Roland

Thank you Franz Rogar for discovering the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th branches of The Gesar Translation.  With the changes coming on the Way Back Web and Internet Archive I was concerned that the pages of Sarangerel Odigon’s Translation of Epic of King Gesar might be lost in time.

Here are the links:

Sherem Minaata Khan The Sixth Branch

The Battle with Abarga Sesen Mangadhai The Seventh Branch

The Battle with Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi The Eighth Branch

The Sharaigol War The Ninth Branch

 

 

The hero Abai Geser,
Having killed his hateful enemy,
Returned to his home,
Bringing his wife Urmai Goohon,
Who was as beautiful as the red sun.

He who lived in a white valley,
Who rode a mighty buckskin horse,
Who had a head of whitish grey hair,
Whose path was in the white clouds,
Who carried a white bow of rule,
Benevolent Sargal Noyon Khan
Beat on his golden drum,
Summoning his subjects from the north,
He struck his silver drum,
Calling his subjects from the south.
Two princely brothers,
Two beautiful wives,
With golden lights burning on their ten fingers,
With silver lights glowing on their twenty fingers,
They greeted him who traveled where he intended,
Who had traveled with fortune and destiny,
Who was followed by destiny and luck,
Who returned with success,
The hero Abai Geser,
And his wife Urmai Goohon,
His thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers,
They met by the Muren River,
By the shores of the eternal lake,
By the Hatan River,
By the black lake,
They greeted and embraced him!
They brought out liquor and wine
In quantities like a lake,
They served meat and fat
In quantities like a hill.
The party lasted for eight days,
On the ninth day there was great discussion,
On the tenth day people sobered up
And returned to their homes.
After this had happened
Abai Geser came back to his home,
To live happily with his three beautiful wives.
One day after his return Abai Geser said:
“I am tired of doing nothing with my hands,
I am tired of my saddle straps being empty.”
He prepared Beligen the bay horse,
The steed mighty in body,
With wisdom in his bones,
He went hunting and tracking
In the thirteen ranges of the Altai Mountains,
He relaxed and enjoyed himself
In the twenty three ranges of the Huhii taiga.
He was away hunting for three years.

While this was happening
There were three sons of Atai Ulaan Tenger,
Who had been thrown down from the heavens,
Who had been cast down from the skies,
Who had settled in the most distant east,
Who lived by a yellow lake,
Who lived at the source of the yellow river,
Who ruled the valley of the yellow river,
Who were called the three Sharaidai khans.

The white oldest brother of the three Sharaidai khans
Was called Sagaan Gerel Khan,
His subjects watched his herds of white horses.
The middle brother of the three Sharaidai khans
Was called Shara Gerel Khan,
His subjects watched his herds of yellow horses.
The youngest brother of the three Sharaidai khans
Was called Hara Gerel Khan,
His subjects watched his herds of brown mares.

The white oldest brother of the three Sharaidai khans,
Sagaan Gerel Khan,
Was looking for a wife for his son Erhe Taija,
He decided to send a bird to look at the women in the world,
He summoned a spotted magpie
That was the incarnation of a demon, saying:
“Whose daughter is most good,
Whose maiden is most lovely,
Who has warm cheeks,
Who has a sparkling mouth?
Go watch and observe,
Come and advise me who is best,”
He sent the bird to fly three times around the world,
He sent the magpie to fly four times around the earth.

The demon in the form of the spotted magpie
Flew three times around the world,
Flew four times around the earth,
He could not find a maiden
As beautiful as the sun and moon,
He did not find a girl
As seductive as the stars of the night sky.
After this had happened
He flew to the Muren River,
To the shores of the eternal lake,
To the Hatan River,
To the shores of the black lake.
When he came to Abai Geser’s country,
When he was flying around his houses,
He saw Abai Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon,
Who was as beautiful as the rising sun,
Who was as beautiful as the waxing moon,
A seductive and beautiful woman,
Whose right cheek outshone the western sky,
Whose left cheek outshone the eastern sky,
Green plants grew where her feet had stepped,
Lambs were baaing where she had walked.
She was as beautiful as the dawn,
She was as lovely as the world in the daytime!…

The spy sent by the three Sharaidai khans,
The demon in the form of a spotted magpie,
When he had seen Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon
His reason and thoughts became confused.
When he was doing this Geser’s uncle
Who lived in a white valley,
Who rode a great buckskin horse,
Who had a head of whitish grey hair,
Who had a white bow of rule,
Benevolent Sargal Noyon Khan
Saw what was happening,
He understood what it meant.
After he had seen this
He said to Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors:
“There is a spotted magpie flying around your homes,
A demon which pecks at and feeds on carrion,
Who has sent it here,
Who is causing trouble?
He soars and flaps his wings,
He flies up pointing his beak toward the sky,
This is a tale-bearer from far away,
This is a spy flying around our lands,
This is a demon that will bring calamity.
This is an evil spirit from the land and waters.
You famous warriors,
You skillful archers,
You are wrong if you are naive,
You do injury if you forget your purpose,
Shoot an arrow at the spotted magpie,
Shoot him and break his neck.”
When Sargal Noyon had said this
Geser’s thirty three warriors replied:
“You are always worrying and doubting,
You are always stirring up trouble,
What is following us from the north is not hateful,
What is watching us from the south is harmless,
Let the spotted magpie leave on its own.”
Ignoring Sargal Noyon’s advice
They made a big mistake.

When this had happened,
The tale bearer that had come from far away,
The spy lingering over Abai Geser’s land,
The brown spotted magpie,
He flew toward the most distant east,
He headed for the land of the yellow river,
Even if his destination was far he flew on,
Even when the rivers were wide he crossed.
He went to the shore of the yellow lake,
The beginning of the yellow river,
The valley of the yellow river,
He landed at the gate
Of the home of the Sharaidai khans.
When this had happened,
The son of Sagaan Gerel Khan,
Erhe Taija who had sent the bird
To find him a wife from among the women of the world,
Set out a wether’s head to reward the spotted magpie
That was the incarnation of a demon.
Setting out the food for him
Erhe Taija greeted the bird,
He honored the spotted magpie.
The bird licked his beak
In anticipation of his meal,
He spoke of what he had seen:
“I flew around the world three times,
I went around the earth four times,
I could not find a maiden
As beautiful as the sun and moon,
I could not find a woman
As seductive as the stars of the night sky.
After this had happened
I went to the Muren River,
To the eternal lake,
To the Hatan River,
To the black lake.
When I had arrived in Abai Geser’s country,
I saw Abai Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon,
I have never seen a woman so lovely,
She was as beautiful as the waxing moon!
She is a maiden pure like a flower!
When I saw Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon
The sight made my reason confused,
The sight made my thoughts wander,
I stayed there and watched her.
Benevolent Sargal Noyon Khan
Said to Geser’s thirty three warriors
That a tale bearer had come from far away,
That a spy was lingering around their lands,
He told them to shoot me and break my neck,
I was very frightened and confused,
I wanted to preserve my life and soul,
My spirit and courage fell down.
Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors
Were naive and careless,
Ignoring the advice of Sargal Noyon,
Saying that he always worried and doubted,
Saying that he always stirred up trouble.
They said that birds fly over the land,
That fish will swim in the lake,
They did not give it any thought,
So I have returned without injury.”
The brown spotted magpie
Rambled on and on,
He who had looked for a wife,
Who wanted to start a family,
Who sent a tale bearer a long ways,
Who sent a spy to Geser’s lands,
Listened to ever word that was said
By the brown spotted magpie,
Erhe Taija went to the Sharaidai khans
Who had approved of what he was doing:
“We may say we intend, we intend,
But we are not ready to do this,
We may say we will fight, will fight,
But we are not ready for war.
We do not want to do
What the spotted magpie has advised,
We do not want to get involved
In what the brown magpie wants,”
The three khans having said
That they would decide on this later
Erhe Taija summoned a black raven
That liked to peck out eyes, saying:
“Fly three times around the world,
Go four times around the earth,
Find whose daughter is good,
Whose maiden is beautiful,
Whose cheeks are warm,
Who has a lovely mouth?
Go watch and observe,
Come and tell me what you have see!”
After this had happened
The black raven that liked to peck eyes
Flew over thirteen mountain ranges,
Flew over twenty three mountain ranges,
Coming to the Muren River,
To the shores of the eternal lake,
To the Hatan River,
To the shores of the black lake,
To the country of Abai Geser.
The raven pecked out eyes
To soothe his hunger.
Abai Geser’s uncle
Benevolent Sargal Noyon Khan
Said to his nephew’s thirty three warriors:
“A bird has come flying from a far away place,
Flapping his two wings,
Pecking out eyes,
Having a blunt beak,
A tale bearer comes from far away,
A spy is lingering about our lands.
Shoot the black raven below his wings,
Shoot and pierce his red heart.”
When Sargal Noyon said this
Geser’s thirty three warriors replied:
“Ha, ha, you are always complaining about something,
What thing is it that you are hating this time?
Birds will fly over the land,
Fish will swim in the lake.”
They gave his words no thought,
They missed an opportunity
To prevent trouble in the future.
The black raven sent by Erhe Taija,
Who was looking for a wife,
Who wanted to start a family,
Who sent a bird to spy in the south,
Who sent a bird to watch in the north,
The black bird who pecked eyes
Flew back to the most distant east,
To the shores of the yellow lake.
Even if his destination was far he flew on,
Even if the rivers were wide he crossed.
When he reached the lands of the Sharaidai khans,
When he landed at the gate of Sagaan Gerel’s house,
He was met by Sagaan Gerel’s son Erhe Taija,
Who greeted and honored him with an ox’s head.

After the raven pecked out the ox’s two eyes
He spoke of what he saw as if driving horses and cattle:
“I flew three times around the world,
I flew four times around the earth,
I went to the Muren River,
To the shores of the eternal lake,
To the Hatan River,
To the shores of the black lake.
When I came to Abai Geser’s golden land,
I saw Abai Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon.
When I went three times around the world,
When I went four times around the earth,
I did not see a woman more beautiful than her,
I did not see a maiden more pure than her,
She is as beautiful as the waxing moon,
She is as pure as a perfect flower!”
Erhe Taija who had sent the black raven,
And the three Sharaidai khans,
Who sent a tale bearer to a distant place,
Who sent a spy to Abai Geser’s land,
Listened to every word the raven said.
In order to find whether this was the truth or a lie
They used their magic powers,
They summoned their sorcerous powers,
They began to make a giant black bird
With a body as big as the world…
Sagaan Gerel Khan made the head,
And covered it with silver,
Shara Gerel Khan made the chest,
And covered it with gold,
Hara Geser Khan made the belly,
And forged it out of iron,
Erhe Taija made the feathers,
Putting them in the wings and tail,
He then gave the bird life and breath.
This having been done
The black giant bird made by demonic sorcery,
That had a body as big as the world,
Had to be fed:
They honored him with ox meat,
The bird licked its lips,
They cut up a large stallion,
The bird gobbled it up,
They brought him the meat of a large camel,
The bird was finally satisfied.
After this had happened,
The lords of the valley of the yellow river,
The three Sharaidai khans,
Gave their instructions to the giant black bird:
“Fly around the world three times,
Go around the earth four times,
See whose daughter is good,
Whose daughter is beautiful,
Who has warm cheeks,
Who has a lovely mouth?
Find a woman as beautiful as the waxing moon,
Find a maiden as pure as a perfect flower.”
The giant black bird flew up into the sky,
His body was as big as the world,
When he soared in the heavens
His wings covered the sun and moon,
The animals and birds hid from him.
He flew around the world three times,
He flew around the earth four times,
When he had done this
He did not find a woman as beautiful as the waxing moon,
He did not find a maiden as pure as a perfect flower.
He came to the Muren River,
To the shores of the eternal lake,
To the Hatan River,
To the shores of the black lake.
He landed with his wings brushing the earth,
He landed and folded his wings.
He saw Abai Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon,
Who was as beautiful as the rising sun,
Who was as beautiful as the waxing moon,
A seductive and lovely woman,
Whose right cheek outshone the western sky,
Whose left cheek outshone the eastern sky,
Who looked to the people as lovely as the dawn,
Who looked as beautiful as the light of morning.
Geser’s uncle benevolent Sargal Noyon
Knew what was happening,
He understood what it meant,
He said to Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors:
“You famous warriors,
You skillful archers,
If you had killed the magpie when it came,
The raven would not have come,
If you had killed the raven when it came,
The giant bird would not have come!
This giant black bird,
With a body as big as the world,
Is a tale bearer come from far away,
It is a spy come to our land!
Shoot it in its silver head,
Shoot it in its golden chest,
Shoot off its two wings!..”
Thus Sargal Noyon commanded them,
Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors
Were frozen in fear and could not shoot,
They were terrified by the giant bird.
After this had happened
The giant black bird flapped its wings,
Turning back toward the distant east,
It soared away until it was just a speck
In the blue of the serene high heavens,
It flew away until it appeared as small as a nit.
When this had happened
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen said:
“Ai, what a pity!
I had sworn an oath
That women should not carry
A bow and quiver.
It would have been impossible for my arrow to miss
This spy that flies over the merciful earth!”
She took out her bow and arrows
And quickly loosed an arrow at
The bird with a body as big as the world.
When Alma Mergen shot her arrow
It left her thumb with great power,
It left her fingers with a great noise,
As it flew it made the eight levels of the upper world tremble,
As it thundered over the earth it made its seven layers shake,
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen said:
“I can feel it on my palms,
I can hear it in my ears,
Go and see what happened.”
She sent two strong warriors to have a look,
Abai Geser’s two mighty warriors quickly mounted their horses,
They rode following the path of the arrow shot.
One of the massive wings of the black bird
With a body as big as the world
Was shot off and lay in a field,
Abai Geser’s two strong warriors
Brought seventy wagons,
Hitched up seventy horses,
In order to bring back the one huge wing
Of the giant black bird.
After they had looked at it,
After they had talked about it,
Abai Geser’s uncle
Benevolent Sargal Noyon Khan
Blamed the thirty three warriors:
“In the most distant east,
There live the rulers of the valley of the yellow river,
The three Sharaidai khans.
These three khans have sworn a curse and oath,
They have opened the gate of jealousy and hatred,
They have opened the door of wrath and revenge.
This giant black bird
With a body as big as the world,
Is a tale bearer sent from far away,
It is a spy sent to our land,
What I had said was the truth.
It is a shame that my nephew Abai Geser is not here,
It is a pity that his wife Alma Mergen did not kill it,
It is amazing that thirty three warriors were naive and careless,
It is an insult that Sargal Noyon was thought to be senile and foolish!”
While he blamed them and spoke regretfully
The giant black bird with a body as big as the world
Was flying like ten thousand birds on the edge of the sky,
He was soaring on the lower edge of the heavens.
This having happened,
Sagaan Gerel Khan’s son Erhe Taija
Who was looking for a wife,
Who wanted to start a family,
Was giving up hope that he could call back the giant black bird,
He killed eight fat white sheep but the bird did not return,
He then started thinking stupid thoughts in his pinched chest,
He impaled one of his subjects on a stake and the bird returned,
The giant black bird with a body as big as the world,
Came and landed, his wings brushing the surface of the earth,
He stabbed his tubelike bill into the impaled man’s chest,
Sucking up and drinking up his red blood.
The three rulers of the valley of the yellow river,
The three Sharaidai khans,
Who had sent a spy into foreign lands,
Who had sent a spy into distant lands,
Let the giant black bird with a body as big as the world
Drink his fill of red human blood,
Then listened to the words he had to say,
The huge bird groomed his feathers as he spoke:
“I flew around the world three times,
I flew around the world four times,
I could not find a woman as beautiful as the waxing moon,
I could not find a woman as seductive as the stars of the night sky,
When this had happened
I went to the Muren River,
To the shores of the eternal lake,
To the Hatan River,
To the shores of the black lake.
When I came down to the earth,
In Abai Geser’s land of the larks,
I saw Abai Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon,
I have never seen a woman so beautiful,
I have never seen a maiden so pure,
Her right cheek outshines the western sky,
Her left cheek outshines the eastern sky,
Wherever her feet have trod green plants are growing,
Wherever she has walked young lambs are baaing.
When I watched her with my keen eyesight,
When I listened to her with my keen hearing,
Abai Geser’s uncle Sargal Noyon saw me,
He said to Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors:
“You did not kill the spotted magpie when it came,
So the black raven came afterwards,
You did not kill the black raven when it came,
So this giant black bird has come.
Shoot it in its silver head!
Shoot it in its golden breast!
Shoot off its two great wings!”
When Sargal Noyon shouted at them
I was afraid and wanted to save my life,
So I flew high up into the heavens
So that I appeared no larger than a nit,
When this happened one brave and skillful archer
Shot off one of my enormous wings.”
After he had recounted what had happened
The giant black bird said he was tired from the journey,
He wanted to rest for three years in the land of eternal cold,
On the shores of the eternally icy Arctic Ocean,
He wanted to rest and sleep for three years,
Having said this he winged his way up into the sky,
Disappearing in the Milky Way of the serene high heavens,
Going to the very edge of the world,
He flew to a very distant country…

When they had seen what had happened
The three Sharaidai khans spoke important words,
They made an important decision,
When they spoke it was as if they drove cattle and horses:
“This giant black bird with a body as big as the world
Is a monster out of a persistent nightmare,
It is a demon with twisted thoughts.
It will eat up all of our herds,
It will gobble up all of our households,”
Saying this Sagaan Gerel Khan
Gave his son Erhe Taija
A white rope made out of braided silk,
He took his right hand an commanded him:
“Sneak up to the shore of the sea of eternal ice,
Snare the black bird with a body as big as the world
With this white braided silk rope a thousand ells long,
Wind this rope around him as he is sleeping,
Tie him up well while he is lying down there,
Roll him into the water and sink him to the bottom
Of the cold ocean of eternal ice.”
Erhe Taija, the son of Sagaan Gerel Khan,
Followed the trail of the giant black bird,
His journey brought him to the eternally cold land,
On the border of the land of eternal cold
On the shore of the sea of eternal ice,
He found where the giant black bird lay sleeping.
He snared it with the white silk rope a thousand ells long,
Winding it around the bird while he was sleeping,
Knotting it up well while the giant bird lay there,
He rolled the giant black bird into the sea,
Sinking him to the bottom of the sea of eternal ice…

After this had happened,
The three Sharaidai khans made a decision
To go and steal Abai Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon.
They summoned many soldiers from their northern lands,
They mustered ten thousand soldiers from their southern lands,
Having done this,
They appointed malevolent Han Biruuza Noyon as their general,
They made bloodthirsty Buhe Sagaan Mangilai leader of the army,
They made quick preparations,
They made wise preparations,
They rode off to the Muren River,
They galloped toward the Hatan River,
The soldiers in front trod down green grass,
The soldiers in the middle walked on withered grass and earth,
The soldiers in the rear marched over bare gravel.
They looked like the trees of the forest,
They were as numerous as reeds,
The multitude of soldiers was like the black wind of spring,
The ten thousand soldiers were like a blizzard in winter.

When this had happened,
Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors
Knew what was happening,
They understood what it meant,
This great army from the distant east,
From the shores of the yellow lake,
From the beginning of the yellow river,
The army of the Sharaidai khans
Was like a swarm of maggots and ants,
Was like the trees of the forest,
Was like a thick stand of reeds,
Was like the waters of a flood,
Was like the winds on a mountain,
Saying that a frightful thing had come
The three hundred leaders of the army
And the three thousand soldiers
Quickly assembled together,
They made wise preparations.
This having happened,
Abai Geser’s two princely uncles
Rode out to meet their enemy.
They went out quickly
To do battle with their foe.
They went up to the slopes
Of the sandy Manhan mountain,
Benevolent Sargal Noyon Khan said:
“When we look at our whips
We are obligated to strike with them,”
And he brandished his whip,
“When we look at our bows
We have the power to bend them,”
And he pulled out his bow,
Pulling and testing the string.

When he had done this
Benevolent Sargal Noyon spoke further:
“My boys, my boys, my brave heroes,
Know this and promise to yourselves!
When we look at our whips
And intend to strike with them,
Let us strike harder than before,
When we look at our bows
And intend to bend them and shoot,
Let us shoot with greater skill than before.”
When he had spoken these words
Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors
Did not heed the advice of Sargal Noyon:
“Years are long,
Days and nights are many,
We will go into battle one by one,
Each of us earning a name for ourselves!
We will make noise when our hard steel swords are cutting,
We will hear the sound of our blades hitting white bone.”
They boasted, confident of their own strength,
They wanted to fight according to their old habits,
They trusted the abilities they has used before,
They sneered at the new ways of fighting
That Sargal Noyon had advised.

When this had happened,
The white oldest son of Buuluur Sagaan Tenger,
Buidan Ulaan Baatar,
Who rode a joroo horse that
Flew between heaven and earth,
Pulled the right rein of his steed,
He lashed him on the right side with his quirt,
He charged into battle
With the enemies that sprang to meet him,
When he loosed one arrow
From his strong thick bow
A thousand soldiers were destroyed,
A thousand troops were suppressed,
The next greatest warrior after him,
The youngest son of Sagaan Zayaan Tenger,
Burgii Shuumar Baatar,
Who rode a skinny bay horse
That could fly above the sun,
Pulled the left rein of his steed,
He lashed his horse with his quirt,
Galloping out to meet the army
Of the three Sharaidai khans,
Shooting down one enemy after another,
A thousand soldiers were destroyed,
A thousand troops were suppressed.
Geser’s third greatest warrior,
The white oldest son of Oyodol Sagaan Tenger,
Erjen Shuumar Baatar,
Who rode a horse as blue as the blue of the rainbow,
Pulled the right rein of his steed,
He lashed the sides of his horse,
Rushing out to meet the soldiers
That swarmed like maggots and ants,
When he loosed one arrow
From his star-white bow,
A thousand soldiers were destroyed,
A thousand troops were suppressed.
Geser’s fourth greatest warrior,
The youngest son of Budargii Sagaan Tenger,
Baga Buulen Baatar,
Took measure of what he saw,
He counted up what he saw,
Controlling the right side of his mouth,
Watching the left side of his mouth,
Smashing what was evil,
Breaking what was dark,
A thousand soldiers were destroyed,
A thousand troops were suppressed.
Geser’s fifth greatest warrior,
Who had fame as a great fighter,
Who was renowned as a skillful archer,
Neejer Emshen Baatar,
Who protected them from the weapons that were brandished,
Who shielded them from the arrows that were shot,
Lifted his hard steel sword knowing its sharpness,
Hewing them down like trees,
Mowing them down like reeds,
A thousand soldiers were destroyed,
A thousand troops were suppressed.
Geser’s sixth greatest warrior,
Who carried a heroic yellow bow,
Who was only fifteen years old,
Erhe Manzan Baatar,
Spurred on his blood red horse,
He loosed an arrow from his heroic yellow bow,
He rode to meet the soldiers
Of the three Sharaidai khans,
A thousand soldiers were destroyed,
A thousand troops were suppressed.
All of Geser’s nine great warriors
Entered battle one by one,
Shooting their arrows one by one.
They shot and destroyed thousands and thousands of soldiers,
They pursued and defeated thousand and thousands of troops.
When nine mighty warriors
Entered into battle one by one,
Loosed their arrows one by one,
Their arrowheads biting into their enemies,
Thousand and thousands of soldiers were cut off,
Thousands and thousands of troops were slain.
When nine wrathful warriors
Charged into the battle one by one,
Making their arrows fly one by one,
Thousands and thousands of soldiers were killed,
Thousands and thousands of troops were conquered.
When this was happening
Benevolent Sargal Noyon Khan
Mounted his mighty buckskin horse,
Loosing an arrow from his golden bow
Two thousand soldiers were swept away like dust,
Two thousand troops were laid waste.

When this was happening
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon said:
“I will go out to battle,
I will try to fight,”
He jumped on the back of his handsome grey stallion,
He strapped on his bow that was black as an ant,
When benevolent Sargal Noyon Khan saw this
He thought angry and hateful thoughts about his brother,
He said to Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors:
“Do not trust my brother Hara Zutan,
He has brought much trouble to our family,
He has put many of our relatives in danger.”

Some of Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors
Said it was time to retreat,
Some of Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors
Said it was time to stop fighting,
When the warriors were arguing among themselves,
When they were exchanging angry words,
Malevolent Hara Zutan added his own opinion.
He rode standing up in his stirrups,
He rode and attacked the enemy,
The army that swarmed like maggots and ants,
He hewed them down like trees,
He blew them down like a mountain wind,
He entered battle like a frightful giant.
When Hara Zutan saw the strength of the enemy,
His dark spotted heart pounded in his chest,
His eight short ribs shrunk in on themselves,
His breath escaped him in fright,
He forgot himself in his terror.
In the darkness of the night,
He went to attack the enemy’s horses,
Going on the path of thieves,
He went to steal their horses,
He cut loose a hundred horses from their tethers,
He drove a hundred horses before him…

