It is said that there were no poisonous snakes in Altai, and now cottonmouth is found here quite often. Only men lived in one camp because the leader of this tribe hated women. But life took its course, and young boys fell in love with beauties from neighboring villages and wanted to marry them. The Khan was clever enough that he did not want to provoke dissatisfaction among his laborers, and so he gave them a fair stipulation: a young man could marry a girl only if he could carry a bride to the top of a high mountain. But if the groom could not carry the beloved to the top and lower her to the ground, then she turned into a snake. Many young men tried to conquer the top of the impregnable mountain with a bride in their arms, but the path was very difficult, and no one could ever fulfill the condition of the Khan, many girls turned into serpents for the joy of the evil Khan.
But one day the poor shepherd fell in love with a beautiful girl, and she reciprocated him. A young couple came to the Khan with a request to let them marry. It was not against a cruel leader, if they fulfilled his condition. The shepherd picked up his bride in his arms, began to climb to the top, and the Khan does not take his eyes off them, watches carefully as he tries to achieve his goal. The way to the mountain is hard, the young man is already losing his last strength. His bride is about to touch the land and turn into a snake, which is visible around invisible. But the girl began to help her fiancé. Unnoticed, so as not to see the ruthless leader, she became either hand or foot to push off the ground. So little by little they moved on.
And here are the happy lovers standing on top. And the evil khan, overcome with anger, turned himself into a poisonous snake – cottonmouth.
