Kyrgyz fairytale

Hunter Jail

Once upon a time, there was a hunter named Jail. One day, he and his companion Emil set off to hunt in the mountains. They wandered until evening, and by sunset, they had killed a mountain goat. Exhausted, the hunters decided to rest. They laid down their rifles, lit a fire, and roasted the moutain goat.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a one-eyed witch appeared, grabbed Jail, and dragged him into a cave. Emil managed to escape. Jail initially lost consciousness, but after a while, he came to and looked around: there were about twenty people tied up around him, and deeper in the cave, he saw a large flock—no fewer than five hundred sheep.

Every morning, the one-eyed witch would count them, then release them to graze and close the cave entrance with a gigantic stone that only she could move. The captives began to think of how to rid themselves of the witch. No one could come up with anything for a long time.

Jail observed the witch and noticed: when she fell asleep, her single eye would shine so brightly that it illuminated the entire cave, and when she woke up, the eye would lose its luster, plunging the cave into darkness. In the middle of the cave, there was a large hearth. In the evenings, the witch would light it and heat an iron rod until it was red-hot, using it to roast one of the captives.

One day, Jail said to the prisoners:

"We can't wait any longer. We must attack the old woman, or we will all perish."

"What should we do to free ourselves from this torment and doom?" they asked.

"We must burn out the witch's single eye with the heated rod. Then, when she moves the stone to let the sheep out, we will escape."

Everyone agreed to this plan. At midnight, the old woman fell asleep. The cave became as bright as day. The captives woke Jail.

"Now I will pierce the witch's eye. Free yourselves from the ropes and lie under a sheep each. The old woman will rush to you but won’t find you in your usual places, and she won't look under the sheep."

Following Jail's advice, the captives untied each other and hid among the sheep. Jail took the iron rod and, with a precise strike, plunged it into the glowing eye of the old woman. The witch howled like a wild beast and immediately rushed to the captives but found no one.

"You won’t escape me!" screamed the witch. "I may be blind, but I won’t let you go!"

Morning came. The old woman, who always woke up at the same time, moved the gigantic stone aside and shouted, "Come out, white goat!" The white goat came out, followed by the sheep. The old woman stopped each one, felt its legs, stroked its back, and only then let it go free. When all the sheep were out, she closed the cave with the stone and sat down by the entrance.

"If she checks like this every day, we’ll never get out," whispered the captives sadly.

"Don't worry. I've found a way out," Jail said cheerfully. "In the evening, when the flock returns, we will slaughter the white goat and remove its skin whole. I will wear the skin and become the white goat. In the morning, I will go free, find my rifle, which I left near the cave, shoot the old woman, and free you all."

The captives rejoiced at Jail's ingenuity. When the flock returned, they caught the goat, tied its muzzle tightly so it wouldn’t scream, and killed it with a single blow. In the morning, the old woman opened the cave and commanded, "Come out, white goat!" Jail, dressed in the goat’s skin, emerged. Finding his rifle, he returned.

The witch was still counting the sheep as she let them out of the cave. Jail took aim and killed the witch. Thus, the brave marksman freed all the captives. In gratitude, they gave him the witch's entire flock. Jail drove the sheep home just in time to find his relatives holding a memorial, believing he had perished at the hands of the ruthless witch.

Everyone was overjoyed at Jail’s return, and the memorial turned into a cheerful celebration.