When Han Biruuza Noyon
Saw what Hara Zutan was doing
He was very disgusted, saying:
“He who sneaks about at night,
Who drives away herds of horses,
Does not know the customs of good men,
He who goes on the path of thieves
Is like a poisonous demon.
Follow this thief stealthily,
Capture him and bring him back,”
He said this to two of his warriors,
Buhe Sagaan Mangilai and Zurgaadai Mergen,
Whom he sent to chase and capture the thief.
When the two strong warriors
Caught up with Hara Zutan,
Chasing him until his gait was shortened,
Chasing him until his horse slowed down,
When they had caught up with him
He was covered with sweat and dust.
Having nothing else to do,
Having no ability to escape,
He slipped off his grey stallion,
And crawled into a woodchuck hole
Out in a white field.
The two warriors gathered plants
That burned with a noxious smoke,
They gathered up cow chips
That burned with an acrid smoke,
And lit a fire to smoke him out.
When they had done this,
The smoke made Hara Zutan’s eyes burn,
The odor made him cough and choke,
Forgetting his own name and dignity
He staggered out to his pursuers…
This having happened
The two warriors of the Sharaidai khans
Stood there ready for Hara Zutan,
Hauling him out by the white hairs on his crown,
They threw him sprawling on the grass and pine needles.
Thinking he was about to be killed,
Malevolent Hara Zutan cried out:
“Save me!
People save the blood of a horse that is slaughtered,
People listen to the words of a man about to die!”
The two enemy warriors rolled him over with their boots,
He lay there crying licking the grass and dust.
Buhe Sagaan Mangilai and Zurgaadai Mergen said:
“If you are going to speak, speak!
If you are going to talk, say something!
If you do not we will tear your tongue out of your mouth!”
Thus they shouted at him menacingly.
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon,
Wanting to save his own life,
Thought nothing of his relatives.
Thinking evil thoughts he said:
“Save my life, you warriors!
Save my skin, you heroes!
I can speak deceitful words
And help you defeat my nephew!…
When my nephew Abai Geser
Is gone from his golden palace,
His thirty three warriors do not have the courage to fight with swords,
They do not have the backbone to fight with bow and arrows.
When their arrows are finished they shoot from their thumbs,
When their bows are broken they shoot with the string alone.
If you want to kill Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors
You will have to resort to using deceit.
Give me a hundred horses exhausted from fighting,
Give me a hundred horses injured in battle,
When I leave you I will swear an oath,
I will deceive the thirty three warriors in three ways:
I will say that the army of the three Sharaidai khans has retreated,
That they were too worn out to take these tired horses,
When I show them the horses I can trick and deceive them.”
Hara Zutan thought little of the lives and happiness of the people,
Remembering his hatred and jealousy toward Abai Geser
He plotted how to have revenge on his thirty three warriors:
“I will say to my nephew Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors
That good times have returned,
That it is time to gather up the bows and quivers,
That peaceful times have returned,
That it is time to put away the bows and arrows,
I will make them take off their armor and helmets,
I will take their bows and arrows from them with my own hands,
I will store away their weapons and armor,
I will pour out liquor and wine and get them all drunk.
Their skills having become blunted,
Their abilities having become lost,
Be waiting and ready for this time,
Come back to Geser’s home,
This is within my power to do,
I will open up the gate to meet you,”
Being degraded by his evil thoughts
Hara Zutan bowed and scraped before them.
The two strong warriors of the Sharaidai khans
Picked up Hara Zutan Noyon by his ears,
Bringing him before their leader Han Biruuza,
They struck him to make Hara Zutan bow.
When malevolent Hara Zutan
Came before Han Biruuza Noyon,
He told what he had said to the two strong warriors,
He explained his dark and evil thoughts:
“I will deceive Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors in three ways!
I will make them weak with liquor and wine,
I will make them senseless with arza and horza,
Give me a hundred of your worst horses to drive back,
I will go back and say that I had stolen them from you,
I will say that the Sharaidai khans made a hasty retreat,
I will say that I killed a hundred soldiers riding the hundred horses.
I will say to my nephew’s thirty three soldiers that good times have returned,
I will serve meat and fat in portions as big as a hill,
I will pour out liquor and wine in portions like a lake.
Come to them after I have done this,
Defeat them when they are too drunk to fight.
When my benevolent older brother Sargal Noyon
Looks for proof in his yellow book of fate
It will say you have turned around and gone home,
It will say that you have put away your weapons.
If this happens,
If he has nothing to doubt or worry about,
He will go to bed with peace of mind…”
Hara Zutan lay bowing and scraping before him,
Han Biruuza Noyon of the three Sharaidai khans’ army
Listened to the words of malevolent Hara Zutan, saying:
“What you say is right,
What you suggest is possible to do.
Do according to what you promised,
Do according to what you said.”
He sent his two strong warriors away,
He gave Hara Zutan a hundred horses,
The horses most exhausted from fighting,
The horses most pitifully injured in battle,
A hundred of the worst horses,
A hundred animals like shadows of horses,
A hundred horses whose legs were shuffling,
A hundred horses whose noses were dragging on the ground,
Animals barely able to make the trip back to Geser’s home.
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Said to his nephew Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors:
“My great and famous warriors,
My renowned and skillful archers!
Good times have returned–
Gather up your bows and arrows!
Peaceful times have returned–
Put away your bows and quivers!
The lords of the valley of the yellow river,
The three Sharaidai khans,
Have lost their strength and ability,
They have made a quick retreat.
Their horses were too tired,
So they ran away on foot,
Their bows and arrows were broken,
They left them lying on the battlefield!
Put away your bows and arrows,
Put your weapons in your chests,
Put your horses out to pasture,
Be drinking liquor and wine!”
He shouted to them,
Speaking his evil thoughts.
When this had happened
Benevolent Sargal Noyon Khan
Listened to the words of his brother Hara Zutan,
Many thoughts were stirring in his mind,
He spoke many words to himself.
He said to his nephew Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors:
“The trotting of a black dog is not considered trotting,
The words of Hara Zutan cannot be considered true.
The lords of the valley of the yellow river,
The three Sharaidai khans,
When they have opened the gate of war
Are very dangerous demons,
They do not turn away so easily,
They have not gone home.
Your naiveté is shameful,
Your carelessness is wrong.”
When he had said this
Malevolent Hara Zutan acted very offended,
He spoke flatteringly acting as if he were sad:
“If you cannot believe the words that I say,
Go look in your yellow book of fate.”
He cried and carried on,
So benevolent Sargal Noyon
Opened up his yellow book of fate,
Reading and testing what had been said:
It said that the three Sharaidai khans
Had turned around and headed for home,
They had put away their weapons and left,
Heading for the most distant east,
For the land of the yellow lake.
When he read they had gathered and departed
Sargal Noyon was very astonished…
When they had heard this
Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors said:
“Now that the three Sharaidai khans have fled,
Now that they have returned to the land of the yellow river,
We are not going to shoot our bows for no reason,
We are not going to tire our horses in an empty place,
Let us go home and drink yogurt and airag,
Let us go back and dust the dirt off our clothing!”
They made a great noise and hubbub,
Benevolent Sargal Noyon Khan
Was very surprised,
He was most astonished.
His mind stirred with doubtful thoughts,
His heart was full of disbelief.
This having happened
He said to his nephew Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors:
“The darkness of men’s hearts never ends,
The darkness of the night ends with dawn,
If we go home now
We are being naive and careless.”
In spite of what benevolent Sargal Noyon Khan had said,
His nephew’s thirty three warriors returned to their homes.
They came to the door of Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen, saying:
“The three Sharaidai khans have made a quick retreat,
Good times have returned,
We will gather up our bows and arrows,
Peaceful times have returned,
We will put away our bows and quivers!”
Alma Mergen called the people from north and south,
She served meat and fat in portions as big as a hill,
She poured out liquor and wine in portions as big as a lake.
They made a party that lasted for eight days,
On the ninth day they drank and talked.
Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors
Drank liquor and became confused,
Smoked their pipes and were intoxicated.
Benevolent Sargal Noyon Khan
Rebuked his nephew’s thirty three warriors:
“My boys, my boys, don’t be doing this!”
He failed when he tried to forbid them:
“Ladies, ladies, stop doing this!”
His warning and nagging did no good.
Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors
Gulped down liquor by the bucketful,
They gobbled up great quantities of food,
They became drunk and red in the face,
They lost their senses and became like idiots…
When this was happening
Benevolent Sargal Noyon’s mind was full of doubt,
His red heart was troubled with worrisome thoughts.
He sent fifteen year old Erhe Manzan Baatar
To look out from the green slopes
Of the sandy Manhan mountain.
Fifteen year old Erhe Manzan Baatar
Rode his blood red horse swiftly,
He came to the green forested slopes
Of the sandy Manhan mountain,
He looked out from that high place,
When he gazed from the mountain,
The army of the three Sharaidai khans
Was swarming like maggots and ants,
Marching on the warpath
At the foot of the sandy Manhan mountain,
When he saw what was happening
Erhe Manzan’s red heart pounded in his chest,
He urged his blood red horse to fly like a hawk,
He loosed an arrow from his heroic yellow bow,
His shot destroyed a thousand soldiers,
His arrow killed a thousand troops.
He charged down the mountain,
He galloped toward Geser’s home.
When this happened
The leader of the army of the Sharaidai khans,
Han Biruuza Noyon,
Pointed up at Erhe Manzan Baatar, saying:
“We are being attacked by a drunken man,
Hurry on up there and seize him!”
He sent Buhe Sagaan Mangilai and Zurgaadai Mergen,
The two warriors came to Erhe Manzan Baatar,
They caught up with him on the peak of the Manhan mountain,
They rode beside him so close their stirrups rubbed together,
They stood so close to him that the tips of their spears crossed.
When this had happened
Buhe Sagaan Mangilai and Zurgaadai Mergen
Said to Erhe Manzan Baatar:
“A person who covets another man’s treasure
Will never have enough to be satisfied,
Whose son are you,
What are you the son of?…
What kind of man are you to rob
The treasure of his own parents?
Why do you climb the Manhan mountain
And yell and shout from its peak?”
Thus they shouted and tried to intimidate him.
When this had happened
Fifteen year old Erhe Manzan Baatar
Tried to humor the two enemy warriors:
“Have you gone on the warpath
Have you gone on the road to battle
For the sake of our fathers’ treasure?”
When he had said this
Buhe Sagaan Mangilai used black deceit,
He used evil trickery on the young warrior:
“If you are a good man,
How smart are you?
What is the meaning of those seven ravens
That are flying by with their mouths open?”
When Buhe Sagaan Mangilai pointed with his finger,
Innocent Erhe Manzan Baatar looked away
In the direction in which he had pointed.
At the very moment he looked away
Zurgaadai Mergen shot Erhe Manzan Baatar,
The arrow went in one armpit and came out the other.
The two warriors of the Sharaidai khans rode away,
Abai Geser’s warrior Erhe Manzan Baatar
Pulled out his enemy’s black arrow from his body,
He said to his enemy’s black arrow:
“If you are a straight and black arrow,
You will be able to recognize your owner!”
He nocked the black arrow on his heroic yellow bow,
He spoke these words over the arrowhead:
“Go and pierce the deep black chest
Of Zurgaadai Mergen Baatar!”
And he shot the arrow after the fleeing warriors.
When the arrow struck Zurgaadai Mergen,
He fell from his horse onto the ground,
Blood flowing from his mouth and nose.
Erhe Manzan Baatar shot a rock as big as a foal,
That stood in front of him,
He used a fragment of the broken rock
To block the wound in his right armpit.
He then shot another rock as big as a sheep,
That stood behind him,
He used a piece of the shattered rock
To block the wound in his left armpit.
He took his gold and silver sash that was ten ells long,
Winding it under his arms to stop the flow of blood.
He climbed back on his blood red horse,
He made it gallop back toward his home,
The warrior’s blood made the blood red horse redder,
The warrior’s blood made the vermilion saddle turn black.
Trotting at a gentle pace he was scarcely able to ride,
When he saw a spotted magpie he was scarcely able to talk:
“Go to Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors,
To his three hundred leaders of the army,
To his three thousand solders,
Go tell them as fast as you can!
The army of the three Sharaidai khans
Are swarming like maggots and ants,
They are marching at the foot
Of the sandy Manhan mountain.

Your Erhe Manzan Baatar,
Having been naive and careless,
Was shot through his two armpits,
He lies on the north side
Of the sandy Manhan mountain,
Barely hanging onto life,
Bleeding to death!
Go meet the demonic enemy in battle,
Send Neeher Emshen Baatar to me quickly.”
When Erhe Manzan Baatar had said this
The brown spotted magpie said:
“I am not able to help you,
I am about to lay eggs,
I am gathering twigs for my nest.”
The bird flew away and disappeared in the forest.
After this had happened a black raven came,
Flying in circles above Erhe Manzan Baatar.
The warrior had become faint and weak,
He could repeat only half of his message:
“Go to Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers,
Make them understand this well!
The army of the three Sharaidai khans
Is swarming like maggots and ants,
They are marching at the foot
Of the sandy Manhan mountain!
Go and meet the demonic enemy in battle!
Erhe Manzan Baatar sends this message!…”
He lay on the ground as he spoke.
The black raven cawed and croaked,
He flew as fast as he could,
He flew as wisely as he could,
He landed at the gate of Abai Geser’s palace,
He called out the thirty three warriors:
“Erhe Manzan Baatar fought like a man
On the green slopes of the sandy Manhan mountain,
He was deceived and was shot through the armpits,
Send Neeher Emshen Baatar to him right away,
It is time for brave warriors to go help him!
The army of the three Sharaidai khans
Is swarming like ants and maggots,
They are marching on the green slopes
Of the sandy Manhan mountain!
Go meet the demonic enemy in battle!
Go to save and protect this golden land!”
Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers,
Were all drunk and red in the face,
Staggering and leaning on each other for support,
Walking around on bare feet,
They went up to the sandy Manhan mountain,
They met their enemy in a field of red thyme,
Their power and courage in their red blood,
Bones and flesh piled up,
Blood flowed in streams,
Black dust was swirling!
Ravens came from the south for their evening meal,
Ravens came from the north for their food for the night.
After this had happened,
The army of the three Sharaidai khans,
That swarmed like maggots and ants,
Came to the shores of the black lake,
To the shores of the Hatan River,
They surrounded the home of Abai Geser.
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen,
Changed herself into Abai Geser,
Going out to meet the evil enemy
She shot arrows again and again,
Making a gap in the enemy forces,
She shot arrows again and again,
Making a breach in the enemy line.
The three Sharaidai khans made a commotion:
“It was a lie when we were told Geser was not home!
Abai Geser must have come back from hunting…”
They were very offended,
They were filled with regret.
They turned around and headed for their homes,
They turned around and rode toward their native land.
When malevolent Hara Zutan saw this happen,
Dark thoughts began to boil in his mind,
Evil thoughts were bubbling in his heart…
When this had happened
He caught his handsome grey horse
And got on its back and rode,
Going to catch up with the Sharaidai khans.
Chasing the army from behind,
His hoofbeats pounding the road,
Shouting after the retreating soldiers.
When Han Biruuza Noyon heard Hara Zutan
The white hairs bristled on the crown of his head,
His white teeth ground inside his mouth.
He turned around and yelled at Hara Zutan angrily:
“You said Abai Geser was away from home,
You did not say he had come back,
You play evil tricks and my soldiers die,
You are some kind of hateful demon?!”
He was very angry,
His mouth gaped in fury,
He grabbed Hara Zutan under his arms and squeezed,
So that his heart and lungs were coming out of his mouth.
Hara Zutan started screaming,
He begged him for mercy, saying:
“Ow! Ow! That hurts!
Why are you doing this?!
You are making a big mistake!
That was not Abai Geser,
It was his wife Alma Mergen,
She has deceived you,
She has tricked you!
A barren mare is tricky,
A woman will get tired,
When she runs out of arrows,
She will be like a bird without feathers,
She will be like any other woman!”
He lay before him bowing and scraping.

When Han Biruuza Noyon had heard this
He spared the life of Hara Zutan Noyon,
He once more went into battle.
He surrounded Alma Mergen’s house
With three rings of soldiers,
He attacked her from three directions.
There were so many soldiers attacking
That they darkened the heavens,
There were so many soldiers attacking
That they turned the earth black.
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Once more turned herself into Geser,
She shot arrow after arrow,
Making a hole in their line,
She shot arrow after arrow,
Making a breach in their line.
The army of the Sharaidai khans
Swarmed like maggots and ants,
As numerous as blades of grass,
As numerous as a stand of reeds,
They attacked in wave after wave.
When this had happened
Alma Mergen ran out of arrows,
It was time for her to be captured by the enemy soldiers.
When this had happened
She gathered up thirteen magicks on her palms,
She made twenty three magicks dance on her fingers,
She flew up out of the north side of the palace,
She went back to the land of her father Uha Loson.

The army of the lords of the yellow river,
The soldiers of the three Sharaidai khans,
Who swarmed like maggots and ants,
Seeing that Alma Mergen had escaped,
Followed the course of the Hatan River,
Coming to the palace of Urmai Goohon.
When the demonic enemy attacked,
When the battle had begun,
They found Urmai Goohon was ready for them.
She stood holding Abai Geser’s hard steel sword,
She stood on the granite and silver threshold to meet them.
The hard steel sword made a noise as it cut flesh,
The silvery steel sword rang when it cut white bone.
Slicing through the necks of those who came on foot,
Striking off the heads of those who came on horseback…
When was happening,
The son of Sagaan Gerel Khan, Erhe Taija,
Rolled up his two sleeves above his elbows,
He tucked the skirts of his deel above his waist,
He ran charging at Urmai Goohon from the front,
When the son of Sagaan Gerel Khan came near,
Urmai Goohon sliced through Erhe Taija’s neck
Urmai Goohon struck off Erhe Taija’s head.
When this had happened,
When the three Sharaidai khans learned of this,
Their strength and courage was gone,
When they heard that their son was beheaded
They were filled with regret.
They had no more desire to continue the battle,
They lost their courage when the reason for the war was gone,
They regretted what they had done,
They pitied themselves for their mistake,
They turned around and headed for home,
They fled and rode back to their own land.
When he saw this happening
Malevolent Hara Zutan once more got on his stallion,
Catching up with the enemy soldiers
He stopped on the road before them.
He prostrated himself before Han Biruuza and said:
“What a fool you are,
How short-sighted you are,
You run away because you were defeated by a woman?
You flee because you were outdone in your deceit?
A barren mare is tricky,
A woman will get tired!
Make a decision for yourself!
Think about this well!
If you attack all as one group you will be killed,
If you attack from two sides you can capture her.”
When Hara Zutan Noyon had given this advice,
The army of the Sharaidai khans turned around again,
They attacked Urmai Goohon as he had suggested,
When they had finally captured her
They were very excited,
They rejoiced very much.
They put her in a silver cart drawn by three joroo horses,
They grabbed her by her arms and forced her to ride in it.
They then rode on their way back to their own land.
When Abai Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon,
Who was as beautiful as the red sun,
Had fallen into the enemies’ hands,
Had been tied onto their saddle thongs,
She cried out and lamented:
“What has happened when Abai Geser rode out on the hunt,
What has happened when Sargal Noyon is bent and old,
What has happened when Hara Zutan has evil thoughts,
What has happened when thirty three warriors were drunk,
What has happened when the three Sharaidai khans have so many soldiers,
What has happened when Urmai Goohon has remained so pure?..”
She was crying and mourning,
While she was going on her journey.
When this had happened,
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Was very afraid of the thirty three warriors,
Was terrified of his benevolent brother Sargal Noyon,
Being so consumed by fear
He cried out to the Sharaidai khans to assist him,
He shouted to them to help him, saying:
“Now that you have gotten what you wanted,
Will you not think of who made it possible,
Will you forget the past and future,
And go mindlessly back to your homes?
What foolish people you are,
What short sighted people you are!…
Do you think you have killed
Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors?
As long as benevolent Sargal Noyon is alive
If Abai Geser’s warriors are killed in one day
He can resurrect them on the following day!
They will go out again to fight their evil enemy!
When we were doing what we have done
My older brother benevolent Sargal Noyon
Lay hiding by the white reedy lake.
Send a strong warrior to sneak up on him,
Send him to the white reedy lake,
To shoot him with an arrow and kill him!”
Speaking evil jealous words,
He was disgracing himself,
The leader of the army
Of the three Sharaidai khans,
Han Biruuza Noyon,
Said to Buhe Sagaan Mangilai:
“Abai Geser’s uncle Sargal Noyon
Is hiding at the white reedy lake;
Sneak up on him and shoot him,
Strike off his black round head,
Hang it on your lovely steed and come back!”
He sent the warrior on this errand.

Buhe Sagaan Mangilai took his bow and arrows,
He rode stealthily to the white reedy lake.
He shot Sargal Noyon as he hid in the reeds,
He shot Abai Geser’s uncle in the head,
He struck off the old man’s head with his sword,
He made his poor black head into a ball,
He turned his two arms into whips.

When she had seen what had happened,
Abai Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon,
Who was as lovely as the red sun said:
“Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon,
Who thinks jealous and dark thoughts,
Will disgrace himself in his wickedness,”
She looked up and cried,
She looked down and was very sad.

When this had happened she said:
“You have taken me alone from my home,
You have stolen me away from my relatives,
Give me my husband’s uncle’s head,
Do not argue with my request.”
She begged the three Sharaidai khans,
Bowing to them and asking for their favor.
Some of the Sharaidai khans’ people
Said that they should give it to her,
Some of the Sharaidai khans’ people
Said that they should not let her have it.
Han Biruuza Noyon thought that
Since they had decisively defeated him
He believed there was no harm in giving it:
“Why not let her have that ugly thing,
We have tied her onto our saddle thongs,
Where can she escape to,
Where can she run off to?”
He gave Urmai Goohon
Sargal Noyon’s head
Covered with whitish grey hair,
He gave it to Urmai Goohon
To be her friend on the journey.
Abai Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon,
Who was as beautiful as the red sun,
Took Sargal Noyon Khan’s head,
She washed it in the arshaan of nine springs,
She smudged it with the thyme of nine mountains.
When she had done this she said:
“Go to the fifty five tenger of the west,
Go to her who swaddled a thousand white gods,
Go to her who raised up ten thousand tenger,
Go to her who protects a thousand gods,
Go to her who supports ten thousand tenger,
Go to her with the silver cup,
Go to Manzan Gurme Toodei,
Land on top of her chest!…”
When she had said these words,
She threw Sargal Noyon’s head into the sky,
The head purified by the waters of nine springs,
The head smudged with the thyme of nine mountains,
Sargal Noyon’s handsome round head
Flew upwards into the heavens,
It was flying with a great noise.
When the three Sharaidai khans saw what had happened
The most skillful of their archers could not shoot it,
The most quick of their archers could not hit it.
The whitish grey head
Of benevolent Sargal Noyon
Flew upwards into the sky,
Passing the thirteen layers of the heavens
It came to her who protects a thousand gods,
She who supports ten thousand tenger,
She who has the great silver cup,
Grandmother Manzan Gurme Toodei–
It fell rolling on the breast of her deel.
When she had seen what had happened,
Manzan Gurme Toodei of the silver cup
Was choked up in her throat,
She slapped her two shins,
She was very surprised,
She was very astonished,
When this had happened
She opened the great book with her thumb,
Reading it from its very beginning,
Looking at everything up to the most recent time,
Reading the book of fate from its roots,
Researching it up to its growing tips,
When she read she saw that
In the valley of the Muren River,
By the shores of the eternal lake,
In the valley of the Hatan River,
By the shores of the black lake,
Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors,
Fought in the fields of red thyme
At the foot of the sandy Manhan mountain,
Until blood was flowing in streams,
Until flesh and bones were piled up,
They had become figures of stone,
They could be seen lying there.
During the time when Abai Geser was hunting,
The Sharaidai khans who ruled the yellow river
Opened the door of war and went on the warpath,
They had gone to steal and abduct Urmai Goohon
Who was as beautiful as the red sun.
The goddess who had the silver cup,
Grandmother Manzan Gurme Toodei,
Called for Geser’s three pretty older sisters,
She sent them quickly down to the earth.
When the three older sisters came down to the earth
They took on the form of three ongoli birds.
They pursued and found their brother
Hunting among the ridges of the Altai Mountains,
They met him in the twenty three ranges of the Huhii taiga.
When they met and embraced their brother Abai Geser
They explained everything that happened from the beginning,
They told him all that happened up to the most recent time.
Explaining what had happened from the beginning,
They told him what had happened to the present:
“The three Sharaidai khans that rule the yellow river,
Have gone on the warpath and gone on the road to battle,
Your thirty three warriors,
Your three hundred leaders of the army,
Your three thousand soldiers,
Lie on the fields of red thyme
Below the green slopes
Of the sandy Manhan mountain,
Their blood flowed in streams,
They have turned into stone statues.
Your wife Urmai Goohon
Who is beautiful as the red sun,
Fought bravely in battle,
She has been taken as plunder;
Your wife Alma Mergen
Who is beautiful like the golden sun,
Being defeated in battle
Returned to the kingdom
Of her father Uha Loson.
The warrior Buhe Sagaan Mangilai
Of the three Sharaidai khans
Struck off the head of your uncle Sargal Noyon,
He hung his round head as an ornament on his horse.
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Has jealously allied himself with the enemy,
He has disgraced himself with his treachery.
The lords of the valley of the yellow river,
The three Sharaidai khans,
Have brought danger to your golden land,
Piling up heaps of bones,
Pouring out streams of blood.
They will kill your subjects with hunger and thirst,
They will kill your herds with plague and anthrax.”
When they had said these things
Geser’s three pretty older sisters
Flew up into the sky,
They returned to the upper world…

When Abai Geser had heard what had happened,
He looked up and cried,
He looked down and was sad.
The tears from his right eye flowed into Baikal,
The tears from his left eye flowed into the Lena River.
When this had happened
He mounted Beligen the bay horse,
The steed mighty in body,
The horse with wisdom in his bones,
He pulled on the right rein,
He left the ten ranges of the Altai Mountains,
He rode toward his home,
He left the twenty ranges of the Huhii taiga,
He galloped toward his native land.
When he rode at a gentle pace
His horse left tracks as big as cups,
When he rode very quickly
His horse left a trail like a trench.
They flew just above the fluffy white clouds,
They flew just below the edge of the blue sky,
They were flying like the eagle,
They were soaring like the hawk,
They landed on the slopes of the sandy Manhan mountain,
They looked sadly on the site of the recent battle.
They looked with regret at where their friends had died…
When this had happened
Geser’s father Sengelen Noyon,
Who had accompanied his son in his travels,
Came up on the slopes of the sandy Manhan mountain.
When Geser came to the fields of red thyme
On the slopes of the sandy Manhan mountain,
He saw his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
His three thousand soldiers,
Turned into stone statues.
When he had seen them,
When he had embraced them,
Abai Geser’s heart pounded in his chest,
His white tendons were twitching.
When he looked down he was weeping,
When he looked up he was crestfallen.
When he was hugging the stone figures
Of two of his fallen warriors in that place
He fell to the ground unconscious…
Abai Geser’s father Sengelen Noyon
Was very greatly frightened,
He did not know what to do.
He thought very much about what to do,
He spoke many words to himself.
Swearing to rescue and do ariulga for Geser
He gathered the herb called the blue beard of heaven,
He smudged his son so he would be cleansed.
When Abai Geser’s amin once again entered his body
He went to resurrect his thirty three warriors,
Restoring their gol to their bodies,
He made his three hundred leaders of the army rise up,
He made his three thousand soldiers like they were before.

Abai Geser greeted his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
His three thousand soldiers,
Embracing them one by one,
Meeting them one by one.
They rejoiced very much,
They were very excited.
When this had happened
Abai Geser went to the house
Of his father Sengelen Noyon,
Followed by his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand warriors.
He met and embraced his two wives,
Alma Mergen and Tumen Jargalan.

When this had happened
Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers,
Went looking to shoot Hara Zutan Noyon,
They wasted arrows shooting when they saw him,
Saying that they were jealous and angry,
Chasing him for revenge and for their wrath,
They went out riding their horses,
They went taking staves to beat him.
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Knew what was happening,
Knew what it meant,
Having lost hope he tried to ride away,
Having lost self respect he was ready to be caught,
Having lost his abilities he was trying to run away.
When this had happened
He went quickly to his nephew Abai Geser saying:
“Save my life and old age,
Save my skin and flesh.”
He prostrated himself and begged,
He lay crying and carrying on in their midst.
Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of his army,
And his three thousand soldiers
Came in pursuit of Hara Zutan,
They said to Abai Geser:
“Where did Hara Zutan run off to?”
They looked for him inside the houses,
They were unable to find him,
They looked in the rivers and lakes,
The could not see him,
When they could not find malevolent Hara Zutan
They became very angry,
They gaped their mouths in fury.
They said to Abai Geser:
“You save him when we want to kill him,
You forgive him when he ought to die!
If you try to rescue Hara Zutan Noyon
We will attack you with our yellow steel knives!”
Thirty three warriors were ready to fight with Geser.
Abai Geser opened up his right hand and showed them,
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon had become tiny,
So small he hid in the shadow of Geser’s little finger,
So tiny that they could hardly see him,
With snot and drool running from his nose and mouth,
He was bowing and scraping begging for mercy.
Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers
Ground their teeth in their anger,
Their bodies trembled with fury,
Unable to cut off Abai Geser’s little finger
They swore and cursed Hara Zutan Noyon…
At the moment when the thirty three warriors came in,
When Hara Zutan was sitting on the palm of Geser’s hand,
The malevolent prince was talking and dusting off his tobacco pouch,
When he could not talk from fear he was bowing and scraping.
He knew he was about to depart from the golden world,
He was still thinking evil and deceitful thoughts,
He realized that he was about to die…
Abai Geser said to his uncle Hara Zutan
That his evil deceit had come to an end,
That he would go up to a place suitable to him,
That he would go to the place that he deserved,
He then sent Hara Zutan on his way.
The tea that Hara Zutan was drinking drooled from his mouth,
The smoke that he drew from his pipe escaped from his lips.
Malevolent Hara Zutan curled up next to the western wall,
He lay on the ground dead, his body twisted and contorted:
One eye was squinting,
One eye was open,
One arm was stretched out,
One arm was bent,
One leg was stretched out,
One leg was bent,
When he lay there dead
His body was twisted and bent.

Abai Geser then said:
“My uncle Hara Zutan Noyon,
Why do you die so badly?
If a person dies with his eyes open
It is bad luck for his children.
I will block up the eye that will not close
With ashes and dirt.”
He reached into the gulamta
And took a handful of ashes,
He closed the eye that was squinting,
He blocked up the eye that was open.
When Abai Geser looked at the arm
That was stretched out he said:
“My uncle Hara Zutan Noyon,
Why do you die so badly?
If a person dies with his arm stretched out
It is bad luck for his family and children.
I will cut the tendons in your arm
And bent it onto your chest.”
He took out his yellow steel knife
Cutting the tendons in Hara Zutan’s arm and leg,
He bent the arm that was stretched out,
He straightened the leg that was bent.
When he had done this Geser said:
“Well, now Hara Zutan has died
As a man ought to die,
He lies as a man should lie.
We have sent him to a place suitable for him,
We have sent him to the place he deserves.”
He hitched Hara Zutan’s grey stallion to a sled,
Harnessing two brown horses on either side of him,
He drove the sled to a clearing in the taiga,
In the shadow of five big pine trees.
He put him there in accordance with custom,
He laid him there according to tradition.
When he had done this
He gathered up stumps and brush,
He gathered big and small trees,
He piled them up around Hara Zutan’s body,
He lit the funeral pyre in four places.
When he had done this
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Jumped out of the fire shouting “Ow! Ow!”
Abai Geser grabbed Hara Zutan
By the front of his clothing, saying:
“When a dead man comes back to life
It is bad luck for his children!”
He then threw him back into the red flames.
Malevolent Hara Zutan was completely scorched,
He once again jumped out of the fire.
Abai Geser seized him again saying:
“A man who lives a second time
Is bad luck for his household!”
He threw him back in the fire to burn.
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Twisted and curled up in the flames,
He jumped out of the fire once more.
Abai Geser grabbed him again,
Malevolent Hara Zutan said to his nephew:
“From this time onward I will stop making trouble,”
He ran away quickly and got his horse,
He then prostrated himself before Geser.
Abai Geser said to his uncle:
“If you do not stop as you promised,
I will throw you in the fire again.”
Thus he threatened to kill Hara Zutan
A final time if he did not behave.

