One day a bird and a fox met, talked to each other, thought and decided to sow a small field with wheat.
“You,” says the fox, “get the seeds, and I will sow.” The bird agreed, flew to one peasant yard, flew to another, wandered around the barns and collected seeds.
“Now go to the field and go,” she said to the fox. -I got the seeds.
“No,” the fox answered her, “I don’t know how to sow.” You will do the sowing this time, but I will mow and harvest.
The bird got to work and with great difficulty stuck the grains one by one into the ground.
The seeds were good. Soon shoots appeared. When the wheat emerged and ripened, the bird went to the fox.
“You promised to mow the wheat and harvest it,” she said.
“No,” answered the fox, “I don’t know how to mow.” If you mow, then I’ll be the one to thresh.
- How so? - the bird was surprised. - You promised! However, there was nothing to be done; the bird had to collect the harvest itself. She flew onto the field and with her beak - Cap! Cap! cap! - she tore off all the wheat, one ear at a time, and tied it into sheaves.
“Well,” she says to the fox, “I mowed the wheat.”
Now you, fox, grind.
“No,” the fox answered her. “I don’t know how to thresh either.” You thresh, but I will divide the harvest.
The bird had to grind all the wheat. When the work was finished, she put the chaff in one pile and poured the grain into another.
“Well,” says the fox, “you did a good job.” Now I will divide the harvest. Let it be this way: take the chaff for yourself, and I will take the grain.
- How so? - the bird exclaimed indignantly. - Why do I need chaff? I worked so hard and now I will be left with nothing? It's not fair. Let's go to the judge and let him decide how to divide this wheat.
“Okay, I agree,” said the fox, “let’s go to the judge.” Go and get a big old goose to be your judge.
The fox decided that if the judge was a big old goose, she would have a double benefit, because she would eat both the wheat and the goose.
The bird went in search of a goose and saw a bug along the way. She wanted to peck her, but she begged:
- Don't eat me. Maybe I can be of use to you for something!
The bird said:
- What can you do? It’s better for me to eat you, because I’m hungry, and I have a long way to fly to the village.
- Why are you flying to the village? - asked the bug.
“I want to call a goose to be a judge; I am arguing with a fox over the wheat harvest.” The bug said:
- Never call a goose to be a judge, otherwise the matter will end badly for both the goose and you. Better call the hunting dog, which lies on the edge of the field, you see, down there.
The bird thought and said:
- But you’re right, bug. I really didn’t think that you could do me such a good service - give me good advice! Thank you!
The bird hurried to the dog, but when it flew up to it, it saw that it was completely emaciated and sick. Still, the bird asked her:
- Listen, godfather, wouldn’t you come to me as a judge? I'm arguing with a fox over the wheat harvest.
“I just can’t, godfather,” the dog answered her. “You see what condition I’m in.” But I’ll tell you this: if you fed me a rich hodgepodge of meat so that I would have a little more strength, and if you lubricated my skin with olive oil so that it became flexible and soft as before, then I would become a judge and judge you.
“Well, it’s as easy as shelling pears,” the bird answered cheerfully. - Don't you need anything else? No? Then follow me.
They set off on their journey. They walk past a field and see: the owner and four farmhands are working in the field. The owner says to his wife:
- Wife, it’s already noon, it’s time for us to have lunch. My wife went to dinner. At home she had prepared a fatty hodgepodge: cabbage with meat fried in butter. She put the bowl of hodgepodge on her head, took her little son by the hand and went back. The bird saw them and said to the dog:
- Hide here behind the bushes. And I will try to get you what you asked for.
The dog hid, and the bird sank to the ground in front of the child and began jumping around him.
- Oh, mom, look at the bird! - the baby shouted and ran after her. But the bird doesn’t fly away: it jumps around, and the boy can’t catch it.
It seemed to the mother that the bird’s wing was broken and could not fly away.
“Wait,” she told the boy. - Now mom will catch it for you.
The woman put the bowl on the ground and took care of the bird. But the bird doesn’t give into her hands, it runs away to the side, and she herself makes a sign for the dog to start eating. When the bird saw that the dog had eaten everything and was already licking the dish, it fluttered up and flew away.
The woman turned around and wanted to take the bowl, but there was no trace of the hodgepodge: the dog had eaten it all.
The dog says to the bird:
- That’s great, I’m very pleased - now I have more strength! I wish you could get me some more olive oil to lubricate my skin.
“It’s also very simple,” the bird answered cheerfully and cheerfully. - Follow me.
They came to the oil mill and saw: peasants settled down there to rest, and near them lay wineskins with olive oil. The peasants came from afar and at midday lay down to rest and sleep in the shade of the trees. Only one of them was awake and guarding the oil.
The bird flew up and sat right on the wineskin. The peasant guarding the oil took a pebble and threw it at her. But she didn’t move, she just moved her wings. Phew! A second pebble flew at the bird, but it moved slightly again. Then the peasant took a stone the size of a fist and threw it out of frustration with all his might. But the stone did not hit the bird, but the waterskin, pierced it, and oil poured onto the ground.
- Get up, guys! - he shouted to his comrades. - One of our wineskins broke!
Everyone jumped up, began to ooh and ahh, somehow collected the remaining oil, then, annoyed, took the remaining wineskins and left.
“Run here quickly,” the bird called the dog, “I found enough oil for you.”
A dog ran up, rolled out thoroughly in olive oil, and its skin became flexible and soft, and its fur shone.
“Now, birdie, if you want, I will be your judge,” said the dog.
The bird took the bag, put the dog in it and went with it to the mountains, to the pass, to where she had an appointment with the fox.
- Fox! - she screamed. - Where are you? I brought a goose, he will judge us. Come closer.
A fox appeared from the thicket, looked at the bag and realized that it wasn’t a goose there at all.
“Your goose is kind of big, and the goose’s back is big and round, and not like your friend’s in the bag.” I can't come any closer.
Before the fox had time to say this, the bird untied the bag, a dog jumped out and rushed straight at the fox. The fox began to rush through the thickets, and the dog followed. They ran like this for a long time, and the fox almost escaped from the dog, hiding in a hole between the roots of an old oak tree, but the dog contrived and grabbed her by the tail. The fox pulls its tail towards itself, and the dog - towards itself, the fox pulls it, and the dog pulls, finally the tail comes off. And the fox hid in a hole.
The dog gave the fox's tail to the bird and said:
“I tore off her tail, but the cheat herself escaped.” But now you calmly take all the wheat, the fox won’t dare say another word to you.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru