The Hunter's Daughter

In a certain land, there lived a brave and skilled hunter. His fame spread far and wide. He had a daughter and a son.

The king summoned the hunter to protect the palace from the *kajis*: cunning and evil creatures who kidnapped young men, and the king feared for his sons.

Time passed. The hunter's son turned eighteen, and he wished to go hunting to test his strength. But his mother wouldn't let him go alone:

"It's dangerous to go alone, my son. The *kajis* roam the forests. Go with your uncle."

The young man agreed and asked if they had any weapons.

"There's a bow and arrows," said his mother, "but you won't be able to lift them!"

"Show me. If they're not right for me, I won't go hunting."

His uncle took him to the attic and showed him the bow and a quiver of arrows. The young man effortlessly picked up the bow and easily grabbed the quiver. He spotted a sword in the corner and casually lifted it as well.

The uncle darkened with frustration, envying his nephew's strength: he himself couldn't even lift that sword with both hands.

They set off to hunt. The young man shot plenty of game, but the uncle couldn't kill anything, and he decided to take the spoils from his nephew. He led the young man into a thicket where wild boars roamed, while he hid in a pit.

The boars charged at the young man, but he wasn't afraid and killed them all. Then the uncle emerged from the pit, claiming he had accidentally fallen in. He began praising his nephew, though envy gnawed at him. His heart burned with jealousy: his older brother was stronger than him, and now his nephew had surpassed him in strength. He plotted to destroy the young man.

"You're brave and bold, just like your father," he said to his nephew. "Fetch the magical flower of Bozhmi for your mother, and you'll make her happy."

"Where does the Bozhmi flower grow?"

"Go south through the forest. When you reach the edge, you'll see a house, and inside it, an old woman. She'll show you the way."

The young man walked until he reached the house at the forest's edge.

Under a tree in the yard sat an old giantess—the mother of a *deva*—who was carding sheep's wool. The young man approached her, greeted her warmly, and asked:

"Mother, do you know where to find the Bozhmi flower?"

"Follow the sun, and you'll see a tall cliff. The bottom is black, the middle is red, and the top is white. In the evening, the beautiful Bozhmi will appear on that cliff and let down her long golden hair—it will fall all the way to the ground! At the ends of her hair are flowers. Hide beneath the cliff and pluck a flower from her hair."

The young man thanked the giantess and set off westward, following the sun.

The sun reached the west, and the young man arrived at the cliff. He hid at its base and waited.

Soon, the beautiful Bozhmi appeared on the cliff and let down her golden hair. It cascaded down the cliff to the ground, and at the ends of her hair were flowers—multicolored, iridescent, glowing and shimmering with every hue! The young man's vision blurred, and he hesitated. If only he had wound a strand of golden hair around his hand, he could have plucked the flower. How could he have known that the cunning giantess had deliberately not warned him?

Bozhmi entangled the young man in her hair and flung him over the cliff into her realm, Kajeti.

At home, they waited for the young man, waited and then stopped waiting—they mourned him, realizing he was lost.

The hunter, the father, learned of the tragedy that had befallen his house and asked the king for leave to search for his son.

The hunter returned home and began preparing for the journey.

"Father, give me a weapon," said his daughter. "Let me go and search for my brother."

The father smirked: where could she possibly go, he thought, but he didn't object.

The girl put on men's clothing, strapped on a short sword, mounted a horse, and set off.

Her father quickly changed clothes, bridled another horse, and rode to intercept her. He jumped onto the road in front of her, grabbed her horse's reins, and shouted:

"Get off that horse, quick!"

The girl didn't recognize her father and swung her sword:

"Out of the way, bandit!"

With one strike, she knocked the hunter from his saddle. She then jumped to the ground, raised her sword over him, but her father caught her hand:

"Stop, daughter! It's me, your father! I see you are worthy of me. Go and find your brother."

The girl rode through the entire kingdom, searched the forests and mountains—but her brother was nowhere to be found. "The *kajis* must have taken him. I'll go to Kajeti," she decided.

But who knew where Kajeti was, in which direction? No one had ever been there.

The girl rode without a path, without a road. By evening, she found herself on the seashore.

It was empty all around—water and sand, no trees, no crops. Only a dilapidated hut on the shore.

The girl knocked on the hut's door. An old woman came out. The girl asked to stay the night. The old woman warmly welcomed her guest.

She shared her meager supper with the girl and asked:

"What wind has brought you to this desolate place?"
— I’m looking for the way to Kajeti,— the girl replied.— Do you know, grandmother, how to get there?
— I don’t know how to get there, but I’ll try to help you.

