I will tell you about Vlay. His father was a peaceful man; his family lived by cultivating the land. Once aggressive people came from the east; then Vlay’s father and mother took their children and ran away to the west. On the way, the mother died, and the younger brother, who was not even two years old, was taken by an animal. Then Vlay’s father, who was called Shomar, Vlay, and his sisters, six and eleven years old, continued their journey; Vlay was in his fourteenth year. They came to a land where there were large settlements; there was nothing to eat, and they were starving. For a long time, they were wandering around; and Shomar gave his youngest daughter to a family who agreed to accept her, feeling sorry for her. They wandered and wandered; and Shomar and Vlay stole from the fields at night, caught dogs and foxes, and ate them. No one accepted them as workers, and they were starving. One night Shomar stole a bull and brought it to his son and daughter; and they all ran away from that place, taking the bull with them. But they were caught by the owners of the bull. Those people killed Shomar, took his daughter, and Vlay ran away from them. And he began to wander alone; he ate what he could steal in the fields or somewhere else. One day he was caught near a field and beaten; then it happened one more time. And he was exhausted and was lying and dying; but one man felt sorry for him and took him home. That man was called Penepetena, and he had a son, Ponta, who was six years younger than Vlay. That man needed a helper, and he took Vlay to his house. Vlay was happy, for he did not want to wander anymore and was afraid; and he worked and did what Penepetena told him to do; and if he could, he did more. And when Penepetena was ill Vlay was doing his work and Penepetena’s work because he was afraid that Penepetena would send him away for laziness. Penepetena appreciated Vlay’s efforts a lot; He liked Vlay because Vlay was hardworking and respectful. And the time came when Penepetena saw no difference between his son and Vlay, he treated both of them as his children. Eight years passed; then Penepetena fell ill and died. Then his son Ponta sent Vlay to the barn with cattle, shouted at him, and beat him. Vlay was ready to leave; Ponta did not want him to leave and threatened him. But Vlay left; then Ponta began to lie, shouting that Vlai wanted to set his field on fire. People went after Vlay to catch him. One man, who was Vlay’s friend, caught up with him before them and warned him, and Vlay hid from them. A few days later he returned at night and set Ponta’s field on fire; it burned down, and the fields of two other people burned down with it. Then he ran away and headed west. He was walking west for a long time, and he was starving again; then he came to a city. In the city he started stealing again; and he lived like that for two years. He was such a good thief that he was never caught. Once he broke into a rich house, he wanted to become rich by stealing; but there was a tame leopard in the house. It tore Vlay’s chest, shoulders, and side and Vlay ran away from that house, bleeding. People followed the traces of blood and found him, they hung him by his feet in the square. At night, some people came and took him down. Vlay was dying and they brought him to a house. There he was healed; and the house belonged to a brother of the ruler of that land. That brother had a little army; and Vlay was ordered to join that army in return for his life. He was given an ax, a shield, and a helmet, and he was taken to a place where other soldiers lived. Vlay did not want to be in the army, and ran away, taking his ax with him. He left that city and started wandering around; he threatened everyone he met with the ax and took away their belongings. Once he met a seer respected in those lands and robbed him. The seer told him, “You were beaten and people tried to kill you but you survived; if they catch you again, you will not be saved, and you will die an evil death.” Then Vlay asked him, “What should I do; how should I live?". He replied, “I see two paths for you, one to the villages, the other to the foothills. In the villages you will die, in the foothills, you will lose yourself, choose what you want." Vlay asked him, “What does it mean to lose oneself?” He replied, “I don’t know what it means.” Then Vlay gave him everything he had taken from him and let him go. He did not leave his dwelling for two days; there he was sitting and thinking what he should do. And he thought, “I know what death is; nobody wants to die, doesn’t he? If I lose myself I will not die; I will go to the foothills, although it is terrible. But if it is worse than death, then I will return to the villages and die.” And he went to the foothills, taking with him food and clothing that he had, and his ax. In the foothills he was wandering and looking for something unusual; but could not find anything. It was winter; and he was wandering there for four days, and he ate everything that he had with him. Then he thought, “Although it’s cold, I won’t die here; I’ll wait to see what happens." And he sat down and started waiting; he was waiting the whole day, enduring the cold. By the evening he was frightened, and wanted to get out of there; but he could not go far, because he was freezing; and he fell into the snow. And he was lying and waiting for death; but a man came and picked him up and took him to his dwelling.

In the house of that man, Vlay warmed up and had some food. That man called himself Evnar; and he asked Vlay who he was and where he came from. Vlay told him the whole truth about himself and told him the truth about why he had come to the foothills. And he asked Evnar, “Do you know how I will lose myself, and where? After all, I was freezing and already waiting for death but I didn’t die; it means that the seer was right, and he did not lie to me. You know who and what I am now; what should I do next?" Evnar answered, “I know this seer, his word is true. And I know what you should do as well; and I can tell you, but would you believe me?” Vlay said, “Speak; whatever you say, I will believe you because I don’t know how to live and what to do.” And Evnar said, “Stay with me and live in my house; you will live here and help me, as you once did.” Vlay was delighted and replied, “I will stay if you say; and if it ends the same as it once ended, then at least I can die.” And Vlay stayed with him, and worked, and fed himself. Evnar had some cattle, a small field, a small garden, and he fished in the river. Vlay worked as hard as he could; did everything he could do. And sometimes he did Evnar’s work, leaving him easier work. He worked so much that during some nights he did not sleep; but Evnar did not forbid him to do this. Two years later, Vlay cultivated another piece of land and made another field. So, they lived; and two more years passed. One day, Vlay asked Evnar, “The seer told me then that I would lose myself; have I lost myself? And you said that his word was true; has something happened?” Evnar said, “I have been waiting for this, and it has happened.” Then he asked Vlay, “Are you doing good?” He replied, “I’m doing great; just don’t send me away; and if you want to send me away, then better kill me.” Evnar asked, “Am I good or bad, and who am I?” Vlay replied, “You are a kind person, and your name is Evnar, and I treat you as my father.” Evnar asked, “And who are you?” Vlay replied, “I am Vlay; and, I have already told you who I am, and I can tell you again.” Then Evnar asked him, “Are you a man or cattle?" He replied, “I am a man; Do I look like cattle? Evnar asked him, “What makes you different from cattle?” Vlay replied, “Here are my clothes, and I live in the house, and work, and cook food on fire, and speak clearly, and I am stronger than cattle.” Evnar replied, “Cattle are dressed in fur, a bird has feathers; even a fish is dressed in scales. An ant builds a dwelling for itself and a wasp; an animal digs a hole or makes a lair, and a bird builds a nest; even a tiny snail has a shell in which it lives. Every creature works, earning food and making a home for itself. You can feed without fire, and you won’t die of hunger. Your speech is clear to me, but the speech of a dog is clear to another dog, the speech of a bird is clear to another bird, the speech of a mosquito is clear to another mosquito. And you are weaker than an animal because you cannot kill a bear without a weapon or a trap, but it will kill you; and you cannot control cattle in the barn with your bare hands; and a snake is stronger than you; and a tiny louse can torment you by biting, but you cannot keep it awake by biting it. What makes you different from cattle?" Vlay replied, “I am a man; a man takes food with his hands, not with his snout, and keeps it, and he composes songs, and loves his spouses, and children, and builds traps for animals, and has fields. Then Evnar said, “A squirrel takes food with its paws, and arranges storage for it. A bird sings beautifully; and a frog can sing. Wolves have spouses, and every creature takes care of its cubs. A spider makes webs for its prey, and it extracts a web from itself, but a man cannot do this. Cattle can live without fields, but a person without his field will die of hunger. What makes you different from cattle?" Vlay replied, “A man has weapons, chops down trees, and walks on two legs, not four.” Then Evnar said, “A man invents weapons, and a bear already has fangs and claws, a snake and a wasp have a sting, and a bird beats with its beak. A bug can destroy a tree and a mere rot can. A bird walks on two legs and even flies, but a man cannot fly. What makes you different from cattle?" Then Vlay said, “If so, then I don’t know; it turns out that cattle are better than me in everything. Evnar told him, “Behold, you see that you are like cattle; Shall I send you into the barn where the cattle are? Vlay replied, “I think you should”; and Evnar said, “Then go to the barn.” And Vlay entered the barn, and Evnar closed the gates. And Vlay lived with the cattle for three days; and ate and drank the same as cattle did. On the fourth day, Evnar took him out of the barn and asked, “What do you think now?” Vlay replied, “I was running away, wandering, starving, and I was offended, beaten, executed, and I was freezing, working as hard as I could, but it has turned out that I am no different from stupid cattle. But it cannot be like this; if it were true, then I would be an animal, but a man is not an animal. What makes us men, not animals? You are wiser than me, and you probably know the answer. After all, you did not say that you were like cattle; What do you know about yourself that I don’t know about myself? Reveal this to me, otherwise, I will live and die in the barn with cattle.” Then Evnar told him, “If so, then I will be your teacher, and you will lose yourself-cattle and find yourself-man.” And Vlay said, “Be my teacher.” Evnar said, “The seer was right; his word was true. I felt that I had to go and look for a man. I was looking for you for four days, following my feelings; and if you had not been sitting in one place all day, then I would not have found you. And now everything will be as it should be, the paths have crossed. And he ordered Vlay to listen to him in the way a son listens to his father and to obey him in everything.

