Bototina and His Six Brothers
Whether it happened or not, there lived seven brothers. The youngest was named Bototina. The time came for them to marry. They set out to find wives.They walked and walked, crossed over a high mountain, and met a dev (a demon or ogre).
"Hello!" said the dev.
"Hello!" replied the brothers.
"Where are you headed?"
"There are seven of us brothers, and we are looking for seven brides. We want to marry."
"I have seven daughters. Come, and I will arrange the marriages."
"We don’t want anything from you," said the brothers, and they continued on their way.
They walked and walked, crossed another mountain, and met another dev.
"Hello!"
"Hello!"
"Where are you headed?"
"There are seven of us brothers, and we are looking for seven brides. We want to marry."
"I have seven daughters. Come, and I will arrange the marriages."
"We don’t want anything from you," said the brothers, and they continued on their way.
Whether they walked a lot or a little, they crossed yet another mountain and met another dev.
"Hello!"
"Hello!"
"Where are you headed?"
"There are seven of us brothers, and we are looking for seven brides. We want to marry."
"I have seven daughters. Come, and I will arrange the marriages."
The brothers thought, "Maybe this is our fate," and they followed the dev. They reached the dev’s dwelling. They had dinner and went to bed.
Everyone fell asleep except Bototina. The dev was also restless, tossing and turning.
The dev got up and shouted:
"Who is asleep, and who is awake?"
"I am awake," said Bototina.
"What is keeping you awake?"
"The bellowing of your oxen."
The dev got up and slaughtered all the oxen. They lay down again. Bototina still did not sleep.
The dev thought, "Surely everyone is asleep now." He got up and shouted:
"Who is asleep, and who is awake?"
"I am awake," said Bototina.
"What is keeping you awake?"
"The mooing of your cows."
The dev got up and slaughtered all the cows, leaving only one. This cow gave butter from one teat, milk from another, cream from the third, and yogurt from the fourth.
They lay down again. Bototina still did not sleep.
The dev got up and shouted:
"Who is asleep, and who is awake?"
"I am awake," replied Bototina.
"What is keeping you awake?"
"The clucking of your hens."
The dev got up and beheaded all the hens. Meanwhile, Bototina switched his brothers to the beds of the dev’s daughters and the dev’s daughters to his brothers’ beds.
The dev got up and shouted:
"Who is asleep, and who is awake?"
Bototina stayed quiet, pretending to be fast asleep, not making a sound. The dev approached and slit the throats of all his daughters, thinking they were the brothers. Then he lay down and fell asleep.
Bototina got up and woke his brothers:
"Get up, brothers, let’s run, or the dev will eat us all."
They got up and left, taking the dev’s cow with them.
In the morning, the dev woke up and called his daughters:
"Get up, daughters, light the fire, we’ll cook Bototina and his brothers."
The daughters did not rise. The dev approached and saw they were all slaughtered, while Bototina and his brothers had long since left, taking his cow.
The dev raced after them. He caught up to the fugitives, but they had already crossed the hair-thin bridge.
"Ah, Bototina, lucky you crossed the bridge! Won’t you come back?"
"I’ll return as your son-in-law and master," Bototina replied.
Bototina hired himself out as a laborer to the king. The king learned of his laborer’s cleverness and summoned him.
"Bototina, go to the dev and bring me the carpet he has."
"Just give me an awl and a needle," said Bototina.
He took them and went. He reached the dev’s home, crawled under the divan where the dev slept, and began poking him. The dev groaned and tossed like a skewer. Unable to bear it, he got up.
"These cursed fleas are biting me terribly. I’ll go shake out the carpet."
He took the carpet to the roof, beat it, and hung it to air out. Bototina was waiting for this—he grabbed the carpet and was gone.
The dev woke up and saw the carpet was missing.
"That scoundrel Bototina set this up!" he cried and raced after him.
The dev caught up to the fugitive, but Bototina had already crossed the hair-thin bridge.
"Ah, Bototina, you’ve done it again. Just wait, you’ll come back!"
"I’ll return as your son-in-law and master," Bototina replied.
He brought the carpet to the king. The king was delighted.
"What a lad our Bototina is! Go again to the dev and bring me his cauldron."
"Just give me a stone," said Bototina.
He took it and went. He reached the dev’s home, crawled under the divan, and began tapping.
"Now it’s you, Bototina!" shouted the dev. "You won’t escape this time. I’ll eat you."
"Eat me if you must, what can I do?" said Bototina. "But you should eat wisely. Tie me to the beam above the door, and place your cauldron below. By morning, I’ll have dripped enough fat to fill the cauldron. You’ll get the fat, and I won’t escape."
The dev, greedy, believed him. He tied Bototina to the beam, placed the cauldron below, and went to sleep.
Bototina untied himself, climbed down, hoisted the cauldron onto his shoulders, and was gone.
The dev woke in the morning—no cauldron, no Bototina. He roared and raced after him. He caught up to Bototina, but he had already crossed the hair-thin bridge.
"You’ve done it again, Bototina! Just wait, you’ll come back!"
"I’ll return as your son-in-law and master!"
Bototina brought the cauldron to the king. The king was overjoyed, but it wasn’t enough.
"Hey, Bototina, bring the dev himself to me."
Bototina thought, how could he refuse the king?
"Just give me some carpentry tools," said Bototina.
They gave him an axe, a hammer, and a saw—everything he needed—and he went to fetch the dev. He arrived to find the dev assembling chests.
"Let me assemble one, and you sit inside to see if it’s sturdy," said Bototina.
The dev agreed. Bototina assembled a chest. The dev climbed in, stretched—and shattered it.
Bototina assembled a second, sturdier chest. The dev climbed in, stretched—and shattered it too. Bototina assembled a third, even sturdier chest. The dev climbed in, stretched—but couldn’t break it. Bototina closed the lid, nailed it shut, hoisted it onto his back, and ran. The dev struggled inside, but Bototina ran on.
The dev pleaded with Bototina:
"Tell me when we reach the hair-thin bridge." (He thought, "I’ll stretch hard and throw him off.")
Bototina crossed the bridge and said:
"Here we are at the hair-thin bridge."
The dev stretched, tugged at the lid, but Bototina was already running on solid ground. He ran and ran until he reached the king. He set the chest down and said:
"Give me a very tall ladder."
They did. Bototina leaned the ladder against a high tower, climbed up, pulled the ladder after him, and said to the king:
"Now open the chest."
They opened it, and the enraged dev leaped out. He devoured the king first, then all his courtiers.
He searched for Bototina, but Bototina sat atop the tower, laughing.
"How did you get up there, Bototina?"
"I gathered a lot of hay, set it on fire, and jumped into the flames. The fire carried me up here."
The dev ran off, gathered stacks of hay, piled them high, set them ablaze, jumped into the fire—and burned to death.
Bototina climbed down from the tower, and the entire kingdom was his. He brought his brothers, and they all lived happily ever after.
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