Once upon a time there lived an old woodcutter in a small mountain village. He had no relatives, so he was frail alone with his dog. Together they went to the mountains to collect brushwood, and then together they took it to the city to sell. If they sold it, they would buy rice, and that’s how they lived.
One morning a woodcutter went into the forest. He walks, looks around, listens to the birds, and the dog runs in front, wagging his tail. Suddenly the old man sees: the dog stopped, raised its ears, and then rushed headlong into the thickets.
- Hey, hey, wait! Where are you going? - the woodcutter shouted. And he ran after the dog into the depths of the forest. Lo and behold: a bear lies by an old tree, moaning pitifully, but cannot move. The old man came closer, and the bear was wounded: a sharp arrow was sticking out of its paw.
- What a poor thing! - exclaimed the old man. “We should help you.” He took the arrow out of the bear’s paw, and the blood started gushing out. A dog ran up and let’s lick the wound. The woodcutter picked wormwood and applied it to the wound - the bear felt better.
“Well, that’s nice,” said the old man. “Now you, bear, lie quietly and don’t move, soon your pain will go away.”
The next day the woodcutter came again with his dog to visit the bear. They began to look after him and feed him. Very soon the bear recovered and began to help the old man with everything.
Sometimes a woodcutter would load brushwood onto a cart, the bear would carry it along the path, and the dog would push it from behind. So they walked to the city. And in the city there is only talk about a bear who brings a cart with brushwood. As soon as people see the old man coming down from the mountain, they immediately pour out into the street and rush to buy goods from him. The old man and his animals lived well. They work together, while away the evenings together. So several years passed.
And here's a new problem. The old man had become quite old; various ailments had overcome him. It happened that he did not have the strength to go to the mountains in the morning.
The neighbors decided to call a doctor from the city, but it was too late - the woodcutter died. People began to think what to do with the old animals now. Many people wanted to shelter them. But the dog and the bear decided in their own way.
They climbed to the top of the hill, sat down at the woodcutter's grave and howled. No matter how hard they tried to take them to the village, nothing worked. Then they began to carry food up to the hill for them, but they didn’t eat anything.
Much time has passed. The old man's dog died. The bear was left alone.
But one day people came to the woodcutter’s grave and looked - there was no bear. They started looking for him, but they couldn’t find him. Suddenly they see a large stone lying right next to the road winding its way up the hill, well, exactly like a bear.
They say that that bear-stone began to protect the village and help the peasants. It happened that they were transporting goods to the city for sale, but the path was not easy - if you tried to pull the cart up the hill, they would definitely come up to the bear-stone and bow.
“Hello, Mister Bear,” they’ll say. “How is your health today?” The stone hums, as if greeting people. “Help us,” the peasants will ask. - Take the cart up the hill along the steep path, we ask you very much. The stone will swing to the right, swing to the left, and lo and behold, the cart has gone up the mountain on its own.
The peasants will thank the bear-stone, bow to him low and move on.
They say that stone still lies on the road to this day and only good people are allowed into the village.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru