In ancient times, in an unknown land, a huge mountain rose, and on that mountain strange stones were piled on top of each other. At the top of the mountain, in a very black cave, lived a huge tiger: its skin was spotted, its eyes were bulging, there was a white mark on its forehead, and its strength was such that no one could compare with it. The tiger will growl angrily - the earth will tremble, the mountains will shake. At the foot of the mountain, in a bottomless green abyss, a huge turtle lived. The turtle will get angry, hit the water with its shell - they will run in and the waves will swirl. If she stretches out her neck, she will become even larger, more than a whole zhang. And in the very middle of the mountain there grew a pine tree several dozen zhangs tall. Everything was twisted, bent - it was a thousand years old. The old pine tree tried with all its might to spread its branches wider - it was afraid that young trees might grow next to it.
Although the tiger lived at the very top of the mountain, and the turtle lived in a deep pool, they were inseparable friends. They don't see each other for a day, then they get sad for another, and three days don't pass - they run to visit each other. Either the tiger will descend from the mountain, or the turtle will rise to the top. And every time they passed by an old pine tree, they often inquired about its health.
“Uh-uh, uh,” the pine tree made noise in response, and she secretly envied her friends.
She didn’t like the power of the tiger, she didn’t like the strength of the turtle, but what annoyed the pine tree most of all was their strong friendship. A long time ago, the pine tree planned to separate inseparable friends, to sow enmity between them, but kept wondering how to do this. And I finally came up with it. Only while she was thinking, it dried up half and turned black, and its needles turned yellow.
Just at that time, the turtle went to the mountain to visit his friend the tiger. She reached the pine tree and was just about to say hello, when suddenly she heard the pine tree ask her:
-Where are you going, sister turtle?
“I’m going to visit the tiger’s older brother,” the turtle answers.
The pine tree sighed here, it was so heavy. The turtle marveled and asked:
- Why are you sighing, sister pine?
And the pine tree sighed heavily again and said:
“I wouldn’t advise you to go to the tiger.”
The turtle was more surprised than before and asked again:
- Why don’t you advise me to go to the tiger?
“If you knew,” the pine tree said quietly, “how yesterday on the top of the mountain he reviled you, my ears would not listen.”
- How did he insult me? - the turtle began to inquire.
“I can tell you, but won’t you be angry?” - asked the pine tree even more quietly, so that no one would hear. “So, he called you a tadpole and threatened to gnaw your shell and drink your bile when you came to him.”
The turtle heard this, stuck its head out and crawled back into its pool in a wild rage.
And the tiger was waiting for her, waiting in the cave, and he said to himself:
- Why isn’t this sister turtle coming?
The tiger came out of his den and looked around: the turtle was nowhere to be seen. “I’ll go and check on her myself.” The tiger decided so and rushed down the mountain.
Suddenly he hears a pine tree asking him:
-Where are you going, brother tiger?
The tiger answers her:
- Well, I couldn’t wait for the turtle and decided to check on it myself.
The pine tree sighed here, it was so heavy.
- Why are you sighing, sister pine? — the tiger marveled.
And the pine tree sighed heavily again and said:
“I wouldn’t advise you to go to the turtle.”
The tiger was more amazed than before and asked again:
- Why don’t you advise me to go to the turtle?
“If you knew,” the pine tree said quietly, “how she just reviled you here, my ears wouldn’t listen.”
- How did she insult me? - the tiger began to ask.
Then the pine tree answered even more quietly, so that no one would hear:
“She called you a filthy tiger cub.” When you came to her, she threatened to bite your claws with her teeth, drag you by the paws into the water and drown you.
The tiger heard this, got angry, waved his tail and ran back.
Much water has passed under the bridge since then, but the tiger and turtle never met again. But the tiger had a hot temper. As soon as he remembers the turtle, he becomes angry. One day he could not stand it, he jumped out of the cave and ran to the pool.
And the pine tree is so happy, it almost laughs. The tiger runs to the pool and swears:
“Here, I’ll show you, you turtle spawn, did you threaten to gnaw my claws and drag me into the pool by my legs?”
A turtle popped out of the water and started swearing too:
“Here, I’ll show you, you filthy tiger cub, did you threaten to gnaw my shell and drink my bile?”
They swore and swore, but they got so excited that they began to fight. But it never occurred to anyone to distinguish truth from falsehood. The turtle grabbed the tiger's paw with its teeth and pulled him into the pool. And the tiger sunk his fangs into the turtle’s shell, and even if he dies, he won’t let go. A little time passed, the turtle gave up the ghost, the tiger choked on water.
The next morning a young man walked past the pool. He sees a dead tiger and turtle floating on the surface. The young man called the people, and they decided to take the tiger and turtle to their village. They began to judge and sort out where they could get so much firewood to cook a tiger and a turtle. The young man heard this and led people with axes and saws up the mountain.
They reached the middle of the mountain, where the old pine tree stood, the young man looked at it and said:
- This pine tree is almost a thousand years old. It's already half dry. It does not grow on its own and does not allow young trees to grow. Why feel sorry for her? Let's cut it down - there's enough wood for the fire.
Everyone got to work together and felled the old pine tree.
That's the story they tell.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru