

Girl, give me some bread, I really want to eat! - began to ask the old man.

The girl took it and gave him the whole loaf. “Eat,” he says, “grandfather, to your health.” And she went further. Walked, walked - it was already evening. She met a young man.

Give, - he says, - something to cover his head, it became cold.

The girl removed the last scarf from her head and gave it to a passerby.

As soon as she moved away a little, suddenly stars began to fall from the sky and, falling to the ground, turned into silver coins. The orphan was delighted and began to collect them.

No wonder they say that a good deed - sooner or later - always turns into good.

Idna Batyr

Idna batyr lived in the area where the village of Idnakar is now located. What tribe Idna was from, Kalmez or Vatka, is unknown, only he was Udmurt. Idna's occupation consisted in the fact that every day he went hunting on golden skis for twenty-five versts. He did not have a gun, he hunted with arrows and caught with snares. Leaving the house, he took a hot loaf of bread straight from the oven and, putting it in his bosom, went to the hunting place.

Being strong, Idna was proud of his strength and wanted to reign over the Udmurts in his side. But at that time this land belonged to the Russian Tsar. The king got angry with Idna Batyr and ordered to catch him. Idna had three horses - black, savrasai and piebald. Unusually strong and hardy horses saved Idna from her pursuers. They could gallop more than a hundred versts without stopping. Knowing this, the pursuers tried to find out where he would go in order to watch for him.

Once, having recognized the road along which Idna was supposed to pass, they filed a bridge across the river and sat down in the bushes themselves. When Idna reached the bridge, he could not force the black horse to go across the bridge, so he changed to the savras. Savrasaya didn't cross the bridge either. Idna mounted a piebald horse. The piebald immediately carried him across the bridge, but in the middle fell through with the rider. What happened to Idna - it is not known whether he drowned or fell into the hands of enemies. Only falling on the bridge, he exclaimed: “Piebald shaft - Valtem shaft”, that is, a piebald horse is only suitable for horselessness.

Kayvan, Ondra Batyr and Zavyal

A long time ago, the Udmurts Kaivan and Ondra lived near the Pozim River. Strong muscular Ondra had heroic strength, and therefore received the nickname batyr. This area was covered with impenetrable forests; no human foot had yet set foot here. They began to live here, to fish in the river. There were many fish. Once, when Kaivan and Ondra batyr were fishing, a man came across them, Russian in clothes. He began to ask to live with them.

Who are you and where are you from? - ask Kaivan and Ondra Batyr, who knew Russian well, and the peasant knew a little Udmurt.

I am Russian. They call me Zavyal, - the stranger answers them. - Robbers attacked me, and I barely escaped. Now I don't know where I am. I have nowhere to go. Take me to your place, we will live together like brothers.

Kayvan consulted with Ondra batyr and said:

OK! Just take an oath that you will not deceive us, and we will swear that we will not offend you.

Okay, so be it. If I break my oath, let him kill me with thunder, - swore Zavyal.

If we offend you, let the spirits of fathers and grandfathers twist us like a thread, - said Kaivan and Ondra batyr.

And they began to live and live near the Pozim River. They began to arrange housing, clearing mowing places. At that time there were no mowings along the river, only a narrow floodplain covered with grass and willow ran along the banks.

Once Zavyal was walking along the shore and suddenly saw a woman on the other side of the river, Udmurt in clothes. He looks at her and does not believe his eyes.

Miracle! - he says to himself. - Where does a woman come from in these places? Isn't it a ghost? No!.. The woman approaches the shore.

The wilter went to the river, and the woman came, and they were face to face. Only Zim between them. The woman asks to be transported across the river. Zavyal was delighted that now they will have a woman, or rather, he will have a wife. He rushed to look for something to transport her, but did not find. What to do? Go to housing and leave her alone - she can leave; standing here would be of no use.

Find a boat, the woman says.

There are no boats here, is it possible to put together a raft?

Well, screw it up.

Zavyal ran home. Kayvan and Ondra batyr are walking towards him, and in the hands of one of them is a rope. Zavyal told them that an Udmurt woman was standing on the other side of the Pozimi and asking to be transported. Kaivan and Ondra batyr ran to the shore after Zavyal. The three of them began to hold advice on how to transport the woman. Zavyal says that she must throw one end of the rope to her, and pull on the other, otherwise there is nothing to be done: there is no boat, no raft, and it takes a long time to find a ford, besides, the water in Pozimi is high. No sooner said than done. They threw a rope to the woman and told her to cling tightly to the end.