After this had happened
Abai Geser returned to his home,
They brought him a golden table
And served him delicious food,
He drank milk liquor
Until he was red in the face.
He recalled what had happened from its very roots,
He pondered what had happened to the most recent time,
He sat there and said to his companions:
“What father’s son steals and then runs away?
What mother’s son steals and lives with his plunder?!”
Anger and bile boiled inside him,
His red heart pounded in his chest,
He white tendons twitched in his shins.
When this had happened
He decided to rescue Urmai Goohon
Who was as beautiful as the red sun,
He prepared to go to battle
With the three Sharaidai khans.
When he did this
He prepared Beligen the bay horse,
The steed mighty in body
With wisdom in his bones.
He lay a silk-edged saddle blanket on his back,
He lay on a silver chased saddle,
He put a silver crupper over his hips
That would not let the saddle slip forward on the steepest slope,
He lay silver breast straps over his shoulders
That would not let the saddle slip backward on the steepest slope,
He adjusted a girth of ten straps
That would not come loose for ten years,
He tightened a girth of twenty straps
That would not come loose for twenty years,
He tied the lovely reins to the saddle horn,
He tethered his horse at the silver hitching post.
When he had finished he said:
“Now that I have prepared my horse
I will prepare my body!”
He pulled on his black pants
Sewn from the hides of seventy deer,
He tugged on his black fishskin boots,
He pulled on his fine silk deel
That he always wore in battle,
He buttoned its seventy brass buttons
With the strength of his thumbs.
He turned around dusting off dirt and trash from his clothing,
He dressed and brushed off dust and dirt from his clothing,
He took his sash that was ten ells long,
That was decorated with gold and silver,
He wound it tightly around his waist.
He put black iron armor over his back,
That could not be penetrated by seven days of rain,
That could not be pierced by seventy arrows,
He strapped his hard silvery sword on his left side,
The blade that could not be scratched by the hardest white bone,
The sword that would not be melted by the hottest black blood,
He hung his broad silver bowcase on his left side,
He hung his silver decorated quiver on his left side,
He put his heroic yellow bow of seventy laminations in its case,
He put seventy five arrows in his quiver,
He put ninety five arrows in his quiver,
So that they would be of help in the cold of winter,
So that they would be like shade in the heat of summer.
He put silver armor like wings over his shoulders,
He put forged iron armor over his breast,
He put his mink fur hat on his head,
That was as big as a haystack,
That was decorated with broad tassels;
He hung his helmet of silvery steel behind his head.
He put armor on his chest
So he could not be defeated by arrows,
He put armor on his back
So he could not be conquered by bladed weapons.
He was shining like the sun,
He was rustling like a tree in full leaf.
After he had done this
He melted spider oil in his mouth
So he would not be hungry for ten years,
He anointed his nose with worm oil
So he would not be hungry for twenty years.
When he was finished
He opened the massive pearly door in a beautiful way,
He stepped over the granite threshold in a pure way.
He walked without stumbling over the silver steps
That a mare and her foal could run on,
He walked without erring over the silver walkway
That a mare and her colt could run on.
He came to the silver hitching post with eighty rings,
He pulled loose the red reins of his horse,
He spoke a blessing over Beligen the bay horse,
The horse mighty in body,
With wisdom in his bones,
Geser spoke magic words over his rump,
So that he became like a foal,
He spoke magic words over his shoulders,
So that he became like a colt.
After he had done this
He took the lovely reins in his right hand,
He put his foot into a massive silver stirrup,
He swung into his silver decorated saddle.
He pulled the right rein of Beligen the bay horse,
He turned his steed in the direction of the sun,
He rode off to rescue his wife Urmai Goohon,
Who was as beautiful as the red sun.
While he was riding Abai Geser said:
“My heroic yellow bow of seventy laminations
Will not break when I am in battle,
My golden arrows that cut in forty ways,
My arrowheads with four blades will not miss their mark,
My blade that is eight ells long,
With magic in its steel and magic words inscribed on its hilt,
Will not have a chance to become rusty!”
While he said these words
Abai Geser headed toward the lands of the distant east,
He traveled in the direction of the land of the yellow river.
When he traveled on the khan’s straight road,
The trotting of his horse was like thunder,
When he rode over the people’s broad road,
The hoofbeats of his steed struck sparks.
He trotted over the peaks of mountains,
He galloped over the treetops.
He passed the border of his nurturing native land,
He crossed the border of a strange foreign land.
After this had happened
He pulled the reins of his horse and stopped
Next to a red pine out on a white field.
Abai Geser gathered twelve magicks on his palms,
He made twenty three magicks dance on his fingers:
He turned Beligen the bay horse into a brownish colt,
With a saddle blanket of burlap and a rawhide saddle.
He turned himself into an old man with brownish skin,
With a deel full of holes and white hair like spikes.
When Abai Geser became an old man riding a brownish colt
He rode onwards from there,
Even if his destination was far he continued,
Even if the rivers were wide he crossed and rode on.

This having happened,
The lords of the valley of the yellow river,
The three Sharaidai khans,
Those evil beings mighty in magic,
Those demons of great sorcerous power,
Had erected a barrier blocking the road,
So that nothing could go through above,
So that nothing could pass through below,
Two stony mountain cliffs clashed together
Like the gnashing of great black teeth,
Like the smacking of giant red lips.
So that winged creatures could not fly past,
So that hoofed animals could not pass through.
Sucking in and chewing up
As they opened and closed
Again and again.
When Abai Geser came to the two mountains blocking his way
He turned his brownish colt into a flint and put it in his pocket.
He dug down below the two mountains,
He severed and broke their roots,
The barrier erected by the Sharaidai khans
Broke and came tumbling down,
Opening a pass through which he could travel.
This having happened
Abai Geser traveled in the form of an old man
Supporting himself with a wooden staff,
He went through the mountain pass,
He went beyond the two mountains,
He neared the homes of the three Sharaidai khans,
He went to sleep by a bubbling spring on the side of the road.
When this had happened
The seventy three daughters of the Sharaidai khans
Came to draw water from the bubbling spring,
Seventy two girls disrespected the old man and stepped over him,
The seventy third girl scolded them, saying:
“You violate the customs of women
By stepping over the old man,”
Then she walked around him according to women’s custom.
The brown old man awoke and asked the seventy third daughter:
“Who does this spring belong to,
Who drinks this water?”
When he had asked her the seventy third daughter replied:
“Old men are deceitful,
Mountain passes have a hole,”
She then forgot her wariness,
She told him true words:
“The three Sharaidai khans
Captured Abai Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon,
They went on the path of war and battle,
They stole her and brought her as plunder.
Urmai Goohon who is as beautiful as the sun
Was to be married to Sagaan Gerel Khan,
But because she fights and resists
She is confined in a dark and cold house,
She is locked in and lives there alone.
She is being pressured and made to suffer.”
When Abai Geser had heard this
His red heart was pounding in his chest,
His white tendons twitched in his shins.
“What kind of monster forces a woman to marry him?
What kind of evil man abuses a guest he has abducted?
Do you go in to her to give her water to drink?
Do you see her face and talk to her?”
The old man wanted to learn as much as he could.
The seventy third daughter of the khans replied:
“When I bring the water I do not go in and see her,
We pour the water into a trough from outside.”
When Abai Geser had heard this
He took off his golden ring,
Dropping it into the girl’s bucket.
The seventy third girl caught up with the others,
When she poured the contents of her pail into the trough,
Abai Geser’s golden ring rolled in with the water,
The ring came tumbling into Urmai Goohon’s hand.
Inside the cold and dark house
A light began to shine,
Inside her sad and woeful heart
Happiness began to grow.
Urmai Goohon kissed Abai Geser’s golden ring,
She put it on the crown of her head,
Saying it was her star of destiny,
She hugged it against her chest,
Saying it was her fortune and joy.
The hero Abai Geser had come to save her,
He said that he came to defeat his jealous enemy,
He said that he came to make the happy raven be sad,
When he looked up he was smiling,
When he looked down he was crying.
When the yellow sun arose on the following morning
The brown old man arose and came close
To the palace of the three Sharaidai khans.
He lay on a mountain pass for three days,
Watching and observing that they did.
He saw that the three Sharaidai khans
Were evil beings mighty in magic,
Were demons of great sorcerous power.
Abai Geser gathered twelve magicks on his palms,
He made twenty three magicks dance on his fingers,
When he had done this he came to the front
Of the palace of the three Sharaidai khans,
He turned himself into a little baby
And lay there crying and bawling.
When the white oldest khan saw what had happened,
He went and looked at him using his magic powers,
When he looked at the baby’s cheek
He could tell what his powers and abilities were,
When he examined the little baby boy
He could see that he would be a great warrior.
The white oldest brother of the Sharaidai khans,
Sagaan Gerel Khan said:
“When a boy is born he is a friend to warriors,
When a foal is born he is a friend to horses!”
He adopted the boy and lay him in a cradle.
Every day the boy got bigger and bigger,
Every night he became taller and taller,
He became too big to sleep under a sheepskin,
He became too big to sleep under a cowhide.
Even when he had become big
People referred to him as “the baby,”
Because he was a boy who had been found
They gave him the name Olzoboi (foundling).
The lords of the valley of the yellow river,
The three Sharaidai khans,
Struck a golden drum to call their subjects from the north,
They hit a silver drum to call their subjects from the south.
They served meat and fat in portions as big as a hill,
They poured liquor and wine in portions as big as a lake.
The party lasted for eight days,
On the ninth day there was great discussion.
When this was happening
The mightiest of the Sharaidai khans’ soldiers,
Buhe Sagaan Mangilai,
Boasted about the strength of his body:
“When we abducted Abai Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon
I used this bow to shoot his thirty three warriors!”
He spoke happily and arrogantly.
The Sharaidai khans’ archers gathered around him,
They all tried to draw his stiff yellow horn bow.
When they tried to pull their strength failed,
When they tried to draw back they could not do it,
The white hairs on the crowns of their heads bristled in frustration,
The white teeth in their mouths were grinding in anger…
When this was happening
The foundling boy Olzoboi came among them,
He took the yellow horn bow from them, saying:
“Some warriors can pull a bow,
So warriors are too weak,”
And he clicked his tongue at them.
Some of the people in the party
Said that he could draw it,
Some of the guests at the feast
Said that they would watch.
The foundling Olzoboi began pulling the string,
His strong thumb pulled the string back to his shoulder;
Pulling with all his strength he pulled it back further,
The people at the party said “Pull, pull!”
Pulling with all his strength he pulled it even further,
The guests at the feast shouted “Pull, pull!”
Olzoboi pulled with Abai Geser’s strength,
He pulled the string back further than before.
The people at the party were laughing and smiling,
The guests at the feast urged in on shouting “Pull!”
They praised the foundling boy Olzoboi,
Making his power even greater,
Making him grow even stronger,
He bent the bow as far back as his hip,
He bent the bow even with the small of his back.
Buhe Sagaan Mangilai’s yellow bow
Broke into three pieces,
Fragments scattered in three directions.
When Buhe Sagaan Mangilai saw his bow break
He was greatly surprised,
He was very astonished,
“You have become something to frighten Abai Geser,
You have broken the bow I carry into battle!”
He was very angry,
His mouth gaped in anger.
He grabbed Olzoboi’s two arms and started wrestling.
The people at the party shouted “Olzoboi, fight!”
The guests at the feast urged him on saying “Go, Olzoboi!”
Olzoboi made himself even stronger,
His face turned red as he fought,
He wrestled with all his might,
It was soon obvious he would win.
Anger and bile boiled inside Abai Geser,
Hatred smoldered inside him;
Anger and wrath boiled in his heart,
His hate became a red blazing fire.
His fury made the foundling Olzoboi stronger,
He snatched up Buhe Sagaan Mangilai like an eagle,
He squeezed his body until his ribs were bending,
He squeezed him until his ribs were breaking,
He grabbed him behind the knee and threw him down,
Buhe Sagaan Mangilai lay at his feet.
Olzoboi grabbed him around the hips,
He swung him back and forth,
Until his two ears were bulging,
Until his two little toes were bulging,
He threw him so that he landed beyond three mountains!…

When the lords of the yellow river,
The three Sharaidai khans,
Saw what had happened they said:
“A warrior has come
Who can accomplish what we want,
A warrior has been born
Who can complete what we desire,
If Abai Geser were to come here,
Olzoboi has the strength to fight and defeat him!”
They were very excited,
They rejoiced very much.
After this had happened
Two groups of the Sharaidai khans’ subjects
Went to find Buhe Sagaan Mangilai,
One group went with crowbars,
One group went with shovels,
They surrounded Buhe Sagaan Mangilai and started digging,
When they turned over the dirt it chafed his arms and legs.
The foundling Olzoboi watched and said:
“It is contrary to the customs of men
To dig and pry out a man
Who was thrown down in a fight,”
He grabbed Buhe Sagaan Mangilai by his foot
And yanked him out of the ground.
After this had happened
Abai Geser summoned his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers.
When they heard Abai Geser’s call
They understood what was happening,
They knew what it meant.
After they had heard him they rode to battle,
The dust they raised turned the sky dark,
The hoofbeats of their horses shook the earth,
They rode in the direction of the yellow lake,
They traveled toward the valley of the yellow river.
Their armor clanked with a deafening noise,
Their hair waved in the breeze as they rode to war.
When the lords of the yellow river,
The three Sharaidai khans,
Knew that Geser’s thirty three warriors were coming,
That his three hundred leaders of the army were approaching,
The his three thousand soldiers were marching,
When they realized the terrible danger,
They understood what was happening,
They knew what it meant.
They summoned their warriors and archers,
They gathered up their soldiers and troops,
Those who fought on foot stood in formation,
Those who rode horses mounted their steeds.
They prepared the foundling Olzoboi for war,
They let him carry the standard when they went into battle.
The soldiers and troops marched behind Olzoboi;
Olzoboi led the army of the three Sharaidai khans,
Their marching made dust rise up to the sky,
Their footsteps kicked rocks on the earth.
Marching and riding,
Going and going,
The two enemy armies
Came together from two directions…
They battled on a field of red thyme,
They met by the black waters of a bend in the river,
Arrowheads sang the song of the arrow,
Arrows whistled the song of the arrow…
When this was happening
Abai Geser returned to his true body,
His round face was showing,
He resumed his original appearance,
His red face was showing.
He jumped on the back of Beligen the bay horse,
The steed mighty in body
With wisdom in his bones.
He greeted his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers.
They fought the army of the Sharaidai khans
That swarmed like maggots and ants,
They fought with spear and sword
Until the heavens turned dark,
Flesh and bones piled up like a hill,
Blood was running in streams.
Before the day was finished
An entire generation of the enemy lay dead,
Before it had become night
The trash who opposed them were vanquished.
When this was happening,
When the lords of the yellow river
The three Sharaidai khans,
Watched the armies thundering in battle.
Thoughts were stirring in their minds,
They spoke many words to themselves.
They were very surprised,
They were very astonished.
They gathered twelve magicks on their palms,
The made twenty three magicks dance on their fingers.
When they realized how Abai Geser had deceived them
The regretted their foolishness and naiveté…
They struck their golden drum,
Summoning their subjects from the north,
They struck their silver drum,
Gathering their subjects from the south.
They appointed Han Biruuza as their general,
They appointed Buhe Sagaan Mangilai to lead the army.
The soldiers were like the trees of the forest,
They were as thick as a stand of reeds,
They swarmed like maggots and ants,
They flowed like the waters of a flood,
They blew across the land like a mountain wind,
They stormed like the snow of a blizzard.
When the soldiers of the three Sharaidai khans
That swarmed like maggots and ants,
Approached the battlefield covered with red thyme,
When they came to the bend in the river of black water,
Abai Geser and his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers,
Met the enemy with courage in their red blood,
They attacked their enemy with rage in their black blood.
They stretched their bows,
They raised their swords and spears,
They piled up a hill of bones,
They piled up a hill of flesh.
The enemy baaed like goats,
Their foes cried like fawns,
Before the day was finished
An entire generation of the enemy lay dead,
Before it had become night
The trash who opposed them were vanquished.
When this was happening
Buidan Ulaan Baatar fought Buhe Sagaan Mangilai,
Flying at each other like eagles,
Buidan Ulaan Baatar fought with passion,
Buhe Sagaan Mangilai lost his strength,
He was ready to die.
When Buidan Ulaan Baatar remembered Sargal Noyon
Rage and hatred for Buhe Sagaan Mangilai boiled in his heart,
He grabbed his enemy behind the knee and threw him down,
When Buhe Sagaan Mangilai lay at his feet he shouted:
“You devil did a terrible thing,
Have a taste of your own deed,
You who did a treacherous thing,
See how you like your own punishment!”
He unsheathed his yellow steel sword,
He killed Buhe Sagaan Mangilai by cutting off his head.

Abai Geser and his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand warriors
Went to the palace of the lords of the yellow river,
They entered the home of the Sharaidai khans…

Abai Geser and his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand warriors,
Appearing like the rulers of the land,
Looking like a party going to a feast,
Approached the home of the Sharaidai khans.
Abai Geser shouted with the voices of a thousand stags,
He yelled with the voices of ten thousand stags,
He shouted loud enough to break mountains,
He yelled loud enough to crack cliffs,
He shouted loud enough to topple standing stones,
He yelled loud enough to crumble rocks.
His shouts made the heavens tremble,
His cries made the earth shake,
His shouts made waves splash on the shore of the Milk Sea,
His cries made the world mountain Humber Uula quake.

When this had happened
The three Sharaidai khans
Tried to find a way to save their own skins,
When the terrible Abai Geser came in
They were very frightened,
They were very scared.
When they had become powerless to fight Geser,
They thought dark thoughts of how to trick him:
“Save our lives and our souls,
Save our skin and bones!…”
They prostrated themselves before him,
They lay crying and weeping.
When Abai Geser saw this
He was repulsed by them:
“You came to my lands,
Destroying my people with arrows,
You killed my people and made them suffer.
You executed my uncle Sargal Noyon!
You took away my wife Urmai Goohon as plunder!”
It was time for the Sharaidai khans to die,
Their faces turned white in fear for their lives,
They lay on the ground licking dust and sand:
“Spare my red gol,
Spare my heart and lungs!..”
They begged as they crawled at his feet
Lying helpless like moss and foam.
Abai Geser said to them:
“I am not a man who thrives on hate and revenge,
I am not a man who follows jealousy and hatred.
Those who cause trouble and injury,
The demons who spread suffering,
Are the ones who taste my anger!
Those who tire the people with danger and crime,
The enemies who brandish their spears,
Are the one who receive my punishment!”
When he had said this
The Sharaidai khans swore an oath:
From that time forward,
Two times becoming as one,
They would not cause hunger and thirst in the world,
They would not take up their weapons against the people.

When this had happened
Abai Geser went to his wife Urmai Goohon,
Who was as beautiful as the red sun.
He greeted her with good wishes for the day,
He embraced her with good words for the month.

The hero Abai Geser,
Who had defeated the greatest enemies,
Who had conquered the greatest obstacles,
Galloped in the direction of his home,
He rode toward his native land.
He hitched three joroo horses
To a bright silver carriage,
He sat Urmai Goohon in it for the ride home,
Followed by his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers,
Abai Geser traveled with all his might,
They went as fast as they could.
They passed the border of the strange foreign land,
They crossed the border of their nurturing native land,
Even if their home was far they went on,
Even if the rivers were wide they crossed.
When they came to the shores of the eternal yellow lake,
When they came to the banks of the Muren River,
Abai Geser’s wives Tumen Jargalan and Alma Mergen,
And his father Sengelen Noyon
Struck the golden drum and summoned the people from the north,
Hit the silver drum and called the people from the south.
When Geser came to the shores of the eternal yellow lake,
When he came to the shores of the Muren River,
Having gone where he intended with destiny and fortune,
Having traveled with destiny, luck and success,
Abai Geser and his wife Urmai Goohon,
His thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers,
Were greeted with drinks and milk foods…
When Abai Geser came to his house,
He said that good times had returned,
He gathered up his bow and arrows,
He said that peaceful times has returned,
He put away his bow and quiver.
Meat and fat were served in portions as big as a hill,
Liquor and wine were served in portions as big as a lake
The party lasted for eight days,
On the ninth day there was much discussion,
On the tenth day the guests sobered up,
And the people returned to their homes.
He who had defeated indefatigable enemies,
He who had conquered unconquerable foes,
The hero Abai Geser,
Put his steed out to pasture,
He stored his bowcase in a chest.
In the valley of the Muren River,
By the shores of the eternal lake,
In the valley of the Hatan River,
By the shores of the black lake,
Drinking the water that he drank,
Living in the land of his birth,
Bringing peace and happiness to the people,
Having suppressed the demonic enemies in battle,
Abai Geser lived with his three beautiful wives,
With his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leader of the army,
And three thousand soldiers,
Eating three satisfying meals a day,
Celebrating three feasts a year!

Geser Comes Down to Earth Part 1

Geser Comes Down to Earth Part 2

Geser Comes Down to Earth Part 3

Abai Geser the First Branch

Conclusion of the First Branch

The Third Branch Arhan Hara Shutger

Gal Nurma Khan Part 1

Gal Nurma Khan (Part 2) The Fourth Branch

Orgoli the Giant Tiger The Fifth Branch

Sherem Minaata Khan The Sixth Branch

The Battle with Abarga Sesen Mangadhai The Seventh Branch

The Battle with Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi The Eighth Branch

 

He who went to the places he intended
With fortune and destiny,
He whose fortune and good luck
Added to his prosperity,
The hero Abai Geser,
Who lived by the Muren River,
By the shores of the black lake,
Who lived by the Hatan River,
By the shores of the eternal lake,
Became reconciled with his wife Alma Mergen.
Feeling sorry about the loss
Of his seven year old daughter,
Looking downward he cried,
When he looked up he was crestfallen.
After this had happened he said:
“I have grown tired of eating beef,
I miss the taste of wild game.”
He assembled his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers,
He prepared his steed powerful in body,
With wisdom in his bones,
Beligen the bay horse.
This having happened,
Those who had descended from the high white heavens
Went riding over the sacred level earth.
They hunted among the thirteen ranges
Of the Altai Mountains,
They made sport among the twenty three ranges
Of the Huhii Mountains.
The hunters drove the animals to the edge of the taiga,
The animals were gathering in the clearings.
The many brave beautiful steeds
Crowded together ear to ear,
Carrying loads of game on their fine backs,
Going on forward as the hunt continued.
This having happened,
When Geser was going back toward home,
When he was galloping toward his homeland,
He met Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
A rather small demon,
A runt of a monster,
Who said he was hunting in the Altai,
Who said he was tracking game in the Huhii taiga.
“You little sloppy black monster,
Did you come to hunt deer and game
In the lands of the Altai?
Did you come to sneak and steal
In the rich Huhii taiga?”
He grabbed the right hand of
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
Squeezing it hard,
He snatched up his left hand,
Having done this
He bent him over,
Beating him with fresh branches,
He almost broke him
Beating him with dry branches.
He beat him until red blood was gushing,
Until black blood clotted,
He thrashed him mightily,
He hit him very hard!
He said to the little demon:
“Stop hunting in the Altai Mountains,
Do not chase game in the Huhii taiga!”
He then left Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi lying there,
Unable to say a single thing,
His life hanging by a string!..

When life returned to Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
When his body became complete again,
When he looked up he laughed,
When he looked down he cried,
Hatred and revenge fled away,
Anger and hate crossed the threshold!
He went back to the very beginning of the east,
To a wrong looking land,
To a meager land,
To a land withered and full of grief,
To a place of three marshy rivers,
To a place of slippery slopes,
To the land of evil spirits and demons,
To a scorching hot country,
To a dark sunless land,
To a dry land devoid of plants,
Geser having taken his meat and furs,
He returned from the Altai Mountains
Bringing nothing but an empty mouth.
He was very angry,
His mouth gaping in fury.
His hate and gall was boiling,
The crucible of his rage was overflowing.
He made a foolish noise,
Causing the heavens to tremble,
He shouted and cried,
Causing the earth to quake!..
This having happened
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Jumped on the back
Of his iron-blue horse,
He turned it toward the house
Of his older sister Big Yonhoboi.
When he arrived at the house
Of his older sister Big Yonhoboi,
He sat for three days,
Talking about how he had been offended,
Asking for advice on what to do,
He recounted what happened in a loud voice:
“He who lives on the shores of the eternal yellow lake,
Who grazes his herds by the Muren River,
Abai Geser who has a body as big as a house,
Has mocked me since my childhood,
He beat me when I was a youth,
He has hurt me three times,
He has threatened to do it a fourth time.
I would like one time to do something
To get even for all the hate and anger!..
If from among Geser’s three wives
I cannot take Urmai Goohon,
Who is as beautiful as the red sun,
I will ruin the lovely crystalline earth
By overrunning it with snakes and worms,
I will suppress its people
With hunger and thirst,
If that is not enough,
The hate and anger I have suffered will stop,
The crucible of my fury will be poured out!..”
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi spoke
As if he were greatly offended.
When he had said these things
His sister Big Yonhoboi said:
“What you have said is true,
What you think is right!”
Saying it in a way that
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi could understand,
She began telling him what to do:
“Abai Geser is great in magic power,
Mighty in sorcerous power,
He is on a mission from the high heavens,
He has come to protect the earth,
Happily taking care of this three wives,
Eating three satisfying meals a day,
Celebrating three festivals a year,
Even having these things
He has no child to dandle on the knee,
He has no boy to lay in the cradle,
Because of this he looks down and cries,
Because of this he looks up and is sad,
He lives unhappy and with regret.
What you want to do
Can fit with what he wants.
If you do this you can go and do what you want!
I will work together with you,
It is within my power,
You have your hatred and anger,
From me you will have your help!”
When she said this she took off her right sock,
Turning it into Manzan Gurme Toodei’s silver cup.
When she had done this she said:
“On the green slopes of the sandy Manhan mountain
There is a building made of gold and precious stones.
Since Abai Geser has no child to dandle on the knee,
Because he has no son to lay in the cradle,
He goes to this building once a year
To do worship asking the gods for a child.
Go to that building and be there when he comes.
Turn yourself into a white zayaasha and be sitting there.
When Geser is worshipping
Asking for children
For his three wives,
Come to him and say you come
To change his fate for having children,
That you have brought the silver cup
Of Grandmother Manzan Gurme Toodei
Down to the broad wide world.”
When Big Yonhoboi was saying these things
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi heard them gladly,
He listened to them most intently.
Big Yonhoboi gave him further instructions:
“When Abai Geser is going to come,
Cause his wife Urmai Goohon to have a dream.
When he comes sit in a place where you cannot be seen,
Throw the silver cup onto the crown of his head!
I will work with you,
I will give you the power to do it!”
Big Yonhoboi gave him the silver cup
That she had prepared from her right sock,
Having done this she sent him away.

Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi was very excited,
He rejoiced very much.
He then went quickly
To his other sister Middle Yonhoboi,
Sitting for the duration of three days,
Talking about how he had been offended,
Desiring that she make judgment
He recounted all that had happened:
“When I went hunting
In the lands of the Altai Mountains,
When I chased game
In the great Huhii taiga,
There was the warrior Abai Geser
Who has a body as big as a house,
Who had mocked me in my childhood,
Who beat me up when I was youth.
From the very first
When I was angry and hateful
I have wanted to get even,
I go now to marry his wife Urmai Goohon.
My sister Big Yonhoboi
Gave me a silver cup
Made from her right sock,
When I throw it on Geser’s head
I will pollute and defile him.”
When Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Had told her these things
Middle Yonhoboi liked what she heard,
She listened most earnestly:
“What you have said is true,
What you think is right.”
Saying that what he wanted was possible,
She told him how to do it:
“Abai Geser is strong in magic powers,
He is mighty in sorcerous power,
He has come on a mission
From the fifty five tenger,
He has come by the destiny
Of the five wise gods.
Watch and listen to all things,
Remember your hulde and soul.
When you throw the silver cup
Onto the crown of Geser’s head,
When he is polluted and defiled
He will turn into an ass!
When this has happened
Put on a saddle and saddle blanket,
Bind him with iron chains,
Fetter him with iron fetters,
When you have done this
The lady Urmai Goohon
Who is as beautiful as the red sun,
Must be made to ride
On the back of the ass,
Going back quickly
To your own homeland.
His soldiers that are left behind
We can handle ourselves,
I am working with you,
My powers are enough!”
After his sister gave these instructions
She sent Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi away.
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi was very excited,
He rejoiced very much.
He then went to the house
Of his sister Little Yonhoboi,
For the duration of three days,
He told of how he was offended,
As if throwing sticks and stones:
“I have gotten hate and anger
From the warrior Abai Geser,
When the waxing moon rises
I will gather up gold and silks!
I go to take Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon
To take as my own wife.
I will turn Geser into an ass.
When I have made him an ass
I will bring him back with me.
My sister Little Yonhoboi
How will you help me?”
When Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi asked this
He spoke very happily and excitedly.
His sister Little Yonhoboi
Listened to what he said doubtfully,
She did not believe what she heard,
She replied very directly:
“You say I will attack, I will attack,
But you cannot attack him,
You say you want this, you want that,
But you cannot do what you want.
Abai Geser is born from the skies
Of the fifty five tenger,
He is supported by the highest
Of many rich tenger,
He has come by the favor of
Grandmother Manzan Gurme,
Who is protected by a thousand gods,
Who brought up ten thousand tenger,
Who is the bearer of the silver cup.
He has thirty three warriors,
Three hundred leaders of the army,
And three thousand soldiers.
Your hair is most unsightly,
Your bones are like cartilage,
If Geser comes with his thirty three warriors,
You would be unable to do battle with him.
Know the strength of your own body,
I am powerless to help you,”
Saying this Little Yonhoboi went outside,
She went to hide herself.

When Little Yonhoboi,
The sister of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Went and hid herself in fear,
When she backed away from him,
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Was most surprised,
He was most astonished…
This having happened,
Two of the three sisters,
Having agreed to help him,
Saying to himself that
How could he not go where he intended,
He thought many stupid thoughts,
Deciding many things in his pinched chest,
He headed back to his home.
When he arrived at his house,
When he stood at his hitching post,
He called for his two winged warriors,
He summoned his two warriors bearing staves.
He put a rawhide saddle on his iron-blue horse,
He made quick preparations,
He made wise preparations.

