Bayindir Khan, the son of Kam Gan, arose from his place and had his large white tent erected on the surface of the black earth. His brown canopy colored the sky, and his silk carpets were spread out in a thousand places. The beys of the Inner and Outer Oghuz were all invited to his presence.
The tribute of the nine divisions of Georgia was brought forward. It consisted only of a horse, a sword and a club, and Bayindir Khan was very much disappointed with it. Dede Korkut came, played the kopuz and then asked: "My khan, why are you upset?"
Bayindir Khan replied: "Why should I not be upset? Every year in the past they sent gold and silver money, which we distributed among the beys and young men to make them happy. Now, to whom can I give these things? Whom would I make happy with them?"
Dede Korkut suggested: "My khan, let us give these three things to a young man, and let him serve as the watchman of the Oghuz."
Bayindir Khan asked: "To whom shall we give them?" He looked to his left and his right, but no one would accept them. There was a man there by the name of Begil. Bayindir Khan looked at him and said: "What do you say?"
Begil accepted the gifts by standing up and then kissing the earth. Dede Korkut politely girded him with the sword, placed the club on his shoulder and attached his bow to his wrist. Begil had his strong horse brought to him so that he could mount it. He packed up his tent, gathered his relatives, broke camp, and left the Oghuz. Going to Berde and Genje, he settled there to patrol the border of an area where nine divisions of Georgians were stationed. Whenever a stranger or an infidel came along, he cut off his head and sent it to the Oghuz as a gift.
He attended Bayindir Khan's annual council, but one day a messenger came from Bayindir Khan asking him to report to the court right away. Begil went to Bayindir Khan's court, presented him his gifts and kissed his hand. The khan entertained him as his guest, rewarding him with a good horse, fine clothes and much gold. Begil was the khan's house guest for three days. One day, the khan said: "Beys, let us entertain him now as our hunting guest and feed him with game for three more days." A hunting party was announced.
While preparations were being made for the hunt, some of the beys praised their horses, while others boasted about the way they drew their swords and shot their arrows. Salur Kazan praised neither his horse nor himself, but he talked about Begil's skill as a hunter. If there was a hunting party of three hundred and sixty-six horsemen and they went after a deer, Begil would neither pull his bowstring nor shoot his arrow. He used to remove his bow from over his wrist and just throw it around the neck of the male deer or wild cattle, and stop the animal by pulling it. If the animal was lean, he used to make a hole through its ear as a sign and let it free. If the animal was fat, he used to cut its throat. Whenever the beys killed a deer with a hole in its ear, they knew that it was Begil's and they would send it to him.
Kazan Bey wondered aloud: "Is the skill in the horse or in the man?"
Those present said: "It is in the man, my khan."
The khan insisted: "No. If the horse does not do his work, the man cannot boast. The skill is in the horse."
Begil was not pleased with these remarks of the khan. He said: "You have pushed us into the mud with the crupper of our horse, and among all these heroes." He just dropped the gifts he had received from Bayindir in front of him, for he was offended, and then he left his council. They brought him his horse, and he rode home with his brown-eyed companions. There, his sons came out to meet them, but he would not fondle them; he would not talk to his white-faced wife.
She addressed him at this point. Let us hear, my khan, what she said.
My bey, the master of my golden throne, You whom I loved with all my heart When I opened my eyes. You arose and set out And, taking your brown-eyed companions, You crossed, by night, the Ala Mountain with the curving back; You crossed, by night, swift rivers and fair streams, To reach, by night, the council of the white-browed Bayindir, our khan. You ate and drank among the brown-eyed beys. Saw you not your relatives and tribesmen? Were you angered in some argument? And where is your fine horse? You lack your golden armor and your helmet. You failed to fondle your young brown-eyed sons. You spoke not to your white-faced love. Now tell me what it is that troubles you."
Begil replied to his wife. Let us see, my khan, what he said to her.