Bembya Fedorov, The Great Khan and His Friends

Duration: 12 mins 24 secs

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Description:	Once upon a time there lived a khan. His name was Naran Arslan meaning ‘a solar lion’. He had three dear friends – his younger brother, a yellow elephant that could fly, and a horse that could talk.


Created:	2017-01-30 15:07
Collection:	Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Publisher:	University of Cambridge
Copyright:	University of Cambridge
Language:	rus (Russian)


Abstract:	Once upon a time there lived a khan. His name was Naran Arslan meaning ‘a solar lion’. He had three dear friends – his younger brother, a yellow elephant that could fly, and a horse that could talk. Every day before sunset the khan had a custom of paying a visit to his friends. He lovingly twisted his younger brother’s left moustache, tapped the left blade of the elephant and combed the horse’s mane. One day the khan decided to ride his horse in the steppe. In the steppe in the middle of nowhere he saw a yurt. Inside the yurt he saw a lama sitting next to an amazingly beautiful girl. The khan fell immediately in love with the girl and asked the lama to give him her hand in marriage. The lama said, ‘16 years ago I lived near a spring. One day a monkey brought me a baby girl whom I brought up as my child. Now you know where this girl comes from. If you want, you can call her a monkey’s offspring’. Shaking his head, the khan insisted that he would never call her so. The lama asked the girl whether she wanted to marry the khan. The girl agreed. The lama took off his prayer beads from his neck and gave it to the girl to wear for protection. It happened that the khan had many other wives who did not like the new one. Resolute to get rid of her, the other wives approached a holy teacher for advice. But the holy teacher refused to help them in their crime no matter how consistently the wives begged him. It was only when the wives threatened to commit suicide in front of him that the teacher agreed to help. He advised, ‘She has protective prayer beads around her neck. First of all, you need to separate her from her prayer beads. The singer Shonkhor can help you’. Shonkhor was a great singer. Despite his beautiful voice and his position at the palace, he was a poor man who always dreamt of becoming wealthy. ‘If you help us’, the khan’s older wives promised him, ‘we will reward you with as much gold as you can carry away’. Blinded by his greed, the singer agreed to help the wives. The khan’s new wife loved listening to Shonkhor’s heavenly songs. One day Shonkhor did not turn up at the palace, pretending to be ill. Worried about the singer, the new wife sent people for him. When the servants brought the singer to the palace, the new wife touched Shonkhor’s forehead with her prayer beads three times, which gave him the opportunity to look at the beads close-up. Pretending to be feeling better, Shonkhor set about entertaining the new wife for the rest of the day. In the evening Shonkhor got a replica of the prayer beads made for him. The next day he again pretended to be ill, and the young wife again sent people to bring him to the palace. When she was about to use her prayer beads, Shonkhor said that he wanted to do it himself. He then replaced the prayer beads with fake ones that he had hidden in his left sleeve. He did it so quickly and skillfully that the new wife even did not notice it. Happy and euphoric, Shonkhor spent the rest of the day entertaining his victim. When night fell, under the cover of darkness Shonkhor went to the khan’s other wives for his reward. The women tossed a couple of coins at him and ordered that he killed the khan’s three dear friends and then blackmailed the new wife. Shonkhor killed the khan’s horse and smeared the hands of the new wife with its blood. When the khan woke up the next morning he found his horse slain and his new wife still sleeping with her hands stained in blood. But he did nothing. In the night Shonkhor carried on his crime and killed the elephant. The next morning, boiling with anger, the khan decided to kill his new wife only to be stopped by a wise talking bird with whom he used to consult. The khan regretted listening to the bird’s advice when the next morning he found his younger brother murdered and his new wife sleeping with her hands drained in blood. Unable to suppress his anger, the khan woke up his new wife, called her a monkey’s offspring, chopped off her right hand and banished her from his palace. Humiliated and assaulted, the new wife returned home to the lama who cured her hands with another of his magic prayer beads. With a touch of the prayer beads he also turned her into a lama and told her to go back to the palace, introduce herself as a holy man and listen to people’s confessions. The new wife did as she was told. At the palace after listening to the khan’s confession she told him to hide behind the curtains and listen to his servants’ confessions. He listened to the confessions by Shonkhor and his criminal wives in horror. When the khan said that he really regretted what he had done to his innocent new wife, the lama turned into the new wife and resurrected the khan’s slain friends with her magic prayer beads. This time all the perpetrators of the crime were banished from the palace forever and the khan lived with his young wife happily thereafter.