How will you pull me over? After all, drown, and the threads will not remain dry on me, - the woman warns them.

We won't drown, don't be afraid. If you get wet, we'll give you your clothes.

The woman made up her mind and entered the river. Withered with his comrades began to pull her. Pulled, pulled, pulled. The woman is soaked to the bone, trembling like an aspen leaf.

Let's go to our accommodation, we'll give you dry clothes, - says Kaivan.

How can I, a woman, change clothes in front of you men? she protests.

We will step aside - you will change clothes, - Kaivan answers.

Well, okay, - the woman agreed and followed them.

The accommodation gave her dry clothes and she changed. Now the three comrades began to hold advice on what to do with the woman.

She should be my wife: I found her first, says Zavyal.

You are not a prince over us, to decide for everyone. It's better to cast lots, whoever gets it will be, - offered Kayvan and Ondra batyr.

I disagree. To be fair, she should be mine: I was the first to meet her. After all, the find is used by the one who found it, - Zavyal objected.

A man is not a godsend, - Ondra batyr and Kayvan did not agree with him.

They decided to ask the woman which of them she herself would choose as her husband. Zavyal hoped that the woman would choose him, since he, Zavyal, is younger and more handsome than Kaivan and Ondra Batyr. The woman was also young and beautiful. She replied to the men:

I don’t know yet who I will choose, I’ll think and tell.

Marry me, I won’t offend you,” Zavyal persuaded.

She did not answer whether she agreed to marry him or not. And he really wanted to marry her. And he began to show her all sorts of signs of attention, to help her in everything. Kayvan and Ondra batyr found out about this and told him:

Why are you courting a woman secretly from us? We swore to live together as brothers.

Some time passed, and Ondra batyr took the side of Zavyal. Soon there was no peace between the three comrades because of Kyshno-Kenak (that's how they began to call a woman, which means wife-daughter-in-law). Their former partnership fell apart. Kayvan sees that his comrades have united against him, he offered to divide the cleared places and live separately for everyone. Everyone agreed to the division. Kayvan took the place on the other side of Pozimi, and Zavyal and Ondra batyr remained on this side.

Now we need to decide where the kyshno-kenak will live. Kaivan insisted that she was an Udmurt and should leave with him. In addition, he, Kayvan, is older than Zavyal and Ondra Batyr. And the elder has more rights. Zavyal objected: if Kayvan went to the division, then he should also lose the kyshno-kenak. They argued and argued - again they decided to ask the kyshno-kenak if she wanted to go across the river with Kayvan or stay on this side with Zavyal and Ondra batyr.

Kyshno-Kenak, after thinking, said:

- I'd rather stay on this side, since I've already crossed here. Maybe I'll find happiness here.

Kayvan moved across the Pozim River alone and began to live as a hermit. Zavyal and Ondra batyr were afraid that Kaivan would plot evil, find new comrades for himself and attack them - rob them, take away Kyshno-Kenak and maybe kill them; Kaivan also thought that Zavyal and Ondra would come to him and kill him.

Once Kayvan built a deceptive bridge across the Pozim River: the bridge is like a bridge, and all the crossbars are sawn. He planned to destroy Zavyal when he crossed the bridge. (It should be noted that at that time Zavyal already had a full household: horses, cows and small livestock.) Having arranged such a trap, Kaivan waited for the opportunity when Zavyal would go across the river. And the opportunity soon presented itself. Zavyal took it into his head to inspect the sloping places and went to the meadows. He saw the bridge across the Pozim and thought that Kayvan built the bridge for them to visit him. He returned home and told the Ondra batyr about the bridge. Ondra batyr did not think so: he said that Kayvan was plotting evil against them. One of them should go to Kaivan with a humble head. Zavyal agreed to go himself. He asked Kyshno-Kenak for advice on which horse to ride to Kaivan.

- Ride a horse, - answered Kyshno-kenak.

