Читать книгу Abkhazia in legends - Lina Belyarova - Страница 5

Abkhazians tell of the time when the entire Abkhazian sea-coast was buried under water. People inhabited only the high mountains of the area. The earliest settlers of the mountain-parts of Abkhazia were little human beings, the dwarfish Atsans. The tribal group of Atsan dwarfs lived by hunting wild animals and sheep-breeding. They were notable for their courage and bravery, but gradually came to be very proud, freedom-loving and impious folk. God decided to punish the Atsans because of their wrong-doings aided by the youth whom, as an infant, He had once sent to the Atsans in a golden cradle for them to rear. From the youth God discovered what the Atsans feared most of all in the world.

One day, as the Atsans were sitting by their stone-circles, the 300 year-old father of the Atsans saw a goat standing nearby whose goatee beard was waving because of the wind that God had sent to the land of the Atsans for the very first time… All of a sudden, the sky became overcast and dark clouds obscured the sun from the Atsans… The Earth sensed God’s threatening punishment and decided to rescue the Atsans from imminent danger by forming huge shelters and caves for them. But God became angry with the Earth for that and, in revenge, He pierced her body with a huge dagger. The wounded Earth begged the Atsans to draw the dagger out of her body, but the wilful Atsans ignored her pleas… Soon afterwards, woolly flocks began falling down from the sky that covered the ground like snow. In the end, God sent fire to the Earth and all the cotton flocks together with those impious Atsans were set on fire. Ever since, the Earth is said to have been left with the dagger still in her chest which God had once thrust into her for her desperate attempt to rescue the Atsans.