Evnar began to mentor Vlay and teach him many things that he did not know. He taught him about many things, even within the human soul, and above the sky. He revealed to him how the world was born, and told him about his life. He revealed great secrets to Vlay, which he had once learned from his teacher. And they worked together; and when they didn’t work they had conversations. Once Vlay was sitting and thinking, almost from noon until evening. Then he asked Evnar, “Tell me, why am I here with you and not another person? After all, I am no better than others; Yes, and I saw those who are much better than me”. Evnar answered him, “Your life has brought you to me. The life of a man knows what he is; he doesn’t know himself, but it knows. It has recognized something in you that you haven’t known about yourself, and it has brought you to me. One person should be a blacksmith, and another - a healer, everyone needs a teacher; life is looking for teachers for them. It is the same with you and me, life has led you to someone you need, and has brought someone I need. Next time Evnar told Vlay, “Have you understood why a man is different from cattle? Cattle live the way they live; their life is like a river between its banks. It will not overflow its banks and will not water the earth, even if there is a drought, and crops and forests are dying. Human life is like moisture that nourishes the world, it penetrates everywhere and nourishes everything and everyone, giving its strength and itself. Cattle cannot make their life like this, but man can, and that is the difference. Whatever cattle do, they do it only for themselves or for similar cattle. They get food for themselves or other cattle; they love themselves or them; they protect themselves or them. A man, on contrary, loves everything and lives for everything; Cattle do not want to know either the past or the future, or what is above the sky, but a man wants to know all this, and can know, and lives for all this. A man has such a mind that wants to know all this and can learn it, and a man has such a soul that he can love all this, and such a life that he can nourish all this with himself. Cattle are not like that; and this is why there is a man in the world, he exists not to be like cattle. Cattle live from the world, but a man lives for the world. Cattle take from the world for themselves, for example, they drink from a river, and the water does not come back to it; but a man will drink from a river, and pour out the moisture of his life to the whole world, thus, it will not perish from the drought. This is the difference between a man and cattle; remember this to be different from cattle”. Evnar explained that to Vlay and after that he taught him for a long time what he knew himself. Once Evnar told Vlay, “I have given you all I could and you have accepted it the way you should have accepted. Now I will walk away and travel around the world; and you will stay here instead of me.” Vlay told him, “Why are you leaving?” He replied, “Let one grain be in one field and another grain in another field, there will be bread everywhere.” And he packed up and left, but Vlay stayed; he was thirty-four years old. And he started living and working alone; it was like that for three years. One day his soul seemed to hear a call; then he left his house and went where his soul led him. And eighteen yovas from his dwelling he found a girl about twelve years old, she was hungry and exhausted. He put her on his shoulders and brought her to his house, and there he was feeding her and taking care of her. Her name was Kemeile; she was from the same lands as Vlay. A rich man brought her as a wife for his son; she ran away and was wandering and starving. Vlay gave her shelter and she was like a daughter to him; and when the time came, he began to teach her, as Evnar taught him. One day a family of people came and settled nearby; they were good people, and there was a friendship between them and Vlay. They had two sons, one married and another single; and that one wanted to take Kemeile as his wife. And she wanted to marry him as well, and Vlay saw that he was good; and then he came to live in Vlay’s house. His name was Snen-Ir; he was living with Kemeile, and Vlai was teaching both of them. Their life was good. Kemeile gave birth to one child, and then another; so many years passed, and Vlay was almost sixty. And when he saw that he had already taught them everything he could teach, then he said goodbye to them and left, and left everything that he had to them and their children.