Zavyal mounted a brown horse and rode off armed just in case. Kyshno-Kenak wished to accompany him to the bridge. The brown horse, as if anticipating trouble, did not go across the bridge. Zavyal was forced to return and, on the advice of Kyshnokenak, mounted a pinto horse. Pegaya, not sensing her death, went over the bridge and fell through. Wither managed to grab the board, and escaped. He got out, fixed the bridge and sent Ondra batyr to Kaivan. Ondra batyr was glad to go to his old friend to make peace with him and feast. He came to visit Kaivan. He received him cordially. They feasted in order, and Kayvan, at the invitation of Ondra Batyr, began to gather to Zavyal; took a bow, arrows, sat on his beloved horse and rode.

Zavyal greeted Kaivan cordially and prepared for him the best meal he could. After spending plenty of time, Kayvan invited Zavyal to the forest. They stood on a mountain near the forest and saw a huge pine tree on another mountain. Kayvan drew his bow, took an arrow, aimed at a pine tree and said:

If I hit that pine tree with this arrow, let there be a cemetery there, and on this side of the river - repairs. The places on this side of Pozimi will be yours, but on the other side mine will remain. The boundary between my and your possessions will be Pozim.

Okay, so be it, - said Zavyal.

Kaivan fired an arrow, and it pierced a pine tree. And so it happened. In the place where the pine stood, the descendants of Zavyal and the aliens bury the dead.

Kayvan and Zavyal parted amicably. Kayvan chose the place of settlement where the village of Chemoshur now stands, on the high road seven versts from the village of Zavyalovo. He put his chum near the shuras, hence the name of the village came from.

cat and squirrel

In the old days, a cat and a squirrel lived together in the forest. Once they quarreled among themselves because of something and fought. A man saw this and said:

- Come live with me, you won't fight with me.

The squirrel wagged its tail and climbed onto the tree.

- I will not go to you, I will stay in the forest, - she answered.

- If you don’t go, then I will shoot you, squirrels, like hazel grouses, the man decided.

The cat meowed, she began to ask:

- Take me with you: there is no life from animals here.

- Okay, the man told her. - I will make you a prince and a judge over mice and rats.

The cat followed the man, but the squirrel remained in the forest. Since then, all people keep cats with them, and squirrels are shot like hazel grouses.

swallow and mosquito

A terrible snake has long lived in the world. He ate only the blood of animals. Once he called a mosquito to him.

- Go, weevil, fly around the wide world. Taste the blood of all animals. Then tell me whose blood is sweeter. Go fly, but quickly! he ordered the mosquito.

A mosquito flew to taste the blood. And in those distant times, his nose was longer than it is now.

He flew and flew, tried and tried the mosquito of different blood and returned to the terrible snake.

- Horse blood is the sweetest of all, replies the mosquito. The snake did not like the mosquito response. He got angry and ordered:

- Go, weevil, still fly around the wide world. Look for the sweetest blood.

He flew and flew, tried and tried a mosquito of different blood and again returned to the terrible snake.

- Well, weevil, whose blood is the sweetest of all? - asks the snake.

Person...

Before the mosquito had time to finish, a swallow flew in from nowhere and snatched off half of his long nose.

- You won't say you shouldn't, you long-legged fool, long-nosed bloodsucker, the swallow told him.

A terrible snake rushed at the swallow, wanted to catch it, but it was not there. The swallow flew away, leaving a few tail feathers in the serpent's mouth. That's why the swallow has ever since had a tail with a fork.

Creation Legend

It was so long ago that no one can remember. All around the world there was only water, there was no land at all. And only one Inmar and one Shaitan lived in the world. Inmar ordered the shaitan to dive under the water and get the earth from the bottom. Shaitan obeyed Inmar, dived to the bottom and took out a handful of earth with each hand. He gave the Inmar almost all the land he got, only hiding a little in his mouth.

Inmar took earth from the hands of the devil, put it in his palm and blew it into the water. The earth began to grow, became more and more. She was smooth, smooth as a frying pan. The earth, which the shaitan hid in his mouth, also began to grow. There were so many of her that she no longer fit in there. Satan spat it out. The crumbs scattered in different directions, and mountains, swamps, and bumps formed on the ground. If the shaitan had not deceived the Inmar, then the earth would have remained even and smooth.

The first people were very, very big, real giants. They lived carefree, doing nothing, because they knew nothing: neither build, nor sow, nor hunt. The dense forest was like nettles for them. Where the foot of such a giant stepped - a log appeared, where he shook sand out of his bast shoes - hills formed. Before the giants disappeared, small ordinary people appeared. Inmar lived with them and taught them to work. The little man began to plow the land, cut down the forest, build huts. He saw one giant boy, took it in his hand and put it in his pocket along with the ax. He returned home and shows his mother:

Look, mother, what kind of woodpecker I caught, he hollowed the spruce.

