The sun is setting, hiding.
Silbi village is becoming calm.
With the darkness of the evening
Our wedding comes to an end.
The girls and fellows of the village
Are singing, dancing in a ring.
Our Narspi is here too
To say good-bye to girlhood days.
She will enjoy herself
Before she is a married woman.
She will see Setner last time
Before she goes far away.
Setner is standing there
With hanging head and sad.
Tears are running down
From the beauty’s cheeks.
After having sung and danced,
Young people talked a lot.
Hugging one another
Disappeared in the dark.

* * *

Small stars have hidden
In the sky already.
Above the woods
Dark clouds are gathering.
It is raining, water’s flowing.
The dark forest is moaning.
And the wind is rising, falling,
As a wolf is howling.
With the flashes of lightning
The woods brighten for a while.
Through the dense and gloomy forest
A horse is galloping.
The horse is running at top speed.
The woods are roaring.
Two riders are on horseback,
The horse gets weary.
A tree is like a giant
In the dark it drones.
As if it says: “Good luck!”
Bends its branches, clears the way.

* * *

Daybreak whitens far away.
The sun’s on the point of rising.
As soon as daylight comes,
People hurry to the wedding.
Following the customs, it is time
For fellows to dance already.
Following the customs, it is time
For girls to sing already.
The shabar is keeping silence,
The shabar player isn’t seen.
Among the honourable guests
Neither wine, nor beer flows.
The husband and wife in the house
Are abusing each other.
What has happened?
The guests are keeping silence.
The guests can’t break the silence,
Their lass has gone away.
Narspi and insolent Setner
Ran away after a round of dances.

* * *

Three riders in the forest
Are hot on the trail.
One is here, others there -
They are treading in some tracks.
They are treading in the tracks
And are listening to the sounds.
The sun is shining brightly.
Won’t it help to find the way?
But nothing can be heard or seen,
Maybe, go to the forest’s heart?
They feel annoyed and want
To find the fugitives quicker.
The forest is dense and wild.
It is howling and rustling.
No tracks are seen,
Which way to choose, anyhow?
Three riders in the forest
Are hot on the trail.
One is here, others there.
They are treading in some tracks.

* * *

Under a lofty oak
Setner is sleeping sweetly.
But Narspi’s sleep is light,
She is sitting at his head.
Narspi is dreaming that
Her father turned into a dog
And showing his teeth,
Is running all over the woods:
“Where are you, unruly daughter,
I’ll thrash the life out of you!”
Under the dog’s paws
The forest is howling.
He is near, he is coming,
Narspi wakes up at once.
And looks and sees:
Three riders are approaching them.
“Setner, Setner, they’ve caught us!
We should run, get up!
It’s all over with us!
We can do nothing to escape!”

* * *

A brave shabar player today
With two neighbour fellows
Has caught Narspi and
Setner in the woods.
Narspi’s mother dashing out,
Took the daughter by the hair;
Narspi’s father running out,
Punched Setner with all his might.
“Oh, mummy, mummy,
Don’t pull me by the hair,
If you punish me like this,
You can’t expect good from me!”
“Oh, Mikheter, old man,
There is no use beating.
Beating me, you can’t
Make firewood out of ashes.”
Like a mad dog, Mikheter
Took a lash in his hand
And began whipping Setner,
Who stood motionless, being tied.

* * *

Many people are in the yard,
As if they are watching a wedding.
Having fallen to the ground,
Setner is lying lifeless.
Setner’s mother is there,
She is crying and cursing.
And asks two people
To carry home her ill-fated son.
In the house Narspi
She is being washed and cleaned.
And again she is sitting
Under a veil behind the curtain.
Everyone is fussing and glad
To have a merry wedding.
And let the son-in-law
Be unaware of that shameful deed.
Oh, wedding, this wedding,
A great, but marred wedding!