not like you see me every day?” The owner, satisfied, laughed. “Not every year I get an opportunity like this, who knows when I’ll see you again! Everyone around the table laughed with undis- guised pleasure. “And it’s good to be around ordinary people,” Karatai thought. “What can I say! They will all endure; they will all endure! And they might swear and curse at each other, whip each other with obscenities. But these people always have kindness and forgiveness… “ He had previously seen the owner of the house, who, seated at the door, drank his tea intently. Kolbai, like no one else, had the right to be offended by him, he had the right to say that he could help the ordinary shepherd, but does not wish to do so. But Kolbai kept silent, on the contrary, having slaughtered the ram, he pretended that all his worries were the little things in life, and most importantly, to show great Kazakh hospitality. Last year, his younger brother was prosecuted, and Kolbai went to Karatai to ask for help. The brother, together with two horsemen were getting ready to see the female students at the neighbouring state farm. It was the hottest harvest time. There was about a ton of grain left in the onboard machine, on which Kolbai’s brother worked – the combine broke down, and the brother was too lazy to go anywhere with such a small load. Right from the field, while technical assistance was repairing the harvester, they went to see some women. Leaving his friends at the women’s hostel, he drove back to his field. On the highway, he was stopped by a raid detachment of the OBKhSS. Seeing the grain in the back, the police drew up an act. No one believed him, that he would never even think about stealing grain. During the inves- tigation, it became clear to the horseman that he could be imprisoned for a year. It was then that Kolbai went to Karatai. “I can’t put pressure on the court. Let him get justice,” he said and almost kicked the shepherd out of his office. The people then explained for a long time, referring even to the district prosecutor, that the horseman was imprisoned for nothing. If Karatai intervened in the case, the district court, of course, would listen to him. Then he regretted and scolded himself for a
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