to my heart, mother and father,” Rada mumbled, dropping her eyes.
– Oh, daughter … – muttered father.
– Where did she see him? – the Mighty asked his wife, then he looked at his son expectantly, – what do you say?
“They forgot how they came three years ago, they visited me?” Said Gong, “Ulla was hard not to notice,” and he grinned.
“Exactly,” my father frowned, “did not look through…”
“Okay, now we need to prepare Komoyeditsy, Karp killed the bear, took off the skin, we will begin the holiday at night,” added the leader, “I’m glad, let’s go home, your betrothed on Alatyr, when no one knows what will return.”
Comoedicians
The holiday began in the evening, although the sun was still shining, for the night was not as such. It was a small holiday, the day of the summer solstice passed, and the biggest bear holiday, Komoeditsy, was a week long on the days of the Spring Equinox. In the spring, the holiday was very big, with comic disguises, ritual songs, and right after it they celebrated the New Year. A carp in a birch bark mask carried the head of a medvei, or rather a cleaned skull, put it in a birch bark box for all, looked at all the tribesmen dressed in birch bark masks, so there was no one to recognize, only the beeps and horns played, humming cheerful melodies, and magicians, also dressed in masks, sang songs, rejoicing that their kinsman, the bear, Komo, or Homo, goes back into the forest again and does not take offense at their relatives. After all, we met him with songs and dances and spent it easily and cheerfully, and will celebrate four more days. And the sorcerer declared:
– Who will eat bear meat?
“Crows!” Declared everyone who was here. “We will eat the crows!”
The bear meat was prepared especially – it was impossible to crush bones, carefully cut the meat and fat, and then the bones would also be carried to the forest, and placed on a shed by a tree. The meat was cooked in special vats, on the edge of the forest, soon everything was ready, each received a piece. The sorcerer came out again and asked:
– Who you are?
“We are ravens,” replied the people of the tribe who ate ceremonial food.
The joy was in full swing, and the holiday was to continue for three more days. And he continued for three days.
But the fourth day was terrible. All began to disperse and disperse in the camp, grazing cows. It is through grazing of cows, milk and the tribe lived. The shepherd boy, driving the flock from one meadow to another, noticed three springs from the ground. He approached them closer, and saw yellowish, oily streams dislodging near the grass, next to the bushes. He tasted, he was oily, there were greasy marks on his fingers, like from animal fat. He had seen such before sometimes, here, in these places, such streams, which were buttered were not uncommon, as sometimes whole banks were covered with such liquid, becoming sour and impassable. A teenage shepherd avoided a distant meadow with three dogs looking after a herd of cows lying on the bank of a small river, when suddenly behind a meadow where the soil sometimes breathed, he saw a terrible, bloody, fiery flower grow from the depths of the earth that swallowed the meadow and a terrible the sound of the explosion, scattering the woods nearby, so that the branches torn up by the roots flew in all directions, and those that remained were engaged in fire. The remaining birds flew away in all directions, and tried to escape from the ring of fire herds of deer. Out of the corner of his eye, the lad saw a pack of wolves running off into the distance. Stems of flame, like monstrous flowers, began to burst from the depths of the earth, from the Earth, dedicated to the god Yama, Yamal, one of the incarnations of Gemini. The lad called the dogs, and they began to help gather a herd, and he was able to ward off the tribal winners to a safe place by crossing the stream. Soon, dozens of people began to come running to the place of the catastrophe – and they saw the earth itself burning, flames rising above the pine forest, and a giant funnel formed at the site of the explosion, along the edges of which all run bluish flames. Soon came the leader, the Mighty. The driver stayed with the horses, and an experienced man, who had been in alterations and wars more than once, who had managed to lead the tribe more than once and through the famine that had happened, was worried in earnest.
“Mighty, let me see these places,” the driver asked, “I will be careful, I’ll go around the edge.”
– Already an adult, but do not think. If the gods are furious, burn in the blink of an eye, don’t be an old friend. We will summon the Magi, the council of tribes and send to Buyan Island and to the Straight on Alatyr Island. Spies can give the answer.
– Shining, prepare messengers, I will write letters to the leaders of the union of the Seven Tribes. Write and write letters, and knit memorable knots, as before grandfathers-great-grandfathers did, send messengers without delay to Dvina and Kama, let them know what trouble we have overtaken.
– I’ll do everything, let’s go to the village, the leader, the driver responded.
They got into the carriage, and carefully drove along the road leading to the main village, and saw people coming from distant villages, some were wrapped in cloth and burned. The Mighty Wiseman rode up to the house, and knocked. Soon the sage came out, apparently he was dressed for a long time, and only waited for news, and not good news.
– Hello Magus, we will gather the Council of the Seven Tribes, and tomorrow the council of the elders of the tribes of the tribe will meet. And now it will be necessary to convene a meeting of the Huns, let the people come, waiting, after all, that we will say that we will decide. We can not hesitate more.
– I agree, mighty. We must also distribute food to the victims from the stocks of the tribe. Ask for help from the neighbors.
– And, Plit, you are like a magician, write letters to Buyan-island and Alatyr, ask the prophecies of Prykh, for which we were so punished.
– I will go to Pryakham right now, give me twelve rowers, and from there I will sail to Buyan, instead of me, Wit will remain, my student, he studied with the Seven, He did the initiation, he knows everything he needs.
– Then go, without delay, get ready, old friend, the warriors will come to your house, – and he embraced the sorcerer, and he looked at him with anxious look, – we will hope for the best.
And the Mighty stood in the square, and hit the beater, calling people to the Great Circle. Blow by blow, there was anxiety in his head, but also with the hope that he could find the right path. The tribesmen gathered quickly, people’s faces were alarmed, they were waiting for answers, which, and they understood it, were not yet there. But the gunas were glad that they were not alone, their neighbors were close to them, and the leader was gathering everyone to decide together what to do and how to act. at
– Hello, good people. You know everything that happened. Part of our land burned to the ground, and the earth burns. Happened to this before, the old say so. Under the settlements for the victims there is land, and there are pastures for cows, the shepherds have done well, the flocks have been saved, taken away for streams. Slabs goes to Alatyr-Island to ask for a prophecy from Pryakh, and for help to Buyan-Island. Did we, good people, decide right? “The leader asked the audience.
– In the meantime, there is nothing to do, let every second family be drawn by lot to our neighbors, to the Kama River,