And his mother says to him:

Son, this is not a woodpecker, this is a person. It means that we will soon be gone, only such people will live in the world. They are small, but hardworking: they know how to drive bees and catch animals. It's time for us to leave here. Let's run quickly! And the mother cried. Where her tears fell, rivers formed there. There are many left on earth. The giants moved north.

The giants had a very small mind. One day they were sitting and warming themselves around the fire. The fire flared up, began to burn his legs. They should have moved away from the fire, but they didn’t have the mind to figure it out, and they began to smear their feet with clay. When the fire went out, they froze and turned into large boulders.

They say that there is a deep pit in the middle of Mount Karyil. Poles were thrown at her, but the poles fell through like into a bottomless well. Only the distant ringing was heard from the fall. It is said that the rest of the giants descended into this well. And no one saw them again. The giants were called asaba, which means this word - no one knows already.

When there were many people on earth, they learned to do everything themselves and stopped obeying the Inmar. Inmar got angry and left people for the next world. Since then, there is no more Inmar in this world, and people live well without it.

lazybones

One rich man had three daughters: two loved work, and the third was a lazy person. The two older ones got married, no one takes the third. A poor man lived in the same village. He had a dilapidated hut, there was neither a cow nor a horse. He went to a rich man to woo a lazy man for himself. The rich man says to him:

What will you do with her? She is very lazy, you will cry with her.

The poor man says to the rich:

I will teach her how to work.

If so, take her and teach her how to work, and I will make you rich.

As a dowry, the father built a house, gave a cow, a horse, pigs, sheep, clothes. The poor man married a lazy person and took her to him. The poor man's mother puts on a samovar in the morning, wakes up her son and daughter-in-law to drink tea. The son gets up, drinks tea and goes to work, but the daughter-in-law does not even raise her head, pretending to be asleep. The son punishes the mother:

You, mother, don’t wake her up and don’t feed her, let her sleep all day.

The daughter-in-law gets up before dinner and asks for food. Mother-in-law tells her:

Did you work today or not? Who does not work, we, after all, do not feed. Go work first, eat later.

She does not want to work: she sits for a day, two, three, but she wants to eat. He goes home to his father and says:

My husband does not feed me, but he makes me work, I have not eaten anything for three days.

Father says:

I will not feed you, daughter, either. There is no bread prepared for you today.

The lazy person was offended, went back to her husband and said to him:

Give me some work, I'm very hungry.

Husband says:

Let's go to the flax field to pull.

Let's go pick it up. The wife fiddled a little, and went to bed.

Not far from them grew maple, and under it was an anthill. The husband put his wife on an anthill and tied her to a tree. As soon as the ants began to bite her, the lazybones begged:

Untie, please, now I will not be lazy, what you make me do - I will do everything.

The husband untied her and gave her oatmeal with bread. Then the whole day they pulled the flax together. Since then, the poor man's wife began to love work. If suddenly the wife starts to be lazy again, then the husband reminds her:

Hey, wife, remember the maple at the strip! - And she immediately appears industriousness.

One day the father came to visit his daughter. I sat on the bench for a long time. I was waiting for an invitation to the table, but my daughter does not think to treat.

Father says:

Daughter, at least put a samovar, I came to visit.

And the daughter replies:

Go and work in the yard, we don't feed those who don't work.

So the poor man taught his lazy wife to work.

Ludzi batyr

In ancient times, they say, the people were resourceful. There were especially many clever people in the village of Ludzi.

One evening, robbers in a frisky troika drove up to Ludzi's house. Seeing a woman at home, they drove into the yard, put the horses in a barn, threw hay from the hayloft for them.

What are you doing! - says Ludzi's wife.

The robbers were not afraid, they continued to host like at home. But the wife began to beg them so much that they took their horses out and tied them in the backyard, and they themselves entered the house and began to drink tea. We didn’t have time to finish our first cup when the owner arrived. In the cart next to him sat a bear, as big as a cow. Ludzi unharnessed the horse and put it in the stable. Then he went up to the cart, picked up the bear like a light pillow, carried it to the barn.

Entering the house, he saw uninvited guests.

And why didn't you, uromyos, leave your horses in the stable? Ludzi asks them.

