Text copyright © Jan Amany, 2019

Illustrations copyright © Aigul Khakimzhanova, 2020

Copyright © Aspandau Publishing House, 2020

Design copyright © ARTQRAFT, 2020

Otkyrkoz the Eagle

Soaring through the sky is the Eagle. Every day, the people of the aul notice it and, squinting at the blinding sun, they look up, raising their heads to the azure sky. Whatever happens, the smooth flight of the Eagle bestows upon them a sense of safety and peace. Many years pass and yet… the Eagle soars through the sky.

The aksakals say that an admirable woman once lived in their aul: her temper was gentle, her eyes were kind, and her hair was long. She carefully braided them each morning, and in the afternoon, her son played with a jingling shashbau that decorated her braids.

The baby loved sleeping cuddled against his mother’s shoulder. He slept so deeply that neither the cry of the children nor the barking of the dogs could wake him. He was the apple of his mother’s eye. But then he was gone.

The mother looked for him restlessly. Once she discovered that her son was swallowed by an unforgiving mountain lake, she could not bear the grief. She passed away. And with her last breath, an eagle flew into the sky. People believed that the inconsolable mother had turned into a majestic bird. Every time a child cried, the Eagle appeared by his side and did not leave until the tears on the baby’s cheeks dried up.

No matter how many years pass, people see the Eagle in the sky and are assured that it will protect the aul from harm and ill will. With the Eagle watching over them, no child will cry, no mother will grieve.

Doszhan-ata and his story

Aksakal Doszhan, a good and honest man, had many stories to tell. Living in his native land for all his life, Doszhan learnt its fables by heart. His narration of the legend of the lake and the Eagle was filled with particular warmth: he sincerely believed that Otkyrkoz was not an ordinary eagle.

The story of the Koksu lake was also one of his favorites. People of the aul revered the lake that lay high up in the mountains. Aksakals said that the lake was once a deep gorge, which got transformed by an earthquake. It was so blue that it merged with the sky, leaving one