Abstract:

Once upon a time there lived a khan. His name was Naran Arslan meaning ‘a solar lion’. He had three dear friends – his younger brother, a yellow elephant that could fly, and a horse that could talk. Every day before sunset the khan had a custom of paying a visit to his friends. He lovingly twisted his younger brother’s left moustache, tapped the left blade of the elephant and combed the horse’s mane. One day the khan decided to ride his horse in the steppe. In the steppe in the middle of nowhere he saw a yurt. Inside the yurt he saw a lama sitting next to an amazingly beautiful girl. The khan fell immediately in love with the girl and asked the lama to give him her hand in marriage. The lama said, ‘16 years ago I lived near a spring. One day a monkey brought me a baby girl whom I brought up as my child. Now you know where this girl comes from. If you want, you can call her a monkey’s offspring’. Shaking his head, the khan insisted that he would never call her so. The lama asked the girl whether she wanted to marry the khan. The girl agreed. The lama took off his prayer beads from his neck and gave it to the girl to wear for protection.
It happened that the khan had many other wives who did not like the new one. Resolute to get rid of her, the other wives approached a holy teacher for advice. But the holy teacher refused to help them in their crime no matter how consistently the wives begged him. It was only when the wives threatened to commit suicide in front of him that the teacher agreed to help. He advised, ‘She has protective prayer beads around her neck. First of all, you need to separate her from her prayer beads. The singer Shonkhor can help you’.
Shonkhor was a great singer. Despite his beautiful voice and his position at the palace, he was a poor man who always dreamt of becoming wealthy. ‘If you help us’, the khan’s older wives promised him, ‘we will reward you with as much gold as you can carry away’. Blinded by his greed, the singer agreed to help the wives.
The khan’s new wife loved listening to Shonkhor’s heavenly songs. One day Shonkhor did not turn up at the palace, pretending to be ill. Worried about the singer, the new wife sent people for him. When the servants brought the singer to the palace, the new wife touched Shonkhor’s forehead with her prayer beads three times, which gave him the opportunity to look at the beads close-up. Pretending to be feeling better, Shonkhor set about entertaining the new wife for the rest of the day. In the evening Shonkhor got a replica of the prayer beads made for him.
The next day he again pretended to be ill, and the young wife again sent people to bring him to the palace. When she was about to use her prayer beads, Shonkhor said that he wanted to do it himself. He then replaced the prayer beads with fake ones that he had hidden in his left sleeve. He did it so quickly and skillfully that the new wife even did not notice it. Happy and euphoric, Shonkhor spent the rest of the day entertaining his victim.
When night fell, under the cover of darkness Shonkhor went to the khan’s other wives for his reward. The women tossed a couple of coins at him and ordered that he killed the khan’s three dear friends and then blackmailed the new wife. Shonkhor killed the khan’s horse and smeared the hands of the new wife with its blood. When the khan woke up the next morning he found his horse slain and his new wife still sleeping with her hands stained in blood. But he did nothing.
In the night Shonkhor carried on his crime and killed the elephant. The next morning, boiling with anger, the khan decided to kill his new wife only to be stopped by a wise talking bird with whom he used to consult.
The khan regretted listening to the bird’s advice when the next morning he found his younger brother murdered and his new wife sleeping with her hands drained in blood. Unable to suppress his anger, the khan woke up his new wife, called her a monkey’s offspring, chopped off her right hand and banished her from his palace.
Humiliated and assaulted, the new wife returned home to the lama who cured her hands with another of his magic prayer beads. With a touch of the prayer beads he also turned her into a lama and told her to go back to the palace, introduce herself as a holy man and listen to people’s confessions. The new wife did as she was told. At the palace after listening to the khan’s confession she told him to hide behind the curtains and listen to his servants’ confessions. He listened to the confessions by Shonkhor and his criminal wives in horror. When the khan said that he really regretted what he had done to his innocent new wife, the lama turned into the new wife and resurrected the khan’s slain friends with her magic prayer beads. This time all the perpetrators of the crime were banished from the palace forever and the khan lived with his young wife happily thereafter.

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