This having happened
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Started on his journey
To the eternal yellow lake,
With the two winged warriors
Watching behind and before him,
The two warriors with staves
Watching to either side.
He headed for the valley
Of the Muren River,
He traveled toward
The country of Abai Geser.
He journeyed using a road
Below three layers of the earth.

If Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
May have been traveling far,
He still continued on,
Even if the river was wide,
He crossed and rode on.
Coming to the Muren River,
To the shores of the eternal lake,
To the valley of the Hatan River,
By the shores of the black lake,
He sent the two winged warriors
To the heavens to watch from above,
He sent the two warriors with staves
To watch and observe on the earth.
When he had done this,
The two winged warriors in the sky
Appeared as a new star near the horizon.

The hero Abai Geser
Who lived happily with his three wives,
Did not notice what had happened,
Because Geser did not see this
Benevolent Sargal Noyon Khan,
Who lived in a white valley,
Who rode a mighty buckskin horse,
Who had a head of whitish grey hair,
Who had his path among the white clouds,
Who carried a great white bow,
Geser’s princely uncle Sargal Noyon
Came to his nephew’s house as a guest.
He said to Abai Geser:
“My nephew Abai Geser,
My powerful great hero,
What have you seen far away
With your keen eyesight,
What have you heard from far away
With your keen hearing?”
When he asked this Geser replied:
“I have not seen anything in the distance,
I have not heard anything from far away.
My benevolent uncle Sargal Noyon,
What new thing have you heard,
What interesting thing have you seen?”
After he had answered his uncle
Sargal Noyon told of what he had seen:
“On the horizon of the lovely heavens
A star glitters as an omen,
In the heights of the lovely sky
A new star has appeared.
What is this a manifestation of?
What is this an incarnation of?
Is this not a creation of
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi?”
From far away
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Heard the words of
Benevolent Sargal Noyon,
Knowing what this meant,
Understanding what happened,
He made the star disappear.
He turned his two winged warriors
Into a plant growing on the earth.

When Geser looked for the
Omen that appeared in the sky,
When he looked for the
Star that appeared in the heavens,
He was not able to find it.
When this had happened,
Benevolent Sargal Noyon said
To his nephew Abai Geser:
“On the surface of our blue world
A new plant has appeared,
On our wide great earth
A new type of grass is growing.
What is this a manifestation of?
What is this an incarnation of?
Is this not a creation of
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi?”
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Heard these words from far away,
Knowing what they meant,
Understanding what had happened,
He made the plants
Dry up and wither away,
He made the grass disappear.
When Geser went to look
For the strange plant,
When he tried to find
The new kind of grass
He could not find anything.
This having happened
He did not follow the advice of
Benevolent Sargal Noyon,
He did not give any thought
To what his uncle had said:
“You are making all kinds of trouble,
You do not trust how the world is.
There is no new star twinkling in the sky,
There is no new plant growing on the earth.”
In his innocence and naiveté
Geser did not heed the words
Of his uncle Sargal Noyon.
When Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Heard what had happened
He said to himself:
“In his heart Geser does not think about the future,
His intelligence and wisdom has become dull,
The reins of his mind have grown thin!”
Thinking these black thoughts
He became very excited,
He rejoiced very much.

The night after this happened
Urmai Goohon being overcome by sleep,
Remembering what happened during the day
Dreamed an unusual dream that night:
“On the green slopes
Of the sandy Manhan mountain,
In the building made of gold and precious stones
A white zayaasha old man has come,
Sent from the white tenger of fate.”

This having happened,
When the first light of the dawn was shining,
When people awakened to the new day,
Abai Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon
Awakened from her slumber and
Went out to milk the cows.
When she had gone out
On the green slope of the sandy Manhan mountain
The building made of gold and precious stones was shining,
It gleamed looking like it was suspended from the heavens by a cord,
It glittered looking as if it were connected to the navel of the earth.

Abai Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon,
When she saw what had happened
Was greatly surprised,
She was most astonished.
When she saw the omen that appeared in her dream
She turned around and ran to speak to Geser:
“On the green slopes of the sandy Manhan mountain,
In the building made of gold and precious stones,
There is a zayaasha old man
Sent by the white tenger of fate.
When the day had dawned,
When I awoke from my sleep,
When I went out to milk the cows,
On the green slopes of the sandy Manhan mountain
The building made of gold and precious stones was shining,
Gleaming as if suspended from the sky by a cord,
Glittering as if it were connected to the navel of the earth.
We live without a child to dandle on the knee,
We live without a son to lay in the cradle,
He has come on a mission from the fifty five tenger,
He has come by the command of the five wise gods,
Let us go and worship the white zayaasha of fate,
Let us go and ask the gods to give us a son.”
Thus Urmai Goohon spoke to her husband.

While Urmai Goohon was happy and excited
Abai Geser was puzzled and astonished:
“If this is something sent from the white tenger of fate
It is contrary to custom for the gods to send
Someone down to earth without telling me?…
Perhaps if is a manifestation of an evil spirit,
It may be the incarnation of a demon,
May it not be trying to deceive us with your dream?
When I was hunting in the Altai Mountains,
When I chased game in the Huhii taiga,
I beat Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi with green sticks,
I thrashed him with dry sticks,
This poisonous little monster,
Who is jealous with his father’s jealousy,
Who hates with his mother’s hatred,
May he not be the one who is causing this?”
When he had told her this
Urmai Goohon cried and carried on
Making a great noise, saying:
“We have no child to dandle on the knee,
We have no son to lay in the cradle.
You doubt this thinking it is carrion,
You reject this thinking it is trash.”
She was most offended
She cried and wept.

This having happened,
Geser called Buidan Ulaan Baatar
To go with him as a companion,
He jumped on the back of
Beligen the bay horse,
Riding off to the sandy Manhan mountain,
To where on its green slopes
There stood a fine building
Made of gold and precious stones.
It gleamed as if suspended from the heavens by a cord,
It glittered as if it were connected to the navel of the earth.
When Geser had reached this beautiful building
He gave instructions to Buidan Ulaan Baatar:
“My warrior Buidan Ulaan
Go inside and worship.
Watch and observe this
Zayaasha old man.
I am going to yell with the voices of a thousand stags,
I will shout with the voices of ten thousand stags.
I will yell so loud it would break mountains,
I will shout so loud it will fracture cliffs,
I will yell so loud that waves will splash on the shore of the Milk Sea,
I will shout so loud that the world mountain Humber Uula will tremble.
If he is truly the zayaasha old man he will sit there unperturbed,
If he is a manifestation of a demon he will fall down in fright!”
He then sent Buidan Ulaan Baatar into the building.
When Buidan Ulaan Baatar had gone in,
When he watched and observed the zayaasha old man,
Geser yelled with the voices of a thousand stags,
He shouted with the voices of ten thousand stags,
He yelled loud enough to break mountains,
He shouted loud enough to fracture cliffs,
He yelled so loud that waves splashed on the shore of the Milk Sea,
He shouted so loud that the world mountain Humber Uula trembled.
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi fell down in fear, lying on the ground.
When this had happened Buidan Ulaan Baatar ran outside,
He hurried to tell Abai Geser what had happened.
When he tried to speak
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi’s magic
Turned his tongue around,
Distorting his words.
He said “zayaasha” instead of
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi.
Abai Geser said to Buidan Ulaan Baatar:
“Let us see a second time,”
And sent him back in.
Abai Geser yelled again,
He shouted once more,
Yelling with the voices of a thousand stags,
Shouting with the voices of ten thousand stags.
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi fell down again in fear and lay on the ground.
When Buidan Ulaan Baatar ran outside,
When he hurried to speak to Geser,
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi’s magic
Turned his tongue around again,
His words were distorted,
Buidan Ulaan Baatar said “zayaasha”
Instead of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi.
Abai Geser was very surprised,
He was most astonished.
He went into the building
To greet the “zayaasha old man,”
Abai Geser said to him:
“My white zayaasha of fate,
You of destiny and fate,
I had not heard about you,
Were you sent to meet me?”
When Geser had asked this
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi said:
“I come on a mission
From the fifty five tenger,
I come by the command
Of the five wise gods.
She who gave birth to fifty five gods
On the Milky Way of the high heavens,
She who brought up many rich gods,
She with a thousand gods and protector spirits,
She who has ten thousand white tenger,
She of the silver cup,
Manzan Gurme Toodei
Has sent me by her grace
Down to the earth.
She said her grandson Abai Geser
Who lives down on the earth,
Who lives happily with three wives
, Has stopped raising the dead,
Has stopped bringing prosperity to the poor.
He has no child to dandle on the knee,
He has no boy to lay in the cradle.
Because her grandson has asked for her blessing,
She sent me down with her silver cup.”
When the old man sat and said this
Abai Geser was still full of doubt,
He was surprised and astonished,
But when he saw the silver cup
Of grandmother Manzan Gurme Toodei
He recognized it and his doubts vanished.
Accompanied by Buidan Ulaan Baatar
Geser rode Beligen the bay horse back to his home.

When Geser returned to his home,
He told his wife Urmai Goohon,
Who was as beautiful as the red sun,
About meeting the zayaasha old man.
“When he showed me the silver cup
Of Manzan Gurme Toodei
My doubts were dispelled.
When I had seen that
Everything was as in you dream
I became very excited.
Let us go worship
The white zayaasha of fate
And ask him for a son;
Let us go in to ask the gods
To give us a child,”
When he said this his body felt weak,
When spoke his body became feverish.

When this had happened
Abai Geser had his wife Urmai Goohon make preparations,
She made wise preparations for going to worship.
They went to the green slopes of the sandy Manhan mountain,
They entered into the building made of gold and precious stones,
They went intending to ask for a male child,
They went to ask the gods for a boy.
Abai Geser and his wife Urmai Goohon
Stood before the “zayaasha old man”
They bent their lovely heads in worship,
They bent their lovely knees as they bowed and prayed.
When this had happened
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi said
That he would give Abai Geser his blessing,
Taking Manzan Gurme Toodei’s silver cup
He threw it on Geser’s head:
Geser fell down having been defiled,
He was turned into an ass.
When Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon
Has seen what had happened,
She was greatly surprised,
She was most astonished.
She regretted her foolish naiveté
In being deceived by the black deceit
Of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi.

Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi was very excited,
He rejoiced very much,
Calling down his two winged warriors from the sky,
Calling his two warriors with staves from below the earth,
He bound up the ass with iron chains,
He shackled his feet with iron shackles.
Abai Geser was disgraced,
He was humiliated.
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Took Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon,
Who was as beautiful as the red sun,
For himself as plunder.
This lovely ass who never got tired or exhausted,
Had an iron halter placed on his head,
He was led away quickly.
They went away so quietly
That none of the cattle were disturbed,
They went so stealthily
That a fox would not pick up their scent.
Traveling on a road beneath three layers of earth,
They went to the most distant east,
To a wrong looking country,
To a meager land,
To a land withered and full of grief,
To a country with three marshy rivers,
To a land of slippery slopes,
To the land of evil spirits and demons,
To a scorching hot land,
To a dark and sunless country,
To a land dry and devoid of plants…

Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi boasted:
“I have just defeated an indefatigable enemy,
“I have just conquered an unconquerable foe!
Having poured out the crucible of my wrath,
I have plundered fine silks,
Acting on my jealousy and hatred,
I have gone up to the moon!”
He took an iron whip with three iron tails,
Beating the ass around the legs,
Lashing him until the bones were showing.
He walked their horses toward his home,
They galloped toward his native land.
Even if his homeland was far away they traveled on,
Even if the rivers were wide they crossed and rode on.

When they had left Abai Geser’s land behind,
When they entered into the land of the demons,
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi said:
“I am indifferent to fear and life,”
He fortified the border of his country,
He put up barriers to keep out intruders.
He made a forest grow that was so dense
That even a snake could not slither between the trees,
He created a great red fire
The flames of which reached to the heavens.
Beyond these two barriers he created a yellow lake,
That was crawling with poisonous snakes and worms.
He sent the two winged warriors up in the sky to keep watch,
He left the two warriors with staves on the earth to stand guard.

When he had done this Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi said:
“If Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers
Come and try to enter my country,
They will not be able to overcome these barriers,
If they come to try to rescue Geser,
They will not be able to pass these obstacles.”
Thus he left the three barriers behind,
Traveling beyond that place,
He returned to his home.
The three Yonhoboi sisters made a celebration,
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi and Urmai Goohon
Were joined as man and wife.
He became as if ten years older as he frolicked,
He became as if twenty years older as he talked in a carefree way.
When this happened,
The man who was turned by magic into an ass
Was harnessed with and iron harness,
He was made to pull and iron wagon.
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi said to him:
“Your head and body are for punishment
, Your legs and body are for the whip!”
On the far side of a forested mountain
He was made to haul black stones,
Until he was covered with black sweat,
Until he was covered with white foam,
He was greatly disgraced,
He was greatly humiliated,
He was made to suffer greatly,
He was tortured excessively!…

This having happened
The sons of Zasa Mergen Baatar,
Who was the white oldest son of
Han Hormasta Tenger,
Leader of the fifty five tenger
Of the western skies,
The two little grandsons,
Aizai and Muuzai,
While playing on the Milky Way
Of the white heavens,
Walking on the edge of the sky
Of the sacred broad earth,
They opened the door
Of the high serene heavens,
Looking for the protector of the wide world,
They looked in the mountainous taiga
Of the Altai and Hangai Mountains,
They were unable to find
Their uncle Abai Geser.
They looked three times around the earth,
They looked around the world four times,
Still they could not find him.
They then looked in the land at the beginning of the east,
The wrong looking land,
The meager country,
The land withered and full of grief,
The land of three marshy rivers,
The land of slippery slopes,
The land of evil spirits and demons,
The scorching hot country,
The dark and sunless land,
The land that was dry and devoid of plants.
There they found their uncle Geser,
Having been turned into an ass by
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi who rode an iron blue horse,
Beyond a forested mountain
He strained hauling black stones,
His body covered with black sweat,
His body flecked with white foam,
Being lashed with an iron whip,
Blood and clots were flowing,
He was suffering greatly,
He was being tortured excessively.
While they looked beyond there
Abai Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon,
Who was as beautiful as the red sun,
Was living with Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
Who aged ten years and was frolicking,
Who aged twenty years and talked happily.

When they had seen what had happened,
Aizai and Muuzai ran to their home.
Because they could not go fast enough
They cut down a golden red willow
And rode it swiftly back to their house!..
They ran in to meet their grandfather,
They told Han Hormasta Tenger what they had seen:
“When we were playing on the Milky Way of the white sky,
When we were walking on the sky of the sacred earth,
We opened the door of the serene high heavens,
When we looked for the protector of the broad earth
We were not able to find our uncle.
We looked in the mountainous taiga
Of the Altai and Hangai Mountains,
We still could not find Abai Geser.
We went around the earth three times looking for him,
We went around the world four times looking for him,
We finally found our uncle Abai Geser
At the very beginning of the east,
In the wrong looking country,
In the meager land,
In the land withered and full of grief,
In a country with three marshy rivers,
In a place of slippery slopes,
In the land of evil spirits and demons,
In the scorching hot country,
In a dark and sunless land,
In a land that is dry and devoid of plants.
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi who rides an iron blue horse
Has turned Abai Geser into an ass,
Beyond a forested mountain
He is straining hauling black stones,
He is covered with black sweat,
He is flecked with white foam,
He is being lashed with an iron whip,
Blood and clots run from his wounds,
He is suffering greatly
He is being tortured excessively.
We looked beyond that place
And saw Geser’s wife Urmai Goohon
Who is as beautiful as the red sun,
Married to Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
He aged ten years and frolics while she suffers,
He aged twenty years and rejoices while she cries.”
Aizai and Muuzai spoke quickly and breathlessly.
When Han Hormasta Tenger
Heard what had happened,
He was very surprised,
He was greatly astonished.
He called his white oldest son,
Zasa Mergen Baatar,
Who lived on a lofty mountain peak,
Who rode a hawk-brown horse
That could overtake a tornado,
When he summoned his son he said:
“Your younger brother Abai Geser
Who is a hero great in magic power,
Has been turned around by the sorcery
Of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
He was been turned into an ass.
Beyond a forested mountain
He is straining hauling black stones,
He is covered with black sweat,
He is flecked with white foam,
He is suffering greatly,
He is being tortured excessively.
His wife Urmai Goohon,
Who is as beautiful as the red sun,
Was plundered and stolen,
She was married to Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
Who aged ten years and is being intimate with her,
Who aged twenty years and is rejoicing and playing.
My oldest son Zasa Mergen Baatar,
When will you save your brother Abai Geser!
Go and defeat Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi!
Go and rescue Abai Geser and his wife Urmai Goohon!”

The white oldest son of Han Hormasta Tenger,
Zasa Mergen Baatar,
Made quick preparations,
He made wise preparations.
He galloped down from the heavens
As fast as his horse could go.
He came down to the broad earth,
Standing with the strength of his body.
He went to the valley of the Muren River,
To the shores of the eternal lake,
He went to the valley of the Hatan River,
To the shores of the black lake.
He entered into the gate of Geser’s home,
He went into the house of Geser’s wife Alma Mergen.
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Greeted her brother in law as a guest,
She brought a golden table and served delicious food,
She brought a silver table and honored him with beautiful food.
Zasa Mergen was completely satisfied,
He ate so much he could not complain.
Zasa Mergen assembled the thirty three warriors,
The three hundred leaders of the army,
An the three thousand soldiers,
They made quick preparations,
They made wise preparations.
When they had done this
Zasa Mergen led them to the beginning of the east,
To the wrong looking country,
To a meager land,
To a land withered and full of grief,
To a land with three rivers,
To a land of slippery slopes,
To a land of evil spirits and demons,
To a scorching hot land,
To a dark sunless land,
To a dry land devoid of plants,
They rode to do battle
With Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi.
They went to rescue Abai Geser
And his wife Urmai Goohon!
Even though their destination was far,
They galloped onward,
Even though the rivers were wide,
They crossed and continued on.
They passed the border
Of their nurturing native land,
They crossed the border
Of a strange and foreign land.

This having happened
They came to a forest
At the border of the lands
Of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi.
The trees were so close together
That a snake could not slither between them.
The forest stood blocking the road,
When Zasa Mergen looked up
The forest was so tall an eagle could not pass through,
When he looked down
There was not a single hole they could pass through.

When he had seen this
He pulled out his mighty black bow,
He loosed an arrow from his heroic yellow bow!
It sang the song of the arrowhead,
It whistled the song of the arrow.
It tore its way through the dense forest,
Where even a snake could not slither through
The arrow had opened up a path
So wide a fully loaded ox could go through,
So wide a fully loaded camel could pass through.
They passed through to the far side of the forest,
There was a great red fire flaming and crackling,
The flames reaching up to the blue heavens.
Even a giant bird could not fly above it,
Even a strong brave steed could not go through it,
Once again their road was blocked.
The white oldest son of Han Hormasta Tenger,
Zasa Mergen Baatar
Looked up at the barrier,
Not even an eagle could fly past it,
When he looked down,
There was no hole through which they could pass.
When he saw this he was very angry,
His mouth gaped in fury.
He took his red zadai stone
That could stop a thousand storms,
He chewed it between his forty white teeth,
Then spit toward the serene high heavens!
When he did this a thousand storms were loosed,
The storms of nine days storms at one time,
Snow and hail fell deep enough to reach the treetops!
The nine days’ storms extinguished the red fire,
Zasa Mergen Baatar was able to travel onwards.
When this had happened
He came to a rippling yellow lake,
On its dirty muddy shores
It was crawling with poisonous snakes and worms.
It was impossible for men to cross,
It was impossible for horses to cross.
This last barrier to their road
Lay splashing before them.
The white oldest son of Han Hormasta Tenger,
Zasa Mergen Baatar,
Looked up and saw not even an eagle could pass through,
He looked down and saw no path to pass beyond it.
He was very worried,
He was most disappointed.
He had no ability to continue the journey,
He had no powers to pass the last barrier.
This having happened
He rested his yellow book of fate
On the horn of his Yakut silver saddle;
He turned the pages of the book,
Asking the gods for an answer,
He read aloud the advice in the book,
He spoke what the book commanded:
“If you cross the barrier
Of the poisonous yellow lake,
If you walk into those polluting lands
You will be defiled and will die!
Even if all of the fifty five tenger
Of the western skies would come
They could not rescue Abai Geser
And his wife Urmai Goohon.”
Thus the great yellow book of fate
Forbade their continuing their quest.
The white oldest son of Han Hormasta Tenger
Zasa Mergen Baatar,
Was very surprised,
He was most astonished.
“We have to stop what we came here to do,
“We have to give up what we had intended,”
When he had said this
He looked up and he was crying,
He looked down and was crestfallen.
He had to turn around
Halfway on the way to where he was going,
He had to say to them
That they were unable to save Abai Geser,
He was full of regret,
He was very disappointed.
This having happened,
Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors,
The three hundred leaders of the army,
And the three thousand soldiers,
All of them turned around,
Going back on the road
On which they had traveled.
Even though their homes were far away
They rode and continued on,
Even though the rivers were wide,
They crossed and traveled on.
When they reached the Muren River,
When they came to the eternal lake,
When they reached the Hatan River,
When they came to the black lake,
When they came to the waters
That his brother Abai Geser would drink,
When they came to the country
Where his younger brother was born,
Zasa Mergen and the thirty three warriors,
The three hundred leaders of the army,
And the three thousand soldiers,
All went to their respective homes.
Zasa Mergen traveled to the upper world
, To the home of the western fifty five tenger!..
When Zasa Mergen Baatar
Rode up into the heavens
He went to the home of Manzan Gurme Toodei
Who was the bearer of the silver cup,
Who had swaddled a thousand white gods,
Who had raised up ten thousand tenger,
He entered and said to the mother of the gods:
“My thirteen khans have turned on me in jealousy,
My seventy three allies have betrayed me in hatred.
My younger brother Abai Geser
Has been turned into an ass
By Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
His wife Urmai Goohon has been stolen,
She was taken away as plunder.
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Is causing great suffering
To my two younger relatives,
He is inflicting cruel torture
On Geser and his wife.
I had gone to rescue Abai Geser
But was forbidden by the great yellow book,
The book of fate commanded me to return.”
Manzan Gurme Toodei,
Who gave birth to the fifty five tenger
On the Milky Way of the white sky,
Who watched over the heads
Of the many rich tenger,
Who protected a thousand gods,
Who supported ten thousand tenger,
Who bore the great silver cup,
Opened her great book of fate,
She looked at it and read aloud:
“Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Has come into the strength of a man,
Your brother Abai Geser
Is like a mere baby compared to him,
Your brother is powerful in magic,
But he has met with disaster!”
When Manzan Gurme Toodei read this
She was very frightened,
She was very worried.
When this had happened,
The serene high heavens moved,
A cloudburst rent the skies,
The wide broad earth shook,
The skies swirled with great black clouds,
Rain and hail fell on the lands of the east,
Gathering up his magic powers,
Abai Geser who had become an ass
Drank up the rain sent from the upper world,
The strength of his body was restored,
Drinking the rain from the high heavens
His body became strong as that of a foal.
After this had happened
When he was pulling the black iron cart
He stumbled and threw Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi to the ground.
Manzan Gurme Toodei then said
To Zasa Mergen Baatar:
“They has never been a son born
In the serene high heavens
Who can defeat Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
There has been only one person born
On the sacred broad earth
Who can fight Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi.”
She then quickly summoned
Geser’s three pretty older sisters,
She sent them to go down to earth…
The three sisters became ongoli birds,
Flying from the serene high heavens
Down to the sacred broad earth.
When they reached the Muren River,
When they came to the eternal lake,
When they reached the Hatan River,
When they came to the black lake,
They opened the golden door and entered
The house of Geser’s wife Alma Mergen.
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Greeted her three pretty sisters in law,
She embraced her three relatives,
She brought a golden table and served delicious food,
She brought a silver table and honored them with beautiful food.
Abai Geser’s three pretty older sisters
Honored their younger brother’s wife
By making her drink milk liquor:
“For many days and nights,
For many years to come,
Bring the essence of your cattle to your mouth!”
They kept on urging her to drink more,
Making her taste the essence of the milk
They made her get drunk.
When this had happened
Abai Geser’s three pretty older sisters
Told her what they had to say,
They recounted what had happened:
“Our hero Abai Geser,
Our warrior mighty in magic,
Is at the beginning of the east,
In the wrong looking land,
In the meager land,
In the land withered and full of grief,
In the land with three marshy rivers,
In the land of slippery slopes,
In the land of evil spirits and demons,
In the scorching hot land,
In the dark and sunless land,
In the dry land devoid of plants,
Day and night he is oppressed and helpless,
For year after year he will be oppressed by trash.
There has never been a boy born
In the serene high heavens
Who can fight Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
There in only one person born
On the sacred broad earth
Who can defeat Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi!
Manzan Gurme Toodei,
Who has the great silver cup,
Who watches over a thousand gods,
Who supports ten thousand tenger,
Says that only one person can save
Abai Geser and his wife Urmai Goohon
From the curses and sorcery
Of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
She says that only Alma Mergen
Is able to rescue them!”
When her three sisters in law said this
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen said:
“Abai Geser is three times as strong
As his wife Alma Mergen,
His magical powers are three times greater
Than my magical powers.
If Abai Geser can be enchanted
By Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
My courage and powers will not be enough,”
Alma Mergen argued with them.
This having happened
The three pretty older sisters
Poured out arza and horza for Alma Mergen,
Making her drink one cup after another.
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Became very red in the face,
She talked as loud as ten men,
She danced around like twenty men.
Becoming intoxicated by the arza,
Becoming confused by the horza,
Her resistance was weakening,
Her blood was becoming hot.
She then said to them:
“My three pretty sisters in law
You had begged me until now to do something,
My strong and round body
Now regrets and realizes I was wrong to refuse.
I will go to the land of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
I will try out my powers in battle,
I will go to rescue my great hero Abai Geser,
I will go to save his wife Urmai Goohon!”
Saying this she had the thoughts of a wolf,
Saying this she made her heart as hard as stone.
This having happened,
She started to prepare her blood-red horse…

Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Made quick preparations,
She made wise preparations.
She dressed herself for the journey
, Turning around before a mirror the size of a saddle blanket,
She dusted off dirt from her clothes,
Turning around before a mirror the size of a door.
She put on the clothes that she wore in battle,
She put on the weapons she carried on the warpath.
After she had done this
She said to her three sisters in law:
“May you always gather up happiness,
May you ever live spreading blessings.”
The three older sisters replied:
“May you go where you intend
With destiny and fortune,
Going with destiny and luck
May you travel with success!”
Having given her their blessing
They flew back up into the heavens.
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Opened the massive pearly door in a beautiful way,
She stepped over the granite threshold in a pure way,
Without stumbling she went down the silver steps
Over which a mare and her foal could run,
Without erring she went down the silver walkway
Over which a mare and her colt could run.
When she stood at the silver hitching post
She pulled loose the lovely silver reins,
Taking her black handled quirt in her right hand,
Taking her horse’s red reins in her left hand,
She put her foot into a massive silver stirrup
And swung into her Yakut silver saddle.
She turned her horse sunwise
From the golden shaft of the serge,
Followed by Buidan Ulaan Baatar
Who she took as a companion on the road.
They rode toward the very distant east,
They trotted toward the demons’ country!..
Jumping and flying like hawks,
Making a noise like flying arrows,
Trotting over the tops of mountains,
Galloping above the treetops,
They passed the border
Of their nurturing homeland,
They crossed the border
Of a strange and foreign land.
After this had happened
Alma Mergen began to sober up
From her drunkenness,
She was very surprised,
She was most astonished,
She asked Buidan Ulaan Baatar:
“Where did we come from,
Where are we going,
What is the destination
For which we left home?”
The white oldest son
Of Buuluur Sagaan Tenger,
Buidan Ulaan Baatar replied:
“We are traveling to the very distant east,
We left home to go to the land of the demons.
We are going to fight and defeat
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi!
We are journeying there to rescue
Our hero Abai Geser!
We left with the instructions and blessings of
Your three sisters in law!”
When he told here these things
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen’s
Red heart began to pound in her chest,
Her short ribs contracted in.
When this had happened she said:
“Ai! What fate has been dealt to me!..
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi is
Three times greater in ability
Three times stronger in magic
Than Geser’s wife Alma Mergen.
How will I defeat a manifestation of a powerful demon?
How will I overcome an incarnation of a powerful monster?!”
She made her heart brave,
She had no peace of mind…

This having happened
Abai Geser’s warrior Buidan Ulaan said:
“My lady Alma Mergen
When will you help and rescue Geser,
What of your promise
To your three sisters in law?”
He blamed and scolded her.
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Remembered the promise she made
To her three pretty sisters in law,
She became very embarrassed,
She was filled with regret…
She thought the thoughts of a wolf,
She make her heart hard as stone.
She then replied to Buidan Ulaan Baatar:
“When I travel beyond this place
I will be going by myself.
Go back on the road we have traveled,
Go back to your home!”
When she had said this
She gathered twelve magicks on her palms,
She made twenty three magicks dance on her fingers:
She turned her lovely steed into a flint,
Putting it in her pocket,
She turned herself into a meadowlark,
And flew up into the sky.
Going upwards and upwards
She twittered like the lark of the heavens,
She flew like the lark of the skies,
She flew to the beginning of the east,
To the wrong looking land,
To the meager land,
To the land withered and full of grief,
To the land of three marshy rivers,
To the land of slippery slopes,
To the land of evil spirits and demons,
To the scorching hot land,
To the dark and sunless land,
To the dry land devoid of plants…

Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Soaring like the lark of the heavens,
Flying up like the lark of the skies,
Tricked the eyes of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi’s
Two winged warriors,
She distorted the hearing of his two guards.
Flying past them she came down to the ground,
She tricked the eyes of the two warriors with staves
That lurked under three layers of the earth,
She distorted the hearing of the two warriors
Who stood watch as the border
Of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi’s country.
She flew to the north side of the palace
Of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
Testing his magical powers,
She flew to the south side of the palace,
Becoming familiar with his sorcery.
She saw Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
Who had a face black as coal,
Who had teeth like spades,
Whose head was like a pot,
Whose belly was like a tub,
A manifestation of a demon,
An incarnation of a monster.
She saw her husband Abai Geser,
Who had been turned into an ass,
Who was chained with iron chains,
Who was shackled with iron shackles,
Who hauled black stones on the far side of a forested mountain,
Who had an iron halter on his head,
Who was lashed with an iron whip.
She saw Urmai Goohon
Who paced back and forth,
Who screamed and cried,
Who went in and out of the house,
Who wept and mourned…
When Alma Mergen had seen this
Her blood boiled with anger and hatred,
She wanted to wring the scrawny neck
Of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi.

