"Ца кхетта хастор". Бексултанов Муса.

The author of this story is the Chechen writer Musa Beksultanov. It is one of my favourite works of his. It is about a boy who dreamed of going hunting with his grandfather and one day his grandfather took him to the forest to hunt. Sitting in ambush, an experienced hunter handed the gun to his grandson to shoot at the roe deer. The boy, fascinated by the beauty of this animal, froze and did not shoot. The roe deer ran away. The boy began to cry because of his weakness. He expected his Grandfather would scold him. However, on the contrary, the old man praised him and said that he had done the right thing. Well done, grandson, you did everything right. “You’ll grow up to be a good person,” he said, and stroked his head. He repeated this several times. The boy did not understand why his grandfather praised him. I often compare this story to the novel Matteo Falcone by Prosper Merime. In it, Matteo kills his son, Fortunato, for turning in to the police. A fugitive who has taken refuge in their house. According to the rules of an archaic and patriarchal society, Matteo washed away the shame from his family with this act. However, a large share of the blame lies with him, for the wrong upbringing of the boy. In the story of Musa Beksultanov, despite the mistake on the hunt, the old man gives his grandson not only the opportunity to show mercy, but also praises him for it. He understands that this divine gift of mercy cannot be taken away from a person and cannot be resisted.