The old woman led her guest into the yard and pointed to the sea. The girl froze in astonishment—it was dark all around, but between the sea and the sky, a palace shone, glowing with a bright light.

— In the palace is a captive from Kajeti,— said the old woman.— It’s her beauty that illuminates the entire palace. She refused to become the wife of our king, so he ordered his sorcerers to raise the palace into the air so no one could see her. The sea then raged, sweeping away all the nearby houses, swallowing all the people, and the king too. I was in the mountains at the time, gathering roots, which is why I survived. I built this shack and have been barely scraping by ever since. There’s no life for me, and death has forgotten me. The captive in the palace knows where Kajeti is, but you can’t reach her.

The hunter’s daughter spent the whole night thinking about how to free the captive and came up with a plan.

In the morning, the girl bid farewell to the kind old woman, thanked her for her hospitality, and rode along the seashore. She reached a city, where she sold her horse, bought a ship, hired carpenters, and ordered them to craft a long ladder.

She sailed the ship to the palace, leaned the ladder against it, and climbed up.

She called out to the captive, asking her to open the doors, but no one answered.

— Don’t be afraid!— shouted the hunter’s daughter.— I’ve come to rescue you from trouble! Show me the way to Kajeti!

The captive emerged, glowing with light. She descended with the hunter’s daughter onto the ship, and they returned to the shore.

The girls set off for Kajeti. They walked for a year, then another, and were already halfway there when suddenly, in a narrow gorge, a Fire Demon blocked their path. He lay sprawled across the road—there was no way around him—and flames spewed from his mouth.

— Let us pass, demon,— pleaded the hunter’s daughter.

— Promise me you’ll fetch the magic lantern from the palace of the King of Kajeti, and I’ll let you pass.

— I promise, just let us through.

— I don’t trust a human’s word. One of you must stay here.

— Fine, but you must lie on your side as you are now, or else the lantern cannot be obtained.

The girl from Kajeti stayed behind, while the hunter’s daughter continued on. She walked through fields and rivers, forests and mountains. A year passed, then another. Finally, she saw the towers of Kajeti in the distance—tall, reaching into the sky. But then a three-headed demon on a winged horse blocked her path.

— Where are you headed?— he asked the hunter’s daughter.

— To Kajeti.

— They won’t let you in; they’ll kill you. I might as well eat you now,— said the demon.

— Whether they let me in or not is none of your concern… Get out of my way!— replied the girl.

— I’ll eat you anyway.

— How will you eat me when I’m braver and quicker than you!— said the hunter’s daughter.— Let’s test it, and you’ll see for yourself. Do you see that ditch over there? I can easily leap over it, but you won’t make it!

The demon was strong but foolish. He jumped off his horse and leapt across the ditch! But the ditch was wide—far too wide—and the demon’s feet caught the edge, sending him tumbling to the bottom.

The girl quickly mounted the demon’s winged horse and soared onward like a bird.

The winged horse swiftly carried the hunter’s daughter to the gates of Kajeti. The gates opened and closed so quickly that no one could pass through without being sliced in two by their diamond edges.

The girl spurred the horse, and it darted like lightning between the gates, though its tail was cut off.

The hunter’s daughter rode up to the palace and froze in amazement. In front of the palace stood many people, all turned to stone! The palace itself was strange—its lower part was silver, and its upper part gold. Fearsome beasts peered from the windows, chained to the walls. Two giant serpents guarded the entrance.

Without hesitation, the hunter’s daughter drew her sword, slew both serpents, and entered the palace.

In the marble hall, there were also many people. They were alive from the waist up but turned to stone below. Suddenly, the hunter’s daughter heard her name being called. She looked and saw her brother! They embraced and kissed. The young man told her how he had ended up in Kajeti, how the cruel queen Bozhmi had ensnared him with her hair and brought him to her kingdom.

— Hide, sister, or the cruel Queen Bozhmi will come. She won’t spare you; she’ll turn you to stone too!

— Don’t worry, brother. I’ll deal with her! She hid behind the door and waited. The Queen of Kajeti, Bozhmi, entered.

The hunter’s daughter grabbed her by her golden hair, adorned with flowers, and raised her sword.

— Turn my brother back to flesh at once! Bring the people to life and restore my horse’s tail!

Bozhmi spoke a word, and all the people around came to life. They sighed, spoke, and laughed with joy.

The captives agreed and locked the cruel queen in a remote tower. The hunter’s daughter took the magic lantern, which lit up on its own in the dark, and left Kajeti with her brother.

They reached the gorge where the Fire Demon lay.

— Get up, demon, I’ve brought you the lantern!— said the hunter’s daughter.