The brown spotted lark
Flitted about here and there,
She soared above the house
Of her enemy’s older sister Big Yonhoboi.
She tested the magic of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi’s sister,
She became familiar with her sorcerous powers.
She saw the face of the demonic older sister:
Her two eyelids drooped down to her cheeks,
Her two cheeks drooped down to her breasts,
Her two breasts dropped down to her belly,
Her belly drooped down to her knees,
Her kneecaps drooped down to her feet,
She rode a black iron wagon pulled by a joroo horse,
She carried an iron scraper ten thousand ells long.
She then flew over the house
Of the second oldest sister Middle Yonhoboi,
She tested the magic of Middle Yonhoboi,
She came to know her sorcerous powers.
She saw the ugly face of the demonic sister:
Her eyelashes hung down to her lips,
Her lips hung down to her chest,
Her breasts hung down to her knees,
Her kneecaps hung down to her feet.
The brown spotted lark flew on further,
To spy on the house of the youngest sister Little Yonhoboi,
She tested her magical powers and abilities,
She saw the face of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi’s sister:
Her two eyebrows drooped down over her nose and cheeks,
Her two cheeks hung over her mouth,
Her mouth drooped down over her breasts,
Her breasts hung down to her belly button,
Her belly drooped down to her shins.
She was no less than the other two Yonhoboi sisters,
They all looked the same and had similar powers.
The brown spotted lark flew up into the sky,
She thought about what she would do,
She spoke many words to herself.
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Returned to the house of Big Yonhoboi,
She gathered twelve magicks on her palms,
She made twenty three magicks dance on her fingers.
When she had done this
She made brought down the heat of three years in one day,
It became so hot that horse shit would catch on fire.
The oldest sister of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
Big Yonhoboi, could not tolerate the heat.
She went to the big white lake to wade and swim,
She waded and swam until she was tired,
She stretched her body out on the beach,
She fell asleep in the shadow of a tree.
As she was overcome by sleep
She lay there as bulky as a mountain,
She loomed as big as a hill.
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Used her magic on Big Yonhoboi
So that she would not awaken from her sleep:
Saying “May you not awaken for eight days!”
She cast her spell on Big Yonhoboi,
She made her fall into a deep sleep.
After she had done this
Alma Mergen took on the shape of Big Yonhoboi,
She hitched the joroo horse to the black iron wagon,
She took the iron scraper ten thousand ells long.
She scraped a fresh moose skin noisily,
She scraped a fresh deer skin until it was smoking.
She went to the house of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
Stopping her cart before his gate.
Urmai Goohon with the face like the red sun
Came our to greet her sister in law,
She tied the joroo horse to the hitching post,
They left the black iron cart by the serge.
The oldest sister of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Greeted her “sister in law,”
Greeting with the greetings of the khan,
Greeting with the greetings of the queen,
Urmai Goohon brought her “sister in law”
Inside Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi’s home.
She brought out liquor and wine,
She poured out arza and horza,
“Big Yonhoboi” ate up all the food,
She got drunk from the liquor,
She became confused smoking her pipe.
When this was happening
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Rode on the back of Abai Geser
Whom he turned into an ass by his magic,
He hauled black stones on the north side of the forested mountain,
He lashed him with his iron whip,
When the red sun of evening was setting
He rode back to his house.
Urmai Goohon came out and embraced
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi, saying:
“Our oldest sister Big Yonhoboi
Has come to visit us.”
When he heard this
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi said:
“If my sister Big Yonhoboi
Comes to visit our house,
She would not have come
Without telling me first.”
He was very doubtful,
He was very thoughtful,
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi said:
“Maybe, maybe, maybe,
Are you sure this is not a manifestation
Of Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen?
You go inside and watch her,
I will stay out here and shout:
I will yell with the voices of a thousand stags,
I will shout with the voices of ten thousand stags,
If she is truly my oldest sister
She will sit there unperturbed,
If she is Alma Mergen
She will fall over in fright.”
When he had said this
He sent Urmai Goohon in his house to watch her,
Having done this Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Shouted with the voices of a thousand stags,
Yelled with the voices of ten thousand stags,
The noise knocked over standing stones,
The noise cracked rocks lying on the ground,
Waves splashed on the shores of the Milk Sea,
The world mountain Humber Uula was trembling.
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Was frightened by the shouts
Of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
She fell face down on the ground.
When this had happened,
Urmai Goohon with a face like the red sun
Ran outside and said to Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi:
“It is Alma Mergen!”
When Urmai Goohon rushed out to tell him
Alma Mergen used her magic on Urmai Goohon
, Distorting the way her words were heard,
Turning her tongue around in her mouth.
When Urmai Goohon said “Alma Mergen”
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi heard “older sister.”
When he heard this
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi was worried
That he had offended his older sister,
He went quickly into his house,
He bowed his head and knelt
Before his oldest sister,
Greeting her with the greetings of the khan,
Greeting her with the greetings of the queen.
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Spoke with the words of Big Yonhoboi:
“How angry you are,
How wrathful you are,
When you come back from your journey
Why do you come shouting and yelling?”
After she had said this
She became drunk and red in the face,
She sat together with her “brother”
Talking about things from the earliest times,
They talked together in a friendly way
Reminding each other of what happened in the past…
When this had happened
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Had become very drunk,
She began to lose her senses,
She was very intoxicated,
She slept after becoming an idiot.
When his “sister” had passed out drunk
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Said to his wife Urmai Goohon:
“My wife Urmai Goohon,
Have a good look at her.
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Has a birthmark in her right armpit
That is as big as a palm,
My sister Big Yonhoboi
Has a mole in her left armpit
The size of a thumb!”
He showed her where
Alma Mergen lay sleeping.
Urmai Goohon lifted her right arm,
She looked at her right armpit–
There was a birthmark the size of a palm.
Urmai Goohon was very frightened,
When she said to Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
“I found Alma Mergen’s birthmark,”
He heard her say that
She found Big Yonhoboi’s mole.
When the sun had risen the next morning
Alma Mergen awoke from her sleep,
She went to Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
And told him she was very offended:
“Before you had gotten a wife
You would greet your sister Big Yonhoboi
When she was three haraa away!
Now that you have gotten married
You think badly of your sister Big Yonhoboi
You greet her with screaming and yelling!
When you got married by whose power was it done?
When you found love who made it possible?
Who provided the ability to turn Geser into an ass
So that you could bring him back here?
Who made it possible for you to marry Urmai Goohon
And bring her into your household?”
She spoke blaming and criticizing him,
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi could say nothing,
He tried to assuage her anger,
Bringing a golden table he served delicious food,
Bringing a silver table he served beautiful food.
He brought out liquor and wine,
He poured out arza and horza,
He spoke many words,
He honored her greatly.
His “sister” Big Yonhoboi
Was warmed by the liquor,
She was red in the face,
She gave a blessing
To her “sister in law” Urmai Goohon:
“My sister in law Urmai Goohon,
Who is as beautiful as the red sun,
May you live for a hundred years,
May you never have true happiness!”
When she said this strange blessing
Urmai Goohon was very surprised
She was most astonished…
After this had happened
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Said to Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi:
“Your jealous enemy in the north,
That hateful demon in the south,
Abai Geser with the body as big as a house,
Was enchanted by you and turned into an ass!
You chained him with iron chains and brought him home.
How do you ride him?
How do you abuse him?
How do you make him suffer?
How do you torture him?
Have you made his black blood boil?
Have you spilled his red blood?
Have you made him sweat black sweat?
Have you made him flecked with foam?”
Since his sister kept pestering him about it
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Showed the ass to “Big Yonhoboi.”
When “Big Yonhoboi” saw the ass
She became very angry,
Her mouth gaped in fury:
“You ride this pitiful thing,
You abuse this poor thing?..
This demon of an ass never tires,
Its head is so fat it cannot open its eyes,
Its mane is thick and its body is fat.
Grab its ears and twist them,
Let us see how strong he is,
Let us see how fit he is…”
When she had said this
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Grabbed the ass by the ears.
The ass bucked and shoved him,
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Fell down on his knees,
His head banged against the wall.
When she had seen this happen
His “sister Big Yonhoboi” said:
“Give me the ass that you ride,
Let me have him for one month!”
When she had demanded this
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi replied:
“I will not promise something I cannot do,
I will not say something I cannot fulfill,
I cannot let you ride that ass,”
He answered very sharply.
His “sister Big Yonhoboi” said:
“Abai Geser who had a body as big as a house
Draws his power from the heavens above,
He is supported by the earth below,
Every day he thinks about breaking off evil,
Every night he thinks of how to suppress his enemies.
If you do not trust me
You will not live to see another summer,
I will make your blood clot in your veins,
I will turn your hard bones into jelly!
If you can remember how I saved you
And you still cannot trust me,
I can do without you,
You can fend for yourself!”
After she spoke as if she were very offended
She took out her scraper ten thousand ells long,
She held it in her hand and went out,
Acting like she had been gravely insulted
She jumped back toward her house,
She traveled with the power of her feet.
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi said:
“If I do not do something now
I will never be able to repair the damage
Caused by my insult to my sister!…”
He shouted after her,
He yelled very excitedly
He promised to give her the ass…

His “sister Big Yonhoboi”
Returned to him at once,
She hitched the joroo horse
To her black iron wagon.
She brought the black ass
Out of his iron stall.
When she led the ass out of his stall
He neighed when he recognized Alma Mergen,
All of his doubts went away.
After she had done this
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Lashed him with the iron whip,
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi’s ass neighed,
Many thoughts were stirring in his mind!..
She tied the black ass to her iron wagon,
She starting driving it toward home,
She galloped away from Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi’s home.
When “oldest sister Big Yonhoboi”
Led the black ass beyond a tall red hill,
Where they were hidden from sight,
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi called
His two winged warriors,
He summoned the two warriors with staves.
He had been thinking,
He spoke to them of his idea:
“My sister Big Yonhoboi
Is riding back to her home
Leading my black ass,
She gallops toward her lands.
My two winged warriors,
My two warriors with staves,
My four demons,
Be watching the skies,
Be watching below the ground.
We will soon know what is truth
We will quickly know what was a lie.
I have been thinking a lot,
I have come up with this idea!…
If she is my older sister Big Yonhoboi
She will be whipping him back to her home,
She will be riding in the direction of her house,
She will be galloping back to her homeland.
If she is Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
She will be riding toward the Muren River,
She will be galloping toward the Hatan River,”
Having said these things
He quickly sent away the two winged warriors,
He dispatched the two warriors with staves.

The two winged warriors stood watch in the heavens,
The warriors with staves stood guard underground.
These four evil demons spied in heaven and earth,
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Headed for the Muren River,
She galloped toward the Hatan River.
When the four evil demons saw what had happened,
They told the black mangadhai Lobsogoldoi what they had seen.

Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Knew what had happened,
She understood very well,
She used her magic
To turn around the tongues
Of the two winged warriors,
She used her powers
To distort the words
Of the two warriors with staves.

When the four evil demons stood
Before Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Their tongues spoke the wrong thing,
Their words were all distorted
They had meant to say
“Alma Mergen went to the Muren River,
She galloped toward the Hatan River,”
Instead Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi heard
“Your oldest sister Big Yonhoboi
Was leading your black ass,
Riding toward the land of the demons.”
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Rode in the direction of the Muren River,
She traveled toward the Hatan River.
While they were traveling
She stopped and dismounted
At the edge of the great taiga.
She found the sources of nine springs,
For the duration of three days
She led Geser into the waters of nine springs,
Making him wade while she washed him.
She smudged him and did ariulga
With juniper gathered from the great taiga.
She slapped him on the right cheek,
Making him vomit up a black substance;
She slapped him on the left cheek,
Making him throw up a shiny black substance.
She was still not satisfied, saying:
“You are not clean enough from the waters of nine springs,
You are not pure enough from juniper of the great taiga,”
She did ariulga on the foods he ate three times a day,
She cleansed him for three more days,
She restored Abai Geser to his true body,
His round face showed once more,
She restored him to his original appearance,
His red face showed once more.

When the hero Abai Geser,
Who had a body as big as a house,
Was restored to his true body,
When his round face showed once more,
When he resumed his original appearance,
When his red face showed once more,
He said to his wife Alma Mergen
Who was as beautiful as the golden sun:
“You have restored my life,
You saved my amin and hulde,
You came at the right time,
You rescued my hulde and my spirit!”
He hugged her around her lovely neck,
He kissed and stroked her beautiful right cheek.
After this had happened
Abai Geser and his wife Alma Mergen
Returned to the Muren River,
They came back to the eternal lake,
They returned to the Hatan River,
They came back to the black lake,
They returned to the water they drank,
They came back to their homeland.
After they had arrived Geser said:
“What woman’s son comes to plunder and steal?”
The white hairs on the crown of his head bristled,
The white teeth in his mouth were grinding.
He then said:
“The bones of an ox
Go from the back to the chest,
The bones of a man
Are wasted here and there!”
He called for his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers, saying:
“Mend what is ripped,
Fix what is broken,
Sew up what is torn,
Weld what is broken!”
They made quick preparations,
They made wise preparations,
When they were doing this Geser said:
“I need my fiery steed,
My companion on the road!”
He sang a song of twelve notes,
He stood by the golden shaft of the serge,
He sang a song of twelve tones,
Calling his horse from the Altai Mountains.
He chanted a song of thirteen notes,
He stood by the silver hitching post,
Calling Beligen the bay horse from the Huhii taiga.

When he heard Geser’s song of twelve notes,
When he heard his chant of thirteen tones,
Beligen the bay horse,
The steed mighty in body,
With wisdom in his bones,
Was out on the white steppe,
Rolling in the grass
In the shade of five pine trees.
He knew what was happening
He understood very well.
He trampled the ground in three places,
His one ear pricked up to listen to the serene high heaven,
His other ear pricked up to listen to the sacred broad earth.
Beligen the bay horse thought to himself:
“My mighty hero Abai Geser calls me,
Did his keen hearing hear an enemy from far away?
Did his keen eyesight reveal an enemy nearby?
When my brave and mighty master calls me
I have no ability to resist going,
When he is summoning and beckoning me
It is impossible not to return.”
He told the thirteen does that grazed with him:
“Graze and become fat in the Altai Mountains,
Graze and become fat in the Huhii taiga.
I was a foal born with a destiny,
I am the fiery steed of a great hero!”
When he had said these things
The thirteen does replied:
“If we are separated from you
We will become prey for hunters.
Let us go together with you
Let us be your companions on the road.”
When Beligen the bay horse was leaving
The thirteen does followed behind him.
When Beligen the bay horse saw this
He gave instructions to the thirteen does:
“If you follow after me,
If you come to my homeland,
You will be chased by dogs with tails,
You will be attacked by dogs without tails,
Stay here and graze in the Altai Mountains,
If I am doing well the grass of the Altai
Will grow even higher than before,
Go and graze among the twenty three ridges
Of the great Huhii taiga,
If I am in good health its springs
Will flow with even more cold clear water;
If I am cut off during my journey,
If I die in a foreign country,
The grass of the Altai Mountains will wither,
The spring of the Huhii taiga will dry up.”
He sent the does back to the Altai Mountains,
Beligen the bay horse galloped toward home.
He laid his round head on his back,
He lashed his bobbed tail on his back,
When he ran at a gentle pace
He left tracks the size of cups,
When he ran very swiftly,
He kicked up trail like a trench;
His two front hooves struck red fire as he ran,
His two back hooves kicked up dust as he ran,
His four hooves struck sparks as he galloped,
His forty teeth ate dust as he trotted,
He arrived at his home,
Standing at the silver hitching post with eighty rings,
He raised his handsome round head and neighed.
Abai Geser ran out of his house,
He hugged Beligen the bay horse and kissed him.
He put a silver halter on his head,
He put a silver bit in his mouth,
He put a silk-edged saddle blanket on his back,
He put a saddle of chased silver on his back,
He laid a silver crupper over his flanks,
He laid silver breast straps over his shoulders,
He adjusted a girth of ten straps,
He tightened a girth of twenty straps;
He hung a black handled quirt from the saddle,
He tied his lovely reins to the saddle horn.
Abai Geser then said:
“My horse’s preparations are done,”
He took the lovely red reins
Of Beligen the bay horse
And tied him to the silver hitching post.
Abai Geser then said:
“I will now prepare my own body,”
And he went into his house.
He pulled on his black pants
Sewn from the skins of seventy deer,
He tugged on his black fishskin boots,
He pulled on the silk deel
That he always wore in battle,
He buttoned its seventy brass buttons
With the strength of his thumb,
He took his sash ten ells long
That was decorated with gold and silver
And wound it around his waist.
While he dressed he said:
“Is sleeping with a lover a woman’s game,
Is sleeping with a lover a man’s game?”
He was unable to contain
His anger and hatred.
While he prepared himself
He could hardly tolerate
The hate and desire for revenge
That boiled inside his heart.
The white hairs on his crown were bristling,
The white teeth in his mouth were grinding.
Abai Geser placed black armor on his back,
He put beaten iron armor on his chest,
He hung his silver bowcase on his right side,
He hung his silver decorate quiver on his left side,
He put seventy five arrows in his quiver,
He put ninety five arrows in his quiver,
So that they would be like shade in the heat of summer,
So that they would be of help in the cold of winter.
He took his heroic yellow bow of seventy laminations
And put it in its bowcase hanging at his side.
He donned his mink fur hat
That was as big as a haystack,
That was decorated with thick red tassels.
He strapped on his silvery steel helmet,
He was gleaming like the sun,
He rustled like a tree in full leaf.
He turned around in front of a mirror
As big as a door,
Brushing off dust and dirt,
He dressed in front of a mirror
As big as a saddle blanket,
Dusting off dirt and trash.
He melted spider oil in his mouth
So he would not be hungry for ten years,
He anointed his nose with worm oil,
So he would not be hungry for twenty years.
When he had done all this Geser said:
“Now that my body is ready
It is now time to ride!”
Abai Geser opened the massive pearly door in a beautiful way,
He stepped over the massive granite threshold in a pure way,
Without stumbling he went down the silver steps
Over which a mare could run with her foal,
Without erring he went down the silver walkway
Over which a mare could run with her colt.
He came and stood by the silver hitching post,
He made magic over Beligen the bay horse,
Speaking magic words over his withers
The horse became like a foal,
Speaking words of power over his shoulders
The horse became like a colt.
After he had done this
He pulled the reins loose from the hitching post,
He took his black handled quirt in his right hand,
He took the lovely red reins in his left hand,
He put his foot in a massive silver stirrup,
He swung into his silver chased saddle.
He pulled the right rein of Beligen the bay horse,
He turned sunwise by the shaft of the serge,
Followed by his thirty three warriors,
The three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers,
Abai Geser rode toward the northeast,
He headed for the lands of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi…

The two wives climbed up to a high place,
They watched their good men ride away.
When this happened Tumen Jargalan,
Who was as beautiful as the round sun said:
“They are not men,
They are heroes,
Those are not horses,
They are hawks!…
After just a moment
Nothing is left at the golden serge
But a handful of dust!”
She was very deeply moved.
Abai Geser’s other wife Alma Mergen
Who was as beautiful as the golden sun said:
“Only part of a red tassel of a hat
Can be seen beyond the mountain ridge,
Only the sound of the black handled quirt
Can be heard from the direction in which they went.”
She then gave them her blessing:
“May you go where you intend to go
With destiny and fortune,
May destiny and luck follow you,
May you travel with success!”
Thus she sent her blessing after them.

Abai Geser and his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers,
Trotted on the khan’s straight road,
They galloped on the people’s broad road.
They trotted over the peaks of mountains,
They galloped above the treetops,
They trotted over the mountain in the south,
They galloped over the mountain to the north,
Traveling just below the edge of the blue sky,
Traveling just above the fluffy white clouds,
They raced the strong winds of the sky,
They raced the stars of the heavens,
They rode with the winds of the sky,
They raced the sun and moon in the heavens.
They were flying like eagles,
They were soaring like hawks,
They made a noise like flying arrows,
The flew in a line like migrating geese.
Flying like a lightning bolt,
Thundering like a falling rock,
They rode with all their might,
The went as fast as they could.
They passed the border
Of their nurturing native land,
They crossed the border
Of a strange foreign country.
When they entered the country
Of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
They followed the road made by
Geser’s older brother Zasa Mergen Baatar.
When they had traveled further
They reached the last of the barriers
Erected by Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi.
A yellow lake lay splashing before them,
Crawling with poisonous snakes and worms.
When Abai Geser looked upwards
He saw even an eagle could not go across,
When he looked downwards
He saw there was no path to get through.
When Abai Geser had seen this
He gathered twelve magicks on his palms,
He make twenty three magicks dance on his fingers,
He lay his healing sandalwood staff
In the yellow lake created by Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
The magic of the healing wood cleansed its waters,
They were then able to go across.
When they entered the lands
Of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
They observed the country,
They looked at its inhabitants,
When they saw the enemy’s black iron palace
They could hear the sound of Urmai Goohon’s weeping…
When Geser heard her weeping
His red heart pounded in his chest,
His white tendons twitched in his shins,
Many thoughts stirred in his mind,
The white hairs on the crown of his head bristled,
He ground the white teeth in his mouth.
He became very angry,
His mouth gaped in fury.
He thought the thoughts of a wolf,
He made his heart hard as stone.
When this had happened
Abai Geser divided up his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army
And his three thousand soldiers
Into three groups.
Eleven warriors,
One hundred leaders of the army
And one thousand soldiers
Would attack the two winged warriors
And the two warriors with staves.
He sent another division
To do battle with the three Yonhoboi sisters.
He sent the third division
To do battle with Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi’s army
Which was like a swarm of ants and maggots.
After Abai Geser had done this
He gathered twelve magicks on his palms,
He made twenty three magicks dance on his fingers,
He pulled the left rein of Beligen the bay horse,
He flicked his quirt on his right flank,
In the twinkling of an eye
He stood before the black iron palace
Of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi…
After he had done this
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi knew Geser had come,
He knew the frightful thing he intended,
He understood this very well, saying:
“I hear the noise of Abai Geser’s war cries,
I hear the thunder of the hooves of Beligen the bay horse.”
His dark heart pounded in his chest,
His short ribs sunk in on themselves…
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi said:
“If I stay here I will die,
If I go I will be killed!”
He laid a saddle blanket on his iron blue horse,
He strapped on a rawhide saddle,
He wound a white marmot fur band around his head,
He rode out to meet Abai Geser.
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
Pulled hard on the reins of his iron blue horse,
He spurred him so hard as to break his ribs,
He urged him on so hard he was flecked with white foam,
He whipped him until he was drenched with black sweat,
His head turned and looked around as he galloped,
He shouted at Abai Geser,
“You demon who was jealous behind my back,
You powerful warrior who was hateful to my face!”
He met him in the country of evil spirits and demons,
He confronted him in that scorching hot land,
He challenged him in the lands of the east!
Their stirrups brushing against each other,
Their two red faces facing each other
They met on the road with violence,
They stood stirrup to stirrup,
They gave each other evil looks,
They slapped each other’s mouths,
They punched each other’s noses.
Abai Geser asked Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi:
“Shall we compete by the strength of our thumbs,
Shall we fight with the tips of pointed weapons,
Shall we compete with the swiftness of our horses,
Shall we fight with the points of our arrows?”
He spoke to his enemy menacingly.
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi replied:
“I am not worried about the strength of my horse,
I am not concerned about the sharpness of my weapons,
I will eat you up from your head to your feet!”
He dismounted and stood waiting for him.
Abai Geser said to Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi:
“I have a body that has broken necks thick as axles,
I have a body that has smashed silver bow cases!”
Abai Geser thrust an arrow into the ground,
Tying Beligen the bay horse to its shaft.
He tucked the skirts of his deel above his waist,
He rolled up his sleeves above his elbows.
Two warriors with strong bodies,
Two warriors strong in magic,
Lowered their heads and charged like two bulls,
They butted at each other like two male camels,
They tore the flesh off each other’s backs with their fingers,
The bit the flesh off each other’s chests with their teeth,
Ravens flew in from the south to have their evening meal,
Magpies flew in from the north to have their food for the night.
They wrestled and fought for the duration of three days,
Two warriors with strong bodies,
Two warriors strong in magic,
They were as equally matched as the two sides of a camel,
They were as equally matched as the two sides of a horse,
After they had struggled for the duration of nine days,
Abai Geser became stronger than before,
He was more powerful than when he began.
He grabbed Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi under his arms,
Squeezing him with great strength,
He broke off a great red larch,
So big that ten men joining hands
Could stand around its trunk,
He beat Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi with the huge tree.
When he was doing this
Abai Geser’s thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers,
Arrived from three different directions
And gathered together.
They had chased the two winged warriors
Of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi
They had caught the two warriors with staves,
They caught up with them after chasing them
Three times around the world,
They captured them after chasing them
Four times around the world.
They caught them before they could flee
To the land of the forty four tenger of the east.
They had struck off their heads
And brought them spitted on their iron lances.
They had killed the three Yonhoboi sisters
By striking them on the head;
They were fettered inside an iron tub
And the tub was sunk to the bottom
Of a dark black lake.
They had defeated an indefatigable enemy,
They had earned a mighty name,
They had conquered an unconquerable foe,
They had grabbed the colt by the tail.
Thirty three warriors,
Three hundred leaders of the army,
And three thousand soldiers
Had come to find Abai Geser,
They gathered and talked together.

Geser had won a great victory
Over Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi.
When this had happened Abai Geser said:
“If I had killed this demon and cut off his life,
All of the flowing waters would dry up,
All of the plants would wither from the roots up.”
While Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi baaed like a goat,
While he cried and whimpered like a fawn,
Geser uprooted a great mountain in the south
And placed it over his enemy’s chest.
He pulled up a great mountain in the north
And placed it over his enemy’s belly.
He placed a crazy strong man from the heavens
To keep watch over his enemy’s head with an iron hammer,
He put a crazy strong man from the earth
To stand guard over his enemy’s feet with a steel hammer.
Abai Geser spoke a spell over him:
“May you lay here for all time,
May the two mountains cover you for a thousand ages
So that you will never rise again,
May you be trampled by the hooves of horses
In the heat of summer,
May you be run over by the runners of sleds
In the cold of the winter.”
He then gave his instructions to the two strong men,
Abai Geser then said:
“When a strong enemy has been defeated,
His steed must be killed as well!”
The iron blue horse was brought to him,
He struck it on the head and put it down.
The lower part of the body of Atai Ulaan Tenger,
Which had been thrown down from the sky,
Which had been cast down to the earth,
Which incarnated as Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
Was utterly defeated by Abai Geser,
It had been completely overcome.
Being crushed down by two red mountains,
When the sun rose in the morning
It was as if it were in its young years,
When the red sun of the evening was setting,
It was as if it were in its old age.
The two strong men rejoiced when it was evening,
They were sad when it had become morning…

A year and a day after this happened,
Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi raised his head,
He looked around at the wide world.
When his poisonous eyes glanced about
Plants withered and trees dried up,
The waters he saw dried up,
The animals he saw died,
The people he saw passed away,
His glances brought on famine,
His looks brought death and calamity.
The crazy strong man of the heavens
Who stood guard at his head with his black iron hammer
And the crazy strong man of the earth
Who stood watching his feet with his hard steel hammer
Took turns pounding on the potlike head
Of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
They forced him to lie down once more!