Vlay left the foothills and walked among people. He walked in the villages and spoke with people; he told legends and various stories to some people, and he gave good advice to other people, he helped people the way he could. He helped people to cure ulcers or burns. Once he helped to resolve a conflict and reconciled enemies with his wise words; he was honored and welcomed everywhere where he helped people. Sometimes it was different as some people didn’t like Vlay. Once he resolved a conflict and it turned out that the elder was guilty. Then the relatives of the elder took spears and axes and went to Vlay, threatening him and telling him to leave and never return there again. Vlay took a knife, and with that knife, he cut his arm five times and his chest two times, but the blood did not flow. People who threatened him saw that, they were frightened and ran away; after that, the older brother-in-law of the elder brought him into his house so that he could spend the night there. In the meantime, other relatives of the elder went to a sorcerer and asked him to come to the village and do something bad to Vlay. They offered him a good wage and he agreed. The next morning he came and they brought him into the house where Vlay was, and they shared the same meal. They told Vlay, “This is our relative, a respectable man.” Vlay greeted him, as appropriate for good people. And after the meal, Vlay left the house and went to people and the sorcerer began to do magic. Vlay was standing among people, and nearby a relative of the elder was standing and watching what would happen. And at a certain moment, a great weight seemed to fall on Vlay, and he bent over; the people were frightened and stood away from him. He was breathing heavily, with an effort; then he straightened up, for he did to himself what was necessary. And he said, “I know now that there is a sorcerer nearby; Go and tell him to come here." Then the elder’s relative ran and told the sorcerer his words; and the sorcerer came and stood in front of Vlay. Vlay told him, “Don’t bother me; although I am not a sorcerer, I am not weak against you. He replied, “I have received payment for you, and I will do what I must do.” Then Vlay told him, “Can’t you see that you cannot hurt me in any way? Pay them back; but if you don’t want to, don’t return the money, they won’t dare to take it themselves.” The sorcerer began to conjure, shout, and shake his hands at Vlay. He was conjuring for a long time, and then blood and bile began to flow from his throat, and he fell to the ground. Then the relatives of the elder took him and carried him to his dwelling. Vlay lived in that village for many days, and people asked him, “Do not leave us”; he answered, “I’ll stay for another year and then I will leave.” In several months the sorcerer ordered the relatives of the elder to bring him a man; they secretly took one from their village and brought him by force. And the sorcerer knocked out his soul and put a demon in its place. Then he brought him to the village, and there he let him go. And that man went into the village and was behaving violently and in his madness crippled a child. Then people asked Vlay to calm him down; and Vlay looked at him and saw that he had a demon in him. And he waved his hands and knocked the demon out of him without touching him; only the body remained, and it fell dead. Seeing this, the relatives of the elder began to shout, “Look, he did not heal the man, but killed him!” The man’s mother said to Vlay, “Bring my son back to life.” Vlay answered, “I knocked the demon out of him, but you can’t return the soul to him; bury him soon." Then everyone shouted, “You are a murderer; you killed him, you didn’t heal him”. And they sent Vlay away from the village, and he left. And there were rumors that he was a powerful sorcerer, and therefore he was welcomed everywhere with caution and reverence. In those lands there was a city with a good ruler; and Vlay went there. He came and lay down to sleep on the street; and people asked him who he was. He named himself; and then the ruler was told, “The well-known sorcerer has come and is sleeping on the street, under the wall; he may get offended that we didn’t even offer him bedding.” Then the ruler called him and gave him a dwelling, and asked for wise advice. Vlay saw that the ruler was a kind person, and did not refuse, and protected him and his house from any spells and other evil. So Vlay lived in that city, and he was honored. And he saw that in that city there were many gods and idols, and there was enmity between the inhabitants because of this. He saw people walking in crowds and carrying their idols along the streets and fighting for them to death. And he saw that they were worshiping them and bringing them gifts, and they were mocking each other’s gods. There was no peace in that city because of that; and Vlay thought, “When the current ruler dies and there will be another, they will completely kill each other, and the city will be destroyed.” He started walking around the city and preaching, telling people, “Why do you worship your idols; do you get anything from