#ural-batyr

[panzertron]

AY YOLA — "Ural Vasyaty"

[ribzinc]

"And the raven said as follows: 'I am not afraid to trace Death, But to capture and deliver it I will never take upon me. Long on Earth as I have existed But I’ve no concerns in chasing. And to tell you in addition: If the stronger hunt no longer, If the weaker hide no longer, If no offspring of a mother Is to die, I find it no good. If on Earth both trees and bushes Change their nature altogether, Shedding all their green no longer, When they are frosted in the autumn, What’s the good of it for living? Fancy beasts such as the grey hare, Propagating every half-year, Nibbling, eating all the verdure, Feeding in the night and day-time, Fancy other beasts all over, Roaming round in quest of green food, Fancy various fowls of feather, Here the swan and here the wild goose, In a river all at one time Bathing, diving, splashing water, Covering the water-surface. If no longer flow the waters, Washing river-banks no longer, And this usage stands for ever, Then this awkward situation May cause trouble and commotion, For the fowl, in water splashing. If the springs well up no longer, If the water becomes rotten, There is nothing left but perish, For there’ll be no food for eating, And to drink there’ll be no water. I have risked my head in battle, Often making wasteful efforts, I’ve seen hardship, thirst and famine, Yet, for all my need and hardships, In this world I cannot keep on, If I get no blood for drinking, If I get no flesh for eating, If I peck not once in three days In the eyelids of some carrion. So I cannot go to search Death, Cannot pledge my word to do it.'"

Excerpt from the Bashkir Epic of Ural-Batir. In it the raven weighs in on Ural and his brother Shulgan's disagreement on ceasing the law of death in their new homeland. If you read it aloud you'll almost immediately hear the meter and once its moving there is no stopping S.G. Shafikov's excellent translation.