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Âåðà Çåëåíîâà 2
Fairytale.
12.06.2011
Vera Zelenova
A white egret.

A poor man by name Gabzai lived in one country. He lived in a paludal forest far away from settlements and roads in order not to pay taxes to a governor. That man got his subsistence hunting animals and fishing in a shallow river. Once Gabzai found on a bog the white egret nestling that probably fell out of nest. The hunter took pity on nestling, brought it home and started to fledge. In three months the nestling would grow and turn into beautiful white bird. The man had become very much attached to the bird and she reciprocated with trust and endearment. And soon tax collectors came to Gabzai, took away his beautiful bird and sold her to caravanners.
Thereby white egret got into palace of tsar Dadush. The tsar saw the wonderful bird and started to visit her often. He fed the bird by himself and she so got used to him that didn’t afraid him in the least. When Dadush let her out of cage the egret came to him and slightly touched his hand by beak; she asked for feed this way. The tsar brought fish to the egret and gave her from his hands. Satiating herself the bird bowed to master and was speaking something on her bird’s dialect; she thanked for food this way. Dadush came to love beautiful bird and gave her name Uniphi that means “noble”.
The tsar Dadush had many things to do. He planed to build a new city. He sent many slaves to stone quarry as a lot of drafted stones were necessary for building. Soon unprecedented report was come from chief of stone quarry. He told Dadush in report that one of the stone had a spirit that spoke with people and called itself Aulesh. The tsar didn’t believe and ordered to saw up that stone. Stonemasons were very afraid to come up to the stone but it couldn’t be helped they had to carry out the order.
A foreman of stonemasons took a piece of chalk and wanted to come up to the block in order to mark it. But fire started from the stone and hit poor devil. And on other who dared to come nearer to the stone the fire was ejected dreaded them.
A noble that was responsible for stone production sent a letter to the tsar again and said about everything. Dadush decided to come to stone quarry. When he wanted to come up closer to the stone he heard the voice:
- Stay where you are,the tsar Dadush! The stone spirit by name Aulesh is talking to you.
- What do you want, the great stone spirit by name Aulesh? – asked the tsar.
- I want your slaves don’t come nearer to me. I promise to fulfill your most cherished wish. In order you to see how stone spirit is powerful I fulfill your second wish, the tsar Dadush! Tell me what do you want?
After those words the heart in Dadush’s breast went up in the air like a foal because he had a secret dream in which he was afraid to confess even to himself. Dadush came to love beautiful bird Uniphi and was very pity that she wasn’t a woman.
- All right, stone spirit by name Aulesh, I’ll tell you my cherished wish, - and Dadush calmly told to the spirit Aulesh what he wanted.
- Don’t you know, the tsar, what you are asking for! So be it, the tsar Dadush! – said the stone spirit, - go home, your wish has came true!
Of course the tsar hurried up home. When he entered his room he saw a woman as beautiful as daybreak. Dadush came to love Uniphi more and took her to wife. Uniphi came to love him very much too. Not without reason it is said that love is blind and they both came to love each other without noticing nobody and nothing around.
Other tsar’s wives left by him were jealous and came to hate Uniphi. They decided to make come back Dadush’s favor by all means. They became to smear Uniphi in master’s eyes on every possible and not possible occasion, to make up different tall tales about her but they couldn’t succeed in it. As before there was not more desired and sweet woman for Dadush than his beloved Uniphi.
And soon the great joy came to Dadush’s house. A loved wife bore him a son who was called Radush. But spite and envy kept their eyes open. They prepared plans of revenge!
Once at night malefactors bribed by Dadush’s wives skulked into a bedroom and stole the infant Radush. In the morning a feeder came into the bedroom and saw that nurse pierced with a dagger was lying on the floor and a cradle was empty. Then the woman cried in a loud voice and called people.
When the tsar found out that his son was stolen he ordered to seek the infant with all effort and a miserable mother hardly went out of her mind with grief. Uniphi and Dadush’s slaves were seeking a child for a long time and had found him far in the desert, where griffins were hovering. Uniphi saw birds of prey and understood that they were hovering in a body of her little son. The woman cried out and howled like a wolf mourning her baby and then she picked up infant remains and buried.
All days Uniphi spent on her son’s grave, talked with him and sang him songs. The tsar seeing like his Uniphi had been grieving started worry about her health. He forbad his slaves to let the woman out of palace. But poor woman started to miss more. She stopped to meal, all the time she was crying and calling the son by name. Once at night she broke away and went from the palace. In the morning she was found on Radush’s grave hardly alive. Then the tsar told to her:
- My loved Uniphi! Don’t kill yourself so! A life is long; we will give birth to many sons!
For what the poor woman said:
- No, my loved husband! I’ll die today and tomorrow you bury me near my only one son!
At night the poor woman died and Dadush buried her as promised near the son. Next day the tsar went to the stone spirit Aulesh and said to him:
- Powerful Aulesh! You promised to fulfill two of my wishes. And now I came to ask you bring back to life my loved wife Uniphi and son Radush! And instead of their lives take mine!
The stone spirit said:
- My power is great, the tsar Dadush, but not so as you think! I can take your life but I’m unable to divide it in two lives!
And Dadush said for that:
- Then I die like my loved wife because I have a month’s mind to her!
The stone spirit couldn’t allow his promise without fulfillment and he did following: he brought back a beautiful Uniphi and her little son to life but they became white birds. And in order the tsar Dadush didn’t feel miserable about loved wife and son the stone spirit Aulesh turn him into the white egret.  The beautiful birds hovered in high for a long time and gave voices; thereby they thanked the stone spirit by name Aulesh. Since then that wonderful birds have been living in our territory. They are Dadush and Uniphi offsprings.