them? Honor each other better, and give each other your gifts. If you want to worship something, then worship the earth, and you will not be left without an answer.” But they did not listen to him and told him, “Worship your gods, and we will worship ours.” Then he took a wooden log and smeared it with clay mixed with dry manure. It was a blockhead without arms, legs, and head; Vlay attached hare-like ears and two dog tails to it. And he dragged that blockhead to the most crowded place and began to worship it. For a long time people were looking at him, and then went to the ruler all together and complained, saying, “Vlay is mocking us.” Then the ruler shamed them, and forbade Vlay to do like that. A year later, there was a drought - a great drought. Everyone was praying to their gods, saying, “My god is stronger than the others, he will give rain.” Vlay even saw how some people took away food or something else from others to give it as a gift to their gods. Then he dragged his blockhead into a crowded place again and began to worship him. And as soon as he began to do this, immediately a strong wind arose and drove the clouds, and it began to rain. People said, “Vlay’s god is stronger than all gods”; and many also wanted to worship it. Vlay was embarrassed by what had happened; he took his blockhead to his house, and there he locked himself in. People surrounded the house and shouted, “Give us your god!”. And Vlay broke his blockhead, saying to himself, “You can joke with gods but not with fools.” And he thought that the next day they would come again and break into his house; and he ran away from the city at night to get away from that place.

Vlay went east and walked as fast as he could, he wanted to get away from that place. On the way he met a caravan of oxen; a man with his helpers led it to the northeast. Vlay told the man, “Could I go with you? I won’t be a burden; On the way, I will give you a helping hand whenever I can”. He replied, “Unless you know how to fight with an ax or a spear; but you’re not young anymore. If you can sing and dance, or amuse us in some other way; then I will take you with me and feed you, albeit meagerly.” Vlay told him, “I can tell you a lot; but will the purulent boils on your chest disappear from this?” He was frightened and asked, “Are you a healer, are you a sorcerer?”; and Vlay answered him, “If you take me with you, you will not feel sorry.” And he took him with him, and let him follow them freely, and gave him good food. On the way, Vlay cured his boils, and he also cured one of his helpers as he had convulsions. And every day he told them different things, and besides, he helped in the caravan. So many days went by; and one day the soul led Vlay to the southeast. Then he left the caravan and went there alone; and the man gave him food, and a good mantle made of fox-skins. And Vlay went to the southeast; and after four days he reached the place where my people were. And he wished to join those people, and he was accepted. He showed his wisdom, and also showed such skills that my people did not have; he was respected, and his voice at the council was one of the loudest. He noticed me among my people, for it was his soul that called him to me. I was then six months old, and he saw that the path of my life crossed with the path of his life. My people were living by taking their cattle from one place to another. They stopped and lived and the next year they went to another place. Vlay walked with us; and Vlay was such a person that he was loved and honored by everyone among my people. Vlay would often sit down and tell stories and all sorts of other things; then children and women gathered around him, and sometimes men and old people as well. And he also told us a lot of things that were useful for life. It was like that for fourteen years; during this time, Vlay became second among my people after the leader. Sometimes Vlay told us how people make crops for themselves and live, and feed on them, and keep cattle. Some of my people wanted to live like that; they asked him, “If we settle down, will you be with us, will you teach us?” He answered them, “I will be with you.” The leader condemned them, and the others also condemned them. They made a caravan of buffaloes, took good skins and other things that they could take, and set off under the leadership of Vlay to different lands. There they bartered enough grain and brought it with them. Then, under the leadership of Vlay, they looked for a good place for a settlement and found it. There they went with their families, with their cattle, and with everything they had; four families all in all. They were scolded in every way, and some of the old women cursed them; Vlay was reproached, and they shamed him in every possible way and threatened him. And one of those who stayed took the wife away from one who was leaving; that woman was his daughter. And they left; and no one ever regreted. I also wanted to go with them, for my soul drew me to Vlay; but my father did not let me go, and my older brother beat me. The time came, and my people left that place and went far away from it.

