Once upon a time there was a couple who only had one child: a daughter. The couple showered her with affection, since she was their only child and they were too old to have more children. The daughter was very, very beautiful.
The parents took care of their daughter as well as they could. They were old, but they still insisted on doing all the hard work. They didn’t ask her to do any physical labor, nor anything that would get her dirty, nor anything that was an inconvenience to her in any way.
The couple spent a lot of time with their daughter and tried to give her a good life. Though her parents showed such kindness to her, the daughter became cruel and cold-hearted. She became selfish and thought that her beauty would spare her from any more inconveniences in life.
One day, the khan’s son noticed the girl’s beauty from afar and asked for her hand in marriage. She agreed, happy that she would marry into such a wealthy family.
The old couple was also happy. They felt that their wishes had been answered. Their daughter was going to have a good life, and they would also be rewarded by the dowry from the khan.
After giving their daughter some time to settle into her new life, the couple decided to visit her. When the daughter found out that her parents were there to see her, she ordered the guards not to let them in.
The old couple came several times, but every time they were told that they couldn’t go in to see their daughter.
Time went by, and the couple was very sad that they couldn’t see their daughter. In their old age, they were sad, sick, and running out of cattle from the dowry.
In a fit of despair, the couple went to pray. “God, please help us. We cared for our daughter when we had very little and now she has so much and won’t care for us!”
The gods heard their prayers and became so angry that he decided to curse the girl. “May you turn into a bird to atone for your wrongdoings! May your children suffer the way your parents are suffering! May you never receive a response when you cry out!”
At that very moment, the girl turned into a ruddy shelduck. These birds have nests so high up on cliffs that their ducklings often fall off or die of starvation. These birds have loud, honking screams. If you listen well, you might hear the daughter’s voice calling out for help.
