Jahimees ja tema laul. Anzori Barkalaja
The Hunter and His Song

Summary/Abstract: A Hanti fairytale Once upon a time there lived a hunter. One day he started to sing, but did not sing the song to the end. Then he sung the same song for another time but again could not finish it. And that was the way it stayed. One day that hunter went out hunting. Walked for a long or a short while, and suddenly - such a blizzard came that nothing could be seen. He started to look for his house: searched, searched, but couldn't find it anyhow. He walked, walked some more, and suddenly saw - a püstkoda is standing not far away. But around it, a herd of elks is running. The man approached the house, stepped inside. The family was sitting there. The man was kindly asked to join them at the table, they drank tea and then they asked where he was coming from and how he happened to come to their place with such a blizzard. The man started to talk: "You see, I recently went out hunting. I went on and the storm blew up. These here seem to be familiar places, but I do not seem to be able to find my home. How did it come to happen like this? But where are you from, I think I have not seen you ever before?"_ "We, you see, got caught in this blizzard long ago. There is some kind of singer here.. all the time he sings a song of how the blizzard starts.. he never ends the song, always leaves it unfinished. And we, you see, got caught in his song. We have not been able to return home. You might be the guilty one. If you will sing your song to the end, you will see your home. If not, you will stay here with us forever." The hunter had no other choice but to sing his song to the end. As soon as he finished his song, he woke up on a small hill near his house. There were no herdsmen, no elks, there was nobody around there. He went to his house and told the others about his adventures. And whenever he started to sing, he always sang his songs to the end, and whenever he started to tell a story, he always finished it. This is all, the tale's over. Heard from Slava Pesikov from Ljantor village. Collected by Anzori Barkalaja.

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