They left it, but the hostess opposed it.

And rightly so. Otherwise, I would have thrown them over the fence like worn-out bast shoes.

The robbers were frightened, looking at each other.

What am I, - says Ludzi. - That's how clever people used to be! One day I return from the forest, and a giant meets me. Get out of the way, I tell him. Turn yourself around, he replies. Oh, you are! - I gave him a kick - he immediately ended up in a snowdrift. Wait for it! - said the giant, getting out of the snow. He lifted me up like a feather and threw me to the ground. I lie, groan, and he put his foot on my chest and says: Another time it won’t be the same. Since then, I have become more careful, I do not boast of my strength in front of everyone I meet. But, if you want, I can probably compare with you. Shall we try?

The robbers did not wait for the continuation, the hat - in an armful, as they say, and their trace caught a cold.

That's what a hero was Ludzi.

Mardan Atay and Tutoy

The land behind the Vala River is good, forests and meadows are good. Mardan Atai wants to own them, and Tuta Batyr also wants to own them. And they do not yield to one another, they argue, each stands on his own. They're about to go to war with each other.

Only the cunning Mardan knows that he is weak against Tutoi. He is big and strong. Mardan went to Tutoi and said:

Why should we force our people to fight each other. Isn't it better to measure one's strength one on one?

Tutoy batyr grinned, looking at the undersized Mardan, and answered:

Well, let's measure. It is not appropriate for us to fight hand-to-hand, - Mardan atay continued. - After all, you and I are not bears. In coastal meadows, you see how many bumps. Let's take a fancy to one and kick across the river. Whose tussock will fly to the other side, that will get these lands. Whoever does not do well will leave here with his people.

I agree, - says Tutoy batyr. - I just feel sorry for you: I am taller and stronger, and therefore I will kick the bump away. Your people will have to leave.

We'll see about that, - Mardan does not give up. - Come here tomorrow morning. Yes, punish your brothers so that they are ready to leave this earth.

No, it won't happen. You will have to leave, says Tutoi.

At night, Mardan cut off the tussock and put it back in the same place. He ordered his brothers to do the same. At dawn, the debaters came to the Vale River. With all his strength, Tutoy batyr kicked a bump with his foot. The tussock broke off and flew high, high, far, far, and flopped just in the middle of the river. Mardan atay kicked a cut tussock. She flew across the river and fell on the other side.

The giant Tutoy looks with surprise at little Mardan. Annoyed him that such an opponent turned out to be stronger.

Well, Tutoy batyr, you have to leave, - says Mardan atay. - That was our agreement.

You can’t disagree, but agree - it’s a pity for the earth. Silently Tutoy departed from Mardan and silently went to his people. He sees Mardan - Tuta returns with all his people. Then Mardan also called his people. When Tutoy approached the river, the people of Mardan began to kick the hummocks they had cut at night. They threw Tutoy with bumps, and he had to leave here.

And the land, and the meadows, and the forests along the Vale River went to Mardan Atay. And in the place where the Mardan people kicked the bumps, a large hill formed.

Mouse and sparrow

Once upon a time there lived a mouse and a sparrow. Together, they lived and lived in harmony, they didn’t know any quarrels or grievances. Before any business, they held a council with each other, they performed any work together.

Once a mouse and a sparrow found three grains of rye on the road. They thought and thought about what to do with them, and decided to sow the field. The mouse plowed the ground, harrowed sparrows.

Glorious rye was born! The mouse hurriedly squeezed it with sharp teeth, and the sparrow deftly threshed it with its wings. Grain to grain they gathered the whole crop and began to divide it in half: one grain for a mouse, one for a sparrow, one for a mouse, one for a sparrow ... They divided, divided, and the last grain was left.

Mouse One says:

This is my grain: when I plowed my nose and worked my paws to blood.

Sparrow disagreed.

No, this is mine. When I harrowed, I beat the wings to the blood.

How long, how short they argued - whoever heard, he knew, but we do not know. Only a sparrow suddenly pecked at an extra grain and flew away. "Let him try to catch up with me and take away my seed," he thought.

The mouse did not chase the sparrow. I was upset that I was the first to start an argument. She dragged her share into the mink. She waited, waited for the sparrow to make peace, did not wait. And part of it poured into her pantry. The whole winter lived full. And the greedy sparrow was left with nothing, and jumped hungry until spring.

