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“My daughter decides for herself who she marries,” he answered.
“Find out my name,” she said.
“Your name is Dudar-kys,” answered the young man.
What was there to do? The marriage-brokers arrived. The bey called a toi, the marriage-
brokers shook their hands, and the girl extended her hand to the groom. It was time for the
newlyweds to take off for the groom’s aal.
“Dear daughter, I give you all my horses, take them all,” said the bey.
Dudar-kys rode to the herds. She was inspecting the studs with their mares and foals and
saw a two year-old grey colt; his sweat-soaked fur was all crumpled. The girl worked through the
fur with her fingers and smoothed it with her hands. Then the grey colt all of a sudden spoke to
her in a human voice, “They have married you off, Dudar-kys?”
“They have,” answered the girl.
“What are you taking for your dowry?”
“Father gives me all of his herds.”
“Don’t take the herds, you don’t need them. Don’t take the goods, you don’t need them.
Better tell me, what do you think about your groom: Is he good or is he bad?”
“I don’t know myself yet whether he is good or bad,” answered Dudar-kys.
Then the grey colt said to her, “If you don’t know, then I’ll tell you. Your new husband is
not a person, but a werewolf. When the aal was moving to here, a pack slid askew on the camel.
The slave-girl called you, but you could not hear. Then she shouted your name. The werewolf
was nearby at that moment. He had dug out a man’s corpse out of a grave and was eating it. At
that moment he heard your name.
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