Siberian shamans

The shaman decided to leave his best disciple on the bank of a river that flows into Lake Baikal so that he can spend his life in meditation.

"But do take care not to get confused by the path itself, " he warned .

One night mice ate the disciple's loincloth.The young man found a cat to kill the mice, but he needed milk to feed the cat.

He began to beg. Since he spent no money, he saved up and bought a cow; in that way there would never be any lack of milk. To feed the cow he tilled the neighbor's field in exchange for a part of the land. After a lot of hard toil he managed to have an excellent harvest and also arranged a wife for himself. His wife had a knack of business and years later, when the shaman passed through the area, he found him changed into a prosperous businessman.


"What does all this mean?" he asked.

"You won't believe it," said the disciple, "but this was the only way to save my loincloth!"