After he won his victory Abai Geser said:
“I have defeated an indefatigable enemy,
I have won a mighty name for myself;
I have conquered an unconquerable foe,
I have grabbed the colt by the tail!”
Followed by his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers,
He went quickly to the iron palace
Of Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi,
He went to greet and embrace Urmai Goohon
Who was as beautiful as the red sun…
After he had done this Abai Geser set out for home,
Accompanied by his thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of the army,
And his three thousand soldiers,
So numerous they could fill a valley,
Flowing like the waters of a stream,
They brought Urmai Goohon back to her home,
The galloped in the direction of their native land.
Even if their destination was far
They continued to trot down the road,
Even if the world was broad,
They galloped on their way.
They came to the Muren River,
They reached the shores of the eternal lake,
They came to the Hatan River,
They reached the shores of the black lake,
They came to the waters they drank,
They reached their native land.
They had gone to the place they intended to go
With destiny and fortune,
Followed by destiny and luck,
They returned home with success!

Other versions of this chapter say that when they were going home Geser killed the baby that Urmai Goohon had by Loir Hara Lobsogoldoi. Some Buryats say that she was dragged behind Geser’s horse as a punishment. Other versions, such as that of the Bulagat Buryats, say that she and Lobsogoldoi were nailed to a larch tree and left to die. She was returned home in chains and her life was only spared through the intervention of Alma Mergen, to whom Geser gave his humiliated and unfaithful wife as a slave.

One day when Abai Geser had gone out hunting,
His uncle Hara Zutan came to visit his nephew’s wife.
Tumen Jargalan welcomed Hara Zutan nicely,
Bringing a golden table she served delicious food,
Bringing a silver table she honored him with beautiful food.
Pouring out liquor and wine she got him drunk,
Drinking arza and horza he became very drunk.
Malicious Hara Zutan Noyon was very satisfied,
He had nothing to complain about.
Becoming drunk he began acting disgracefully,
He grabbed his nephew’s wife,
Speaking jealous and hateful words:
“I have been thinking about you for a long time.
Abai Geser should give you to me!”
Speaking these offensive words,
He pestered and insulted her…
Abai Geser’s wife Tumen Jargalan said:
“Uncle, this is wrong, you are drunk.”
She spread out bedding thick bedding for him to lie on,
She put a big soft pillow under his head,
Lying under an otter fur blanket he snored,
Lying under a mink fur blanket he was puffing as he slept.

On the following morning Hara Zutan Noyon arose,
He washed his face and hands,
He straightened out his hair and clothing,
He began to talk again.
Geser’s wife Tumen Jargalan said:
“Our uncle is hung over,”
She poured out another cup of liquor,
She got him drunk once more.

When Hara Zutan drank he forgot himself,
When he smoked he became confused,
He began nagging at Tumen Jargalan once more.
He said similar words to the day before:
“I was the first to go court Tumen Jargalan,
who is as beautiful as the round red sun.
Because Abai Geser won the prizes
I went home empty-handed…
When my nephew Abai Geser went out hunting
He said for me to eat here,
He commanded me to be more friendly with you,”
When he said these things
Tumen Jargalan said:
“Our uncle is drunk and being stupid,”
She laid out bedding for him to lie on,
She put a thick pillow under his head,
Under an otter fur blanket he lay snoring,
Under a mink fur blanket he puffed as he slept.

Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon arose on the following morning,
He washed his face and hands,
He straightened out his hair and clothing,
He once again started talking.
Geser’s wife Tumen Jargalan said:
“Our uncle is hung over,”
Pouring out arza and horza
She got him drunk once more.
When malevolent Hara Zutan drank he forgot himself,
When he smoked he became confused.
He began carping at Tumen Jargalan once again:
“My lady Tumen Jargalan,
Who is as beautiful as the round red sun,
We are required to turn back
The destiny and fortune given to us.
When Geser rode out to the hunt
We sacrificed an ox and he said
That I can take what is mine,”
When he said these crazy things
Tumen Jargalan said:
“Our uncle is drunk and talking crazy,”
She spread out bedding for him to lie on,
She lay out a thick pillow for his head,
He lay snoring under an otter fur blanket,
He slept puffing under a mink fur blanket.

Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon arose on the fourth morning,
He washed his face and hands,
He straightened out his hair and clothes,
He started talking once more.
Tumen Jargalan said:
“Our uncle is hung over,”
And honored him with more liquor,
Getting him drunk again.
When malevolent Hara Zutan drank he forgot himself,
When he smoked he became confused.
He began bothering Tumen Jargalan once more:
“When Geser rode out to the hunt,
We sacrificed a stallion,
He told me to be joined with you!”
He grabbed his nephew’s wife and started harassing her…
When this happened
Geser’s wife Tumen Jargalan
Had no more patience for his behavior.
The good thoughts she had about him were broken:
“The day before yesterday I thought
You were speaking the words of a drunken man,
Yesterday when you spoke
I thought they were the ramblings of an old man.
Today on the fourth day I know you are speaking your true thoughts.”
She screamed calling for Buidan Ulaan Baatar.

He who turns around life,
The white oldest son of
Buuluur Sagaan Tenger,
Buidan Ulaan Baatar,
Came rushing in at once.
Tumen Jargalan said:
“Malevolent Hara Zutan lies there drunk and crazy.
Put him on his horse and send him away!”

The white oldest son of
Buuluur Sagaan Tenger,
Buidan Ulaan Baatar,
Guessing what had happened,
Understanding what Tumen Jargalan wanted,
Understanding why she wanted it,
Took a black handled whip with eighteen tails,
Brandishing it in his right hand he entered the house…
When Buidan Ulaan Baatar came in,
Hara Zutan lay there drunk, red, and crazy,
Having become completely senseless
He sat chattering and talking aimlessly.

Buidan Ulaan Baatar became very angry,
His mouth gaped in fury.
He grabbed the old man’s white hair,
Wrapping it around his hand.
He pulled him off the bedding,
Dragging him out the door.
When they had come outside
He struck him with the whip so hard
That the flesh of the back went through to the chest,
The flesh on his chest went through to his back.
Hara Zutan Noyon baaed like a kid goat,
He cried out like a fawn.
He struck him very hard,
He hurt him very severely.
Having done this
He put him on the back of his grey stallion and sent him away.
As he rode back to his home,
His life was hanging by a string.
With every step of his horse
Hara Zutan cried ow! ow! in pain,
In his dark gloomy chest
He thought dark thoughts,
In his black heart
He spoke of hatred and revenge.
Walking toward home,
Galloping toward his lands,
Thus he departed…

When malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Came back to his home,
He thought dark thoughts,
He vowed evil things.
Taking from his thoughts of the day,
He roamed in the dreams of the night…
On the following morning
He sacrificed a sheep,
Filling a stomach and bladder with blood.
Packing the containers of blood
Onto his handsome grey stallion,
He rode to the very beginning of the east,
To a wrong-looking land,
To a meager country,
To a place withered and dried by grief,
To a place of marshy rivers,
To a place of slippery slopes,
To the land of demons and evil spirits,
To a scorching hot land,
To a dark and sunless land,
To a dry land devoid of plants,
He went to do a ritual to the nine black demons,
The masters of the hell of evil spirits,
Who thrive on jealousy and hatred.

Riding with all his might,
Going as fast as he could,
Even if his destination was far he rode on,
Even if the river was wide he sprung across.
He came to the mouth of the hell of the evil spirits,
Tying the reins of his steed to his saddle horn.

This having happened,
He lit a great fire,
Roasting meat on nine spits,
Letting the smoke rise as greeting to the nine demons.
He spread out his saddle blanket on the ground,
He bowed and prostrated himself in worship.
For the duration of three days
He kneeled in worship of the nine demons,
His hope beginning to fade,
Hara Zutan began to shout and wail,
Blunted by exhaustion he complained:
“Has the hell of evil spirits come to misfortune,
Has the time come for the nine demons to die?”
He sat swearing and cursing,
While he was complaining
A shrieking and howling came from the depths of hell,
The nine demons came rushing out.
When this happened
They circled around looking at and menacing Hara Zutan,
Squeezing him around his chest
So that his heart was coming out his mouth.
Ready to snatch away the life of
Malevolent Hara Zutan they said:
“We take the blood of animals that are killed,
We take the words of a man about to die!”
They looked at the man who was now scarcely alive.
The nine demons said to him:
“Are you going to say anything?”
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Told the nine demons of what offended and troubled him:
“I have sacrificed a wether and done as ceremony
So you will bring bad things to my nephew,
So that he will have to banish his wife!”
He gave the nine spits of meat to the nine demons,
The nine black demons gobbled up the meat.

The demons then asked him:
“In what way do you want to bring hurt,
In what way do you want to bring misfortune?”
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon replied:
“Every day I suffer evil and hatred from Abai Geser,
Every night I am hurt and offended by Tumen Jargalan.
Show me how I can make Abai Geser
Give up his wife to Abarga Sesen Mangadhai!
Show me the way to be rid of them!
If there is no way to do this,
There is no way to get even for their wrongs to me!”
Malevolent Hara Zutan spoke and worshipped,
He cried as he prostrated himself before them.

The nine demons from the depths of hell
Saved the meat from the inside of the sheep’s hide.
They showed Hara Zutan Noyon
The way to do his evil deed:
“To do a spell on your nephew’s wife
You must make her eat the meat we saved,
Then sneak into her house at night
With the two containers of blood.
When Tumen Jargalan is sleeping
Put the stomach full of blood in her right boot!”
The nine demons spat into the stomach full of blood
And stepped on it nine times:
“You then put the bladder full of blood
And put it in the left pocket of her dress!”
They then told him:
“In the dark of night,
In the darkness of the fox,
Open the corral and let a hundred calves loose so that they nurse their mothers.
When you have done this
Go to Tumen Jargalan’s house and start shouting.
If Tumen Jargalan does not wake up,
Let another hundred calves loose so that two hundred are nursing.
Go to her house and shout that two hundred calves are nursing.
If Tumen Jargalan still does not get up,
Let another hundred calves loose to that three hundred calves are nursing.
Go and shout again that three hundred calves are nursing.
When Tumen Jargalan gets up,
She will put on her boots,
Spilling the blood from the stomach.
When she puts on her deel
The blood in the bladder will burst out.
A fog will form over the eternal lake,
Clouds of dust will swirl out of the Muren River,
That evil demon Abai Geser,
Having inhaled the fog and dust,
Will become sick as if he will die,
This having happened,
All cures having failed,
He will have to send Tumen Jargalan away.”
Thus were the instructions of the nine demons.

Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon,
Having received instructions from the nine demons,
Rode his handsome grey stallion toward home.
Riding over the peaks of mountains,
Gashing the slopes as he rode,
Trotting the entire day through the forest,
Galloping through the entire night,
He came to the gate of his home,
Tying his horse at the hitching post,
He came quickly into his house.
His wife greeted him,
His hostile sister in law mocked him:
“What kind of evil thing are you plotting,
What kind of sin are you planning to commit?”
When she attacked and harassed him
Malevolent Hara Zutan turned around and went back outside.
He trotted swiftly toward the head of the Hatan River,
To visit the household of Tumen Jargalan.

He gave Tumen Jargalan the demons’ meat to eat,
Talking and muttering with her
He held the blood hidden inside his fist,
Following the instructions of the nine demons,
He listened to all that she had to say.
She thanked him for his help,
Giving him gifts of gold and silk,
Trusting him she sent him home,
Where he lay down in bed without closing his eyes…

Abai Geser’s wife Tumen Jargalan,
When it had become evening,
Was overcome by sleep.
When this had happened
Hara Zutan did as was commanded:
Leaving a stomach full of blood in her right boot,
Leaving a bladder full of blood in her left pocket.
This having happened,
In the darkest part of the night before the dawn,
In the darkness of the fox,
A hundred calves were let loose to nurse their mothers.
Hara Zutan stood outside her house shouting
That a hundred calves had gotten loose.
She said to herself:
“A hundred calves will not hurt anything,”
And went back to sleep.
When two hundred calves were loose and nursing,
Hara Zutan stood outside her house shouting
That two hundred calves had gotten loose.
She said to herself:
“Two hundred calves will not hurt anything,”
And went back to sleep.
When three hundred calves were loose and nursing,
Hara Zutan stood out and shouted
That three hundred calves were with their mothers!
When Geser’s wife Tumen Jargalan heard this:
“If three hundred cows are nursing their calves
There will not be enough milk to feed
The warriors for one day.
When men sleep in late
They can stay lying on their felt mats,
When women sleep in late
They have to go out and get the milk,
So is the saying of the elders.”
She got up quickly and started dressing,
Throwing on the deel lying by her pillow,
Pulling on her boots,
The stomach full of blood was broken,
Tumen Jargalan was very embarrassed,
The stomach burst and blood spilled out,
She was repulsed and disgusted,
The blood spilled and gushed
In front of her and behind her,
Spattering the gulamta with blood,
The fire in the gulamta went out.
When Tumen Jargalan jumped back,
The bladder of blood burst,
Running out until the gulamta overflowed with blood,
It streamed out from the gulamta and flowed outside like a creek.

When the stream of blood burst outside,
A woeful fog starting billowing up,
It flowed down to the shore of the eternal yellow lake,
It reached the shore of the Muren River.
It descended upon the eternal yellow lake as a fog,
It swirled about the Muren River as clouds of dust…
Abai Geser, who had been sleeping at the house
Of his wife Alma Mergen,
Arose before sunrise to look at the full moon,
He opened the smoke hole to look at the sky.
The dawn sky in the east was like night,
The night sky was like night’s shadow.
Fog had descended on the eternal yellow lake,
Dust swirled over the Muren River.
When Geser had inhaled the dust and fog
He became ill as if he were going to die…

Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon,
Who had taken evil revenge,
Slept with a peaceful mind.
Abai Geser had great sickness and pain,
He was very worried and disturbed.
Taking a iron ring he wound it around his head.
This having happened he went quickly
To the house of his wife Tumen Jargalan,
He instructed Tumen Jargalan:
“Go out quickly to the thirteen elders of the land,
They should know what the cause of this is.”
She make quick preparations,
She made wise preparations,
She went out to meet the greatest of the elders…

Tumen Jargalan went quickly up
To meet the eldest of the thirteen.
When she arrived she opened the book of fate with her thumb,
She leafed through the great old book with her fingers,
Opening the book she read of what was in the high heavens,
Reading it she spoke of what was happening on the earth,
When she was looking and reading
She sat and read this passage aloud:
“If Abai Geser does not give his wife
Tumen Jargalan to Abarga Sesen Mangadhai
He will certainly die…”

When she had read this
Tumen Jargalan looked down crying,
Looking upward she was crestfallen.
She came back down from the sky,
Returning to her house.
She went in quickly to Abai Geser,
Telling him of the destiny written
In the great yellow book of fate.
She explained everything to him,
She recounted all that happened.
When Abai Geser had heard this
He felt sorry for Tumen Jargalan
He pitied her very much, saying:
“I would rather die than have the reputation of
Giving the woman who has been with me since childhood
To Abarga Sesen Mangadhai,
I would rather be conquered by this illness!”
He spoke these words as he lay in his bed.
After this had happened,
That evening Tumen Jargalan called three men,
The following evening they had called seventy men.
All of the families were offended and aggrieved,
The people were all troubled and angry.
Tumen Jargalan felt very sorry for Geser,
She pitied him very much, saying:
“Wherever I may go,
I will be going under the sun!”
Thus she went making preparations,
She came making preparations for her journey.

She had decided without approval from Abai Geser,
She made very thorough preparations
Gathering things for a difficult journey.
She said that the earth has ears,
That the heaven has eyes,
On the day she was to leave
The people gathered around her
To watch her departure.
Tumen Jargalan said:
“A man does what he intends,
A woman cuts out cloth,”
Being ready for the long road,
She went forth on her journey.
When she had done this
Blind people followed her with their guides,
Lame people followed on their stretchers,
A great multitude followed her,
Tugging on the skirts of her deel.
When Tumen Jargalan saw this,
She looked down and cried,
She looked up and was very moved.
This having happened
She yanked off the three-strand necklace
That hung around her lovely neck,
She shook it over the heads of the crowd,
Scattering its precious beads among them.
They became distracted and forgot about her
As they tried to gather up the pearls and coral.
When they were doing this,
Tumen Jargalan turned into a yellow fox
With a body thirty ells long,
Quickly running away to a place
Thirty haraa distant.

When she had done this,
Tumen Jargalan returned to her true body,
Her round face showing once more,
Returning to her original form,
Her red face showed once more.
She traveled on from there by foot,
Traveling as best as she could,
Going as quickly as she could.
She passed beyond the border
Of her own nurturing homeland,
Coming to a foreign land
That was cold for mankind.
She became very exhausted,
Her body was as if it were melting,
Her body was wasted by hunger,
She was full of fear and worry.
Her belly and ribs became so thin
That sunlight could pass through it,
Her chest and shoulders were so thin
That moonlight could pass through it.
Worrying and suffering,
She was melting away.
Her bones and body became weak,
Her flesh was being burned up:
“Oh my hero who loved me since your youth,
My brave Abai Geser,
May you recover without being confused,
May you become well without misunderstanding,
May you come after me and bring me back,
May you defeat your enemy and return me home…”
Tears streamed from her right eye,
Flowing into Lake Baikal,
Tears streamed from her left eye,
Becoming a source of the Lena River.

This having happened,
Grandmother Manzan Gurme Toodei
Of the silver cup,
Yanked off the silver necklace
That hung around her neck, saying:
“Go to the shore of the black lake,
To the beginning of the Hatan River,
To the waters that I drink,
To my homeland,
Going without delay
Enter into the bottom
Of my thirteen chests,”
Saying this she flung it toward the world below.

Tumen Jargalan traveled on further,
Forgetting her hunger and exhaustion,
Eating the winds as her food
She entered into a strange land.
When she entered she looked back:
The world looked wide and flat,
The Hatan River flowed clear and blue,
The noise of the people could be heard,
The horses and cattle were lowing.
Turning her sight back again
To the land of the evil spirits
Everything was dark and shadowy,
Plants lay dried up and dead.

The heart of poor Tumen Jargalan
Turned dark within her chest,
Her eight short ribs
Shrunk in on themselves.
Looking down she cried,
Looking up she was sad,
She thought the thoughts of a wolf,
She made her heart hard as stone…

She went on from there,
Entering the land of the evil spirits.
Following one path
She came to a valley.
When she entered the valley
It was full of sleeping magpies,
Each with a body as big as a cow.
When Tumen Jargalan approached them
The giant magpies made as if they wanted to eat her.
Tumen Jargalan saw no way to get across–
Looking up the cliffs were so high an eagle could not pass,
Looking down there was no path to go across.
When she was despairing
A naked little red boy came,
Riding a spotted magpie,
Leading a brownish magpie,
Landing at her side
He greeted her the greeting of the khan,
Saying to her:
“My lady, what valley are you from,
Where have you come from,
Where are you going to?”
When she was asked this
Tumen Jargalan replied:
“I come from the Hatan Valley,
Where it is too narrow.
I come to the broad
Kingdom of the mangadhai.
I have shunned and left Abai Geser,
I have come looking for Abarga Sesen Mangadhai.”
The little red naked boy said:
“You have good thoughts,
You have a beautiful face,
You have come at the right time.”
He mounted her on the magpie he was leading,
Flying her to the far side of the magpies’ valley.

When Geser’s wife Tumen Jargalan
Had traveled on further
She came to yet another valley.
When she came into this valley
It was full of sleeping black ravens.
When Tumen Jargalan passed them,
The black ravens circled around her
Cawing and croaking.
When Tumen Jargalan tried to find a way across,
She looked up and the cliffs were too high for an eagle to pass,
She looked down and there was no path across.
When this had happened,
A little red naked boy came,
Riding a white raven,
Leading a black raven,
He landed at her side.
Greeting her with the greetings of the khan
He said to Tumen Jargalan:
“My lady, what valley are you from,
Where did you come from,
Where are you going to?”
Tumen Jargalan replied to him:
“I come from the Hatan Valley,
Where it is too narrow.
I come to the broad
Kingdom of the mangadhai.
I have shunned and left Abai Geser,
I have come looking for Abarga Sesen Mangadhai.”
The little red naked boy said:
“You have good thoughts,
You have a beautiful face,
You have come at the right time.”
He mounted her on the raven he was leading
And flew her to the far side of the ravens’ valley.

Geser’s wife Tumen Jargalan
Traveled further on from there,
Coming to a third valley.
When she entered that valley
It was full of sleeping blue wolves.
When Tumen Jargalan passed the wolves
They clustered around her as if to eat her
Licking her with their tongues.
When Tumen Jargalan looked up the cliffs were so high not an eagle could pass,
When she looked down there was no path across.
When this had happened,
A little naked red boy came from among the wolves,
Riding one wolf and leading another,
He rode up to Tumen Jargalan’s side.
He greeted her with the greeting of the khan, saying:
“My lady, where did you come from,
Where are you going?”
Tumen Jargalan replied, saying:
“I come from the Hatan Valley,
Where it is too narrow.
I come to the broad
Kingdom of the mangadhai.
I have shunned and left Abai Geser,
I have come looking for Abarga Sesen Mangadhai.”
The little red naked boy said:
“You have good thoughts,
You have a beautiful face,
My lord the khan has nothing to worry about,
You have come at the right time.”
He mounted her on the blue wolf he was leading,
Taking her across to the far side of the wolves’ valley.

Abai Geser’s wife Tumen Jargalan
Traveled further in the land of the evil spirits,
Reaching the very beginning of the east,
A wrong-looking land,
A meager country,
A place withered and dried by grief,
Having three marshy streams,
A land of slippery slopes,
A dwelling place of demons and evil spirits,
A scorching hot land,
A dark and sunless country,
A place dry and devoid of plants.

When she had arrived
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai knew very well,
He understood what was happening.
He the took his pus-white horse,
Putting on its saddle blanket,
Binding on his rawhide saddle,
And galloped out to meet Tumen Jargalan.
He found her out on the white steppe,
Coming from their two directions
They met by a grove of five pine trees…

Abarga Sesen Mangadhai
Gave her the greetings of a khan,
Greeted her as a queen:
“You a woman with good thoughts,
You are a woman with a beautiful face!”
He was very excited,
He was very happy,
He hugged Tumen Jargalan almost bending her in half,
He hugged her so hard as to twist her out of shape,
Kissing and stroking her red right cheek,
Kissing and licking her left red cheek.
When this had happened
He took her by the right hand,
Leading her to his palace,
Taking her by the left hand
He dragged her back to his home…

When this had happened,
Abai Geser became better day by day,
Returning to his original condition,
Recovering more night by night
He became as he was before,
He became stronger than before,
He was greater than before.

This having happened Geser said:
“Who gives birth to a son who steals and plunders?
Who gives birth to a son who allows himself to be stolen from and plundered?!”
He started preparing Beligen the bay horse,
The steed mighty in body.
Leading him over gravel to strengthen his black hooves,
Leading him over ice to strengthen his round hooves,
He tied him in an airy place so he would eat air,
He tied him in a windy place so he would eat wind,
He fed him with black hay,
He watered him with black water.
He tied him in the flatlands
So he would have the power of the falcon,
He tied him in the mountains
So he would have the power of the hawk.
This horse with the mighty body,
With cunning in his bones,
Beligen the bay horse,
Had been conditioned for the journey.

This having happened
Geser said that he would arrange
The lovely trappings of his horse,
He laid the silk-edge saddle blanket on his back,
He laid on the chased silver saddle,
He adjusted the girth of ten straps,
He tightened the girth of twenty straps,
He lay the silver crupper over his side,
He lay the silver breast straps over his shoulders.
He hung the black-handled quirt from the saddle,
Tying the lovely reins to the saddle horn.
This having happened
Geser tied his steed at the silver hitching post.

Abai Geser then said:
“Now that my horse is ready,
It is time to prepare myself.”
He pulled on his black pants
Sewn from the skins of seventy deer,
He pulled on his black fishskin boots,
He put on the fine silk deel
He always wore to battle,
Fastening its seventy brass buttons
From the bottom to the top
With the strength of his thumbs.
He wound a silver sash around his waist,
He girded on his hard silvery steel sword,
Hanging it on his left side,
He hung hard steel armor over his back,
He hung beaten iron armor over his chest,
He hung a silver bowcase on his right side,
He hung a silver decorated quiver on his left side,
He put his heroic silver bow of seventy laminations in its case,
He put seventy five arrows in his quiver,
He put ninety five arrows in his quiver,
So that they would be of help in the cold of winter,
So that they would be like a shadow in the heat of summer.
He put a steel helmet white as a star onto his head,
He glittered like the sun,
He rustled like a tree in full leaf.

He dressed turning around before a mirror
The size of a saddle blanket,
Dusting of lint and dirt,
He dressed turning around before a mirror
The size of a door,
Knocking off dust and trash from his clothing.
He was armored to be invincible to bladed weapons,
He was armored to he impenetrable to pointed weapons.
He melted spider oil in his mouth
So that he would not be hungry for ten years,
He anointed his nose with worm oil
So that he would not be hungry for twenty years.
Having completed preparing his body,
It had become time to ride.
His uncle benevolent Sargal Noyon said:
“Go where you intend to go,
Return with fortunate news,
Go find what you seek,
Return with news of success!
When you go where you intend to go,
Go with fortune and destiny,
May fortune and destiny bring success
And follow you on your way!”
Thus he gave his blessing.

Abai Geser opened the massive pearly door in a beautiful way,
He stepped across the massive granite threshold in a pure way.
Going down the silver steps
On which a mare and her foal could run,
He did not stumble;
Going down the silver walkway
On which a mare and her colt could run,
He made no mistake.
Coming to his steed Beligen the bay horse,
Pulling the red rope loose from the post,
Holding his quirt in his right hand,
Holding his reins in his left hand,
Putting his foot in a massive silver stirrup,
He swung into his chased silver saddle.

Pulling on the right rein of Beligen the bay horse
Geser turned his steed in the direction of the sun,
Having done this,
A cloud of dust could be seen at the base of the serge,
The red tassels of his hat could be seen beyond the mountain,
As he sped off toward the east!

This having happened
Abai Geser thought a thought in his great chest,
He spoke words within his black heart.
He saw who brought death and disorder,
He saw who suppressed him with illness,
He saw who made him lose Tumen Jargalan to the mangadhai,
He saw and understood everything well.
He turned his horse toward the home of Hara Zutan,
Flying as swiftly as an arrow from the bow,
Flying with the noise of a thrown rock.
He entered the gate of Hara Zutan’s house,
He tied his horse at the silver hitching post.
When he had done this he called:
“Uncle are you home?”
He shouted and asked.
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon,
Hearing the calls of his nephew,
Was greatly afraid,
He was greatly embarrassed.
Not being able to find a hole to crawl into
He crept underneath the cupboard,
Quiet like something neither living nor dead.

This having happened
Geser’s aunt hinted to him:
“He is in the middle of the cupboard,
Hiding among the plated and cups,”
When Hara Zutan heard this
He slid out from under the cupboard,
Running outside he slapped his wife,
Then went and hid under the bed.
Abai Geser sought another hint,
Again shouting and asking,
“Uncle, where have you gone to?”

Geser’s aunt again hinted to him:
“He is in the middle of the bed,
He has vanished in the bed without a trace.”
When she had said this
Hara Zutan crawled out from under the bed,
Running out from there he slapped her again.
He crawled into the mouth of a large sack.
Hara Zutan’s wife, being tired of being hit,
Her anger reaching the boiling point,
Tied up the bag so he could not get out.

Abai Geser asked once more:
“Uncle, where have you gone to?”
This time he was joking as he asked.
His aunt called out to him:
“He has gone inside a bag,
This time he cannot get out.”
She called and gestured to him.
Tying the reins of his horse to the saddle horn
He came inside the house.

He brought the sack containing Hara Zutan
To the right side of the gulamta.
He jumped up and down on it and sat on it.
Hara Zutan’s lungs and heart
Were ready to come out of his mouth.
His wife laughed slapping her knee,
But she was also afraid.
She brought him a golden table and served him delicious food,
She brought him a silver table and honored him with beautiful food.

Abai Geser and his aunt,
Remembering things from the earliest times,
Talked in a friendly way,
Reminding each other of the past,
They talked in a meaningful way.
They talked until foam could form on liquor,
They talked until plants could grow on a black rock.

This having happened Geser said:
“The dried goods in my aunt’s sack
Are even now so lumpy,
Why are they still so hard?”
He took out a yellow steel knife
And poked it into his uncle’s fat buttocks.
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Cried out in pain and writhed in his sack.

Abai Geser winked at his aunt,
Jumped up and opened the mouth of the bag:
“Uncle, what did you say?…
Has your mind grown dull,
Have your reins grown thin?
Why do you crawl into a bag
And lie in there hiding?”
He spoke pretending he was surprised.

Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Was very greatly embarrassed,
His face turned red to the roots of his hair.
He stared down at his chest, trembling,
Thinking about how to get away.
Abai Geser stood before the door,
Not letting Hara Zutan go outside.
He said to his uncle:
“My wife Tumen Jargalan
Has been forced to go to the demons’ country.
Your nephew goes after her,
Ride with me on the journey.”
When malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon heard these words
He consented without wanting to go,
He went outside, saying
“You are indifferent to fear and life.”
He went to get his handsome grey stallion.
Abai Geser said to him:
“Quickly put on the clothing
That you wear on the road to battle,
Gird on the weapons
When you go to war and battle!”
He spoke challengingly and strongly,
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Made quick preparations,
He made wise preparations,
Gathering up his weapons,
Putting on his armor.

