A Tale of Many Stones and Distant Water

How the Leader led a restless tribe through the mountains to the sea (August 10-15, 2008).

It happened when the night sun obscured the daylight, in the month when sweet mountain grapes begin to ripen. A restless tribe gathered and began asking the Leader whether it was possible to reach the sea from the dusty city. The mighty warriors rose, the women loaded their colorful skirts into shoulder bags and went to Chatyr-Dag, which is also called the Tent Mountain.

The climb was difficult: the Leader walked ahead, Quick Legs and the Young Wolf galloped behind him. The sun is getting hotter, there are fewer grasses on the ground, the wind is getting stronger - the lowland tribe is surprised. He looks around and is surprised again: the city from above seems smaller and smaller, and on the left on the slope secret signs appear. The tribe realized that this was a sign from the gods, and they needed to climb higher. The mountain bent under the stubborn tribe: it stopped running up, became level and smooth, and offered yellow tea and grass.

The Taming of the Shrew Squaw.

Apparently, tribes had walked through these stones before: the mountain had holes and crevices. The wise say that squaw Emine lived with one of them. She rejected the best warriors, Bair and Khosar. They were blinded by resentment and threw it into a cave. But the gods punished them - the warriors were exhausted, they jumped off one after another after the proud squaw. Whether it is true or not, the wise do not know. But the tribe knows that in that cave the bones of a mammoth, a woolly rhinoceros and a mountain lion lie. And also wonderful stones grow: some stretch to the surface, others want to pierce the thickness of the earth, others stand in columns, water runs over them. Some women from the tribe are trying to spot a urchin, a turtle, a sea jellyfish or a piece of lard in the stones. The warriors grin - whatever the owner and mistress of the cave show, they will be allowed to see. Here they are: he showed one head to the tribe, and it emerged as a thin figure from the stone.

The tribe came out to the earth - and the Leader changed his appearance. And he led his people away from the caves, into the grotto, to the mice, owls and dinner. While dinner was being prepared, Young Wolf found a hole in the mountain. The Leader was delighted, but did not let him check the hole, but ordered him to get a good night’s sleep.

The tribe awakened - the Leader changed his appearance again. Many caves showed, for a long time he led his people along the cliff. The children of the plains spoke with kites and ravens, and behind them a thunderstorm approached. The Silent One said: “Even if molten sulfur pours from the sky, I will not go faster.” And how to go here: again the mountain stands on end in front of the tribe, and the higher you rise, the less shadow and soft grass there are. The stubborn tribe climbs up, and when they get tired, they look at the flat yayla. Apparently, the Leader talked to the rain - the clouds dispersed the kites, great water passed by, and the tribe rose to Eklizi-Burun. The Leader said that there were mountains higher, but he had a revelation - if he went south, the tribe would go to the sea. The wind is strong to push the warriors together, but they only step forward more stubbornly. We found a forest of beech and ancient redwoods, and spent the night there.

Wolf Brotherhood.

Truly wise people say: a wolf who is on vacation takes up space on the sand, reduces prey, and the tourist is a brother and comrade - he leaves salt for the tourist, he marks the camp. But Painted Chris said these words: “I see that my strong legs have betrayed me. Until the sixteenth moon I skated on the ice and had no worries. They showed the mountains - one day up will cost many days on the side.” The tribe consulted and released Chris so that she could regularly make sacrifices for everyone in the valley to the gods. And they went through the Angarsk pass to the mountain fortress. South Demerdzhi is rich in ghosts and troubles: if you look down from the peak, it’s already night there, but if you go to the crows, it’s a clear day. Another restless tribe also walked here, but did not reach the top.

At Jurla Falls, squaw Red Head saw wonderful apples - about a dozen would fit in the palm of your hand - and fish in the water. I wanted to rinse my face, but it only smeared the dust. The Leader said here that there are large waterfalls in the mountains. Water gurgles in one of them, its name is Dzhur-Dzhur. The tribe would not have reached the water if the Generous Priestess had not fed everyone with chocolate. And so the tribe liked the chocolate that they managed to replenish their supplies, walked two hundred steps and went deeper through soft moss and steep mountains into the Khapkhal gorge. It reached the upper ranger lands.

The Leader sees two paths - he begins to doubt. Here, he says, it’s 50/50 – we need to check. The tribe is behind him - how can you let go of the Leader alone? And the tribe did not let go of the Tyrke plateau - people wandered around it until sunset, the Leader cried out to the gods, and when the sun set, they went down to the source and got up for the night. Squaw Red Head lay in the hut for a long time, but came out for the evening pasta. Because this is a godly thing - pasta with stew. And Young Vetal kept telling the Generous Priestess what he would do when he came down to the plain: how he would destroy Twix, and how he would watch the Blue Screen in a staring contest.

Song of the wind.

The tribe learned the value of water: every sip is useful, every spring seems holy. The gods led the tribe to the water of St. Alexei - the Ai-Alexiy source. Swift Legs and the Young Wolf don’t care: they climbed up and saw where holiness comes from. The tribe wandered around the flat Tyrka. And wandered around Karabi-yayla. Instead of stones and thorns, soft pine trees, red dogwood and yellow apples appeared on the sides, which Red Head the squaw noticed at Dzhurla’s. The Leader said that you can eat them without fear.

The tribe walked along horse paths, past the springs, along the mountain to the last stop, the dogwood tree supported its strength, the air gave off salt - the sea called to itself, the tribe walked faster and faster. And when they found an open plateau, the tribe stood up for the night. The wind was blowing the huts like a sail, but the moon was half in the sky overhead, what kind of parking lot would you trade such a place for? The tribe remained, singing songs by the fire.

On the sixth day, the mountains had mercy, turned their backs on the tribe, and the people ran to the coast. The mountain fallow deer gave them fast legs - they learned to gallop through the mountains. The fox gave them resourcefulness - the tribe honestly admitted to the watchman that they had not eaten a single grape. The crows gave them the wisdom to turn away from the dust of the road and collect chocolate straight from the foil with spoons. The kites sent insight - people correctly calculated the way to the sea. And when they reached the sea, they thanked the Leader. And they decided to compose a legend about the restless tribe and tell it to people. Whether people will want to repeat the path of the restless tribe is something only the wise know. The tribe will gather in the mountains again. How it will come out of the sea.