Heaven

A long time ago, it turns out, the heavens were low above the earth. When the Udmurts prayed, they straightened up and touched the clouds with their heads.

People then lived easily, trouble-free. Celestials walked the earth, taught people the mind-reason.

The sky was clear as snow, white as birches. And on earth among the people peace and harmony reigned. Those were happy times!

However, over time, everything turned upside down: meek, like sheep, people were ready to gnaw each other's throats, wild anger awakened in them and did not give them rest. Both the sky and the gods began to curse for no reason at all.

Once a woman, mocking the beautiful sky, threw dirty diapers on the clouds. And the gods did nothing to her for it. Only the white skies immediately darkened, turned blue and began to slowly rise higher and higher above the earth and became completely inaccessible.

Since then, an easy, carefree life for people has ended, happiness has left the Udmurts. People have forgotten how to live in peace and harmony, with mind and mind.

The beautiful sky will again then approach the earth when the people become wiser and happier.

Pazal and Juzhges

In the village of Staraya Zhikya lived an Udmurt named Pazal. He was tall, slender and had a heroic strength. Pazal loved to work and worked tirelessly all summer. When the fields were covered with snow, he would take down the oak bow from the wall, get up on wide alder skis, and hasten to hunt in dense forests. There was no escape from well-aimed puzzle arrows to either red foxes, or gray wolf spawn, or other animals. Like a hurricane, he rushed across the white expanses, only snow dust swirled behind him. He set pizhny for game, and feathered prey always fell into his traps in abundance.

Once Pazal, hunting, wandered into unfamiliar places near the zerpal trail. He liked this area, and he exclaimed:

I will come here to live!

Yes, I will come to live here! Pazal repeated even louder.

Zealous in work, Pazal was also zealous in hunting. Thirty miles from Staraya Zhikya to the felling, he ran so fast that he did not have time to cool down the hot bread he took for breakfast. Having cleared the place he had chosen from the trees, Pazal settled in the forest. It was from him that the name of the village Pazal-Zhikya came later. Pazal brought everything with him, only he had no fire. He remembered Zumya's neighbor. “Probably, he does not live without fire and will lend it to me,” Pazal decided. One leg of Pazal was still at home, and the other was already at the neighbor's gate.

Give me fire, Zumya, please.

The neighbor turned his back on Pazal and angrily replied:

I don't have extra fire for you.

Pazal sees: Zumya, the old stinger, is stingy.

If there is no fire for me, Zumya, then there will be no more brides from my village for your guys!

Pazal is gone. Since then, none of the girls have married Zumyev suitors.

I need fire, good Ucha! - Pazal turned with a bow to another neighbor.

The friendly Ucha took out two dry maple logs from behind the stove, rubbed them one against the other and, smiling, turned on the fire to Pazyal.

Take it, Pazal, neighbors need to live together!

Pazal bowed gratefully:

Let's be, Ucha, friends!

In the aram, near the winding river Vala, there is Lake Aipak. Small, it is famous for its abundance of fish. Pazal replaced the combat hunting bow with fisherman's tackle. The fisherman Zhuzhges did not like this very much.

You, Pazyal, would stop muddying the water in the lake!

I won’t stop, Zhuzhges, - Pazal answers, - we live under the same sky, and we both have equal rights.

Zhuzhges got angry, but did not show it and said:

Manage to throw a bump with a kick to the other side, like me, then catch fish in Lake Aipak.

Zhuzges kicked the shaggy top of the hummock - it flew like a ball far beyond the Vala River. Pazyal's tussock did not reach the middle of the river - it flopped like a stone into the water. Only later did Pazal find out that Juzhges had cheated: he cut his tussock even earlier. When Pazal found out about the deception, he said to Juzhges:

- We do not need to see your young girls our guys and your brides.

And even now in the village of Juzhges there is not a single woman from the village of Pazal-Zhikya, and in the village of Pazal-Zhikya there is not a single young woman from the village of Juzhges.

Book legend

From the beginning, all Udmurts lived together. The young man learned from the old man both to pray to God and to judge the court. And then there was such a people that no matter what you ask him, he could answer everything. And when there were a lot of Udmurts, they dispersed to different places. And they came together only to pray or sue. And then they parted so far that they could no longer get together, and the old man and the old man, converging, could not remember everything properly.

