The Legend of the Fortieth Well

(Source: Kelgembaeva Baykytzhan. People and land: textbook. – Oskemen: Media Alliance, 2005. – 168 p.)

Once upon a time there lived a rich man named Beisen. He had countless livestock: herds of horses and flocks of sheep covered the steppe like waves. But a year of drought came. The only spring dried up, and the livestock began to die of thirst.

Then Beisen ordered his workers to dig wells. People worked day and night under the scorching sun, exhausted by the heat and lack of water. One by one, both people and animals died.

By the time the fortieth well was dug, only a few remained alive.

Initially, this place was called Kandykudyk – «Bloody Well». But later, realizing how life-saving the water was, and in order not to remind people of the suffering, the locals renamed it Kyrykkudyk – «Fortieth Well».