Khutkunchula

Once upon a time, there were nine brothers who had neither father nor mother. They lived in extreme poverty, dressed in rags, and their hut was empty—nothing to burn for warmth, nothing for a flood to carry away. The brothers decided to hire themselves out as laborers.

They wandered for a long time, but no one needed workers.

Exhausted, the brothers sat down by the roadside.

An old woman came walking along the road, carrying a jug of cold water. The youngest of the brothers, Khutkuncula, ran up to her and pleaded:

"Grandma, let us have a drink, for the sake of your children!"

He held out his leather mug, and the old woman poured water into it. Khutkuncula first gave his brothers a drink, then drank himself.

"Who are you, all so alike? Where are you headed?" asked the old woman.

"We are brothers, grandma, trying to earn a piece of bread! Do you know if anyone needs workers?"

"Go straight ahead. Cross the river, and you'll reach the land of the dev. They say he needs shepherds."

The brothers went straight. By evening, they reached the river. The river was wide and deep, and the bridge across it was narrow and rickety. The brothers crossed the bridge and entered the dev's domain.

As soon as the dev saw them, he hurried to meet them. He had been pretending to need workers to lure people in. Those who came to hire themselves as shepherds, he would either eat alive or roast on a spit.

The dev fed the brothers supper, put them to bed, and lay down himself. But he didn't sleep—he waited for the brothers to fall asleep so he could kill them in their sleep. The brothers fell asleep, but Khutkuncula stayed awake, watching the dev.

"Who's asleep, who's awake?" asked the dev.

"I'm awake!" replied Khutkuncula.

"Why can't you sleep?"

"Your geese are honking, keeping me awake."

The dev went and swallowed all the geese. He waited a bit and then asked again:

"Who's asleep, who's awake?"

"I'm awake!" replied Khutkuncula.

"Why can't you sleep?"

"Your cows are mooing, keeping me awake."

The dev went and swallowed the cows. He waited a bit and asked a third time:

"Who's asleep, who's awake?"

"I'm awake!" said Khutkuncula.

"Why can't you sleep?" asked the dev, grinding his teeth in anger.

"Your horses are neighing, keeping me awake."

As soon as the dev went outside, Khutkuncula woke his brothers and said:

"Let's run away quickly. The dev wants to eat us."

The brothers got up, dressed, and quietly slipped out into the yard.

They hid behind trees and waited for the dev to go back inside.

The dev swallowed the horses and returned to the house. Khutkuncula sneaked up and bolted the door.

The brothers ran to the bridge, and they heard a goat calling after them:

"The brothers are running away, running away!"

Khutkuncula grabbed the goat and ran without looking back.

The dev heard the goat's cry and rushed to the bed—the brothers were gone! He ran to the door but couldn't open it! He tried to break it down but couldn't! Finally, he broke it and chased after the brothers.

Khutkuncula ran. The dev was catching up, almost upon him.

Khutkuncula crossed the bridge and stopped—he knew the huge dev couldn't step onto the narrow, rickety bridge.

"You've escaped, you rascal!" shouted the dev.

"Of course I have, you fool!" laughed Khutkuncula.

The brothers went on and came to a city, where they hired themselves as stable hands in the royal stables.

Khutkuncula would clean the horses and then play with the goat. The goat was fascinating—it answered all questions like a human!

The king heard Khutkuncula talking to the goat and couldn't believe his ears. He ordered the youngest stable hand's goat to be taken away. Khutkuncula ran after the vizier to the king and said:

"Why do you need the goat, Your Majesty? You're not a peasant! Give it back to me, and I'll bring you a carpet from the dev's house."

"First get the carpet, and then we'll see, maybe I'll return the goat," replied the king.

Khutkuncula went to the dev. He hid in the yard and waited for the dev to go hunting. As soon as the dev left, Khutkuncula climbed through the window into the house.

There was a beautiful, fluffy carpet on the dev's couch. Khutkuncula stuck needles all over the carpet and hid in the yard again.

The dev returned, sat down to rest on the carpet, and jumped up in pain. He moved to another spot and pricked himself again. Wherever he sat, he got pricked. Enraged, the dev grabbed the carpet and threw it out the window. And there was Khutkuncula! He picked up the carpet and ran to the bridge.

The dev saw Khutkuncula and shouted:

"You devil's hoof, you've played a trick on me again!"

The dev chased the boy but couldn't catch him—Khutkuncula had already crossed the bridge.

"You've escaped, you rascal!" shouted the dev.

"Of course I have, you fool!" laughed Khutkuncula.

The boy ran to the palace and brought the carpet. The king liked the carpet very much, but he didn't return the goat to Khutkuncula, only giving him a felt hat.

The brothers grew envious: Khutkuncula had a new hat, while theirs were old and tattered. So they said to the king:

"The dev has many wondrous things. Khutkuncula is clever; order him to bring something else."

"Don't believe them, Your Majesty," said Khutkuncula. "The dev has nothing else."

But the king didn't listen to Khutkuncula. He ordered him to bring all the treasures the dev had.

"Very well, Your Majesty," said Khutkuncula. "I'll pack all the treasures in a chest and bring them here. Just dress me as an Imeretian craftsman and give me carpentry tools."

Khutkuncula dressed as an Imeretian, took a saw, plane, chisel, axe, and boards, and set off. He reached the dev's domain and wandered through the forest until he met the dev.

"Aha, caught you, Khutkuncula!" the dev shouted gleefully.

"What are you talking about? I'm not Khutkuncula, may he perish! Because of him, the king almost took my head! I promised to make the king a chest that could fly and would never fall apart. The king got into it, and the chest fell apart! That scoundrel Khutkuncula pulled out all the nails! If I catch him, I'll strangle him on the spot!"

"Listen, make me a chest too. I'll catch Khutkuncula and lock him in it," the dev requested.

Khutkuncula assembled the chest and said to the dev:

"Climb in, let's see if it's sturdy."

The foolish dev climbed into the chest, kicked the walls, and knocked on the bottom—it was well-made.

"Now sit down," said Khutkuncula. "I'll close the chest, and we'll see if you can break the lid with your head."

The foolish dev sat down, and the boy nailed the lid shut, saying:

"Don't worry, I'll take you to the king!"

"You've tricked me again, Khutkuncula?" roared the dev.

"What did you expect, you fool!" laughed Khutkuncula.

The king was waiting for Khutkuncula, eager to see what treasures the youngest stable hand would bring.

Khutkuncula appeared, rolling the chest right up to the palace. The king and his viziers surrounded the chest. Meanwhile, Khutkuncula took a huge piece of rock salt and climbed a tall plane tree in the courtyard. He sat at the top, waiting for the fun to begin.

The king opened the chest, and out jumped the enraged dev! He attacked the king and his viziers, sending them into his insatiable belly!

Then the dev started looking for Khutkuncula. He heard laughter from above. The dev looked up and saw the boy sitting at the very top of the tree, laughing his head off.

"Listen, Khutkuncula, how did you get up so high?" the dev asked in surprise.

"Very simple. I lay under the tree, put this lump of salt on my chest—see, I have it in my hands—and flew up!"

"How can I get up the tree?"

"Lie under the tree. I'll drop the salt. You put it on your chest and fly up here."

The foolish dev lay under the tree. Khutkuncula dropped the large piece of salt on him, and it went straight through him.

And that's the end of the tale.

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Khutkunchula

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