In the Mongolian steppe countryside, there once lived a hunter with the name Hailibu, who was very popular in his village. After every hunt, he shared his prey with other villagers, and only kept a small portion for himself. His care for others earned him great respect in the village.
One day, when he went into the forest to hunt, Hailibu heard cries for help in the air. When he looked up he saw a small creature that had just been snatched by a vulture. Quickly he aimed his arrow at the predator. Struck by the arrow, the vulture finally released his prey, which fell to the feet of the hunter.
Hailibu looked at the unfamiliar creature, whose body was like that of a snake’s, and said: “Poor little thing, quickly fly home.” The creature answered: “Honorable hunter, you saved my life, for that I am deeply grateful to you. I am the daughter of the dragon king and my father will certainly thank you with a large reward. He possesses many treasures from which you can choose. If none of these treasures appeal to you, ask him for the gemstone, which he stores in his mouth. Everyone who carries this stone in one's mouth will be able to understand the language of all the animals.”
Hunter Hailibu was not interested in all the treasures, yet to be able to understand the language of every animal—that he liked very much. He asked the daughter of the dragon king: “Is there really such a gemstone?” She answered: “Yes. But there is one condition. No matter what you will hear from the animals, you have to keep it to yourself. If you tell it to someone else, you will turn into a stone.”
The young dragon princess took Hailibu to the ocean. The water parted and Hailibu was able to enter. Soon, the dragon king’s splendid palace towered in front of him.
The dragon king was happy when he heard that Hailibu had saved his daughter, and offered him all the treasures in his palace. Hailibu was silent, then answered: “If you would like to give me a gift, may I ask about the gemstone in your mouth?” The dragon king lowered his head and thought for a while. Then he took the stone from his mouth and presented it to Hailibu as a gift.
When Hailibu started to get ready to leave, the daughter of the dragon king reminded him one more time: “Honorable hunter, please always remember, never tell anyone the things you have heard from the animals. Otherwise, you will immediately be turned into a stone.”
With the gemstone in his mouth, Hailibu enjoyed the hunting in the forest even more. He was able to understand the language of all the animals and knew which animals could be hunted in which part of the mountain. His quarry at the end of each day increased, and he was able to give the people in his village even more.
Many years passed. One day he went to the top of a mountain. He heard a flight of birds discussing an important matter, and listened very attentively. One bird said: “We must fly away from here as quickly as possible. Tonight the mountain will collapse and a large flood will engulf the entire country. Many people will die.”
Hailibu was horrified at what he heard. He quickly ran back to the village and passed on the message to the villagers: “We must leave this place as quickly as possible, we can no longer stay here!”
Everyone was surprised. “We have always lived here, why should we leave?” some said. Hailibu repeated what he said, but nobody wanted to listen to him. With tears, he begged: “Please believe me – I swear to all of you that I am telling the truth. Believe me, we must leave here very quickly; otherwise it will be too late.”
One of the elders of the village tried to calm Hailibu down: “You are a good man and you have always told the truth, we have lived here for generations and now you ask us to leave. You must tell us the reason; it is not very easy for us to move away from here.”
Hailibu saw no alternative to saving the village inhabitants. He became very calm and finally said to the village inhabitants: “Tonight the mountain will collapse and a large flood will come over this land. Look, the birds have already left.” Then he remembered the day when he received the gemstone and that he was able to understand all the animals and birds; and that he promised not to reveal what he had heard, otherwise he would be turned into a stone.
Now, he had learned from the birds that it would be better to leave this place in order to avoid an approaching catastrophe. As soon as he remembered this, he gradually turned into a stone from head to toe.
The villagers were deeply frightened and tearful. They cried for Hailibu and wished they had listened to him sooner.
Carrying only what they needed and pressing their livestock ahead, the villagers started to leave, with elders and children, on a long journey out of the country. They did not stop even during the night.
Suddenly, heavy clouds appeared in the sky and the wind started to wail. It rained like it had never rained before. From the direction of the village, which they just had left, they heard a thundering noise of the collapsing mountain.
Meanwhile, many generations have passed. It is told that the descendants of the village still remember the goodhearted Hailibu and continue to look for the stone he was turned into, hoping one day to release the noble hunter.
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