"Are we gonna take a trip to Markakol?" Sanzhar asked his grandfather. "Of course! But you've already been lucky enough to visit Markakol, haven't you?"
"I want to go there again!" the boy pouted, mimicking a capricious child. "Then tell me, what do you know about this lake?" Grandad asked sternly, deciding to test his grandson.
"It is very beautiful, looks like a mirror. It has very clear water..." Sanzhar said and found it difficult to add something else. "And that's all you know about Markakol?" grandfather jokingly rolled his eyes.
"You tell me, so I will know more!" the boy said.
"This lake seems to be deliberately hidden in the mountains," grandpa began to tell. " Right opposite it stand the majestic snow-capped mountains Berkutaul and Aksubas."
"Translated from Kazakh, their names mean 'The Home of the eagle' and 'The Head of white water'," the boy said mechanically.
"Well done, ainalayin!" granddad praised him. "And the color of the lake depends on the weather: when the sun is bright, the lake shines, alluring with blue and green, while on a gloomy day it turns gray-black and silver, sharp and somber. More than a hundred rivers flow into Lake Markakol. Its shores are indented by bays. In some places they break off with rocks, while in others they are covered with meadows. The lake is surrounded by mountain taiga."
"I love the forest," interrupted Sanzhar. " it always seems magical to me. It's a real green kingdom!"
"The entire coast is overgrown with forest," grandpa continued. "High-stemmed larches, cedars, firs, pines, birches and aspens grow there. It is a place of serenity and tranquility that tourists love very much."
"Are there fish in the lake?" the boy asked.
"The lake is rich in fish," grandad tried to amaze his grandson. Of commercial fish - grayling and lenok. Very rare fish - uskuch - sometimes weighs up to eight kilograms and spawns valuable red caviar.
"I saw a lot of birds there," the boy recalled.
"Yes, there are quite a few," Grandpa confirmed. "Loons, ducks, gulls and sandpipers nest in coastal meadows. In the forests around the lake there are grouse, capercaillie and partridge. And there are also rare black storks and pelicans. Since there is a unique environment there, a nature reserve was opened on the shores of the lake."
"And how about bears?" the boy asked with interest.
"In the reserve live bears, lynxes, marals, roe deer, mountain goats, marmots..." grandfather began to enumerate.
"And the snow leopard?" Sanzhar interrupted.
"There is one, you know that leopards are rare nowadays," grandpa sighed. "And there are also muskrats, otters, wolverines and sables. They do not live anywhere else in Kazakhstan, except in Altai."
"That's so cool!" the boy rejoiced. "Is there any legend about this lake?"
"And more than one!" grandfather smiled. "Aksakals are always happy to tell them. Here, listen..."
Long ago, in a large valley between the mountains, the slopes of which were covered with dense forest, lush grasses grew richly. Kazakhs brought cattle there for summer pastures. Once an elderly local shepherd came out to those places with his sheep.
A restless lamb called merke ran around in the herd, merke means "born in winter" in Kazakh, he was half a year old (born in the last colds and grew up by autumn). There was no rest with this eager lamb. He was constantly trying to sneak away from the shepherd. What was the old man supposed to do? The steppe is vast: cannot be walked all over, cannot be measured, cannot be surveyed with an eye... He was tired of chasing a playful fugitive, his legs were weary. So the shepherd decided to rein in the overly naughty lamb. As a punishment, the old man hammered a peg into the ground, tied the animal on a long rope and went further with his herd to the neighboring grassland.
The lamb sighed, looked down. He didn't want to be left alone at all. He wanted to be with everyone together. Besides, he was unbearably thirsty. But there was nothing to do, he had to tread at the spot. And he began to think how to quickly get away from the leash. He trampled and trampled, then began to squirm, as he impatiently hit the ground hard with his young hoof. He kicked the ground again and again, and eventually achieved his release. He managed to swing the peg and pull it out of the ground. And from the hole formed in the ground, a stream of spring water gushed out.
"Was there an underground spring hidden under that place?" guessed the boy.
"That's correct, ainalayin!" grandfather looked at his grandson with love.
The lamb drank ice-cold water, while soaking its hooves, and then - splashed into the water! Almost drowned, but got out. He shook his curly fur and ran merrily after his owner. Just in time for the transfer to a new place. The shepherd was so glad tp see him that he did not scold him. And the lamb slowly joined the herd and began grazing the grass as if nothing had happened, which surprised the old man quite a lot... That's how nice it turned out!
Meanwhile, the clean water of the underground spring kept coming. Soon it overflowed the entire pasture and flooded the mountain valley, and a beautiful lake was formed in that place. The water in it was a bluish-emerald shade. The lake looked like a huge shiny silver pendant that shone and shimmered under the rays of the sun in the dark frame of the wooded mountains. Its waves splashed to the delight of everyone. People were eager to see it, absorb the life-giving moisture of the fresh mountain air and joyfully touch the luxurious velvet of the taiga.
In memory of the stubborn lamb, the locals named their reservoir "Markakol" - The Lake of the Winter Lamb" ("merke" – a young lamb," kol " - "lake"). And the people have put together a proverb about purposefulness and perseverance: "To a stubborn oarsman and the shore sails."
... When Sanzhar and his grandfather reached Markakol, a miraculous picture opened up before them. The boy was fascinated by the beauty of the lake. His eyes were shining with delight.
"This lake is indeed the 'blue miracle of Eastern Kazakhstan', created by nature itself" grandfather said to Sanzhar. "They call it the 'radiant pearl', a wonderful corner of the world and an earthly paradise. I have never seen a more picturesque mountain lake anywhere, even though I have traveled a lot in my life."
"I would like to stay here for the rest of my life," Sanzhar pronounced dreamily.