Once, at a general meeting, they decided: in order not to forget everything, write down the order of prayers and courts. They pulled birch bark, cut it and sewed it into a book, and then in this book they depicted with tamgas how to make prayers, how to rule. They left the book under the supervision of the priest on a large white stone in the place where they gathered for a common prayer and which, as it seemed, was in the center of the settlements. If any old man forgot the prayer or the order of the court, he went to the white stone, read it in the book and knew again.

But people, after the book was written, became less likely to make sacrifices to the Inmaru, because before the old people often gathered people for prayers out of fear that he would forget them, but now they were no longer afraid of this. Then the Inmar became angry both with the old people and with the book, and sent a large cow to the white stone, which came there at a time when the priest guarding the book was sleeping, and ate the whole book. And so that the Udmurts would not write such a book again, Inmar took away from them the knowledge of all tamgas, except for one. Since then, each Udmurt began to know only one tamga, which marked his property, but he did not know what it meant.

Spots on the moon

One Udmurt's wife died and he married another woman. She turned out to be an evil stepmother for her stepdaughter. She didn’t let the poor thing breathe: feed the cattle, and heat the oven, and apply water, and wash the floors - the orphan alone must manage all the affairs And for all this she received only abuse and beatings and not a single kind word.

One day, before the dawn of winter dawned, her stepmother raised her for water. She took the buckets on the yoke and went to the river. And outside the frost was fierce, the moon shone brightly in the sky. Scooping water from the hole, the girl wept bitterly.

- If only this cold moon would take me to her, she said.

The moon felt sorry for the orphan, and she pulled her to her along with the buckets and the yoke.

Take a closer look, when the moon is shining brightly: that girl is still standing there, holding a yoke with buckets on her shoulders.

Tit and crow

One winter, a crow caught a titmouse. I wanted to eat it, but I thought: "Shouldn't I let it go? It hurts too little, let it grow even more, otherwise it won't be enough for a sip."

- Now it's cold to mess with you, - said the crow to the tit.

And the tit, cheered up with joy, objected to her:

- Is it cold? In the time of Tsar Peas, I really remember that the frost was fierce ...

- Ah, so you're so old! You even remember Tsar Peas. So, there is nothing to wait for you to grow up.

The crow only wanted to eat the titmouse, but it flew away.

The son of a fisherman and a wumurt

One fisherman often went to the Vala River and each time returned with a good catch. But one day he began to choose a net from the river, and the wumurt grabbed his hands - and did not let go.

- You pulled my fish pretty well, it's time to pay, friend man. The retribution will be this: now I will let you go home, but the one who is born to you, at the age of sixteen, you will bring to me.

The fisherman already had seven daughters. He thought: "Whoever is born, everything is a pity." But where are you going? Can't live without fish. "I will," he agreed reluctantly.

In the evening he reached the house, his wife greets him with joy: his son was born. The fisherman twirled, lit up. He felt so sorry for giving up his only son to a wumurth after sixteen years... He didn't say anything to his wife: why grieve ahead of time, it's better to suffer alone. Sixteen years have passed. The time has come to reveal to his son a bitter secret. Father told everything, did not hide anything.

- Without guilt, I am guilty before you, my beloved son. I didn’t want to, but I had to promise the wumurt to take you to the banks of the Vala and leave you there.

- Once you promised what to do. So be it.

The fisherman took his son to the shore, where he was fishing on that ill-fated day, and left him alone, and he, in order not to show tears, quickly walked away. For a long time the son sat on the shore, neither seeing nor hearing anything, until the birds flapped their wings just above his head. Twelve doves circled over him - they went down to the shore. As soon as they touched the ground, they turned into beautiful girls and, having taken off their clothes, entered the river to swim. These were the students of the very wumurt to which the fisherman had brought his son. While they splashed merrily, the guy took and hid the clothes of one of them. Eleven girls, having bathed, dressed and, turning into a dove, flew away, and the twelfth remained. Searches, searches and cannot find a dress.

- Whoever returns my dress, I will save him from death, ”she shouted loudly.

Then the boy went out to her and gave the girl's loss. She looked at him gratefully and said:

- Soon an old wumurt will come here and give you the following task: to indicate which of the doves you will choose as your named sister. We will sit on the beach. Everyone will drink water, but I will not. Point me.

And so it happened. And the wumurt appeared, and the doves sat by the water.

- Who is your named sister? asked the wumurt.

- From there, the second.

And I guessed.

