2- The birth of Nart Sosriqwe
(Further translation of the Nart Sagas)
  There are many variations on the story of the birth of Sosriqwe. I have chosen a shorter version to translate. For other Nart tales, see Sosriqwe Fetches Fire. The bracketed notes are my own explanations and addenda.

The Manner of Sosriqwe's Birth* (literal translation)

  Lady Satanay was washing the laundry by the river side. The Nart cow-herd, Sos, was tending his drove on  the other side of the river. Satanay was exquisitely beautiful. When the drover saw her, his desire for her was so immense that he could not withhold his tears* (in this version semen is euphemistically referred to as tears), which fell on a stone beside her.

  Satanay picked up the stone and wrapped it in a warm cloth. She carried it home and laid it in the hearth hole. The cowherd's tears inside the warm cloth began to grow. The child that was engendered therein was named Sosriqwe* (literally: the son of Sos). The body of Sosriqwe turned to very hard steel. To soften the steely mass, the child was taken to Lhepsch*'s smithy (Lhepsch was the god of the smiths in the Circassian Pantheon), where it was tempered seven* times (seven was a sacred number in Circassian mythology). The unwieldy body of Sosriqwe became more lenient. Lhepsch tempered Sosriqwe's body by holding him with a pair of tongs from his knees*. These became to resemble the knees of humans (if you refer to the story Sosriqwe Fetches Fire, the Giant curses himself for not recognizing Sosriqwe by his human knees).

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