A poor boy named Bold lived alone in a small yurt south of the icy vastness of the Siberian forest.

Bold decided to travel north and request wisdom from the White-Black Shaman to help him overcome his poverty.

As he walked across a field, a horseman approached and reined in his stallion.

“My name is Ten-Thousand-Horse-Owner,” said the man. “You are trespassing on my land.”

“Forgive me,” said Bold. “I am going north to make a request of the White-Black Shaman.”

“Will you also make a request for me?” asked Ten-Thousand-Horse-Owner. “I have a beautiful daughter who has never spoken a word. Will you ask the shaman to help my daughter speak?”

Bold nodded. “I will ask,” he said. And he walked on.

As he approached the edge of the Siberian forest, Bold heard someone call to him from a small hut.

“Will you ask the shaman to help me?”

“Help me,” said an old man in ragged clothes as he crawled from the hut. “My name is Wretched. Could you give me a piece of bread or some mutton jerky?”

“I have no food,” said Bold. “I am going north to make a request of the White-Black Shaman.”

“Will you make a request for me?” asked Wretched. “Will you ask the shaman to help me overcome my life of suffering?”

Bold nodded. “I will ask,” he said. And he went on.

As he walked through the forest, Bold reached a large scaly log and began to step over it. The log moved, and up reared the head of an enormous snake.

“My name is Titan Snake! Why are you walking in my forest?”

“My name is Bold. I am going north to make a request of the White-Black Shaman.”

“Will you also make a request for me?” asked Titan Snake. “A shaman told me that if I waited nine years I would be transformed into Rainbow Dragon. Nine years have passed, and I am still Titan Snake. Will you ask the White-Black Shaman to help me become Rainbow Dragon?”

Bold nodded. “I will ask.”

North of the frozen waters of Lake Baikal, deep in a valley surrounded by snow-covered Siberian cedars and silver firs, Bold found the yurt of the White-Black Shaman.

Inside the yurt was a tall man with a long mustache, seated on a reindeer hide. “My name is White-Black Shaman,” he said. “Your name is Bold, is it not?”

Bold nodded in amazement. “Yes,” he said. “I have come to make requests.” He repeated the requests of the three he had met in his travels.

“As for Titan Snake,” said the White-Black Shaman, “inside him is a topaz gem. Have him spit out the gem.

“As for Wretched, help him dig under a single birch tree.

“As for Ten-Thousand-Horse-Owner, his daughter will speak when she first sees the man who will one day become her husband.”

“I would like to make a request of my own,” Bold said.

“No,” said the shaman. “Each person may make only three requests in a year.”

Bold hung his head.

“You will have your true reward.”

“It is admirable that you asked for the others before you asked for yourself,” said the shaman. “Continue to help others with a pure heart, and you will have your true reward.”

Bold returned to Titan Snake and told him what the shaman had said. The snake spit out the gem. The gem flashed brightly. Suddenly Bold wore a precious silk robe, a velvet hat, and fine leather boots.

The gem flashed again. Titan Snake became Rainbow Dragon. He soared through the sky, and a beautiful rainbow stretched behind him.

Bold returned to Wretched and helped him find the lone birch tree. Beneath the tree they found nine golden plates.

“My suffering and poverty have ended!” shouted Wretched. He gave three of the plates to Bold, and thanked him warmly.

Bold went to the home of Ten-Thousand-Horse-Owner. He felt confident now, and his travels had made him wiser. His knock was answered by the beautiful daughter who had never spoken.

“Please tell your father that I have traveled to see the White-Black Shaman,” Bold said. “He told me you will speak when you first meet the man who will become your husband.”

The daughter stepped from the home and smiled at Bold. “How kind you are,” she said. “And how brave you must be to have made such a journey. What is your name?”