The Hunter from Lilo
Once upon a time, there lived a hunter. He was skilled, agile, and fortunate. He never returned from a hunt empty-handed. But one day, he wandered through the forest all day and caught no game. As it grew dark, it was time to head home, but the hunter couldn’t find his way out of the forest—he had gotten lost in the thick underbrush. He wandered and wandered until he found himself in a large clearing. In the clearing stood a tall tower with no windows or doors. Suddenly, the wall of the tower parted, and a small roe deer leaped out onto the clearing, standing right in front of the hunter. The hunter shot an arrow and killed it.He hung his leather pouch with bread on a tree and lit a fire. He carved a skewer from a branch, skewered pieces of meat, and began to roast them. As the meat sizzled over the fire, the hunter reached for his pouch to get some bread. But when he turned back, he couldn’t believe his eyes—the pieces of meat began to merge and suddenly turned back into a living roe deer! The deer looked at the hunter as if reproaching him and then disappeared into the trees.
“What a miracle!” exclaimed the astonished hunter.
At that moment, the wall of the tower parted again, and an unknown voice said:
“Is that a miracle? The hunter from Lilo has seen real miracles!”
The hunter returned home and from that day on stopped going into the forest—he kept thinking about what had happened. Finally, he decided to find the hunter from Lilo and ask him what miracles he had witnessed.
His mother baked bread for him and prepared him for the journey.
The hunter traveled a long way, wearing out his *kalamani* (a type of peasant shoe made of rawhide), and didn’t meet a single living soul along the way. His path led him through many lands and finally brought him to a tall tower. In that tower lived the hunter from Lilo.
The host warmly welcomed the traveler and treated him as was proper. The hunter told his host about the miracle he had experienced, about the roe deer from the tower with no windows or doors, and about the unknown voice that had spoken to him.
“Tell me, what miracles have you seen?” the guest asked the host.
“Very well, listen to what happened to me,” replied the hunter from Lilo. “I was about fifteen years old when my mother died. My father remarried. My stepmother took a dislike to me. Whatever I did, it was never right—she was always dissatisfied, scolding and beating me. I complained to my father, and he reprimanded my stepmother. But the next day, when my father went hunting, my stepmother grabbed a whip and lashed me, saying, ‘Turn into a dog!’ Before I could say a word, I turned into a dog. When my father returned from the hunt, I ran to him, whimpering and rubbing against his knees. Then my stepmother rushed up and struck my father with the whip too, turning him into a dove. My father became a bird. How could a dove help me?
I lived as a dog in the yard. My stepmother kicked me and starved me—she would throw me a dry crust and give me water once every three days. I grew thin and could barely drag myself along. I thought, ‘I must save myself.’ One morning, I quietly slipped out of the yard and limped to the market. There, a kind butcher threw me a piece of liver. I grabbed the liver with my teeth and carried it to a fire where they were roasting shashlik nearby. I placed the liver on the hot coals and waited for it to cook. The butcher, of course, was amazed that I was preparing food like a human and took me into his home.
I served him faithfully, guarding his house and family vigilantly. Word of me—the amazing dog—spread throughout the city. People came from everywhere to gawk at me.
One day, a wealthy merchant came to my master and said that strange things were happening in his house: someone was stealing his children. No matter what guards he hired, the infants kept disappearing.
‘Lend me your dog for a while,’ the merchant asked my master. ‘Maybe he’ll catch the thief.’
My master let me go with the merchant.
That very day, the merchant’s wife gave birth to a son. I stayed alert all night. Toward dawn, I saw an old hunchbacked woman sneaking toward the cradle! The mother and the nurse were asleep and heard nothing. I pounced on the hunchback and knocked her down, preventing her from taking the child.
‘Let me go, son of a hunter, and I’ll repay you with kindness,’ whispered the old woman.
I was surprised that she knew I was human, and I let her go.
Morning came. The merchant saw that the baby was safe and, overjoyed, loaded me with a full *khurjin* of gold.
‘Go,’ he said, ‘take it to your master.’
I went, but not to the butcher—I went home to my stepmother. I thought maybe she would take pity on me when she saw how much gold I had brought her and restore me to my human form.
I brought the gold to my stepmother. She laughed with joy but left me as a dog, allowing me to lie by the doorstep and promising to feed me well as a reward.
My hope for salvation was lost!
One day, a flock of sheep passed by our house—shepherds were driving them to mountain pastures. I took a liking to one kind-looking young shepherd and followed him. The shepherd didn’t drive me away; he even patted me on the head.
By evening, we were in the mountains. The shepherds slaughtered a sheep for dinner. They threw the heart and liver to their dogs, but gave me only a bone.
That night, a heavy rain poured down. The wolves grew bold and closed in on the sheep from all sides. The shepherds’ dogs, having eaten their fill, slept soundly, but I fought the wolves all night. Many of them gathered around the pen. I killed five, and the rest fled. In short, I saved the sheep that night. In the morning, I grabbed the young shepherd by the hem of his *chokha* with my teeth and dragged him to the scene of the battle, showing him the dead wolves. From that day on, the shepherds took great care of me—they even slaughtered a sheep for me.
One day, in thick fog, the sheep scattered across distant slopes. The shepherds ran around, trying to gather the flock. I also ran around, helping them. I drove several dozen sheep back to our pen, but the shepherds were gone—they had already moved to another location. Without thinking twice, I led the sheep home, hoping once more to win over my stepmother.
My stepmother was pleased with the bounty but still didn’t take pity on me—she was very spiteful. She lashed me with the whip and said:
‘Turn into a quail for the kites to eat!’
She turned me into a quail.
I flew away from my home—what else could I do there?
Harvest time came. Peasants carried sheaves to the threshing floor. I landed by the road and began pecking grains from fallen ears of wheat. Suddenly, a kite appeared in the sky. I fluttered up and landed on the shoulder of a young man passing by. He took me home and called his grandmother, saying:
‘Roast the quail,’ and went to unload the cart.
The old woman took me in her hands and whispered:
‘So you’ve come to me, son of a hunter!’
I recognized her. It was the same hunchbacked woman who had stolen the merchant’s children.
‘Now I’ll repay you with kindness,’ said the old woman and hid me under a bowl.
When the young man left the yard, she released me and said:
‘Fly home, but enter the room through the window. In the right corner hangs your stepmother’s whip. Rub against it, and you’ll turn back into a human. Then take the whip and lash your stepmother. Turn her into a donkey and make her work for you.’
I obeyed the old hunchbacked woman and did as she said.
The hunter from Lilo finished his story and led his guest into the yard.
‘Look how I’ve paved the yard! Look at my tall tower! You can’t count how much stone and sand my donkey has carried. Those are the miracles I’ve experienced!’
Joy is here, sorrow is there. Let them have the chaff, and we’ll take the flour.
More fairy tales