This having happened,
The two of them left together,
Riding their horses swiftly
In the direction of the east,
To the land of the evil spirits.

They rode with all their might,
Going as fast as they could,
When they approached their campsite,
When they neared where they would sleep,
Abai Geser took a piece of a magpie carcass,
Turning it into a haunch of venison,
He threw it onto the road ahead of Hara Zutan.
When Hara Zutan Noyon saw the venison
He quickly snatched it up for himself,
Saying to his nephew:
“My nephew Abai Geser,
How bad your eyesight is,
Approaching our campsite,
Coming to where we will sleep,
Your lucky uncle has found this nice piece of venison!”
Abai Geser pretended he was jealous, saying:
“Uncle, what keen eyesight you have,
Won’t you share this with your nephew?”
Hara Zutan acted disappointed, saying:
“Do not take away from what your uncle has found.”
He did not want to listen to Geser.
They went on further,
One following the other.

This having happened
Abai Geser shot a stag and doe with one arrow,
Loading the two deer on his saddle straps.
They reached a site to camp for the night,
The found where they would be sleeping,
They took the saddles off their two horses.

This having happened
They kindled a campfire as big as a small hill,
Hara Zutan Noyon spitted his venison on two sticks,
Geser spitted the two deer on his steel spear,
Leaving them by the fire to roast.
They sat up and talked for a while,
Then the two of them went to sleep.
When it had become morning
Hara Zutan’s lovely haunch of venison,
Having shrunk into a magpie carcass,
Lay charred on the ground by its spits.
Geser’s two deer had roasted perfectly,
Looking ready to eat.
Like the proverb that says
That a person who eats what he finds
Will walk about shaking,
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon,
His belly sunken in,
So thin he could count his ribs,
Disappeared and came leading his horse.
Abai Geser washed his face and hands,
Straightened out his hair and clothes,
And began to eat the two deer.
While he sat and ate
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Came to stand beside his nephew,
When he arrived Geser ate as if
He would burst his stomach,
Cutting, biting, and gulping.
Abai Geser tried to provoke him:
“Uncle, uncle what happened to you!
Going hungry and skinny on the road
Is bad for your fortunes!”
Finishing the rest of the venison by himself,
He gathered up the bones and scraps
And left them out on a field.
This having happened they rode again all day,
When they approached their next campsite,
When they were coming to where they would sleep,
Abai Geser took a piece of a raven carcass,
Turning it into a haunch of moose meat,
He threw it in his uncle’s path.
When malevolent Hara Zutan saw the moose meat
He quickly snatched it up for himself, saying:
“My nephew, what is the matter with your eyesight,
Your uncle has found another piece of meat!”
They were coming close to a place to camp,
They were approaching a place to sleep,
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon said:
“Let us tie our horses to a tree,
Let us prepare ourselves to sleep.”
Abai Geser pretended to be jealous and said:
“Uncle, uncle you are very lucky,
Give me a little from what you have to eat.”
Hara Zutan Noyon was greedy of his moose meat:
“Why do you think you should share
The meat found by an old man?”
He did not want to listen to Geser.
This having happened
Geser shot a stag and doe with one arrow
From the distance of three haraa.
When they reached the place they would camp,
When they arrive at the place where they would sleep,
They tied their horses to a tree,
And kindled a campfire.
This having happened
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Spitted his moose meat on two spits,
Setting them by the fire to roast,
Geser spitted the two deer on his spear,
Also leaving them by the fire to roast.
Having done this
They sat up and talked for a while,
Then the two of them went to sleep.
After they had slept,
When they arose in the morning,
The haunch of moose meat had shrunk into a piece of raven meat,
Lying charred and dried between the two spits.
Abai Geser’s stag and doe,
Roasting by the edge of the fire,
Were cooking and oozing with juice.
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon was very surprised,
He was most astonished,
He felt hateful and vengeful toward his nephew Geser!…
His belly felt shrunken and empty,
He could count his ribs,
Staggering away hungry and famished
He went to fetch his horse.
Abai Geser washed his face and hands,
He straightened up his hair and clothes,
He began to eat the meat off the two deer.
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon,
Circled around him watching,
Like a hungry dog,
Pacing like a wild animal.
When he came back to Geser
He was eating as if his stomach would burst,
Abai Geser once more tried to provoke him:
“Uncle, uncle what is the matter!
Aren’t you full from the moose meat,
Did you not eat all of it?
When you go on a long journey
Hungry and thin
It is bad for your fortunes,
It will be a loss of your strength!”
After he had said this
He finished off the two deer himself,
He gathered up the bones and scraps,
Leaving them out on a field.

This having happened
The two of them rode onward,
Going on a very long journey.
Abai Geser turned a black rock the size of a foal
Into Tumen Jargalan’s jeweled necklace,
Throwing it in Hara Zutan’s path.
When malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Spotted the necklace on the road
He quickly snatched it up.
When malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Had found Tumen Jargalan’s necklace
He shouted and motioned for Geser to come:
“My nephew, how bad your eyesight is!
I have found Tumen Jargalan’s jeweled necklace
Lying here on the road!”
Thus he spoke and rejoiced.
Abai Geser flattered malevolent Hara Zutan,
Praising him greatly he said:
“My uncle, what sharp eyesight you have,
We have now found which way to go!
Now that we have found a clue,
We know which road to travel.
You have shown the way,
You know the way of the journey.
Go back home now,
Go to your native land.
I will go on from here alone,
I will find the means to get there.
If the necklace you have is on your chest
It will show the way for the journey,
But I will tie it on your back,
So that you will travel with peace of mind.”
Geser tied the necklace onto Hara Zutan’s back
With a white rope a thousand ells long,
He spoke to the black rock, saying:
“When he is on the road toward home,
Return to your original form,
Become a big black rock
And weigh down on his back!”
Having spoken these words to the rock
That appeared to be his wife’s necklace,
He sent his uncle Hara Zutan back to his home.

When malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Heard that he would be going home
He liked what he heard,
He heard it very gladly.
He rejoiced very much,
He was most excited.
Exchanging his farewells with his nephew
The two of them rode their separate ways,
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Pulled the left rein of his handsome grey stallion,
He flicked his black handled quirt on his right side.
As the horse walked in the direction of home,
As they galloped toward their native land,
Hara Zutan came to realize he was a fool,
Hatred and gall began to boil,
Being unable to cut himself loose,
The desire for revenge became red hot.
Tumen Jargalan’s jeweled necklace
Became a big black boulder,
Pressing on his back
It wore through the back of his deel,
Coming in contact with his skin
It chafed against his body.
Malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon
Trotted along stooped over,
Poked by his saddle horn,
If he leaned back
He was almost pulled out of the saddle.
His strength finally was broken off,
His abilities were depleted,
Out on the white steppe
On a path by a white birch,
He fell off his horse,
His life hanging by a string
He lay with his mouth and nose buried in the mud.

This having happened,
Geser’s subjects gathered together,
They found malevolent Hara Zutan Noyon barely alive,
Cutting and stripping away the white rope
They carried away the black rock the size of a foal,
Leaving it out on the steppe.
They lay Hara Zutan on the back of his grey stallion,
Sending him on the way home.

After Abai Geser had sent Hara Zutan
Back toward his home,
He rode his steed mighty in body,
With wisdom in his bones,
Beligen the bay horse,
Geser pulling his right rein,
Sped eastward toward the land of the evil spirits.
This horse with the body thirty ells long,
Teeth three spans long,
A tail thirty spans long,
With three armfuls of hair in his mane,
With hooves that would not slip,
With a back that could not be broken,
With hair that never falls out,
The tail of Beligen the bay horse
Lashed on his flanks,
His mane of three armfuls of hair
Scattered over his back,
His four black hooves
Struck sparks and kicked up dust,
His forty white teeth
Ate up mist and dust,
When he traveled at a gentle pace
He left hoofprints the size of cups,
When he galloped swiftly
He left a trail like a trench.
The earth swayed and moved from his hoofbeats,
The ground rocked and shook from his steps,
The mountains were trembling and shaking,
Gravel and rocks cracked and crumbled.
Abai Geser had the mind of a wolf,
He made his heart like stone.
In the places where white snow covered the road
And the magpie cried to mark the months of winter,
He pushed his foxfur hat down on his head,
He inhaled snow through his mouth and nose as he rode,
He tucked in the skirts of his deel as he trotted along;
In the places where the road became muddy,
And the thrush sang to mark the months of summer,
He opened the breast flap of his deel,
Sweat trickled into his mouth and nose as he rode,
He left his clothes unbuttoned as he trotted along.
Traveling with all his might,
Going as swiftly as he could,
He passed the border of his nurturing homeland,
Entering into a cold and strange country.
When he entered into the land of the evil spirits
He came to the valley of the magpies.
When he entered the valley
Magpies the size of cattle were lying about sleeping.
Geser rode among the giant magpies,
Slashing and cutting them with his sword.
When he had traveled on further,
He came to the valley of the ravens.
When he entered the valley
Black ravens were lying about sleeping.
Geser trotted among the black ravens,
Slashing and cutting them with his sword.
When he had traveled on further,
He came to the valley of the wolves.
When he came into the valley
It was full of sleeping hungry blue wolves.
Geser trotted among the blue wolves,
Slashing and cutting them with his sword.
When he had traveled on further
He raised his black handled whip
With the eighteen tails,
Striking him on the right side,
Beligen the bay horse,
Taking power from the heavens
Stood straight and tall,
Taking power from the earth
He stood fine and proudly.
Abai Geser approached the home
Of Abarga Sesen Mangadhai.
He pulled the reins of Beligen the bay horse,
Bringing him to a halt.
Having done this,
Geser gathered thirteen magicks on his palms,
He allowed twenty three magicks to dance on his fingers,
The horse with the mighty body,
With wisdom in his bones,
Beligen the bay horse,
Was turned into a flint,
Geser put him into his pocket.
He took his red zadai stone
Between his forty white teeth,
He spit toward the heavens:
He brought down heat hot enough to boil horse shit,
He made it hot enough to dry out trees to the core!..

This having happened
Geser turned himself into two naked boys,
Carrying bows made from twigs of a bush,
Carrying little arrows made from willow twigs,
They played at shooting on the shore of the yellow lake.
When this was happening
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai said:
“Never anytime in the past,
Never anytime in the future
Has it ever been so terribly hot,
Has it ever been so scorching hot,
I have never heard of weather like this,
I have never seen weather like this…”
Saying this he decided to swim in the yellow lake,
He walked down to the beach.

When Abarga Sesen Mangadhai
Saw the two naked boys playing on the beach
He called them to him.
Putting a round piece of horse dung on his head
He spoke playfully to them:
“My boys, my boys, young heroes,
Win yourselves names as archers!
You both one at a time
Try to shoot the horse chip off my head,
Let us see who can hit the target!”
When he had said this
One of the two naked boys said:
“My arrows do not shoot straight,
My bow is crooked.
If my arrow goes into your eye
It will do great damage.”
When the boy objected to his idea
Abarga Sesen snorted:
“If you two little monsters
Shoot me in my eye,
May you be eaten up by a swarm of lice!”
Once he had said this
The two naked boys agreed to shoot.
Abarga Sesen pointed to the two boys,
“You shoot first, then you shoot.”
The first boy prepared his little stick bow,
He spoke magic words on the head of his little twig arrow,
So that fire blazed on the shaft,
He spoke words of power on its fletching
So that flames danced on it:
“If you are destined to kill
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai,
Pierce the iris of his right eye!
If you are fated to kill
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai,
Strike him without erring,
Going on to the white steppe
Like a great explosion,
Striking and breaking him off
With a great noise!”
He pulled back the string with all his might,
Pulling it back strong and tight,
Pulling it back very well,
The arrow loosed with great force!
Whistling the song of the arrowhead,
Singing the song of the arrow,
The great black arrow
That Geser always shot first
Bored through the iris and pierced his right eye.
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai was greatly embarrassed,
The arrow continued to bore deeper into his eye.
He shouted “May you boys bleed to death!”
The two naked boys disappeared.
Staggering senselessly in pain
He went back to his house naked,
With blood flowing from his right eye
He ran into his house.
He shouted to Tumen Jargalan,
“Come quickly!”
He fell down on his bed,
Crying, moaning, and yelling.
When Tumen Jargalan
Came quickly to him,
He was yelling mindlessly in pain,
Blood flowing from his eye:
“Some dog shot an arrow into my right eye,
Pull it out gently and throw it away,”
He lay there begging her to do it.
When Tumen Jargalan began to pull it out
She recognized the point of the great black arrow
That Geser would always shoot first.
When she recognized the arrow
She became very excited,
She was very happy, saying:
“Oh damn! I cannot pull it out,
Grit your teeth and ignore it.”
When she said this,
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai,
His strength beginning to fail begged:
“Help me!”
Geser’s wife Tumen Jargalan said:
“To remove this arrow
It is impossible to pull it out.
If I hit it with a hammer, I can knock it through to the other side
And remove it from the back of your head.”
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai
Being unable to tolerate the pain,
Wanting very much to be cured,
Did not argue with the use of the hammer.
This having happened Tumen Jargalan said:
“I will put three iron bands around your head.
When I hit the arrow with the hammer,
It will come out through the back side.
When I am hitting it with the hammer
Will you be able to stand the pain?
You will probably tear me apart
Then run away and disappear.
If I am going to treat you like this
I need to tie you up with a rope
A thousand ells long.”
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai
Being unable to argue with her
Got a rope for her out of a black chest.
Tumen Jargalan tied up the demon of magical power,
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai, with a rope a thousand ells long,
Tying him spread out with strong knots.
When she had done this
She raised Abarga Sesen’s iron hammer,
Speaking these words to Geser’s arrow:
“Go through and break the neck bones
Of Abarga Sesen Mangadhai!”
She beat on the arrow with all her strength,
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai,
Unable to endure the agony,
Kicked and snapped the white silk rope!..

This having happened,
Abai Geser came to the house of Abarga Sesen,
He was looking for the hiding place
Of Abarga Sesen’s amin and hulde.
When he came to the house of Abarga Sesen
He was greeted by Tumen Jargalan.
Geser said to her:
“Stick a large needle
Into the vocal cords
Of Abarga Sesen’s three headed son.
When Abarga Sesen is asking for him
Say that he is afraid of Abai Geser.
Say that he wants his father Abarga Sesen
To be joined with his amin and hulde
To test his strength against Abai Geser,
Say that he lies crying and asking for this.”
Tumen Jargalan went quickly back into the house,
She drove a needle into the throat
Of Abarga Sesen’s three headed son,
So that he cried without resting.
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai asked:
“Why is my son crying and moaning,
Was he frightened by something bad?”
He asked Tumen Jargalan as he lay on his bed,
Tumen Jargalan replied to him:
“He says that he is afraid of Abai Geser,
He says his father should be re-united
With his amin and hulde.
He asks that you tell him where they are
So he will be able to help his father.”
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai thought stupid thoughts,
Thinking them in his pinched chest…
He opened his great book of fate with his thumb,
He leafed through the old book with his fingers,
When he sat and read aloud:
“Abai Geser is very far away!
My amin and hulde and not so far away!
Geser’s thirty three warriors,
His three hundred leaders of his army,
His three thousand soldiers,
When they travel such a long journey,
Are blocked by the valley full of magpies,
They are blocked by the valley of ravens,
Beyond that they must cross the valley of wolves!”
He finished reading and lay down.
When this had happened,
Geser had been hiding in a corner of the room.
He said to his wife Tumen Jargalan:
“Stick a needle into the boy’s throat again to make him cry.”
Tumen Jargalan drove a needle into his throat,
Making him cry even louder than before.
Abarga Sesen’s son cried so hard
That it roused his father from his suffering:
“What is the matter with my son
That he continues to cry so much?
Did my round headed monster
Get bruised by the saddle horn?”
Thus he asked as he lay on his bed.
Abai Geser said to Tumen Jargalan:
“Say ‘My father Abarga Sesen
You have hidden your amin and hulde,
If you hide it from your only born son
I will run away!”
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai became very angry,
His mouth gaping in his fury,
“What kind of presumptuous son do I have
That demands I re-unite my amin and hulde?
My amin and hulde are hidden in a stallion’s head,”
He said lying and deceiving.
Abai Geser went out and split open the stallion’s head,
He did not find the souls of Abarga Sesen Mangadhai.
He had Tumen Jargalan make the boy cry again,
Abarga Sesen could not bear to hear the cries:
“What is the matter with the little devil,
That he continues crying until now?”
Tumen Jargalan answered:
“He says that his father told him evil lies
Saying that his amin and hulde were in the horse’s head.”
She pressured him to tell the truth.
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai said:
“My amin and hulde are in an ox’s head.”
Once again he twisted the truth.
Abai Geser went out and split open the ox’s head,
The mangadhai’s souls could not be found.
He had Tumen Jargalan make the boy cry again.
Abarga Sesen was unable to tolerate this,
The three headed baby cried constantly,
Making a loud noise all day,
Sobbing and whining all night.
This having happened
Abarga Sesen’s resistance ended:
“This is like the scabies, like a burr,
I just cannot get rid of this!
My amin and hulde
Are at the very beginning of the east,
In a distant eastern land,
In my demonic older sister’s house
They are hidden inside a great black stone box.
In the black stone box there is a black iron box,
In the black iron box there is a white silver box,
In the white silver box there is a yellow gold box,
In the yellow gold box there are
Twelve wasps and twelve quails.”
Finally he had told the truth.

After Abarga Sesen had told the truth
Abai Geser went and struck of the three heads of his demonic son.
After he had done this,
Geser tucked the front part of his deel above his waist,
He tucked the back part of his deel above his buttocks,
He then set off far the distant eastern lands.
This having happened,
Abarga Sesen thought dark thoughts,
He vowed evil things to himself,
He looked for Geser’s fresh trail,
He looked for his old trail.

Abai Geser knew this very well,
He understood this very well,
He turned himself into Abarga Sesen’s three headed son,
He walked along the mountainside,
He ran leaving a trail through the gravel,
Abarga Sesen saw him from behind and cried,
“Ai, galda edi,
My bad little boy,
You are running away to my sister…”
Believing this Abarga Sesen went back home,
He went back to lie on his bed.
This having happened
Geser returned to his true appearance,
His round face was showing once more;
Geser returned to his original appearance,
His red face was showing once more.

Like the saying that tells
That a man does what he intends
The blue wolf will bite,
Geser did not sleep at night,
Forgetting the need to rest,
Not drinking in the heat of the day,
Ignoring the need for food,
He traveled with all his night,
He went as swiftly as he could.
He reached the far eastern lands,
The country wrong in appearance.
Geser gathered thirteen magicks on his palms,
He allowed twenty three magicks to dance on his fingers.

When he had done this he shifted his shape,
Becoming Abarga Sesen’s three headed son.
When he had done this
He stood before the door of his “aunt’s” house.
Intending to be let in he waited by the door.
Abai Geser knocked loudly on the great iron door,
Almost breaking it down.
Abarga Sesen’s demonic older sister said:
“Whose son are you,
From what are you born?”
She shouted loudly from inside the door.
Abai Geser answered:
“You nephew has come
For a visit with his aunt.”
He spoke loudly but affectionately,
Begging her to let him in.
“You are not my nephew coming to visit,
You are Abai Geser disguising himself with magic!”
The older sister replied without opening the door.
Abai Geser was unable to get her to let him in,
He waited outside her door for nine days without success.
Finally the demonic older sister decided to test him:
She opened the iron door merely a crack,
Showing him her right breast,
Demanding of him:
“If you are truly my nephew,
Suck from my breast!”
Saying this she was testing him,
If Abai Geser would drink her milk
He would have fallen forward on his face,
He would have become as if he were dead.
Knowing this Geser made a cut in his ribs,
Inserting a pipe to drain away the milk as he swallowed it.
When he had done this he suckled the demon woman’s breast.
When he had nursed from the right breast
Of the sister of Abarga Sesen Mangadhai,
She believed he was her nephew and let him in.
She honored her “nephew” with food.
Abai Geser knew that if he ate and drank
From the demons’ food and liquor,
He would fall on his back ready for the aranga,
He would fall on his face and die.
Therefore before he began to eat and drink
He made a hole in the wall of the ger,
He inserted another drain tube into his ribs,
Putting the other end through the wall
So that the poisonous food would go outside.
When he ate the best of the food,
When he drank her strong drink,
It emptied into a ditch outside the wall,
Flowing like a small creek.
This having happened,
After the red sun had set,
When it had become evening,
When sleep overcame the living things of the world,
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai’s demonic sister
Prepared a soft bed as big as a hill,
Covered with a great soft blanket,
After she had slipped into it she said:
“My nephew, come sleep with the aunt you are visiting,
Suck my breast and you can fall asleep in my arms.”
She threw her long black breast onto her shoulder,
Saying affectionately to her “nephew”:
“If you strengthen yourself with my milk,
You will have the strength to kill Abai Geser!”
Thus she spoke as she lay there.
Abai Geser drank mightily from her soft breast,
The milk flowing out into the ditch like a stream.
The demonic older sister,
Who had not slept for nine days,
Was soon overcome by sleep.
When the demon woman had fallen into a deep slumber
Abai Geser took on his true form,
His round face was showing again,
He returned to his original form,
His red face was showing again.
When this had happened
He put his magic sandalwood staff on her head,
So that she would sleep for a thousand ages,
So that she would not arise for ten thousand ages,
He made magic with his red zadai stone:
“May you be confused for a thousand years,
May you sleep for a thousand ages,
Overcome by sleep and slumber
May you lie here to dry out and die!”
With this spell he was able to leave her behind.
Taking an iron hammer he broke open
The demon woman’s black stone box,
There was a black iron box inside,
When he broke open the black iron box,
There was a white silver box inside;
When he broke open the white silver box,
There was a yellow gold box inside;
When he broke open the yellow gold box,
There were twelve wasps and twelve quails inside.
He was unable to catch them
And they flew up through the air, escaping outside.

This having happened
Geser gathered thirteen magicks on his palms,
He let twenty three magicks dance on his fingers:
He brought together the chill of four winters,
A cold descended that would make a ram’s horns break off.
When this had happened
He gathered up the sun’s heat on his palms,
He let the moon’s light shine from his fingers.
When he had done this,
The twelve wasps and twelve quails
That contained the souls of Abarga Sesen
Were unable to resist,
They gathered on his palms,
They hid themselves in his fingers.
When the twelve wasps and twelve quails
That contained the souls of Abarga Sesen
Came and sat shivering on his hands
He killed them all except for three of each,
He put the remaining wasps and quails
Inside the breast flap of his deel.

This having happened,
Geser returned to the home of Abarga Sesen,
He went swiftly on his return trip,
When he had arrived,
Abarga Sesen Mangadhai was helpless with pain,
Crying and moaning inside and outside,
He wandered about crying and suffering…
He had wrapped a young white birch around his head,
He had lost the ability to distinguish black and white.
When this was happening
Geser had returned to the house of Abarga Sesen.
He shouted at the mangadhai
With the voices of a thousand stags,
He yelled at his enemy
With the voices of ten thousand stags.
When Abarga Sesen heard Geser’s voice
He said to Geser: “Come in!”
When Abai Geser came in to him
Abarga Sesen said to him: “Hey!
Your flesh will be like a chewed up cud,
Your bones will be like cartilage,
What a pity you have come here,
I am defeating you on a day when I am hungry!”
Thus he spoke complaining.
When Abai Geser heard these words
He became very angry,
His mouth gaped in fury,
He stood over Abarga Sesen and challenged him:
“Get up you evil demon!
You who are greedy for other people’s treasure,
You who are not satisfied with what you have,
You are trash and an enemy of the people.”
These words were enough to make him get up.

Abarga Sesen swore and cursed,
Grabbing Abai Geser by the front of his deel.
When the two of them started wrestling
They knocked down the wall in the corner,
They went outside fighting as they went.
Two beings of great strength,
Two beings of magical power,
Were as equally matched as the two sides of a camel,
They were as equally matched as the two sides of a horse.
Where they fought trying to kill each other
They wore out a hole as if it were pawed by cattle,
Where they pushed and jostled each other
They made a hole as if it were kicked out by camels.
When they jumped and kicked to the south
They gouged the southern mountain,
When the jumped and pushed to the north
They overturned the northern mountain.
They tore the meat off each other’s backs with their fingers,
They bit the meat off each other’s chests with their teeth.
Ravens came from the south to get their evening meal,
Magpies came from the north to get their food for the night.
When this had happened
Abarga Sesen had knocked Geser down
And was shoving his face in the mud.

When Abarga Sesen had Geser down on the ground
And was bending him again and again,
Geser took out the remaining wasps and quails
That contained the amin and hulde of Abarga Sesen.
He crushed the three wasps,
He killed the three quails.
When the souls of Abarga Sesen were extinguished
Abarga Sesen turned into blue stone,
Falling over with a ringing noise,
Turning into solid black rock,
He toppled with a noise like thunder.
Abai Geser then said:
“I have defeated my enemy and won a mighty name,
I have overcome and grabbed the colt by the tail!”
Since the mangadhai has turned to stone
He was unable to burn and obliterate him,
He was too hard to pound into pieces.
He took his hard silvery steel sword
And cut the petrified body in half,
He was able to cut the two pieces once more,
But he could not cut it any further.
He was able to conceal the four pieces,
He uprooted the red southern mountain,
Placing it over the two pieces of the upper body,
He pulled out the yellow northern mountain,
Placing it over the two pieces of the lower body.
He spoke these words of power:
“May you lie here for all time,
For a thousand ages,
May you be trodden by the black hooves
Of the travelers on the road,
May you be trodden down
By the soles of men’s boots!”

This having happened,
Abai Geser said:
“Good times have returned,
A good order has been restored!”
He went to greet Tumen Jargalan
From which he had been separated,
Greeting her with the greetings of a khan,
Greeting her as his queen,
He tied his horse to the silver hitching post
And went inside the house.
Abai Geser’s wife Tumen Jargalan
Brought a golden table and served delicious food,
She brought a silver table and served beautiful food.
For the length of nine days they celebrated and talked,
On the tenth day they began to sober up.

This having happened Geser was ready to return,
He started preparing for going home.
Tumen Jargalan’s love turned into jealousy,
Unwilling to live with Geser’s other two wives
She prepared enchanted food for him,
Making him ignorant and confused,
She made him stay in the demon’s kingdom.
Abai Geser became crazy and stupid,
He went out to watch Abarga Sesen’s seven red steers…

This having happened
Abai Geser’s three pretty sisters
Opened the door of the sky and looked at the world below.
When they looked at the shores of the black lake,
When they looked at the valley of the Hatan River,
They could not see their brother Abai Geser.
The three sisters began looking for their brother,
When they came to the beginning of the east,
The ugly wrong-looking country,
To the land of demons and evil spirits,
They found him watching cattle.
Abai Geser’s three pretty sisters
Made quick preparations,
They made wise preparations,
They turned themselves into three ongoli birds,
And flew to the land of the demons…

Three little songbirds
Found Geser outside the house of Abarga Sesen.
Abai Geser was watching Abarga Sesen’s
Herd of seventy red steers,
He had become a complete idiot,
Going about knowing nothing about himself.
The three little birds circled close around him,
Fluttering and beating him with their wings,
When Geser tried to catch them
They flew away and disappeared.
When the three birds has hidden themselves
They became his three pretty sisters,
Taking on their true appearance,
They slapped Abai Geser on the right cheek,
Making him vomit up a black substance,
They slapped him on the left cheek,
Making him throw up a shiny black substance.

This having happened,
Abai Geser returned to his senses,
His round face showing once more,
Once more knowing who he was,
His red face shone once more.
The three pretty sisters,
Going back to the form in which they came,
Once more becoming three ongoli birds,
Flew up into the sky and disappeared…

Abai Geser was very angry
With his wife Tumen Jargalan,
His mouth gaped in fury.
He went into the house to find Tumen Jargalan,
And beat her in his anger!..
This having happened
Tumen Jargalan made quick preparations,
She made wise preparations,
They prepared their horses for the long journey,
She prepared food and drink for the trip,
This having happened
Abai Geser and Tumen Jargalan rode toward home,
They galloped back to their homeland!

When Abai Geser came to the valley of the Muren River,
To the shores of the eternal lake,
To the valley of the Hatan River,
To the shores of the black lake,
When they returned to the water they drank,
When they returned to the land where they were born,
He promised to himself to go to his wife Alma Mergen.
Following the course of the Hatan River
He rode to visit the home of Alma Mergen.
When this was happening
Alma Mergen had heard
The reason why Geser was detained
In the land of the mangadhai,
How when after he defeated Abarga Sesen
Tumen Jargalan had made him stay;
When she heard this she was very angry,
Her mouth gaped in anger,
When she had heard that Geser had arrived,
She was overcome by jealousy,
Vowing that she would divorce him.
In her quick anger her heart lost love for Abai Geser,
When her husband came to her gate
He was greeted by his seven year old daughter.
He asked his little girl:
“Is your mother home?
Why is she angry with me?”
When he had asked her this she replied:
“My mother is alone at home,
Having a fight with a tall dark warrior.”
When he had heard this
Geser said to himself
That Alma Mergen planned to divorce him,
He knew this very well,
He understood what was happening.
He told his little seven year old daughter:
“If your mother asks about me
Tell her I went off to the east.”
When he had said this
He turned around toward the west,
In the blinking of an eye
He had gone off and hidden himself.
When Alma Mergen knew that Geser had gone away
She came out from her house,
Asking her seven year old daughter:
“Where did your father Abai Geser go to?”
When her mother asked her this
The seven year old little girl
Pointed her finger eastward.
When Alma Mergen looked toward the east
She could not find any sign of her husband.
When she looked toward the west
She saw one of the tassels on his hat
Appearing beyond the three hills
Behind which he was hiding.
Alma Mergen shot an arrow
At the red tassel of Geser’s hat,
When she missed she was very angry,
Her mouth gaped in anger:
“Since my arrow missed Abai Geser,
Who has a body as big as a house,
From this time onward,
Two times becoming as one,
Women with their hair in braids
Will not carry bow and quiver!”
She broke and threw away her bow,
Scolding her little seven year old girl,
For learning to lie while just a baby,
She pulled her apart, killing her!..