But the demon couldn’t rise—he had lain on one side for three years, and his side had gone completely numb. The brother and sister turned the demon onto his other side—so his other side could go numb now—and continued on their way with the girl from Kajeti.

The girl revealed that she wasn’t from Kajeti at all. The Kajis had kidnapped her as a child and taken her to their kingdom, and then the king had stolen her from the Kajis and imprisoned her in the palace between the sky and the sea.

The three of them walked along the road when suddenly, a dwarf appeared before them—as if he had sprung from the ground!—no taller than a span, with a beard twice as long.
— Would you like me to take you in the carriage? — he offers.
— Where did you get a carriage? — laughs the hunter's daughter.

The little man whistled, cracked his whip, and a carriage drawn by four horses appeared. The horses were a sight to behold! They looked as though they belonged among the stars in the sky or frolicking with fish in the sea!

— Let's just walk instead, — says the sister to her brother. — Don't expect anything good from this little man.

The brother didn't listen to his sister. What's there to fear? What can an old man do to us? One flick, and his carriage will shatter like an eggshell.

The three of them got into the carriage.

The dwarf, like a flea, jumped onto the coachman's seat, whipped the horses, and off they flew like birds.

By evening, the travelers stopped to rest under a tree. They ate and offered food to the dwarf. The hunter's daughter got thirsty and said:

— Go, little man, look for a spring and bring a jug of water!

— I'm not your water carrier! If you're thirsty, go fetch it yourself, — the dwarf snapped angrily.

She went to look for the spring.

Meanwhile, the dwarf jumped up, struck the hunter's son with a backhanded blow, and he fell dead. The dwarf grabbed the girl by her hair and dragged her to his dwelling. He dragged the poor thing, leaving a trail behind her.

The hunter's daughter searched for the spring for a long time, and when she returned with water, she saw that the girl, the dwarf, and the horses were gone. Only her brother lay on the ground, barely alive. She sprinkled him with cold water, gave him a drink, and the young man came to his senses. They followed the trail to find the girl.

The trail led them to a cave. The entrance was blocked by a huge boulder.

The captive girl heard footsteps and guessed that her brother and sister had come to rescue her.

— Don't make noise, or the little monster will wake up and kill you, — she told them. — Hide nearby, and I'll find out where his strength lies.

The dwarf woke up three days later and saw his captive in tears.

— Don't cry, beauty, you'll be fine with me, — said the dwarf.

— I'm not crying for myself. I'm worried about you! While you were sleeping, a demon almost broke in here. What if he eats you!

— He won't eat me — he won't be able to chew me, and even if he swallows me, I'll remain unharmed.

— He'll kill you!

— He won't kill me — he can't. My soul isn't with me.

— Where is it then?

— In that broom over there.

The girl grabbed the broom and held it close:

— I'll guard it like my own eyes!

The dwarf laughed:

— Throw the broom, silly! My soul isn't in it. No one can reach my soul — it's in a black-and-white fish, and that fish swims in the third sea between two seas. In that fish lies my strength, my mind, and my life.

The brother and sister heard everything.

The hunter's daughter left her brother to guard the cave and went to a seaside town. There, she sold a magic lantern from Kajeti to a wealthy merchant, bought boats, and ordered fishermen to weave nets.

Between the two seas, in the third one, the girl and the fishermen began catching the black-and-white fish.

For many days and nights, they cast their nets, and finally, they caught the black-and-white fish. The hunter's daughter slit open the fish's belly, and inside was a box!

The girl bid farewell to the fishermen, leaving them the boats and nets as thanks, and returned to the cave.

As she walked, the hunter's daughter thought: "Let me see what's inside the box." She opened it slightly, and a bird flew out — and it was gone. That was the dwarf's strength flying away.

At that moment, the dwarf was coming out of the cave, and as soon as the bird flew out of the box, he collapsed powerless onto the ground.

The hunter's daughter returned and saw the dwarf lying on the ground, glaring at her brother with hatred, but he couldn't do a thing — not a drop of strength remained in him!

— You've taken my strength, at least spare my life!

— No way! You'll just harm someone else!

The hunter's daughter opened the box and released two more birds: they flew off in different directions. That was the end of the dwarf.

The brother and sister entered the cave and found countless treasures. They filled their bags with precious stones and gold, loaded them onto one of the four horses, and rode the other three back home.

The hunter and his wife had given up hope of ever seeing their children alive again, and now they returned, bringing a beautiful bride with them.

The king heard about the beauty living in the hunter's house and wanted to take her for himself, but he feared the hunter's daughter — tales of her bravery had spread far and wide.

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