When I grew older, I left my people and against the will of my father went to Vlay. I was looking for him and I found him; I came to that village. People wanted to me leave, but Vlay protected me and accepted me as a son. I started living with them and worked with them; the work was hard. I cleared the land of snags and stones, and I made a field for myself; Vlay helped me, and people helped me because he asked them to do so. And he gave me half of his cattle, and his house; and people built another house for him. He began to teach me things that he had not taught anyone else. I asked him, “Why don’t you teach them what you teach me; Are they less smart than me?" He replied, “Life is smarter than you and them and me; it paves the way, and we follow it.” Time passed, and no one was hostile to me anymore. One day, Vlay gathered everyone and said, “I teach Tova what I do not teach you. He works just like you, in the field and with the cattle; and to live the way I teach him to live is a hundred times harder. I can teach you too; who wants to learn what Tova is learning? They replied, “It’s already hard for us; the work we have is enough. We do not know any harder work; and whoever knows, let him accept it.” Then Vlay told them, “If so, then do not forget that you have everything because of me; and I work the way you don’t want to work. When I am away, then let Tova be what I have been for you, for he is like me.” And he taught me every day; taught me what his teacher had taught him. Twice Vlay, another man, and I traveled on buffaloes to another land, there we traded iron, hoes, and weapons. Once we brought people with us - two families who wanted to go with us. Once two men wanted to marry one girl and began to fight for her. Vlay came to that place and told them, “Only cattle butt heads for a female. If you are cattle, what are you doing among people; and whom did you kill, whose skin did you put on to be like them? Your place is in the barn, not in human dwellings. They asked, “What should we do?”; he replied, “Let her choose the one she likes.” Since then, there was a tradition to shame the one who wanted to get a woman by force. A female animal was tied to his house at night, and he was greeted as a newly-married man the next day; the children teased him with horns and tufts of grass. The time came when everyone realized that there was neither enmity nor hunger in the village because of Vlay. One day, some people with weapons came to the village. Vlay went out to them and spoke to them; then he took a knife and cut his hands, and there was no blood; those people saw that and left. And Vlay taught me that; and much, much more. He told me things that I thought only gods and demons knew; sometimes my head wanted to run away from my shoulders because of his words. Time passed, and he taught me; he taught me the great truth. The world was like a river for me that flows from the source to the river’s end, I could see the bottom and everything on it. And the day came when Vlay gathered all the people and told them, “I’m leaving, because I have done everything I could here.” People asked him not to leave, and I asked as well. He said, “Your village is well-organized; It’s not me who should keep it that way, but you. If you want to live as you have lived up to this day, then you will be able to do it without me; if you do not want, then I will not be able to keep this order. I will leave you eight words, by which you will live with dignity. The first is, you should not kill men except for the sake of protection, and you should not kill animals, except for the sake of genuine need. The second is, you should not take anything from another person, except if he has taken it from you first. The third is, you should not take anyone as a spouse by force and you should not arrange marriages for others. The fourth is, you should accept everyone who comes and wants to live in the village, except those who do not want to live according to the local law. Fifth, you should not punish anyone based on mere suspicion or on the testimony of a person who has been known for lying before. The sixth is, you should help weak people and feed hungry people, except for those who are starving out of their laziness. The seventh is, you should not blame a person for worshiping other gods but only for the bad deeds that result from this worship. The eighth is, you should obey your leader; if he breaks the law, then drive him out of the village, and together with him drive out the one who opposes his expulsion. These are eight words for you, let them be your law. I will go and continue my work. I appoint Tova to be your leader; and when the time comes for him to leave or die, he will appoint another leader for you. Live like that for another life is not good for you; not for the sake of another life, you followed me. That is what he said, then he took food, a cloak, a staff, a small ax, extra shoes and went east. He was far over ninety years old. Two years later three people came from the east – a family, two men, and a woman; they learned about our village from Vlay. We accepted them, for they were good people. I didn’t hear anything else about Vlay, and I couldn’t find out where he died. This is the tale of Vlay based on his words and on what I have seen myself.