Born from the body of Atai Ulaan Tenger,
Spreading death and disorder on the broad earth,
With round red eyes,
A single fang in its mouth,
With a mouth three ells wide,
With tongue ten spans long,
Carrying a black iron whip,
A demon of great magical power,
Sherem Minaata Khan,
Familiar with death,
Estranged from joy,
His body taking on its form
He arose to attack living things.

This having happened
The living things on the earth
Were happy with many offspring,
Disease and hunger
Had been stopped and sent away.
The lovely crystalline earth
Was overflowing with plants.
The waters of the eternal yellow lake
Were rippling crystal clear.

This evil demon with the black iron whip
Sherem Minaata Khan said:
“I am jealous with my father’s jealousy,
I hate with my mother’s hatred!”
He rolled his round red eyes thirteen times,
He spewed strong poison from his single fang.
His tongue ten spans long tongue down to his chest,
He lashed the black iron whip in his right hand.

He began to destroy the inhabitants of the golden earth,
He plotted jealously against the hero Abai Geser.
Poison boiled and bubbled in his heart,
The crucible of Atai Ulaan’s hatred splashed and poured…
This demon with the black iron whip
Broke off mountains with his power,
This being familiar with death,
This thing estranged from joy,
Stirred up storms that rained blood,
He threw the fortune of the three Tugshen Khans into confusion…

In the golden homeland of Abai Geser
He trampled the little babies,
He swallowed up the foals.
Every day a hundred people passed away,
Every night a hundred people were poisoned.
Blood was streaming,
Dust was swirling,
Black blood was boiling,
Yellow fog was swirling.
The life and happiness of the people was ruined,
The fatness and fertility of the herds was gone.
Water flowed from the eyes of the earth’s inhabitants,
Their screams echoed in the high heavens.

This having happened
The demon Sherem Minaata said:
“I have taken my jealousy and hatred
I have gone up to the moon!”
He was very excited,
He rejoiced greatly.
The black demon Sherem Minaata said:
“Han Hormasta must save the people of his destiny,
The hero Abai Geser must rescue the people!”
He thought very stupid thoughts
Remembering them in his pinched chest.
Jumping in the air
He spoke menacingly to heaven and earth:
“When my fire has burned and smoldered
There will be no people left,
No animals will remain!”
Thus he screamed and shouted.

Abai Geser gathered ten magicks on his palms,
He allowed twenty three magicks to dance on his fingers,
He then knew what was happening,
He understood it very well.
This having happened,
He spoke these words to his thirty three warriors:
“A being familiar with death,
A demon estranged from joy,
Having round red eyes,
Having a single fang in its mouth,
Having a black iron whip
The black demon Sherem Minaata
Has taken on his form
And is attacking the earth!
He has come to spread death and misfortune
Among the people of the world!”
When he had said this
He opened his great book of fate with his thumb,
He leafed through the old book with his fingers.
As he sat and read aloud,
When he was investigating he said:
“A being familiar with death,
A demon estranged from joy,
Having a black iron whip,
Fierce Sherem Minaata,
Can only be defeated by you,
You can only conquer him alone.
When you go to fight this monster
Your thirty three warriors,
Your three hundred leaders of the army,
And your three thousand soldiers
Will not be able to help you.”
He had found and read this passage
He understood what he had to do.

This having happened
Geser prepared Beligen the bay horse for the journey.
Erjen Shuumar Baatar prepared to he his traveling companion.

Geser’s thirty three warriors
Prepared Beligen the bay horse,
The steed with the mighty body
With wisdom in his bones,
With hooves that never slipped,
With a back that could not break,
With a body thirty ells long,
Ears three spans long,
With three armfuls of hair in his mane,
Abai Geser’s heroic steed:
They let him drink of the earth’s clearest waters,
They let him graze and fatten on the best grass,
They led him over gravel to toughen his black hooves,
They led him over ice to strengthen his round hooves,
Staking him out on the mountains
They let him become strong as an hawk,
Staking him out on the flatlands
They let him become strong as a falcon,
They fed him a handful of black hay,
They let him drink black water out of a cup.
This having happened
They lay on his silk-edged saddle blanket,
They put on his chased silver saddle,
They put on a silver breast strap over his shoulders
That would not let the saddle slide back on the steepest incline,
They put on a silver crupper over his flanks
That would not let the saddle slide forward on the steepest slope,
The adjusted the girth of ten straps,
They tightened the girth of twenty straps,
They hung a quirt with a dark wooden handle from the saddle,
They tied the beautiful reins to the saddle horn.
Erjen Shuumar Baatar started preparing his bluish grey horse,
He took his bow white as a star and put it in its case.

The horses having been made ready,
The thirty three warriors said it was time to prepare the body,
They entered into Abai Geser’s house,
Abai Geser’s wife Alma Mergen
Brought a golden table and served delicious food,
She brought a silver table and honored them with beautiful food.
Abai Geser and Erjen Shuumar Baatar at the delicious food,
When they had eaten the beautiful food they were satisfied.

This having happened Geser dressed himself,
Turning around in the light from the door,
Brushing off dirt and dust,
He pulled on his black trousers
Made from the skins of seventy deer,
He tugged on his black fishskin boots,
He put on his silk summer deel,
Buttoning its seventy buttons
With the strength of his thumbs.
He took a sash ten ells long
And wound its around his waist.
He put on a black huyag
That would not be penetrated by seventy days’ rain,
That could not be pierced in war and battle,
He laid armor of hammered iron over his shoulders.
He pressed on his great mink hat
That was as big as a haystack,
That was decorated with thick tassels.
He took his hard steel sword,
That was eighty ells long and eight ells wide,
Which had magic powers on its blade,
Which had words of power on its hilt,
Which was not scratched by the hardest white bone,
Which was not softened by the hottest black blood,
Geser hung it on his right side.
Taking his chased silver bow case,
And his silver decorated quiver
He filled them:
He put his heroic yellow bow
Of seventy laminations in its case,
He put seventy five arrows in his quiver,
He put ninety arrows into his quiver,
So that it would be like a shadow in the heat of summer,
So that it would be of help in the cold of winter.
He put on his bladed weapons so that he was indefatigable,
He put on his bow and arrows so that he was unconquerable.
He gleamed like the sun,
He rustled like a tree in full leaf.
He melted spider oil in his mouth
So that he would not be hungry for ten years,
He anointed his nose with worm oil,
So that he would not be hungry for twenty years.
He took his four staffs that gathered up the seas,
He took his red zadai stone that stopped a thousand storms,
He took his snare that could hold seventy animals,
When he had gathered these things,
Abai Geser and Erjen Shuumar Baatar
Opened the great pearly door in a beautiful way,
They stepped over the massive granite threshold in a pure way.
Going down the silver steps over which a mare and her foal could run,
Going down the silver walkway over which a mare and her colt could run,
They did not err or stumble.
Coming to the great silver hitching post
Standing by Beligen the bay horse,
The steed with the mighty body,
Who had wisdom in his bones,
Geser took his quirt in his right hand,
He took the beautiful reins in his left hand,
Putting his foot into the massive silver stirrup
He swung into his chased silver saddle.
He tugged on the right rein,
Turning in the direction of the sun,
Erjen Shuumar Baatar rode after him.
They rode away so fast
That at one moment they left a cloud of dust by the hitching post,
The next moment the tassels of their hats could hardly be seen beyond the mountains!

When they rode at a gentle pace
They kicked up tracks as big as cups,
When they were riding fast
They kicked up a trail like a trench.
Soaring like eagles,
Dashing like squirrels,
They trotted on the peaks of the highest mountains,
The rode on above the tops of the trees,
They flew side by side like arrows,
They made a noise like a thrown rock.
They traveled a hundred haraa
Without touching their reins,
They traveled a thousand haraa
Without flicking their quirts.

When they approached their campsite
They felled a stag and doe with a single arrow,
When they had kindled a fire,
They spitted and roasted the two deer.
They led their steeds to the clear waters to drink,
They let their horses graze on the stems of grass.
In the dark of night
When the yellow leaves were falling
The two of them slept.
When it had become morning
They washed their faces and hands,
They straightened out their clothes and hair,
They divided up the deer and ate them.
When the red sun of the morning
Rose and gave its blessing to the day
They saddled their two handsome mounts and rode off.

Saying that a foreign enemy is met in a faraway place,
That a nearby enemy should be defeated before he enters the land,
They rode with all their might,
The went as swiftly as they could.
Rushing over the tops of high mountains,
Springing to the far shore of wide lakes,
When the road was covered with white snow
And the magpie cried the song of the winter months,
They pushed down their foxfur hats and trotted on;
When the road would become muddy
And the thrush sang the song of the summer months,
They opened up their fur-lined deels and rode on.
Even if their destination was far they rode on,
Even if the river was wide they would cross.

This having happened,
The demon who was familiar with death,
This creature estranged from joy,
He who disrupted the fortunes
Of the three Tugshen khans,
Who had round red eyes,
A single fang in his mouth,
Whose mouth was three ells wide,
Whose tongue was ten spans long,
Who had a black iron whip,
The fierce monster Sherem Minaata,
Knew well what was happening,
He understood very well,
He was very afraid of Abai Geser…
This having happened
Sherem Minaata said:
“I will go to meet the enemy who is approaching,
I will go up to meet the foe who comes to me!”
Snapping his whip in his right hand,
He went quickly to meet Abai Geser…

When Geser shot his great black arrow
That was always shot first
It was unable to penetrate its target;
This great black arrow he shot first
Glanced off of the demon with the black iron whip,
Coming to rest out in a field.

The fierce monster with the black iron whip
Rolled his red round eyes thirteen times,
He spewed strong poison from his single fang,
His ten span long tongue hung down on his chest,
Attacked snapping his great black iron whip.

Abai Geser was knocked off the back of Beligen the bay horse,
He lay prostrate on the ground.
When this happened none of his hard white bones were broken,
When he fell his hot black blood was not weakened.
He drew his hard steel sword and slashed the demon;
The blade cracked along the edge and broke at the hilt,
It glanced off of Sherem Minaata without hurting him.
Sherem Minaata jumped up in the air,
Swinging his whip harder than before,
Knocking Geser off his horse once more,
Geser went tumbling on the ground.
When this happened he became very angry,
His mouth gaping in his wrath:
“I have a body that wrings necks,
I have a body that breaks bow cases!”
His mind became that of a wolf,
His heart became like stone;
He dismounted from Beligen the bay horse,
He tucked the skirts of his deel above his buttocks,
He rolled up his sleeves above his elbows,
He grabbed the two arms of Sherem Minaata.
When this had happened
Sherem Minaata said:
“Your joints are strong with sinews,
Your hair is very ugly!”
He broke loose from Geser’s grip,
Picking up his black iron whip
He struck again the third time.
Abai Geser said to him:
“Whatever man is born he is better than no other,
Each and every neck has no more than six bones!”
He hardened his powerful body,
He strengthened his white tendons,
He grabbed the demon’s right hand,
They lowered their heads like charging bulls,
They butted each other like camels.
They made the broad earth to shake,
They made the high heavens to tremble.
Trampling and breaking black cliffs into gravel,
Ripping and crushing the rocks of the earth,
A black fog formed,
Yellow dust swirled.
It was so black that people next to each other
Could not see one another,
The yellow dust made people near each other
Unable to recognize the other.
Two beings of great strength,
Two fighters with great magical power,
Beat on each other for three days,
They wrestled each other for seven days.
They were as equally matched as the two sides of a camel,
They were as equally matched as the two sides of a horse.
Tearing the flesh off each other’s backs with their fingers,
Biting the flesh off each other’s chests with their teeth,
They leaned on each other by the southern red mountain,
They kicked each other by the yellow northern mountain,
After three months their bodies were as if scoured,
They fought on ice;
After nine months their bodes were as if peeled,
They fought on a hill.
Squeezing each other forcefully,
Jerking each other with passion,
A pile of flesh had formed,
A hill of bones had formed,
Ravens flew in from the north for their evening meal,
Magpies flew in from the south for their food for the night
They blessed the two combatants saying:
“May this go on for a thousand ages,
May you fight and provide meat and blood!”
Saying these words they flew off their two respective ways.

When they had fought for an entire year
Abai Geser lost hope of winning,
His sword was unable to hurt his enemy,
His black steel spear could not pierce him,
Using the strength of his shoulders he could not bring him down,
He could not use the power of his thumb to shoot him.
Sherem Minaata snapped his black iron whip,
His stroke hit and injured Abai Geser.

After fighting for an entire year
They had both become weaker,
Their bodily strength was failing,
Their power and ability were departing,
They broke off the fight,
Speaking friendly words,
They went their separate ways.
In Abai Geser’s mighty chest he thought a thought,
In his black mottled heart he vowed to himself:
“I broke off battle with Sherem Minaata
With his black iron whip
So I can find out a way
To overcome and defeat him.”
He knew this very well,
He understood this very well.
When this has happened
He swiftly rode away on Beligen the bay horse,
Riding toward home with Erjen Shuumar at his side.
Returning to their homeland,
They sprang over the peaks of tall mountains,
They trotted over the waves of broad lakes.
Coming to the Muren River,
To the shores of the eternal lake,
Coming to the Hatan River,
By the shores of the black lake,
They arrived at their home,
They rode through the gate,
Geser tied the red reins
Of Beligen the bay horse
At the silver hitching post.
Geser entered the golden palace
Of his wife Alma Mergen.
She brought a golden table and served delicious food,
She brought a silver table and served beautiful food.
Alma Mergen honored Abai Geser
With liquor and wine,
She poured out arza and horza,
She listened to him tell of his adventures,
She listened to him say what he did.
He mumbled while he ate,
He talked and chatted,
While Geser sat with Alma Mergen he said:
“A being familiar with death,
A demon estranged from joy,
The fierce monster Sherem Minaata
Who carries a black iron whip,
Gave me a great fight,
Gave me a great battle,
Since we were both too weak to win,
Since we lost hope of a victory,
I am looking for a technique to defeat him,
I am looking for a way to conquer him.”
When he had said this
Alma Mergen gave him this advice:
“You have come with a mission
From the fifty five tenger,
You have come by the destiny
Of the five wise gods,
You have been given a goal
By the white Oyodol tenger,
You were sent on an errand
By the white Oyor tenger.
If you cannot defeat this being familiar with death,
This demon estranged from joy,
This thing with the black iron whip,
If you cannot conquer Sherem Minaata,
Who would be able to?
Who restored order
To the land of the three Tugshen khans?
Who brought back the luck and fortune
Of the people?
You are obligated to bring life and happiness
To the people who have remained on earth!
Go to the fifty five tenger of the western skies,
Go to your father Han Hormasta,
Go to your grandfather Esege Malaan,
Go to your great grandmother Manzan Gurme Toodei
And ask them what you need to do.”
Thus she taught and instructed him.
When he heard the words of his wife Alma Mergen,
Abai Geser replied to her:
“Your words are most suitable,
Your thoughts are right.”
He mounted a winged horse
The color of the blue in the rainbow,
And flew up from the earth to the heavens…

Geser flew and ascended,
Entering the high heavens,
Coming to the gate of Han Hormasta’s house,
He tied his red reins at the red hitching post.
He came to the door of the star white palace
Of his father Han Hormasta Tenger,
He opened the massive pearly door in a beautiful way,
He stepped over the granite threshold in a pure way,
Greeting his father as khan,
Wishing health to his mother.
Han Hormasta and his wife Gere Sesen
Honored their powerful heroic son Abai Geser,
Bringing a golden table they served delicious food,
Bringing a silver table they honored him with beautiful food,
They served meat in portions as big as a hill,
They poured out liquor and wine in portions as big as a lake.

Abai Geser told his father Han Hormasta
About the business on which he came,
About the purpose for which he came.
He told of the being familiar with death,
The fierce demon estranged from joy,
Who had round red eyes,
A single fang in its mouth,
With a mouth three ells wide,
With a tongue ten spans long,
Who carried a black iron whip,
The black monster Sherem Minaata,
He told of how he could not defeat him,
He told of how he could not conquer him.
He asked his father Han Hormasta for advice,
Begging and bothering him to tell him what to do.
His father Han Hormasta replied:
“I am not able to advise you,
Go and ask Manzan Gurme Toodei.”
He bade farewell to his father as khan,
He wished good health to his mother,
Geser went to Manzan Gurme Toodei,
Who was the protector of a thousand gods,
Who was the support of ten thousand tenger,
To the grandmother of the silver cup.

Manzan Gurme Toodei of the silver cup,
Met Abai Geser and invited him in,
She was very excited,
She was very glad,
Looking up she was smiling,
Looking down she was greatly moved,
She hugged and kissed him.

When this had happened
She brought a golden table and served delicious food,
She brought a silver table and honored him with food and drink,
Serving meat in portions as big as a mountain,
Serving liquor and wine in portions as big as a lake.
Abai Geser and Manzan Gurme Toodei
Talked in a friendly way remembering
Things from the earliest times to the present,
They talked in a meaningful way
Recalling events from the past to the present.
They talked until foam would form on liquor,
They talked until plants would grow on a flat stone.
When this happened Geser became drunk,
He said to Manzan Gurme Toodei:
“When I came down to the earth
I am victor wherever I may go,
When I went to the world below
I win whatever battle I enter.
This demon that took its form
From the destroyed parts of the body
Of Atai Ulaan Tenger,
Who brings confusion and trouble to the earth,
Who has round red eyes,
A single fang in its mouth,
Who has a mouth three ells wide,
Who has a tongue ten spans long,
Who carries a black iron whip,
The black monster Sherem Minaata,
Who is familiar with death,
Who is estranged from joy,
Who took on his present form
To attack the people on earth.
He has turned around the fortunes
Of the three Tugshen khans.
Stirring up winds and storms
Showering rain of blood,
Piling up piles of bones,
He heaps up hills of flesh.
Damaging the life and happiness of the people,
Making the fatness of the herds disappear,
Thus I went on the warpath,
I followed the path to battle.
I went to a distant land
To meet the black monster Sherem Minaata,
I battled him in his own land.
I tore the flesh off his back with my fingers,
I bit the flesh off his chest with my teeth,
Red blood was streaming,
Black blood was boiling,
We fought an entire year round
Until we were exhausted.
According to the mission
On which the fifty five tenger sent me
I am to bring mercy and light
To the people surviving on the earth,
According to the destiny
Willed to me by the white Zayaasha,
I am to join my strength and abilities
With high heaven and the broad earth.
My grandmother Manzan Gurme
Of the silver cup,
Please give ability and help
To your grandson Abai Geser!
Tell me how I can conquer and defeat
The black monster Sherem Minaata!”
When Abai Geser said this
He bowed and worshipped her.
When Manzan Gurme Toodei
Heard and saw this she said:
“Ai, get yourself up,
Be your father’s son!”
She gave Abai Geser the stick
She used to beat her wool saying:
“Go back down to help
The people remaining on earth.”
This was her advice to him.

Abai Geser said to her:
“I have accomplished what I came to do,
I have completed what I had intended!”
He was very excited,
He rejoiced greatly.
This having happened
He wished health and peace
To Manzan Gurme Toodei
And went home carrying
The habaa she used to beat wool.

Geser descended from the heavens back to earth,
The people came out to greet him.
He said to them:
“Man who has been offended
Goes back three times!”
Saying this he began to prepare
Beligen the bay horse.
He said to Erjen Shuumar Baatar:
“You will travel beside me as my companion.”

After this had happened he went to the
Golden palace of his wife Alma Mergen,
He opened the massive pearly door in a beautiful way,
He stepped over the granite threshold in a pure way,
Alma Mergen greeted him as a guest,
Abai Geser said to his wife Alma Mergen:
“Men accomplish what they intend,
Women cut out cloth!
I accomplished what I went to do,
I completed what I intended!”
Thus he spoke of his success.

He then said:
“A man who has been offended
Will go back three times.
I return to fight Sherem Minaata,
That demon familiar with death,
That being estranged from joy,
I go back to defeat him!”
When he had said this
He gathered up his equipment for war,
Then rode off on Beligen the bay horse.

The white oldest son of Oyodol Sagaan Tenger,
Erjen Shuumar Baatar,
Who had a horse the color of the blue of dawn,
Was summoned by Geser to accompany him,
To be his friend and companion on his journey;
The two of them rode off toward the east,
They went off to defeat Sherem Minaata,
The demon familiar with death,
The being estranged from joy,
They went to kill the black monster.

When they rode at a gentle pace,
They left hoofprints the size of cups,
When they rode swiftly,
They left a trail like a trench,
They rode the distance of a hundred haraa
Without touching their reins,
They rode the distance of a thousand haraa
Without using their quirts.
Trotting over the crests of high mountains,
Riding over the tops of the trees,
Springing over the tops of high mountains,
Trotting across the waves of broad lakes.
When this had happened,
They came to a place to camp for the night,
A silvery hill on which a man a never before walked,
With a black spring from which a horse had never drank.
They let the horses drink of the clearness of the spring,
They let their mounts feed on the blades of grass.
In the very earliest morning,
Before the dawn’s yellow sun
Had risen to bless the day,
The two of them arose,
Washed their faces and hands,
Arranged their hair and clothing.

This having happened,
They took their horses
That had drunk of the clear waters,
They took their steeds
That had eaten the fresh grass,
Preparing them for the journey
They rode off again toward the east.
Traveling the distance of a hundred haraa
They did not touch their reins,
Traveling the distance of a thousand haraa
They did not use their quirts;
They reduced the distance of three months’ travel
Into the distance traveled in three days,
They reduced the distance of three years’ travel
Into the distance traveled in three months.
Even if their destination was far the continued riding,
Even if a river was broad they crossed it;
Leaving their nurturing homeland
They came into a land cold to man.

This having happened,
The demon familiar with death,
The being estranged from joy,
Who carried a black iron whip,
The fierce monster Sherem Minaata,
Knew and feared the return of Abai Geser,
He understood its meaning very well.
His black heart pounded in his chest,
His eight short ribs shrunk in on themselves.
The black monster Sherem Minaata,
Charged out at Abai Geser,
Snapping his black iron whip.
Two beings of great strength,
Two beings of magical power,
Met by the bay of the outside sea,
They met by the navel of the broad sea.
When they met in battle
The black demon Sherem Minaata
Could not defeat Abai Geser
By lashing him with his iron whip.
Geser took out his great black arrow
That he would always shoot first,
His great arrow could not pierce its target,
It glanced off and landed out in a field.
This having happened,
Two beings of great strength,
Two beings of magical power,
Suddenly began wrestling,
Grabbing each other’s arms,
Seizing each other,
Sherem Minaata saying he would kill Geser.
The two of them struggled with passion,
Bellowing like two bulls,
Bucking like two horses,
Slashing each other like hawks,
Flying at each other like hawks,
They kicked the red mountain in the south,
Raising up red dust;
They pressed against the mountain in the north,
Kicking up black dust.

Two beings of great strength,
Two beings of magical power,
Wrestled and fought for nine days,
Equally matched in strength
Like the two sides of a camel,
They were equal in strength
Like the two sides of a horse.
As they squeezed each other,
As they tore at each other,
A pile of bones piled up,
Blood gushed in streams.
Tearing the flesh off each other’s back with their fingers,
Biting the flesh off each other’s chests with their teeth,
Kicking at each other day after day,
Fighting each other month after month.

The black monster Sherem Minaata,
Turning red in his fury,
Shook loose from Abai Geser,
Being very angry,
He jumped backwards from his enemy.
The black monster Sherem Minaata
Lashed his black iron whip,
Hitting Abai Geser and injuring him.
Abai Geser suddenly remembered
The habaa of Manzan Gurme Toodei,
He brandished the big stick,
Striking Sherem Minaata
Again and again,
So that the monster seemed to shrink;
Hitting his enemy
Again and again,
Until he was beaten into shreds.
The demon familiar with death,
The being estranged from joy,
The black monster Sherem Minaata,
His gol was broken off,
His amin had departed.
Abai Geser said to Erjen Shuumar Baatar:
“We have defeated the indefatigable enemy,
We have conquered the unconquerable foe!”
They cut down the trees of the forest,
They gathered up stumps and brush,
They cut up the wood of the taiga
Dragging in dry and wet wood alike.
They burned up the body
Of the black monster Sherem Minaata,
Kindling the fire
They cleansed the land of his pollution.
They scattered the ashes
With spades of aspen wood,
Letting them blow away in the south wind
They flew off to the north;
They scattered the ashes
With spades of birch wood,
Letting them blow away in the north wind
They flew off to the south until the ashes were gone.

This having happened,
Having won a mighty name by defeating his enemy,
Having won victory he had grabbed the colt by the tail,
Abai Geser took out a silver pipe as big as a shin,
He took out a tobacco pouch of velvety black sheepskin
That was as big as a sleeve,
He thoughtfully took out a bundle of red tobacco,
He struck sparks with flint and steel,
Lighting a bunch of tobacco the size of a moose’s ear.
Inhaling with great force,
Exhaling with a great noise,
Making clouds like steam,
Making smoke like a campfire,
He sat and smoked.

Having come to their destination
And found fortune and destiny,
Having traveled to that place
And found luck and prosperity,
Abai Geser and Erjen Shuumar Baatar
Said it was time to go back to their homes,
Said it was time to return to their native land.

They returned after killing an evil enemy,
They returned after restoring joy to the people.
They returned after destroying a poisonous hateful enemy,
They returned after returning fertility to the childless.
Going back to the water they drank,
Going back to the land of their birth,
Going back to their houses,
Going back to their people,
They trotted toward their blessed homeland,
They galloped toward the land that nurtured them.
When they came to the place where they camped overnight
They arose before the yellow sun dawned to bless the day,
Washing their faces and hands,
Arranging their hair and clothes,
Eating up the meat of the deer they had roasted
They took the meat with them leaving the bones behind.
Making quick preparations,
Making wise preparations,
They sped once more toward home,
They galloped toward their native land,
Traveling for the distance of a hundred haraa
Without touching their reins,
Traveling for the distance of a thousand haraa
Without using their quirts,
When they approached where they would camp for the night
After they had traveled that long distance,
Geser remembered what he had forgotten,
He said to Erjen Shuumar Baatar:
“I left my black handled whip
With the eighteen tails
At where we camped last night!”
Thus he spoke with great regret.
Thus they did not camp there that night,
They did not camp the following night,
Riding without stopping toward home,
Galloping toward their native land.
They returned to the waters they drank,
The came back to the place they were born.
By the Muren River,
By the shores of the eternal lake,
By the Hatan River,
By the shores of the black lake,
They entered into their homes.

Geser came to visit at the home of Alma Mergen,
He tied his horse at her golden hitching post,
He told his wife Alma Mergen about how he
Had defeated an indefatigable enemy,
That he had won a mighty name for himself.
She brought a golden table and served him delicious food,
She brought a silver table and greeted him with beautiful food.
Bringing out liquor and wine
She poured out arza and horza for him,
She entertained Geser according to the custom of hospitality.

This having happened Geser said:
“Good times have returned,
It is time to gather up my bow and quiver,
Peaceful times have returned,
I can put away my bow and quiver.”
Thus he stored away his weapons.

This having happened,
Benevolent Sargal Noyon Khan
Knew what had happened,
He understood it very well,
He went to meet his nephew Abai Geser.
He rejoiced that his nephew Abai Geser
Had defeated the demon familiar with death,
Had conquered the being estranged from joy,
Had killed the black monster Sherem Minaata,
He was very excited by his victory.

This having happened,
Abai Geser said to his uncle Sargal Noyon:
“My black handled whip
With the eighteen tails
Was left behind where we camped.”
He hung his head,
Speaking with regret.

Benevolent Sargal Noyon Khan
Spoke advice to his nephew Abai Geser.
He hit his golden drum,
Assembling his subjects from the north,
He hit his silver drum,
Gathering his subjects from the south.
Knowing that he had earned a heroic name
By defeating an indefatigable enemy,
That he had grabbed the colt by the tail
By conquering an unconquerable foe,
They greeted Abai Geser as a hero.
They poured out liquor in portions as big as a lake,
They served meat in portions as big as a hill.
They made a party for eight days,
On the ninth day there was great discussion,
On the tenth day when they had sobered up
The people returned to their homes.

This having happened,
Abai Geser went to sleep
At the home of his wife Alma Mergen,
Eating three satisfying meals a day,
He lived celebrating three festivals a year!