The fairy maiden also caught sight of Chiachikei, the wife of Semetei. The round person was of unproportional stature. Tricked out in gaudy dress which was trimmed with cheap and showy jewels, the flamboyant woman stepped out of the palace with a raffish air.
Although Aichurek did not go a bundle on her, the fairy maiden thought that she should show respect to her while saying hello to her.
The fairy maiden restored her original image of a 15-year-old girl. Thanks to her beautiful features and proportional figure, Aichurek was the magnet that drew a large number of people. Chiachikei was also shocked at the beauty incarnate.
Aichurek bowed to Chiachikei to show her respect, saying:
“My dear elder sister.
Best wishes for your good health!
Best wishes for your happy life!
My home country is on the brink of holocaust.
Chinkojow and his aggressor troops are tampling on my territory.
I come to the imperial palace
In order to seek the helping hand of Semetei.
My dear elder sister.
It is kind of you to keep me from the torture of disappointment.
Our people are anxiously waiting for
The would-be rescue mission performed by Semetei.
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You are my dear elder sister.
I am about to be your lifelong servant.
I will prepare tea for you at home.
I will help you with delivering luggage on your trip.
I am not shouting the odds.
And I will not vie with you for the high position of the first lady.
As a daughter of Akhun Khan,
I know for sure that sisters need forbearance and self-restraint.”
On the contrary, the narrow-minded Chiachikei hurled many oaths at the
fairy maiden. The acid-tongued woman spoke daggers to the fairy maiden:
“You bitch! A bitch in heat!
How can an unmarried woman dream of looking for a guy who can make love
with her?
You bitch! A bitch in heat!
How can an unmarried woman dream of looking for a lover who can make
love with her?
You are a slutty whore no one cares!
You are an erotic harlot any guy can dally with!
Wait and see! I will not have you as a close family member
Until your hair turns grey,
Until your teeth lose due to senility,
Until your flesh turns into sand on the river bed.
I will not take notice of you
Unless the blue sky cracks,
Unless the snow-capped mountains collapse.”
After saying on, Chiachikei shut the door with a bang. Aichurek burned
with anger at the vixen’s invective. She could not move and wept through
indignation.
When Chiachikei opened the door on the next day morning, she found
the fairy maiden still standing right there.
Aichurek bowed to the vixen once again, asking: “My dear elder sister,
can you tell me if Semetei knows my worries? Has he already headed to the
battlefield?”
The vixen flew into a fury as soon as she heard what Princess Aichurek
Legend of Manas
said. “You are nothing but a prostitute who consents to engage yourself in sexual intercourse with any guy. How can I help to send a message for you?” Chiachikei hurled a hail of abuse at the fairy maiden.
Having heard the hailstones of angry words pelting her, the good-natured fairy maiden was heartbroken. She retorted the invective on the vixen, saying:
“He will go hunting today.
And I will become a white gauze kerchief and a gold fish.
I will wait for him by the roadside.
As long as he comes closer to me,
I will resume my original image.
He will tightly hold me in his arms.
He will not pay attention to you
If only he is in the company of me!
If he still cannot recognize me,
I will snatch his falcon and fly back to my home country.
He will chase his falcon and naturally pelt toward my home country as well.
He will help us drive away all the aggressor troops.
And then we will tie the knot with each other in terms of the unfulfilled wish of Manas.
As a narrow-minded vixen,
You will be doomed to failure some day or other!”
In such a very forceful speech the fairy maiden set about the vixen who got so angry that she fell down in a faint.
Aichurek transformed into a white goose which flew to the sky in a rage. She kept a close eye on the road through which Semetei would go in order to go hunting. The insult hurled at her by Chiachikei stoked up hatred in the depth of her heart. She really wanted to let others know that she brooked no offence.
All of a sudden, the fairy maiden caught sight of her fiance who rode on horseback. She was allured by his handsome features which caused the deep and fervent affection to the young hero.
Kulchoro and Kenchoro, two capable assistants of Semetei was seen riding
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107
in the wake of their monarch. All of a sudden, they saw a white gauze kerchief
on the road. A glance from it fell across the eyes of Semetei. The young khan
stopped his magical horse, saying with broad smiles: “I feel I have owned the
power of defeating a total of 10,000 enemies on seeing the gauze kerchief.”
Before Semetei could pick up the gauze kerchief, Kulchoro, who was
nimble in action, snatched it from the ground and threw it into a deep pit by
the road. Moreover, he used a huge rock to block the opening of the pit. “It is
hard to judge whether it is evil incarnate,” said Kulchoro.
At first, Semetei said nothing but got a bit unhappy with what Kulchoro
did. Then he set his falcon free and violently beat the golden drum with his
whip. In such a way the falcon was encouraged to make a lunge at wild ducks
and catch them.
While they were set to traverse a broad river, Semetei found out a gold bar
on the riverbed. Before he bent to pick it up, the gold bar changed into a gold
fish suddenly. The fish’s golden scales glistened in the sunlight. When Semetei
rejoiced with wild excitement, Kulchoro used his whip to stir water into a
mess in a flash. Semetei could not catch the gold fish. As a result, he got very
annoyed while watching the water which had been stirred into a muddy state.
He stared at Kulchoro in a rage before riding forward.
At the center of a lake surrounded by reeds stood a white swan. Moved
by the melodious song sung by the swan, Semetei was determined to release
the falcon in order to catch the swan. But Kulchoro stopped the young hero