Once, there were seven suns up in the sky. Due to them, there was a terrible drought. Now, there was a very good archer called Erkhii Mergen. People begged him, “Please shoot the seven suns in the sky and destroy them.” The proud archer took an oath, “If I cannot shoot the seven suns with seven arrows, I will cut off my thumbs and no longer be a man. I will live as a marmot in a dark hole beneath the earth.” Soon, he shot six suns. But when he shot at the seventh sun, a swallow came flying along and concealed the sun. The arrow hit the swallow. Meanwhile, the sun hid behind the mountains in the west. The proud Erkhii Mergen stayed true to his own word and cut off his thumbs. He didn’t live as man anymore but became a marmot and lived in a hole beneath the earth.
The Oath
