By: Charosxon Ismoilova
Once upon a time, in the distant past, behind high mountains, behind a large forest with lush green grass, a poor family lived peacefully. They had 4 children and made a living by hunting. Their father’s name was Yahya, their mother’s was Shaydo, and they had 3 sons and 1 daughter, their names were: Amat, Samat, G’ayrat and Malohat. Malohat had no equal in the world, even the moon was ashamed of her beauty, her eyes were like bows, and her hair was so long that her brothers did not trust her. The brothers Amat, Samat, and Gairat would go hunting with their father Yahya, hunting hares, wolves, and foxes, and their mother Malohat would gather yarn and firewood and cook food at home. Their father would go east, their elder brother Amat would go west, their middle brother Samat would go south, and their younger brother Gairat would go north in search of Malohat. Their father Yahya told his sons that whoever found their sister Malo first would light a torch for them. They searched for Malohat for seven days and seven nights, without saying night or day, but they couldn’t find her. One by one, the brothers started coming home tired and hungry. Amat came first, then Gairat’s father Yahya also came home empty-handed. The middle brother, Samat, loved his sister Malohat very much since he was young and never let her go. Samat, who was very worried about Malohat’s disappearance, said to himself, “I will not return home until I find Malohat.” For this reason, he continued even though he was tired and exhausted, and suddenly he heard strange sounds, it was Malohat’s voice, calling out, “Save me, save me.” Hearing it, Samat ran. He ran, but he could not find his sister. He ran and ran until he came to a big tree, and he saw Malohat sitting in a hollow at the top of it. While he was gathering firewood here, a black ghost attacked him and brought him here.
The black ghost was once a young man and the king’s favorite son, but his brothers, who were jealous of him, tricked him into taking him to a witch. There, the witch turned him into a black ghost. The power of the spell was only nullified by the magic words written on a leaf from that tree. When Malohat noticed this, she was about to tear off the leaf and give it to her brother, when the black ghost appeared and tried to attack Samat. But Samat was not idle either, he quickly read the writing on the leaf. According to the writing on the leaf, if he read the leaf again and sprinkled the powder of the dried leaf on the black ghost, he would return to his original state. Samat did all this, and the black ghost turned into a handsome and successful young man. Malohat likes her, the young man also falls in love with her beauty and goes to Malohat’s house to ask for the girl’s hand in marriage. Father Yahya, who has been waiting for his daughter’s arrival, arrives and Samat tells him everything, and his father admires his son’s courage. Ibrahim, the son of the black ghost Rum king who has turned into a young man, also tells Father Yahya that he likes his daughter and with his consent, he takes the girl to his country. The father, who has been watching his son’s journey because his son is missing, is happy to see his son and, respecting Ibrahim’s choice, marries Malohat to him. The wedding lasts forty days and forty nights, and everyone’s wishes are fulfilled.