Once upon a time there lived an antelope, Sesha, and a lion. Leo was the master, and Sesha was in his service. Each person had five boxes of matches to light the fire. But Sesha ran out of all the matches, and Lev still had two boxes left, but he hid them.
- Hey, nephew, we've run out of matches... Now we won't be able to light the fireplace if you don't go get the fire. Run quickly over there, see where it’s burning? - said Lev, pointing to the sun, which was approaching the horizon.
Sesha rushed to run, following Lev's orders. But no matter how much he ran, he never reached the sun. Tired and hungry, Sesha returned home.
“Uncle, I didn’t bring fire, I couldn’t run to the place you showed me,” Sesha said, collapsing from fatigue.
- Why didn’t you run further?
“I ran, uncle, I ran for a very long time, but it was still far, far away from that place.”
While poor Sesha lay with his legs stretched out, resting after a long journey, Lev prepared food for himself and ate. He left nothing for Sesha.
“Well, nephew, run for fire again, otherwise we’ll be hungry again.” Yes, look, don't be lazy. “Run until you reach the fire,” said Leo the next day.
And Sesha again rushed in the direction where the setting sun could be seen. But where is it? Will you ever reach him? And again, falling off his feet from fatigue, Sesha returned home.
- Uncle, I didn’t have enough fire again! I ran, ran, ran, but never managed to get to this place! The closer I got, the further this fire went from me! I almost cried with frustration! I barely had the strength to go back!
- Oh, you! Didn't I tell you that you have to run non-stop to get there! - Lev said angrily.
Poor Sesha fell asleep hungry. And Lev lit the fire again, cooked his favorite dish of beans, ate his fill and calmly went to bed.
On the third day, Leo said quite angrily:
- Sesha, if this continues, we will die of hunger! Go again to where I told you. Hurry up! Do you hear?
And Sesha - gop-gop-gop! - He galloped off again to get the fire. But, very weak from hunger and fatigue over the past days, he ran even less than the day before. He ran for five days and became so thin that he was unrecognizable. At the end of the fifth day, Sesha, returning, saw a hut near which an old woman was sitting and smoking a pipe.
-Where are you in such a hurry? she asked.
- I was chasing fire, grandma! I live with Mr. Lev. Each of us had five boxes of matches, but now they are all gone. That’s why Mr. Lev sent me over there for fire...” And Sesha pointed to the sun.
- What are you talking about, grandson! This is not fire at all! It's the sun! Are you really that stupid?
- How? Isn't this fire? And I ran and ran there for five whole days! I'm so tired, I'm so hungry, grandma!
The old woman took pity on Sesha and fed him. When tired Sesha ate and rested, the old woman headed to the tall, tall baobab tree that grew nearby.
“I’ll go see what your master Leo is doing.” “Wait for me here,” said the old woman.
She climbed a tall, tall baobab tree and, using her magical power, spied what the Lion was doing. And Lev stood near the burning hearth and prepared food for himself.
“My grandson, do you know what your master is doing without you?” Cooking his own food! See how he played a cruel joke on you! So he has some matches. Well wait, now we'll laugh at him! - said the old woman when she returned home.
She took a large calabash, palm leaves, clay of different colors and made a terrible mask. Putting it on Sesha’s head, she told him:
- So go to Lev. As soon as you reach his house, start singing in a loud voice:
Who lives here, Who lives here? Whoever he is - I'll eat him!
And so Sesha, with a mask on his head, galloped up to Lev. And Lev at this time, not suspecting anything, was cooking food on the fire. Sesha approached the hut and sang:
Who lives here
Who lives here?
Whoever he is -
I'll eat it!
Seeing such a monster, Leo started to run. And the delighted Sesha ate all his dishes. Then he ran to the old woman to return the mask to her, and as if nothing had happened, he appeared to Lev.
The lion greeted him with pitiful cries:
“My nephew, my nephew, if you only knew what happened to me!” I was sitting quietly at home, and suddenly some terrible animal appeared! Such a terrible thing as I have never seen before! And I had to run away! The only good thing is that this animal lit a fire in the hearth...
-What kind of animal was this? — Sesha asked sympathetically.
- Do I know! It was so scary, so ugly! The head is round, the horns are long, there is disheveled hair around the muzzle, there are some stripes on the muzzle...
- Why didn’t you drive him away? After all, you are so brave!
- What are you talking about! How to drive him away? Such a scary animal! If you saw him, you would die of fear!
Three times Sesha frightened Lev in this way, appearing to him in a mask, and three times Lev ran away in horror. The fourth time, on the advice of the old woman, Sesha dug a deep hole on the road along which Leo was running away and stuck several pointed spears into the bottom.
Fleeing from a terrible beast, the Lion fell into a hole and ran into sharp spears. Sesha came there, saw the Lion and finished him off with a blow from his horns. And then he ran to the old woman. She sheltered Sesha, and he lived with her for the rest of his life.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru