Ayu-Dag: true legend of Bear-Mountain

A long-long time ago the big horde of huge bears settled down at the seaside. The leader of this horde was an old and stern bear. Once the bears came home, they discovered at the coast pieces of a boat. Among these pieces they found a wrapped bundle.

The old leader opened it and saw a baby girl. The horde decided to raise this child as of this girl was one of their own. Since then this girl became part of the horde. She couldn’t speak with anyone except bears and felt herself lonely when the bears left her and went hunting.

Time went by and the baby girl turned into a young lady.

Not so far from bear’s den via a stream of the sea arrived a small boat with young handsome man. He spent some days on the boat battling a storm and almost had no strength left.

She helped him and brought him to a cave to hide him there. Every day she brought him food and drink. He told her about his family, his country and how people live there. She sang for him her favorite songs and cared about him. During these days they fell in love.

The young man completely recovered and built a new boat with a sail. They decided to escape together and leave the bear’s coast. They began their dangerous trip …

In the meantime the bears came back from their long travel and didn’t find girl. The leader looked at the see and roared violently. He put down his huge jaws in the sea and began to drink water. Others bears repeated his action. The stream that they created pulled the small boat to the shore.

Suddenly the girl started to sing her songs. As soon as the bears heard her incredible voice they lifted their heads from the water and listened to her. Only the old leader continued drink more and more.  He put his head and front legs in the cold waves even deeper than before. He was so strong that the sea was covered by enormous waves.

The girl didn’t stop to sing. She prayed in her song that heaven help them and protect their sincere first love. She asked that the old bear would spare the young man. She prayed so sincere that the angry animal stopped to drink. He couldn’t leave the shore and laid down to look at the boat moving away from the shore as he became frozen.

From that time the old bear laid on the shore for a thousands years. His body completely turned into stone. His powerful sides changed into precipices, his high back turned into a mountain peak that reaches the clouds, his head changed into a sharp rock and his bushy fur became a primeval forest. The old leader bear turned into a Bear-Mountain!