He began to live with the wumurt. He made him his disciple. Soon the guy also learned to take on different guises, turn into birds and animals, even creeping reptiles. They became very friendly with the named sister, helped each other in everything and became inseparable. Secretly from everyone, they conspired to leave the wumurts and live with people.

One day they turned into doves and disappeared. Having learned about the fugitives, wumurt sent eleven pigeons in pursuit. Guessing about the chase, the guy turned into a miller, the girl into a mill. The pigeons flew up to them and began to ask the fellows if a dove with a dove had flown over here.

- They didn’t see it, the molts answered them.

The pigeons returned empty-handed to the wumurth, saying that they never met the fugitives, only one mill came across them on the way.

- Oh you, that's what they were! There is no windmill on that side. Fly back and give them back to me!

Eleven pigeons again flew in pursuit of the fugitives. The boy and girl meanwhile went on. And again they noticed the chase. Turned one - the church, the other - the priest / .v

A chase has flown to the church and asks the parishioners if they have seen a pair of inseparable pigeons.

- No, we haven’t seen such people, - the parishioners answered them.

The flock returned to the wumurth. The mill, they said, and the truth is no longer in that place, and the little church showed up on the way.

- Why didn't you catch them? - asks wumurt. - That's what they were.

I had to fly after myself - I turned into a kite. I flew and flew - neither a mill, nor a church, I did not meet anything unusual on the way. They seem to have made it to the house. So with nothing the wumurt returned to his place. And the fisherman's son got to his home. And not alone, but with a beauty. Soon the wedding was played, they lived in peace and harmony.

Yadygar

In ancient times, the Udmurts had to defend themselves from enemy attacks. It was then that they had a batyr leader named Yadygar. He had two horses: piebald and red. The redhead did not gallop as fast as the piebald, but he was smarter: he always stopped in front of a dangerous place. The skewbald horse was good for a fast ride, rushed like a whirlwind, not making out the roads.

Yadygar was famous for his heroic strength and ingenuity, but most of all, perhaps, for his amazing sword. He took a sword in his hands, mounted a fast horse and galloped around the enemies who attacked the Udmurts. Enemies could not leave the circle. If anyone succeeded, he could no longer fight. This is how the Udmurts defeated their enemies. But Yadygar did not always take the cherished sword with him. Returning from battle, he hid the sword in a chest and sometimes forgot it in a hurry. So he warned his wife:

If I forget the sword at home (and I need it), I will send a warrior to you for the "pie." You put the sword in the pie and send it to me.

The wife did just that. Yadygar went to fight on a pair of horses, but he liked to fight on a red horse. On a piebald, he sent messengers on necessary business and home. His wife on this horse delivered bread to him still hot: for thirty or forty miles the skewbald horse raced so that the bread did not have time to cool.

Once the Udmurts fought with the Mari near the city of Yelabuga, twenty miles from it. Yadygar was not there. They sent a messenger for him. Yadygar quickly mounted his horse and in a hurry forgot to grab the sword. By this time his first wife had died, he had married another. The second wife had not yet had time to study Yadygar's habits. She was also no different in intelligence and ingenuity.

Here Yadygar appeared at the battlefield. The Mari, frightened by the batyr, retreated five versts. Yadygar thought that they had already been defeated, and moved with the soldiers to Yelabuga. Soon they had to fight, and Yadygar had few soldiers. Then he sent one for the "pie." But his wife forgot to put the sword in and sent an empty cake. The Udmurts had to retreat. The Mari, having learned about the victory over the Udmurts, destroyed all the bridges on the way of Yadygar, and at one large bridge near the village of Karmen they only sawed piles. Yadygar did not know this and rushed across the bridge. The red horse sensed danger and began to back away, but the skewbald rushed forward. The hero fell under the bridge along with the horses, hurt himself, but remained alive. Then he said:

A skewbald horse is not a horse, a second wife is not a wife.

The Mari were waiting for Yadygar behind the bridge. When they noticed that he had failed, they ran to the bridge. Yadygar would have liked to ride away, but the horses, having fallen from the bridge, were hurt. He began to throw logs from the destroyed bridge at the Mari. The Mari were afraid to approach him until he dismantled the entire bridge. Only when Yadygar began to pull out the piles, they ran up to him and knocked him down. So they killed Yadygar batyr. But the Udmurts remembered him for a long time and now they sometimes remember him.