Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation
Pilot The animation studio of Aleksandr Tatarskiy
Present
We live in Russia,
the biggest country in the world.
Russia is inhabited by more than 150 nations.
And each one of them has its own language and customs.
In the steppes between the rivers Don and Volga
and the Caspian Sea
live the Kalmyks.
The only people in Europe
that speak the Mongolian language.
The Kalmyks have long raised cattle,
and were always nimble riders and fearless warriors.
In the old days, starting from the reign of Peter the Great,
Kalmyk horsemen fought bravely
in the Russian army.
The Kalmyks carefully preserve their traditions and holidays.
At the end of chilly December
they celebrate their New Year, "Zul",
which in translation means "fire".
They light big bonfires, believing
that the higher the flames rise, the brighter the summer sun will be.
And indeed, the summer is very hot in Kalmykia.
In the summer, they celebrate the holiday of earth and water, "Uryus".
On this day, they sprinkle their livestock with fresh milk,
so that the cattle stay healthy and give a lot of offspring.
The Kalmyks have many other unusual holidays.
They recently came up with a new one: the festival of tulips.
It is celebrated in the spring, when the steppe
gets covered with a colorful carpet of flowers.
Fairy tales of all sorts are also told in Kalmykia,
and each of them is like a beautiful gem.
Mountain of Gems
The Horned Khan
This happened long ago.
In a Kalmyk village lived a woman
who had only one son.
He was a cheerful and kind young man.
And the way he played the zurna! Oh!
Everyone around would start dancing,
even the sheep.
That country was ruled by a cruel Khan.
And every month, people would disappear from the village.
The Khan's servants would come and take away a man,
and he was never seen again.
And finally, it was turn of the young man.
The woman wept bitterly,
but could do nothing.
She gave her son a traveling bag with three flat cakes,
and the young man went off to see the Khan.
"Well? Scared?"
"Don't be afraid, it's for you to shave my head with."
The Khan took off his cap, and revealed a horn growing from his head!
The Khan nodded with satisfaction, and said,
"Mmm, you'll be rewarded suitably for your work."
"See that chest in the corner?"
"Take for yourself as much gold as you can carry."
The young man saw how many people had died before him.
That's why no one in the land above knew about the secret of the cruel Khan.
The young man gave the first flat cake to the enormous snake.
She liked the meal,
and the serpent helped the boy climb out of the cave.
He was now in a thick forest.
Suddenly,
he heard wolf howling...
The wolf's stomach began to rumble.
He probably wants to eat.
Thus, the second flat cake came in handy.
The wolf was not accustomed to such food, but ate it all.
He even liked it.
So the wolf helped the boy get out of the woods.
In that hut lived a wicked and hungry witch.
"Ah, how nice," said the witch,
"I will have supper tonight."
"Grandma, Grandma!"
"Let me play the zurna!"
She allowed it. Why not?
For the final act.
"Oh! Wow! I haven't danced like this in a hundred years!
"But now, it's time to have a snack!"
The young man treated her to his mother's last flat cake,
and told her about the horned Khan.
The witch agreed to help the young man.
"Take my dressing gown."
"It's old, but magical."
"Wear it and you'll immediately become younger!"
"No, that won't do."
"But if you wear it inside out, you'll become older."
"Ah, that's just the thing!"
"Aha, if you wear it inside out, then you become older."
The guards stopped him.
"Who are you?"
Said the old man: "I'm a barber"
"Oh, a barber!"
"You did good work! I will reward you."
"Over there in the corner is a box with your reward in it."
The old man leaned over the trunk:
"Oh, there's so much gold!"
The Khan was surprised:
"What? Where- where is the gold?"
The young man returned home to his beloved mother.
And they lived happily ever after.
And the cruel Khan has never been seen since in that part of the world.
Director Sergey Gordeyev written by G. Zakolodyazhnyy
Art direction M. Tsukerman
Music A, Zemlinskiy
Sound O, Platonova
Voice actor L. Lenkov
animators Sergey Gordeyev, Artur Tolstobrov, Aleksandra Yevseyeva, M. Gavrilenko, N. Novik, O. Ridzel, A. Kotova, D. Rochev
Subtitles by Aleksandr, Eus, Mountain of Gems (2014), revised by Niffiwan (2022)
The End Subtitles by Aleksandr, Eus, Mountain of Gems (2014), revised by Niffiwan (2022)